expanded meme
Jan. 24th, 2008 10:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Yoinked from I forget who. I did not intend to spend all afternoon on this. Be aware that Darcy is verbose, scathing, and throws spoilers around.
Five Fictional Characters for Whom I have Neither Sympathy nor Liking:
1. One Piece: Foxy - This guy nearly destroyed OP for me. I can’t really get into the full depths of the issues I have with him because it would take too much space and is extremely upsetting, but... to deprive someone of choices is, I think, the worst thing a person can do. And he tricks people into doing that to their friends, and cheats and gloats on top of that. Gecko Moria does much the same thing, to a lesser extent, and when it came to the Nami-as-bride thing, it got to be too much. I can’t read the story any more.
2. Sailor Moon (manga): the Sailor Senshi - Actually, the whole story is pretty much an idiot plot. Sailor Moon is such a literarily important manga that I should read it, just to know it, but every time I try, I end up throwing the book at the wall in sheer frustration at these completely unbelievable, two-dimensional idiots who don’t grow, don’t learn, and don’t think. Why the senshi in particular and not the whole cast? The villains may be cliché evil more often than not, and they might not have much sense either, but they’re actually a little bit more believable.
3. The stereotypical seme - Much to my misfortune, I actually met one IRL. And it was scarring. What the hell, you asshole, no is no. And no, it’s not my fault that you want me so much you ‘can’t stop’. In fact, let’s throw in the weepy, helpless, stockholm-syndrome-y stereotypical uke in too. If you were actually plausible, I might sympathize with you, but you aren’t, so I’m just disgusted. God, someone get rid of the whole idea. It’s not helping anything.
4. Harry Potter: Voldemort - another guy who ruined the story for me. He was such a promising villain as Tom Riddle! Where did that go? Okay, fine, so he broke himself into little pieces and probably lost most of his personality that way, but I just... can’t respect him in Book 7. Or much of anyone, really, especially blindly-unforgiving!Lily. I have Issues with that book.
5. Hellsing: The Major - Okay, enough of bad characterization. The major is a believable (if somewhat exaggerated; but aren’t they all?) villain, and one I love to hate. Let’s see... coercive? Check. Gloating? Check. Forcing people to act against their natures/inclinations? Somewhat, but that’s not the point of his actions. He does horribly despicable things (or has them done) more because he can, and for what he can get from it, than because he gets a kick out of cheating. I still want to kill him, and then reduce the remains to their smallest particles and scatter them far and wide so he can’t possibly come back.
Five Fictional Characters for Whom I have Little/No Sympathy but Like Anyway:
1. Weiß Kreuz: Schuldich - Why the hell is this guy so likeable? He’s like the telepathic, sadistic, assassin version of Foxy, only without the whiney nobody-loves-me bit. Which probably is part of my answer. Schuldich is an utter bastard, but he’s aware of it, he makes no pretense to owning anyone, and he doesn’t expect you to like him for manipulating your best friend into fucking up your life. Also, WK is a much darker world; if he were an OP character, I’d probably hate him, especially if I didn’t get the chance to know and like him before the incident with the stereotypical seme. And he has a sense of humor.
2. Fullmetal Alchemist (manga): Envy - Likewise. He’s a brat, and he has power, and he hurts people, and he likes hurting people. That’s okay. He’s honest about it, and there’s no way he’ll exist IRL, so I’m not threatened by him the way I am by Foxy’s character.
3. Detective Conan: Vermouth - I admit, I have a soft spot for mysterious, powerful, casually cruel bad guys who enjoy themselves. That’s the ‘yay, Cthulhu!’ part of me. I also love that Vermouth can be so apparently contradictory without having to suffer teh angst. If I think her reasoning, motivation, and goals are pretty stupid, oh well.
4. Perfect Girl Evolution: Sunako - Oh, Sunako, you wonderfully morbid girl, you. You are such a welcome relief from all those highschooldrama girls. And the story is hilarious. But you’ve got to admit, “Oh woe, my crush (two years ago) rejected me (two years ago) because he said I was ugly (two years ago). Woe, woe, I don’t want to be a woman, woe,” is pretty ridiculous. Even if it is necessary to the plot.
