@@nomobobby Zappers, sorry dude, I just tripped and shattered a vase that was holding the great evil emperor Darth Voldemort! Zappers, what will we do now? Zappers!
Don't forget to feature them in a trailer for a movie, where all the music stops and the character says a joke where nobody laughs. And then cut to "THIS SUMMER"
For certain films it can be a good sign. It gives you a chance to judge their humour (Marvel movies usually end with a funny joke for instance) and it means you can know if the film takes itself too seriously
@@MeatloafMan455 But the thing is, the fact that he's competent by the end is a problem. It should be like other characters who are obnoxious the whole time and contribute nothing.
Villain: **literally burns down an entire town and kills everyone in it** Comic relief character: *_ZAPPERS!_* **finger guns** these guys aren't looking too hot.
Hahaha- GUILTY *The comic relief character was then sentenced to 12 years to life in prison, it would’ve been 2 years had he not made that horrible pun*
Scrappy Doo wasn’t even honestly that bad until they axed half the cast and tried to have him fill all their roles for some inane reason - he was mostly a way to keep the previous comic relief characters have an actual reason to get involved in conflict other than being forced into it.. And even then he was still better than shit like Scooby Dum and Flim Flam.
Although for Scooby and the gang to kick Scrappy out in the desert is a bit much and out of character. And yes, I know he peed on Daphne, cuz 2000's humor yo.
Yeah, he was funny but never really out of stupidity. His comedic effect was usually either him being witty and jokey or his over-the-top reactions to things, which made it never seem forced when we get to see his strategic skill and other good qualities. If you write a comic relief character, sokkas one of the best references to go by
What's great about Sokka is his comic relief role evolved along with his more serious character arc. At the beginning the jokes were at his expense because he was too full of himself and needed to be taken down a peg to break him out of his toxic overtures of insecure masculinity and as he came into his own the humor came from what a loveable dork he was.
A comic relief, but it's revealed that they're actually the victim of a dark curse, tormented by cruel gods into being nothing but an eternal joke, forced against their will to be "funny". That moment when you realize all that slapstick humor was actually legit suicide attempts, but they just won't let him die. ...I think my comic relief character needs a comic relief.
That first paragraph sounds like the singing goat from Hoodwinked. After clicking the "Read More" button, your comment got a little too dark to match up with him anymore though.
Aaaaaah! Epiphany moment! I always wondered why Sokka was having so much luck with the ladies... It was the scriptwriters of Avatar killing another cliché, just as when they crushed Zutara and made love relationships be based on friendship, trust and shared experienced. Well, except for Sokka, who is just a stud, which is not what the comic relief character, which... And if he hadn't been the stud, we wouldn't have memorable moments like "My first girlfriend died and became the Moon". And his great: "But the effects were good".
Spence I liked how in the hero’s Olympus books the new Demi-gods were so thematically fitting to their storylines to give hope to kids with problems. It’s one of the few times where SJW writing really enhanced the story instead of distracting from it
Spence he was especially a good “gay teen”. As a teen he is still unsure about his sexuality and hides. It makes him an outsider who doesn’t feel like he belongs, even if people like him. Something perfectly represented by him being the literal son of hades. He feels as if he were born to be hated. But I personally prefer Frank. Who is supposed to show that no matter what kind of outsider you were l, you can became anything. Perfectly symbolized by his multi mixed mess of a family line and shapeshifter powers.
some times protagonists use comic relief and a personality mask to make his enemy not take him seriously. however when the serious issues come in, he proves very competent and takes his enemy by surprise.
@@jiangciyang3860 either that or they're legitimately stupid, to the point they think friendship is a flavor of ice cream (I still like these type of heroes, just pointing out)
I'm pretty sure I subconsciously no longer think of Skillshare as an actual man-made service, but as a nebulous force of power that has passed through the eons altering the very courses of fate tied to whatever planets it happens to grace with its omnipotent presence.
Not really, it is Omnipotent to Humans and Mortals but it's mearly a single entity known as Hyplexier, he's part of a gigantic and powerful race of Immortal beings known as the Celesti'Argyioun, he's just a random scout that was forced into a random Universe in this Macrocosm and he happened to come across Earth, a few Dozen Million Years ago, he then settled and wait, eventually he witnessed the man known as Anios, the Angelicus, he punished him for killing off his first creation, the Dinosaurs, which where originally called something incomprehensible to the English Language. Eventually Hyplexier regained a miniscule part of his power back, enough to power a Trillion Suns but this was absolutely nothing compared to his original, highly suppressed power. After a while he noticed some upright walking Creatures similar to how Hyplexier looked, then he had a brief fleeting thought that the man he met beforehand may have been responsible for such a creation, so he observed then, studied them he had watched for Tens of Thousands of Years until he came across someone who was wearing lots of Gold. This Gold Man was known as a Pharaoh, and he wanted to build something great, something never before seen by any "Human"
Idea: After the comic relief’s bumbling releases the Dark Lord, the party begins to suspect that the comic relief character is an agent of evil there to sidetrack and sabotage all their progress and turn on him. Twist is, he’s not, and it turns into a thriller where he is forced to flee the party and has to try and fix his mistake, while the party is actively trying to hunt him down.
Also in defense of TWA it's pretty much this entire time been a visual gag that hasn't had attention drawn to it at every single fucking opportunity. Unlike many certain "funny" characters nowadays.
It's old enough that I can't even remember what context it was usually used in. It's just been there....since the dark times of the universe.... Like Chuck Norris.
I think the serious critic is his a manifestation of his disappointment in himself. He became a writer to make the next "To Kill a Mockingbird" but ended up writing the next Twilight or something.
According to Caligula Effect, people sometimes get disgusted the very others that have similar, yet extreme version, mentalities to themselves. Ex - Mifue Shinohara
I dislike them because being useless is always a core part of this obsolete trope meant for creating a cast of caricatures. I can think of a ton of 'the wacky one' characters that not only have all the qualities that made the concept of a comic relief viable for centuries, but are also as much of an asset to the adventure as the 'cooler' heroes of their pack, even sometimes becoming the voice of reason when everyone else loses perspective.
I like to think the comic relief character is really depressed and every scene they’re not in it’s because they’re off in the distance crying to themselves
Funny Story: My teacher showed us the characterization terrible writing advice episode during Creative writing class. It really taught me so much about how characterization is not necessary at all, and that the audience will better identify with cardboard cutouts and archetypes. Thank you :)
@@Eris250 But it ends up having the opposite affect with the heroes desperately trying to finish their goal so they don't have to be around the comic relief character
Knowing now what Joanne is really like, I think it's just because she was too lazy to come up with more jokes while writing the books, which accidentally made him just the perfect level of comedic.
@@imveryangryitsnotbutter Eh, considering most of Ron’s good moments in the books get transferred to Hermoine in the movies, I’d say it’s likely they made Ron an idiot so they could both hype her up more and give them the perfect trio (Harry as Everyman, Hermoine as OP Girlboss, and Ron as Slapstick)
What's more insulting is Ron is such a street smart and also tend to save Hermione and Harry's asses in the books by using his wit and good at problem solving yet in the films they stripped away that good quality in him and some of his important and smart lines were given to Hermione in the film. the directors doesn't really care about his character and thinks he's just those typical comic relief characters. the only thing that the film was rightly portrayed about Ron is his flaws especially in the 3rd book where Ron becomes so jealous of Harry's popularity and pushing him away.
Remember every one a Comic Relief Character must say a joke when there is a heart felt or sad scene.Hey it's not like it will break tension and cause a huge tone shift people will buy it any way.
Is it just me or is there an increase in honesty and character breaking in these last couple of videos? C-could it be... *GASP* character development?! into Good Writing Advice?!
And remember when it comes to humor, there’s no such thing as gallows humor, where a character acknowledges the horrible situation they’re in and tries to cope by making a somewhat tasteless joke about it. Whaddya mean “You have to laugh to keep from crying?” Why would someone do that?”
And if it somehow does exist, reverse it by stripping the character of all character development by giving them a girlfriend! *cough cough Caleo cough cough*
The most important thing to remember when writing a comic relief character is to not actually give them a CHARACTER, they must be comic relief and only comic relief Nor should you explain WHY they constantly try to be zany, maybe it's their way of coping with stressful situations, or they genuinely want to cheer up their friends, or maybe it's a sort of defensive habit to deflect their own insecurities, that sounds difficult to write and TOTALLY not interesting! Also, comic relief characters must be the only ones who even attempt to lighten the mood, no matter how out of place it makes them seem in the group of serious, brooding heroes
catz dog In my defense, that wasn't my intention. The character in question is in personal things that I write for myself, not any work that would even benefit from advertising. I was basically trying to see if I understood the OP's advice correctly. If it came across as marketing, I apologize. I've deleted the comment, at any rate. Again, sorry.
If your comic relief is successful make sure that he TAKES OVER THE ENTIRE STORY to the point of throwing away every other character with actual traits and storyarcs.
@Minisheep it's so weird seeing the fandom portray Sans as this annoying comic relief character that never shuts the hell up, and always spews some bad puns, when in the game he made like 2 jokes.
Not gonna lie, I found the joke darkly humorous. But then again I am a person who, in person, will ask people why [insert evil act] isn't the logical solution to [insert problem] just to see the look on their face.
