For this reason, not only he but everyone else who later joins their group is eager to put up with her ridiculous plans and her moments of Insane Troll Logic. In Angel Beats! Heaven's Door, Hinata is at first a bit put off by Yuri's violent behaviour and awkward social skills, but in the end she's the one who gives him a goal and a will to struggle in his afterlife.Her looks and personality follow the rules of this trope to a T, but, alas for the boy, she is of the variety that dies before he does. Ai-Ren: Ai has been especially brought back to life to accompany the male protagonist during his last days.If the latter, expect them to learn just as much from their cynical partner as they teach (the cynic learns to enjoy life more while the immature one learns responsibility). "Manic Pixie Dream Guys", where they exist, tend to either be young (e.g., a Kid Sidekick) or immature. The Screwball Comedy is a genre driven entirely by this character type.Īlthough not quite Always Female, a "Manic Pixie Dream Guy" is a much rarer concept. Contrast Nerd Nanny and Yamato Nadeshiko for examples of calmer and more mature ladies. Sometimes the Manic Pixie Dream Girl is a Hypercompetent Sidekick. May also overlap with Trickster Girlfriend if she enjoys playing tricks on the protagonist and deliberately misleading him just for the fun of it. From the girl's perspective, this trope becomes Single Woman Seeks Good Man, though whether the hero qualifies varies.Ĭompare Cloudcuckoolander, Genki Girl, Perky Goth, Uptight Loves Wild, Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl, Pom-Pom Girl, and Quirky Ukulele for similar personality roles. An alternative type of deconstruction is for a character introduced like this to turn out to be dangerously unstable, tipping over into Cute and Psycho, or (more realistically) a damaged and unhealthy individual whose childishness, naivete, and irresponsibility quickly either cause them to wear out their welcome, or suck the main character into a codependent mess that can only end badly.Ī subtrope of Blithe Spirit, and related to Magical Girlfriend, Loony Friends Improve Your Personality, Uptight Loves Wild, and Damsel Errant. A MPDG with independent story arc and depth of character can even be the true main character of a work, with her companion being a hapless Drag Along recruited to assist her goals-his world-expanding adventure is incidental to her need for someone to carry the cooking pots and backup hang glider.ĭeconstructions of the idea may show that they resent being considered only useful for the benefit of the main character, idolized as something that they are not, or that once the main character reaches their "enlightened" stage, the MPDG moves on to the next person who needs their help. The story may even be told from their perspective, revealing that there is more to them than bringing adventure to brooding guys. Given enough time, Character Development can add to their personality and interests and pull them away from the MPDG foundation. Rabin would later disown the term, because instead of creating awareness of the "lack of independent goals in female characters", the concept was misunderstood as a condemnation of ALL quirky and fun female characters.ĭespite all that (or because of all that), there are ways of utilizing this trope without falling into that pitfall. He explicitly compared it to the Magical Negro, in that a Manic Pixie Dream Girl exists to help the protagonist achieve happiness without ever seeking any independent goals herself. It's a long-standing trope (around since at least 1283), but the term was coined in 2007 by The Onion's "A.V Club" film critic Nathan Rabin, who found it grating, as he believed it to be the result of Wish-Fulfillment from stir-crazy writers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |