Characters Meme

[mllelaurel]

Ganked from nevacaruso.

Ask me my opinion on any character from any fandom, and I will say. If I do not know the fandom, I will say what I think I know based on fannish osmosis.

Be warned that I tend to like characters more often than not. I'm just perverse that way. I'll try to answer in-depth, so as not to be boring.

Comments

[rampala-quistis.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Tell me your thoughts on our dear Nanami, from Shouji Kakumei Utena.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

What we have here is a rare case. When Nanami first appeared, I was kind of indifferent to her. Thought she was a brat, but assumed she'd improve. Then, we got the episode with the cat. It's damn hard for a character to make me loathe them, but Nanami managed to cross that line in that episode. I was told that she'd redeem herself later on in the series, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. And to an extent, that's what happened. I did warm up to her a bit, and I certainly felt quite bad for her by the end. However, I'm sorry to say there's a difference between 'feel sorry for' and 'like', and for me, Nanami never reached the 'like' point.

So I guess what it boils down to is that I understand where the girl is coming from, and can sympathize with her to a degree, but not much beyond that.

[wired-lizard.livejournal.com]

Ahahahha, Allen Schezar.

(You've seen all of Escaflowne, right?)

Because there are 20384928378 Allen-haters out there, and I'm wondering what you're opinion of the boy is.

(I am using this icon, not because it's related, but because I'm way the fuck too proud of it.)

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Yep, I've seen all of it.

And I actually liked Allen. On my first viewing this was because I was a wee lil fangirl, who fell for the knight in shining armor schtick, but as I got older, I got to like him precisely because he's not that. He's got faults. Hell, his faults have faults. But he managed to grow and do good things, even if some of those good things went boom in his face. He'll come through for those who need him, and that counts for a lot, as far as I'm concerned.

Yes, I'm being vague. This has to do with the fact that, while I've seen Escaflowne, it's been a damn long time since I've done so. I'm going by memory, and details aren't coming to me as easily as they should.

[nevacaruso.livejournal.com]

Right, then. As you so sagely pointed out, so many characters argh.

Here's one: Sarah from The Dead Zone (book version, since I don't know so much about the others).

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

When I started the book, I expected to be totally neutral on Sarah; thought she'd be the 'hero's girl', and that's it. But say what you will about Stephen King - he's smart about his characterization. Because there was a section from Sarah's point of view toward the beginning, I actually got to understand how her mind worked, and why she loved Johnny, specifically. And I liked that there was more to her than just that. She makes the tough decision not to leave her family, even though she's sure he loves Johnny. (And here's another reason to like her - conflict, but no waffling!)

She's a good person; life gave her a shit deal; and in the end I felt bad for her, but kind of respected and admired her as well.

[plotholeman.livejournal.com]

Oooh! Oooh! Gambit from X-Men! Do Gambit! Do Gambit!

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

There's two sides to Gambit: the loveable scoundrel, and the wangst bucket. One I quite like, the other I'm bored stiff by.

At his best, Gambit is a lot of fun. He does what he has to do, outsmarts his enemies, and occasionally gets his friends into unwieldy messes. Despite his flippant attitude, it's clear that his heart is more than in the right place, and he manages to charm the socks off the reader, as well as his fellow characters. I'll note here that I'm not saying this Gambit can't be serious. He very much can - he's just not the type to wallow in whatever miserable things his life dumps on him. For examples of the good stuff, see the 3rd Gambit series (written by Fabian Nicieza), and the one-shot somewhere in the teens of Ultimate X-men.

At his worst, Gambit becomes the stereotypical angsty prettyboy, who sits on rooftops and pines. I have the theory that he and Rogue have a joint mutant power - both are wonderful characters on their own, but put them together, and WANGST. This Gambit has all the fun sucked out of him. His life is misery, and his lovelife is sad, and woe is him. Woe is me is more like it. For reference, see the Trial of Gambit fiasco, or the recent bullpukey with 'Foxx'.

So, in summary: it depends on who's writing him. ...And this is just the professional stuff.

[iamnotacamwhore.livejournal.com]

Pao from G-On Riders, Seki from Sensei no Ojikan, or Beast Boy from Teen Titans.

Or all. Whatever. w00t.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

It's gonna have to be fannish osmosis, in this case. Lemme see what I can dig up.

[iamnotacamwhore.livejournal.com]

w00t, w00t! Osmosis!