This trend is seriously annoying and I wish it'd stop. But it won't so the best we can do is try to ignore the idiots or mock them when they're being especially wanky about it.
And why do people seem to think being an awesome fighter is the only way to be badass?
Seriously, Tohru's not a fighter, and she's probably the most badass character in the show. She approaches a hysterical Akito (who has a very, very sharp knife that she's already used to stab Kureno) knowing that Akito hates her and wants to stab her.
Nia doesn't really fight, but she stays alive for a whole week out of sheer willpower!
Nunnally is blind and crippled due to her father's manipulation of her memories. In the penultimate episode, she opens her eyes out of pure determination.
Misae Ikari is physically weak and laughs at Shonen Bat right to his face!
Kyon is the only really "normal" one in the S.O.S. Brigade. To protect Yuki, he threatens an alien god!
Seriously, people. Kicking peoples' asses is the only way to be a true badass?
I am kind of two minds about this. On the one hand, yes fighting is not necessary, but it seems that so many series basically relegate characters who don't fight/lay children's card games are relegated to either a) always being the damsels in the distress or b) just stand around and watch.
So it isn't because of fighting, but because people tend to prefer the characters who are "active" as opposed to those that are passive.
If I am watching a mecha series, I am for the most part going to be interested in those people who pilot or work on the mechs, and not so much the ones that just sit around.
Yeah I get that. It's worse when the actual writers treat the characters worse because of said things! Active characters are good. But it's definitely most annoying when even an active character gets pushed aside when they're trying to do things that don't involve the card games.
On the other hand, I can understand favoring the active characters, but to outright call the other characters names because they're simply inactive as opposed to ACTUALLY being written as a wimp.. bleh.
I think it depends on what those things are. I am not a fan of the card gaming genre, I am more into the mecha and shounen area where the main focus is on the fighting and the battles, so obviously that is where my attention is going to focus. If a nonfighting character isn't doing anything other then standing on the outside/needing to be rescued then yeah I get a little perturbed by that.
I can't say I hate those characters so much as I tend to ignore them.
Yeah I'm not really either, just as an example. Which makes me glad that in the mecha series I HAVE watched, even the support characters got a lot of time in the sun. (non-pilots/robots would get important emotional roles, etc)
I suppose that makes sense. But I don't know, sometimes it's necessary to have that one character in distress. As long as that's not ALL there is to them. And I'd hope that usually, it's not!
That, or there's characters like Gohan, who's a main character in a fighting series who fights pretty darn good, turns out to be more of a pacifist and gets a lot of flak for it.
Well, in a series focused on fighting, it annoys me when characters I like aren't given fighting skills (or less than 'the boys') because it means they usually are pushed to the background because they can't keep up*. On the other hand, I feel this way because:
1. I like the characters that the writers gave fewer mad skills, usually because of personality, and want to see them taking more of an active role and getting more screen time
( ... )
2. Thiiis. There's so many times when people blame a characters actual written-in placement on the story on the character instead of the writers. I mean, if the character is outright refusing to do anything, it's the character. But like you said, if ol' Main1 and Main2 are taking all the screen time... not much you can do.
Yeah. Or for game fandoms, things like stats in an RPG. The character has no control over his or her hit points -- that was a programing decision. And it's perfectly okay to say 'I don't like using that character in my party, because s/he's a weaker character' while still liking/being neutral towards/disliking for non-combat reasons the character's role in the story. I mean, god, in FFIX, there's a part where Garnet, the female lead is rendered mute by emotional trauma, and this makes her spells sometimes fail to work in fights -- since she's a mage-type character, this makes using her pretty chancy in battle, and another character can fill her role as white mage. Anyway, this drove me NUTS in fights, since it did make the game harder, all why I could see it working in the story though part of me wonders if some of it was magical feedback from the Big Damn Spell she cast right before.
It's often the characters not constantly involved in combat that I like most. Often they're more interesting, because there's more to them then "I most get stronger and defeat so-and-so" *goes back to training*
But seriously, they tend to get a lot of emotional development, which is something I enjoy. On the downside, sometimes I wish they'd get in the action more, especially if canon shows them as competent, but the writers just ignore them. That happens far too often with females.
It depends who the character is for me. But I know what you mean. I can't stand the hate Edward/Gilbert gets in FF4 fandom, though thankfully he's getting a small following for people who understand his spoony cuteness. ;;
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I think some people only like characters they can live vicariously through.
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Seriously, Tohru's not a fighter, and she's probably the most badass character in the show. She approaches a hysterical Akito (who has a very, very sharp knife that she's already used to stab Kureno) knowing that Akito hates her and wants to stab her.
Nia doesn't really fight, but she stays alive for a whole week out of sheer willpower!
Nunnally is blind and crippled due to her father's manipulation of her memories. In the penultimate episode, she opens her eyes out of pure determination.
Misae Ikari is physically weak and laughs at Shonen Bat right to his face!
Kyon is the only really "normal" one in the S.O.S. Brigade. To protect Yuki, he threatens an alien god!
Seriously, people. Kicking peoples' asses is the only way to be a true badass?
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So it isn't because of fighting, but because people tend to prefer the characters who are "active" as opposed to those that are passive.
If I am watching a mecha series, I am for the most part going to be interested in those people who pilot or work on the mechs, and not so much the ones that just sit around.
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On the other hand, I can understand favoring the active characters, but to outright call the other characters names because they're simply inactive as opposed to ACTUALLY being written as a wimp.. bleh.
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I can't say I hate those characters so much as I tend to ignore them.
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I suppose that makes sense. But I don't know, sometimes it's necessary to have that one character in distress. As long as that's not ALL there is to them. And I'd hope that usually, it's not!
That, or there's characters like Gohan, who's a main character in a fighting series who fights pretty darn good, turns out to be more of a pacifist and gets a lot of flak for it.
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1. I like the characters that the writers gave fewer mad skills, usually because of personality, and want to see them taking more of an active role and getting more screen time ( ... )
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But seriously, they tend to get a lot of emotional development, which is something I enjoy. On the downside, sometimes I wish they'd get in the action more, especially if canon shows them as competent, but the writers just ignore them. That happens far too often with females.
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