Anime & Manga Secondary characters why do we love them so much?

[MasterD]

I think there it is no secret to any one that most of us love a certain secondary character/s more than we love the main one. In my case I like zoro more than I like Luffy, Vegeta and Piccolo(Junior) more than Goku, Itachi shikamaru and kakasi more than I like naruto you get my point. The only to exception are Gintoki and all the main players in gintama I like them all the same and the characters from Lupin the 3rd *the trio* also.

But why is that? Why are we so attracted by them?

Well let's analyze this 3 they all have something in common they are very childish and that because let-s face it this are series for a younger audience. Also the fact that they get so much screen time probably gets a bit tearing after a while.

While the secondary ch are a bit more mature, they have an aura of I don-t know how to say it > coolness. You see them struggle a bit more, they look like underdogs even though they are not and they don-t have the same amount of screen time, so when we see them we are happy. So this is why I believe we are attracted to them more than the main main.

Now for the 2 series that I said Gintama and Lupin the things that I said above don-t apply that much, because they were created for an audience that is a bit more mature and the screen time is divided quite equally between the main cast.

So let me know why do you think, if this applies to you, that we start we the main and we "fall in love" with the secondary ones.

 

[Vlad D. Impaler]

Yep, I like Vegeta and Zoro more than main protagonists. They're more prideful, Kickass and badass characters than the leading hero.
No other character in Dragonball has a growth more than Vegeta. He was introduced as a ruthless villain but he goes on to fighting frieza along with Z warriors, and eventually stays on earth as Goku's rival and ends up sacrificing his life for sake of his loved ones...
Goku has a one sided personality ( goofing around, eating and training) Vegeta on the other hand has a more multilateral character.

 

[RayanOO]

I think it depends what kind of show we have. If it is the classic shonen then yes : the main protagonist is often a nice little thing, brave, he has power ups, he saves the day, often believe in his friends, often not the smartest guy etc.

So yes : in Bleach, Naruto, My Hero Academia, DBZ and One piece the MC is not my favorite character and sometimes even boring. Even if among those MC I like some more than other : I like Luffy but he is not my favorite at all, I can't stand Naruto, and I am neutral toward Goku.

But in other shows more mature the MC can shine more and not be too much a cliche : I like Guts, I like Spike, I like Lupin (but I prefer Jigen or Zenigata), I like Eren (even if I prefer Jean) etc.

I think the more mature is the show the more human the MC can be. He can loose, be hurt have a real personality, make mistakes etc.

In typical shonen the target is little boys who want to see badass stuff and see the hero clapping villain asses , and it is normal at that age. I remember that I loved Goku when I was younger and even if he has still badass moments under his belt I don't really like him anymore.

A "classic" shonen that did quite well with its MC is Fullmetal Alchemist : it is more or less the same public than One piece, bleach, naruto etc and yes the MC saves the day etc but it was done well. It didn't force into our throat that the MC is some sort of supreme being, no friendship powers, the side cast can do as much than the MC and much, Edward even if he is a nice guy and a hero is not perfect etc. It's been a long time than I don't see FMA but its MC left me a good impression.

But even in FMA yes Mustang was cooler, Havoc, etc. But it can be explained by the fact that they are adults.

So all in all I can only agree with you that nowadays the MC of the big shonen are all done quite the same and if someone want to see a good MC he has to read more mature manga/anime.

 

[bluefire12]

Cause they're cool people with interesting lives and such

 

[Just a member]

Same as you, Vegeta, Zoro etc. Etc. Yet for Nardo Sasuke was just an emo whining little..

For Vegeta it was most likely his cockiness but that was also backed up, also it was marvellous how he played Namek saga: an evil mastermind who trolled a monster like Freeza and had his own game.. Until it was possible. Actually the watered version we get later pales in comparison with Namek (and Sajan saga) Vegeta. Also for sure I was rotting for him since all the effort he always put despite "the chosen" one was bounded to be stronger (like a week transformes in ssj has more value than an year of training in the room of spirit and time, yeah). Anyway this part is common to all secondary characters: they struggle like hell but deapite that they are always at least a step below the MC who on the other hand is shown struggling way less.

There are also not only merits of the secondary characters but also demerits of the MC for me. The MC is usually an always positive, wasy going kind of dude who no natter what he ends up always on the top. Some times this is even overexagerated and we get jesus characters like Naruto in part 2 (part 1 Nardo was already annoying but part 2 was ridicoulous).

It is like comparing Superman and Batman. Anyway this for sure is a tested formula since it has been used and overused through the years in a ton of different mangas so simply there is a portion of the audiance who gets glued by the MC while another portion gets glued by the secondary character and then there are the Sakura/Sanji fans

 

[Warchief Sanji D Goat]

I prefer Vegeta over Goku but I still mostly prefer main character over secondary character because of how well-build they are and their role is good as it is.

then there are the Sakura/Sanji fans

Team Sakura/Sanji for the win

 

[Just a member]

I prefer Vegeta over Goku but I still mostly prefer main character over secondary character because of how well-build they are and their role is good as it is.

Team Sakura/Sanji for the win

Tbh I like them both because the author is bullying them non stop even if in different ways. I don't need to explain Sanji but with Sakura Kishi made pretty much a female attracted to a character who treated her like trash and even physically hurt her, and he even made them end up together in the end.