History Main / SlidingScaleOfPlotVersusCharacters

* The original ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'' leaned heavily towards the characters, specifically focusing on Alex the lion as he comes to terms with the fact that his best friends are supposed to be his prey.
** The second was even more character-focused.

** The third movie, however, is heavily focused on plot. The four stars are now on the run from an insanely dedicated animal control officer, and the majority of the movie focuses on their attempts to evade her, while trying to revive a struggling circus, which is their best ticket back to New York.

* ''Webcomic/{{Rain|2010}}'' is firmly on the character-driven side. Sure, there are story arcs such as the Halloween arc, the New Year arc, and the [[spoiler:"haircut" arc]], but there really isn't one throughline plot. The comic is mainly just about exploring the characters and seeing how they interact with one another. The situations that happen to them are mostly there to develop them.

* ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist'' is about in the middle, with a complex, epic, overarching plot while also being driven by a cast of complex, well developed characters going through difficult personal struggles. The 2003 anime is more on the character side as the plot is simpler and slower paced, giving more screentime to character driven drama.

** The original [[Manga/GhostInTheShell manga]] is pretty plot based as the various chapters are based on whatever threat of the day the characters are dealing with. Their pasts and personal lives are barely mentioned and they don't have much character development or exploration. Instead, they mostly serve as a vessel to explore various themes and ideas regarding cybernetics and other futuristic technologies with some advanced philosophy on the side.
** The [[Anime/GhostInTheShell 1995]] movie, and to a lesser extent its sequel, is the most character-oriented, with Motoko's existential struggle and her personal quest for answers to it being the driving point of the film.
** The [[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex anime series]] is pretty plot focused as aside from few episodes that focus on the personalities of Motoko,Batou, Togusa, and Aramaki, the rest of the show is very much about various missions and plots they have to go through in their futuristic world. The second season makes the main plot more personal to Motoko, but even then the large amount of the focus is on the plot as a whole, with Motoko's personal investment in it being secondary both to the story and Motoko herself up to a point.
** The [[Anime/GhostInTheShellArise OVA series]] as a (sort of) origin story is more character based then the anime as it features Motoko's personal issues with characters from her background, who are tied to the plot, and in general features the pasts of the various members of Section 9 in a way earlier works didn't. But much of the running time spent on action scenes and as well as solving the plots of the various OVA episodes, with the character's thoughts and personal motives, besides Motoko's to a certain degree, being more of a feature then a focus.

* While most people believe the ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' franchise's characters are flat and underdeveloped, they weren't ''that'' much so, as they ''do'' have internal conflicts of their own.

* Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog: The series tends vary depending on the form of media, [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics the]] [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW various]] [[ComicBook/SonicTheComic comics]] tend to favor the plot over the characters, while the video games are the inverse. Starting with ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' however, the games began to lean towards the plot, which continued until ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' where the scale started to lean back towards the cast again.

** ''Film/{{Alien}}'' is plot-focused - with the crew trying to get rid of the alien before it kills them all.

** ''Film/Alien3'' is character-focused - as Ripley is forced to contemplate her position in the world as another alien runs wild.

* ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'' falls into the plot end of the scale. While some characters like Cooper and Murphy do have their moments, the movie's main focus is both their respective plots - finding life on other planets and solving the unsolvable equation.

** [[Film/ANewHope The]] [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack original]] [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi trilogy]] falls in the middle of the scale, being about more than just about a small group of rebels doing battle against the Galactic Empire, a force several times larger and more powerful than them. It was also about several issues that were smaller than the rebellion itself, two of them being the most vital of them all (Luke's quest to become a full-fledged Jedi, and Han and Leia's relationship).
** [[Film/ThePhantomMenace The]] [[Film/AttackOfTheClones prequel]] [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith trilogy]] lies mostly in the middle, but a bit more skewed towards character, seeing as its an OriginStory for Anakin Skywalker and [[StartOfDarkness how he became Darth Vader]]. Anakin's growing darkness and his relationships with Obi-Wan, Padmé, Palpatine etc. all contribute directly to the main plot about the fall of the Jedi and Republic, and the rise of the Empire.
** The sequel trilogy is a mixed bag. ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' is rather like the originals, with equal focus on both the plot of getting the map to Luke Skywalker to the Resistance before the First Order, and individual character arcs (Finn's journey from a defected Stormtrooper running away to a hero, Rey learning to let go of the parents who are never coming back and setting out on her Jedi journey, Han confronting his past, Kylo Ren's struggle with the Light and Dark). ''Film/TheLastJedi'' is largely character-driven, at least with the A and B plots; Rey, Luke and Kylo spend a lot of the movie just talking with each other and uncovering more about their characters, while Poe is stuck in a SternChase, butts heads with Admiral Holdo and learns lessons about good leadership. The exception is the C plot; while Finn and Rose's relationship plays a part in this, it's more focused on their wacky adventures trying to find a codebreaker. ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' is almost entirely plot-driven; there is some focus on Rey discovering the truth about her past and angsting about it, but it's mostly concerned with the plot to find Exegol and stop the enemy fleet.
** The anthology movies, ''Film/RogueOne'' and ''Film/{{Solo}}'', both lie in the middle; the quest to steal the Death Star plans in the former is tied up in Jyn's relationship with her estranged father and her becoming less apathetic, while the latter serves as an OriginStory for Han Solo and how he got into the smuggling business, exploring his relationships with his crew-members and how it impacted his character, whilst they're trying to steal stuff for a crime lord.

