In between two extreme choices, would you rather have a perfect main character that wins all the time or one who is pathetic and loses all the time?

[EzraIsShy76028]

TL;DR At the bottom.

From what I can see, people often complain a lot about perfect main characters who never lose, and probably rightfully so as it generally takes away a sense of urgency from the story and doesn't leave much room for growth or character development. But what about a main character who is the opposite extreme? One who is really pathetic and who never wins no matter what?

A perfect main character might be more badass to watch and all, but a lot of people find more pathetic main characters to be more relatable to them, since a lot of people are more affiliated with losing all the time rather than winning all the time.

I won't name any specific examples of either as people probably are gonna go "oh no that character actually isn't perfect they screwed up a few times" or "that character has a few wins, so they don't lose all the time" blah blah blah... and so on and so forth.

I personally would go with the perfect main character... yes, the pathetic main character may be more relatable, but in general I already have a lot of anxiety in my real life, so for my entertainment I want something light and easy to watch that doesn't give me anxiety, lol. I wanna go into the adventure knowing everything works out alright by the end. Unlike how things work out in real life. 😣

TL;DR People often complain about characters that are too perfect and always win, but what about a character who is the complete opposite? One who is pathetic and always loses?

A perfect main character that wins all the time.

A pathetic main character who loses all the time.

Updates

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Oh, and one last thing I forgot to mention! Answer this question under the assumption that the characters stay as how they are and don't change or get character development. So they either stay perfect forever, or stay pathetic forever. Your pick.

[AI Opinion]

When it comes to choosing between a perfect main character who always wins or one who is pathetic and constantly loses, it really depends on the emotional journey you're looking for in a story. A perfect character can provide an escapist fantasy, offering comfort and assurance during tough times. On the other hand, a character who often fails can create a more relatable and real narrative, echoing the struggles many face in life. Personally, I lean towards imperfect characters with room for growth, as they often deliver more depth and emotional resonance. 🎭

[EzraIsShy76028]

As much as I don't like bots, especially their creepy AI art profile pictures, this is actually a pretty good response. 🤬👍

If only it were written by a real person... 😔👎

[jshm2]

Neither. A good story/anime/movie gives you moments of victory, but also deep fails and sorrow. The "journey" of the character is as important as the character.

Too many modern writers go for the extremes of good or bad.

[EzraIsShy76028]

While in general I would 100% agree with you, the poll was about "two extreme choices." Meaning that obviously these aren't ideal choices, and are too far in one direction or the other, making it the whole point of the poll. The characters described aren't supposed to be good, you're just supposed to pick the one that is less bad.

It's like someone posts a poll asking "would you rather get punched in the stomach or kicked in the stomach?" And you just reply "neither." Obviously neither are good, but you're supposed to pick one. Both suck, but one is less worse than the other.