Well then, since I'm still off, I've had a lot of free time, still. And I've noticed; people sure like it when a story has memorable characterization. Some say the characters are what's most important in a story, be it a fictional story, or a real-life story.
And doing some analysis, I think there might be some truth to this. Take for example Final Fantasy 9, my favorite game in the FF franchise. That game has the best cast of characters for a FF game, surpassing the characters from FF4, 6, and 10, which is no small feat. Perhaps that's one reason I enjoy FF9 more than the others, because you got people like Zidane, Vivi, and Steiner.
Also, my favorite story in a videogame of all time is the one in Grim Fandango. One thing I've noticed about Grim Fandango is that I don't hate any of the characters. All of them are great, all of them. Again, that must mean something.
Now, this is something I mentioned elsewhere on the net, and something I still believe. Now, let us look at one of the worst tv shows of all time; Pokemon. Is there any character I like in Pokemon? No sir. Not a one. I hate EVERY-FUCKING-BODY in the Pokemon anime. Perhaps this explains why I feel physically disgusted every time I seen anything pertaining to the Pokemon anime these days.
So, when you're writing a story, you can't skip out on the characters. You can have an original setting and a great plot, but place forgettable characters and you'll lose the audience.
Why do I mention this? Well, this is because I took my mom's advice. I told her about the time I read the first volume of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, and she said, "If it's as good as you said, maybe you should buy it." And I was like, "But, starting another comic book series*, I don't think I can do that!"
*Remember, I don't use the terms, "manga" and "anime" in the real world.
Well, yesterday, I went back to the book store. And I started reading volume 2 of Tsubasa. After the first chapter, something clicked in my head and said, "Hey, Mom's right! This is good enough to own! Come on, would you rather spend your allowance on street drugs?" Of course not! So I bought some Tsubasa books, ladies and gentlemen. Anybody who dislikes CLAMP in general can stick it! They know their stuff! (Again, I am ignoring the character designs from Code Geass. Join with me in the denial, Internet, and then it should go away . . . . . . sometime . . .)
And you see, one of the things I like about Tsubasa are the characters. Both the major characters and the minor ones stick out in your mind. I like that.
However, because of this development, I am now taking a break from Bleach the manga. I went up to volume 12 of Bleach before (as of this writing) switching over to Tsubasa. Sorry, Ichigo, but it looks like some archaeologist kid has beaten you for the time being.
P.S. the anime version of Tsubasa SUCKS! Good god, they make the scenes like 16 times longer than they were in the manga! And sometimes, it felt more like I was watching a pop music video rather than a cartoon series! You really need to stick with the Tsubasa manga if you want something enjoyable.
