Do you want your toku heroes nice or aggressive?
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I'll only state for Super Sentai because I hardly watch any other genres these days.
heroes who are balanced, in a sense that they know when to be funny and when to be serious. OR, heroes who are cheerful and optimistic, but when it's go time, they become serious (Goseiger is a perfect example here).
I'll also state heroes which I dislike just for the fun of it.
arrogant or cocky heroes. are Marvelous and Luka the children of Kadoya Tsukasa or something? :sly: I don't even know what's the hype about Takeru (ShinkenRed). sure, he's a stoic and all, but everytime he appears onscreen with that expression, it convinces me that he doesn't have a personality at all instead. badass? I can't remember a moment he showed such trait.
heroes who are balanced, in a sense that they know when to be funny and when to be serious. OR, heroes who are cheerful and optimistic, but when it's go time, they become serious (Goseiger is a perfect example here).
I'll also state heroes which I dislike just for the fun of it.
arrogant or cocky heroes. are Marvelous and Luka the children of Kadoya Tsukasa or something? :sly: I don't even know what's the hype about Takeru (ShinkenRed). sure, he's a stoic and all, but everytime he appears onscreen with that expression, it convinces me that he doesn't have a personality at all instead. badass? I can't remember a moment he showed such trait.
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I guess it depends on what you mean by nice or aggressive. Offhand, I would simply say that my two favorite Riders of all time are Godai Yuuske and Minami Kotaro so I guess that kinda sums up my answer right there. I'm also inclined to agree with the protag fitting their respective show.
What I usually don't enjoy is the story trying to pass of an arrogant jerk as heroic and that his ego is supposed to be ok because he or she is just so gosh darn "badass". Now it's one thing if that's sort of the characters starting point and then they grow into something better over the course of the story but it's another if they're an arrogant jerk and the plot is kissing their ass.
What I usually don't enjoy is the story trying to pass of an arrogant jerk as heroic and that his ego is supposed to be ok because he or she is just so gosh darn "badass". Now it's one thing if that's sort of the characters starting point and then they grow into something better over the course of the story but it's another if they're an arrogant jerk and the plot is kissing their ass.
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I think I'm going to go with the "if it fits, it fits." crowd on this one. Adding however that I think there's a distinction in the realm of Kamen Rider. That being in the way of cast-size.
If you're doing something like Ryuki, where your Rider pool is very large, I think you can afford to not fine tune your protagonist quite as much, at least in the beginning, as he or she will have many foils and contrasts and other interactions with the rest of the Riders and cast. I think you can afford to characterize your protagonist a bit less because in a way it helps to act as a mirror to show off the rest of your cast to their full potential. Ryuki did this well I think by putting Shinji's bigger developments towards the end, after everyone else had had a chance to be highlighted. He still experienced significant growth along the way, but his personality still helped to show off the other people around him well.
If you're doing a smaller Rider pool? I think a more developed, more well-rounded and otherwise all-around personality is required. You don't have the sheer bodycount to help personify the concept of say, a psychotic Rider, so the next best thing is to maybe make your protagonist go berserk. *pours out a bowl of OOOs into his cereal bowl*
Okay, that was a bad joke. Gimmie a break. You know you eat the marshmallow Ankhs right out of the box 'cause they're so tasty. That's why I never get any!
*cough* anyway....I think I've rambled enough. Bottom line is that I think it depends on your cast and how big it is. A larger bodycount can allow you different freedoms in character creation than a smaller one.
If you're doing something like Ryuki, where your Rider pool is very large, I think you can afford to not fine tune your protagonist quite as much, at least in the beginning, as he or she will have many foils and contrasts and other interactions with the rest of the Riders and cast. I think you can afford to characterize your protagonist a bit less because in a way it helps to act as a mirror to show off the rest of your cast to their full potential. Ryuki did this well I think by putting Shinji's bigger developments towards the end, after everyone else had had a chance to be highlighted. He still experienced significant growth along the way, but his personality still helped to show off the other people around him well.
