How would one describe this Anime exclusive bit of physical comedy in prose?

[Naruzeldamaster]

Trust me I've looked, there's no term applied to it (Like the Depression lines/Stink Lines etc) it just...is.

It's a fairly common bit in a lot of different shows.

The best way I would describe it outside of narration, is if the whole body was involved in a face palm? Sometimes the characters doing the 'thing' lose their color as a result (though it's clear that's more for the audience)

But even that doesn't fit. Cause I've tried googling clips of it with that term and nothing came up.
Happens a lot when a punchline doesn't land, or one of the characters says something 'wacky' that throws everyone else off.

I don't even think the Comedic term Prat Fall works, because thats another thing entirely?

 

[TheKillerBs]

It's commonly referred to as a face fault or a face plant, though the former is more specific to the anime phenomenon you're referring to

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

It's commonly referred to as a face fault or a face plant, though the former is more specific to the anime phenomenon you're referring to

THANK YOU
This thing has been bugging me for ages lol
Though would that work calling it that in narration?

 

[TheKillerBs]

I've seen it used in narration in fanfiction/webfiction. Not sure if it would get past the editors in conventionally published media

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I've seen it used in narration in fanfiction/webfiction. Not sure if it would get past the editors in conventionally published media

Yeah I had a feeling lol that's why I'm seeking a 'proper prose' way to describe it. Just saying the actual thing feels improper. I've been saying stuff like 'lost their color' in varying contexts (usually out of fear, but also for the same reason anime characters lose their color which usually is obvious enough to the reader, I think) but I'm not sure that works for this.

I imagine it MIGHT work in a comedy novel, but only barely. Both of my stories are different kinds of comedy.

One of them is a Rom Com and the other is basically Space Balls but for Role Playing Games (Both video games and not) though it takes itself a bit more seriously than Space Balls does. I'd say it's close to Monty Python but it takes itself a little serious for that comparison to work.

 

[pmmg]

Faceplant really means face actually hitting floor, or an object, though it has been used for epic fails in a metaphorical way.

I'm not sure what you are going for, cause there are a lot of reasons anime characters give off such expressions.

What is really going on in those scenes is some type of cognitive dissonance, but that does not work well on page.

Some words I might use:

Stunned to silence/Stunned with Shame/Stunned and frozen
Gobsmacked
Dumbfounded
Dissonance
As the Realization came upon them
Shocked
Left Speechless
Could not compute
Dumbstruck
Offense

 

[Queshire]

Hrm. I'd go with, "the color drained from their face" or something like that. If someone is already familiar with the trope they get it, but also makes sense for those not familiar with the trope.

 

[TheKillerBs]

Faceplant really means face actually hitting floor, or an object

And that is literally what Naruzeldamaster is describing. A character's face hitting the floor, though in reaction to something really dumb (usually)

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

And that is literally what Naruzeldamaster is describing. A character's face hitting the floor, though in reaction to something really dumb (usually)

Yep, in anime it's generally used as a reaction for:
A: Character speaking said something out of 'left field' or 'out of pocket' etc particularly if it's off topic.
B: Character says something particularly...let's just say dense.
C: Punchline that doesn't land and the punchline not landing/characters reaction to it is the actual joke. (This happens way too often in pokemon I think)

Faceplant really means face actually hitting floor, or an object, though it has been used for epic fails in a metaphorical way.

I'm not sure what you are going for, cause there are a lot of reasons anime characters give off such expressions.

What is really going on in those scenes is some type of cognitive dissonance, but that does not work well on page.

Yeah, same for the depression lines, x's in the eyes when they pass out, their color going away, the little cross...thing when they get angry, etc that stuff is for the viewer. (It'd be weird if the characters noticed that stuff unless it's like the character blushing)

Some words I might use:

Stunned to silence/Stunned with Shame/Stunned and frozen
Gobsmacked
Dumbfounded
Dissonance
As the Realization came upon them
Shocked
Left Speechless
Could not compute
Dumbstruck
Offense

Yep, I use these a lot, I was just wondering if there was a way to use the expression in prose fully.
Though I will settle for these if I have to hehe.

 

[pmmg]

Yeah, I will let Naru clarify if he wishes.

One of the bits in anime though, is the character stops in mid action, as if they had just hit an invisible wall, and try to process something that just doesn't make sense. The expression is blank, and their color may change. Its not always a real falling down. I think that is what he is after.

Such as this girls look and recation. Like they cant process what just happened.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Yeah, I will let Naru clarify if he wishes.

I mean you both kinda described what I'm thinking of mentally when my characters 'freak out' in this way.

