Cartoon Cliches

Unrequited Love is a cliche in every source of media.Animation,Live Action,Literature.Its even in reality.Wacky Comic relief characters are usually there for the kids to enjoy(them being enjoyed by the adults matters on how likeable of a character they are) or/and to lighten the mood.

Character has a really unlucky day(bonus for them being lucky before they get unlucky)

Calm,sweet characters having an angry side

edited 14th Dec '14 8:59:06 AM by ScottPilgrim2013

You mean Tsunderes?

Reality? I don't know about you, but I have yet to met a person so oblivious to someone's advances. Or someone who would have a long crush on a person who is as blind as a bat

edited 14th Dec '14 9:08:34 AM by teddy

Yes and no.Yes in that cutesy calm characters can be like that and no in that I mean a character like say Fluttershy having a really cray-cray kinda batshit angry side.

Not to the level of fiction,but unrequited love is a real thing.

Yup, I have had many crushes and none of them returned the sentiment.

Regarding the gender competence, while it's not a (fully) romantic case, Talespin exchanged the Sanity Ball pretty evenly between the male and female lead. Donna was often an incompetent Jerkass in The Cleveland Show too (though I'm not sure how often Cleveland played the Straight Man compared to her).

There are a few other shows that start off this way, but ultimately slip into the standard hierarchy (eg. American Dad, Sonic Satam).

I think it might have to do with how much more delicate it is to make the female characters the bumbler of the story. Many audiences insist female losers look more mean spirited than male ones. Even a lot of cartoons that use girl Butt Monkeys tend to be based more on circumstance and how unlucky and long suffering they are rather than them stupidly getting into their own predicaments. I think it's partially because of the imagery. Seeing a downtrodden housewife get put in her place by her smug superior husband for foolishly trying to think for herself now gives too many oppressive and sexist implications compared to the amusing irony of the big man of the house being the one needing babysitting. I guess this is why many clear cut cases get more confident with role reversals later on, since by that time the hierarchy is established in reverse, and audiences can better appreciate the dumb patronised husband being able to knock their self righteous wife off their pedestal (eg. the more holier than thou Marge and Lisa got, the more liable Homer and Bart were to be right for a change).

Animes tend to do it a lot more frequently however, even standard Women Are Wiser dynamics tend to utilise Not So Above It All moments on a more frequent basis than Western shows.

Regarding Peanuts, likely seeing whatever embittered old creep that would give Charlie Brown a rock for trick or treat in person would take away the humour. :P

edited 14th Dec '14 11:05:12 AM by Psi001

That I hate already mentioned sexist cliches goes without saying, so I will say that I greatly dislike that "Calm, sweet characters having an angry side " thing.

1)Its a Subvert Expectations thing that got really old. 2) Now every character that isnt like that in canon will be like that in fan-art/comic/fiction. And 3) that tends to be really pessimistic and can be really damaging to character. "Ow, no one is really that nice. They must good at hiding that they're psycho". Extra negative points if character is Hulk parody.

I really don't get why people love characters like that. I find them more disturbing than funny/cute.

edited 14th Dec '14 12:09:23 PM by teddy

I think it's annoying since more often their nasty side is treated as an endearing gag rather than becoming a developed flaw.

They freak out and threaten even their own friends. Aww, how cute.

A non cute character with a defined bad temper freaks out and threatens even their own friends. WOAH, NO! YOU HAVE SERIOUS ISSUES, FELLA!

Number Three of KND was a particular obnoxious example, to the point it was gratifying the one time Number Four just gave a stoic 'never' to one of her threats (though even then she just resorted to Crocodile Tears and even has a Let Them Die treatment of him after). Certain versions of Amy Rose are also ruined by this (most of them are just brats others freely call her out on, others like Sonic X do the whole monotonous 'everyone's terrified of her' shtick).

This comes off less a nice character with a hidden temperament and more an unhinged bully who knows to use Glunge-y tactics to get what they want, and drops it for their true colours the very instant it stops working. At least a genuinely temperamental character will often be shown trying to maintain their patience.

