Quote of the day: The perfection of imperfection
About ten years ago, Masashi Kishimoto created theĀ manga series Naruto, about a young ninja with a dark secret. The series has been monumentally successful, selling tens of millions of books and spawning itsĀ own media empire. In anĀ LA Times interview, Kashimoto explains the appeal of this less-than-perfect lead character:
“Perfect heroes are cool, but no one can really empathize or identify with them. Naruto often makes blunders, and he has weaknesses. Naruto feels inferior to his peers, but he hates to be a loser. Although he doesn’t think about it too much, he knows he hates to lose, and we all know what that feels like. I think readers see themselves in Naruto, and that’s what appeals to them: They can empathize with him and his weaknesses.”
Excellent point to emphasize, Dan. Makes me think of other flawed heroes of comics and print fiction, e.g. Batman, Wolverine, and Meyer Landsman (of The Yiddish Policemen’s Union) and all the other hardboiled detectives.
Many of these folks are deeply isolated, to the point of being antisocial, which may speak to feelings of isolation in all of us. Plus they’re internally conflicted, self-absorbed, prone to fits of temper, et cetera. Readers identify with all of these traits because they see aspects of them in themselves — which may provide the necessary bridge to accept the unbelievable/fantasy parts of the story as something more than pure escapism.
I wish I could like Naruto, but its become so big, and I’m such a contrarian. LOL. I really dont understand ongoing anime’s, it kills the fun for me.