"Y'know, I lost my mom when I was 15. I don't think I'll ever be able to be close to another person again." "Well, we can't get your mom back. But, you still have a family, pal." " _smirk_ I guess you're right." _hugs_ *out of freaking nowhere:* "Geez, get a room you two! AMIRIGHT?!" _laughter ensues_
Comic Relief characters. Aaaah. On the serious note, don't you love the shocking moment when the comic relief character actuslly has a serious moment? Like they step in and say something serious or pull off some epic move? Makes you have to stop reading and question everything. Lol I love books like that.
Or it could be like Kingsman, where the main characters/protagonist _is_ the comic relief character in some ways, or one of the intended comic relief characters is actually needed in the plot and saves the protagonist a few times. God bless thee and Rest In Peace, Merlin.
@@tlshortyshorty5810 Or where the whole cast is comical sometimes and also useful. Thanks, Pirates of the Caribbean. Although there the tone of the film is comical anyway
@A Personthen just purify him with the power of friendship, sure he might die again (well that's a good thing since I can lazily recreate another sad scene without putting much thought in it) and also gives the main character one last upgrade.
+Steven Bobby Bills Jar Jar Binks helped Palpatine gain emergency powers, allowing him to be more autonomous in governing the entire Republic. That said, Jar Jar Binks was definitely a unique addition to Star Wars and I do not hate him.
How to make a good character relieve: My answer: Sokka, make him funny but giving him traits that doesn't make his only trait being a jokester and make his jokes be on determined circumstances when appropriated and don't stick with catchphrases because the chance of them getting old fast is easily achievable
Much more after seeing this video. Because he was A CHARACTER first, and then comic relief. The same thing happened with Toph. She was funny as hell, BESIDES having a personality.
This just makes me love Camilo Madrigal even more than I already do. When Casita fell apart, he wasn't like "Bazoinks, our house is broken!", he came in with a realistic remark that still managed to shift the tone for a bit. Along with that, he does seem to have a lot of characterisation besides being comic relief, like when he tries to calm his mum down, showing that he cares about her. He's really well written for a character with five minutes of screentime. Also, he doesn't have an annoying voice.
Imagine if the Comic Relief was actually a twist villain. With his covert attempts at murdering the heroes being disguised as simple "bumbling around". And his klutzy, silly and annoying persona being a facade to hide his true devious nature. And the fact that comic relief characters are often seen as pathetic or useless to the plot to many viewers doesn't help either.
That somewhat reminds me of the Chief Inspector from the (original) Pink Panther movies. He’s constantly trying to murder the main character, but comes off as comic relief.
Wait, wait, wait, you're doing it all wrong. The comic relief character absolutely has to be in the final battle! The story might get too edgy, and that's exactly what we want to avoid since we made the comic relief character. He should be brought into battle, even if he has zero combat capabilities, just so he can repeat his one tired gag like a broken record and make sure the mood is broken every five seconds.
Also, if the final confrontation involves a large battle with lots of faceless soldiers, make sure to throw in a Wilhelm scream in the middle of the carnage to remind the audience not to take the deaths of background characters too seriously. At the same time, however, we need to be reminded of how compassionate our hero is by having him lament the loss of those same faceless soldiers at whose deaths we just laughed.
Better yet, have 2 goofy members of the heroic team- one pretty much unquestionably has all the deus ex machina powers to justify his place on the team; the other is a "lovable coward" with a funny accent whom you have to question why they keep him around other than the fact that it's a silly kid's show. They're both technically in a love triangle with the brains of the group, but it's clear her choice is the hero, and the bumbling scardey-cat keeps trying and/or angsting about his lack of chances with the girl anyway _because it's funny._ -It's totally not like this is an actual description of the dynamic between Sonic, Antoine, and Sally respectively on Sonic SatAM, this summary being written by someone who actually adores the show. ^_^- Edit: Forgot to mention protag/funnyguy1 is the one who's always spouting _mondo, way past cool_ catchphrases! _Gotta juice!_
@@ChaosRayZero Better idea: we make every single character in the story comic relief, except each one has they're own funny attribute. Ranging from Jar Jar Bink's levels of annoying to an apathetic, Bill Murray style sarcasm. Hell, make the antagonist funny too. Make him a clown! Turn it into a horror story! Base it off a book! Make it take place in- Wait
That's not a bad idea. The main MC may have to save the world but he doesn't take it seriously enough so the foil would be serious AF....... Wait that’s the Aquaman movie.
My name is earl falls pretty much into it. You have earl with the karma mostly on his side and a very comical list off bad things he did and the lovely doofus randy his brother. Key is really giving them a good relationship and the hero a story arc and let him grow. And everyone is zany.
Jokes aside, I'm glad how Star Wars treated Jar-Jar in The Clone Wars TV series. Even though he's as clumsy and hateable as in Phantom Menace, it has a few episodes where he's actually the hero. It makes life harder to Mace Windu, but his innocence and loyalty are actually highlighted, and those are traits that neither Yoda, Obi-Wan nor Padmé have, only Jar-Jar has.
@@Meepo007 Yeah. I can't help but feel that The Clone Wars would have been better if it was, you know, free of Canon. Maybe with a team of completly original characters who don't have plot armor and could interact with the main cast in a set period in the setting. But enough about Rebels! XD
Bad guy: believe me when I say the death of your master was nothing personal. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong timee. Comic relief character: B a z i n g a Laugh track: GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I'd have the villain say: "Guess who else is in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Comic relief: "The President!" Villain: "Close enough." **kills comic relief**
@@demi-femme4821 that makes me wonder, you think he should do a terrible writing advise on "social issues" wich for some of writers, especially in comic books, seems to be a code name for "shoving my political ideas down the reader/viewer's throat"?
@@kashim4351 yeah, he doesn't seem to want to touch on "controversial" topics, the closest he ever got was world building, and even then he just went "you deal with it". though, i think it's important to teach how to not turn your story into a sad excuse for preaching politics, and handling other touchy subjects as well, because you really don't want to fuck up in that department.
If anything, I've always pitied the comic relief character; they're this sad, lonely creature who wanders aimlessly through the plot, forced by the author's incompetence to be the only living thing around with a sense of humor (an AWFUL sense of humor, but still) and surrounded by people who can only react to their desperate banter and lame jokes with either amused confusion or undisguised contempt. In a world of overly-serious and joyless characters, the comic relief walks alone: the one cheap neon light of levity drifting away in the vast darkness...
I honestly hate it sooo much when the comic relief character is irrationally bullied and taken advantage of by everyone in the show, for seemingly no reason other then: "oh its ok he's just a nerd he doesn't matter. Its soooo toxic!
Missed Opportunity: "Perhaps we can actually utilize the fact that the other characters look down on the comic relief for characterization opportunities. Because the other characters underestimate the comic relief, maybe they could let their guard down around the clown and thus make their own character flaws more apparent in the process. Pfft. Nah. let's just have all the characters merely say the comic relief sucks and leave it at that cause merely acknowledging the problems without actually doing anything about them automatically fixes everything!" I bring up Michelangelo from the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" franchise as a good example as his comedic antics and immaturity often brings out his brothers' character flaws like Rafael's wrath or Leonardo's over protectiveness.
Think my favorite comic relief is Ussop from one piece. Since he's not as physically strong and is always running away really show how he uses jokes to cope with his situation and that he isn't just a punchline since he has as much emotion as the rest of the cast even more
@@jakeystarsuper Misunderstanding and occasional apathy towards his relationships with his family's actions/emotions because he's too absorbed in completing his own tasks, I think
Perrito from Puss in boots: the last wish is the only comic relief character I don't groan when they're on screen. The fact he contributes to the story instead of ruining the heroes plan by accident really helps
@@valentinkambushev4968And because he also does lighten the mood without being annoying. We also see him use his skills of being a therapy dog so it’s not just a stupid throw away fact
@@demi-femme4821 Why not? I only have City Folk and Wild World, so it's not like they'll go out into the world via online play or anything. The only person who it'll likely ever affect- _the only person who will likely ever see it-_ is me. =^p
I've always been leery of characters made just to fill an archetype, and the comedy relief is the worst of the lot. I much prefer when the comedic moments come from the foibles and natural screw ups that well written characters make. Han Solo is a great example. "Uh... had a slight weapons malfunction. But, uh, everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine now. How are you?" This is what we call a failed bluff.
I honestly find this is the hardest character archetype to write. Especially if your sense of humor is unique and only you understand it. Most of the funny characters usually end up getting stale as time goes on.
*and go out of your way to deliberately draw eye rolling attention to that fact at every opportunity imaginable and in the most forced and contrived manner possible during conversations that have absolutely NOTHING to do with the given plot narrative or situational crisis to the point where it becomes the primary focus of the plot and all else becomes secondary*
@@scottmantooth8785 More importantly the character's status as a minority has no bearing on their backstory, outlook, how they interact with others, or how they are treated according to the rules of the setting. It's just an accent.
Everything he described regarding the comic relief character reminds me of Gilligan, the bumbling idiot from “Gilligan’s Island” who keeps messing up all the castaways’ attempts to escape the island.
Except if you actually look at the track record, 2 out of 3 times their escape attempts weren’t foiled by Giligan at all. And many of the ones he does mess up wouldn’t have worked anyways. Giligan may be dumb, but he isn’t really any more of a hindrance than any of the other characters.