5. xxxHOLiC: Yuuko - Yuuko doesn’t need my sympathy. And she’s a brat. But I like her anyway, especially when she’s being professional, or understanding.
Five Fictional Characters I Dislike, but for Whom I have Sympathy:
1. Sandman: Lyta Hall - Alright, so your baby got stolen. And you lost a large part of your life to the dreaming. You still massively overreacted, made some assumptions, got people killed, and opened the way for the Furies, which is never smart; and I never really liked you to begin with.
2. Diskworld: Mort - I could not read the book by the same name. Mort was just too irritating. Which is completely understandable, and typical of most teenagers... and also why I tend to avoid reading about them when they’re realistically portrayed.
3. Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show - “Sylvia’s Mother”: Mrs. Avery - Sylvia’s mother. Strange to have a character from a song in this list, but it still counts. Poor woman, you want your daughter to be happy, and you’re terribly upset over everything, but you’re still a party to breaking up her relationship with her boyfriend (the singer!POV) and sending her off to get married to a stranger.
4. Rurouni Kenshin - Enishi - Gee, obsessive much? And I’ve never really seen the point of revenge, but if it means that much to you...
5. Lilim Kiss - Souma - He was sad. He regretted sealing her up. He wanted it to go back to the way it was before. And he realized his mistake afterwards. He’s still a whiney brat who needs to grow up.
Five Fictional Characters I Want to Punch in the Face:
1. Ranma 1/2: nearly everyone - It’s not really dwelt on, but most of the cast of Ranma 1/2 is at least somewhat coercive. Genma and Soun make decisions for their offspring and try to enforce them; Nodoka holds a threat over her family’s heads, Kodachi, Tatewaki, and Kuno-papa are self-absorbed lunatics who take things to extremes; Cologne threatens, bribes, and drugs people to get what she wants; Shampoo and Ukyou do much the same, but also use guilt-tactics and are sexually pushy; Akane and Ryouga have rose-colored glasses; Nabiki weilds debt like a weapon; Ranma frequently manipulates his opponents’ emotions... None of these people really see beyond themselves or what they want. Happosai takes it a step further, serially sexually assaulting women, stealing their clothing, and leaving them feeling violated. In a manga, it’s funny, but in real life, it would be very, very sad.
2. Detective Conan: most BO, most minor characters, most girls - The murderers are idiots. Either their motive is ridiculous (and sad), or they’re all “mwahahaha, you’ll never catch me”. The accidental ones aren’t thinking clearly. The other minor characters tend to be irritatingly smug about how clever they are. As for the girls... I don’t think Gosho does girls well. I don’t find Ran as irritating as some do, but the whole waiting-for-Shinichi/suspecting-Conan thing is getting old. When she’s competent, she’s great. Otherwise, she’s mostly just a highschooldrama girl, with elements of Ranma!coersiveness. And I would like to smack most of the other girls. And the BO are badguys with no redeeming characteristics *shrug*. Conan is another series I’ve lost interest in following, mostly because I don’t like most of the people in it.
3. Final Fantasy VII: psycho!Sephiroth, Hojo - Hojo should work for the BO. They’d appreciate his inventions while still making it clear they had no qualms offing him if it ever came up. Eventually, they’d probably destroy each other through power-plays, and we’d all be glad. Jenova-crazed!Sephiroth (otherwise known as original-game!Sephiroth) is, um. Okay, how did he get from “oh noez, I’m a monster” to “I am god, I am better than all you traitorous peons, mwahahaha let me torture you”? He’s insane, yes, I get that. I even get that he might believe Hojo that his mother is Jenova, despite the fact that she looks nothing like him, her skin is blue-green-purple, and one of her eyes is located where her nipple should be. He’s not thinking clearly. I still don’t get how he goes from “monster” to “god”.
4. Death Note: dark!Light - I liked Light so much better when he didn’t remember the Death Note. He was earnest and, well, likable. After that, he just gets more and more unregenerately megalomaniacal, judgmental, and tyrannical. And psycho. Booooooring. Go back to being earnest and sincere and nice(ish) and detectiveish, you.
5. The stereotypical high school hazing group - Way overused. And mean, cliquey, unpleasant, etc. What's more, there's no arguing with them, because they refuse to listen. I generally abandon any story in which they make more than a very brief appearance.
