Why is the protagonist so often the most boring character in their own show?

Why is the protagonist so often the most boring character in their own show?

To give the rest of the characters space to be interesting by contrast.

A lot of protags suffer from self-insert fever. It's not like cartoons or comics are any exception; people have been writing themselves into the story from Gilgamesh to Dante.

I don't think it's really that often, but when they are it's usually because they want the protagonist to be relatable, an everyman, or a blank slate, especially in something that's meant to appeal to a wide audience.

so you can project your 30 year old loser self unto them

what are some Sup Forums works were you consider the protagonist to be your favorite character? I can think of King of the Hill and Adventure Time for me

I really liked Aang, and he definitely fits the thread since I'd say he was the most interesting character in his show.

Rick and Morty and Johny Bravo

Wander Over Yonder for me.

I was going to say that, but there is no way Wander could be a better character than Hater. As much as I love wander, he is not THE GREATEST IN THE GALAXY

The protagonist doesn't have to be interesting. Their interest is very often subtextual. Their character exists to instigate plot moments and a move for the characters around them.
In my own view, I appreciate Main Characters just for bringing about the series. Sure, you may see them as uninteresting, but I feel that the series can't drive without them, and how the Main Character handles a matter is set up for a whole bunch of events that make the show itself interesting. EG, this kid isn't anything special opposed to the cast, but what he does is what makes the plot. His thoughts set off emotions and then actions, which depending on the actions will change how interesting the show is. Some episodes are shit because of the way he acts, some are just so damn great because of it.
Again the example here is a comedy cartoon so it's not meant to be interesting, just funny. But it can be captivating at moments.

You know the adage "villains act, heroes react" (and hence the villains are the drivers of the action and as such generally the more novel and thus interesting side?) I've usually seen that brought up as a scold against uninteresting, reactive heroes, and there can be some merit to that - but I don't think this situation exists because of a failure of our collective imagination; I think it goes down to a more fundamental level of what we think of as "good" versus "bad."

Because proactive characters ARE the ones who tend to be more interesting; they're the ones who do what they want and drive events. However, this makes them less PREDICTABLE than reactive characters, who mainly tend to follow rules - and if you know their rules, they're not going to startle you like a more willful proactive person one. But people LIKE to be 'startled' in stories, but not in real life - in real life, disturbances to your status quo are statistically likely to be for the worse. Good people follow rules, and as such are predictable, responsible, and safe.

Proactive people, on the other hand, are much more enthralling, but because they do MORE than just react and follow rules, that makes them seem more unpredictable (and/or your pick of unreliable, irresponsible, untrustworthy, dangerous, or bad.) If you want your main character to be more interesting, you're probably going to want to bump their proactivity up a bit - but not all the way, because that puts them in the realm of "seems crazy and dangerous."

Now, it IS possible to write characters who are both especially proactive and good/reliable, but it's a tricky strait to navigate; what I'm guessing it requires is giving them a lot of conscientiousness and wisdom (and writing smart/wise characters is tough!)

So if your protagonist is a Good Guy, that goodness will tend to come at the cost of proactivity, and thus they won't be as enthralling as they could be. Just the way things work - we think safety is good and also boring!

because you're a contrarian cuck bitch loser who doesn't identify with the main character (a winner), but rather with some chump ass background shitter who is just kinda there (like you).

adventure time for sure
also samurai jack

This. Couldn't make the success happen so you think you're better off identifying with the shitty background waifus that matter shit.

back ground characters officially BTFO

bingo.

OPetty absolutely btfo

delte this you fucking bully

gumball to be honest,
same

...

>also samurai jack
Samurai Jack basically only has 2.5 characters, though: Jack, Aku, and the Scotsman.

Even if you add Jack's parents due to the multiple flashbacks, it's still not exactly a competitive field.

You're just mad because you're show sucked, DK.

I will never understand why his voice is so young and light. DK should have a deep man's voice, he's a goddamn gorilla.

Megas XLR

SO MUCH THIS
Coop is an amazing character. (And also a rather unique one.)

There's no mystery to a MC. They can grow, but you pretty quickly lose any novelty or the sense of "I wanna see more" because, well, you do see more. They get overexposed and the viewer gets tired. It's why bit characters are so popular: you're left wanting more.

I mean, at least with his younger sounding voice he sings like an angel.

fucking B R U T A L .