[Discussion] What is character development and character depth?

[Bimbonium]

Whenever people want to criticize or praise an anime/manga, they oftentimes refer to character development and as an extension character depth.

Got this from a quick google search "The definition of character development refers to the process of creating a believable character in fiction by giving the character depth and personality.
An example of character development is when an author writes a book in which people begin to care more and more about the characters within it as the character's personalities become more real."

Essentially, what makes a good "well developed" character? (With popular examples, if possible). What gives a character depth?

e.g. People sometimes say Itachi was not developed (I wish I did not have to use Itachi in this thread) or that he was already developed before the anime started, or something like Zoro (one piece) is the least developed among the SHs and I wonder what they mean.

 

[loj]

Monkey D.

 

[FreakensteinAG]

Not having a static change in character outlook, beliefs, personality, etc.

Character must change throughout the series, not necessarily abruptly and quickly, just a gradual change for the better (or worse).

Neji being a stuck-up genius who looks down on the commonfolk to joining them in camaraderie would be considered a significant shift in character development. If Neji continued to be this way thoughout the series, this would not be considered character development.

 

[Claymantan]

Simple explanation.

Character development means I learn new things about the character over time that are believable. You can do this either by putting a character that has a consistent personality through diverse challenges, and seeing how that character responds, revealing aspects of a character over time through giving backstory or flashbacks or whatever, or having that character change over time.

If you do something ridiculous, like have a character not respond any differently to any given event, or have a character that's normally a kind person suddenly start murdering people at random, that's not good character development (although you can salvage it by explaining the change after the fact, but generally this is considered inferior storytelling and people suspect that it's all asspulls).

Character depth is how many layers of motivation there are for a character's actions and personality. How complex their thought processes are, what different feelings and desires they're trying to compromise inside of themselves, etc.

By this simple definition, Itachi is pretty decent. He's not amazing, but he's good enough.

 

[Ricardo]

Accelerator from Touaru majutsu no index. This guy is amazing as a character.

His character development from villain to antihero, personality, dark background, insane powers, and reasons for trying to protect Last Order all excellently stand out from the rest of the characters.

He is such a dynamic character that's a joy to watch and his relationship with Last Order is adorable. He's not boring and predictable like other main characters and he's not afraid to do bad things to bad people, and he's one of the characters that get stronger and stronger all the time. The main reason i watched this series was because of him. The other characters in that show are just boring overall, but not him. He's different.

Accelerator's psycho face is great, but his normal face is almost bishounen-like status.

Without a doubt, the character that amazed me in terms of development so far of all the anime i watched.

 

[Bimbonium]

Simple explanation.

Character development means I learn new things about the character over time that are believable. You can do this either by putting a character that has a consistent personality through diverse challenges, and seeing how that character responds, revealing aspects of a character over time through giving backstory or flashbacks or whatever, or having that character change over time.

If you do something ridiculous, like have a character not respond any differently to any given event, or have a character that's normally a kind person suddenly start murdering people at random, that's not good character development (although you can salvage it by explaining the change after the fact, but generally this is considered inferior storytelling and people suspect that it's all asspulls).

Character depth is how many layers of motivation there are for a character's actions and personality. How complex their thought processes are, what different feelings and desires they're trying to compromise inside of themselves, etc.

By this simple definition, Itachi is pretty decent. He's not amazing, but he's good enough.

Dang! this answers my question perfectly, thanks, I was having problems articulating that while trying to think of a well developed character, if you don't mind I'll like to know what your Idea of a well developed character is (an example)

 

[Styles]

Just look at Sasuke, Kamina and Zoro and you'll get your answer.

 

[Bimbonium]

Just look at Sasuke, Kamina and Zoro and you'll get your answer.

Huh?
Zoro? He's kinda been the same from one piece episode 2. Sasuke (I want to disagree with your Sasuke reference too, but I feel my general dislike for Naruto's mainstream characters is clouding my judgement). I don't know who Kamina is.

So if you'll like to explain, I'll be glad

 

[Claymantan]

Dang! this answers my question perfectly, thanks, I was having problems articulating that while trying to think of a well developed character, if you don't mind I'll like to know what your Idea of a well developed character is (an example)

Well as far as anime goes, Kira in Deathnote is an example of a well-developed protagonist. Villains tend to get better development than heroes because usually villains have a "fall from grace" story to explain their villain-ness, whereas writers usually want the heroes to stay good.

