Which one is more important to you?

[Pocket-God]

So when it comes to anime/manga, or anything really, which contributes more to you liking a series?

For me it's probably characters.

 

[SSJ2]

Tough one. Probably the story for me. I’ve read a lot of manga that have extremely mediocre casts that I have enjoyed strictly due to the plot. There is a limit to that, however. For example looking at Dragon Ball Super (especially the manga), the characters solely ruin the experience for me. Even if the plot was something special, the way AT/Toyo write 5e characters ruin the experience entirely for me. So it’s hard to say one or the other, but the story barely edges out the characters for me.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

For the most part, it depends what the focus of the story is. In the case of it being one with a simple, narrow focus on a protagonist's journey, good character writing for at least the protagonist is essential.
In most cases, however, I'd go with good story. Good characters are essential, but even won't be enough if the plot's such a mess it breaks all immersion. The setting and narrative can also be essential in allowing certain characters and the writing behind them to stand out. For example, Lady Oscar from Rose of Versailles and Pre-Eclipse Casca from Berserk both stand out as well written characters in their similar struggles as women due to the setting and its society. The same types of characters wouldn't stand out if the plot of either series was set in the modern era, in which either of them would just become entitled feminists without anything to really justify their characterisation.

More than that, even in character-driven stories, all characters will act in service of the plot at some point (unless the story is a slice of nothing happens that 99% of the time meander into mediocrity) as some level of narrative focus is needed to avoid a story from becoming aimless.

Character writing can shine as a series' main strength, but only as long as the plot is still at least OK, but no amount of good character writing is going to save a heavily flawed plot if the amount of bad outweigh the good. For example, I find Hunter X Hunter to have some of the best characters within the Shonen demographic such as Meruem, Killua, Hisoka, Shoot, etc. yet I'd still place the series' overall quality solidly below that of FMA due to the quality between story arcs being far less consistent and relying on quite a few major contrivances at some points such as the Rose Bomb being an asspull or Alluka's wish granting having a dumb loophole. From that, I'd place it more or less on the level of Part 1 Hokuto no Ken, which whilst having some good yet straightforward characters and a simple plot, is far more consistent in both areas. Overall, consistency is key, but plot consistency will stand out far more due to the narrative being far more prone to clear evaluation on criteria such as use of plot devices, plot armouring, continuity errors and the like.

 

[withheldforprivacy]

A good story requires good characters.

 

[Pocket-Gog~]

So when it comes to anime/manga, or anything really, which contributes more to you liking a series?

For me it's probably characters.

Well by good characters what does it mean? Usually good characters and good plots go hand in hand.

 

[Pocket-God]

I don't think there's a specific answer to that question, pretty sure what makes a character a good character varies from person to person.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

A good character can just be a likeable character. I guess that's more what he meant.

 

[Pocket-Gog~]

I don't think there's a specific answer to that question, pretty sure what makes a character a good character varies from person to person.

A good character can just be a likeable character. I guess that's more what he meant.

I wouldn't consider a character to be likeable and relatable to be what makes a good character. Plenty of characters are despicable, and unlikeable.

 

[sei'taer]

You can tell the most generic story imaginable if the characters are interesting and believable.

But even the best story suffers with tropey or generic characters.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

I meant that's what he probably meant. Likeable more-so than a "good" character.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

Besides you can still have interesting characters in a trash story.

 

[Pocket-Gog~]

Besides you can still have interesting characters in a trash story.

Well, any examples?

 

[SSJ2]

Besides you can still have interesting characters in a trash story.

Well, any examples?

 

[Pocket-Gog~]

Besides you can still have interesting characters in a trash story.

Well, any examples?

 

[Fantastische Hure]

Besides you can still have interesting characters in a trash story.

Well, any examples?

I can't think of any right-now, but it's the principle I'm talking about. You can't tell me there are none, I'm sure of it. You might not like a story but there might still be characters that might make you think "Hey...".

 

[Captain Cadaver]

I can't think of any right-now, but it's the principle I'm talking about. You can't tell me there are none, I'm sure of it. You might not like a story but there might still be characters that might make you think "Hey...".

If it can't work in practice, then the principle is irrelevant.

I've yet to see something where a good character could completely salvage a bad series. At best, there have been cases of good characters bringing an average series into decent or good territory but even then, it was due to a character-driven plot aiding the experience.

Also, it's very rare to find an author who's so selective as to have poor plot writing yet excellent character writing. 9 times out of 10, the two will be fairly balanced.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

Who said it can't work in practice? I just said I can't think of any right-now? Besides it's not always intentional, one can be a bad writer but still in a flash in a pan sort-of way write intriguing characters. AT sort-of is.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Who said it can't work in practice? I just said I can't think of any right-now?

Examples are necessary for a point like this, otherwise, it ends up just becoming a hypothesis.

Besides it's not always intentional, one can be a bad writer but still in a flash in a pan sort-of way write intriguing characters. AT sort-of is.

It's one thing to write an intriguing character and another to not only develop them well, but have that spark reignited for a fair amount of the cast without also being able to craft a good story. It's very rare to see good characters remain so in the long-term without a good, or at least occasionally good, story.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

A writer can be good at writing characters but not necessarily stories and like I said AT is one that I straight-away thought of just now. He's a person that doesn't even plan ahead, yet he wrote some good characters. Besides good and likeable are two different things you can have likeable characters but you don't particularly like or care for the stories, there's a reason why slice of life and sit-coms exists.

 

[sei'taer]

For being considered one of the smartest members you sure can spout some bullshit sometimes.

We're discussing subjectivity again. "interesting" characters, "trash" story. He could literally use any example and not be wrong. Writing is not an equal skill. All writers have their strengths and weaknesses, be it character writing, world building, narrative, prose, dialogue etc. It's up to the reader to determine which of those factors is the tipping point to not liking an Author.

Good characters in bad or generic stories is how we get tropes. You don't read the 20th iteration of "quirky underdog accomplishes his dreams" shounen if it doesn't make you care about the characters. Likewise in fantasy with "farmboy defeats the dark lord". A few years ago at JordanCon I was given "A Shadow of What Was Lost" as a door prize. I love pretty much everything about the book except for the main characters. I never finished it. I love Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere yet I've had book 3 of the Stormlight Archive for over a year without reading it. Because as much as I love the series the main characters are insufferable.