The Original Shonen Anime Protagonist

Long ago a young baby boy was born in somewhat of an unusual way. The boy grew up strong and naturally gifted with some innate talent for combat. Proving to have a well of raw power inside his body. But if he was pushed to his limits or just got super angry that power would turn him into an uncontrollable monster!

When he was just a child he came under the tutelage of a powerful warrior who taught him new techniques and how to use a powerful finisher move that could take down his mightiest foes.

With these skills, the boy grew into a teenager, whose power was so great that everyone in the story had to pray that he would get to the battle on time. But when the boy was there he was ready for battle and tore through enemies like they were paper. Eventually the only opponents who could challenge him were Gods!

The boy also had the affection of many beautiful women and when he transformed his hair became long and spiky.

If your a big fan of the Shonen Genre of Japanese Manga or Animation, you might be wondering why I’m being so vague about Dragon Ball’s Son Goku, or maybe your thinking that I’m some idiot who doesn’t know that Mighty Atom (Astro-Boy in the west) was the first shonen Anime.

I’m afraid your only half right on both accounts, because I’m some idiot who is vaguely describing none other than Ireland’s own Cu’Chulainn of Ulster! Published in the pages of The Tain around 1101-1200.

Now your probably now thinking that a 12th-century manuscript of folklore told orally for generations isn’t anime or even manga. To which I see your logic, so let’s say its anime (retroactively) inspired and just move on. Because that description that I wrote above is astonishingly accurate.

Just like Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach), Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto), Yusuke Yuromeshi (Yu Yu Hakasho), Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Rin Okumura (Blue Exorcist), and most of Joestar family (Jojo Bizarre Adventure), Cu’Chulainn was the product of a supernatural lineage.

He was born three times, in what I assume was one of the earliest documented examples of a convoluted origin due to constant retcons and reboots, that would later become prevalent in western comics.

To grossly oversimplify a baby was born and cared for by a noblewoman named Deichtine in a magical house that would disappear the next day. Deichtine raised the baby from there until he got sick and died.

Instead of resorting to human transmutation, Deichtine grew thirsty from grief (just go with it) and accidentally swallowed an unusual organism. Later that night she had a dream that told her that a god named Lugh had impregnated her.

The Celtic God Lugh.

That baby ended up dying in the womb, but she later gave birth with her husband (not Lugh). Turns out the third times the charm, because this boy was pretty much born bad-ass. The day he came to the king’s court every hero there was begging to teach him how to be more bad-ass.

True, he wasn’t shunned and ignored like Naruto, seen as a delinquent like Yuske, or pitied like Asta from Black Clover or Deku from My Hero Academia, but he was a natural born bad-ass like Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece, and seen as exceptionally gifted from a young age like many Shonen rivals.

Speaking of Shonen rivals Cu Chulainn had his own rival named Ferdia.Sadly, most images of Ferdia are of his death.

The two were trained under the same master: Scathach, a bad-ass warrior woman with a past.

Scathach had an evil twin sister that she was at war with. That’s her past.

Cu’Chulainn and Ferdia had a strong brotherly bond. Its said the two were equally matched in terms of strength and skill but possessed different weapons. Cu’Chulainn had what is often described as a magic barbed spear called the Gae Bulg that only he and Scathach had mastered, and Ferdia had the Hornskin, a type of magic defense that made him nearly invulnerable. The two came into conflict during a war and ended up fighting each other in a very emotional battle. Also, I only found it recently in a Wikipedia article which I’ve sourced to this book:  Cassell’s Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol, and Spirit by Randy P. Conner (1998). But there is an interpretation that argues Ferdia and Cu’Chulainn were more then friends at one point. I haven’t read the book so take that with a grain of salt.

Anyway just to summarize there was a big battle between two equally powerful rivals who were also best brothers from another mother, trained by the same bad-ass mentor with a dark past. One of them has a monstrous transformation power-up, and the other has a super overpowered magical armor (I haven’t found a good description for the Horn-skin yet but I do know that it did leave some openings for attack). Also, some people ship the two rivals together.

Naruto, I’ll see you in court!

Unlike a lot of rivalries in anime, this one ends with Cu’Chulainn killing his rival in a very brutal and graphic way, but he still cries tears of sorrow in the end.

I could go on like this describing all of this Irish hero’s anime like traits, some interpretation gives him even crazier looking multi-colored hair, and unusually shaped pupils.

Yugi Muto (Yugioh!) and Sharingon (Naruto)

But I think I’ve made my point. I’m pretty sure most of these similarities are purely coincidental. All sorts of mythologies have stories of super-powered heroes, great rivalries, and monstrous transformations. The similarities between classical heroes from very different cultures has long been observed by the likes of Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces.

Most writers usually credit the Chinese novel Journey to the West and various Japanese myths and legends as the inspiration for modern shonen anime rather then Cu’Chulainn’s The Tain.

Even when Cu’Chulainn does show up in anime like he does in the Fate franchise, the traits like his love for fighting, and his Warp Spasm transformation aren’t as prevalent as you’d think they’d be.

While many characters from the Irish mythology do appear in the Fate franchise, it seems Ferdia has not made it in.

