I'm an artist, not the most incredible artist when it comes to anime and manga style but I'm learning. Anyway I needed something to kill time and figured I take my love on manga and try to create something with it. Now I'm also a fairly good writer (at least good enough that when I was in HS my english teacher wanted to put on a play I'd written), but I'm good with big ideas and have trouble organizing them, which has been my biggest problem in wanting to work on my own fan manga. I can think of a story and scenarios but actually doing it page by page becomes much more difficult. Anyway I've decided to try to work on my idea and came up with something I'd like opinions on.

There is actually only one story idea I have but it varies greatly because I can't decide between two types of protagonist. I wither want to use a stereotypical nerd looking character with long hair covering his face and glasses, or a tall strong looking but very quiet guy. The idea is basically that the main character is misunderstood, in the nerd scenario on purpose, and in the tall guy scenario because he looks like a delinquent. The story itself revolves aorund the protagonist actually being very different from what he appears.

Nerd- He's actually very smart but is secretly very charismatic, personable, and can be very kind, but very crazy and violent too depending on the situation, as in he's a good guy who's not afraid to be the bad guy to protect other people. in this version of the story he's intentionally quiet and reserved in class because it would otherwise make it hard to move, and he's actually trying to make the school a paradise, he wants to protect everyone around him and keep everyone he meets happy, resorting to insane lengths to do so without being discovered.

Tough Guy- DElinquent looking guy is actually just a very strong guy who can't talk to people because he's too shy. But to those who he actually opens up to he is actually very kind and a bit of a romantic who can speak rather eloquently. He's also an art lover but is afraid to admit it as he doesn't think his hobbies are masculine enough and he's afraid of being ridiculed. Despite his timid nature though he will put all his reservations aside and do anything to protect people he cares about, or who are in trouble.

In the delinquent scenario there will be a sidekick character who is very small and weak who befriends him, who becomes his first real friend, I also want the love interest to be the sidekicks sister who believes the protagonist is bullying her brother and confronts him about it, he actually falls for her because he sees love for her little brother despite her tsundere character. Her misunderstanding of him and his good nature will be one of the sources of comedy in the series.

The overall plot will be pretty much a school-life, slice-of-life, romance, about the protagonist trying to be normal despite his appearance in the second one.

And though falling into the same categories the nerd one would be more about him trying to remain unidentified, and at the same time fighting with his own desire to be normal vs his self sacrificing nature, one of the issues being he wants to have a girlfriend but doesn't want to blow his cover thus seeing it as impossible. He's pretty much the coolest guy you could imagine pretending to be a nerd.

Also, when the nerdy guy wants to he can take of his glasses and change his hair and look like a completely different person, which he sometimes uses when he feels he has to personally confront someone and can't do it while hiding himself. Of course for the sake of the plot certain people would find out about him.

Would you read either of these?

had to direct link to image as it was to big
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r127/montblanc512/Image008.jpg

Favorite Manga:
Yu Yu Hakusho
Mx0
Midori no Hibi
That is all.

Neither of these really stand out to me. It's not that it's bad, just a kind of stereotypical. Both how the nerd is actually really cool and being able to change his appearance by taking off his glasses/changing his hair, and the Tough guy being shy and befriends a much weaker guy. They're both average in my opinion, but I suppose I would pick the tough guy scenario

i would also pick the tough guy scenario!!
i think its more realistic that way and also because i kindda hate tough guys pretending to be weak for the reater good or something like that...i think its cuter the other way around ...well thats from my p.o.v.
you really have some great ideas!! good luck with manga making or story stitching thing your gonna do!!! 😀

oh please do click this!
The sweeter the apple, the higher the branch. The quieter the fart, the nastier the smell.
GUESS WHO??

LONG HAIR NERD!!
Definetly that guy..... 😀
But the hair could be longer.... the others are right tho. It's cliché, but not bad. If the nerd falls in love and doesn't want to accept it (the big love should be strong, too and shouldn't fall for him...) and tries to hide it, it'I would definetly read it!

Well it's funny that they're stories that seem cliche but I'm trying to make them different, as in yet the plots not memorable, but the scenarios and characters will be.

