Most stories are about the main character doing something or falling in love with someone... However, I would like a story from a side character's or a bystander's perspective. Like, pretend the manga Naruto was of Rock Lee but was still all about Naruto's growth and accomplishments, or if Kiki's Delivery Service was from Osono's perspective. Anyone know a manga (or anime) like that? I've checked out Howl's Moving Castle which is kinda 2nd person-ish, but I don't know of any others.

Would you consider the Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi to fit your criterion? Kyon doesn't have special powers in the plot, and the plot usually revolves around Haruhi or one of the other characters with powers.

Also, regarding the subject of your post, I think that "secondary character" or "bystander" is closer to what you want to say.
1st person perspective is writing with "I".
2nd person uses "you" (rare in writing).
3rd person uses "he" or "she".

I was under the belief that it was 2nd person which used he and she, and 3rd which made the reader see through the character's eyes...

I started Haruhi but never finished, I suppose now is a good time as any to start over.

Edit: I know that many manga are second person but I'm mostly looking for an unrelated character. Howl's Moving Castle didn't quite fit what I was looking for because the main girl was so involved in the plot. I would have preferred to have her and Howl's story told by the little boy's perspective or something.

margaretman2 is correct. Your use of terminology is totally incorrect.

1st person = I "I ate an apple."
2nd person = You (think If on a winter's night a traveler) "You ate an apple"
3rd person = he/she/it "It ate an apple".

And then expanded to meet the entire narrative. So a first person narrative would be told entirely from an "I" perspective, while third person has varying degrees of obvious closeness (a perspective might settle on one particular character or jump around, for instance).


It's difficult to imagine a second person manga in that context.

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Now, on topic, it seems to me like you're asking for a manga told in a Great Gatsby sort of style, where the narrator isn't the protagonist. I guess we could stretch it and go for Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge, but that's still not quite right. Honestly, the whole objective narrator gimmick is usually relegated to episodic series like Mushishi. It's easier to maintain objectivity if the narrator moves on after a single episode.

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Ah, I really ought to consult my old English texts before I attempt a post. =P Thanks for the clarification.

Either way, I would like a manga about a side character. Someone who isn't really involved in the big events that happen to the hero, but is more of an audience in the distance. Hmm, it kinda makes me think of the beginning of Durarara!! where Mikado witnesses Shizuo and Izaya fighting, but Mikado is not part of the action. Something along those lines, if it even exists. ^^; Baccano! is another good example for sideline characters witnessing incredible events.

Also, no restrictions on any genre/category. I don't care if it's a kid's show, yaoi, about a sport, etc.

Last edited by TehShush at 8:17 pm, May 5 2012

I think it's extremely hard to find something really like that in manga. For its nature, it's easier to shift the point of view between multiple characters, which kills your request.

If you really want some recommendations, I can give them, but they're extremely limited. I agree with the point made about Haruhi, but it's more like Kyon would like to be a bystander in the story, while he's one of the main character in reality.
Boogiepop franchise I didn't read the manga, but in the novels and in the anime, the point of views are often shifted, so if you often get the story from the prospective of a lesser important character. Kind of similar to Baccano! on that. Or the character is simply unaware of his/her involvement .
Oreimo has a start similar at what you asked. You pretty much get the story about Kirino by the brother's prospective. But he becomes involved in her life pretty fast, in some parts he seems almost the protagonist.
Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan similar concept, totally different story and mood. But again, the involvement becomes pretty obvious fast.
In anime, Symphogear started like that (since it's Miku telling the story), but the point of view shifted to the main girl's one quite fast. Also, it's not something I'd reccomend to anyone.

Can't think of anything else right now, but they're still anyway a long shot, not exactly what you want.

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What I like in Trivial Pursuit style. Pick your category:

Otomen has a lot of that 2nd person pov moments
Koi dano Ai dano she likes to observe people
Heroine Shikkaku sort of. She thinks she is the heroine of a shoujo novel turned to life but she's wrong. There's that moment when she realized that she's not the main character of a love story and it's sort of in line with 2nd person pov i think

all shoujo so I dont know if you like it or not


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Gosick follows Haruhi in that the the narrator helps out and is the sidekick to the genius Victorique.
A significant amount of the first part of Claymore follows the weaker character around.

I think that you're more likely to find what you're looking for in spinoffs or fanfiction.

This is in line with what Reid1 mentioned about shifting perspective. Up until the 1900s, I believe it was less common to have the movie camera-type of view of a story. There was often a narrator employed to tell the entire story. In some cases, the narrator was the main character. Other times, the narrator happened to stumble across an eyewitness (Wuthering Heights) or a journal and relates the tale to the reader. And then there is the sidekick, typified by Dr. Watson, who relates the exploits of Sherlock Holmes. Having someone relate the story felt more natural to the readers back then.

With the advent of movies and TV, the audience became used to following the action themselves. There was no need to have a middle man all of the time. With a narrator, the story is constrained to how much the narrator can realistically know. Without that constraint, the camera can zip around from location to location and character to character. Unless that narrator serves a special purpose, it's simpler to dispense with the narrator and go directly to the action.

In the case of Haruhi, Kyon is not only the source of the perspective, but also serves as a reference point to normalcy in the midst of the madness. So unless there's a special purpose to have the story told by the sidekick or bystander, it's easier just to cut to the main character.