Solo Leveling had an interesting concept about Sung losing himself as he became more powerful, but it wasn't explored at all so we can just get big fights. It really hurts the story towards the end because he stops being human at all and becomes an empty emotionless void

Clicked for character writing advice

Got a reality check of my insecurities

The thing about “emotionless characters” imo is that they ARE emotional, but they just process emotions differently, whether they struggle to express them or they purposefully suppress them.

Emotionless characters don’t lack emotion, in fact I’d say they’re FULL of emotion, but selective with how they show them

mob is a really good example of using emotionlessness to give the character emotions. itd take me a while to explain but the people who have finished the show probably get what i mean

The best way to train yourself to be free of cringe is to write fanfiction I think. Societally, fanfiction is somewhat treated as a joke or something to be embarrassed of, if it’s brought up at all.
But really, fanfiction is an excellent way to explore creative ideas and practice character writing. The characters are already there! You just gotta use them like dolls to tell the story you want to tell. In doing so, you learn how they interact with each other and the world and you learn how to stretch them to cleanly fit the narrative you want. I would argue that fitting an already made character into a completely new situation with new stakes and have that character be believable is more impressive than making one from scratch to fill that role instead (though that still has its own difficulties for sure).

sung jin wu iz the best wrtn chrtr evr. he iz so peek. evry chrtr shuld b writen like him. if u dnt liek him u 2 dum to undrstnd him

Long ago I made up the terms "large-economy" and "small-economy" stories.  It was an awkward metaphor about how, in a literal small economy (say, a backward village of people scrabbling at subsistence level), you can trace economic relationships precisely, possibly for every object.  "This hammer?  It belonged to my father; he bought it in his youth from a tinker who used to pass through the village, in those days.  I can tell you how much he paid for it.  Seven years ago the handle broke and it had to be replaced.  That bread?  It's made from grain grown on Old-Man Peterson's farm.  Did you want me to introduce you to the village baker?"  In a large economy, you don't know where the grain in your bread came from, and probably not even where the bread came from, besides the store it was trucked in to be sold at.  Likewise, in some stories (including real-life biographies), characters who make a big difference may pass into the story suddenly, and pass out again as abruptly.  Or they may be mentioned in passing and never appear.  The world is big compared to the story, and many of the threads which weave the tapestry of the tale pass in and out only once or twice.  Whereas in other stories, the world is small, every detail is significant, every character named should show up and have an arc contributing to the theme.

It depends on which sort of story you're telling, whether you should always have a named character eventually appear in the tale.  (The Neverending Story [book], for specific thematic reasons, made an effort to throw out endless threads which were not followed up.  Lord of the Rings regularly referenced various mythical figures, because the story was built atop a mountain of fictional mythology, though you didn't need a deep understanding of the mythology to appreciate the story.  Etc...)

6:27 this is my FAVORITE detail about Dadadan its great to see the group grow over the arcs

No matter how good the plot is if the character sucks you won't get attached to it, at first maybe you'll watch the episodes but you'll get bored to it no matter how many actions and engaging the story is showing. I realized that when watching anime, that's why usually I get bored half of the entire season because of how basic the character is.

I’ve only recently learned to let a serious moment be uninterrupted by a joke. I don’t know why that’s the inclination; something about intimate character moments almost feels invasive, if that makes sense? That said, the story has gained a lot more gravity since I’ve learned when to/when not to incorporate humor, so you definitely have a point there.
Good video! I’m always happy to find another writing channel.

25:00 I am kinda curious tho. What if I purposefully make a character say something humorous during a very emotional scene; and the other character notices how out of place it is, and has a negative reaction towards it? And that would symbolize the character who said the insensitive joke’s insecurities from past traumatic events? (I could’ve worded it better, but you probably get what I mean)

Dungeon Meshi is an absolute masterclass in character writing

10:50 i think there are definitely ways to write aloof characters well, levi from aot is a good example imo !! i think the problem lies with writers using  aloof or nonchalant traits as a way to strip characters of all emotional depth. I find levi interesting because though he seems distant and uninterested, he still has scenes displaying emotions and overall depth, and i think his otherwise detached personality makes those scenes feel heavier and deeper. I think aloof personalities can be interesting when used as a shield, trauma response, or anything along those lines, but it shouldn't completely remove a characters depth. though tbf i do think all this ties in with your definition for stoic

An exception to the rule of not forgetting the characters you foreshadow would be Jane Gallagher from The Catcher In The Rye as she is constantly mentioned without a single appearance.

I actually really liked Jinwoo as a character(for most of the show). It made sense for him to be emotionless and "stoic". He had to take care of himself, get his sister through school and pay his mother's medical bills. He didn't care about anything, only about getting stronger and earning money to take care of them. What Im disappointed at is when he cures his mom, I thought ok, he is strong as hell, is rich from all the loot and his goal of saving his mom is accomplished. He achieved everything he wanted, but he literally does not change at all, continues to fight for no reason. I thought he would avoid fights or almost stop fighting altogether, so the show can concentrate on it's cast, but nope Jinwoo just continues his thing of overshadowing everybody

23:58 You can sense the exact moment he starts yapping





(I love it)

missed opportunity to end a heartfelt speech about not ending heartfelt speeches with jokes with a joke

I admittedly love writing downtime for my characters, and I suck at writing jokes so I always aim for following through with what the characters would do.
I let them try to make the jokes, not force them into it

This is hands down your best video!!! You perfectly describe how I feel about Hollywood's and popular manga/anime writing nowadays. Don't get me wrong I'll watch and enjoy just about anything, it's just an abundance of "comic relief" in every movie/show.
(It's different in animation and comics/manga to be honest.)
What makes me remember a story a week later is good characters that feel real and are multi-layered.

And this really helped me in my writing skills! Thank man!

Sung Jin-Woo's aloofness doesn't really sound like a problem if the story itself shows how it can work against him. You said yourself that conflict is at the heart of a good story. The problem isn't the behavior, but how it's handled. What makes a character interesting is how much they're willing to test their waters.