What makes a good MC?

What makes a good MC?

He has to be bland enough to self insert yourself as.

Being a cute girl.

Well... He should NOT be a loser.

But you know that seems too much to ask from the Wapanese animu industry.

Weaknesses? something that makes him seem human and reachable, unless the desired outcome is to make an escapist fantasy, then do what said.

Hits too close to home, huh?

There are people in the world who have been treated like slaves and shot when they rebelled.

FUCK YEAH I'm hurt, dogg!

Needs to be self-insertable.

Good personality. Not retarded and emo faggot like Subaru.

Also dont look like an effeminate woman. Maybe have some test. Hit the gym.

thats literally all you need to do

Depends entirely on the story you're trying to tell. If you took Oreki from Hyouka and put him in Evangelion you'd have a pretty shitty show.

Well I'm sorry to hear that

>self-insertable
>Good personality
>Not retarded
>Hit the gym

If he's going to be a loser, you could always grow up by the end. Its kind of beentheredonethat and every Western animated film has already done it but there isn't exactly wrong with it I think.

you forgot dont be an emo faggot

He needs to call women bitches.

...

I see 2 basic options:
a) extremely relatable/human (8man, Shinji, Kaiji etc.)
b) extremely entertaining/badass/cool (Light, Spike, Saitama)

How many eons did you wait to post this image

>extremely relatable
>Shinji

Obviously what is relatable depends on the person in question

Clear ambition and personality, they should be able to function just as well as a side character as they do as a main.

>God Tier
MC is the best thing about the show.
>Great Tier
MC is one of the best things about the show.
>Good Tier
You look forward to what the MC is up to each episode.
>Acceptable Tier
MC cannot be swapped out with another guy with similar powers/skills without changing the story
>Shit Tier
MC is entirely replacable.

A character doesn't always need to be relatable in every aspect and regard per se, but it is important, in my opinion, that the writer at least expresses and makes sense of where exactly the MC is coming from so that you can better understand them behind their actions and motivations. I want to be able to get behind that character and see what makes them tick. What drives them towards their goal, how they encounter and ultimately face roadblocks along the way, and how they deal with the consequences of their actions, if there are any.
Pure self insertion has always been a lazy form of writing in my opinion, and it's just so overdone at this point. It's just making the MC boring on purpose, instead of making them an actual character. Then again, this all really depends on the story being told, and I'm sure I'm more in the minority here. I have trouble articulating my thoughts.

Are you a furry

No

You can go the James Bond route of "uninteresting person that interesting things happen to", where they are the lens through which we experience the story and world, in which case they need to actually interact with the other characters and the setting in a meaningful way

Or you can have the protagonist be the agent of change itself, where their actiond and goals are what drive the story forward, in which case having a defined personality with strengths and weaknesses is needed.

I'm so fucking sick of "black haired, average-to-shitty grades, no social involvement beyond childhood friend (s), listless high school boy MC suddenly encounters PLOT_GIRL_1 which upends his life, leading him on a journey of self discovery and vicarious audience enjoyment"

Give me a protaginist deserving of the fucking title every once in a while for crying out loud.

>be manly
>pump and dump wife
>don't be tied down to marriage
>never be around your dumb kids
>lift at the gym and spend all day working out
>Spend everyday trying to fight strong opponents to improve yourself
This man right here. This man revolutionized anime by his mere presence. Western Civilization was in awe of the greatness of this series in the late 90s. Most of it was because of a great MC.

One that doesn't pussies out of his convictions, weak willed shit heads don't deserve to be protags.

>liking a jobber
You're not far from being a cuck

>What makes a good MC?

One that doesn't have a crippling trait/personality because "reasons"

My all time favorite MC's are from Hachiman, oreki from Hyouka, and Ayanokouji. That sort of writing associated with these guys just seems to indicate an interesting show, something enjoyable to watch, even with shtitty plot tropes. Does anyone know any more MC''s like that?

He's a manchild

>Even calls his mother a bitch
Jotaro is the best MC

Stoic Chad

All good MC's have a unique skill, cheeky banter and a touch of autism

Being cum

Who are your favorite MCs Sup Forums? This could answer the question

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Wanting to fuck your sister if she's hot. That's why Toru isn't a good MC.

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Nihilistic with a wicked sense of humor.

A motivation other than "to be the best" or "to lead a peaceful life." Christ I'm sick of those.

·Not A student
·Not a dense retard
·Not a pervert
·Not A cunt
·Relatable hobbies ang interests
·Has talent and skill.
·Has balls and fucks people up.

Pretty much this guy.

Yo I jack off on sleeping bitches too

The MC must have a useful perspective to the story. That is the only requirement.

They don't even have to be an interesting character. The MC from Great Gatsby is far from it, but he sees what the real characters are doing and that's enough.

An MC that actually makes me care about them and what they want to do. Not some sad generic sack of shit written as a placeholder to view other interesting characters and get their dick sucked

Is that the guy from Monmusu or am I a retard

You have no idea.

None of what you said explains Death Note. People can like characters without weaknesses without engaging in escapism.

my nigga mutta

favorite character period

That heavily depends on the medium.

In any case, he should not be an annoying edgelord.

The one thing I think he's missing is some sort of overarching drive or motivation. He really seems to just be doing stuff because he has to in order to get by and not let the girls down.

