Protagonist vs Main Character
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2024
- Ever wonder what the difference was between a main character and a protagonist? Most of the time they are the same person, but not always! Today we dig into the meaning and contrast of the two, as well as why a writer would want to split those roles apart in the first place.
If I were to use an example, I think I would use Rick and Morty. Morty is a normal, slightly dumb, even, child who is thrust into all sorts of random adventures with Rick, the protagonist, who is the one who drives the plot, is the main point of interest, and is insane in a way that nobody understands.
A Surperior Storm of Salt perfect example
Subverted because Morty becomes very proactive in some s3 episodes.
Major League Character
I think its also a good example of how the protagonist effects the main character and gives them a story arc as well
I may be off, but this seems like it would apply to "V For Vendetta"
Yes and no, since near the end of the story the audience is encouraged to lose their relation to Evey as she becomes more like V, in a very extreme way. I believe it was a clever way to show the effects of V on Evey (and us too), and then snatch that away as the story ends to leave enough time for us to reflect on how violently V had changed us.
It's not just a story about how V was *right*, but about how he was *also wrong* in his extremism and methods. It's a very interesting play with the concept.
Oh my god. I literally was thinking that while I scrolled down! How come we ended up with the exact same story in mind!?
+Mordirit
It may apply regardless, since, with it sweeping away our connection to Evey in the end it still had us connected with her for most of the movie. Yet V is still the protagonist in many ways, even with his flaws.
A controversial example is in Final Fantasy XII. The orphan kid Vaan is presented to the audience as a main character. You spend the first part of the game with him and see him meet up with the other characters and get caught up in the adventure. However, when the plot rolls around, it's about the princess, Ashe, trying to liberate her kingdom. Ashe is the protagonist of the game while Vaan is the main character.
I thought of that too as i watched this video. And this video made me realize why Vaan is even there. Because the story really does revolve around Ashe and I have seen many complain about him even being there but now it makes sense. I think i need to play that remake now and pay more attention to how they use Vaan to tell us the story.
Vaan may be main character and ashe may be the protagonist, but everybody knows that Balthier is the leading man.
So, a lot like Doctor Who! The companions are the "main characters" but the Doctor is (often) "The Protagonist"?
How true! we find the main character and protagonists are often not the same person even in the unfolding drama of real life situations.
It is very interesting how writing tools can be applied to situations inside and outside of fiction.
My first episode :)
Dude! Morty and Yoh from Shaman King!
Star Wars: Thrawn is great for this
Pen & Sword Great Gatsby is a example of separating Main Character and Protagonist.
So basically like "My Hero Academia" All Might is the protagonist but Deku is the main character..
Hopefully it was fun to do
So Watson is the main character and Sherlock is the protagonist
GilCAnjos in the books I'm pretty sure Watson is the narrator so I think this statement is accurate
I've been making an animated series on RUclips (the first episode is still only in the storyboarding phase) and one of the inspirations for one of the main characters is Sherlock Holmes. Watching this I realized I've essentially been writing a story where the Main Character and the Protagonist are different characters without knowing it. I'm really glad that I watched this. I knew that there was a difference between protagonist and main character, but I didn't think to analyze it like this.
BayLaugh Animations Let us know here when the first episode comes out so we can check it out!
In the novel I'm working on I was doing this from the start without quite realizing it. My protagonist is a non-humanoid alien so not a character the audience can immediately identify with. This made it necessary to have a human main character describe what's going on as well as to have someone for the protagonist to explain things to that forces him to put it in a way humans will understand. (Personally I find writing the alien easier, I really don't get humans.)
You are brilliant. Thank you for your video.
Thanks Shwaapy! Working hard to get new episodes out, but we're in the middle of upgrading some of our software to make even better content soon. Stay tuned!
i enjoy writing for myself mostly, but I kind of hope that one day my kids might like them one day when I'm gone. Your tips really do help out a lot because I never finished school and probably won't for various reasons.
After watching this, I realize that this applies to the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, too. The story was told in Kyon's point of view, and at the same time he narrated the story. That makes him the main character. We know about Haruhi as much as Kyon does in the beginning, and Kyon learns what Haruhi is through the other club members. As time progresses on, Kyon learns many things, like how aliens, ESPers and time travelers exist because of Haruhi's god-like powers which, as we also learn along with Kyon later on, she is not privy to.
