Hated Characters
Since I've seen it already -- people starting to defend their dislike and hatred of characters with "Baa-Baa-Herd-Mentality" comebacks -- I'm wondering about something.
We're here because presumably we all know what it's like to be a fan of a character which the majority of the area of the fandom that we are familiar with gets repeatedly bashed, and we're tired of it. But do we have our own peeves against characters?
Do any of you have characters which you just can't stand, and are able to articulate why you don't care for them without resorting to the herd mentality of "She's a bitch!" "He's a jerk!" "She's narrow-minded!" and are able to cite examples when taking the whole series into effect? (Sometimes a character starts out one way, but over the course of a series or season, will change. You can't judge a character just based off the first few episodes or so and ignore the rest of it.) Can you think of any good points to that character?
For me, the closest example I can think of would be Sylphiel in Slayers. I wouldn't say I hate her, or even that I can't stand her. She just consistently strikes me as rather bland, and devoid of any real personality. She's boring to me. I don't like some of what I've seen of her; she strikes me as a person who, if I knew her IRL, I'd tolerate her company, but I wouldn't seek her out to hang out with. But I doubt I could bring myself to be nasty to her either, she does have a sweet and gentle nature. I actually don't mind her at all, but she doesn't seem to have any appeal to her, in my eyes. She comes across as borderline MarySueish, a bit too perfect to the point where she's boring. I strongly disliked Princess Millerna in Escaflowne for a good chunk of the series, because she came across like a Junior Leaguer in the early portion of the series, catty and backstabby, spoiled and selfish. However, she does improve toward the end, and grows up, and she IS intelligent.
Do you have any characters you don't like for reasons other than anything the character is actually responsible for? Example for me would be Phibrizo in Slayers. I know why I don't like him. It's not so much him as it is his appearance. He appears as, and acts like a very bratty child, and I cannot freakin' stand most kids at all, especially the brats who are allowed to run around like wild apes while their idiot wannabe-parents just ignore their antics and act like the world should be bubble-wrapped and g-rated "for the chyyyllllldrunnnn!" so they don't have to actually do anything about raising a decent child. He is a visual representation of damned near every reason behind my choice to become and remain ChildFree. But not all children evoke that reaction in me. I consider Prince Chid in Escaflowne a little sweetie. He's polite, well-mannered, intelligent -- everything I do like in a kid, and I actually wouldn't mind being around him. But if I were around a child that exhibited the same kind of surly, bratty, whiny attiude that Phibrizo put forth, I'd smack the little thing silly. I don't hate the character -- I just despise what he represents.
Discuss. Oh yeah, one last thing: No Flames. You might think I'm joking, but I assure, I am certainly not. If you are incapable of dealing with the possibility that someone might actually have valid personal reasons and opinions for disliking a character you like, and cannot present a mature counterpoint to something you feel they might have overlooked, pass this thread by. If you are determined to rant and bitch about hating so-and-so without being calm, mature, and intelligent about it and capable of explaining why, don't bother. If someone dislikes a character because of the portrayal in one medium (i.e., anime) and the character is portrayed differently in another (i.e., manga) which they haven't read, feel free to recommend it.
What I'm looking for here is some kind of understanding why people dislike certain characters -- and maybe even those of us who dislike a character will find ourselves reconsidering the reasons why, or at least seeing that they have more good points than we thought about initially. And maybe, upon being forced to think it over, we'd discover that if we do dislike a character, it's not necessarily because of that character directly, but our associations with the character.
Sign me,
-- Someone who used to detest Amelia in Slayers and Trish in Devil May Cry.
We're here because presumably we all know what it's like to be a fan of a character which the majority of the area of the fandom that we are familiar with gets repeatedly bashed, and we're tired of it. But do we have our own peeves against characters?
Do any of you have characters which you just can't stand, and are able to articulate why you don't care for them without resorting to the herd mentality of "She's a bitch!" "He's a jerk!" "She's narrow-minded!" and are able to cite examples when taking the whole series into effect? (Sometimes a character starts out one way, but over the course of a series or season, will change. You can't judge a character just based off the first few episodes or so and ignore the rest of it.) Can you think of any good points to that character?
For me, the closest example I can think of would be Sylphiel in Slayers. I wouldn't say I hate her, or even that I can't stand her. She just consistently strikes me as rather bland, and devoid of any real personality. She's boring to me. I don't like some of what I've seen of her; she strikes me as a person who, if I knew her IRL, I'd tolerate her company, but I wouldn't seek her out to hang out with. But I doubt I could bring myself to be nasty to her either, she does have a sweet and gentle nature. I actually don't mind her at all, but she doesn't seem to have any appeal to her, in my eyes. She comes across as borderline MarySueish, a bit too perfect to the point where she's boring. I strongly disliked Princess Millerna in Escaflowne for a good chunk of the series, because she came across like a Junior Leaguer in the early portion of the series, catty and backstabby, spoiled and selfish. However, she does improve toward the end, and grows up, and she IS intelligent.
Do you have any characters you don't like for reasons other than anything the character is actually responsible for? Example for me would be Phibrizo in Slayers. I know why I don't like him. It's not so much him as it is his appearance. He appears as, and acts like a very bratty child, and I cannot freakin' stand most kids at all, especially the brats who are allowed to run around like wild apes while their idiot wannabe-parents just ignore their antics and act like the world should be bubble-wrapped and g-rated "for the chyyyllllldrunnnn!" so they don't have to actually do anything about raising a decent child. He is a visual representation of damned near every reason behind my choice to become and remain ChildFree. But not all children evoke that reaction in me. I consider Prince Chid in Escaflowne a little sweetie. He's polite, well-mannered, intelligent -- everything I do like in a kid, and I actually wouldn't mind being around him. But if I were around a child that exhibited the same kind of surly, bratty, whiny attiude that Phibrizo put forth, I'd smack the little thing silly. I don't hate the character -- I just despise what he represents.
Discuss. Oh yeah, one last thing: No Flames. You might think I'm joking, but I assure, I am certainly not. If you are incapable of dealing with the possibility that someone might actually have valid personal reasons and opinions for disliking a character you like, and cannot present a mature counterpoint to something you feel they might have overlooked, pass this thread by. If you are determined to rant and bitch about hating so-and-so without being calm, mature, and intelligent about it and capable of explaining why, don't bother. If someone dislikes a character because of the portrayal in one medium (i.e., anime) and the character is portrayed differently in another (i.e., manga) which they haven't read, feel free to recommend it.
What I'm looking for here is some kind of understanding why people dislike certain characters -- and maybe even those of us who dislike a character will find ourselves reconsidering the reasons why, or at least seeing that they have more good points than we thought about initially. And maybe, upon being forced to think it over, we'd discover that if we do dislike a character, it's not necessarily because of that character directly, but our associations with the character.
Sign me,
-- Someone who used to detest Amelia in Slayers and Trish in Devil May Cry.