* ''Film/{{Sunshine}}'' is on the character side of the scale. The journey to restore the sun isn't focused on too much, and more emphasis is on the characters' reactions to certain situations.

* Franchise/GhostInTheShell as a whole falls quite heavily into the plot side of the scale, though the there is some variance depending on the continuity.

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* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' turns this into a pretty monumental task by combining it with {{Loads and Loads of Characters}}. Almost every one of the many main characters has a heavily layered backstory to accompany the main plot of the series, and they are represented in flashbacks, flash forwards, and their own invention: flash sideways.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Heavily character-focused; although there is an overarching plot(s) that's quite important – different noble factions fighting over the throne while an army of mythical ice monsters called the Others threatens to invade – the story is largely focused on how the [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters numerous]] characters drive or react to these events (most of the POV characters aren't even aware the Others ''exist'', let alone the threat they pose, at this stage), what motivates them, how they change and develop, and their interactions with other people. The fact that the series often employs the SympatheticPOV and UnreliableNarrator tropes means the reader may have to understand the characters and their experiences to more fully understand the plot.

* The two major HBO blockbusters, as of 2019, sit mostly on opposite sides. ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' focuses more on plot, being more akin to a mystery story which the viewer has to unpick (the show is ''very'' fond of flash-forwards and flashbacks, scatters {{foreshadowing}} in background props and music choices, and any of the characters [[RoboticReveal could be replaced by a ridiculously human robot]] at any point). Meanwhile, ''Series/GameOfThrones'' tends to take its time building up to setpiece battles and plots which affect the whole realm, instead focusing on [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters the lives and interpersonal relationships of its very, very large cast.]] Of course, this isn't to say that ''Westworld'' is devoid of compelling characters, or that ''Game of Thrones'' isn't afraid to [[WhamEpisode/GameOfThrones surprise the viewer with sudden plot shifts.]]

* '''More Characters Than Plot:''' The overriding doesn't get much attention and may be generic and forgettable, but the characters are interesting and well developed. Mostly a drama, comedy, or romance.

** The [[Anime/GhostInTheShellArise OVA series]] as a (sort of) origin story is more character based then the anime as it features Motoko's personal issues with characters from her background, who are tied to the plot, and in general features the pasts of the various members of Section 9 in a way earlier works didn't.

* [[LitFic Literary fiction]] tends to be more character driven then other kinds of fiction. The average literary story is driven by the internal life of a point view of character, with the plots being simple and existing to drive the emotional lives of the characters. [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness Hard science fiction]] is often the opposite, as the central plot and worldbuilding are ''intended'' to be the focus, not the interpersonal relationships. This helps preserve the ScifiGhetto because English professors and other literary readers and writers tend to see character-driven storytelling as deeper and having more artistic substance.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' is a mix of both: the main plot of Simba reclaiming the Pride Lands from his wicked uncle is closely tied to Simba's journey to adulthood and overcoming his feelings of guilt for his father's death.

So there's a [[TheEmpire malevolent empire]] threatening to {{take over the world}}, and only a [[RagtagBandOfMisfits small pocket]] of [[LaResistance resistance]] must combat it by any means necessary. However, each of the resistance troops have their own [[{{Backstory}} backstories]] relating to why they're fighting said empire, as well as relationships and conflicts with the other characters. So now, the story has two main concerns: the actions of the malevolent empire (the plot), and the personal lives of the rebels (the characters). Depending on how much time the story dedicates to each, it may qualify as one of the following:

* '''More Plot Than Characters:''' Everyone remembers the external conflict and how it would later on be resolved, but the characters range between there for the sake of it, and almost non-existent. Mostly an action/adventure, mystery/thriller, or horror. [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness Hard science fiction]] can follow this, as the central plot is ''intended'' to be the focus, not the interpersonal relationships. It's one of the issues creating the ScifiGhetto.
* '''More Characters Than Plot:''' The overall story isn't very memorable because of how boring and mundane it might be, but the characters gain a lot of development, as they resolve their own respective internal conflicts, rather than an overall external one. Mostly a drama, comedy, or romance.