Haruhi is the protagonist. She drives the whole story forward. Without her antics, there is no story, and Kyon would only have his normal everyday life as a high-schooler with normal human friends. Her dominant attitude, her overactive imagination and beliefs, and her impulsive actions, all of those traits never give Haruhi time to analyze herself and her goals. We, as the audience, always hear Kyon's analysis of Haruhi, as well as what he thinks of their eccentric club members. Kyon, as the only normal human being in their group, forms a friendship with all of them, and by proxy we as an audience also come to understand the other member's intentions for getting close to Haruhi.
Thank you so much for this video by the way!!! I learned a lot, and being able to relate your words to a show that shaped my childhood is proof of that. You just earned a new sub!! XD
This is one of my favorite RUclips writing videos. I don't know anyone else who has really discussed this characters possibility.
But what specifically separates a Protagonist from an antagonist?
Yes I know an antagonist works AGAINST the protagonist. But if both are the focus of the story and both drive the plot forward and both have a clear set goal, then who is the actual protagonist.
Examples for what I mean are
Movies
-Vader and Luke from Star Wars original trilogy IF the series is about Vader's turning to the dark side (which would make him a villain protagonist), would that make Luke the main character and antagonist to him?
-The three titular characters from 'The Good, the bad, and the ugly', if I remember correctly all three of them could be considered protagonists (though there IS one main character), which would make all three of them antagonists as well.
-The characters of 'Reservoir Dogs'. They are thieves, and again you could reasonably argue that each one of them is a protagonist, which would make one of them the antagonist...
Anime and Manga
-Alucard and Anderson from the Hellsing Series (especially in Manga/episode 8)
Alucard is definitely the villain of these two, but also the protagonist for most of the story. This seems to get flipped on it's head though for the 8th volume of the manga by making Anderson the main character and focusing on his 'quest' to kill Alucard
-Or Light and L from Death Note since a lot of the story is about their rivalry and differing ideals. Both are however not very relatable to a normal person in everything but their ethics (utilitarian and Kantian respectively)
Literature
Alex from 'A Clockwork Orange' where both the Government and Alex are villains of sort who oppose each other? This one might be stretching it a bit, but I wanted to have at least ONE literature example and this is the only one that came to mind...
Am I overthinking this? Is there even a real separation besides 'the protagonist drives, and the antagonist opposes, THIS particular story?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on my 2am rambling comment because this is something that has always confused me.
Duuuude, I never thought about that. I just began writing my first book to pass the time, but this could bring an interesting turn. Especcially the Alucard and Anderson part. Sad that Anderson uses the nail and becomes a complete antagonist during the battle in Londen.
You got a point there. If that the case who is who? The one that we focus on? Also add in deuteragonist and tritagonist and it is even more confusing.
In the movie "Shawshank Redemption" who is the main character and who is the protagonist ?
"Red" played my Morgan Freeman.
"Andy" played by Tim Robbins.
That's a tough one, while Andy is most certainly the protagonist, Red falls somewhere between main character and narrator. It's definitely up to interpretation though, it depends on how much power you want to allow the narrator role to have, or how loosely we define main character. The writers did a great job combining the roles though and delivering a strong narrative either way.
Side note: Awesome movie, one of my favorites.
good question. This also popped into my mind as I was watching this video.
This makes me think of Fairy Tale. Natsu is the protagonist while Lucy is the main character.
This is fascinating and not a distinction I ever really knew about. It's given me much to think about in my own stories where I thought I had two MCs/protagonists, but I might have one of each. Thank you for this brilliant insight!
Thanks! I'm glad this could help!
This should benefit a current story i'm outlineing right now, thank you for this video, would love to see you do differences to Main Villain vs Antagonist if you can
Really useful advice, as ever. I never knew the difference between protagonists and main characters, but this was something I'm really glad I found out about.
The main character in Star Wars is R2D2.
Yes!!
Wow. That IS true
Shit another example is Gyro and Johnny from Jojos bizarre adventure Johnny is the main character and while he could be seen as a protagonist Gyro fits that role better imo
Kakyouin, Polnareff, Avdol, Iggy and Joseph are the main characters and Jotaro is then protagonist
Your talk about the main character and the protagonist was roughly the same set up as my two characters in my story.
