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OK. So, as a follow-up to this post, here's Gen 2 and miscellany:
( Trends, we have trends. )
I did this with the data Ammie gathered in part because I think that, if we're using art as a metric for character popularity in Japan, we do see some definite trends that aren't necessarily related to how well-written a character is, or how awesome a unit they are, or how big a role they have in the plot. All that seems to be a factor-- you don't see Alec with 150+ pieces of fanart in the archive-- but overall I kind of think the niche the character fills must matter a lot. Spunky sword princesses who remain suitably feminine? Yes. Dutiful reserved guys who'd meet with parental approval if you brought them home? Yes. Seliph, the temperate and malleable Perfect Boyfriend? Yes. Gracious all-forgiving magical girls? Yeah, that too-- with or without a side order of serious mental problems. There's just a shying away from extremes here-- away from the manly men and distinct alpha males, and likewise away from the "powerful" females who fit into a masculine role like Altenna and Briggid. And yet also away from the dancing girls and even the peg knights. Definitely away from all the colorful comical supporting characters-- as I said in a comment on the previous post, it's less about the nuts, flakes, and "crunchy" characters and more like a fandom embrace of, I don't know, a creamy, homogenous bowl of frozen vanilla custard.
Of course, since this is purely working with visual "secondary creations" I have to wonder how the fanfiction stats really go.
( Trends, we have trends. )
I did this with the data Ammie gathered in part because I think that, if we're using art as a metric for character popularity in Japan, we do see some definite trends that aren't necessarily related to how well-written a character is, or how awesome a unit they are, or how big a role they have in the plot. All that seems to be a factor-- you don't see Alec with 150+ pieces of fanart in the archive-- but overall I kind of think the niche the character fills must matter a lot. Spunky sword princesses who remain suitably feminine? Yes. Dutiful reserved guys who'd meet with parental approval if you brought them home? Yes. Seliph, the temperate and malleable Perfect Boyfriend? Yes. Gracious all-forgiving magical girls? Yeah, that too-- with or without a side order of serious mental problems. There's just a shying away from extremes here-- away from the manly men and distinct alpha males, and likewise away from the "powerful" females who fit into a masculine role like Altenna and Briggid. And yet also away from the dancing girls and even the peg knights. Definitely away from all the colorful comical supporting characters-- as I said in a comment on the previous post, it's less about the nuts, flakes, and "crunchy" characters and more like a fandom embrace of, I don't know, a creamy, homogenous bowl of frozen vanilla custard.
Of course, since this is purely working with visual "secondary creations" I have to wonder how the fanfiction stats really go.
