Selling many animes of the shounen genre, one ends up noticing a certain pattern after a while. All the main protagonists tend to have a very similar physical appearance, a very similar story, and very similar behavior, only varying in the degree of emotional intelligence, protagonism, and insolence.
In this article, I will present to you the basic recipe for how to create a main character in case one day you want to write your own shounen manga or perhaps create a shounen anime. Check out the items below to shape your protagonist so that he fits the pattern:
Table of Contents
Rule #1: Appearance and clothing style©
He should have spiky hair with bangs covering his eyes. The hair color is up to you, but if you want to stick to the standard, dye the hair blue, brown, red, or any other extravagant color.
Black or blonde hair is for background characters or secondary characters (Sasuke and Naruto being an exception).
The clothing doesn’t need to be very flashy (leave that for the main antagonist). When he is not at school (if it involves school), a simple t-shirt and jeans along with a pair of sneakers are enough.
Rule #2: My parents are dead or very useless©
Feel free to use and abuse this element. Originality is for fools. Now seriously, taking most protagonists who are orphans, you could already form a new unit of GAASP with them.
Don’t bother developing a family for this guy unless for flashbacks or short scenes because his parents must be dead or as useful as an ejection seat in a helicopter.
Rule #3: As delicate as an elephant©
The standard for every protagonist is to have a short fuse, to the point of wanting to pick a fight over little things. Dude, what is considered “normal” in anime would already be a reason to get admitted to a sanatorium in real life. Your protagonist should have the emotional intelligence of a 5-year-old.
Bonus points if he always makes decisions without thinking twice that end up yielding positive results. Otakus like impulsive behaviors that only work because of the plot.
Rule #4: A chair is smarter than this guy©
Besides the standard “sitting at the back of the classroom on the left and admiring the scenery outside instead of paying attention in class” (again, if it involves school), your protagonist has to be the worst student in the class or among the mediocre students. Remember, the more shounen it is, the dumber the protagonist will be.
It is generally implied that the reason for low grades is due to the adventures in which your character gets involved, but it can be observed that when they have free time, they do absolutely nothing.
If it focuses solely on fighting, with the protagonist as a guy who doesn’t live in society, make him very naive.
Rule #5: As deep as a plate©
His motivations, ideals, and philosophy of life will always be somewhat superficial and quite trivial. Unless you are writing a manga about a more abstract theme and not so shounen. In that case, the extreme opposite applies.
Rule #6: Protagonism is love, protagonism is life©
This is another important element in character building. Protagonism.
Basically, it is when the author shapes the plot in favor of the protagonist, even if he has to contradict the story and the rules he created himself.
Invent new techniques at the last minute, make the character get beaten like a street dog only to win the fight with a single blow, and don’t forget to buff him to the point of being overpowered.
It doesn’t matter how trained and prepared his opponent is, it doesn’t matter if the enemy has more battle experience than the protagonist who is a novice, he will always defeat the antagonist.
Regardless of whether the antagonist has a more lethal technique with less chance of survival, your protagonist will always survive. If he is injured or dies, there will always be the sidekick to heal or resurrect.
Rule #7: Persistence and insistence do not go hand in hand©
As a consequence of the fourth rule, your protagonist will never give up, regardless of the severity of the situation. However, he will always insist on the same mistake and worse, he will succeed. This applies to battles when the protagonist uses the same previous technique against the opponent he couldn’t defeat using said technique.
Rule #8: Romeo, Romeo. Why art thou, Romeo?©
Romance is the aspect where you will put your plot and character development skills to the test (especially in harem). And to pass the test, do the opposite of good development and elaboration.
Why develop a concrete romance? Why will you create a character compatible with your protagonist? Why make your protagonist stop stalling? WHY THE HELL will you listen to your fans, who have a better sense of shipping than you?
Just make him so stupid that he ignores or doesn’t realize when someone likes him. More shounen than that is impossible.
Rule #9: But, oh man, who art thou, that God replies?©
Your protagonist will always be right. Always. No matter how foolish he is or how much he doesn’t understand the context of the situation he is in, he will never be wrong. Anyone who contradicts him, no matter how much they know what they are doing, is either alienated or evil.
Follow these rules and you will have your shounen protagonist, ready to be part of yet another repetitive and clichéd work that differs nothing from other works. Have fun.
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