Main character- The boy who is rather simple, easy to understand, relatable
Protagonist - A girl who has a direct motivation that she persues alongside the main character.
Yea this is pretty much exactly what I'm doing ._. I was so confused by having a main character who wasn't the driving force behind the plot.
humm well that explained while i thought a certain eponimous character had close to nothing to do with her own anime except making us live the story (PMMM)
great video, subscribed
Great job! You cleared up a great deal. Thanks
Wow! Until viewing this video I always assumed the MC and protagonist were always the same person. This makes me think of The Karate Kid and Peter Pan. In the Karate KId the MC is Daniel and the Protagonist is Mr. Miyagi. At first Daniel wants to use karate to beat the bullies, yet Mr. Miyagi teaches him the reason to use karate is for defense. Now to Peter Pan. I'd have to say that Wendy is actually the main character and Peter Pan is the protagonist. Maybe I got that backwards? Anyways Peter Pan wants to remain a boy forever which would be a blast, yet when Wendy leaves he learns that aging is not such a bad thing.
Thanks a bunch for sharing this tip. I'll be checking out more of your channel ASAP!
Your example sounded like Blomkvist and Salander in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Fire Emblem: Awakening is a good example of this. The protagonist (Robin) serves as a "best friend" character to Prince Chrom(the main character).
The Virgin Main Character Vs The Chad Protagonist
Someone seems to be a fan of Beethoven. The Hammerklavier Sonata is one hell of a piece.
Thank you! This is very helpful.
So basically in every Godzilla movie bland human is the main character while Godzilla the Titular Monster and character is the protagonist makes sense
This clears up my confusion regarding who the protagonist is in Gintama! I always thought it was Shimpachi, since the story starts from his perspective, and he is the character that the audience can relate to. However people always said it was Gintoki, since his ambitions and challenges are given the main focus, and he is the one that grows and changes the most. Now I understand that Shimpachi is the main character, while Gintoki is the protagonist.
Lelouch/Kira/Sora/Zack/Shido/Akari/Hachiman Protagonist
Suzaku/Athrun/Riku/Cloud/Tohka/Kyoko/Yukino Deuteragonist
C.C/Cagalli/Roxas/Angeal/Origami/Yui/Yui Tritagonist
Kallen/Lacus/Aqua/Sepihroth/Kotori/Chinatsu/Iroha Tetragonist
This clears up my confusion regarding who the protagonist is in Gintama! I always thought it was Shimpachi, since the story is narrated from his perspective, and he is the most relatable character. However people always said it was Gintoki, since he is the focal point of the story, and he is the one that grows and changes the most. Now I understand that Shimpachi is the main character, while Gintoki is the protagonist.
Would this apply for main characters who also happen to be the antagonist, like Light in Death Note?
(sorry4theengrish)
kira is a villain protagonist, if that is your question.
while L is important, light is the main focus and our principal point of view (well, that is up to debate but i think he is)
G Force light is also the drive of the story aka the protagonist
Actually, Light is the protagonist. While Light is questionably evil, "protagonist" and "antagonist" do not directly translate to "good" and "evil." Though they usually do, they are not one in the same. The protagonist being the focal character, and the antagonist being the main opposer of the protagonist.
No in Infinity War, Thanos is the villian but the protagonist because the story follows him, the Avengers are the antagonists and also everyone else.
You basically described at the first part of the video the story of Naruto and Sasuke.
in the Lego Movie, Emmet is the main character and Wyldstyle is protagonist (maybe?).
in the Emoji Movie, Gene is the main character and Jailbreak is the protagonist
For whoever's into anime, Akame ga kill definitely followed this
I've always dreamed of doing a film about Jesus from the perspective of Peter. This only confirms my idea.
Does this apply to the Mad Max sequel?
Dylan Dang now this is a good example, but for different reasons.
Mad max has already been explored by that point. He is not extremely relatable BUT he is put in a position where we can empathize with him.
