[hyl]

Originally Posted by MartianMage

To be fair I don't follow the japanese tourneys that closely however I will have to point out that just because it had a presence(I'm betting a very minor presence) in a tournament does not elevate it from it's cult hit status.

Minor presence? Tougeki is the Japanese equivelant of the American EVO (eventhough it's much bigger).
Define your own definition of cult status? Major fighting games in the USA like even Marvel vs Capcom 3 or Mortal Kombat are "cult status" games in japan, because it's hardly played at tourament level.
Likewise vice versa is also true, games like Melty blood and guilty gear are not played much in the USA while it was played alot in many japanese tournaments like A-cho. Heck, even blazblue can be considered to be a cult status game in the USA seeing that it was not even included in EVO or any major touraments this year.

Originally Posted by MartianMage

And tell me... Those drama cds and oavs who are they mostly about? They are mostly about Nakoruru....

What are you eevn talking about? 真説サムライスピリッツ武士道列伝 -ドラマＣＤ was mainly about her, but the other dramas were not entirely about her. Of course she is going to be popular and prominent, because she was one of the 2 female characters of the original first game (and the only recurring one in almost every game). She is like the Chun Li of Samurai spirits in that regard, but she acts more like a Mascot than Chun Li.

Originally Posted by MartianMage

Like I said it's not a counter. Please I know for a fact that there are tons of well designed characters out there that didn't become popular no need to point out the obvious. What part of "everything else is secondary" do you not understand? Just because character quirks, traits, and whatnot are only secondary does not mean they cannot make a character recognizable.

Ok, what makes Haruhi more recognizable compared to Yuripe from angels beats or Takanashi Sora from Papakiki, if your primary concern is character design?
Or Corticarte from polyphonica and Inui Sana from Mashiro iro Symphony?
Most characters from clamp look very similar, so how does Suzuku from Code Geass look very different from the adult Syaoran from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle or Yukito from Card captor sakura?
If you only look at the design, then are still many characters out there that have some resembles with others, yet their differences come other factrs like their role in the serie.

Also l agree with these posts.

Originally Posted by C.A.

The answer is one of the 12 basic principles of animation and character design, appeal.

No single story or character can be liked by everyone, they can only make themselves 'identifiable' in your words, through the way they appeal to audience.

To create appeal for anything, you need to draw out the strengths of each individual character, give them charisma, give more important characters more emphasis in design and story. Appeal is not just looking cool and pretty, its about the very personality of the characters. The hotblooded guy, the tsundere girl, the melodramatic villian, etc. Take all these personalities and strengthen them with their acting and appearance and people will recognise these characters through their performance.

If you want to generate any emotion or atmosphere, make it as strong as possible, combine the story and acting of the characters with the setting and lighting, put in the right sound track and set the mood. Let your audience feel exactly what you want them to feel your show and characters are about. Let them know and relate to the characters and bring them into the story.

Its all in the context, build up as much detail in the scenes. What era is the story set in? Where is the story taking place? What do the characters wear and how do they behave in this setting? How would the characters interact with each other and their setting?

There is alot to think when you are making an animation, animators need to be psychologists, actors, biologists, physicists, architects, fashion designers etc. and more. It is the most scientific and technical of all arts.

Originally Posted by Shergal

The design alone can't make a character identifiable, let alone elevate it to an icon status like Rei or EVA-01 are for NGE.
The key is how the design is handled and presented. This doesn't have much to do with actual plot and development of the character, but the impact it generates on the audience with simple actions (e.g. character introductions). We see Rei as a sort of ghost for the first time, and there is this ominous aura about her that makes her stand out.
EVA-01 owes its status as the trademark of NGE to the animators who made it so human-like in its movements, and also to the berserk fits it had on some episodes (the first ep and the one where it eats the angel come to mind).

It's not only the design and outline of the drawing that builds a character's identity in the fandom. I assume everyone takes for granted that the character needs to be in a popular show to be so highly regarded, and only one great character can't make a show popular by itself. You need some other elements to spice it up.

I think they explain very well why it's not just the character design that makes a character or story appealing.

Originally Posted by MartianMage

Let me ask you this since you are insisting that he cannot possibly mean recognizable in his question. How do you even begin to apply your interpretation on BRS before the OVA and anime came out?

BRS was incidental, it's not like every other random popular MAD or AMV character have become popular enough to get it's own series. Unless you can name me some more examples.
It's not like i have seen an actual anime with Touhou characters (that doujin OAV doesn't exactly count seeing that it was not official and even if you did, there are still no other Touhou animes aside from a new OAV planned by the same people) or vocaloid characters or their recoloured versions.

Originally Posted by MartianMage

And no I did not watch PMMM based on character design. I never checked it's commercials to begin with. I simply checked it out because it is a Shaft show.

Doesn't this mean that your main reason for it was not primary the character design? You are contradicting your own post that started this discussion

Originally Posted by MartianMage

The number one factor would be the character design. Everything else is just secondary.

edit:

Originally Posted by MartianMage

Now let me ask you this: Why do you think Tecmo deemed it necessary to revamp Ryo's character design?

That's like asking why Marvel and DC redesigned thor, Iron Man, green lantern, spiderman, batman or many other characters over the years.
The answer is like C.A. has already pointed out: appeal.
Your audience and times have changed, so of course you have to adjust it to their current tastes.