I can stomach Fluttershy since the times she actually turns all out nasty are rare (and being an Extreme Doormat, she is naturally shown making at least some effort to stay calm most of the time). Add to that, Fluttershy isn't a complete Jerk Sue. There are times she is called out for doing selfish or thoughtless things like everyone else, so she isn't always established unfairly as a bastion of innocence. One episode made clear this attitude wouldn't get her anywhere in life.

This is a more complex one, but I kinda hate how often shows tend to treat self righteousness as more positive than standard narcism. Like a Straight Man is entitled to be smug and condescending to the point of rudeness and feeling superiority over others, but their wacky foil shows off too much, an instant Humiliation Conga awaits them. Rightly Self-Righteous characters tend to earn my bile the most. Egotism is egotism.

edited 14th Dec '14 1:50:16 PM by Psi001

Add a Dreamworks smirk and voila! You just made yourself an unlikeable character who will end up getting fans on Tumblr!

edited 14th Dec '14 1:41:50 PM by teddy

If there's one cliche that bugs me to no end,its the fat neckbearded nerds.You know the ones.The fat,ugly,disgusting nerds who obsess over comic heroes(usually comic book "babes" which are usually superwomen with very revealing clothing) and usually live in their parents basement(most likely their mother's)Its one of the most over used,tired cliches there are and its so fucking stupid.The only time it was really funny was with Comic Book Guy.And I'm saying that cause "I'm offended". I'm saying it cause they're just so fucking disgusting to look at and so fucking annoying with their fake Comicbook Guy voice.Doesn't help that you always hear about them nowadays on the internet with people talking about neckbeards with fedoras.

I've met too many people like that in real life to count.

A lot of comic book store owners in real life are like the Comic Book Guy.

edited 14th Dec '14 3:10:26 PM by Aldo930

I've never seen anyone like that in real life.

Then again I rarely go to comic book stores since I only have one close by my area and even then its pretty far out.

Admitablly,I've may have seen a big guy with a neckbeard once or twice at a Gamestop at the cash register,but not that often.

edited 14th Dec '14 3:12:44 PM by ScottPilgrim2013

For those of you too young to remember - like me - nerds were actually kind of like that back in the day.

A lot of comic book store owners, at least the ones I have met, are of the same physique and nerdiness.

I believe I've seen a few people like that. And if the internet is anything to go by, then the personalities definitely exist.

One of the most go to fourth wall breaking jokes I see all the time is a character making a joke about the episode's running time(usually some sort of reference to something being about 11 minutes.).

Post 61

I seen some CBG like people Irl..it's strange. I agree that the cliche is annoying and lost its humor a long time ago.

edited 14th Dec '14 4:03:43 PM by teddy

It mostly annoys me cause you always hear about it on the web.

Je ne comprends pas... You hear about this stereotype on the web - the nerd's domain?!

Most people I know who are like the Comic Book Guy at least don't have his annoying side.

Yeah,it seems to be a go to insult for a lot of sites.But not without mentioning the fedora(or occasionally the trilby.)

That's an entirely different stereotype from the Comic Book Guy type.

I honestly can't recall meeting anyone like that in my life ever. It's just the internet exaggerating things as usual.

Yeah. I always see these meme images of guys wearing them with a weird caption underneath..Annoying. Though, Fedoras only look nice on rugged men from the first half of the 20th century..And Indiana Jones

6. Celebrity voice actors. I only see/hear a celebrity sitting in a room talking, not a character

Fedoras are overrated. Now, bowler hats, that's where it's at!

I don't think celebrity voice acting as a whole is bad,but it needs to be used properly.

Jack Black as Po=Good choice

Ryan Reynolds as Turbo=Bad choice

The celebrity that's chosen has to fit the role well and not be there solely because it will grab people's attention.

edited 14th Dec '14 6:26:58 PM by ScottPilgrim2013