Main Protagonist - Can Affect Plot
Main Protagonist - Starts Off As a Weak Person
Main Protagonist - 75% Of The Story Starts From His Perspective
Protagonist - Cannot Affect Plot
Protagonist - Strong From The Start
Protagonist - 15% Of The Story Starts From His Perspective
This totally describes the relationship between Robin and Chrom in Fire Emblem Awakening.
i dont know, i feel that robin is both, but at the same time i can't say that chrom isn't the protagonist.
they're both protagonist?
ulkimion I think that Chrom is the protagonist during the Plegia arc, and then Robin is the protagonist during the Valm and Grima arc.
In the prequels, Obi Wan is the main character while Anakin is the protagonist.
Edward Gil you would be right if the movies were written effectively
Edward Gil obi wan is the Deutragonist Padme Tritagonist. R2, Yoda(ROTS only) are main characters
Thank you for your series of videos. I watch and take notes and I think they are helping. I have no education or training in writing. About a year ago I had an idea for a story that I think is pretty darn awesome. I have spent 1 year researching and also debating if I should make it a graphic novel or a screenplay because, A) It is visually appealing and epic in scale and will look incredible on the big screen, B) I have no idea what Im doing.
In the past year I have read and researched and watched videos and taken countless notes and I still feel confused and lost. I think I need help. But on the other hand, I think I know what to do but I am confused because I have overloaded myself with so much information. Can anyone help?
Also, regarding this video, I am trying to figure out Main Character and Protagonist in films I like but my web search has not found any answers. If anyone can answer I appreciate it. I have many more, but will not ask them all.
1.Star Wars (New Hope) - Luke and Ben I assume but who is which.
2. Inception - Is Dominick Cobb (Leo) both MC and Protagonist?
3. Tombstone - I believe Wyatt is the Protagonist and Doc is the MC (Kilmer is devastatingly great as Holiday)
4. Ferris - Ferris is the Pro and Cameron is the MC I believe
5. The Departed - Leo is the Protagonist but is Damon or Nicholson the MC?
6. Troy - Who is who?
7. Reservoir Dogs - Who is who?
I thank everyone and anyone who can help me.
Main Character ~ Kyon
Protagonist ~ Haruhi Suzumiya
I read a book series like this called the lunar chronicles. Each book was told from a different perspective but everything revolved around the conflict between two characters
Edit: it’s a very solid read I recommend
Interesting.. Never thought of it that way. Always considered them the same.
Now that you mentioned it, I remember watching this one series where the main character is pretty bland. He was easy to understand due to reluctance to get involved and simply wanted to improve himself, going to a better school.
Then the 'protagonist' comes and is usually the more interesting character and drags him around on various antics.
It's funny how you mention James Bond because although it applies to all the movies and almost all the books, there is one Bond novel--The Spy Who Loved Me--written from a lover's point of view. Because it was panned by critics, Fleming refrained from further experimentation with the character, but it's a fun little pop culture foot note.
Brian C, I never knew that!!
The Main Character is human, The Protagonist is Fantasy, either can be done right or wrong, and both have their uses
Saitama: Main character
Genos: Protagonist
Genos is also the deuteragonist which means 2nd MC
no saitama is both
I am glad I came across your youtube channel. I finally figured what is a Main Character and Protagonist now. Question what does it mean by ML in a novel?
There's a good example in film of a story with a main character and a protagonist: Godzilla (2014)
Main character is Ford Brody, while the Protagonist is Godzilla
The new Star Wars. Rey is the main character and Kylo is the protagonist. If the story was told from Kylo’s pov, it wouldn’t be as mysterious and interesting as it is now when we’re approaching Kylo from the outside
Jim Hawkins vs Long John Silver.
I just wanted to point out that inanimate objects can be protagonist too. Like in Jeremy fink and the meaning of life(really good book by the way ) the thing that keeps the story driven is the box and Jeremy is just a normal boy who goes on adventure to find keys with his best friend(who could also be the protagonist). Well if you got to the thanks for reading and if you can point me out if I'm wrong or have another example.
Very helpful
i may have created both and protagonust and and MC by mistake, well it was planned for but i didnt know there was specific roles
Ryuki and Knight fit pretty well here.
me *thinking about the great gatsby*
video "Let's look at The Great Gatsby"
me "ooh"
So could you say there are multiple main characters, multiple protagonists, or both in some works? Take Babylon 5 for example. Season 1 Sinclair is clearly the main character, but Londo and G'Kar probably drives the plot just as much as Sinclair does (would that make them both protagonists?). Then we get to Season 2, and G'Kar doesn't drive the plot as much as Londo, but now we have Sheridan as the station commander, and Sinclair doesn't come back again for a long time. We have a new main character so to speak.