I think everyone also forgets that Gilligan's Island was a sitcom not searing drama about a desperate battle for survival on an uncharted island. Narrative context is also important when one considers the characters and their relationship to the story.
@@sertorrhenclegane The writer confirmed fan theories that the 7 characters in Gilligan's Island represent the 7 deadly sins. So "don't read too much into it" doesn't really apply to that show.
“HEY LOOK HOW FUNNY WE ARE WALLOWING IN CONTRIVED, FORCED PESSIMISM AND COVERING THE ENTIRE SCREEN WITH BLOOD AND GORE IN A WAY THAT WOULD MAKE EVEN THE WORST CREEPYPASTA AUTHORS VOMIT! I HEARD SOMEONE SAY MISERY IS THE ESSENCE OF COMEDY SO EVERYTHING BEING ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE FOR 30 MINUTES WILL SURELY AMOUNT TO THE GREATEST OF WRITING, EVEN IF WE DO ALMOST NO WRITING!!!!”
@@moonlighteclipse1265 i want to spice things up with relatable characters group, and incredibly attractive jock man who loses. yes its all coming together
and then subvert expectations by starting off like a serious video and then swapping over the comical satirical side we normally see, but the subvert expectations by becoming serious again, then become comical again, and then just keep on doing it over and over again in an orderly fashion. It's not like that probably won't work out and the viewers will just get annoyed by the constant switching around and their expectations not be subverted anymore because of the orderly manner the serious/satirical swaps happen in.
@@SummersTimelyCringe Also make sure to completely destroy the very concept of continuity to the point when the last 5 seconds don't make sense with what's shown next
@@sophie6744 Tsuyu and Sero are on friendly terms with mineta, even though they call him out Midoriya and Kaminari are also good friends with him. r/churchofmineta also exists lmao
Comic relief character actually done amazingly: Stella from winx club, she is aware of tension and dangers and does crack jokes to break the tension and when she gets critisiced about it by other characters she literally tells them to stfu because humour is literally human's only self-defense mechanism to seriously psychologically harming threats and the darkest parts of human's psyche and points out that many war veterans will tell you is that the last thing they saw their comrades doing before being anihilated is smiling or laughing, she literally roasts someone like this to the point where the character that critiscized her has no other option but to answer "well, you better crack a really good one right now",
@@saranemcova5448 (there's an English vesion of my coment too, don't worry) Jo, Stella po tom, co Winx Club začal bý víc dětský, zblbla.Stella v sériích 1-4 byla vtipná a ráda se bavila, ale byla i silná, dokázala brát věci vážně a starala a bála se o své přátele a rodinu. Upřímně se mi moc líbí jak se Winx Club vyhnul klišé zlé holky nebo hloupé blondýny. Stella je blondýna, je bohatá (jelikož je princeznou) a je fashionista. Tohle jsou tři věci, z kterých se tyhle archetypy velmi často skládají, a i když Stella není úplně nejchytřejší postava a škola jí někdy moc nejde, stála je v prvních čtyřech sériích daleko chytřejší a vážnější než v těch novějších. (Ty novější série celkově se neberou moc vážně.)🙄🙄🙄 Yeah, Stella became pretty dumb after Winx Club became more childish. Stella in seasons 1-4 was funny and fun loving, but she was also strong, could take things seriously and cared and worried about her friends and family. Honestly, I really like how Winx Club avoided the cliché of mean girl or dumb blonde. Stella is blonde, she's rich (since she's a princess) and she's a fashionista. These are the three things that these archetypes very often consist of, and even though Stella isn't exactly the smartest character and sometimes doesn't do well in school, she was far smarter and more serious in the first four seasons than in the later ones. (The newer seasons generally do not take themselfs very seriously.)🙄🙄🙄
good comic relief characters: - Flash in justice league animated series - Sokka from avatar the last airbender - Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element bad comic relief characters: - marlon wayans in Dungeons & Dragons - those annoying robots in Transformers movie - Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element
Speaking of which I think there is something in terrible writing advice we would like to see the "character we are supposed to relate to" by which I mean every stupid human in a Transformers cartoon (and maybe the films but those suck anyway), the kids in action shows like MASK, some stupid character in a hero movie like Batman's commoner girlfriends, Superman's son in Superman Returns (cuz you can't showcase his humanity otherwise), the "cowardly sidekick" in the rest of the action shows like Uhn from Wheeled Warriors, Cringer in classic He-Man, Cowl in She-Ra, etc.
You realize that films before then had comic relief as well, don't you? The Little Mermaid had Sebastian & the seagull, Cinderella had the rats, Wizard of Oz is basically three comic relief characters stuck with a normal person, etc.
@@thewanderingmistnull2451 Shh. He's probably a millennial. Anything before the 1980s or 1990s doesn't exist (unless it's cherrypicked historical atrocities, like slavery and The Holocaust).
"There is no relief from the comic relief!" Another golden quote from JP. I understand your irritation with comic relief character. I most of the time don't enjoy them either. An example of a comic relief character I feel works really well is Sokka from Avatar the Last Airbender. I think that's because he's not JUST comic relief. He has an arc, he's not always making light of the situation, he's a multifaceted person, which makes him realistic and relatable. I think why most comic relief characters are teeth gnashingly irritating is because they're just a cardboard cut out like. You hit the nail on the head with how not to do this. The cardboard cut out zinger spewer must go! Hayley ^_^
In a personal project I'm working on, the comic relief uses humor as a means of coping due to his constant fears of being alone and forgotten. So mine would clearly fail as a true comic relief.
Terrible Writing Advice is so funny. Even though he sarcastically tells us how to write a comic relief character and thus tells us, how NOT to write one, he does this in such a fun and inspired fashion, that he actually DOES tell us. Brilliant
Jar Jar should have been a very bitter and cynical freelance mercenary, heavily scarred, missing one eye and having it replaced with a cybernetic implant...and voiced by an unscripted Samuel L. Jackson...he would have been loved/adored and cherished by the fans the moment he appeared on screen
Scott Mantooth You have a point. Visually speaking, gungans don't have a bad design, and they could have been interesting if they were written (very) differently.
Sokka is a comic relief character done right. You know, because they made him an actual CHARACTER. An expanding moral point of view, a backstory, strong traits of leadership, skills and special abilities in combat, a cunning, strategic mind and so much more. A character can be funny and fleshed out at the same time, which is apparently a bunch of writers don’t understand. The way they developed Sokka and his complex personality is why he is perhaps my favorite character in Avatar.
Comic Relief works better as a *secondary* role. They should be another character type above it and the jokes should take a backseat to the character's primary role, only surfacing where appropriate. Heck, they could even be a *passive* comic relief, where funny things happen *to* them such as external factors such as being in the wrong place at the wrong time or unintended consequences of an ill-thought-out but trivial action instead of it being their conscious choice.
You could also contrast that by having the character themselves be much more serious and less comedic than most of the others while having a large amount of comedic scenarios fall to them.
Another thing: Remember to make the character scaredly and useless, so the audience feels frustrated at how he's just getting in the way of the protagonists and not contributing anything... But Hey... *IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY*
Something I like for comic relief is when the comic relief doesn't completely overthrow the tension. Example: tense action scene with many characters running around. Two characters bump into each other and fall over or one character slips on something and falls before getting up٫ quickly saying "I'm ok!" and going back to fighting. By doing this there's a quick laugh that doesn't completely ruin the moment.
@@maxthepaladin2147 Let's make it even easier to say and more catchy. Bazzam Batman, zz pronounced as in pizza. Holy Bazzam Batman, what am I doin' with my life?
Why make an actual character, when you can just have a walking joke machine? It’s so much easier, and definitely won’t make the audience want to strangle me!
And then you have Samwise in LOTR. Comic relief, hero and the one with the best ending of all the hobbits. Because starting to talk about strawberries while nearly dying is clear comic relief. But then being the only person ever to freely give up the One Ring turns him into one of, if not the best character in the story in my opinion.
Merry and Pippin are the comedic duo rahter than sam, who is more of a sidekick. But Merry and Pippin are first of all gold, and they have their own arcs and plotlines and serve a purpose. They get the ents to take isengard, they fight alongside gondor/rohan.
If you think the conversation about strawberries is comic relief, you may have completely missed the point of that scene, if not the entire narrative...
You . . . denied the Comic Relief a Love Triangle? That is perhaps the purest form of hatred I have ever seen you give something.
I would argue its more of a mercy for the Comic Relief.
Fire Wolf
Or relief for the comic relief haha
uh oh does this make me the comic relief?
@@idktbh4385 yup, now whatever you do, *don't* trip and shatter the the vase holding the great evil one.
@@nomobobby Zappers, sorry dude, I just tripped and shattered a vase that was holding the great evil emperor Darth Voldemort! Zappers, what will we do now? Zappers!
Jamie The Joker and now I, Damsel Distressa, have been kidnapped again. Thanks again
Don't forget to feature them in a trailer for a movie, where all the music stops and the character says a joke where nobody laughs. And then cut to "THIS SUMMER"
_"It smells like body spray and an old ham sandwich."_
*THIS NOVEMBER*
OH GOD I HATE IT WHEN THEY DO THAT
For certain films it can be a good sign. It gives you a chance to judge their humour (Marvel movies usually end with a funny joke for instance) and it means you can know if the film takes itself too seriously
"Rob Schneider is..."
