What is your favorite persona archetype?

[pmmg]

I do feel it would be useful to have a list of character types to choose from, otherwise I am just making up labels.

However, I will stick to, none of my characters were made using the 'find label, make character' method. They all formed organically. They may fit into a classification here or there, but I never thought of them as such. I think of them as complex. And with different personality traits.

Many animes come from Manga, which is written, but that is not the same as the writing I do. If there are some that are straight text, well...I am not deep enough in to go looking for them. I suppose I could write a story with anime type characters in it, but I'd not likely try it. The characters that first come to mind when thinking anime are one with blue spikey hair and oversize weapons, and a lot of flying around with wind blowing everywhere. I dont think I would enjoy having to paint the scene often to write it as straight text. If I wrote Inuyasha or Dragon Ball Z, you all would think it no fun

 

[BearBear]

I wouldn't say I was influenced by anime only that anime has a lot of types that seem to match with the kind of characters I like to write. Strong, confident and independent women, but not exclusively. One was a natural leader but had a flat leadership style, allowing collaboration. One had more of a following style but could handle herself in a pinch. She wouldn't say she wanted to handle anything and was pretty nervous and flighty. My favorite though would be tsundere as a personality type, not that I actually captured that well in any specific character. Wednesday Adams follows that to some extent but is more of a sociopath and self-centered. These traits compliment the notion in my mind because that kind of person is very well guarded and breaking down those walls, at least to someone, is an interesting development in that character. It could be to a mentor, a love interest, or just a close friend. I appreciated though that once that wall is down you can be sure it's genuine otherwise it would be a difficult ruse to pull off in my mind and would be a whole different archetype.

I started writing and the bulk of it was before I ever saw a single anime. This post anime writing will definitely be heavily inspired by them but what I speak to is only my past since I haven't written fiction seriously for about 5 years.

 

[Queshire]

I could link TVtropes, but that's a curse of wasted time I'm wary to unleash.

I will link a quick search for Light Novels over on Amazon. (Link) Once you scroll past all the sponsored offers the rest is... well, it's certainly not high literature. A lot of it's meant to be the easy sort of pick up & go stories that you can read while on the train. Still, at least half a dozen of the examples on the first page have had at least a single season of a show made out of them. Can't say the same about too many western literature series.

 

[BearBear]

I believe it. I haven't read enough manga to have an opinion whether it's high literature or not but the western vampires, werewolves and zombies I'd bet are well represented in that list of fantasy top sellers. I've had my fill anyway. I don't know what to call it as my pallet is ameture as they get but the, what I wanted to call morals, of the stories are genuinely interesting to me. Where the line between a protagonist and antagonist is thin and can vary based on your perspective.

A super clean 100% above board hero archetype seems too limited to me. I like a character not necessarily overly deep but one who can have an inner struggle and choose wilfully the clearly wrong choice in a seemingly selfish manor and get away with it. Like if Edward went ahead and ate Bella already then faught Jacob and his clan, decimating them obviously, then began a dystopian reign of human subjugation and exploitation. Something like "the world was sick, and we're the cure."

The constrained notions of good vs evil aren't realistic to me. It makes more sense that everyone's a little evil, everyone's a little selfish, everyone's a little self-centered. Maybe it's just the city I live or me.

So my notions of high literature best selling classics to me seem predictable in a not fun sort of way. It feels ironically childish and naive.

What's interesting to me is a character like Ainz Ooal Gown, where there are times he's clearly a hero and times he's clearly a villian with his inner humanity being stretched to breaking. My next manga will be reading that one. Rimuru, Subaru, Naofumi to a lesser extent, they have a struggle, they're a little selfish, they habe inner demons to work out. It feels a lot better than Don Quixote, Frodo, Aragoin etc. I love these characters but they seem very tied to one path. They seem predictable which is also comforting, you can trust them, but I'm not perfect like them, I can't relate to them. I can't trust they'll forgive me for mauling a scout troop. Bears will be Bears. Ainz would understand, maybe I was just hungry.

 

[Queshire]

Lol, I don't know if I agree with that last part there. Ainz might understand, but he wouldn't care that he understands. Make yourself an enemy of him and he'll either kill you himself or stand back while his minions do so.

 

[BearBear]

He's loyal to his family, more than I can say about any of my blood relatives.

 

[FifthView]

Hm, I think there was a miscommunication here. Tsundere is just a trope. It's the same thing as the wise old mentor or the rakish rogue. There's no special system to it beyond the simple tendency of different genres and different cultures to produce their own tropes

I think it is meant to describe more, something approaching a stock character, with an easily identified set of behaviors and personality traits. In anime, these traits and behaviors are typically dialed up to a 15/10.

As for translating Anime influences to prose? Well, I can't really comment on your own tastes but er... it already exists? A large number of anime start out in prose form before being turned into a show.

Er, I'm sure it does. That doesn't mean it's any good.

I recognize that a lot of anime began as manga, but I wouldn't consider manga (or comic books) to be simply prose, given the huge role of visual art in the creation. I also know there's a long tradition of translating prose novels into graphic novels and comic books. I'm assuming examples of manga exist as well since prose influences can be found in some anime.

Going the other direction, from anime to prose, is the part that would cause me to stumble. Japanese light novels do this already? Anything I've seen resembling this is not at all something that interests me personally. Some YA and middle grade stuff does look a lot like anime in prose form. Hurray for anyone who likes that sort of thing. I don't.

