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View Full Version : Genre cliches re: Hinjo



NeonRonin
2007-04-01, 12:49 AM
I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed it and said anything yet, but it only just struck me today. As far as genre conventions and cliches go, our favorite paladin Hinjo seems to be caught right in the midst of it... and when I say 'it', I mean this:

Hinjo is the quintessential action anime/manga/videogame hero figure. Ponder the evidence:

1: Spiky/mussed hair as compared to the majority of Azure City males. (Apparently a prerequisite for a male anime protagonist- Goku, Cloud Strife, Ichigo Kurosaki, for crying out loud even Shinji Ikari of Evangelion fame had slightly messy hair)

2: Thrust into a 'save the world' situation that he's not quite prepared for, involving a family catharsis. (Shojo's death and the invasion.)

3: Unique weapon. (Ok, I'm stretching it a bit here, but everyone's been pointing out his dark steel katana.)

4: Unique method of transport. (Some heroes have giant mecha, Hinjo has giant wolf of DOOM. :smallbiggrin: )

5: At least one, if not more, confrontations with a strong female lead(Miko). Seems like most anime heroes have to have at least one shouting match, sparring match, or deathmatch over a misunderstanding with a primary female character(especially one that has a cult following- I know you Miko lovers are out there).

6: Laid-back or generally friendly demeanor, or some other personality trait that endears the character to the audience. I haven't seen an anime protagonist YET that doesn't have something- no matter how small- to like about him. Or at the very least, makes him a sympathetic character.

There may be other points, I'm sure, but I haven't the time to explore further. My conclusion: Hinjo rocks because he's following the anime genre conventions to a T. Not that that's a bad thing, mind you.

Mewtarthio
2007-04-01, 12:53 AM
6: Laid-back or generally friendly demeanor, or some other personality trait that endears the character to the audience. I haven't seen an anime protagonist YET that doesn't have something- no matter how small- to like about him. Or at the very least, makes him a sympathetic character.

Isn't that kind of a feature of all protagonists (except poorly-written ones)?

Anyway, yeah, a whole bunch of unique features + strong leadership = cool character.

the_tick_rules
2007-04-01, 06:39 PM
he works for me.

BisectedBrioche
2007-04-01, 07:07 PM
Sounds more like CRPG clichés to me, but then again I don't watch any animes.

I am also intrigued to know what definition of "catharsis" your going by.

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-04-01, 07:15 PM
Isn't that kind of a feature of all protagonists (except poorly-written ones)?
Not if you're into hard-boiled pulp fiction. Characters like Sam Spade and Mike Hammer are meant to be either morally ambiguous or vile, sadistic bastards (respectively).

NeonRonin
2007-04-01, 08:09 PM
I am also intrigued to know what definition of "catharsis" your going by.

Perhaps I should have used the phrase 'family crisis' instead. My apologies.

Ronsian
2007-04-01, 08:15 PM
I get the idea Hinjo might be neutral good. His crown, is gray/blackish. His sword, is grayish/blackish. He is a frikin AWESOME dire wolf. Doesn't scream lawful, but is willing to help his people.

Querzis
2007-04-01, 08:20 PM
I get the idea Hinjo might be neutral good. His crown, is gray/blackish. His sword, is grayish/blackish. He is a frikin AWESOME dire wolf.

You can be cool and lawfull you know. In the strip where he give Belkar 1 years of prison or the strip where he react to Shojo lies he is really lawfull. By the way, what does the color of your sword and crown have to do with anything? Anyway, he is a paladin and he didnt fall so he is Lawfull Good.

Now about the OP:

1. True.

2. I would say he is pretty damn well prepared especially compared to Shinji. Beside, he already knew about the «save the world» stuff and he was already trying to protect it before Shojo died.

3. Well its just a black katana...really.

4. Unique? Sure its rare to hear about a paladin riding a wolf or dire wolf but I heard it before and I heard about lots of Druids, Barbarians, Rangers, Orcs and gobelins riding wolf or dire wolf and thats just in D&D. In warcraft, pretty much every orc has one wolf.

5. It wasnt really a misunderstanding, she was just totally insane. Beside, any important male character is going to fight a female eventually, it just happened soon with Hinjo.

6. Isnt that true with most of the characters in OOTS?

I think you right, Hinjo is a cliche, but I also think that any character you create right now as been created hundreds of time before so all the characters in OOTS and in every stories are cliche anyway.

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-04-02, 10:09 AM
4. Unique? Sure its rare to hear about a paladin riding a wolf or dire wolf but I heard it before and I heard about lots of Druids, Barbarians, Rangers, Orcs and gobelins riding wolf or dire wolf and thats just in D&D. In warcraft, pretty much every orc has one wolf.
Unique in a relative sense. "Unique" mecha have the same frequency throughout anime that giant wolf mounts have in swords and sorcery. But in a given series, there are only a limited number of people that have a mecha. Or in this case wolf.

Though there are exceptions. As you said, in Warcraft, wolves aren't unique. But this ain't Warcraft.

Baalzebub
2007-04-02, 11:01 AM
Hinjo rocks because of his devotion to protect his kingdom. He's still a newbie, but so far is doing a good job.

Silverlocke980
2007-04-02, 11:09 AM
I like the OP's idea!

I'll just add one thing to it: Hinjo is very strictly Lawful Good, so he doesn't fit the stereotype of the "rebellious do-gooder" common in many CRPGs.

Excellent note, particularly on his hair!

