An Empty Shell of a Man

[HeartVivian]

I'm sure that most of you have experienced the outrageous amount of anime, or rather not completely outrageous, but the numerous anime, particularly harems, that feature a male protagonist that seems completely helpless and undependable until the very last minute. Not to note any particular body parts this character could be lacking metaphorically, the lead is often predictably fragile and weak. In the case of harems, it's actually a surprise to me how he has even survived so long to meet up with the countless female following that seems to cling to him like glue.

The article found here lists some notable reasons for this constant backstep to the classic weak male lead. The most interesting, although somewhat bias since I am female, was that he stated how women are growing into prominent positions of society and the overused weak characteristic for the male protagonist is indicative of that. However it's doubtful that this is the reason behind why creators make anime with this typical archetype. As ValenceS2 says in his post, it is similar to how many movies share a theme. Perseverance, bravery, determination. So even with the same character basis, the changes in story and plot make up for anime's lack of differing main character types.

Anime, with this archetype in particular, seems to follow Joseph Campbell's Monomyth perfectly.


The point of this thread, is to ask for your opinions on this topic, and if you know anime that fit (quite a few) this bill or anime that break this norm.

[zherok]

I don't really see harems as fitting the monomyth. I think weak protagonists in them are meant to be avatar insertions, although that view has harem series creators with a rather low opinion of their viewers (or rather the eroge creators, since they're usually the source material.)

But plenty of shounen series where the main character is an idiot, or weak, or has a "null" power that essentially means he never quits. That fits the hero's call a lot better.

[Mcgreag]

Brave Story fits fairly well. Maybe not every single stage but overall.

[megido-rev.M]

Gintama and Mushi-Uta definitely do not fit.

Then we have Black Lagoon with Rock in it, and it doesn't really fit either.

[Bob2004]

I don't really see harems as fitting the monomyth. I think weak protagonists in them are meant to be avatar insertions, although that view has harem series creators with a rather low opinion of their viewers (or rather the eroge creators, since they're usually the source material.)

I believe this is the case, yes. And although you say that means creators have a low opinion of their audience, I'd argue that actually in terms of their core demographic (so not us western pirates), it's not too far off in a depressingly large number of cases. If you think of the stereotypical Japanese otaku, it fits that character model quite well, and it's a stereotype for a reason. Obviously the majority probably don't fit perfectly into that mould, but a large proportion of hardcore otaku are close enough to be able to easily relate.

The other probable reason, in my opinion, is escapism. Viewers want to have the feeling that such a weak, pathetic character can have so many girls fall in love with him, get a girlfriend, etc - because then surely they can too. Again, this applies more to the hardcore Japanese otaku than anyone else.

[zherok]

To be fair, it says as much about eroge creators as it does their intended audience. It's not a very positive inference no matter where you stand.

[Zalis116]

Yet when a character like Makoto Itou of School Days decides to act like a man and take advantage of the opportunities presented to him, everybody calls him a jerk/asshole/etc. I would agree with zherok's assessments that they are supposed to be blank slates for audience identification and self-assertion. The flip side of that is that if the producers want to move merchandise, they have to make the female characters dance a line between sexual attractiveness/willingness/availability and virginal demure pureness. Thus the need to make male leads overly passive/weak/scared, lest they create a Kannagi-esque "mai waifu has been defiled!!" situation. (And that was just from a backstory mention of the female lead having had an ex-boyfriend at some point in the past.) Other causes for indecisiveness include the challenges of adapting multi-route VNs or incomplete manga.

I would say that male harem leads fall into one of three molds:

1) The scared/weak/inexperienced/shy boy who is in some cases actually allergic to female contact. Examples include Love Hina, Girls Bravo, Hanaukyo Maid Team, Maburaho, Please Teacher, Onii-chan no koto, Sekirei, Omamori Himari, Vandread, and various others, often from the early/mid-00s.

2) The "indifferent/indecisive" lead who's either "above it all" or trying to eke out a normal life and normal relationships amidst all the crazy hijinks that surround him. Examples include Da Capo, Shuffle, Air, Kanon, Clannad, Happy Lesson, OniAi, DearS, Nyan Koi, and Please Twins -- these tend to come from the mid/late-00s.