Five Fictional Characters for Whom I have Neither Sympathy nor Liking:
1. One Piece: Foxy - This guy nearly destroyed OP for me. I can’t really get into the full depths of the issues I have with him because it would take too much space and is extremely upsetting, but... to deprive someone of choices is, I think, the worst thing a person can do. And he tricks people into doing that to their friends, and cheats and gloats on top of that. Gecko Moria does much the same thing, to a lesser extent, and when it came to the Nami-as-bride thing, it got to be too much. I can’t read the story any more.
2. Sailor Moon (manga): the Sailor Senshi - Actually, the whole story is pretty much an idiot plot. Sailor Moon is such a literarily important manga that I should read it, just to know it, but every time I try, I end up throwing the book at the wall in sheer frustration at these completely unbelievable, two-dimensional idiots who don’t grow, don’t learn, and don’t think. Why the senshi in particular and not the whole cast? The villains may be cliché evil more often than not, and they might not have much sense either, but they’re actually a little bit more believable.
3. The stereotypical seme - Much to my misfortune, I actually met one IRL. And it was scarring. What the hell, you asshole, no is no. And no, it’s not my fault that you want me so much you ‘can’t stop’. In fact, let’s throw in the weepy, helpless, stockholm-syndrome-y stereotypical uke in too. If you were actually plausible, I might sympathize with you, but you aren’t, so I’m just disgusted. God, someone get rid of the whole idea. It’s not helping anything.
4. Harry Potter: Voldemort - another guy who ruined the story for me. He was such a promising villain as Tom Riddle! Where did that go? Okay, fine, so he broke himself into little pieces and probably lost most of his personality that way, but I just... can’t respect him in Book 7. Or much of anyone, really, especially blindly-unforgiving!Lily. I have Issues with that book.
5. Hellsing: The Major - Okay, enough of bad characterization. The major is a believable (if somewhat exaggerated; but aren’t they all?) villain, and one I love to hate. Let’s see... coercive? Check. Gloating? Check. Forcing people to act against their natures/inclinations? Somewhat, but that’s not the point of his actions. He does horribly despicable things (or has them done) more because he can, and for what he can get from it, than because he gets a kick out of cheating. I still want to kill him, and then reduce the remains to their smallest particles and scatter them far and wide so he can’t possibly come back.
Five Fictional Characters for Whom I have Little/No Sympathy but Like Anyway:
1. Weiß Kreuz: Schuldich - Why the hell is this guy so likeable? He’s like the telepathic, sadistic, assassin version of Foxy, only without the whiney nobody-loves-me bit. Which probably is part of my answer. Schuldich is an utter bastard, but he’s aware of it, he makes no pretense to owning anyone, and he doesn’t expect you to like him for manipulating your best friend into fucking up your life. Also, WK is a much darker world; if he were an OP character, I’d probably hate him, especially if I didn’t get the chance to know and like him before the incident with the stereotypical seme. And he has a sense of humor.
2. Fullmetal Alchemist (manga): Envy - Likewise. He’s a brat, and he has power, and he hurts people, and he likes hurting people. That’s okay. He’s honest about it, and there’s no way he’ll exist IRL, so I’m not threatened by him the way I am by Foxy’s character.
3. Detective Conan: Vermouth - I admit, I have a soft spot for mysterious, powerful, casually cruel bad guys who enjoy themselves. That’s the ‘yay, Cthulhu!’ part of me. I also love that Vermouth can be so apparently contradictory without having to suffer teh angst. If I think her reasoning, motivation, and goals are pretty stupid, oh well.
4. Perfect Girl Evolution: Sunako - Oh, Sunako, you wonderfully morbid girl, you. You are such a welcome relief from all those highschooldrama girls. And the story is hilarious. But you’ve got to admit, “Oh woe, my crush (two years ago) rejected me (two years ago) because he said I was ugly (two years ago). Woe, woe, I don’t want to be a woman, woe,” is pretty ridiculous. Even if it is necessary to the plot.
5. xxxHOLiC: Yuuko - Yuuko doesn’t need my sympathy. And she’s a brat. But I like her anyway, especially when she’s being professional, or understanding.