Also, if a story were to jump around between perspectives, using a third-person "God's Eye" view, would you say that all the characters are main characters? Think of what Jack London did with Call of the Wild, but ramped up quite a bit, such that we get one chapter on Buck's background, one on Curly's, one on Spitz, and so forth. Then once they come together, the midset of all characters and their behaviors are explained right off the bat (something Jack London already does to a degree with this and White Fang). Wouldn't work for genres with any mystery in them, but it does work for action/survival oriented work, since motives are not a secret as much as future conditions, and our understanding of the intelligence of each character or their capability is inexact. If the characters are all relateable to different people, and intended that way, then you couldn't use that to figure out which one it would be either. The story becomes more like a Formula 1 event with all the characters being like drivers. They are all striving for victory, but the audience has an equal understanding of each, and wipeouts can be quite sudden. I understand Game of Thrones was a bit like this, but with some emphasis on House Stark.
I mostly bring up the F1 thing because I have always wanted to write a story in that context, one where every character, or almost every character, gets about equal emphasis, and each would be relateable to different audience members. One character might be more angry or vengeful, but outside of that rather just. Another might be outgoing, silly, and assertive. A third might be just trying to stay out of the crossfire. With all getting about equal attention (in regards to narration from their perspective) in a harsh environment, they would all be equally main characters, right?
One example of the MC not being the protagonist is Invader Zim. It's kind of a "who am I supposed to be rooting for, here???" Story.
So based on this using my stories:
Scar is the protagonist and main character in my first story.
In my second my main character is Dimitri while Ivan is the Protagonist.
Martyn is the protagonist of my third story while Orion is my Main character.
Lena is the protagonist and main character in my fourth story and so is Mairie in my fifth.
Koichi and Josuke
I've got one. Charly (2002): Sam Roberts thinks he has all the answers: the purpose of life, the meaning of love, the plan for a perfect future. Until Charly walks into his life. She's very lively but she's looking for something and eventually finds depth in Sam's idealism. He's your main character and she's your protagonist.
I think this could actually really help me, but I should think about it.
The story I am working on is about a man who is looking for revenge on his brother and ends up becoming attached to a young boy who follows him on his travels. Originally I was going to write it from the man's point of view, him struggling to connect to this boy, or even decide if he should connect with the boy, but it would also be interesting to write it from the boys point of view, learning new things from the man and learning his naive innocence behind to become a well rounded man himself.
What do you think I should do?
Rick and Morty, maybe?
Also you missed one on the trope counter- Man giving advice in a youtube video with mediocre animation so you have something to watch.
i.imgur.com/qXxXpul.png
Sorry xD
The only example I can think of as an example of these roles being split would be Life Is Strange, but I'm not entirely sure.
Sherlock Holmes did write one of his own stories, incidentally. He admitted that it is difficult to do.
Would the Kingslayer Chronicles fit here? It's a weird take on it but we are introduced to the incredible and completely unrelatable world of Kvothe through the eyes of Kote. The trick is that Kote is actually Kvothe in his adulthood, but since his traumatic experiences have lead him to be a much more mature, calm, uninterested in adventure and down-to-Earth kind of person we can actually relate to him at first glance, and this makes it easier to understand his former younger life.
I've always felt that the protagonist is the POV and the MC is whom the story's about...
I think in Wilfred the main character and protagonist are also two people. Ryan is the main character while Wilfred is the protagonist because it is actually about him influencing Ryan and driving him more and more insane
FFXII is a great example of this. Vaan is the MC, while Ashe is the main Protagonist.
So... Sasuke= Protagonist, Naruto= Main Char?
Not completely. Naruto=main character, but because of the many episodes, the protagonists, antagonists and others constantly change. Sasuke has been a protagonist and antagonist, just as Naruto.
thanks for clearing up
So in Berserk( Golden age ark) Griffith Was the Protagonist while Gutz was the main character
so in fairytale, the main character is lucy then the protagonist is nasus
In Bungou Stray Dogs Atsushi is the main character but Dazai is the protagonist
Lord of the rings:
Sam: main character
Frodo: protagonist
Correct me if I'm wrong
Excellent video. Using these definitions,who would be the protagonist of the Star Wars original trilogy? Obviously Luke is the main character, but it could be argued that Darth Vader is the protagonist.