Usually the hero learns things like "What it means to be a hero" and "How to become strong" and blah blah, I should have probably added that good character development avoids cliches or at least uses them tastefully. Anti-heroes (usually) avert this, so second to villains (or sometimes even moreso than villains), they tend to get the best character development. Example: Kei Kurono of the manga Gantz. Starts off as kind of a selfish and cowardly tool and learns to become heroic.

As far as a pure hero goes, it's kind of hard...Rurouni Kenshin did alright in...Rurouni Kenshin. The dude has a developed backstory, character revelations over time, and meets challenges in each arc that challenge his worldview. He does learn something significant that he was missing in his interpretation of what a hero was over the course of the manga. So I'd go with him.

 

[Nagi]

Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho said it best. "There is no one that do not carry scars on their heart. If there is someone in the world like that, then that person is not human"

 

[Xlad]

Try Ken Kaneki or Shi-Woon Yi.

 

[Styles]

Huh?
Zoro? He's kinda been the same from one piece episode 2. Sasuke (I want to disagree with your Sasuke reference too, but I feel my general dislike for Naruto's mainstream characters is clouding my judgement). I don't know who Kamina is.

So if you'll like to explain, I'll be glad

Kamina is the badass leader of team Guren of Guren Lagann. Although great development he died to be early in the anime/manga.

 

[Bad Touch Yakushi]

Okay so just a brief answer as it's midnight here but essentially every character has to be a reflection of ourselves. Bad characters are those who don't reflect the human condition or our insecurities and hidden strengths in the face of adversity etc etc.

There IS a different between a boring/bad character and an unexplored one. For example, Mei Terumi is a character who is 90% mythos. She never talks or shows the audience her backstory but we as an audience can put 2 and 2 together- we know the mythos of the Hidden Mist thanks to world-building and we see that a single, weak-looking woman managed to put an end to a long dictatorship and restore the hell of the Hidden Mist to it's current state. There is huge potential there, and i'd go as far to say that it's not projection or fanfic to say that she could be considered a character with depth- EVEN THOUGH, it's not ever directly explored.

Characters like Naruto and Sasuke are obviously the characters with the most exposure. Even if you don't like them and they're not appealing to you personally- they ARE the best characters from a writing perspective. Even if they're not truly unique Kishimoto is hugely detailed with their growth.

What makes a deep character in storytelling (according to the works of McKee, Aristotle etc etc)

• Human Insecurity
• Change (Literally developing)
• Interactions w/ other Characters
• Their Motive

That last point especially is key for an in-depth character, their motive has to be clear and relatable to the reader- BUT the main character isn't aware of what their 'true motive' is. For example: Kid Naruto thinks wants to be Hokage. What he truly wants is acceptance and the actual motive is World Peace (Unity through Ninshuu)

Characters are ALL reflections of us. If you can't relate to a character or believe they're undergoing valid or real human change then you disconnect with them. Then they're just walking haircuts with flashy powers. Some people go for that, some don't.

 

[Jazzy Stardust]

Character Depth and Dev are one in the same. The character gains more depth from it's development. A well developed character has a clear backstory and the experiences and choices they make deterime how they grow and behave. Just like a person, then it's believable. You take a personality and develop it through circumstances, which creates depth.

 

[iNotorious]

Well as far as anime goes, Kira in Deathnote is an example of a well-developed protagonist. Villains tend to get better development than heroes because usually villains have a "fall from grace" story to explain their villain-ness, whereas writers usually want the heroes to stay good.

Usually the hero learns things like "What it means to be a hero" and "How to become strong" and blah blah, I should have probably added that good character development avoids cliches or at least uses them tastefully. Anti-heroes (usually) avert this, so second to villains (or sometimes even moreso than villains), they tend to get the best character development. Example: Kei Kurono of the manga Gantz. Starts off as kind of a selfish and cowardly tool and learns to become heroic.

As far as a pure hero goes, it's kind of hard...Rurouni Kenshin did alright in...Rurouni Kenshin. The dude has a developed backstory, character revelations over time, and meets challenges in each arc that challenge his worldview. He does learn something significant that he was missing in his interpretation of what a hero was over the course of the manga. So I'd go with him.

For some reason, there aren't many anti-heros characters with them being the protagonist of the show.

Try Ken Kaneki or Shi-Woon Yi.

Not going to lie both of them had to go through a lot, specially shi-woon. From bully to being a leader of a clan. Both of them suffered a lot. I could relate to them ez.