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In Your Opinion, What's the Best Type of Protagonist?

@Moriarty Consulting Detective forum 19 comments schedule
@Moriarty

Think of all your favorite stories. Think of your favorite books, graphic novels, or even anime, television series, or movies. Think of your favorite characters from each of them.

Are most of your favorites the protagonist?

If they aren't, do you wish they were the protagonist? If they are, what makes them your favorite?

All of these thought-provoking questions are meant to lead to the main question I proposed in the title of this threat.

What, in your opinion, is the best type of protagonist?

I know it will vary between genre and mediums. I know that any type of protagonist, if well-written, can be awesome. But I'm inquiring as to what types of protagonists you like to see most, and would like to see more of.

local_movies
@Dayzed local_movies

i'm a super huge fan of villain protagonists, or protagonists that at the very least are morally grey and lean more towards doing the "wrong thing" whether it's intentional or not.
generally, i just love characters that are doomed from the beginning, but even knowing that, they still try to break the narrative and do their best. sometimes that turns them into a better person which is great and all, but sometimes they give up and become bitter or just very very tired and figure to take the easier route (turning into a villain so to speak) and skjhdbfjhd i eat that shit up every time.
in short, i love reading the "villains" POV or a hero that turns into a villain by the end of the book. i'm infinitely more captivated by the villains even when there's a morally correct protagonist right beside them going through all sorts of trials.

i'd like to see more protagonists that aren't well-rounded as a person, give them rougher edges to the point where the reader doesn't know if they're the protagonist or the antagonist (if thats the vibe of the book you're going for).

the story i'm working on is exactly like this, just a group of very morally fucked characters that are very much the villains but are struggling to be better even if their methods of being "better" or doing the right thing aren't the best. (Spoiler alert: some of them don't make it mentally)
best example i can give of this is the show "The Boys". Butcher my beloved-

@Moriarty

My favorite personal concept I'm currently working on actually has a horrible person (an antagonist-type character) as the protagonist, so knowing I'm not the only one who is obsessed with those kinds of concepts makes me feel a lot better about this story and that someone else might actually like it, too.

local_movies
@Dayzed local_movies

jdsbghjdfg YES !! anything that is like that, i'd read in a heartbeat- you have got to share some more details with me when you're done with it and also if you're comfortable with doing do :)

public
@the-void-galactic public

I just love protagonists that don’t follow the general stereotype for whatever genre the book it. For example, I’m working on a dystopian fiction, but instead of a Katniss Everdeen-like female protagonist who can kick your ass (which I also love), my main character is a privileged rich boy who gets dragged into the rebellion somehow! And he really doesn’t want to be there but he has no choice <3

@Moriarty

I just love protagonists that don’t follow the general stereotype for whatever genre the book it. For example, I’m working on a dystopian fiction, but instead of a Katniss Everdeen-like female protagonist who can kick your ass (which I also love), my main character is a privileged rich boy who gets dragged into the rebellion somehow! And he really doesn’t want to be there but he has no choice <3

I love that!! (And as a Hunger Games + dystopian fan, I think that’s a pretty cool spin to do on that type of fiction). I would absolutely read a book like that

@Moriarty

jdsbghjdfg YES !! anything that is like that, i'd read in a heartbeat- you have got to share some more details with me when you're done with it and also if you're comfortable with doing do :)

yes please I’ve been so shy with my ideas I’ve hardly told a soul about them in the last seven years

local_movies
@Dayzed local_movies

haha would you like to talk more in dms maybe then? :0

public
@the-void-galactic public

I just love protagonists that don’t follow the general stereotype for whatever genre the book it. For example, I’m working on a dystopian fiction, but instead of a Katniss Everdeen-like female protagonist who can kick your ass (which I also love), my main character is a privileged rich boy who gets dragged into the rebellion somehow! And he really doesn’t want to be there but he has no choice <3

I love that!! (And as a Hunger Games + dystopian fan, I think that’s a pretty cool spin to do on that type of fiction). I would absolutely read a book like that

Well I’m hoping to publish it in the future, so maybe you will get to read it :D

@Moriarty

haha would you like to talk more in dms maybe then? :0

Yes! Dm sent!