Darth Vader is certainly the/an antagonist. I would say Luke and Leia are the protagonists and Han is the main character.
Wow this is nice
شكرا😃😄👏👍 = Thanks.
So in conjuring, who is the main character and who is the protagonist? The goal of the family is to save their children from being killed. The Warrens are later on invited to "help" the family. But they are the ones who get rid of Bathsheeba. This is a bit confusing to me. Can anyone help? This particularly happens in horror films. The family has the most to lose and they are the ones who fight and suffer the most. But then comes the person who performs the exorcism, and the story changes direction. CONFUSING :(
Ed Warren is the Main protagonist
What about Uglies? I'm not sure about this one. Tally does make some decisions, but she doesn't drive the plot until Shay shows up. She's the one who makes the story kick off. Tally, on the other hand, is the eyes that we see the novel's world through. Therefore, Tally is the main character, while Shay is a protagonist. What do you think about this?
Would an example of this be in The Last Jedi? The movie is about Kylo Ren's decisions and he drives the plot. While Rey is the POV character.
I wonder if "Life is Strange" is something like that, but I'm not 100% sure.
On one hand Chloe drives the plot since the beginning. On the other hand Max is the one we're watching and she's way more reachable, but also changes so many things in the story ...
Julia S chloe is the Deutragonist Warren is the tritagonist
I think you may have mixed up the definitions!
Like skulduggery pleasant and valkyrie
I did not know what protagonist means but after this video I know what it means.
Spongebob is Protagonist, Patrick is Main Character(Deuteragonist)
Boku no Hero, the world revolves around All Might and what he can do. But we allways see the history trhough Deku´s eyes. (I know that everything changes on the manga later on, even on the season 3 of the anime. But still everithing have something to do with All Might all the time).
Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant.
If a villain drives the plot of the story, does the hero become the antagonist?
I got a question:
I'm writing a web comic that the ' main character ' most of the focus being on her since the ' mc ' is a girl and I choose not to reveal the name. But that ' main character's ' past doesn't get revealed and the only time it's revealed is through flashbacks and is told in the sequel. She influences other characters through her actions, the actionsare through her perspective, and she sometimes drives the plot. However, she then meets a male character right after her little scene who proceeds to figure her out. I did not intend on this by the way.
So here's my question: Did I unintentionally separate the main character and the protagonist?
Kind of like Professor Aronnax and Captain Nemo in 20000 leagues under the sea
so what exactly was kirby in the anime hoshi no kabi?
he did save the day in every episode,but he is a baby and he barely got any screen time in certain episodes.
in many episodes dedede was the one who drove the story and in some other cases it was fumu.
Kirby is the protagonist while Tiff is the main character, Dedede is the Antagonist
@@chestercheetoe2397how is tiff the main character while Kirby is the protagonist?
@@noahalcantar2431 Bro idk wtf I was saying back then, Kirby is the MC/Protagonist and Dedede is the Antagonist. We could stretch Tiff to be the Protagonist since a lot of the show is about her helping Kirby to save Cappytown while Dedede wants to defeat Kirby for the sake of himself.
Where would you put the Characters in Hunter x Hunter, Protagonist or Main Characters?
But in third person omniscient, the point that the main character is the only link to the audience fails...
Jasmeet Kaur not really since the third person narrator can still focus on the main character a lot more then the other characters to strengthen that link
Wait, wait, Watson is the narrator of Sherlock Holmes? That may explain why I got confused quicly
Like the story of Akame ga Kill. Akame the protagonist and Tatsumi is the main character .
@Gate M. C basically is the Deuteragonist
if you are an allie of the main protagonist does that make you a protagonist?
if you gets a lot of screen time like lots of minutes close to the protagonist, that means you're a Deuteragonist (2nd Main Character), however if you dont appear frequently or often that means you're a Supporting/Recurring Character
So, Don Juan is the protagonist, and main dude is Mr. Doctor Marlon Brando?