@@louisduarte8763 your father
these make me want to write the most generic, terrible story ever.
DO IT! Do it, do it, do it!
(And then, watch everything burn...)
please try AI dungeon and set randomness to low
WRITE IT! WRITE IT! WRITE IT!
ya done yet?
make sure to secretly subvert literally everything, I'm sure that will go well
Comic relief characters are not allowed to have any depth or development or else you might actually like them.
Good idea!
Like Sokka?
@@MeatloafMan455 But the thing is, the fact that he's competent by the end is a problem. It should be like other characters who are obnoxious the whole time and contribute nothing.
@@SmartAlec1 Sokka doesn't have super powers. He doesn't deserve anything.
@@MeatloafMan455 Very true. Just ask Goku: Hard work only gets you somewhere if your lineage is born superior to even more hard working humans.
Make sure for the comic relief character to get a terrible spin off we'll all forget about.
_looks at Planet Sheen_
KING FREAKING CRIMSON. Minions
I remember being so excited for Planet Sheen thinking yay they're doing a Jimmy Neutron sequel but then I watch the show...
_Looks at Cars 2 harder._
Cars 2
*We never talk about Planet Sheen.*
Villain: **literally burns down an entire town and kills everyone in it**
Comic relief character: *_ZAPPERS!_* **finger guns** these guys aren't looking too hot.
Or rather , THEY’RE DOING *TOO* HOT
*Laugh track*
Hahaha- GUILTY
*The comic relief character was then sentenced to 12 years to life in prison, it would’ve been 2 years had he not made that horrible pun*
Menacing Cheese Why do you do this
Zuko:
Sokka:
*looks at a city burning down*
Wakka: "Like happy festival fireworks!"
Every Final Fantasy Character: ....
"So what do _you_ contribute to the party?"
"Absolutely nothing, so if you need to make a sacrifice I'm your guy!"
actually that almost sounds like nagito from danganronpa, even though he isn't really a comic relief character
AlgaeNypmph, I see a story in what you posted.
@Emma Brennan I was _so_ happy when Gurgi died, the pestering load. Pity he came back for more crunchies & munchies. Maybe he's better in the books?
@@AlgaeNymph Nah, In the books, the bard is even more annoying.
@@PreciousIvy I want to respond but I can't think of anything to say with Ryoma staring into my soul.
Scrappy-Doo's greatest joke:
Being the main villain of a live-action movie for being disliked in-universe by everyone.😂
The only genius part of that film.
Megashark 101 excuse you but the live action scooby doo is a cinematic masterpiece
Tarantino quakes
Scrappy Doo wasn’t even honestly that bad until they axed half the cast and tried to have him fill all their roles for some inane reason - he was mostly a way to keep the previous comic relief characters have an actual reason to get involved in conflict other than being forced into it.. And even then he was still better than shit like Scooby Dum and Flim Flam.
When I was a lil kid, I couldn't understand him being the villain, however I recognized it's a sort of joke I couldn't understand
Although for Scooby and the gang to kick Scrappy out in the desert is a bit much and out of character. And yes, I know he peed on Daphne, cuz 2000's humor yo.
"Now I am become comic relief, destroyer of stories."
Nice reference
of the popular manga and anime
388
Shiva be like:
The Ultimate Comic Relief, has the power to destroy even the best of the stories, with his bad and forced jokes.
Thank you Sokka, for being a comic relief AND a good character
Yeah, he was funny but never really out of stupidity. His comedic effect was usually either him being witty and jokey or his over-the-top reactions to things, which made it never seem forced when we get to see his strategic skill and other good qualities. If you write a comic relief character, sokkas one of the best references to go by
Smart comic relief characters give me life.
Have you read shaman king? If you like good comic reliefs you make like chocolove
Plus his starring episode was super fun!
What's great about Sokka is his comic relief role evolved along with his more serious character arc. At the beginning the jokes were at his expense because he was too full of himself and needed to be taken down a peg to break him out of his toxic overtures of insecure masculinity and as he came into his own the humor came from what a loveable dork he was.
A comic relief, but it's revealed that they're actually the victim of a dark curse, tormented by cruel gods into being nothing but an eternal joke, forced against their will to be "funny".
That moment when you realize all that slapstick humor was actually legit suicide attempts, but they just won't let him die.
...I think my comic relief character needs a comic relief.
That first paragraph sounds like the singing goat from Hoodwinked. After clicking the "Read More" button, your comment got a little too dark to match up with him anymore though.
So basically the gold Cancer saint from Saint Seiya.
So basically Sheogroath/Jyggalag from The Shivering Isles DLC.
Dr. Light
This sounds amazing
I love how he clearly despises this trope even in character.
same af.
Sokka from Avatar and Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy are two examples of great characters who also serve the role of comic relief.
Leo Valdez
Jace Herondale being sassy
Aaaaaah! Epiphany moment! I always wondered why Sokka was having so much luck with the ladies... It was the scriptwriters of Avatar killing another cliché, just as when they crushed Zutara and made love relationships be based on friendship, trust and shared experienced. Well, except for Sokka, who is just a stud, which is not what the comic relief character, which...
And if he hadn't been the stud, we wouldn't have memorable moments like "My first girlfriend died and became the Moon".
And his great: "But the effects were good".
Spence I liked how in the hero’s Olympus books the new Demi-gods were so thematically fitting to their storylines to give hope to kids with problems.
It’s one of the few times where SJW writing really enhanced the story instead of distracting from it
Spence he was especially a good “gay teen”. As a teen he is still unsure about his sexuality and hides. It makes him an outsider who doesn’t feel like he belongs, even if people like him. Something perfectly represented by him being the literal son of hades. He feels as if he were born to be hated.
But I personally prefer Frank. Who is supposed to show that no matter what kind of outsider you were l, you can became anything. Perfectly symbolized by his multi mixed mess of a family line and shapeshifter powers.
You could always go the Marvel route, and just make *EVERY* character the comic relief!
I can totally take half the universe dying seriously when the Hulk dabs
@@ChrisJBT2 I didn't see the joke like that- I thought it was just trying to make me angry.
@@ChrisJBT2 to be fair, it takes a very high IQ to understand hulk dabbing
That’s just writing jokes
@@ChrisJBT2
And don't forget Clint! He goes on a grief-motivated killing spree!
My catchphrase is: “I am vengeance. I am the night! -Aling.”
Baz I am batman is mine
Brad 17 it’s destiny
I just realized -aling is great for everything: Zapaling, Zoomaling... I'm keeping that one.
Mine is: Never miss the shot.
Mine is Wow I am batman!
The sad thing is, when done right, comics reliefs are some of my favorite characters
some times protagonists use comic relief and a personality mask to make his enemy not take him seriously.
however when the serious issues come in, he proves very competent and takes his enemy by surprise.
@@jiangciyang3860 either that or they're legitimately stupid, to the point they think friendship is a flavor of ice cream (I still like these type of heroes, just pointing out)
Sokka and Jaskier are great... Then again, they don't fulfill their cliché and are VERY competent in their skills.
Kronk is an excellent example
Leo Valdez rules at being a great comic relief
I'm pretty sure I subconsciously no longer think of Skillshare as an actual man-made service, but as a nebulous force of power that has passed through the eons altering the very courses of fate tied to whatever planets it happens to grace with its omnipotent presence.
haha yes same!
Now that's marketing!
this made me go "hnhnhnhnhnhHiiIIIIiiiIIIiiIIIIIINNNNNhnhnhnhnhhhheh"
but, bfore we continue, have you heard about; Raid, shadow legends ?
Not really, it is Omnipotent to Humans and Mortals but it's mearly a single entity known as Hyplexier, he's part of a gigantic and powerful race of Immortal beings known as the Celesti'Argyioun, he's just a random scout that was forced into a random Universe in this Macrocosm and he happened to come across Earth, a few Dozen Million Years ago, he then settled and wait, eventually he witnessed the man known as Anios, the Angelicus, he punished him for killing off his first creation, the Dinosaurs, which where originally called something incomprehensible to the English Language.
Eventually Hyplexier regained a miniscule part of his power back, enough to power a Trillion Suns but this was absolutely nothing compared to his original, highly suppressed power.
After a while he noticed some upright walking Creatures similar to how Hyplexier looked, then he had a brief fleeting thought that the man he met beforehand may have been responsible for such a creation, so he observed then, studied them he had watched for Tens of Thousands of Years until he came across someone who was wearing lots of Gold.
This Gold Man was known as a Pharaoh, and he wanted to build something great, something never before seen by any "Human"
Idea: After the comic relief’s bumbling releases the Dark Lord, the party begins to suspect that the comic relief character is an agent of evil there to sidetrack and sabotage all their progress and turn on him.
Twist is, he’s not, and it turns into a thriller where he is forced to flee the party and has to try and fix his mistake, while the party is actively trying to hunt him down.
That's actually a really good story idea.
I’d read it
Not only does it sound cool, it's unique enough to draw some attention and it is a thriller so it could earn plenty of money
That sounds like a unique idea that I feel like should’ve been done long ago.
Sounds like Jar Jar
To be fair, the extremely outdated meme is so outdated that I don't think most of us remember it from anywhere other than terrible writing advice
Also in defense of TWA it's pretty much this entire time been a visual gag that hasn't had attention drawn to it at every single fucking opportunity. Unlike many certain "funny" characters nowadays.
true
And YMS.