MinMax
2007-04-02, 08:04 PM
Remember people: Being laid-back and nice doesn't mean you can't be lawful. I don't know when it began to happen, but it seems like there's a distinct amount of people assuming lawful means acting like... well, Miko, actually. She is lawful, and so is Hinjo, despite how differently they act, or speak, or treat people. Under less stressful circumstances, Miko and Hinjo embrace the same ideals, Miko's just more zealous.

Abacab
2007-04-02, 08:18 PM
1: Spiky/mussed hair as compared to the majority of Azure City males. (Apparently a prerequisite for a male anime protagonist- Goku, Cloud Strife, Ichigo Kurosaki, for crying out loud even Shinji Ikari of Evangelion fame had slightly messy hair)


Look, I know I am being really picky, but I don't think Shinji really fits into that whole spiky-haired protagonist thing. You said he has slightly messy hair, but it's not really a hairstyle. I guess it was to make him seem more like a normal sixteen year old boy that's lazy, not to make him stand out and have trademark hair like Cloud or Ichigo.

It's not that I disagree with your point about Hinjo (or his cool hair) , I just felt the urge to point out something that really does not need to be mentioned.

Tengu
2007-04-03, 02:34 PM
Look, I know I am being really picky, but I don't think Shinji really fits into that whole spiky-haired protagonist thing. You said he has slightly messy hair, but it's not really a hairstyle. I guess it was to make him seem more like a normal sixteen year old boy that's lazy, not to make him stand out and have trademark hair like Cloud or Ichigo.


Shinji is fourteen, actually.

By the way, the only way Hinjo breaks the stereotype is that he has facial hair.

Innis Cabal
2007-04-03, 02:40 PM
which makes him LE

NeonRonin
2007-04-03, 06:55 PM
which makes him LE

Until I see a Hinjo twin without any facial hair, I'm going to take it as read that Hinjo is LG. It is my opinion that a ragged goatee does not an evil person make; it needs to be properly cut and stylized much like Nale's. It's all about the grooming when it comes to IDing evil beards.

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-04-03, 07:00 PM
I'll just add one thing to it: Hinjo is very strictly Lawful Good, so he doesn't fit the stereotype of the "rebellious do-gooder" common in many CRPGs.
Being Lawful doesn't mean you can't be rebellious.

After all, there are so many ways to be Lawful.

The primary reason he can't fit that stereotype right now is that it's hard to be the rebellious when you are the one calling the shots.

Drider
2007-04-03, 07:28 PM
The primary reason he can't fit that stereotype right now is that it's hard to be the rebellious when you are the one calling the shots.

Multiple personalitys, each being the same person, except switching between LE, CN, CG, and LG...but theres not much evidance supporting this

JonathanC
2007-04-03, 08:02 PM
6: Laid-back or generally friendly demeanor, or some other personality trait that endears the character to the audience. I haven't seen an anime protagonist YET that doesn't have something- no matter how small- to like about him. Or at the very least, makes him a sympathetic character.


Until the movie came out, Cloud Strife was not considered to be terribly likeable; in fact, most people preferred the insane, world-destroying villain of the game to the hero. I've also never liked Naruto; and in terms of fan-favorites, he is overshadowed by several members of his supporting cast. It's not all that uncommon.

Solo
2007-04-03, 10:49 PM
Until the movie came out, Cloud Strife was not considered to be terribly likeable; in fact, most people preferred the insane, world-destroying villain of the game to the hero. I've also never liked Naruto; and in terms of fan-favorites, he is overshadowed by several members of his supporting cast. It's not all that uncommon.

Mmmm.... Anko....

BisectedBrioche
2007-04-04, 10:09 AM
Hang on a moment, Hinjo's probably about 25. He's far to old to be a protagonist.

Jayabalard
2007-04-04, 10:14 AM
Hang on a moment, Hinjo's probably about 25. He's far to old to be a protagonist.there's no age limit on being a protagonist. A character could be 2000 years old (or more) and be a protagonist.

bluish_wolf
2007-04-04, 01:34 PM
there's no age limit on being a protagonist. A character could be 2000 years old (or more) and be a protagonist.

Stereotypically, RPG protagonists tend to be rather young.

Tengu
2007-04-04, 01:41 PM
Well, the characters in Disgaea are, from what I know, thousands of years old.
Though it's debatable can you call them protagonists.

Swordguy
2007-04-04, 01:46 PM
6: Laid-back or generally friendly demeanor, or some other personality trait that endears the character to the audience. I haven't seen an anime protagonist YET that doesn't have something- no matter how small- to like about him. Or at the very least, makes him a sympathetic character.


Shinji. Shinji has absolutely no redeeming qualities about him at all, nor is he in any way a likeable character.

jindra34
2007-04-04, 02:15 PM
Well, the characters in Disgaea are, from what I know, thousands of years old.
Though it's debatable can you call them protagonists.

They are antagonistic protagonists... wait that does not make sense:smallconfused: oh well...

Renegade Paladin
2007-04-04, 02:23 PM
I get the idea Hinjo might be neutral good. His crown, is gray/blackish. His sword, is grayish/blackish. He is a frikin AWESOME dire wolf. Doesn't scream lawful, but is willing to help his people.
He's a paladin, so... no.

Jayabalard
2007-04-04, 02:25 PM
Stereotypically, RPG protagonists tend to be rather young.The claim was that he's too old to be a protagonist, not a RPG protagonist.

Lazarus long is around 250 in Methuselah's Children, and over 2000 in parts of Time Enough for Love.

In a more RPG context: the visitor (the Avatar) from the Ultima series is kind of indeterminate age, but by the last game he had to be at least middle aged; he spends a fair bit of time in the real world between visits, and I think it mentions that it had been years since he had last been to Britannia in the intro to Ultima VI.