So while Cu’Chulainn might not be the ancestor of the Shonen protagonist trope he’d certainly feel at home in Shonen Jump Magazine.

Hear Me Out: Your Using The Multiple Personality Trope Wrong

Ah, the classic two characters in one body trope. Its one of the most fascinating concepts in fiction and the trope is almost as old as writing itself. Ancient legends tell of Deities who had multiple aspects or personalities for different situations or times of day.

It’s not surprising that humans are fascinated by the trope. We’ve all probably experienced our own version of angels and demons whispering in our ear. 

Going deeper maybe you’ve noticed that you make use of a different persona when you’re at work, with friends and family, or when your writing an internet blog post. It’s not hard to wonder what would happen if those personas took on a life of their own.

Persona 5

Now before I go on I’m just going to make one thing clear: The disorder credited with multiple personality disorder; Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a real thing. It’s rare, poorly understood, and not as dramatic as comics and Hollywood make it out to be, but it is a real thing that real people have to go through. As such I’m putting a big old “DO YOUR RESEARCH! BE RESPECTFUL!” label on this particular trope. However, I’ll personally give a pass for characters who gain another identity through a more external source like an alien symbiote, Artificial Intelligence program, demonic possession, mutant power, general magic, and whatever else.

(Starting from the top and going from right to left: Blue Beetle (DC comics), Venom (Marvel comics), Naruto and Kurama (Naruto) Firestorm (DC comics), Yugi and Yami Yugi (Yugioh!), Oscar and Ozpin (RWBY))

Honestly while it does mean that telling realistic stories is out of the question, I recomend using supernatural elements for split personalities. It gives you a lot of free reign to make your own rules and creative freedom in how the multiple personalities came about.

Now most writers use the Multiple Personalities trope in order to create a morally grey character that the audience can sympathize with:

Sure, the evil Mr. Magnetico is trying to destroy the Earth’s core, but the hero knows that the kindly Dr. Magnuson is still in there somewhere and totally innocent despite what his evil half is doing.

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with watching a character struggle with an inner demon, my problem with the trope appears when the writer doesn’t bother to flesh out either personality.

Sometimes it feels like writers add in a split personality just to make their boring characters more interesting. The problem is that gluing two card board cut outs together does not make a character three dimensional.

\

Its hard to find good images of metaphorically flat characters so I’m using the Literal Flat Stanley instead.

If your familiar with the more supernatural examples above (Not including Flat Stanley), you’ll notice that all of the personalities eventually prove to be their own characters with their own backstories. The Venom symbiote (Top right) just wants to make its host happy but due to circumstances outside its control, turns its hosts into monsters. Firestorm (Middle Right) is literally two people fused at the atomic level who have to work together in order to be a hero. Naruto’s demon fox: Kurama (Middle Left) starts out as a generic destructive rage monster sealed inside of the main character’s body, but after being shown compassion by Naruto proves to be just a cynical and abused spirit that later becomes a literal close ally to his host.

What I hate is when writers use this trope as a lazy cop out. I’ve seen stories where writers needed an unexpected villain and so they resort to the split personality all to avoid writing something more complex or even rational.

\In this case Two-Face is not an example of a Cop-Out Villian. Actual Examples would be Spoilers for perfectly enjoyable stories.

Other times I see it used to try and make protagonists morally grey. The problem is that just because a character is black and white does not make them grey.  The Punisher is arguably a morally grey character because he does bad things for the right reasons. He has some mental issues but not a split personality.

(Ironically, The Punisher (Marvel Comics) wears a lot of black and white rather then grey.)

Two-Face is not morally grey because while he might have a good side he still does bad things for bad reasons. Venom is arguably two characters in one (Eddie Brock and the Symbiote) who manages to be an effective anti-hero, but in most of the comics and movies Eddie and the Symbiote have the same goal.

In conclusion, a split personality is a neat concept in fiction, but like any concept its only good if you put the work in to make it good. Your not making one character with this trope, your making two, twenty-three, sixty-four, or eleventy-hundred characters. The less personalities you have the more character you will be expected to provide. So keep that in mind the next time you write a boring character you want to make edgy or just more interesting. Chances are its easier just to write one interesting character rather then two.

Legion (Marvel comics)

What it Means to Hear Me Out!

The purpose of Hear Me Out is mostly personal. I’ve struggled with all sorts of social anxiety in my life and there was a point in my life where I didn’t trust my own opinions. Granted this was the same period in which you realize that a lot of the things you liked as a kid aren’t as good as you remember. I spent a long time just kind of assuming that any kind of awful entertainment I was exposed to was just simply “Not for me,” which is still a perfectly legitimate opinion but I wasn’t using it right.

Eventually I discovered the fascinating world of YouTube critical analysis, and now I’m here with a lot more confidence in my tastes and opinions. I’m by no means a professional critic, but I am a confident reviewer and I have discovered what it actually means when I say something is “Not for me.”

“Hear Me Out” is my next step in getting past my own anxiety. Its where I throw out an opinion whether its against the flow or riding it.

I am a sentient heterosexual piece of cauliflower, take my opinions with a grain of salt. They’ll taste better. -Cameron Grow