Forum - View topicI am a badass who wanders the Earth with children...
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Raftina
 Posts: 3282 |
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...because I have nothing better to do!
Well, actually, there's most likely a good reason for this. The reason may or may not be immediately apparent. If it isn't, it's likely some dark secret past he has with the villain. If it is, it is likely still some dark past with the villain, but now he gets a chance for some character development to get out of the revenge fueled quest. Either way, there's a good chance that it has nothing to do with the children, who are likely point of view characters who allow the audience to relate better to the essentially alien mind of the main character or setting--like Watson from Sherlock Holmes, or the hobbits to Lord of the Rings. The earliest example that is likely to ring a bell with current anime fans is Fist of the North Star. Well, actually Black Jack is earlier, but the anime adaptations weren't. His past with the villain--or at least the first arc's villain--was not at all mysterious. I am also not sure how the bratty boy or the completely silent girl was at all helpful in understanding the embodiment of righteous fury that is Kenshiro. But hey, bad guys exploded. Fast forward more than two decades, and this formula is still reasonably popular. A well-known series of this type is Moribito, though in this case, the not so mysterious past provides the driving force for the protagonist to be with the kid. Some other reasonably well-known examples include Guin Saga, Sword of the Stranger, Claymore, Darker Than Black Season 2, and Utawarerewarererururumomono. Do you like shows that follow this basic mold? And if so, what is your favorite? And why do you like it? I sometimes have a bit of issue with these kind of series. The characterization of the protagonist tends to greatly affect how well I like the series itself. I like nice people. I tend to not like the attitude that's implicit in the term badass. Fortunately, many of these characters are merely stoic, not people with attitude problems. Thus, even if I do not find characters like Kenshiro interesting, they do not cause me to dislike the series like Hei. In fact, Fist of the North Star is my favorite anime of this mold, as watching the embodiment of righteous justice--well, post-apocalyptic wasteland vigilante righteous justice--making thugs explode is entertaining and satisfying. My most hated is Darker Than Black season 2, not only because of Hei's character but also because of the "WTF is that ending" reaction to the... well... ending. |
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Kruszer
 Posts: 7994 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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The specific mold, no, I can't really say I'm a fan of it. It really depends on a bunch of factors like the genre of the show, the characters, maturity level of the story, and how crucial a part the children play in it, whether or not I find it worthwhile or annoying. It works in some but fails in others.
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2267 |
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For me it really, really depends on the show. Sometimes the child is meant as a humanizing factor for the main protagonist (Raki or Clare in Claymore), sometimes cute sidekick (Pino in Ergo Proxy), sometimes primary motivation of main character as in protecting said child (The prince in Moribito or even Rihoko in Witchblade). If its handled well, I don't mind.
However, I'm not a big giant fan of this formula for three reasons. First its been done a lot in both movies and anime, so it is a bit worn. Second, I often don't like many of the child voices in dubs. I like Claymore the manga and the show, but every time Raki opened his mouth in the dub I wanted to kick the screen. Same goes with Rihoko in Witchblade where I found the seiyuu managed to keep sounding sweet while chiding Masane. Whereas in the dub Rihoko sounded like a total nag. Third I prefer the child to have some kind of role in the story, if the kid is just the team mascot I find that very annoying. I don't think I can say I have one specific show that I like this formula in more than others. I enjoyed Clare and Teresa's relationship in Claymore, I think that was the strongest part of the show. I enjoyed Pino following Vincent Law around and just brightening everything up (I thought the dub in that show was all around excellent). I also enjoyed Balsa's tough motherly relationship with the pampered Prince in Moribito. In Moribito I thought it worked very well, because the Prince had a role to play and he also grows up a bit under Balsa's tutelage. However, the show was not just about their relationship (it would have been very one dimensional then) but also Balsa's past and so much more. Anyways that's my two cents... |
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Unicorn_Blade
 Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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I am not a huge fan of children characters in anime. Not only because so often they turn out to be irritating buggers.
The perfect example was Eureka 7. I really wanted to drop the series because of the first 10 episodes. I knew there was a reason why the crew picked them up and Eureka took care of the, but sad their back story was, they were boring and hampering the plot development. In some cases, like Ergo Proxy I really did not mind, and in some thers, like Utawarerumono, I thought the whole thing sukced, so the children could not make it any worse. I think as long as the child character can demonstrate some sort logical thinking and are not an obstacle for the main characters, I don't mind if they tag along.
Uta.... ? 
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kiddtic
 Posts: 309 Location: Kitwe, Zambia |
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First of all one eye welcome to the forums
its always nice to see fresh participation.
I've never before this actually realised that this was a formula, it works pretty well considering Moribito is in my Top 10 anime. Sword of the Stranger and Ergo Proxy are also favourites of mine but all for different reasons. I usually tend to like the "child" character mostly because they are cute and stuff e.g Pino and Suou. But the story is what is most important to me. I guess the fact that I never recognised this as a formula just goes to show how littlle I consider the said formula. I still havnt seen enough anime like this to say its annoying or its unoriginal so I will continue to enjoy any more that are produced this way. |
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6592 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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I haven't seen any of the titles listed in the OP but you have provided an insight into another anime. In El Cazador de la Bruja I never understood why the bounty hunter Ricardo was always accompanied by the small girl Lirio. I guess it's part of an anime tradition I wasn't aware of.
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Toucanbird
Posts: 126 Location: Winona, Minnesota |
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There are a few examples I can think of...
