AnimeSuki Forum - View Single Post - The problem I have with some awesome MCs...

judasmartel · 2013-01-03, 06:46

I'm not really referring to any main. The list is what I thought people think is the ideal protagonist. Obviously, I was wrong.

Okay, I'll dissect the list for you guys.

1. Have a ridiculously sob backstory.
Somebody told me that conflict is necessary to make a good story. But what kind of conflict? One that starts off deep? Can't we have a well-received story where the real conflict starts right just after it has began, like that of Jonathan Joestar; instead of a story which WILL turn out sour like that of Kiritsugu Emiya or Light Yagami?

Don't get me wrong, I like Kiritsugu, even if he has the probably most sob-worthy backstory ever. I just find it unnerving to see that people seem to like tragic characters and make them up as badasses by saying that Shinji Ikari or Haruyuki Arita has no right to whine about anything when they don't even freaking understand the psychology behind them. They want wimpy MCs to develop a backbone within a span of half a episode, even if they were already suffering for like 10 years due to things beyond their control.

I mean, can't I like both wimps and badasses at the same time? People actually berate me for liking wimpy MCs.

2. Ditch your moral values and become like the honey badger who doesn't give a crap.

I blame it to the manipulative villain who gets praised more for just being good at plans while berating the hero for falling for the guy's trap and succumbing to his values when it clearly can't help him against the villain. They treat morality like it's some sort of Idiot Ball. I hate that. They don't call it "evil", they call it "smart". But to me, "evil" is still "evil", no matter how "smart" it is.

Again, don't get me wrong. I like cunning characters (like Shu from Suikoden 2, who reminds me of Aizen), but I really hate it when they equate goodness with dumbness and demand that mains have to be a step ahead of the villain all the freaking time.

3. Ditch your friends, because they can't help you, and could even be an obstacle to you.

I blame this to the hero party who are usually portrayed to be utterly useless against the enemies so our hero has no choice but to win it by himself. I really can't blame people for asking for shows where the hero party actually does something better than just being hero bait.

Being the party healer is also quite a problem, because they can't fight. [sarcasm]Combat skills are required for all members of the hero party.[/sarcasm] So make him/her a Combat Medic. Problem is, CM's get Worf'd most of the time. I'm glad the medic-nin from Naruto are not such cases.

Barring Priestess Yufa from Ragnarok the Animation, I have never seen White Mages win a single fight. I would like to see a WM win a fight by using the Holy Hand Grenade once in a while.

4. Go on a quest for UNLIMITED POWER!

Duh, that's the point of fighters, right? But please don't treat it like it's the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal should be to use it for the sake of good.

5. Become so overpowered that not even the final villain can TOUCH YOU.

Now that I think of it, I couldn't really think of an MC who can one-shot the final villain. I think I was just exaggerating things. Finishing them with over-the-top moves (for the sake of climax IKR) doesn't really help matters.

I would just say that the harder the MC struggles against the final villain, the better. This is the reason why I liked Kosuke Ueki better than Kirito.

6. If the final villain somehow overpowers you, know that the Deus Ex Machina is still out there to save you, if you're lucky.

I think the Deus Ex Machina ruined most chances for me to ever appreciate Kirito. So in the end, he really didn't win his fights all by himself, he had help from the system.

People usually don't complain about too little help from the Deus Ex Machina and yet complain about too much help from the Deus Ex Machina. But SAO fans don't care about how often the Deus Ex Machina helped Kirito because it makes sense in-story.

So I guess Deus Ex Machina is okay as long as it's explained in the plot, but to me it diminishes the value of the hero's victory, depending on its use.

7. ???
8. PROFIT!

I'll tell you this: I spent the entire two weeks sour-graping on Kirito because of all the hate towards Haru of Accel World. People keep saying Kirito is better because he's thin and Haru is fat, because Kirito is badass right off the bat and Haru has no right to whine because everything is now going his way, because Kirito deserves his girls and Haru doesn't

I really don't like it when people set double standards on others, anime characters or otherwise. So it's okay to be Shinji Ikari but not Haruyuki Arita? So only thin people can become main characters and fat people are not allowed to become main characters?

