Forum - View topicIs it just me, or are most trios in anime the same?
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young98
 Posts: 68 Location: USA |
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Is it just me, or are most trios in anime the same? What i mean by that is that in all my time watching anime, it never got through to me that there are lots of trios in anime, or groups of three, whether it's the main characters, a group of friends, or 3 boys/girls. and in these groups of three, there is a goofy/outgoing person, a quiet/cool/sinister person, and the third is a shy/crybaby type. i don't know why i didn't get this till now, but i just happened to be watching anime, and i took notice of three personalities, which fit the description i just wrote down. other anime that have a similar situation are:
Naruto: Naruto-goofy/outgoing Sasuke-quiet/cool Sakura-crybaby (sometimes) Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji-crybaby/shy(kind of) Asuak-outgoing Rei-quiet/cool The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Haruhi-outgoing Mikuru-shy/crybaby Yuki-quiet The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (not a great example) Makoto-crybaby (the only one that cried) Kousuke-quiet/cool (cool yes, but more reserved than quiet maybe) Chiaki-outgoing (the most at least in the group, maybe) Kodomo no Jikan Rin-outgoing Kuro-quiet/sinister Mimi-shy and these are just from the anime that i've watched so far, so please, comment if you know more examples and help me prove my theory, or comment on why this anime formula exists |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Why yes, while your examples are more recent titles, stereotypical trios can date back to Ranma and Ah! My Goddess (note those two have Kikuko Inoue typecast).
Personality: gentle (yasashii) / tomboyish / introvert Hairstyle: long & flowing / short / tailed Breast size (*ahem*): huge / regular / flat ... ... ... "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" - Vulcan philosophy, Star Trek |
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NocturnalUX
 Posts: 448 Location: Portugal |
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The interesting thing is when the whole trio of personalities gets subverted. For example, in Vampire Princess Miyu we have a standard trio of girls who becomes attached to Miyu, there is a quiet and shy bookish girl with glasses, a tall tomboyish and a ditz that befriends Miyu right away. However, spoiler[the friendly and clumsy girl who becomes Miyu's friend turns out to be some sort of bird demon who is bound to destroy her. It is a rather horrible situation for Miyu who actually became attached to this girl. And quite a shock for the audience, too.]
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Vargen
 Posts: 8 Location: Sweden(Land of Pirates) |
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It makes sense. To me its similar to the static/dynamic definition of characters(some characters develop/change and others are just there to show a certain aspect/personality or such). Reminds me a lot of Jung and archetypes.
I think it is largely due to the fact that it makes the plot easier to progress and provides situations for the characters... |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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I would think that there are quite a few different character types that are applied to a certain number of people and groups within the anime world and while it looks kind of true in those series, doesn't necessarily mean it applies to all anime trios. Those might be just the few that you've seen.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16963 |
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Well if we assume that there is a trend and that there is real proof to support this formula then I would say it's a successful formula. Most shows you mentioned, and those mentioned by dormcat and others I can think of, have for the majority been very popular with fans. So if it is a real formula it seems to be a successful one in terms of fan popularity.
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young98
Posts: 68 Location: USA |
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that's true, i don't think this trio of personalities applies to all animes, the same way let's say the "hero's journey" archetype, isn't used in all shows or movies, but it is popular to use, i mentioned this trio thing because i just noticed it one day, and got to thinking that it was a pretty popular archetype being used in anime, and apparently it works quite well, as there's a balance of personalities, i mean i guess it would be annoying to have an anime full of just loud annoying people, or just shy people (boring) or all introverted/quiet people (even more boring) |
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bahamut623
 Posts: 1463 |
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Id, Ego, & Superego
In most fictional trios this could usually more or less be applied. In NGE, I think the trio was actually created with this in mind. A (very) simplified version might be: Id-Crazy, uninhibited loud type (Asuka) Ego-The "main" one, or the relatively normal one of the group (Shinji) Superego-Quite, introverted, thoughtful type (Rei) I'm sure I might be a little off, but that's a very broad idea of it, and like I said, some variation of this can easily be applied to most trios(anime or otherwise). |
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Theorys
Posts: 42 |
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You can always watch Welcome to the N.H.K.. When they work on that game they focus on the submissive maid vs. withdrawn alien vs. outgoing superstar that Japanese otaku simply can't get enough of. It sells well, but thankfully there does exist some original content out there that depicts girls a bit deeper than a robot maid that is working to be a rockstar. Strawberry Panic for instance comes to mind.
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KyuuA4
 Posts: 1361 Location: America, where anime and manga can be made |
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This phenomenon happens will all forms of storywriting. It's cheaper (less time) to develop "cookie cutter" characters, than completely devising a totally new character type. It's also risky to do so - as writers won't be able to cite any kind of audience response regarding a character type.
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Kruszer
 Posts: 7994 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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One word, Diversity. It's done to make things more interesting in storywriting for the viewer. When you have those 3 types of people you have 3 distinct ways of thinking and thus also 3 distinct ways of solving the same dillema. Lets say these 3 characters encounter the same problem, lets say....they come to a locked door which they really need to pass.
Character A would smash the door down Character B would not even be stupid enough to try and enter through the door and find another solution Character C would knock Also when you put these 3 character types togather they offen clash with each other which can also further the needs of the story creating humor, rivalry, jealousy or admiration among other things. Offen this is also done to "cover all the bases" to increase a shows ratings creating multiple options for characters the viewer/reader can identify with, respect, or relate to. |
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