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designing characters
Jan. 3rd, 2004 01:47 amMm. Proposition; shounen anime/manga is useful for writing rpg characters.
Why, the theorised audience demands.
Well, in a lot of shounen stuff, you have three layers of character. You have the Heroes, who are, well, heroes and have reasonable complexity of character and usually a certain degree of history. Then you have the Main Opponents, who also have reasonable character and history -- in fact, they often have more than the hero, in order to justify why they're enemies. Though of course the hero gets a bigger share of time on stage.
Finally, you have the Opponent of the Week, most notable in series that develop huge tournaments, or ones where the heroes are travelling (going West, for example). In this case, the Opponent of the Week needs to be identifiable (rather than just "that guy they fought in episode 32") -- this usually involves a recognisable appearance and some particular weapon or quirk of powers.
As to why I've got this on the brain -- I'm trying to write up a whole ton of original characters/tribes/groups who do not all sound alike. Gah. Um, yes, so this particular one is distinctive because she's so persuasive that her victims line up to be carried off into the sunset . . .
Why, the theorised audience demands.
Well, in a lot of shounen stuff, you have three layers of character. You have the Heroes, who are, well, heroes and have reasonable complexity of character and usually a certain degree of history. Then you have the Main Opponents, who also have reasonable character and history -- in fact, they often have more than the hero, in order to justify why they're enemies. Though of course the hero gets a bigger share of time on stage.
Finally, you have the Opponent of the Week, most notable in series that develop huge tournaments, or ones where the heroes are travelling (going West, for example). In this case, the Opponent of the Week needs to be identifiable (rather than just "that guy they fought in episode 32") -- this usually involves a recognisable appearance and some particular weapon or quirk of powers.
As to why I've got this on the brain -- I'm trying to write up a whole ton of original characters/tribes/groups who do not all sound alike. Gah. Um, yes, so this particular one is distinctive because she's so persuasive that her victims line up to be carried off into the sunset . . .