If you're doing a smaller Rider pool? I think a more developed, more well-rounded and otherwise all-around personality is required. You don't have the sheer bodycount to help personify the concept of say, a psychotic Rider, so the next best thing is to maybe make your protagonist go berserk. *pours out a bowl of OOOs into his cereal bowl*
Okay, that was a bad joke. Gimmie a break. You know you eat the marshmallow Ankhs right out of the box 'cause they're so tasty. That's why I never get any!
*cough* anyway....I think I've rambled enough. Bottom line is that I think it depends on your cast and how big it is. A larger bodycount can allow you different freedoms in character creation than a smaller one.
Thirded! I would also prefer to have a variation between each series honestly, even if the character was to be a character that I do not like, such as Ryotaro and Wataru.
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There's something to be said about Eiji.
He seems like the stereotypical goody-two-shoes, kind-hearted hero. But during the earlier episodes, the Fat Cat Yummy episodes, when Hina asked Eiji why he always tried to help everyone, he revealed that it's not really out of the "goodness of his heart", but because he doesn't want to feel guilty about it, so in other words, he helps for his own sake.
Now, some might see this as a stain in Eiji's white knight presentation, but to me it makes him a far more interesting character.
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I tend to gravitate towards riders who are anti-heroes, and riders who might be awkward in some way or less naturally gifted but fight as hard as they can regardless.
A few of my very favorite riders are Godai, Takumi, Kagami, Yuuto, Nago, and Shoutaro. Others I love include the Hoppers, Todoroki and Zanki, Tsukasa, and Kitaoka.
I have to agree that just about everything worked perfectly with Shoutaro. I feel like he's relatable on so many levels that just about anybody could really root for and be entertained by the character. I think Eiji is pretty likable, but he reminds me a lot of Godai, and he just isn't as awesome in comparison (yet).
A few of my very favorite riders are Godai, Takumi, Kagami, Yuuto, Nago, and Shoutaro. Others I love include the Hoppers, Todoroki and Zanki, Tsukasa, and Kitaoka.
I have to agree that just about everything worked perfectly with Shoutaro. I feel like he's relatable on so many levels that just about anybody could really root for and be entertained by the character. I think Eiji is pretty likable, but he reminds me a lot of Godai, and he just isn't as awesome in comparison (yet).
Nice post!!
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In retrospect, that stuff was pretty clearly setting up the stuff with Eiji's backstory in episode 32.
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I've always liked the good guys, the heroes. people always say that giving a character depth means he has to have a dark side or tragedy or whatever, and i have never felt that. Anyone can give into their dark side now and again. It's way harder for a 'good' character to stay good even when they are faced against the constant darkness that the villains throw at them.
Now don't get me wrong, this can go the other way and become a childrens cartoon; heroes who never lose any sense of themselves no matter what. But a guy who is a hero for heroic reasons.
I liked Tsukasa a lot, but he was very much the flawed hero, pushing people away so he didnt get hurt. Tendou is a bit more of a jerk, but not a heartless one. Really it was more massive arrogance than anything negative. Really it was Philip and Shotaro who epitomized a hero in the Rider series to me. Both just wanted to help people, both would do anything to save the other or another life, but both were relatively realistic about what needed to be done. I've only just started OOO's, but Eiji seems like another heroic character, but Im only 4 eps deep, o i don't know how much thee is to that.
Now don't get me wrong, this can go the other way and become a childrens cartoon; heroes who never lose any sense of themselves no matter what. But a guy who is a hero for heroic reasons.
I liked Tsukasa a lot, but he was very much the flawed hero, pushing people away so he didnt get hurt. Tendou is a bit more of a jerk, but not a heartless one. Really it was more massive arrogance than anything negative. Really it was Philip and Shotaro who epitomized a hero in the Rider series to me. Both just wanted to help people, both would do anything to save the other or another life, but both were relatively realistic about what needed to be done. I've only just started OOO's, but Eiji seems like another heroic character, but Im only 4 eps deep, o i don't know how much thee is to that.
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