* ''LitFic'' as a whole tends to be more character driven then other kinds of fiction. The average literary story is driven by the internal life of a point view of character, with the plot usually being a relatively simply vehicle for the characters or almost non existent. This helps preserve the ScifiGhetto because English professors and other literary readers and writers tend to see this kind of storytelling as deeper and having more artistic substance.

So there's a [[TheEmpire malevolent empire]] threatening to {{take over the world}}, and only a [[RagtagBandOfMisfits small pocket]] of [[LaResistance resistance]] must combat it by any means necessary. However, each of the resistance troops have their own [[{{Backstory}} backstories]] relating to why they're fighting said empire, as well as internal conflicts that mostly relate to deciding between succumbing to their pasts, or leaving them behind for the present. So now, they must fight two conflicts: The malevolent empire (the plot), and their own pasts (the characters).

When creating a work of fiction, the writers often have to develop it on a macro level (the overall plot), as well as a micro level (the individual characters). On the macro-level, the various characters have to unite to achieve a common goal, from surviving an island, to overthrowing a villain, to preventing a cataclysmic event from destroying the world. On the micro level, meanwhile, each character faces a difficult internal conflict, whether it's with a past crime, a disease or disability, or a lost loved one.

Here's what the story can be like, based on what it's focusing on:

** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' falls heavily on the character side. The focus is on character development of a large group of playable squadmates who have little connection to the main plot (stopping a mysterious race from kidnapping human colonists). The majority of the game is spent helping them dealing with issues their respective pasts to help them focus on surviving the final suicide mission.
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' is extremely plot oriented, since the nature of that plot (finding a way to save every species in the galaxy from being exterminated by an incredibly powerful group of sentient spaceships) forces the personal lives of the characters to take a step back. A contributing factor was how any of the ''Mass Effect 2'' characters could have died on the final mission, making it difficult to incorporate character development for them in the plot. Within the game itself, the ''Citadel'' DLC shifts the balance the other way, placing the characters and their respective antics into the limelight one final time.

* '''Equal Focus Between Plot and Characters:''' The plot and characters don't interfere with each other, and instead work in concert with each other to create something memorable.
* '''Less Plot Than Characters:''' The overall story isn't very memorable because of how boring and mundane it might be, but the characters gain a lot of development, as they resolve their own respective internal conflicts, rather than an overall external one. Mostly a drama, comedy, or romance.

* ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'' falls into the plot end of the scale. While some characters like Cooper and Murphy do have their moments, the movie's main focus is both their respective plots - finding life on other planets and solving the unsolvable equation.

* ''Film/AGuideToRecognizingYourSaints'' is on the character side. The plot of both the past and present portions - the gang war in Astoria and Dito reconnecting with his family - is mostly flavouring. Far more time is spent with Dito and the supporting characters like Laurie and Antonio.

* ''Film/StopLoss'' looks like it's going to be on the plot end of the scale - a soldier trying to avoid being sent back to Iraq due to LoopholeAbuse in his contract. But the plot takes a backseat to his PTSD and examines the general feeling of the soldiers coming home from the war - and how they can no longer relate to their peers.
* ''Film/TheBestYearsOfOurLives'' is on the character end, examining the mental states of soldiers returning from World War II and how they can't fit into a society that's moved on without them.
* ''Film/DazedAndConfused'' and its SpiritualSuccessor ''Film/EverybodyWantsSome'' are entirely character-driven stories getting to know the various people who pop in and out of the story.
* The ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' franchise shows that multiple films can fall on either end of the scale:
** ''Film/{{Alien}}'' is plot-focused - with the crew trying to get rid of the alien before it kills them all.
** ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' is in the middle. The story balances the marines trying to stop the aliens with Ripley's surrogate mother relationship towards Newt.
** ''Film/Alien3'' is character-focused - as Ripley is forced to contemplate her position in the world as another alien runs wild.
** ''Film/AlienResurrection'' is in the middle. The plot is balanced between the survivors getting off the Auriga, and Ripley's split allegiance to the aliens.
* ''Film/MidnightSpecial'' is plot-focused - with the entirety of the film about getting Alton to where he needs to be. All the other characters are introduced in contrast to that.
* ''Film/TheFloridaProject'' is heavily character-focused - being about the lives of people (particularly children) living a poverty-based life in Kissimmee, and it's not until the last 20 minutes or so of the film that the plot really starts to kick in.

