What qualities do you find and like when it comes to a shonen protagonist?

Personally, some of the good qualities that I prefer would be:
-being brave and courageous in the face of danger
-being honest to people and themselves
-some form of intelligence
-being honorable to their actions.

Well, that's all I have to say.

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Do you have any examples that fit these criteria? The intelligence remark is an interesting one, since for me the two characters that come to mind as being my favorite shounen protagonists are more or less considered idiots <_< (Onizuka from GTO and Luffy from One Piece).

As for my ideals for shounen protagonists, I would have to say that they just have to have a likable personality (which Luffy and Onizuka are prime examples of). The "hero" traits of honor, bravery, etc. have become so generic that while admirable, makes for usually generic reads.

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"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."
- Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain

People complain about characters being too powerful but also complain for being too weak.
People complain about people being too honest but also complain for being dishonest.

I guess only intelligence counts for anything...

Personally, I guess someone with a personality like Archer from Fate/Stay Night. (Sarcastic, Rude, Will do what's needed but is Compassionate). I guess, Onizuka from GTO could fit this as well...

And more or less, Powers/Skills should be like the beginning of Kekkaishi or Law of Ueki where they are powerful for how they use their skills rather than the skill itself being all powerful..


Last edited by blakraven66 at 9:33 am, Mar 20 2009

A character with balls, charisma, an almost plain personality and an special treat/quality/skill...
that's what makes a good shounen, not my favo, but the canonical one

more or less quiet, a bit on the dark side and smart, kind of like ogami from code breaker, and preferably not an idiot when it come to women...

The ideal shounen protagonist for me is a really sexy girl who kicks total ass. By example, Kurohime.


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badass

funny, but with a dark side to him . Like Train in Black Cat

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Doesn't matter as long as it's done good. Though the cliche shounen protagonist is kinda annoying. Like luffy.



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i like incomplete characters with nothing to do with what is going on and develop throughout the story and also the ones that give you chills when they are mad.

The only two things I really look in a character in the start is

- A flaw (in moderation)
If a character has no flaws he/she is boring, if he/she has too many he seems inadequate
- A Redeeming quality (in moderation)
If a character has no redeeming quality you feel less compelled to sympathies with him/her, if there are too many redeeming qualities he/she becomes perfection and becomes boring.

The character will also have to be somehow morally ambiguous, it makes sense, morality isn't an iron-clad thing if the character always does what people think is the good thing then he/she doesn't seem to have that aspect of humanity or self-determination. Sure you get some saints who wouldn't kill somebody whilst protection the towns people from a major threat. But that makes for a boring character, whos trying to teach kids watching to be good to everyone blah blah blah, I get it but I'm pretty sure I'm old enough to have my own moral values. (I know this is because Shounen is aimed at younger people)

Examples are Light Yagami from Death Note that personally believe that killing murderers is his rightful duty. Whilst you have pansies like Naruto who wouldn't kill somebody who tried to destroy his own village, but instead gave him a lecture about friends.

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