It's old enough that I can't even remember what context it was usually used in. It's just been there....since the dark times of the universe....
Like Chuck Norris.
Troll Face anyone?
So the author hates the comic relief character because he hates himself...
I sense a meta plot brewing throughout these episodes...
I think the serious critic is his a manifestation of his disappointment in himself. He became a writer to make the next "To Kill a Mockingbird" but ended up writing the next Twilight or something.
According to Caligula Effect, people sometimes get disgusted the very others that have similar, yet extreme version, mentalities to themselves. Ex - Mifue Shinohara
I dislike them because being useless is always a core part of this obsolete trope meant for creating a cast of caricatures. I can think of a ton of 'the wacky one' characters that not only have all the qualities that made the concept of a comic relief viable for centuries, but are also as much of an asset to the adventure as the 'cooler' heroes of their pack, even sometimes becoming the voice of reason when everyone else loses perspective.
I like to think the comic relief character is really depressed and every scene they’re not in it’s because they’re off in the distance crying to themselves
Ha ha ha ha ha!
literally dazai
That’s the Jester from the Darkest Dungeon games.
basically sayori
I've been waiting for this since the romantic subplot episode lol.
Same. I hate these fuckers. Especially the magical small creature variant that are supposed to be "cute".
Same
That means the romance Genre is next
Same
Same
How to write an episode of terrible writing advice
All the memes.
Step 1) Pick a trope/cliche
Step 2) Reference to love triangle
Step 3) Sarcasm
@@calswartz615 Don't just sarcasm, SLATHER THE SCRIPT WITH PURE SARCASM.
T.G W.H.M.V don't forget the unnecessarily well written sponsorship subplot arcs.
@@remixtheidiot5771 did you mean "the part when I close the video?"
Don't forget to make the comic relief the MAIN CHARACTER OF THE *SEQUEL* !
you ever heard about percy jakson- he was the comic relif of is on serise and it wasnt the sequel
*cough* Cars 2! *cough* *cough*
*cough cough* Emperor's New Groove *cough cough*
*cough* *cough* The goofy movie *cough* *cough*
*cough cough* Dory *cough cough*
Funny Story: My teacher showed us the characterization terrible writing advice episode during Creative writing class. It really taught me so much about how characterization is not necessary at all, and that the audience will better identify with cardboard cutouts and archetypes. Thank you :)
I wish my teacher would show us videos like this
Actually, archetypes are great. But you have to develop them.
@@emilianorios4761 I had a Spanish teacher introduce me to the "Que hora es" comedy sketch and "The One Semester of Spanish Love Song."
Zappers!
That's sincerely amazing.
The salt in this video is enough for an entire movie theater's popcorn.
I would love to see a story where the heroes use a comic relief character to annoy the villains into revealing their secrets or stopping their plans
Freakazoid
Or the opposite. The comic relief character is working for the villain. They are trying to annoy the heroes to death so they give up on their quest.
So, Sponge out of Water...
@@Eris250 But it ends up having the opposite affect with the heroes desperately trying to finish their goal so they don't have to be around the comic relief character
They do that in "Spongebob out of water"
"Remember, there is no relief, from *comic* relief"
Damn. That shit's so chilling that I feel inspired to write a comic relief supervillain. 😏
Congrats! You just invented the Joker
doofenshmirtz evil incorporatedddddddd
Ninnikins Honestly Doofenschmirz is a great written character. Especially in the new series
@@theakiwar9118 new series
@@theakiwar9118 come again
How to write the ending to a series!
No seriously, considering how many good shows seem to crash and burn in the final season.
or just don't have any good seasons at all after a while.
Or just announcing that the next season is cancelled, even though the plot was left far away from the end.
Yeah the last season was rubbish haven’t watched the later episode only the last one
Cough voltron cough
@@user-xq9cx9ky9m "and at this moment a endless field of wails could be heard from TAWOG fans"
Ron Weasley in the books: Witty, funny, only cracks jokes at the right time
Ron in the movies: Idiotic, not funny, straight up stupid
No truer words have been spoken
Knowing now what Joanne is really like, I think it's just because she was too lazy to come up with more jokes while writing the books, which accidentally made him just the perfect level of comedic.
@@imveryangryitsnotbutter Eh, considering most of Ron’s good moments in the books get transferred to Hermoine in the movies, I’d say it’s likely they made Ron an idiot so they could both hype her up more and give them the perfect trio (Harry as Everyman, Hermoine as OP Girlboss, and Ron as Slapstick)
True
What's more insulting is Ron is such a street smart and also tend to save Hermione and Harry's asses in the books by using his wit and good at problem solving yet in the films they stripped away that good quality in him and some of his important and smart lines were given to Hermione in the film. the directors doesn't really care about his character and thinks he's just those typical comic relief characters. the only thing that the film was rightly portrayed about Ron is his flaws especially in the 3rd book where Ron becomes so jealous of Harry's popularity and pushing him away.
Remember every one a Comic Relief Character must say a joke when there is a heart felt or sad scene.Hey it's not like it will break tension and cause a huge tone shift people will buy it any way.
Also it's not like our comic relief is able to have any emotions and actually have a personality and attachment to certain characters
Dont dare to use a joke that adds something significant to the tone o a dramatic scene.
Zappers!
Marvel is guilty of this. Looking at you Thor Ragnarok.
Wow, that must be why Layton vs Wright was so well-recieved. This has truly opened my eyes.
Is it just me or is there an increase in honesty and character breaking in these last couple of videos? C-could it be... *GASP* character development?! into Good Writing Advice?!
FailedLeopard don’t. Worry. He’ll be hitting the reset button in the next video.
that's more character progression.
...Through a transition of Mediocre Writing Advice.
In summary, make a comic relief CHARACTER, not a COMIC RELIEF character.
Yes, exactly!
"We've tried the cushions and comfy chair, but we have other ways of making you talk"
"You merciless swine!"
"Bring forth the comic relief"
Woah! I never thought I'd run into you here! OwO
I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition.
@@louisduarte8763 Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise; surprise and fear.
@@fire-nrg7962 UwU
Teal Marjira Mmmm UwO
And remember when it comes to humor, there’s no such thing as gallows humor, where a character acknowledges the horrible situation they’re in and tries to cope by making a somewhat tasteless joke about it. Whaddya mean “You have to laugh to keep from crying?” Why would someone do that?”
And if it somehow does exist, reverse it by stripping the character of all character development by giving them a girlfriend! *cough cough Caleo cough cough*
You're giving me a great idea, this could work with a healer type of character, given the rather stressful nature of the role.
Dragon Quest 11 does this well, I think.
Being denied the love triangle is like being denied any semblance of character development. You're not even worthy of the bad tropes. Damn...
The most important thing to remember when writing a comic relief character is to not actually give them a CHARACTER, they must be comic relief and only comic relief
Nor should you explain WHY they constantly try to be zany, maybe it's their way of coping with stressful situations, or they genuinely want to cheer up their friends, or maybe it's a sort of defensive habit to deflect their own insecurities, that sounds difficult to write and TOTALLY not interesting!
Also, comic relief characters must be the only ones who even attempt to lighten the mood, no matter how out of place it makes them seem in the group of serious, brooding heroes
@@LendriMujina ruclips.net/video/p_aLj7_vrIc/видео.html
catz dog In my defense, that wasn't my intention. The character in question is in personal things that I write for myself, not any work that would even benefit from advertising.
I was basically trying to see if I understood the OP's advice correctly. If it came across as marketing, I apologize.
I've deleted the comment, at any rate. Again, sorry.
This comment is so sad. The second paragraph is just you describing me.
If your comic relief is successful make sure that he TAKES OVER THE ENTIRE STORY to the point of throwing away every other character with actual traits and storyarcs.
Sounds vaguely like a recent nautical franchise I think I once saw.
Looking at you, Frozen, Despicable Me, and Jimmy Neutron
@Minisheep it's so weird seeing the fandom portray Sans as this annoying comic relief character that never shuts the hell up, and always spews some bad puns, when in the game he made like 2 jokes.
@@ginogatash4030
The fandom treated the sans as the protangonist, badass, Gary stu and comic relief despite he done so little in game.
@@cbbblue8348 well, in the genocide ending he turned out to be overpowered, but yeah.
"Zappers! Those orphans burned up worse than my odds of finding a date this weekend"
Bruh
Too soon...
Not gonna lie, I found the joke darkly humorous. But then again I am a person who, in person, will ask people why [insert evil act] isn't the logical solution to [insert problem] just to see the look on their face.
Ikr?
*Mood*
Me
"Y'know, I lost my mom when I was 15. I don't think I'll ever be able to be close to another person again."
"Well, we can't get your mom back. But, you still have a family, pal."
" _smirk_ I guess you're right." _hugs_
*out of freaking nowhere:* "Geez, get a room you two! AMIRIGHT?!"
_laughter ensues_
Why does this aggravate me?
Comic relief characters is the living embodiment of this meme:
Nobody:
Comic Relief Character:
Nice to see you Just Some Guy with a Mustache.
One of my favorite roleplay moments was replying to the line "Get a room, you two!" with "This _is_ our room. What are you doing here?"
your algerithem must be really advanced.