My central problem is with the use of anime stock characters. I love them well enough in anime, but have zero interest in reading a prose novel chock full of them.

 

[FifthView]

My central problem is with the use of anime stock characters. I love them well enough in anime, but have zero interest in reading a prose novel chock full of them.

...but, I'm curious if modeling one or a couple characters on those personality types might be a helpful strategy from time to time. I'm more likely to simply model on a particular anime character than from a knowledge of all the 'dere's etc.

 

[Finchbearer]

It’s interesting that you’re inspired so much by Anime Bear. I would say I’m a big fan of exploring Japanese culture through reading fiction by Japanese authors or watching Anime and it is a very specific culture - Japan isolated itself for many years and so they formed a type of culture vacuum in a way, which has made them entirely individual and wonderful, though a lot of their culture is Japan specific - I don’t think it always translates to Western culture as we know it.

 

[BearBear]

The inspiration would be no different than being inspired by American superheros, war genre, medieval times, etc. It feels the same to me.

 

[Finchbearer]

Fair enough if it feels the same to you.

We’re all human so there are going to be lots of similarities, but perhaps there are elements of Japanese culture that I don’t think always translate very well. I know that Japan is heavily patriarchal, has high standards of politeness and has an entirely different perspective on the concept of ‘honour’ for example, and you can see the effects of those elements in manga and anime. Women in particular are expected to be polite, so when you have a character that bucks that trend, it’s fetishised.

 

[pmmg]

...but, I'm curious if modeling one or a couple characters on those personality types might be a helpful strategy from time to time. I'm more likely to simply model on a particular anime character than from a knowledge of all the 'dere's etc.

I would find that similar to any tool that helps an author think of their character is ways that might give insight, or have been successful in other ways. Not dissimilar to using Enneagrams, of figuring out where they stand on a Briggs Myers eval. I look at these at times, but I don't apply them well. Characters just kind of do what they do. If I was really struggling with a character, I might be more prone to look up something like this for inspiration. Maybe it will be the thing that unlocks them from dull to fun to write.

 

[pmmg]

It’s interesting that you’re inspired so much by Anime Bear. I would say I’m a big fan of exploring Japanese culture through reading fiction by Japanese authors or watching Anime and it is a very specific culture - Japan isolated itself for many years and so they formed a type of culture vacuum in a way, which has made them entirely individual and wonderful, though a lot of their culture is Japan specific - I don’t think it always translates to Western culture as we know it.

I have just the opposite impression. I often wonder why so much of Japanese anime is borrowing so much from western culture. To the point I sometimes ask where is their culture? I don't know that Anime would survive without fetishizing, school girl outfits and androgynous males seem quite common.

 

[Finchbearer]

It amuses me that side of things to be honest pmmg, the borrowing from Western culture, because they’ve turned it into something that is now iconically Japanese. They seem to love the decadence of the Victorian England and have also borrowed styles from continental Europe too, and have made it all a bit steampunk. Kudos to them for the creativity.

I look to Japan for distinctly Japanese culture. Geishas, cherry blossom, sashimi, the art, the landscape, the traditions…so many good things. The folklore is also so distinct and special. I also love love the original Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Evangelion all the old school stuff, and to think it was all hand drawn.

 

[pmmg]

Yes, I sometimes wonder why their Anime does not have more Geishas and cherryblossoms, but... Anime is definitively theirs. I like some of it, but I dont have time to dive deeply in. I only have so much energy to spend.

 

[Queshire]

Not to be the type of weeb that goes on and on about how deep and culturally rich anime is, but have you considered the fact that you self admittedly only dip a toe into anime might leave you blind to all but the most blatant cultural elements? I mean, asking for more Geisha and cherry blossoms is like asking for more Cowboys and horses from American stuff.

 

[BearBear]

Western influences are obvious and I'd like to see more of those western influences on modern western productions. I gotta go watch a Clint Eastwood movie. Then again, "the classics" involving strong archetypal characters to me are Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard, Fear and Loathing, and these are all heavily "American" influenced in my opinion.

 

[Finchbearer]

Then again, "the classics" involving strong archetypal characters to me are Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard, Fear and Loathing, and these are all heavily "American" influenced in my opinion.

Because they’re all American?

To me Americanisation has permeated much the world, and that is where we are at. Not saying good or bad thing but just an observation. People take American studies to specifically study this phenomenon.

I think Britishness has a similar but smaller effect, people going mad for English style, whatever that is, or as they say, ‘mad dogs and Englishmen’.

 

[BearBear]

When I think Britsh I think James Bond and in a similar way many have told me when they think American they think bikinis and cowboy hats.

Personally when I think America I think American Football, monster trucks, and people like Brock Lesner in WWE and UFC and Celebrities.

Brock Lesner driving a monster truck with a Kardashian in the passenger seat. Add an American flag and that's America to me. Online America has a decidedly different look, colored hair, rings and tats whining on TicTok. It's not any less America, but it does feel like America has multiple and widely varying personalities.

 

[pmmg]

Not to be the type of weeb that goes on and on about how deep and culturally rich anime is, but have you considered the fact that you self admittedly only dip a toe into anime might leave you blind to all but the most blatant cultural elements? I mean, asking for more Geisha and cherry blossoms is like asking for more Cowboys and horses from American stuff.

Yes, of course.