One of the bits in anime though, is the character stops in mid action, as if they had just hit an invisible wall, and try to process something that just doesn't make sense. The expression is blank, and their color may change. Its not always a real falling down. I think that is what he is after.

Such as this girls look and recation. Like they cant process what just happened.

This kinda reaction happens sometimes in my story, other times it's more subtle and more akin to being flabbergasted or gobsmacked. Others still it's literally their brains freezing/locking up.

One of my favorite anime ones that's pretty exclusive to anime is the bit where a character will say something and an 'arrow' or dagger containing the phrase said will 'stab' the other character.

Another one (That I don't think would work in a proper novel, unless it was a Manga) is where the character's soul leaves their body, not literally but it's animated. Usually their soul is represented as a little ghosty guy coming from their mouth.

 

[Penpilot]

Be careful here. You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? You're kind of trying to find one word--or a handful of words--that encompass the emotion and visuals created by a thousand words.

There are things you can do with visuals that you can't do with prose and vice versa. From my perspective, the goal is not to find one word or a handful of words to describe the visuals in an exacting manner. The goal is to create the emotion of the scene with words and have a few choice details/cues such that it evokes that image or something very close in the reader's mind.

Now with that said, that doesn't mean there aren't single-word short cuts for certain things, but IMHO, if it's not relatively easy to find, it probably doesn't exist.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Be careful here. You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? You're kind of trying to find one word--or a handful of words--that encompass the emotion and visuals created by a thousand words.

There are things you can do with visuals that you can't do with prose and vice versa. From my perspective, the goal is not to find one word or a handful of words to describe the visuals in an exacting manner. The goal is to create the emotion of the scene with words and have a few choice details/cues such that it evokes that image or something very close in the reader's mind.

Now with that said, that doesn't mean there aren't single-word short cuts for certain things, but IMHO, if it's not relatively easy to find, it probably doesn't exist.

Hmm, advice received and acknowledged, but I'm not necessarily looking for 'shortcuts'
Just a way to describe some of these things in Prose. I think. If possible in a way that'd make it past an editor. (comedy or not, editors take their jobs seriously, which means I gotta be careful lol)

A lot of these gags (Especially the anime exclusive ones) are visual. And most often, they're implied to be only for the audience to see, since it seems like the other characters don't react to the whole 'their spirit is leaving their body' thing. (I mean they do, but they don't react to the little ghosty guy)

I've used a few 'x said while trying to process the insanity' type phrases before and currently. But some of those don't feel descriptive enough of what the character is going through. They do indeed feel like 'shortcuts' to me. When the book is finished, I can probably get some artwork (Like the image PMMing showed which is hilarious) for some of them, but I wouldn't want to be spammy with these artworks either.

As my story is a comedy, I could probably go for a few images depicting some of these reactions, but I don't know how often I want to use an image VS words.

 

[Mad Swede]

Hmm, advice received and acknowledged, but I'm not necessarily looking for 'shortcuts'
Just a way to describe some of these things in Prose. I think. If possible in a way that'd make it past an editor. (comedy or not, editors take their jobs seriously, which means I gotta be careful lol)

A lot of these gags (Especially the anime exclusive ones) are visual. And most often, they're implied to be only for the audience to see, since it seems like the other characters don't react to the whole 'their spirit is leaving their body' thing. (I mean they do, but they don't react to the little ghosty guy)

I've used a few 'x said while trying to process the insanity' type phrases before and currently. But some of those don't feel descriptive enough of what the character is going through. They do indeed feel like 'shortcuts' to me. When the book is finished, I can probably get some artwork (Like the image PMMing showed which is hilarious) for some of them, but I wouldn't want to be spammy with these artworks either.

As my story is a comedy, I could probably go for a few images depicting some of these reactions, but I don't know how often I want to use an image VS words.

I wonder if you understand the comment Penpilot made? What you are trying to do is describe a visual joke in prose (text) form. That is extremely difficult, verging on the impossible, simply because the joke is visual and not verbal. What I would suggest is that you try to get the huimour across without using jokes that rely on a picture to be funny. Put another way, you need to create written jokes which make the same point and create the same emotions in the reader but which don't require the reader to look at a picture to get the joke

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I wonder if you understand the comment Penpilot made? What you are trying to do is describe a visual joke in prose (text) form. That is extremely difficult, verging on the impossible, simply because the joke is visual and not verbal. What I would suggest is that you try to get the huimour across without using jokes that rely on a picture to be funny. Put another way, you need to create written jokes which make the same point and create the same emotions in the reader but which don't require the reader to look at a picture to get the joke

Yeah, I might have phrased it poorly, for a lot of these I think a picture would work better than words (If I read Penpilot's advice right)

But I don't want to be having these pictures (Similar to the one PMMIng posted) appearing every 4 or 5 pages, or multiple times per page is the concern.
The characters for this story are very 'animated' in their expressions / reactions at least the way I imagine the scenes in my head.