Comic Relief characters. Aaaah.
On the serious note, don't you love the shocking moment when the comic relief character actuslly has a serious moment? Like they step in and say something serious or pull off some epic move?
Makes you have to stop reading and question everything. Lol
I love books like that.
You seen Death Note? Climax of that is one of those moments
Or it could be like Kingsman, where the main characters/protagonist _is_ the comic relief character in some ways, or one of the intended comic relief characters is actually needed in the plot and saves the protagonist a few times.
God bless thee and Rest In Peace, Merlin.
@@tlshortyshorty5810 Or where the whole cast is comical sometimes and also useful. Thanks, Pirates of the Caribbean.
Although there the tone of the film is comical anyway
ZAPPERS
I've seen you before on pmd videos comments
Here's some catchphrases for you to use:
"I am vengeance! I am the night! *oinks"*
_"Bazwe"_
"Wow, I am Batman!"
*"Bazwe"*
I'm stealing that last one, and you can't stop me!
"I am the shadow that flaps in the night!"
*_COPROGRIND NOISES BUT LONGER_*
ok but honestly bazoinks is kind of a vibe
"No love triangle for you pal, you are the comic relief."
Adam Sandler : *cracking knucles* .
"Too bad I can't turn you fossils into fuel." I love everything the business villain says
Must be a comic rel...
Wait.
Waaaiiiiit.
I love the war for the sponsors. They have the best writing in the series
Person: *is bleeding out of his head on the floor*
Comic relief: zApPeRs
Lol
"Zappers!"
*"You sure are more of a joke than me, zappers."*
Only good comic relief character is cayde 6
"Zappers! Talk about keeping an open mind!"
@@generalstaal7075 that made me feel something that I can really only describe as “no”
I’ll have you know Darth Jar Jar is not comic relief
Tbh, Darth Jar Jar would have subverted the entire trope in a spectacular way.
@@RashidMBey we all know they don't have the balls to pull darth jar jar
@@RashidMBey tbh, Darth jar jar is the reason I have seen episode 1 more than the other prequels. I like imagining what could have been the anti-Yoda.
@@christophergarcia9022
Maybe Lucas did. But Hollywood? Definitely not.
Didn't they kinda have that in the Yuuzhan Vong arc of the old Expanded Universe? How well was that recieved?
Please make and episode about killing a character
John Stenson y e s
Whats killing a character, this is a story made by me so I can bring him back with whatever dark magic or end of story upgrade.
@A Personthen just purify him with the power of friendship, sure he might die again (well that's a good thing since I can lazily recreate another sad scene without putting much thought in it) and also gives the main character one last upgrade.
Act Five Syndrome...from Shakespeare...EVERYONE DIES!!!!!
SPOILER: Ben Affleck's SF characters sudden death in Triple Frontier was a good example of how to create suspense, tension.
“I call that the zapper zapper”
XD nice move Gandalf
3:43 sad finger guns is always the way to do angst for a comic relief character
“Jar-Jar is they key to all of this”
-Greorge Lucas
*JAR JAR WAS BEHIND THE WAR THIS WHOLE TIME*
That is true from a certain point of view.
@@ZKP314 he did help elect Palpatine, I believe.
+Steven Bobby Bills
Jar Jar Binks helped Palpatine gain emergency powers, allowing him to be more autonomous in governing the entire Republic.
That said, Jar Jar Binks was definitely a unique addition to Star Wars and I do not hate him.
He’s a funnier character than we’ve ever had
Then, should it be called the Jar Jar War?
How to make a good character relieve:
My answer: Sokka, make him funny but giving him traits that doesn't make his only trait being a jokester and make his jokes be on determined circumstances when appropriated and don't stick with catchphrases because the chance of them getting old fast is easily achievable
PLOT TWIST!
The comic relief character was actually an evil genius all along.
Jester in Devil May Cry 3.
Tobi in Naruto
Tobiiiii
Darth Jar Jar
Scrappy Doo
"That damn bitch..."
Not really an evil genius, per se, but still
Honestly, Soka from Avatar is one of the best comic relief characters ever!
Much more after seeing this video. Because he was A CHARACTER first, and then comic relief. The same thing happened with Toph. She was funny as hell, BESIDES having a personality.
Yes I love both of those characters! Them being funny isn't their entire personality!
As awesome as Soka is (he was my favorite character in Avatar), he's a rare exception who proves the norm.
He was a Badass, who was funny
@@TheDr502 you dare oppose uncle iroh?
This just makes me love Camilo Madrigal even more than I already do. When Casita fell apart, he wasn't like "Bazoinks, our house is broken!", he came in with a realistic remark that still managed to shift the tone for a bit. Along with that, he does seem to have a lot of characterisation besides being comic relief, like when he tries to calm his mum down, showing that he cares about her. He's really well written for a character with five minutes of screentime. Also, he doesn't have an annoying voice.
Of all the character designs, your comic relief guy looks the most bad ass.
Jay Nevermore He looks Casually bad ass
*perhaps he's merely the Anti-Comic Relief Character*
He looks like Star Lord
He looks like that annoying guy who serve no purpose than being weirdo in Avengers
Which one, the one with the jacket or the clown?
Both will do
The absolute enthusiasm in your voice at 2:05 had me dying.
"The LOVE triangle!"
He's gotta work it into the video somewhere...
Even if it's putting _himself_ in a love triangle _with_ the love triangle...
Imagine if the Comic Relief was actually a twist villain. With his covert attempts at murdering the heroes being disguised as simple "bumbling around". And his klutzy, silly and annoying persona being a facade to hide his true devious nature. And the fact that comic relief characters are often seen as pathetic or useless to the plot to many viewers doesn't help either.
So... Tohru Adachi...?
That happened in the Deptford Histories, kind of, except the characters hated the "comic relief" too.
That somewhat reminds me of the Chief Inspector from the (original) Pink Panther movies. He’s constantly trying to murder the main character, but comes off as comic relief.
Lol
So Handsome Jack?
Wait, wait, wait, you're doing it all wrong. The comic relief character absolutely has to be in the final battle! The story might get too edgy, and that's exactly what we want to avoid since we made the comic relief character. He should be brought into battle, even if he has zero combat capabilities, just so he can repeat his one tired gag like a broken record and make sure the mood is broken every five seconds.
Yes, of course! You can also make the comic relief character make everyone fail at their mission so that there could be a full sequel afterwards!
Also, if the final confrontation involves a large battle with lots of faceless soldiers, make sure to throw in a Wilhelm scream in the middle of the carnage to remind the audience not to take the deaths of background characters too seriously. At the same time, however, we need to be reminded of how compassionate our hero is by having him lament the loss of those same faceless soldiers at whose deaths we just laughed.
Mantis in Endgame
"I think that enemy got the point"
@@Shizukomi
_"I_ think that enemy got... _the point!"_
Make the protagonist a comic relief character. Its as easy as the LOVE TRIANGLE.
Better yet, have 2 goofy members of the heroic team- one pretty much unquestionably has all the deus ex machina powers to justify his place on the team; the other is a "lovable coward" with a funny accent whom you have to question why they keep him around other than the fact that it's a silly kid's show. They're both technically in a love triangle with the brains of the group, but it's clear her choice is the hero, and the bumbling scardey-cat keeps trying and/or angsting about his lack of chances with the girl anyway _because it's funny._
-It's totally not like this is an actual description of the dynamic between Sonic, Antoine, and Sally respectively on Sonic SatAM, this summary being written by someone who actually adores the show. ^_^-
Edit: Forgot to mention protag/funnyguy1 is the one who's always spouting _mondo, way past cool_ catchphrases! _Gotta juice!_
@@ChaosRayZero Better idea: we make every single character in the story comic relief, except each one has they're own funny attribute. Ranging from Jar Jar Bink's levels of annoying to an apathetic, Bill Murray style sarcasm. Hell, make the antagonist funny too. Make him a clown! Turn it into a horror story! Base it off a book! Make it take place in-
Wait
That's not a bad idea. The main MC may have to save the world but he doesn't take it seriously enough so the foil would be serious AF.......
Wait that’s the Aquaman movie.
My name is earl falls pretty much into it. You have earl with the karma mostly on his side and a very comical list off bad things he did and the lovely doofus randy his brother. Key is really giving them a good relationship and the hero a story arc and let him grow. And everyone is zany.
@@ChaosRayZero is this a reference to something specific?
Jokes aside, I'm glad how Star Wars treated Jar-Jar in The Clone Wars TV series. Even though he's as clumsy and hateable as in Phantom Menace, it has a few episodes where he's actually the hero. It makes life harder to Mace Windu, but his innocence and loyalty are actually highlighted, and those are traits that neither Yoda, Obi-Wan nor Padmé have, only Jar-Jar has.
Clone Wars has amazing writing.
@@Meepo007 Clone Wars is Star wars given The Last Airbender (cartoon, not movie) treatment.
@@generalstaal7075 I know
Since I was a kid when TPM came out, I actually loved Jar Jar. But I'm sorry I absolutely hated CW Jar Jar. Which made me sad a bit.
@@Meepo007 Yeah. I can't help but feel that The Clone Wars would have been better if it was, you know, free of Canon. Maybe with a team of completly original characters who don't have plot armor and could interact with the main cast in a set period in the setting.
