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6 CommentsOkay I have a question for you regular anime watchers. Who the heck is "That Guy" in anime? In Fullmetal Alchemist it was Scar's older brother, in Honey and Clover it was Morita/Harada...the point is that these characters are all characters that the main character usually looks up too...kinda.
Common dialogue: "and I saw his eyes, yes they looked different from a normal person's eyes."
In the case of Morita/Harada, he is a man who has things come easily to him, in Naruto that person is Sasuke. But the one thing that constantly ties these characters together is that they are always admired by the main character and that you never really get to hear the story told from that character's point of view.
This of course has a weird implication. Who the fuck are they referring to and are these authors secretly aspiring to be like their awesome admirers? Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?
Michael
Written Dec. 11, 2007 / Report /
Maybe the authors write those characters after "that guy" who always hook up with his friends at home and the author is constantly trying to figure out how to be "that guy" but can't.
Ozone42
Written Dec. 11, 2007 / Report /
Your protagonist always needs someone to look up to (and possibly simultaneously be in conflict with.) I think this is more common with "damaged goods" protagonists.
Your general hero is a bit of an outcast, and a bit of an underdog. They have someone they identify with on some level that is beyond them in power, wisdom, experience. They strive to reach that goal... and generally find they can surpass it, or it wasn't the goal they thought it was as they themselves aquire wisdom, power, experience.
Sometimes it can go into conflict, sometimes the person is always a mentor. In star wars we have obi wan kenobi to luke. In the matrix we have morpheus to neo.
Ichigo has Kisuke, and possibly his father in some ways. Shinji has Gendo at least in the first part of the series. Vaan has his brother and father, as well as his teacher. In Nodame Cantabile Chiaki has TWO very different mentors.
Scrivs
Written Dec. 11, 2007 / Report /
Maybe I'm drawing a blank, but the animes that come to mind just don't seem to have that guy in them. Cowboy Bebop, Spike worships nobody, but wants his love back. Afro Samurai I guess you could say it was his dead father. GITS, the major has nobody, but everyone looks up to her.
jonez
Written Dec. 11, 2007 / Report /
For anime that's geared towards younger kids, the character that they most identify with still needs someone to idolize.
Go all the way back to Speed Racer. Pops was a joke, but Racer X was a mysterious nonconformist, that Speed tried (at least unconsciously) to emulate.
In Samurai Champloo, perhaps Mugen and Jet were each other's "That Guy"?
In the last GITS, the Major was tracking down her long-lost cybernetic friend, and couldn't quite rescue him in time. Maybe people occasionally loose "That Guy"?
It's an unattainable goal, a level of perfection never to be quite achieved. Perhaps its a renegade brand of conformity for non-conformist anti-heroes.
Michael
Written Dec. 11, 2007 / Report /
Yeah Scrivs, the ones you're talking about seem to be the exception to the rule. Cowboy Bebop/GITS was awesome.
Ozone42: yeah i suppose that anime is just like any other plot device but my point is that the main character for some reason or another never seems to "get there". or never knows how to tell the story from their point of view
Sorry I know I'm being vague.
Michael
Written Dec. 11, 2007 / Report /
Okay here's a good example. Skip around to 6:00 and you'll see what I'm talking about.
BTW if you guys have a chance to see Honey and Clover, it's a great show.