As for the Nerd Idea, I'm having trouble explaining it a bit, It wont be a drama, the main character will be the sort that either always has everything in control, and it's the readers who would be wondering "WTF is he going to do now?" It could even be one of the series jokes that later on you'd find out that he rarely has plans in unexpected situations, he just wings it. Also, It would rarely be dramatic, I think it's to cliche to have the comedic character become serious when it counts and suddenly become badass, I'd rather have someone who always plays the idiot, and still gets things done. Also I'm trying to balance it a bit because I want the guy to be a plotter type, and since he can't be found out Its difficult to work with. A manga where the main character never really takes center stage but is always invoved in some way. I sort of want to make it one of those where the female lead says something about not liking weak or plain guys and has no interest in him, and instead of having him save her or something to find out, she starts getting suspicious when he gets beat up by delinquents, but then gets up and walks away like it was nothing, and slowly try to figure him out, not out of romantic feelings, but just because it's weird. There would definitely be a reveal near the end though, probably on a large scale.

Also the tough guy isn't really going to be a tough guy, just look that way. He is going to be strong though. and the reason the sidekick is needed is because lets face it, a manga where the main character is sort of alone emotionally, is just depressing. The sidekick wouldn't stay the weak little kid though, I soft of picture a character like kouma from Mixim12.

I also have another idea that's sort of out there but I like it, it's a little darker, but still has a lot of comedy.

The main character is a rape baby, he has an older, wanted sister, and his mother openly abuses him while his "father" tries to be kind but the main character knows he feels the same. Because of this when he's 6 his mother gets drunk and tries to kill him, and he runs away. However he doesn't want to break up the happy family they have with their daughter so he can't really go anywhere as if he tells anyone he's either going to be sent home or his mother will be arrested. Here's where the story gets a little out there (though I guess for an anime/manga it's not the craziest thing I've heard).
He is near death when he is found by a crooked cop/hitman who takes him in, and after hearing his story decides to raise him.

Time Skip

The manga begins when he returns to the town/city he ran from under a new name. He explains to his foster-father (who despite still working as a hitman has become much more humane in raising& training him) the reason is he wants to see how his "family" has been, and more importantly because he still loves his family he wants to protect his sister. He transfers into their school and is one year below his sister, and also discovers he has a grade school age younger sibling as well (still haven't decided the gender). He makes it his personal mission to protect them but at the same time keep his true identity secret because his siblings apparently don't remember him, and he also has some emotional scars making him fear his mother. They have grown into a happy family and he intends to keep it that way. Though he also still has his demons and completely loses control when a man attacks a woman in anyway. He seems to have self loathing issues as well, thinking he shouldn't exist, and wants to make sure no one is ever born like him again. He has a deep seated dislike of all men, himself and his foster father included, though he still appreciates his care.

I may go with this one because there are almost no manga that deal with this type of character. The overall plow would be him becoming close to his own family as a stranger, and coming to terms with his own self hatred. The minor plot arcs would deal with him protecting his sister (who has become very attractive) from men, who sometimes he should, and other times probably shouldn't. And one of the long running jokes would be him trying to convince his sister to become a lesbian. I also want to have an arc where someone else claiming to be him appears, trying to work his way into the family and being thwarted by the protagonist, though I haven't decided why yet. And I want one of the more emotional parts to be when he meets his mother again, and when he starts talking about his family (them not knowning he's talking about them) he says his mother hated him, she says something along the lines of, there's not a mother who hates her own child, which raises complex emotions in himself because he can still remember her trying to strangle him.

Another of the main cast would be his sisters best friend, who starts off as an enemy because she sees him as just another man trying to get close for perverse reasons. She is completely taken back however when he asks her to seduce his sister and they become friend/enemies who are always at odds with eachother. She becomes the only character to discover who he is and his real nature.
He is eventually revealed though towards the end, I'm still deciding on how though. I'm thinking the release of the rapist/biological father may be a part of it. I'm not sure how I want him to be though. I'm juggling between internal and external conflict at the end.

External would be the father is bitter about being locked away and wants to ruin the family, there's a big dramatic hostage situation, he gets into where they are and confronts his father who recognizes him as his son and says so in front of everyone before he is defeated by his son.

Internal would be that the father actually reflects and turns over a new leaf in prison, and returns to ask for forgiveness. At which the protagonist becomes extremely confused by the events because he wants more than anything to kill the man who made him and hurt his mother, but his family is more forgiving than he is and doesn't know what to do. I may have a dark ending where after everything is sorted out with the family, the protagonist confronts the father and punches him in the face before walking away. And the family becomes suspicious by how angry he seems to be over the whole situation.

The second situation is more realistic and dramatic, but the first is more entertaining overall. My biggest problem is how to let the reader know that the story, though dark, wouldn't be depressing. I mean theres a lot of drama, but at the same time there would be a lot of light comedy to balance it, and most the darkest events are in the past.