* ''Film/{{Arrival}}'' ties its plot of Louise trying to communicate with two StarfishAliens following their FirstContact on Earth to Louise's own personal journey, mainly her relationship with Ian and her daughter, her connection to the aliens, and coming to terms with the path that lies ahead of her.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' was powerfully renown for this, as while the show's trademark [[FreudianTrio trio]], including [[TheKirk Kirk]], [[TheSpock Spock]], and [[TheMcCoy McCoy]], face a huge variety of external conflicts in each episode, they also internally argue amongst each other on how to resolve each external conflict. The calm and intelligent Spock would often pick the logical-yet-immoral choice, while the brash and emotional [=McCoy=] goes for the illogical-yet-morally-correct choices, leaving Kirk to either side with one of his two crewmates, or [[TakeAThirdOption invent a third option that satisfies both sides]].
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' turns this into a pretty monumental task by combining it with {{Loads and Loads of Characters}}. Almost every one of the many main characters has a heavily layered backstory to accompany the main plot of the series, and they are represented in flashbacks, flash forwards, and their own invention: flash sideways.
* For about the first half of its run, ''Series/OnceUponATime'' was more character-focused like ''Lost'', which its creators had worked on. But for the second half, it became more plot-oriented, with the characters mainly reacting to whatever wacky curse or BigBad came to town rather than making things happen themselves or growing in any significant way.
* For the first eight or so seasons, ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' focused more on the players day to day lives at camp, but in later seasons, it increasingly focuses on game strategy and twists to the point where most of the characters are flat out [[LivingProp ignored]].
* ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' is on the plot-centric side of the scale. The focus is on the plot of each episode, and there's not much character development. In fact, all of the main characters are replaced, and nothing about the show really changes.

* ''Series/{{Roswell}}'' moves around on the scale. The first and last seasons are very character-driven, despite the sci-fi plots. The second season is much more plot centered. Both styles work, too.
* ''Series/GossipGirl'' is on the character-centric side of the scale. The plot is there, and it is important, but what it really does is drive the character development. What's happening is important because of what it does to the characters and how they react to it, feel about it, and grow from it.

* This tends to differ in the multiple incarnations of ''Franchise/SuperSentai''. Some of them are very episodic and tend to focus more on the characters than an overarching plot. Examples of this are ''Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger'', ''Series/EngineSentaiGoonger'' and ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger''. Other series have an overarching story, in which character development takes a backseat. Examples are ''Series/JukenSentaiGekiranger'' and ''Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters''.
* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' zigzagged through this. Earlier seasons - particularly the second - followed more character-driven plots, and the supernatural stuff was only a bit of flavouring. Season 5 in particular was more plot-based, with various MonsterOfTheWeek storylines. Seasons 6-8 were a mix - featuring arc-based plots that still helped the characters grow.
* ''Series/BandOfBrothers'' was in the middle. Despite dramatizing events in the second World War, a lot of time was spent emphasising the soldiers' reactions to the events going on around them. Notably the miniseries has a RotatingProtagonist to document a certain soldier's character growth in one particular event; Albert Blithe is depicted as a reluctant soldier who TookALevelInBadass during the battle of Carentan, Eugene Roe is shown having trouble connecting to the men until the Battle of the Bulge etc.

* While ''Series/{{Bones}}'' usually balances crime solving and character development quite well, there are some episodes with a bigger focus on the story (basically any serial killer episode), and some episodes more about the characters' interactions (like the wedding in Season 9 and the finale).

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is somewhat character-driven, with many of the characters' personal struggles against their own pasts and weaknesses driving the plot.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' focuses more on the overall plot of TheEmpire after it invaded Ashe's kingdom and how the takeover affected everyone. The protagonists aims to bring the empire down while several key players from said empire are looking for a way to wrestle fate from the [[JerkassGod controlling Ocuria]] so that people can define their own fates instead. While the main characters do get some development here and there, it's very light and everyone is already in their given roles with their backgrounds made clear.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' is almost entirely character-driven until chapter 12 or so, when the RagtagBunchOfMisfits finally sort out their issues and personal differences and become TrueCompanions. After that, the overall plot kicks into full gear, but the characters still remain the most memorable aspect of the game.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' focuses more on the plot than the characters, but there's still some form of character development that occurs over the months and years of patch updates and expansion packs. The main story mostly focuses on dealing with [[TheEmpire the Garlean Empire]] looming over everyone with possible invasion, the Ascians aiming to sow discord and chaos on the world, and [[EvilGod primals]] that can suck up the life energy of the planet. The side quests teeters between having more focus on the characters and having a balance between characters and plot.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' has more emphasis on character development with all the main characters dealing with their inner struggles and finding a way to deal with them in both the real world and the fantasy world while the main plot doesn't change much beyond "find a way to get back home", which is the main driving force of the main character's actions. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' shifts it more towards the plot a little bit and shifts it further towards that side in several side quests, many which have a long chain of quests to develop their stories with. The characters are more or less already defined, but some of them go through a few struggles and learn how to cope with their problems.

* ''Film/{{Arrival}}'' ties its of Louise trying to communicate with two StarfishAliens following their FirstContact on Earth to Louise's own personal journey, mainly her relationship with Ian and her daughter, her connection to the aliens, and coming to terms with the path that lies ahead of her.