But enough about Rebels! XD
Bad guy: believe me when I say the death of your master was nothing personal. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong timee.
Comic relief character: B a z i n g a
Laugh track: GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I'd have the villain say: "Guess who else is in the wrong place at the wrong time?"
Comic relief: "The President!"
Villain: "Close enough." **kills comic relief**
[ B A Z I N G A]
@@demi-femme4821 that makes me wonder, you think he should do a terrible writing advise on "social issues" wich for some of writers, especially in comic books, seems to be a code name for "shoving my political ideas down the reader/viewer's throat"?
@@ginogatash4030 I think it would be best if he put that one aside.
@@kashim4351 yeah, he doesn't seem to want to touch on "controversial" topics, the closest he ever got was world building, and even then he just went "you deal with it".
though, i think it's important to teach how to not turn your story into a sad excuse for preaching politics, and handling other touchy subjects as well, because you really don't want to fuck up in that department.
If anything, I've always pitied the comic relief character; they're this sad, lonely creature who wanders aimlessly through the plot, forced by the author's incompetence to be the only living thing around with a sense of humor (an AWFUL sense of humor, but still) and surrounded by people who can only react to their desperate banter and lame jokes with either amused confusion or undisguised contempt. In a world of overly-serious and joyless characters, the comic relief walks alone: the one cheap neon light of levity drifting away in the vast darkness...
Makes me think of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
That description actually has some potiental...
This would be a great concept for a meta-story.
Putting this on the list of real meta stuff I need to write about.
Someone should make a novel about life from a comic relief characters point of view.
I honestly hate it sooo much when the comic relief character is irrationally bullied and taken advantage of by everyone in the show, for seemingly no reason other then: "oh its ok he's just a nerd he doesn't matter. Its soooo toxic!
*Me*: Please, I've given you everything I had!
*The comic relief character ascending into the air, eyes burning like molten steel*: Zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers zappers
What is that referencing
*MEESA MEESA MEESA MEESA MEESA MEESA MEESA MEESA MEEEEEEEEEEEEESAAAAAAAAAAA*
Zap to the extreme!
Johnny, The Tormentor Nothing specifically
@@johnny_my_penls_is_small_but referencing the video which in turn is referencing Ja Ja B
Missed Opportunity:
"Perhaps we can actually utilize the fact that the other characters look down on the comic relief for characterization opportunities. Because the other characters underestimate the comic relief, maybe they could let their guard down around the clown and thus make their own character flaws more apparent in the process. Pfft. Nah. let's just have all the characters merely say the comic relief sucks and leave it at that cause merely acknowledging the problems without actually doing anything about them automatically fixes everything!"
I bring up Michelangelo from the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" franchise as a good example as his comedic antics and immaturity often brings out his brothers' character flaws like Rafael's wrath or Leonardo's over protectiveness.
Think my favorite comic relief is Ussop from one piece. Since he's not as physically strong and is always running away really show how he uses jokes to cope with his situation and that he isn't just a punchline since he has as much emotion as the rest of the cast even more
Yeah and Michelangelo being written like a tool comic relief annoys me.
What's Donnie flaws
@@jakeystarsuper Misunderstanding and occasional apathy towards his relationships with his family's actions/emotions because he's too absorbed in completing his own tasks, I think
@@jakeystarsuper he is flawless
Perrito from Puss in boots: the last wish is the only comic relief character I don't groan when they're on screen. The fact he contributes to the story instead of ruining the heroes plan by accident really helps
Not to mention that he knows when to take things seriously.
@@valentinkambushev4968And because he also does lighten the mood without being annoying. We also see him use his skills of being a therapy dog so it’s not just a stupid throw away fact
When I first saw him introduced in the movies, I initially thought: "Oh no, it's one of *those* annoying characters".
How wrong I was
I now have the urge to teach an Animal Crossing character to end their sentences with "zappers."
Please don't.
@@demi-femme4821 Why not? I only have City Folk and Wild World, so it's not like they'll go out into the world via online play or anything. The only person who it'll likely ever affect- _the only person who will likely ever see it-_ is me. =^p
Still beats "How wude!"
(You can do that in Animal Crossing?)
@PartySlime76 I'd have to delete my old data for that. Not willing to go _that far,_ thank you.
I've always been leery of characters made just to fill an archetype, and the comedy relief is the worst of the lot.
I much prefer when the comedic moments come from the foibles and natural screw ups that well written characters make.
Han Solo is a great example. "Uh... had a slight weapons malfunction. But, uh, everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine now. How are you?"
This is what we call a failed bluff.
That certainly worked far better than all the robot slapstick.
I honestly find this is the hardest character archetype to write. Especially if your sense of humor is unique and only you understand it.
Most of the funny characters usually end up getting stale as time goes on.
Extra points if you make them (and only them) your representation of a marginalized group!
Every "diversity for the sake of diversity" group ever.
*and go out of your way to deliberately draw eye rolling attention to that fact at every opportunity imaginable and in the most forced and contrived manner possible during conversations that have absolutely NOTHING to do with the given plot narrative or situational crisis to the point where it becomes the primary focus of the plot and all else becomes secondary*
yea pizza
@@scottmantooth8785 More importantly the character's status as a minority has no bearing on their backstory, outlook, how they interact with others, or how they are treated according to the rules of the setting. It's just an accent.
SKIDS AND MUDFLAP
Zappers! Now that was an epic video, Zappers!
Darn it you beat me to it
Meesa loves this video!
Everything he described regarding the comic relief character reminds me of Gilligan, the bumbling idiot from “Gilligan’s Island” who keeps messing up all the castaways’ attempts to escape the island.
ок
Except if you actually look at the track record, 2 out of 3 times their escape attempts weren’t foiled by Giligan at all. And many of the ones he does mess up wouldn’t have worked anyways. Giligan may be dumb, but he isn’t really any more of a hindrance than any of the other characters.
There's a key difference between Gilligan and all other dime-a-dozen comic relief characters: Gilligan is actually funny.
I think everyone also forgets that Gilligan's Island was a sitcom not searing drama about a desperate battle for survival on an uncharted island. Narrative context is also important when one considers the characters and their relationship to the story.
@@sertorrhenclegane The writer confirmed fan theories that the 7 characters in Gilligan's Island represent the 7 deadly sins. So "don't read too much into it" doesn't really apply to that show.
Please make one on adult comedy, it's one of my favourite genres and the most often abused one out there (at least in my opinion)
Edenor Clique adult comedy has sex joke, shocking imagery, something controversial, sex joke
"hey guys, ever heard about SEX lol, lmao people have sex and it's so wacky haha" -every shit cash grab adult comedy
“HEY LOOK HOW FUNNY WE ARE WALLOWING IN CONTRIVED, FORCED PESSIMISM AND COVERING THE ENTIRE SCREEN WITH BLOOD AND GORE IN A WAY THAT WOULD MAKE EVEN THE WORST CREEPYPASTA AUTHORS VOMIT! I HEARD SOMEONE SAY MISERY IS THE ESSENCE OF COMEDY SO EVERYTHING BEING ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE FOR 30 MINUTES WILL SURELY AMOUNT TO THE GREATEST OF WRITING, EVEN IF WE DO ALMOST NO WRITING!!!!”
@@moonlighteclipse1265 i want to spice things up with relatable characters group, and incredibly attractive jock man who loses. yes its all coming together
@@moonlighteclipse1265 Don't forget the token shitty artsyle.
You should do Terrible Writing Advice: Subverting Expectations
+10000000000000000000000000000000000
and then subvert expectations by starting off like a serious video and then swapping over the comical satirical side we normally see, but the subvert expectations by becoming serious again, then become comical again, and then just keep on doing it over and over again in an orderly fashion. It's not like that probably won't work out and the viewers will just get annoyed by the constant switching around and their expectations not be subverted anymore because of the orderly manner the serious/satirical swaps happen in.
@@SummersTimelyCringe Also make sure to completely destroy the very concept of continuity to the point when the last 5 seconds don't make sense with what's shown next
@@panlis6243 yes, can't forget that! Most important detail!
there is an "ending a story"
7:30
"Could I choose a more pleasant fate, like being devoured alive by Cthulu?"
That's an amazing line :D
*I am vengeance! I am the night!* oinks
Wow, I am Batman!
This was funnier than it should've been.
I rolled a 3 and a 6 and was trying to find a comment to this effect but you did this
Remember, the Comic relief *MUST* be stupid
*looks at Patrick Star*
*Wheezes in Cosmo*
*Laughs maniacally in Sokka, Drax, Leo, Lance, Sassy Jace, Sassy Harry, sassy protagonists and side characters*
The Doctor laughs in his smartness
ooohooo so you're saying that boom Sonic is stupid? sounds about right...
Anime comic relief character:
High pitched voice
Short
Huge pervert
5 people like them
THICC
Mineta?
@@itzelramirez4801 yea except nobody likes him i hope
@@sophie6744 Tsuyu and Sero are on friendly terms with mineta, even though they call him out
Midoriya and Kaminari are also good friends with him.
r/churchofmineta also exists lmao
@Rawfie that actually exist.
@Rawfie ughh I need that visual bleached from my head
Comic relief is wasted if the goofy person isn’t involved in a love triangle
Depressive Tangela Just imagine a love triangle between Padme, Anakin, and JarJar....
