Discussion Which type of mc is better

Discussion in 'Novel Discussion' started by Sourceofchaos, Nov 7, 2018.

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  1. Hero

  2. Antihero

  3. Villain

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  1. DiabolicGod

    DiabolicGod Well-known lazy Member

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    then think again without taking in overexposure if you may
    apparently you are a goody-two-shoes-fan then? or just a mary sue hater because of overexposure to them?
    it depends in no way on the amount of exposure, as long as you have read enough of every genre to be able to form a qualified opinion
     
  2. Houye

    Houye Well-Known Member

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    For me it all depends on how well the author can write the said character. I'm not fixed just on one type.
     
  3. Wizardus

    Wizardus Active Member

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    i don't mind the MC to be a villain ; i only want him to be logical not dumb and with strong willpower with real character development
    and it depends either calm,cautious and selfless or obssessive with unshakable heart and dreamer
     
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  4. Onamatopoeia

    Onamatopoeia Well-Known Member

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    I voted for antihero, and am surprised that it was the most popular choice.

    For me a rightous hero is too boring and generic. An antihero is more intriguing. He has both good intentions, but also circumstances that don't allow him to be flawless. Who in this world is flawless
     
  5. Sourceofchaos

    Sourceofchaos Well-Known Member

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    That the reason why l chose anti hero rather than hero or villain because most of the time they are described as idiot.
     
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  6. krossite

    krossite Active Member

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    What type of mc I like would depends on two things : what type of story it is and how they are written.

    Like how others have said, heroes do good things for good for the whole, anti heroes do good - questionable things for personal or the whole good , and villains do whatever (include good, but also bad, which stand out more) for personal or their group good (remember, villains don't just do evil thing because they are evil.they have proper reasons and often don't really saw themselves as villains, just doing what need to be done to get what they want. for example, robbers don't rob banks because they're evil, they just want to get a lot of money).

    So each have their strengths and weaknesses in their character and role. And it depends on authors to make them work within their story.

    Believable motivations and actions within the story's logics are more important than easily slap-on labels like hero,anti-hero and villain.
     
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  7. ToastedRossi

    ToastedRossi Well-Known Member

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    There is no such thing as best in writing in general, and that's especially true of the question in this thread. What kind of protagonist works best is going to depend on what the story is trying to do. Each can be effective in his own way but it should be kept in mind that this difference also affects how the book is going to be perceived. As such, I think that it's actually easier to write heroic protagonists followed by anti-heroes followed by villain protagonists.

    In a perfect world, villains would be the easiest to write because you can have them do anything without have to justify it. However, writers have to fight to keep the attention of their readers and this attention is not granted automatically. If you write a villain protagonist then you constantly run the risk of turning off readers for doing evil things. It's not quite as bad for anti-heroes, but they are still fundamentally bad people so it's not always easy to get the audience to sympathize with them.
     
  8. Maraderchik

    Maraderchik Well-Known Member

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    How is antihero became neutral one?
    Then Satou from Death March is antihero?:hmm:

    Btw i'm vote for hero, there just much more examples of hero MC so i read more novels with hero attitude protagonists...
    I see only one 'antihero' MC... And this is Ainz Ooal Gown.
     
  9. J4n1

    J4n1 Well-Known Member

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    Smart ones.
    I hate characters who are stupid and driven by emmotion, or who are supposed to be smart but written stupidly.
    Hero, anti hero, villain, anti villain, all is good if done well.
    Avoid hypocricy (or atleast make sure the character is intentionally/knowingly hypocritical, instead of just morally myopic writing), avoid stupidity (unless it is intentional and has consequences within story).

    Good villain should have something admireable to them, scope of vision, intellect, work ethic. Simply being evil for evils sake gets old fast, and too many kick the dog moments just make people stop reading (unless done in comedic fashion, comedic sociopathy can be fun).
    Good hero should have something relatable, a weakness, a hobby, a vice (even if under control), things that make them real outside being a hero. Simply being good because it is good (unless person is actually struggling to be good) is just as boring as mindless evil.

    Anti Hero or villain is just a hero or villain that loans something from the other side.
    Heroic goals but done through villainous methods, is the goals of a hero but often sought through heroic deeds.

    the https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvilVirtues has lot of good ideas on this.
     
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  10. GDLiZy

    GDLiZy Wise Deepsea Mermaid

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    Villains, they are usually not plagued with the hypocrisy of the anti-heroes and the naive of the heroes.
     
  11. Kadmos1

    Kadmos1 Well-Known Member

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    We have anti-heroes and sometimes anti-villains, but what is the line of differentiation for those two?
     
  12. Yolo Swag

    Yolo Swag Well-Known Member

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    Best mc is dumb mc. it gives a reason for the exposition and less facepalm from those "pretend genius" mc that show up. extra best if the characters in the story all point out that the mc is hopelessly retarded. good example of this is 'the crimson dragon'.
     
  13. Scholar Occult Cauldron

    Scholar Occult Cauldron Bonk Maestro | Ascended

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    Villain MC are great, since they aren't held to moral or ethical standards. Plus, if they manage to succeed they can dominate and rule the world without regard to the people's wishes.
     
  14. ludagad

    ludagad Addicted to escapist novels

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    Depends on the times. The most popular right now is the antihero type. I'm also into it. You get the edginess of the villain, but also have a chance at a happy ending.