How do you feel about protagonists who struggle on their journey to success?

[Snehazrul]

For me, the more relatable they are, the more I like them. Their struggles feel real, and in a way, they offer me consolation during my own tough moments. That’s why I made my protagonist the way I love—flawed, struggling, and far from perfect. I'd love to hear your thoughts too.

 

[laccoff_mawning]

But... flawless, OP characters are relatable...

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Protagonist with actual flaws is usually more interesting.

 

[Corty]

Depends on the story. Usually, they are better than straight-up OP characters.

The latter only works if it is for the reason of exploring the land and introducing humor and similar things. Otherwise, it gets boring fast or introduces illogical power creep to keep the suspense of battles believable.

 

[greyblob]

they're like me fr fr

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Flawed characters are great, but I also like consuming slop sometimes.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Flawed characters are great, but I also like consuming slop sometimes.

Sometimes? Be honest young lady.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Sometimes? Be honest young lady.

Most times

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Most times

Honest vampy deserves a snack. Have some garlick bread, it's on me today.

 

[AnonUnlimited]

There is a difference between struggling because the enemies or obstacles are massive, versus struggling because they make stupid decisions.
If their enemies are very powerful, and they are smart but struggling because they are looking for opportunities, that's great.
If they're struggling because they decided to wander out in the desert with no water... I get tired of that protagonist quickly.

 

[Rookieqw]

Utterly depends on the character. Take Kenshiro, for example. Barely struggles to win a fight, but he is humorous:

And ten times more interesting and complicated than the most OP revenge protagonists. It's not the power, it's not the struggles, it's how you shape a character that matters.

 

[Tempokai]

"More struggle" doesn't correlate to the "more relatable". It's the shortcut for the emotional persuasion, to make the reader forget about the "why should I care" even for a moment. What you seek not a struggle, but how you identify with the characters in the question, how they answer to those struggles the characters have.

Struggling is what anyone can do. How they struggle and what is the answer to those struggles makes the reader to be persuaded, to be identified with them. Add too much or too little, it will crumble into "why anyone should care" category. Balance, as always is the key.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Depends entirely on how they are written - though if the MC does not struggle, the story is LIKELY (not guaranteed, but likely) to become fairly dull over time.

 

[sbdrag]

Struggle also doesn't have to be on the combat end - there are really great OP MCs that don't often struggle with their opponents (until late game story, if at all) that still end up as relatable because they have other struggles going on.

ONE is really great at this, but he also uses OP MCs as a vehicle for social commentary rather than as the focus of his work. Shigeo in Mob Psycho 100 only struggles with the last few big opponents externally - but most of the series is focused on his internal struggles. How he's bad at socialization, and wants to improve his physical fitness. Sure, the latter starts because of his crush on Tsubome, but he gains personal satisfaction from it as the series goes on. Shigeo's struggles with self-confidence are relatable, and tie into the main themes of the work - that no matter how exceptional you are at one thing, there's always other things that you aren't as good at, and that's why building relationships with other people is important.

Saitama in One Punch Man is similar - he never struggles with any opponent, but his mundane worries (rent, groceries, getting frustrated at losing video games, being given a lame hero name) are things people can relate to, so he still feels grounded as a character despite being OP. They're pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, but they help make him more than just another OP MC.

So I do prefer when MCs have a struggle, but I don't need that struggle to be against their opponents for it to be satisfying.

 

[Y2N1]

They are cool

 

[beast_regards]

The web novels, especially western ones, don't follow the rules all writers are taught to follow by teachers and editors.

You hear constantly, from teachers and editors (and people who quote them), that protagonist has to undergo challenges, struggles, overcome weaknesses, and so on.

Then you post on the Internet and you hear "stupid protagonist", and that is the end of it.

In space no one could eat ice cream ... I mean, in webnovels no one could struggle.

Web novel's protagonists aren't supposed to defy the odds, they are supposed to defy the tropes instead.

Any moment of hesitation, and difficulty, any error, and you get "stupid protagonist" complaint, and rating to remember them by, because the protagonist is expected to be counter any problem he (or she, to be honest) encounters better than Batman, as after all, everyone read the TV tropes page.

 

[Zinless]

"More struggle" doesn't correlate to the "more relatable". It's the shortcut for the emotional persuasion, to make the reader forget about the "why should I care" even for a moment. What you seek not a struggle, but how you identify with the characters in the question, how they answer to those struggles the characters have.

Struggling is what anyone can do. How they struggle and what is the answer to those struggles makes the reader to be persuaded, to be identified with them. Add too much or too little, it will crumble into "why anyone should care" category. Balance, as always is the key.

I agree.

A lot of writers seem to think they're telling a better story than slops just because they make the MC work harder or struggle a lot for their goals. But this is a trap many of them walk into unnoticed.

They still need to pay attention to their characterization, plot structure, and actual story progression or character growth. But because they already thought they were doing a good job by not making an "OP" protagonist, they let their guard down and let those mistakes seep in.

Not long after, the only thing noteworthy about their story is: "My MC struggles."

 

[ShrimpShady]

I personally much prefer my characters to be deeply flawed people (I ain't never hate you, Shinji Ikari. You're my GOAT ?), but I think it ultimately comes down to intention. What are you trying to convey through writing your characters a certain way?

Why is your protagonist an overpowered badass who barely has to struggle through anything? Is it mostly for comedy and spectacle like One Punch Man? Does it highlight your characters' other, more internal struggles like Mob Psycho 100? Or are you just a hack writer who can't think of any other carrot to dangle in front of your audience?

And it goes the same for characters who suffer and struggle a lot. It all comes down to why you're writing the thing in the first place, which is why I've grown so jaded about stories with OP protagonists. Most of them feel so mindless.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

One caveat - while a struggling protagonist USUALLY makes for a better story, the protagonist needs to have some victories; if all they do is struggle and fail, you have a bad soap opera. There is a market for that, of course, but ... I'm not part of it, and I doubt I'm alone.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

One caveat - while a struggling protagonist USUALLY makes for a better story, the protagonist needs to have some victories; if all they do is struggle and fail, you have a bad soap opera. There is a market for that, of course, but ... I'm not part of it, and I doubt I'm alone.

I absolutely can’t stand stories where the protagonist only ever loses or takes Ls up until the very final moments of the story. In theory it should make the final victory seem all the much better, but more often it only annoys me.