You mean by interrupting romantic moments?
@@jas-hr6gq You are making me picture things I don't wanna picture.
Ace The Not So Great good
Best Comic Relief Character is obviously The Joker, duuh
I thought it was Lord jar jar
Ive laughed at some of his jokes
We truly live in a society.
Wilson The Joker is the best comic relief character....actually. Think about it. That’s what makes him a great villain.
Technically, I think The Joker is classified as a Force of Nature character.
Comic relief character actually done amazingly: Stella from winx club, she is aware of tension and dangers and does crack jokes to break the tension and when she gets critisiced about it by other characters she literally tells them to stfu because humour is literally human's only self-defense mechanism to seriously psychologically harming threats and the darkest parts of human's psyche and points out that many war veterans will tell you is that the last thing they saw their comrades doing before being anihilated is smiling or laughing, she literally roasts someone like this to the point where the character that critiscized her has no other option but to answer "well, you better crack a really good one right now",
*Stella in the first 3-4 seasons
@@saranemcova5448 (there's an English vesion of my coment too, don't worry) Jo, Stella po tom, co Winx Club začal bý víc dětský, zblbla.Stella v sériích 1-4 byla vtipná a ráda se bavila, ale byla i silná, dokázala brát věci vážně a starala a bála se o své přátele a rodinu. Upřímně se mi moc líbí jak se Winx Club vyhnul klišé zlé holky nebo hloupé blondýny. Stella je blondýna, je bohatá (jelikož je princeznou) a je fashionista. Tohle jsou tři věci, z kterých se tyhle archetypy velmi často skládají, a i když Stella není úplně nejchytřejší postava a škola jí někdy moc nejde, stála je v prvních čtyřech sériích daleko chytřejší a vážnější než v těch novějších. (Ty novější série celkově se neberou moc vážně.)🙄🙄🙄
Yeah, Stella became pretty dumb after Winx Club became more childish. Stella in seasons 1-4 was funny and fun loving, but she was also strong, could take things seriously and cared and worried about her friends and family. Honestly, I really like how Winx Club avoided the cliché of mean girl or dumb blonde. Stella is blonde, she's rich (since she's a princess) and she's a fashionista. These are the three things that these archetypes very often consist of, and even though Stella isn't exactly the smartest character and sometimes doesn't do well in school, she was far smarter and more serious in the first four seasons than in the later ones. (The newer seasons generally do not take themselfs very seriously.)🙄🙄🙄
holy fuck, I would need a really good comic relief too after that
good comic relief characters:
- Flash in justice league animated series
- Sokka from avatar the last airbender
- Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element
bad comic relief characters:
- marlon wayans in Dungeons & Dragons
- those annoying robots in Transformers movie
- Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element
Gabriel Takahashi truly, Chris Tucker is so legendary he can split the fabric of reality in two with one performance.
Tormund from Game of Thrones?
@@vgmaster9 good, bad or both?
@@Gavarel Good, at least to me.
Speaking of which I think there is something in terrible writing advice we would like to see the "character we are supposed to relate to" by which I mean every stupid human in a Transformers cartoon (and maybe the films but those suck anyway), the kids in action shows like MASK, some stupid character in a hero movie like Batman's commoner girlfriends, Superman's son in Superman Returns (cuz you can't showcase his humanity otherwise), the "cowardly sidekick" in the rest of the action shows like Uhn from Wheeled Warriors, Cringer in classic He-Man, Cowl in She-Ra, etc.
Ironically, this is your funniest episode in a while.
That's because you can hear his utter hatred for this character bubbling just under the surface.
That's funny to you guys? Hey to each their own.
“There IS no relief from Comic Relief”
So, basically every American animated movie since 1992?
What happened in 1992?
@@jackcooper1448 Genie, Iago, and Abu from Aladdin, but mostly Genie and Iago
@@multilad816 at least the genie was a good character
You realize that films before then had comic relief as well, don't you? The Little Mermaid had Sebastian & the seagull, Cinderella had the rats, Wizard of Oz is basically three comic relief characters stuck with a normal person, etc.
@@thewanderingmistnull2451 Shh. He's probably a millennial. Anything before the 1980s or 1990s doesn't exist (unless it's cherrypicked historical atrocities, like slavery and The Holocaust).
8:20 "Shame I can't turn fossils like you into fuel"
this joke, this is so beautiful!
"There is no relief from the comic relief!" Another golden quote from JP. I understand your irritation with comic relief character. I most of the time don't enjoy them either. An example of a comic relief character I feel works really well is Sokka from Avatar the Last Airbender. I think that's because he's not JUST comic relief. He has an arc, he's not always making light of the situation, he's a multifaceted person, which makes him realistic and relatable. I think why most comic relief characters are teeth gnashingly irritating is because they're just a cardboard cut out like. You hit the nail on the head with how not to do this. The cardboard cut out zinger spewer must go!
Hayley ^_^
Did you...did you just sign a youtube comment?
In a personal project I'm working on, the comic relief uses humor as a means of coping due to his constant fears of being alone and forgotten. So mine would clearly fail as a true comic relief.
Terrible Writing Advice is so funny.
Even though he sarcastically tells us how to write a comic relief character and thus tells us, how NOT to write one, he does this in such a fun and inspired fashion, that he actually DOES tell us.
Brilliant
I think you're a little late to that party...
There's an old saying in writing: "Show, don't tell." A sarcastic live demonstration follows pretty closely to that idea.
Jan Nelle good job captain obvious
*uses JarJar as an example of comic relief gone wrong*
You are gravely mistaken. Do not underestimate the true master of the sith...
Jar Jar should have been a very bitter and cynical freelance mercenary, heavily scarred, missing one eye and having it replaced with a cybernetic implant...and voiced by an unscripted Samuel L. Jackson...he would have been loved/adored and cherished by the fans the moment he appeared on screen
Scott Mantooth You have a point. Visually speaking, gungans don't have a bad design, and they could have been interesting if they were written (very) differently.
@@victory7213 A film theory
Sokka is a comic relief character done right. You know, because they made him an actual CHARACTER. An expanding moral point of view, a backstory, strong traits of leadership, skills and special abilities in combat, a cunning, strategic mind and so much more. A character can be funny and fleshed out at the same time, which is apparently a bunch of writers don’t understand. The way they developed Sokka and his complex personality is why he is perhaps my favorite character in Avatar.
Comic Relief works better as a *secondary* role. They should be another character type above it and the jokes should take a backseat to the character's primary role, only surfacing where appropriate.
Heck, they could even be a *passive* comic relief, where funny things happen *to* them such as external factors such as being in the wrong place at the wrong time or unintended consequences of an ill-thought-out but trivial action instead of it being their conscious choice.
You could also contrast that by having the character themselves be much more serious and less comedic than most of the others while having a large amount of comedic scenarios fall to them.
Another thing: Remember to make the character scaredly and useless, so the audience feels frustrated at how he's just getting in the way of the protagonists and not contributing anything... But Hey... *IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY*
Something I like for comic relief is when the comic relief doesn't completely overthrow the tension.
Example: tense action scene with many characters running around. Two characters bump into each other and fall over or one character slips on something and falls before getting up٫ quickly saying "I'm ok!" and going back to fighting.
By doing this there's a quick laugh that doesn't completely ruin the moment.
According to the dice, my new catchphrase is... **rolling dice** Baziambatman!
...I'm not sure I can pull that off.
+SgtSupaman
Say it as two words quickly: Baziam Batman!
It has a good ring to it, although it sounds like something Robin would say.
@@spartandelta2756 Holy baziam, Batman!
Mine was "Wow I am Batman"
@@maxthepaladin2147 Let's make it even easier to say and more catchy. Bazzam Batman, zz pronounced as in pizza.
Holy Bazzam Batman, what am I doin' with my life?
I am vengeance, I am
The nightoinks
I keep forgetting that the writer’s Lolface is...well, the Lolface meme. It fits him so well.
Why make an actual character, when you can just have a walking joke machine? It’s so much easier, and definitely won’t make the audience want to strangle me!
OH MY GOD. “Walking joke machine” is the best way I’ve EVER heard anyone describe bad comic relief characters. I’m stealing that LOL
And then you have Samwise in LOTR. Comic relief, hero and the one with the best ending of all the hobbits.
Because starting to talk about strawberries while nearly dying is clear comic relief. But then being the only person ever to freely give up the One Ring turns him into one of, if not the best character in the story in my opinion.
Merry and Pippin are the comedic duo rahter than sam, who is more of a sidekick. But Merry and Pippin are first of all gold, and they have their own arcs and plotlines and serve a purpose. They get the ents to take isengard, they fight alongside gondor/rohan.
If you think the conversation about strawberries is comic relief, you may have completely missed the point of that scene, if not the entire narrative...
Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gimli, and Gollum all have their moments as comic relief, but they all have depth and a role that fits within the larger work.
Sam is not really comic relief tho
I never read the end of LOTR. What happens to the four hobbits?
In Dungeons and Dragons, my Orc killed the comic relief character for releasing a demon lord... It wasn't funny.
Just satisfying?
@@megashark1013 oh it was tons of fun for me.
Sounds about right
2:18 I wonder if "I am vengeance, I am the night-inga" would work as a catchphrase for a comic relief character?
Even the sarcasm cant stifle the rage the comic relief brings