Daria

For some reason, I find the name Jane Lane to be very cool. I'm not sure why. Her brother Trent's hilarious. I love characters that are always just kind of vague.

I've always liked Jane more than I liked Daria. She seemed more dynamic to me.

She has a cooler look, I think (though Daria's look is admirable in that it is all its own- and I like that she doesn't wear makeup). Perhaps her personality is a bit too outgoing when compared to Daria's, but she does also seem a little less hard on people.

Daria's high principles make her hard to gain much character development, which is why I loved the season 4 and 5 episodes. She didn't always come out on top, and just the slightest sight of vulnerability in Daria shows a lot of depth.

I don't think Daria was ever put fwd as the ideal person, or ideal anything. She was often too deliberately off-putting for her own good, and sometimes she paid the price. That was a great strength of the show. Another was the fact that you cared about these characters, even to the most vapid and shallow.

I like how Daria is an obviously very human character. I feel that she could easily have been an infallible Mary Sue or something, but luckily she wasn't. Like her original crush on Trent. That despite her being very smart and competent she was still a teenager. (Speaking of Trent, I never got how fans did ever ship the two. He's a cool character and probably not a bad person to have as a friend, but he and Daria are so different.)

I love that teacher that's always angry. Mr De Martino? I think he could have the potential to be an actually competent teacher if he didn't have such a temper (or if he didn't have such dumb students like Kevin). The others are either too soft or too misandrist. Actually, a lot of my teachers wouldn't be out of place in Daria. There's the literary-snob English teacher I had once (who among other things claimed sci-fi wasn't "proper" literature and believed she was superior to all of us because she was the only one who had ever heard of quiche), a Pointy-Haired Boss Principle who only really cares about sports over any other activities the school has to offer (on the night of our Transition Year play he sent a text to all the parents telling them to go to a match just to support the school, not forgetting the time he used all the money saved up by some people doing the Lego challenge for sports instead)and so many others. There are two good ones (really good ones, actually) but my favourite, the one who set up the book club I used to go to, left.

Yeah, I liked the mixture of the teachers as well, with Mr. DeMartino as my favorite.

I think Daria is one of those rare shows that manages to have a really strong, supporting and minor cast full of—not likeable—but interesting characters.

I think if Tommy Sherman had lived one or two episodes only to die, his death might've had more power behind it.

Unless that was the point.

I love the angry teacher because he reminds me of so many teachers I've had :P.

I think Daria's monotone got really grating after a while. Her sister could be pretty funny though.

I love her monotone! I actually enjoyed listening to her voice very much. Especially when compared to a lot of other characters' voices.

I don't really like the Fashion Club to be honest. They don't really have any appeal to me that the other unlikable characters had. Kevin and Brittany were hilarious and good-natured so it is hard not to enjoy watching them. The teachers were also very funny and many people have probably had teachers like them anyway. Jake is awesome. But I always found the Fashion Club a bit bland. Well, apart from Quinn, I suppose.

I love all those background characters, like Burnout Girl and Andrea. And the theme song is brilliant.

I tend to skip over a lot of the Fashion Club and the Three Js. The show's called Daria, after all.

I actually liked a lot of Daria's vocal evolution. She has more of a nasal whine later on in the series, and that tended to reflect how uncomfortable she got with society and the accepted status quo.

If it were up to me, and the series got a (VERY, VERY FAITHFUL) reboot, I'd like Daria to get a gradual evolution from angry, disaffected youth into self sufficient, pragmatic in a way that upholds her ideals woman.

edited 2nd Oct '11 6:53:12 PM by Schitzo

Maybe Daria can be an Only Sane Woman schoolteacher. I don't know why, the idea just seems fun to me.

Well, I meant she'd still go through the entire series span of 2-4 years of high school, but she'll be less of a cold bitch overtime until ultimately having the will to do what she wants because she can.

or rather, she'll start off telling it like it is, then telling it how she wish it was, then start making it how she'd like it to be, and then eventually realizing trying to change this world into her ideal only be selfish and just about as deprived as what she was fighting against. Maturing, you see.

Maybe she can have a clone that would be a large ham Daria. I like always having the worst ideas

I half expect her hammy clone to talk like Warren Ellis/ Hunter S. Thompson ._.

Say, is any of the Daria fanfiction even any good?

I absolutely love Daria. I used to watch it when I was a kid, but I was way too young to get pretty much most of it. I love all the characters though, even the ones I don't love, if that makes sense? Because I think one of this show's great strengths is that all the characters are so consistent (they're all in character all the time) and yet they're not clichés. They all have their depths. Plus, they are all so different and they're all examples of all different kinds of people.

I absolutely love Mr De Martino. He is so frickin funny.

edited 12th Nov '11 12:05:58 AM by Mithol

My favorite school staff member is a cross between Demartino (who has GOT to be come sort of deranged William Dafoe expy) and Angela Li, due to how off the wall and jerkassy she can get at times xD

Mr. Di Martino was fabulous. Not my favorite character, but my favorite one of the teachers. I ship him and Mr. O'Neill.

CHEESE-LOGS!

Someone else ships De Martino/O'Neil?? I thought I was the only one. =D It's a pity there's no fanfic of them...

Oh, there shall be.

There shall be? Cool.

Well where do I begin Daria was part of my childhood believe it or not. You see Australia's ABC showed this show on times when kids watch so naturally I watched it and got hooked sort of. (notably they stopped showing eps after Daria and Tom got together so I thought that was the finale until I looked the show up and realised ABC cheated us out). I just loved everything about the show animation, characters, jokes, sarcasm etc.

It's just felt so fresh and new to me even if I was a kid then. Plus luckily they released the whole DVD box set here. So fingers crossed.

having been watching the first season, I'm reminded of a George Carlin quote where (my pantomiming) what makes a joke work is the juxtaposition of truth and exaggeration.

And well, this show is... waaaaaay exaggerated. But you know what? I don't think this show would be the same if it were "more realistic". I think it needed its goofy side at times.