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Old 2018-06-28, 18:58   Link #1
RDNexus
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Potential Non-human-looking Entities

Guys, I wanted your opinion on something.
Animes like High School DxD tend to have their deities and supernatural entities look like humans.
Would such characters be less relatable to the reader/viewer if they look anything but human but still retained as much of their personalities as possible?
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Old 2018-06-29, 01:20   Link #2
wuhugm
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Inhuman = Can't relate = Not popular

I mean even that furry one is popular coz bipedal
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Old 2018-06-29, 01:32   Link #3
RDNexus
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So, you mean that a creator has to limit his/her creativity when it comes to a character's looks?
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Old 2018-06-29, 01:38   Link #4
wuhugm
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^As long as the viewers are humans

I mean even myths and religions humanify the entities to draw believers

But 1 or 2 inhuman in any work is welcomed (possibility in becoming popular chara is very low tho)
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Old 2018-06-29, 02:42   Link #5
RDNexus
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If such characters were more side than main, I guess?
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Old 2018-06-29, 07:46   Link #6
Tenzen12
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I think it could work, I mean did you read Dokunie cooking? It's story about man-eating tentacle monster

Spoiler for Tentacle monsters are human too!:


Even beings with unrelateble form can have relatable problems and personality. Recently there are novels where MC reincarnate as Vending machine unable even speak, or as Onsen and they seems to be farily popular. There is also manga about somehow tsundere cat taking care of her human (as exactly half of narrative).

So yeah I don't think form is issue on it's own, but writting that require skill and for many authors probably wouldn't want tackle with that and not all who does try will succeed.
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Old 2018-06-29, 08:05   Link #7
Jan-Poo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xrick View Post
Would such characters be less relatable to the reader/viewer if they look anything but human but still retained as much of their personalities as possible?
It can work to a certain extent as long as they still show human emotions, even if it is illogical for them to show them.

For instance here you have a lizard-woman blushing.

As a matter of facts Overlord is full of non human characters, the main character is a Lich. however it's hard to provide fan-service with non human bodies, and so a lot of "monsters" in Overlord are pretty much indistinguishable from humans.
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Old 2018-06-29, 16:12   Link #8
BWTraveller
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xrick View Post
So, you mean that a creator has to limit his/her creativity when it comes to a character's looks?
It all depends on the looks. It's certainly possible to make a nonhuman entity relatable, but there generally needs to be at least something relatable to it. There certainly are plenty of nonhuman entities out there in fiction that are well-received. Just look how many dragons, lions, etc. we have. And not all of them have the ability to transform into cute anime girls. If they're able to portray a personality that moves well enough, and they're at least familiar enough for their personality and emotions to be clearly conveyed, I don't think it matters all that much.
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Old 2018-06-29, 16:39   Link #9
RDNexus
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But such entities need at least something we humans/audience can recognize to emphatize, right?
Maybe that's why we don't see much of Eldritch-like entities in Anime and stuff...other than enemies without a tinge of personality, that is...
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Old 2018-06-29, 19:03   Link #10
BWTraveller
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True enough. They have to have "personality", some manner of emotion and intent that can be understood, and it has to be possible to convey that emotion to the audience. It can be a voice, a facial characteristic, a behavior, or any number of things, but somehow the personality has to be clearly conveyed to the audience. "Unnatural" by its nature tends to break this down, since almost anything that can clearly and consistently convey the emotions/personality of the entity will be in some way recognizable and therefore "natural". If you're looking for "not human" then there's plenty. If you're looking for "lacking anything that can be recognized as remotely natural or consistent with certain emotions" then no. For one thing, that's something incredibly difficult to portray in any but a literary medium: if you can work it out well enough to visually define it then it loses this level of otherness. Moreover, if it can be portrayed the impossible nature is almost guaranteed to make it a thing of horror. It needs something, even if it's just a posture or behavior. Frankly, it sounds like you're asking if it's possible to have an opera without sound, images or written lyrics. For something to have "personality" it has to be possible to recognize that said personality exists, and a being that has all the personality it would have with these things but lacking these things is like a book containing the same epic story but without pictures or words or paper.
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Old 2018-06-29, 19:13   Link #11
RDNexus
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Still, if (for example) To Love-Ru's Deviluke Sisters or DxD's Devils & Deities were to look anything but human, maybe their personalities wouldn't fit, or rather, they wouldn't click with us, I guess?
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Old 2018-06-29, 23:37   Link #12
Tenzen12
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Depends,

I think Momo wouldn't work. She is big tease and having monster trying seduce you/get into threesome wouldn't have quite same effect

Lala: To be honest she doesn't work even as humanoid as far as I am concerned, so if she were unhuman she would be unrelatable all the same.

Nana: she would in other hand work perfectly imho. Tsundere unhuman who likes plants (or animals? I am not sure which does which). It could be quite cute. Arguably she might end as more prominent character the she were by end of To-Love-Ru.
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Old 2018-06-30, 00:48   Link #13
Lex79
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Originally Posted by xrick View Post
Still, if (for example) To Love-Ru's Deviluke Sisters or DxD's Devils & Deities were to look anything but human, maybe their personalities wouldn't fit, or rather, they wouldn't click with us, I guess?
What do you mean by anything but human? Does some kind of anthropomorfic creature count (like teenage mutant turtles that happen to be ninja, or monster girls that go beyond having only cute ears and tails) or you want something completely not human like a slime, squid or an insect?
You can make a series where the characters are aliens with a big round body, no head, no arms and twenty spider-like legs that communicate only with telepathy and manipulate objects with telekinesis. These characters can show the same kind of personalities as humans, and I think the audience could relate to them but only to a point, like if the story is a comedy. At least, this is how I feel.
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