I mean, right?

2013-01-03, 06:46	Link #40
judasmartel Senior Member Author Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Cainta, Rizal, Philippines	I'm not really referring to any main. The list is what I thought people think is the ideal protagonist. Obviously, I was wrong. Okay, I'll dissect the list for you guys. 1. Have a ridiculously sob backstory. Somebody told me that conflict is necessary to make a good story. But what kind of conflict? One that starts off deep? Can't we have a well-received story where the real conflict starts right just after it has began, like that of Jonathan Joestar; instead of a story which WILL turn out sour like that of Kiritsugu Emiya or Light Yagami? Don't get me wrong, I like Kiritsugu, even if he has the probably most sob-worthy backstory ever. I just find it unnerving to see that people seem to like tragic characters and make them up as badasses by saying that Shinji Ikari or Haruyuki Arita has no right to whine about anything when they don't even freaking understand the psychology behind them. They want wimpy MCs to develop a backbone within a span of half a episode, even if they were already suffering for like 10 years due to things beyond their control. I mean, can't I like both wimps and badasses at the same time? People actually berate me for liking wimpy MCs. 2. Ditch your moral values and become like the honey badger who doesn't give a crap. I blame it to the manipulative villain who gets praised more for just being good at plans while berating the hero for falling for the guy's trap and succumbing to his values when it clearly can't help him against the villain. They treat morality like it's some sort of Idiot Ball. I hate that. They don't call it "evil", they call it "smart". But to me, "evil" is still "evil", no matter how "smart" it is. Again, don't get me wrong. I like cunning characters (like Shu from Suikoden 2, who reminds me of Aizen), but I really hate it when they equate goodness with dumbness and demand that mains have to be a step ahead of the villain all the freaking time. 3. Ditch your friends, because they can't help you, and could even be an obstacle to you. I blame this to the hero party who are usually portrayed to be utterly useless against the enemies so our hero has no choice but to win it by himself. I really can't blame people for asking for shows where the hero party actually does something better than just being hero bait. Being the party healer is also quite a problem, because they can't fight. [sarcasm]Combat skills are required for all members of the hero party.[/sarcasm] So make him/her a Combat Medic. Problem is, CM's get Worf'd most of the time. I'm glad the medic-nin from Naruto are not such cases. Barring Priestess Yufa from Ragnarok the Animation, I have never seen White Mages win a single fight. I would like to see a WM win a fight by using the Holy Hand Grenade once in a while. 4. Go on a quest for UNLIMITED POWER! Duh, that's the point of fighters, right? But please don't treat it like it's the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal should be to use it for the sake of good. 5. Become so overpowered that not even the final villain can TOUCH YOU. Now that I think of it, I couldn't really think of an MC who can one-shot the final villain. I think I was just exaggerating things. Finishing them with over-the-top moves (for the sake of climax IKR) doesn't really help matters. I would just say that the harder the MC struggles against the final villain, the better. This is the reason why I liked Kosuke Ueki better than Kirito. 6. If the final villain somehow overpowers you, know that the Deus Ex Machina is still out there to save you, if you're lucky. I think the Deus Ex Machina ruined most chances for me to ever appreciate Kirito. So in the end, he really didn't win his fights all by himself, he had help from the system. People usually don't complain about too little help from the Deus Ex Machina and yet complain about too much help from the Deus Ex Machina. But SAO fans don't care about how often the Deus Ex Machina helped Kirito because it makes sense in-story. So I guess Deus Ex Machina is okay as long as it's explained in the plot, but to me it diminishes the value of the hero's victory, depending on its use. 7. ??? 8. PROFIT! I'll tell you this: I spent the entire two weeks sour-graping on Kirito because of all the hate towards Haru of Accel World. People keep saying Kirito is better because he's thin and Haru is fat, because Kirito is badass right off the bat and Haru has no right to whine because everything is now going his way, because Kirito deserves his girls and Haru doesn't I really don't like it when people set double standards on others, anime characters or otherwise. So it's okay to be Shinji Ikari but not Haruyuki Arita? So only thin people can become main characters and fat people are not allowed to become main characters? I mean, right?