@Moriarty

@ame-has-emotional-damage
I will absolutely read your book when you publish it.

public
@the-void-galactic public

@ame-has-emotional-damage
I will absolutely read your book when you publish it.

Nice to know I already have fans <3

group
@aekv group

i'm an absolute sucker for anti-hero/anti-villain protagonists. chaotic neutrals have my heart <3

@Moriarty

i'm an absolute sucker for anti-hero/anti-villain protagonists. chaotic neutrals have my heart <3

A person of culture, I see

person_off
Deleted user

I love characters that are just complete assholes. Little redeeming qualities. not evil just an asshole (like Howl from Howl's Moving Castle, the book specifically because the movie didnt do him justice or Moist from Going Postal). Only works if other characters dislike them because of it
Also female characters with actual personalities as opposed to stereotypes (stereotypes being "can kick your ass and that's it", no flaws/a few trivial flaws, et cetera)

@RaeYapper

The best protagonists are the ones that aren't supposed to be edead or are like dead ass some kind of divine mistake. They go through their story and people/monsters are like "wait you exists that wasn't supposed to happen" examples: Harry Potter, percy Jackson, katniss everdeen(volunteered wasn't supposed to be in the games originally)

group
@TouchOfColor group

I am fond of "active" protagonists. In many stories, the plot just sort of happens to the protagonist. They are the vessel through which the audience experiences the story. Though these can be great stories, the protagonist themselves may feel indistinct and they're not likely to be my favorite. When the protagonist takes actions that, for better or for worse, change the story's course of events, I am much more likely to be interested in them specifically as opposed to secondary characters or just the story in general.

@RaeYapper

The dead ones. I love killing off Protagonists because it's unexpected. You always think "Oh they're gonna be fine they wouldn't kill off the Protagonist" that's why I love doing it. Even if there is a loop hole like their contiousness is put in a robot but they are still technically dead. I love that shit.

@Moriarty

All of these are solid opinions, and I agree with them.

The active protagonists is a big one. I completely agree that a lot of stories, especially those written by more amateur writers (younger me had a bad habit of doing it myself) tend to, like you said, have everything happening to the protagonist rather than the protagonist themselves taking action and affecting the story. The protagonist needs to actually be important to the story for anyone to want to follow them. Plus, making the character have to face the consequences for their own actions can be a lot of fun when you write it correctly, and definitely makes the plot itself grow more interesting in my opinion. So I completely agree!!

And as for killing protagonists— absolutely, if it's done right. I don't like stories that just kill protagonists for the sake of it, but I do like it when stories kill a protagonist the right way and show the readers that none of the characters are as safe as they'd like to think. It makes the action and high-stakes situations actually feel like high-stakes situations, and to me, that's awesome. The Walking Dead (both the TV series and graphic novel) is a good example of this in my opinion, because so many characters that nobody ever could've expected to die are killed throughout the series (which characters depends on which medium, but both show you that your favorite characters are never safe). While it sucks that my favorites always end up dead, I also kind of like not knowing for sure that everybody's gonna make it out okay. It makes me more invested in what's happening and what could happen, and makes me genuinely afraid for the characters. And, since I know the writer is capable of being an absolutely menace, it has made me more invested in the characters in Invincible too because I'm like— crap, how do I know if these secondary characters I'm so invested in are actually gonna survive? I remember what he did to (no spoilers even though everybody who's gonna see it probably already has) in TWD so I'm not about to pretend like I'm trusting him while watching Invincible either. Plus killing off the main protagonist can be a great way to set up a different, unexpected character as a new protagonist, and let the dead protagonist's legacy sort of guide them, "passing on the torch" if you will, which I think is a cool way to write a story. So I agree and totally wish that more writers would utilize killing off protagonists. Raise the stakes!!