Let's talk about Naruto first. I did a review of Naruto on my First Episode Anime Review show. In it, I mentioned several characteristics of the character that made him likable right away. I think a few of these are important. Remember, we are always talking about how an audience feels about a character.
First, there is the sympathetic characteristics.
Naruto is an orphan and nobody likes him.
He's just a poor boy, from a poor family...
The thing is, audiences feel for him because of those aspects. This is easier explained in comics, so I'll hold off on the BEST sympathetic character, but sympathy is a powerful weapon to make a character likable.
Second, we have the relatability of the character.
Naruto is relatable because he's a class clown. He isn't perfect and messes up a bunch. People get mad at him, and he can't pass certain classes. Readers/viewers understand such thigns and relate to him because of it.
You can see this in Bleach also. Ichigo may be an awesome fighter and a cool guy, but he's relatable because he has friends who talk to him and joke with him. He goes to high school, studies, gets mad at people. These make him human and we understand him because of it.
Third, we have the idolization of the character.
In this case, it's the idolization of the audience for the character. He want to be him because he can do cool ninja things, in Naruto's case. Other characters better exemplify this characteristic, but mostly in the shojo side of things. Typically you have the guy or girl you want to go on a date with because they're so perfect. The ideal person to idolize, in many cases.
Fourth, we have the ideals of the character.
Understand what I mean. Ideals in this case mean what a character holds to as being his or her goals in life that are fairly unrealistic. Naruto has a child-like mind who wishes to be Hokage one day, despite being a talentless orphan from the hood. Unrealistic? Yeah. Idealistic? Absolutely.
Ichigo doesn't fall into this category. Neither do many anime characters. Some, like Blue Exorcist's Rin, have something to prove and must strive to prove it, despite difficulty.
Anime has a very lazy way of making a likable character, also...
Fifth, we have a normal perverted Japanese boy. This person is bland beyond belief and has no characterization. You see this guy in harem anime more than anything, and it is mind numbingly horrifying. Why do all the girls like this normal guy who has absolutely nothing going for him? Because now normal guys watching it can say "that's me."
This differs innately from the relatability thing because you aren't supposed to relate to him, you're supposed to BE him. He's what the anime director and writers think you are: bland, perverted, boring, and somewhat stupid.
It's an insult, really.
Yeah, this isn't an exhaustive list. I may have missed some ideas. If you know of a technique for anime that makes you like a character, please comment and let me know!
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Frank Gamer hosts the YouTube channel Frank Gamer. Please subscribe!
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