Quote:
Originally Posted by Triple_R
Ultimately, I do think Wakana is the main character in this show if anybody is, with the other four really straddling the line between strong supporting cast and true ensemble cast.
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Honestly, it seems to me that "true ensemble cast" is incredibly rare in all entertainment. It's much more common for there to be a tier of character importance: the lead character (sometimes a shared-lead), the two secondary leads, and the one/two/three supporting leads. That's because you're trying to tie your narrative together around a common theme and developing five parallel narratives of equal weighting and tying them strongly together is difficult, both for the writer and also for the audience -- it can cause the focus to wonder and the central message to be diluted. Even writing five characters of equal significance to a single on-going plot is difficult. I'm honestly struggling now to think of any anime that does not follow that sort of pyramid pattern, particularly in a one-cour show. (Heck, this show even shows the pyramid point blank multiple times in the show. And if you want a really easy example of this pattern, look no further than sentai.)
(The only example of a "true ensemble show" I can think of right now is probably the American sitcom Friends, and that had a lot more narratives on the go and a lot more time to develop them. Plus, it was still fundamentally a sitcom, and less of a drama.)