Quote:
Originally Posted by Triple_R
I've never quite understood why many of my fellow anime fans tend to want to classify characters based on a particular personality type. It's like they're somehow less of a character if they go with out a label attached to them.
I can understand the quick application of such personality type labels to somebody clear-cut, like Shana. Shana is obviously a tsundere; in fact, she probably represents the tsundere personality type as well as any anime character has since Akane Tendo. In my mind, when a modern character is labeled a tsundere, they risk getting put into Shana's shadow... unless they're as perfectly tsundere as she is.
With a truly unique character like Hitagi, I personally think it's better to simply enjoy the breath of fresh air that is a character that isn't easily labeled.
I frequently think that TV Tropes and the like has corrupted our approach to fictional characters; always trying to compartmentalize them, label them, categorize them, and measure them by what came before. Sometimes it's better to simply take a character on his, her, or it's own merits. That's definitely the case with Hitagi, in my opinion.
I doubt that my post here will be well-received, but I felt compelled to write it anyway, since for me, much of the charm of this anime anyway, is how unique most of the characters are. Even Araragi is a bit different from the norm - I see elements personality characteristics in him that are as different from one another as Kyon is from Light Yagami.
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It's well-received by me, at least. Yes, I understand this need and compulsion to categorize characters by types to better understand them in an already available structure/framework. It happens all the time, not just in anime but also literature or any art form with a narrative and characters.
Yet for a someone like Senjougahara, it's pointless to stuff her into these static typical pigeons holes because she's just not meant to be categorized and stereotyped that way. She's that unique. Yandere, Kuudere, Tsundere etc, they all do not make absolute sense on Hitagi. (although granted she may be a fusion of all of them) The most we can concretely conclude now is that she's definitely genre-binding and different from any other girl in the anime world.
Likewise, this should actually apply to other characters as well, even from other anime. If a character can be too easily pigeon holed, then I believe that is not a good character at all.