Five Fictional Characters I Dislike, but for Whom I have Sympathy:
1. Sandman: Lyta Hall - Alright, so your baby got stolen. And you lost a large part of your life to the dreaming. You still massively overreacted, made some assumptions, got people killed, and opened the way for the Furies, which is never smart; and I never really liked you to begin with.
2. Diskworld: Mort - I could not read the book by the same name. Mort was just too irritating. Which is completely understandable, and typical of most teenagers... and also why I tend to avoid reading about them when they’re realistically portrayed.
3. Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show - “Sylvia’s Mother”: Mrs. Avery - Sylvia’s mother. Strange to have a character from a song in this list, but it still counts. Poor woman, you want your daughter to be happy, and you’re terribly upset over everything, but you’re still a party to breaking up her relationship with her boyfriend (the singer!POV) and sending her off to get married to a stranger.
4. Rurouni Kenshin - Enishi - Gee, obsessive much? And I’ve never really seen the point of revenge, but if it means that much to you...
5. Lilim Kiss - Souma - He was sad. He regretted sealing her up. He wanted it to go back to the way it was before. And he realized his mistake afterwards. He’s still a whiney brat who needs to grow up.
Five Fictional Characters I Want to Punch in the Face:
1. Ranma 1/2: nearly everyone - It’s not really dwelt on, but most of the cast of Ranma 1/2 is at least somewhat coercive. Genma and Soun make decisions for their offspring and try to enforce them; Nodoka holds a threat over her family’s heads, Kodachi, Tatewaki, and Kuno-papa are self-absorbed lunatics who take things to extremes; Cologne threatens, bribes, and drugs people to get what she wants; Shampoo and Ukyou do much the same, but also use guilt-tactics and are sexually pushy; Akane and Ryouga have rose-colored glasses; Nabiki weilds debt like a weapon; Ranma frequently manipulates his opponents’ emotions... None of these people really see beyond themselves or what they want. Happosai takes it a step further, serially sexually assaulting women, stealing their clothing, and leaving them feeling violated. In a manga, it’s funny, but in real life, it would be very, very sad.
2. Detective Conan: most BO, most minor characters, most girls - The murderers are idiots. Either their motive is ridiculous (and sad), or they’re all “mwahahaha, you’ll never catch me”. The accidental ones aren’t thinking clearly. The other minor characters tend to be irritatingly smug about how clever they are. As for the girls... I don’t think Gosho does girls well. I don’t find Ran as irritating as some do, but the whole waiting-for-Shinichi/suspecting-Conan thing is getting old. When she’s competent, she’s great. Otherwise, she’s mostly just a highschooldrama girl, with elements of Ranma!coersiveness. And I would like to smack most of the other girls. And the BO are badguys with no redeeming characteristics *shrug*. Conan is another series I’ve lost interest in following, mostly because I don’t like most of the people in it.
3. Final Fantasy VII: psycho!Sephiroth, Hojo - Hojo should work for the BO. They’d appreciate his inventions while still making it clear they had no qualms offing him if it ever came up. Eventually, they’d probably destroy each other through power-plays, and we’d all be glad. Jenova-crazed!Sephiroth (otherwise known as original-game!Sephiroth) is, um. Okay, how did he get from “oh noez, I’m a monster” to “I am god, I am better than all you traitorous peons, mwahahaha let me torture you”? He’s insane, yes, I get that. I even get that he might believe Hojo that his mother is Jenova, despite the fact that she looks nothing like him, her skin is blue-green-purple, and one of her eyes is located where her nipple should be. He’s not thinking clearly. I still don’t get how he goes from “monster” to “god”.
4. Death Note: dark!Light - I liked Light so much better when he didn’t remember the Death Note. He was earnest and, well, likable. After that, he just gets more and more unregenerately megalomaniacal, judgmental, and tyrannical. And psycho. Booooooring. Go back to being earnest and sincere and nice(ish) and detectiveish, you.
5. The stereotypical high school hazing group - Way overused. And mean, cliquey, unpleasant, etc. What's more, there's no arguing with them, because they refuse to listen. I generally abandon any story in which they make more than a very brief appearance.