(Untitled)

[whitelilies22]

I understand that one can dislike a character, it's completely rational considering everyone has their own preferences

Comments

[ayasugi_san]

Is this about a certain firebender?

[full_metal_ox]

Which one--the Junior Evil Overlady, the Woobie Villain-turned-hero, or the broodingly handsome corner of a fiercely contested Love Square?

[whitelilies22]

Haha, I'm sure if I was to go on a forum and talk about my disappointment about how a certain situation was handled, I would be titled as a basher.

[gabzillaz]

lol beat me to it

[moon_doggy]

I get where your going with this...
I happen to have some favorite characters who are villians/questionable ethical-moral heros (on in two show's cases, the bad guys are the "good guys" and the good guy is the "bad guy"). I know that not everyone likes these types of characters... and I'm totally cool with it.

I don't see not liking a character because of negative traits or reasonable opinions based off those traits as "character bashing", either... Dude, they're supposed to be this way (that's why they have "villian, conman and train-robber extraordinaire" listed after their name).

My reasoning; Why rip someone a new one for pointing out legitimate facts?

[whitelilies22]

Because stating a character's flaws cannot be allowed - it's a sin y'know. /end sarcasm.

Exactly what I think, an example of this is Lulu from Code Geass - he's the protagonist but when he uses his Geass, he isn't the most ethcial/moral individual in the world but when you bring this up, oh gosh are you attacked by his fanbase. So sad that they ignore a flaw of their beloved character.

[whittertwitter]

I've been tempted to make a post like this for quite some time. The proper term for this is White Knighting, and it is super annoying. Putting characters on a pedestal is just as annoying as bashing them, especially regarding female characters; according to some people, you can apparently be a misogynist just for criticizing a female character, never mind outright dislike. In my opinion, it's only bashing if it's for shipping-related reasons or something equally stupid and/or you never shut up about how much you dislike the character.

[kankurette]

Some bashing of female characters is rooted in misogyny, but not all, I agree

[slayerofgod]

Rare is the person who can complain about Orihime's getting cockblocked by the plot and be purely objective about it. My side gets overprotective because they've been horribly persecuted by a lot of people in fandom over the years. Then the other side likes to pretend to be objective, only to devolve back into their true nature whenever Orihime has any scene with Ichigo, or any scene purely devoted to her, period.

Its' a mess.

[kankurette]

Same with Sakura fans, we're not exactly popular on Narutoforums - apparently we're all deluded tards who think she can beat Madara / Pein or whatever. And yeah, I can criticise aspects of a character and still like them. For instance, Shikamaru's one of my favourites but it didn't stop me getting pissed off about some of his behaviour in the Hidan / Kakuzu arc.

[ringing_phone]

I agree. The thing that makes bashing annoying is that it's usually false, or at its best, distorted. Scenes and lines are taken out of context to change their meaning and make the hated character look stupid, weak, or malicious (chopping out the panel where Orihime brushes off being hit by a car and playing it as if she's being a wimpy doormat when surrounding panels reveal this scene is being played for laughs). Character flaws are misinterpreted, sometimes contrary to canon (Orko getting bashed for being "magically inept" when he's the most powerful wizard on Trolla, and only has trouble because Eternian magic is so much different). And that's when the character's offenses aren't being outright fabricated ("Yamcha is a wife-beater").

However, when a fan is criticizing something that actually happened, in the context in which it happened, I don't think that qualifies as bashing.

[whitelilies22]

However, when a fan is criticizing something that actually happened, in the context in which it happened, I don't think that qualifies as bashing.

Agreed.

[lunalotte88]

and it's not even just characters; just go onto any youtube video that has a lot of views, and even when a person states some rational criticism, you still sometimes see "This comment has received too many negative votes" or "This comment has been flagged as spam".