3) The "aggressive/perverted" type who tends to be more traditionally masculine in stature and behavior. Most of them can't take things too far because of the constraints I mentioned above, but they are a bit better than the average. Examples include Yumeria, Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun, High School DxD, Princess Lover, Nakaimo, School Days, and Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero -- becoming more common in the late 00s/early 10s. If these broad trends over time are any indication, maybe we will see an evolution away from the wussy types.

Gintama and Mushi-Uta definitely do not fit.

Then we have Black Lagoon with Rock in it, and it doesn't really fit either.

None of which are harem anime, which are the main subject of discussion here.

When it comes to watching harem anime, I accept that they are wish-fulfillment, and try to appreciate the looks, personalities, and behaviors of the female characters without directly trying to identify with the male lead.

[ConsiderPhlebas]

How many thousands of these feeble guys do you want us to list? The most typical ones are just...

Harem-style characters that go a bit beyond the stereotype may be for example Touma from To Aru xxx.

It's fine if they actually try, but some are just hopeless people 

But most interesting anime characters are girls.

[jaybug]

That article was crap. It's called Demographics, and who is actually buying whatever is being sold. As an example, I don't know if you know or remember that until the 1980s it was 13 year old girls who controlled the US radio markets top 40 pop charts. How so? They went by sales of 45 rpm records, which 13 year old girls bought the most thereof. Seems odd that they were buying Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love, but whatever.

I mean guys have been guys for the most part, they haven't changed all that much. But this is the same reason 80s hair metal bands were such a rage back then. Chicks dug androgynous guys. Maybe it mad it okay for them to be the aggressor sexually speaking, I don't know.

[megido-rev.M]

(click to show/hide)

Yet when a character like Makoto Itou of School Days decides to act like a man and take advantage of the opportunities presented to him, everybody calls him a jerk/asshole/etc. I would agree with zherok's assessments that they are supposed to be blank slates for audience identification and self-assertion. The flip side of that is that if the producers want to move merchandise, they have to make the female characters dance a line between sexual attractiveness/willingness/availability and virginal demure pureness. Thus the need to make male leads overly passive/weak/scared, lest they create a Kannagi-esque "mai waifu has been defiled!!" situation. (And that was just from a backstory mention of the female lead having had an ex-boyfriend at some point in the past.) Other causes for indecisiveness include the challenges of adapting multi-route VNs or incomplete manga.

I would say that male harem leads fall into one of three molds:

1) The scared/weak/inexperienced/shy boy who is in some cases actually allergic to female contact. Examples include Love Hina, Girls Bravo, Hanaukyo Maid Team, Maburaho, Please Teacher, Onii-chan no koto, Sekirei, Omamori Himari, Vandread, and various others, often from the early/mid-00s.

2) The "indifferent/indecisive" lead who's either "above it all" or trying to eke out a normal life and normal relationships amidst all the crazy hijinks that surround him. Examples include Da Capo, Shuffle, Air, Kanon, Clannad, Happy Lesson, OniAi, DearS, Nyan Koi, and Please Twins -- these tend to come from the mid/late-00s.

3) The "aggressive/perverted" type who tends to be more traditionally masculine in stature and behavior. Most of them can't take things too far because of the constraints I mentioned above, but they are a bit better than the average. Examples include Yumeria, Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun, High School DxD, Princess Lover, Nakaimo, School Days, and Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero -- becoming more common in the late 00s/early 10s. If these broad trends over time are any indication, maybe we will see an evolution away from the wussy types.

Gintama and Mushi-Uta definitely do not fit.

Then we have Black Lagoon with Rock in it, and it doesn't really fit either.

None of which are harem anime, which are the main subject of discussion here.

When it comes to watching harem anime, I accept that they are wish-fulfillment, and try to appreciate the looks, personalities, and behaviors of the female characters without directly trying to identify with the male lead.

I would say it is quite more difficult to produce an appealing harem anime when the male character goes far off being a generic guy.
Can't really agree that personality traits inherently follow, as that greatly depends on plot-line elements as well.

[vuzedome]

Looks like someone has been watching too many harem + fantasy themed anime........

[EmptyMemory]

Exactly the point. They are liked.

The fuck? I hate this character archetype with a passion.

[zherok]

The fuck? I hate this character archetype with a passion.

I think it's less about liking the archetype and more it being so inoffensive and unimportant that you can entirely focus on the girls.

It's funny when you see poster art for those types of harem anime, and the protagonist isn't even on it. Even more common is how the VN/eroge doesn't voice any of the male characters. Often no portrait too. They're not even characters, just pure archetype.