I literally don't understand the whole concept of "self-insert". I've been consuming books, anime, etc. for years and I've always viewed MC's as their own characters independent of myself. They're characters and I want to observe their story from the outside looking in - I personally have no desire to view their worlds from their perspectives. Am I doing anime wrong guys? Is the purpose of a self-insert MC to provide a placeholder for ones own imagination? I'm genuinely lost.

Considering the interesting proximity of these two responses I'll add a clarification. There's nothing wrong with an MC being a sadsack if there's a REASON to use such a character.

Going with the Gatsby example, it's important to the story that the MC doesn't know everything that's going on. If Gatsby was the MC the story wouldn't work. Therefore, Nick's perspective is useful to the story.

So, it's about planning and forethought. Actually putting insight into what kind of perspective the story needs, and making the character who suits it.

Yang Wenli and Taiichi Hiraga Keaton. I guess I like my MCs to be unaffected, soft-spoken, middle-aged intellectuals. Mutta, posted by , is pretty great too though.

THE ABILITY TO SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAM

REALLY LOOOOOOOOOOOOUD

ALL THE TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!

I've only been in Shinji's shoes on one or two occasions those were the only times I was genuinely lost at life.
There's no wrong way to use your imagination. Except if you're watching dubs. Or reading flipped manga.

>Not watching dubs at 1.5x speed while reading flipped manga

It's a meme term. Self-insert simply means that the character is written in a fashion that the audience can relate, e.g. writing for an otaku audience the character is often not extraordinarily handsome, inexperienced with girls and timid when interacting with them, sometimes hikki/NEET etc. so that the audience gets the impression that if they traded places with him, they could achieve the same or do even better. It's nothing special, just regular human empathy of rooting for the guy who resembles you the most.

Going on this, in that story, the MC is the narrator for whom he perceives to be the MC(Gatsby) in the story he lived through, it worked because Gatsby pushed most of the events in the books and Nick didn't know shit, Nick as well as the reader pieced everything together as it went on. He served a purpose by being the person the reader lives through, he had to be the MC so everything could stay interesting and we the reader could get a clear cut opinion on the shitty society and characters that populate the book. Maybe the MC doesn't need to be the best part of the story and just has to serve the story in the best possible way

>The MC must have a useful perspective to the story. That is the only requirement.
This.

Well from what I can gather from this, they're because they're kinda human and realistic, they just have that charm, not in the way that everyone will like, they're smart and competent, not that spergy I guess, and they serve a good purpose for the story, that's all the similarities I could get

>The MC must have a useful perspective to the story.
I would say interesting instead of useful but that is generally also the first thing I thought of.

moral ambiguity

the worst thing I know is when the MC always does what is right and always helps people in need and always tries to bring wrongdoers to justice and never dos anything wrong and doesn't have any vices and never does something selfish or irrational
it's boring, humans aren't like that

please don't call me edgy

To get back to Exibit A, isn't Shinji the opposite of a neet? A hotshot who is constantly losing physical and mental health because of reckless overachieving?

being smug about being a bad person makes the best MC

There is no such thing as universal "right" or "wrong" as people have different opinions on the matter. What you perceive as the "right" thing in one instance might be judged "wrong" by another. In that regard said MC might as well be morally ambiguous to others.

You must be 18 years old to use this site.

Mutta is the best MC and also my husbando

This. If a story doesn't have two (or seven) sides, it's not much of a story.

Personality, development and good "flow" (pic related or Onizuka from GTO)

He needs to earn his bitches.

a ridiculous hat

Being literally me.

>Funny
>Strong will
>Good personality
>slight pervert
>Alpha

intelligent, nihilistic and a wicked sense of humor?

doing
nothing
wrong

MC I like

Literally anything that isn't the abrasive, depressed twat in the back corner of the classroom. That stereotype ruins any anime its in.

He wasn't the MC tho.

Having relatable goals is the most important thing.I don't care if MC is loser or not if his motive is understandable and relatable.

Kazuma from Kaze no Stigma
Izayoi from Mondaiji

A good MC IMO needs to have a backbone, not flustered by being in risque situations, not fucking dense, and does not take shit from stuck up violent bitches.

>generic traits that any nice guy has
>also bland as fuck
Nah, you need to watch something else than haremshit.

He is an indecesive faggot though.

Arararagi is a close second though

A character that shows growth and consistency, one with a established and reasonable backbone but a backbone that can break. He/she needs to serve a larger part in the story other than "he/she is the MC". He/she also needs to have character, and traits you can distinguish from others i.e. substance, whether it be in execution or format in ways you can both agree and disagree with but ultimately acknowledge or understand. While cliche someone that is proactive and works hard even if they don't necessarily win but rather there is a chance to try. One that is driven by their vices or lack thereof is also nifty, with either the possibility to overcome them or sink deeper into them.

Best girl

You just mentioned his motivation

This.

Disappointed with the anime, but I still love this madman.

He needs to be 100% pure scum

MADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sounds like the Myers-Briggs INTJ personality type

he decided friendship over love

What? He definitely did something wrong. He didn't finish his masterpiece

Kyon-kun denwa

People I like.
People I am like.
People I want to think I am like.

Not really. The series is not over yet and he will have to make a decision.

...

What's his name?