Holding Out for a Hero

[sakuratsukikage]

Another post in the "things I really like" series.  (For the record, when I say hero in these posts, I mean it as a term inclusive of both male and female characters--same with "good guys" and "bad guys.")

So, sometime in the 1980s, I think, though I'm not really sure, considering I was born then, it struck people that really, really flawed

Comments

[celen]

No no, it's okay! I can understand that, since there are still some comments that were left in some of my posts something like four months ago and I still haven't answered them (mainly because I'd feel idiotic, to answer after such a long while). :>

Haha, that's what I thought when I read your post! Because seriously, I read every sentence and went, "yes, that's exactly what I think, too" after every single one of them.

I've always really loved that it's the simple fact that Luke has faith in his father that's the catalyst for the climax of the whole trilogy. This, so much. It's so Luke, it's something no one else would have believed in, something they would think he's naïve for, and still he's just right at the end and nothing would've been possible if not for his unwavering faith in goodness.

I completely understand what you're talking about when you say it's the goodness of the character that ultimately makes you like them - it's the same for me: I don't mind if they're morally in the grey area, or whatever flaws they have, they just need to have one redeeming feature, be it love for someone or fondness for small animals or strong sense of justice, and I'll like them. If I can see that underneath the facade, there is a good person, a good heart, then there's nothing that keeps me from loving those characters. But as you said with Yagami Light as the example, I can't really like characters like that outside simply liking them as a well drawn character who I might deem interesting.

On the same note, I simply can't understand how flawed characters would automatically be more interesting than good people, especially as protagonists. I have nothing against a good flawed character as a supporting one, or an antihero for that matter, but as a protagonist, an antihero would have to be really, really well drawn for me to like them, if there's no common ground of morale or sense of right and wrong with me and them. I mean, again, Yagami Light is one of the most interesting characters ever, but at the end of the series, I thought he got just what he deserved (and that really tells how much I truly liked him).

As a contrast, there are so, so many good characters who just move me so much, like Tsuna from Reborn, or Luffy from One Piece, or Sam from LotR, to name a few - simply because of their faith in their friends, in goodness, in that there are some things worth fighting for (no matter if they don't strictly want to fight at all). Those characters evoke something else in us than just cold, clinical interest and morbid curiosity; they offer us something we can relate to, something we can read and say yes because we can't help but agree and admire and feel.

Thank you for writing your thoughts on this matter, and not finding my overly long comment tedious. ♥ I always enjoy talking about everything with you, and not simply because you could as well be voicing out my thoughts. So, here's to waiting for other similar posts (maybe about the antiheroes you like, as you mentioned above? :>).

[sakuratsukikage]

Yes, I know exactly what you mean, because I get the same feeling. Like . . . how weird will I look if I reply NOW. But I really did want to reply to your comment, so I did it anyway. XD

And I'm glad! This is awesome. XDD

It's so Luke, it's something no one else would have believed in, something they would think he's naïve for, and still he's just right at the end and nothing would've been possible if not for his unwavering faith in goodness.

Yes, just, exactly this. It all comes down to his inherent qualities, but in a way that no one would ever have expected, and that he sticks to his belief, naive or not, is what changes everything. I love that, so much--how it all depends on him, but not on him actually fighting or killing anyone.

And yes! That's exactly it. The redeeming feature, or the sense that at least they're TRYING, whether or not they're doing a good job, to be a good person, or inner vulnerability, or what have you, and they become one of those characters I can really care about. Exactly what you said here: If I can see that underneath the facade, there is a good person, a good heart, then there's nothing that keeps me from loving those characters. And I think Light can intrigue me because perhaps once he was a good person, but he loses that so quickly that it becomes academic, and as much as he might fascinate me, I also think that he gets what he deserves. And this, too--an antihero would have to be really, really well drawn for me to like them, if there's no common ground of morale or sense of right and wrong with me and them. You've summed up my own feelings really well here, again. Which is probably why those flawed characters or antiheroes I do like are usually those who have some sort of morality in common with me, whatever their flaws. And I do think they work better in supporting roles, especially in contrast with a really heroic hero, because that allows for more variety in depth of the morality of the work itself, without damaging the hero's credibility in his or her role. If that makes any sense.

And yes, exactly that. Seeing a person really try to do the good thing, to do what's right, to stand by their friends, it evokes so much more emotion in me. You want to see them succeed, and it can become so personal.

I never find overly long comments tedious, don't worry! Leave them whenever you feel like it, because I definitely enjoy talking about things with you, as well. I have the antihero post halfway written--now all I have to do is finish it. XD