Wolx Hound from Elemental Gelade wandering around with Tilel Selvatlos. Granted, we know the reason why for the most part...he's using her because of her Edel Raid powers but as you watch the anime, you start to get the feeling that he cares for her even though he treats her like garbage early on in the series. Another "strange" combo and this one I need to tap my memory banks on is Edward wandering around with Spike Spiegel and Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop. What is a happy-go-lucky tech savvy little girl doing wandering around with two badass bounty hunters? Not exactly the combo you'd expect to see but her usefulness certainly helps out Spike and Jet a lot. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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Many titles directed by Tomino involve having little children on board the shows' central warships. Let us not forget that the ships the children are on are usually involved in battle every episode or two, and even worse, the guy's nickname is "kill 'em all Tomino". I guess it was just his penchant, but it is grating nonetheless.
Of course, as Unicorn_Blade said, the kids in Eureka seveN are the perfect example of annoying brats. They are so far past annoying they've circled right round the planet to tolerable, and then past that to annoying yet again. Those kids are three of the many, many reasons I hate that show. But I digress. |
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Unicorn_Blade
Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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I have just picked up Solty Rei again (which reminded me why I dropped it in first place.)
Solty- a quintessence of what I strongly dislike in children character. I think the reason why Roy picks her up is because he lost a daughter, and why Solty can by no means replace her, he has a soft spot for her. Secondly, he is emotionally blackmailes into 'adopting' her. And Solty is one irritating bugger. What's this, what's that, what do you think, tell me, tell me. Oh, you big bully, you killed this nice person, I'll never forgive you. I am not too fond of this child like, simplified philosophy. It might be right, but put like this is a tad irritating. The series is only watchable thanks to Roy, the only sane person among the bunch. I sometimes feel sorry for him. |
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Kelly
Posts: 868 Location: New York City |
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Heh, like the thread title.
How about making it double with Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, where we have both a ninja with serious anger management issues and a suicidal magician running around with two teenage kids in love? Quite honestly, neither Kurogane and Fai are exactly people who should be around kids as Tsubasa begins for very different reasons, but watching them become what Syaoran and Sakura need is probably the most fascinating thing about Tsubasa. Their relationships juxtapose throughout the series, with Fai holding down the fort emotionally in the beginning until Kurogane's personality starts to temper and Kurogane stepping up when Fai starts to fall apart as the story progresses; Kurogane tending to be better at helping the kids deal with the hand they've been dealt realistically and Fai tending to be better if they need a hug or a shoulder to have a good cry on; and both in complete agreement, no matter what other disagreements they have, that no one messes with "their kids". They don't always make the right decisions, and there are things they should have handled differently, but that they love those kids as if they were their own is beyond doubt - and in turn that's why we love them as well. |
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Vracer111
 Posts: 194 |
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Unicorn_Blade, have you seen all of Solty Rei before? If not how many episodes in have you seen? I will say, though starting out as nothing special, it does a major turnaround almost midway through and excells all the way to the end, with one of the best twisted endings in all of Sci-Fi anime... probably Gonzo's best title. One of my favorite series.
I don't particularly look for wandering rogues with children titles, but a few I really like that fit the bill are Ergo Proxy (Pino...mostly cute in it's interactions with the humans and yet can be chilling sometimes as well), Gun X Sword (Wendy grows up a little through the journey while Van starts off just looking for the next meal ticket and and exacting revenge...but ends softening up because of Wendy and others influence), Sword of the Stranger (Backstory of Noname and the gradual acceptance of a friendship by Kotaro), and Moribito - Balsa/Chagum relationship seems to be a proper and mature Mother/son one...she is looking out for his care and best interest whether he likes it or not. |
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John Casey
 Posts: 1853 Location: In My Angry Center |
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I always wondered how Gene Starwind would wind up opening a mercenary/bodyguard/hitman/repairman business with an 11-year old kid.
No, having an IQ of 190 doesn't justify it. |
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Unicorn_Blade
Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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@Vracer111,
Someone already told me that Solty Rei gets better. Except I am not too fond of series that really suck for the first half only to have a twist somewhere near the middle. "Haha! Gotcha!". What can't they be good from the start? If not, why not make 12 great episodes instead of 12 ediocre and 12 good? I am almost halfway through and I really do hope it gets better, because the 1D characters are really getting on my nerves 
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v1cious
 Posts: 6235 Location: Houston, TX |
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Does Needless count? Adam Blade likes to roam around with children.
Try like 5 or 6 twists. Solty Rei got really good in the 2nd half. The slow start actually gave the show more impact, since you get to know the characters. |
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jsc315
 Posts: 925 |
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It's funny that you mention this. I hate this so much yet Black Jack and Fist of the North Star are two of my all time favorite series.
They rarely if ever actually help out much and a far cry from what the main character can to and yet they just annoy and get in the way and cause more trouble then if they never came along for the journey in the first place. All it is is a cheap plot token to add a diversion from the main plot and falsely add more to the story without having to actually change the plot and make the series longer and add filler. I also agree with you on the seacond season of Darker Than Black. I loved the 1st season. It's one of my all time favorite anime in the last 10 years. But the Addition of the kids in the 2nd season completely ruined and brought down the whole season. It completely devalued what was so amazing in the 1st season. Oh, I forgot some good examples are the original Gundam from the 70's and and Zeta Gundam. The kids were so damn annoying and frustrating and whiny that it completely takes you out of any enjoyment. |
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