So, what do you think?

Favorite Manga:
Yu Yu Hakusho
Mx0
Midori no Hibi
That is all.

I really really like that scenario. Out there ideas are sometimes the best. Like you said you wanted the characters to memorable but not really the plot. I think this is better because both are unique

Neither senario really stands out, but:
-If you've thought it out this much, then I'm sure it would become something worth reading.
-Try not to worry about things like 'originality' and 'character depth' at the beginning. Seriously. Just start writing, and then you have concrete material to work with.
-Why not have a plot, scenario and characters that are all unique? I see no reason why you can't have all three 😛

Note: Going to post some of it online for us when you've started? puppy eyes

The nerd scenario seems strange, it would be interesting to see what his motivations for protecting people who beat him up are. From your general outline of characters, I think it would be interesting if you had the nerd and the tough guy meet or something like that. They both seem like they have the tendence of protecting people...but, that my opinion, I don't know how that would work.
The third scenario seems a bit more action-y than the other two.

It really depends on your demographic, I rather like the nerd scenario, just because. Don't worry about invoking clichés, if you really think it works, it's your work and you shouldn't worry about it.

First off, let me just say to everyone, Thank You so much for taking the time to read and respond, it's appreciated more than I can express through text alone. And also for providing actual constructive criticism.

azureblueinfinite, I wasn't thinking of a crossing of the two but I was actually planning on having a delinquent type character become one of the sidekicks in it. I was thinking of having something where the delinquent is introduced as sort of the honorable thug type, you know? like has no problem fighting gangs but never bullied the protagonist because he has no interest in extortion or anything, he just likes to fight and push himself. After the nerd actually beats him he becomes his underling, and closest friend. he wouldn't be a protagonist as much as someone who only shows up when there's a fight to be had, or when the nerdy guy calls on him. His violence would also be a source of dark inappropriate comedy. See the biggest problem with the crossover of those two actual characters is one is actively trying to hide his identity, while the other is just misunderstood, so they don't have the same intentions. Plus since I wanted the tough guys loneliness to be a source of drama i don't think it would fit with the romantic comedy idea of the nerd one.
...
crap, I got another idea... I'll spare you all unless you want to hear it... this is my biggest problem, I'm a huge daydreamer, and so coming up with a story and scenario only takes me a few minutes (well, it has to be developed of course, but actual character appearance and persona is usually instant).

Terpsichore, thanks. I'm trying not to worry to much about originality and instead focus on making just plain likable and enjoyable characters (nothing kills a manga for me like an annoying or dull protagonist).

And yes I would love too share what I do, i work with a tablet so It'll be instant once it's done but I have a little bit of an issue, I can draw characters pretty well, but some of the more dynamic scenes I imagine need some extreme angles I'm not comfortable with, so that and the actual placement of the panels is an issue for me, as If I settle it feels cheated. Unfortunately I have this huge mental block about looking at other artists works when drawing, I know everyone who's ever drawn takes something from something else, but I feel like I'm stealing, Also I'm only so-so with landscapes, so this wont be something finished for a while, especially since I'm a full time uni student as well.

ExzyruSxxx, thanks. your support is appreciated.

Lets talk styles for a bit. I'm not a pro, so I'm probably going to have to look at another manga series when I do the art to look for how an artist with said style would draw certain things. As I said this is hard for me to do but I'm not making a profit, and it's not illegal to another work as a model anyway. So I'm not sure which one I'd be going with first but the tough guy one is really feeling right to me right now. I'm not going to lie, my model was pretty much a more sensitive, less willing to fight chad from bleach. Not as huge, but still pretty well built, and mainly because I like characters where the hair is a little wavy and covers the eyes, which I also think would suit his introverted nature. but the actual drawing style wouldn't fit so I was thinking something more along the line of inoue kazurou's style (Midori no Hibi & Love Collage), as I like the simplicity but also enjoy the style in which he draws eyes and face shape, and also find the balance of humor and drama fits the same genre.

Opinoins?

Favorite Manga:
Yu Yu Hakusho
Mx0
Midori no Hibi
That is all.

Could you link a picture of the artwork because I don't think I've read either of those. I want to hear your other idea too, however I think you might just want to start drawing out a scenario. When I try to write something and my mind floods with ideas like youre describing, my original idea always seems to get lost somewhere. Or you could actually start drawing out the scenarios and see which one you like best. Sometimes stuff doesnt look as good on paper as it does in our heads.

More sensitive and less willing to fight then Chad? That's a pretty tough goal.