The tricky bit with these gags, is that they are often for the viewer, animated or not.
The other characters aren't aware of the phrase that stabbed the character in the chest (usually literally) but they do react like they can see their emotional state. Same for the other ones. I'm 90% sure the characters don't see the entire background turn blue with purple squiggles when one character gets depressed. They probably DO see the character hunching forward and seeming deflated.

Other than that tangent: Yes I'm looking for written Jokes of similar nature.

 

[Mad Swede]

Yeah, I might have phrased it poorly, for a lot of these I think a picture would work better than words (If I read Penpilot's advice right)

But I don't want to be having these pictures (Similar to the one PMMIng posted) appearing every 4 or 5 pages, or multiple times per page is the concern.
The characters for this story are very 'animated' in their expressions / reactions at least the way I imagine the scenes in my head.

The tricky bit with these gags, is that they are often for the viewer, animated or not.
The other characters aren't aware of the phrase that stabbed the character in the chest (usually literally) but they do react like they can see their emotional state. Same for the other ones. I'm 90% sure the characters don't see the entire background turn blue with purple squiggles when one character gets depressed. They probably DO see the character hunching forward and seeming deflated.

Other than that tangent: Yes I'm looking for written Jokes of similar nature.

I wonder if this is the basic problem with what you're trying to do. You're trying to convey a visual form of storytelling in prose form. So it seems to me that you have a choice. Write a graphic novel, which relies on the graphics to convey some of the emotions and context. Or write a prose novel, in which case you have to find a way of conveying all these emotions and events in text. Neither is easy, but you have to make the choice.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I wonder if this is the basic problem with what you're trying to do. You're trying to convey a visual form of storytelling in prose form. So it seems to me that you have a choice. Write a graphic novel, which relies on the graphics to convey some of the emotions and context. Or write a prose novel, in which case you have to find a way of conveying all these emotions and events in text. Neither is easy, but you have to make the choice.

If it helps, I'm still undecided if I want this story to be a graphic novel or a novel novel, maybe even a Manga. (Well, Manga styled )
BUT I'm writing the story for it in Prose first before I decide anything. I'm VERY tempted to make this story an RPG Maker game, but I need to have the full story written down first or I won't be able to just focus on the game itself. Same with the King Midas Parody when I make that a game.

My only concern if I ultimately decide to make it a graphic novel/game is affording the artwork. But I'll get there eventually. Right now I'm focusing on the story.

One of my stories I'd rather see as an animated film, because that lends itself to more physical comedy than prose.
But again, hashing out the actual story in prose first so I know what to do for most of it.

 

[Mad Swede]

If it helps, I'm still undecided if I want this story to be a graphic novel or a novel novel, maybe even a Manga. (Well, Manga styled )
BUT I'm writing the story for it in Prose first before I decide anything. I'm VERY tempted to make this story an RPG Maker game, but I need to have the full story written down first or I won't be able to just focus on the game itself. Same with the King Midas Parody when I make that a game.

My only concern if I ultimately decide to make it a graphic novel/game is affording the artwork. But I'll get there eventually. Right now I'm focusing on the story.

One of my stories I'd rather see as an animated film, because that lends itself to more physical comedy than prose.
But again, hashing out the actual story in prose first so I know what to do for most of it.

I'm not sure you can delay making the choice, at least not if you want to include visual or even physical jokes as part of the story. Visual humour can be exaggerated in its form (anime is - or can be - an example of this) but you can't use that sort of exaggerated humour in the same way in prose form, you end up conveying something like a stunned silence in a different way and that should lead to different sorts of interactions between characters.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I'm not sure you can delay making the choice, at least not if you want to include visual or even physical jokes as part of the story. Visual humour can be exaggerated in its form (anime is - or can be - an example of this) but you can't use that sort of exaggerated humour in the same way in prose form, you end up conveying something like a stunned silence in a different way and that should lead to different sorts of interactions between characters.

I'm kind of leaning toward making Sinbad an RPG Maker game, but I at least wanna finish at least the rough draft of the story first so I got all the dialogue written down. That way I can spend more time focusing on the game/gameplay.

For hound and fox, I'm pretty set on it being a novel (It doesn't have near as much of the anime-inspired comedy in it) but eventually a short film would be fun to do.

For the King Midas Parody, 100% going to be a game, but a particular kind of game that kind of requires me to write the dialogue/narration first. That way I can focus on the game elements when I start working on it.