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Who in their right mind would vote for Kirito? He's nothing without being in the game. He lost to Suguha in a practice match because his skills in the game didn't translate to real life. Its between Tatsuya and Anos. I wouldn't blame folks for choosing the demon lord.

Rob19ny wrote:

He lost to Suguha in a practice match because his skills in the game didn't translate to real life.

I'm pretty sure that he was
a. recently out of the game at that point (and as such very out of shape)
b. only using 1 sword when he'd been using 2 for a while at that point.

and that he gave a not too bad showing given that Suguha has been training in Kendo for years.

He'd still lose in this, granted given that he's up against a demon lord and a guy who is literally based off a god (Shiva). Now I've not seen the demon lords anime, but I know Tatsuya could quite easily destroy the planet given a reason so... better idea - lets not have them fight.

I like earth. it's where I keep my stuff.

fyi all 3 have anime's this year so yay fun promotional event thing

T.Silver wrote:

mulletZERO wrote:

I get the idea that you need a good surrogate for the audience.

Except no one does that unless the character is relatable. In this case the only one here that might be is Kirito, while the other ones are Japanese batman/superman and a literal demon lord.

Main characters are generally meant to be relatable. Normal enough that we can relate to them but still indulging in power fantasies. They could be a regular salaryman or literally Satan himself; it's the author's job to make the reader relate to the MC in some way or another. There are obviously exceptions to the rule, but the three dudes featured in this article are poster chidren for self-insert MCs for the viewer to project himself onto.

My complaint is that they all look nearly identical. As an artist and writer myself, low-effort character design is one of my biggest pet peeves.

JonDoe sums it up pretty well further along in the thread:

JonDoe wrote:

Looking at how unoriginal those three guys are really gives me a greater sense of appreciation for characters like Subaru or Kazuma and Tanya Degurechaff. As well as making me respect any light novel author who tries to do something different with their protagonist rather than just regurgitating the same creatively bankrupt, self insert, Mary Sue we typically get in these sorts of stories.

mulletZERO wrote:

it's the author's job to make the reader relate to the MC in some way or another.

Yeah how about no. Its not a general rule for the MC to be relatable. And if the author doesn't make them relatable its not a failure on their part.

Quote:

but the three dudes featured in this article are poster chidren for self-insert MCs for the viewer to project himself onto.

Only by the people who dislike or despise these series, but if you ask actual fans if they self-insert or project themselves on to the main characters, the vast majority will say no. They aren't self-inserts, that's just a lie spread by people who don't like these characters, so they can further justify their own dislike for them and their fans.

T.Silver wrote:

so they can further justify their own dislike for them and their fans.

Ok, you got me there, I'm just salty.

Quote:

Yeah how about no. Its not a general rule for the MC to be relatable. And if the author doesn't make them relatable its not a failure on their part.

I don't think you're wrong about some of the things you mentioned, but I don't think I'm wrong either. Every writer, every story is different. And I don't think it would make them a "failure" either if the MC isn't relatable, it depends on the story, the authors intentions, etc.

I really don't want to argue with you because it's not a big deal, so let's just agree to disagree.
Have a nice day!

I think you're all missing a big part of the equation. Of the 3, who has the most well-adjusted life? Who's got a girlfriend and pseudo-daughter? Who's got a promising job on the cutting edge in a rising industry? Kirito is clearly the most powerful in terms of building a future for himself. He's not locked into a perpetual global magic war, where he's regarded as nothing more than a living nuclear weapon. Where he has to regard even his family as enemies. He doesn't have to worry about whatever demon shenanigans are gonna be going down in Misfit.

That is, if he ever comes out of his coma...

[quote="T.Silver"]

mulletZERO wrote:

Quote:

but the three dudes featured in this article are poster chidren for self-insert MCs for the viewer to project himself onto.

Only by the people who dislike or despise these series, but if you ask actual fans if they self-insert or project themselves on to the main characters, the vast majority will say no. They aren't self-inserts, that's just a lie spread by people who don't like these characters, so they can further justify their own dislike for them and their fans.

You do realize the "actual fans" who enjoy these works are the particular demographic that these sorts of light novels are meant to pander to right? It's why all these characters are so uninspired in their design and have the personality of wood planks. It's to make it easier for friendless otaku to project themselves onto. And calling someone who holds an opinion you don't agree with a "liar" is just silly.

The biggest reason behind why so many people hate these characters and the works they originate from is because they represent the very worst elements of male power fantasies. The kind of shallow, self indulgent stories where the MC is comically overpowered without having to put any real work in. Where they attract a large harem despite having an unremarkable personality. And were every other character simply exist to worship the ground the MC walks on.

In other words, these characters are hated on because they're all massive Gary Sues.

Tatsuya can spoiler[turn water molecules into nuclear explosions, create a restoring point on people, and thus reverse death, including his own, and is a genius inventor, all whilst being a Randian prick who gets (almost) all the girls, including a robot girl. Hell, he gets his sister, without facing any of the harsh tragedy you'd expect such a forbidden relationship to have.]

He wins. He's so powerful, he's unlikable.

mulletZERO wrote:

It bugs me that they all have practically the same haircut. I get the idea that you need a good surrogate for the audience, but a little more variety would be nice.

And the same style of attire too. They need their own Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Laughing

Based on a lot of the comments in here I'm assuming most people here are only familiar with these characters by means of the anime adaptations. People are saying that these 3 characters are pretty much exactly the same and that is nowhere near true.

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