Robyn Paterson's Blog

The Three Central Questions A Good Story Should Answer

 

It’s long been understood that all good stories have a central question which binds them together, and depending on the story, this can be many things, but it’s usually some variation of “does the protagonist accomplish their goal?”

Does Harry Potter become a wizard?Does Luke become a hero and defeat the Empire?Does Luffy become King of the Pirates?

An easy way to spot this question is that when the question is answered, the story is over.

However, what Schechter presents here is another ...

The Four Archetypes Characters Go Through in Most Stories

I came across this video today, and I have to say I find the idea of the character shifting between archetypal roles as they go through their story fascinating.

The way he presents it, the character goes through four phases:

The Orphan (a character cut off from others)The Wanderer (a character seeking an answer)The Warrior (a character fighting against challenges)The Martyr (a character who is willing to sacrifice themselves for their goals)

Now, he shows this as a four-act structure situa...

Million Tag

This is interesting. In 2021, Shonen JUMP did a reality TV show in Japan which was a contest where they paired aspiring and talented manga artists with senior Shonen JUMP editors and had them compete to see who could produce the best manga. The winner got serialized and a Netflix sponsored anime of their work.

You can see the show here with English subtitles if you turn on the captions. (One note- the playlist is reverse order for some reason.)

Man vs. Duty – The Eastern Conflict

In 335 BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle in his book Poetics wrote that drama was based around four central conflicts:

Man vs. ManMan vs. SelfMan vs. NatureMan vs. Society

He believed that using these four conflicts, playwrights crafted tales which revealed the true nature of the human condition. And, that the hero of a play should be facing one of these central narrative conflicts as the central point of the story if the story was to be one which would stir audiences.

Unsurprisingly, thi...

The Troubled Soul Plot – The Manga Gold Standard?

There is no one shonen plot to rule them all, but there is a plot that has basically become a “gold standard” for shonen manga targeted at young adult males. This plot is an outgrowth of the philosophy that has evolved among the producers of such manga and been passed down to each generation of creator through the editorial staff and by reading the work of the previous generations. It is a plot which works time and again for the audiences of manga, and if creators are in need of a plot to wrap t...

The Lost Soul Plot – The Manga Gold Standard?

There is no one shonen plot to rule them all, but there is a plot that has basically become a “gold standard” for shonen manga targeted at young adult males. This plot is an outgrowth of the philosophy that has evolved among the producers of such manga and been passed down to each generation of creator through the editorial staff and by reading the work of the previous generations. It is a plot which works time and again for the audiences of manga, and if creators are in need of a plot to wrap t...

Why “Gap Moe” is the Japanese Term All Manga Creators Need to Know

The term “gap moe” is a hybrid English-Japanese term which uses the English word “gap” (the space between two objects) and the Japanese word “moe” (萌え, pronounced “mo-eh”, with a Canadian style “eh”) which is a slang term for “to create affectionate feelings.” Together, the phrase “gap moe” roughly means “to generate feelings of affection or interest through a gap.”

But what kind of gap?

And, why is it one of the most important phrases anyone who wants to make manga must know?

To answer the firs...

Comments are Working Again

I just noticed that the comments on my posts have been giving errors when people try and leave feedback. I found out it was a plugin that was causing the problem and disabling it did the trick. Sorry to any who have tried to leave comments on my posts but been able to for the past while.

Rob

Manga Monday: Oshi no Ko

[This is a running series where I share my thoughts on a different comic on Mondays, sometimes Manga, sometimes American, Chinese, Korean or UK comics. I read a huge amount of comics and thought I’d start to highlight some of the more interesting ones.]

Series Name: Oshi no Ko 

Author: Aka Akasaka

Artist: Mengo Yokoyari

Tags: Entertainment Industry, Drama, Mystery, Reincarnation

Target Audience: General Audience, Shonen

MICE Quotient: Milieu

Rob Rating: 10/10

Rob Synopsis:

Two megafans of a top...

Are All Popular Shonen Jump Heroes Trickster Archetypes?

There are a number of archetypes that pop up again and again in myths, legends, and fiction, and one of these is the Trickster character. This is a character who disobeys the rules and norms of conventional behavior and often lies, changes appearance, tells stories and generally acts in unpredictable ways. This is often contrasted with the Paragon archetype, which is someone who acts in ways which uphold the values of society and its ideals.

For a number of reasons, I’ve been thinking abo...