#this is basically just an excuse to talk about Phos & Yuuji

[cursedvibes]

This doesn't really have any deeper point, I just wanted to talk about what makes me like a main character by using the example of four of my favourite ones.

*Spoilers for Houseki no Kuni, JJK and Innocent Rouge*

Phosphophyllite & Itadori Yuuji

These two are undoubtedly my faves right now. As much as I like lists, it is hard to rank one above the other as characters because I love both so much and I think they are very well written. Phos might be slightly above because I think HnK is a better story and Phos better integrated into it, but they also have a slight leg up due to the series being almost over and their character development mostly concluded, while Yuuji still has what will likely be his most crucial moments (relating to his confrontation with Sukuna & Kenjaku) ahead of him. HnK is also clearly centred primarily around Phos, Kongo and their relationship, thereby they are given a lot more attention. JJK is more focused on its cast and while it all ultimately serves to develop Yuuji, the others are given ample time to be fleshed out as well. I might be a bit sceptical of recent developments in jjk, but I still think that its writing is at its best when it revolves around Yuuji. He is a very central character and it is clear how much Akutami cares about him and his journey throughout the story. Now onto why I like them and characters like them.

Phos and Yuuji both fall into the theme of loss of innocence, compromising of morals and gain/loss of humanity. Both go through traumatic changes that fundamentally and lastingly change them and that change is very physically noticeable. In Yuuji's case it is his scars and lost ear and pinky, in Phos it is essentially their entire body. Due to these changes the two have to grapple with how much of themselves and their initial convictions they can hold onto in a world that is out to hurt them. Everything they do is done out of a wish to protect the people they care about, but they have to realize that more often than not they are unable to help them and even bring more suffering onto others by merely existing or trying to follow their goals. Yuuji has a little less agency in that, since Sukuna running amok was not his fault and he could not have known the consequences of making a binding vow with him at the time it happened. Those kinds of innocent mistakes are what haunts both of them however. The story is ruthless in punishing them for every little misstep they make.

Both are also manipulated by far greater and more experienced forces that force them down a path of suffering to eventually become something greater. During that, both of them are objectified and given and taken away their humanity as the others please. In Yuuji's case it is Kenjaku, who literally designed him to be a vessel, cage and eventually pseudo-cursed object and with Phos it is Aechmea, the Doctor and to an extend Kongo. They are turned into a human through suffering only to be pushed into divinity and loneliness for the sake of the world at large. Phos has learned to come to terms with that. They had their revenge, endured 10.000 years of mental torture and managed to come out of all of that somewhat sane, if fundamentally different of who they used to be. It will be interesting to see how Yuuji will deal with the challenges that are waiting for him and who he will be by the end of jjk. It won't be as drastic as what Phos went through, but I don't expect that either. That's not the kind of story this is.

Also, both are characterized by their understanding of others. Yuuji can naturally get along with others, he has an intrinsic understanding of them and can see even minor specialities about them others would discard as unimportant. He also has his natural grasp on the soul that only increases as the story moves on. Similarly, Phos has the ability to understand other human-like lifeforms, even if they aren't gems. They can talk to the Admirabilis and hear the ice flows talking to them clearly. Phos is also the first one to try and succeed in communicating with the Lunarians, going so far as to imitate the air holes in their necks to establish a connection. Understanding others and emphasizing with them might not always be as easy for them as with Yuuji, but they do have a special way of communicating with and uniting others, even if that union is done by deception or against them. In both cases it comes down to the humanity within them that gives them this ability.

What ultimately draws me to these two and what makes me love them so much is the "corruption" arc they both go through. It is messy, they are never excused for what they do, the narrative doesn't coddle them and any personal flaw they have is pointed out and amplified in the story. All too often you have it that a main characters flaws are excused, they are given chance after chance and can handle challenges that others break at with relative ease due to whatever innate advantages. They are fundamentally good and the story doesn't dare to challenge that.

With these two it is different and I especially like how you can see the marks the story has left on them. They are also allowed to show darker sides. Phos' selfishness is brought up time and time again and we see how they hurt the others around them. Not only that, but in their quest to safe everyone, they end up going so far as to massacre their friends. Yuuji only tries to help, wants to find a meaningful death and despises sadism, but he ends up realizing that he has a similar cruelty inside him. He doesn't hesitate to kill if he has to and can be just as gruesome towards the people he hates, mainly Mahito and Sukuna. He wants to see them pay, suffer and die for what they did, he is not above that. That is honestly when I love him the most. He already had a chilling stare as a middle schooler and it has only gotten deadlier.

Marie-Josèphe Sanson & Charles-Henri Sanson

The way Charles changes from protagonist in Innocent to an antagonist in Innocent Rouge might be one of my favourite developments in fiction. He turns into what he tried to fight, all while having still somewhat good intentions and thinking he is doing the best for everyone, he's "just being realistic". He inflicts the torture his father put him through on his own children, thinking he is helping them harden and grow up. We are shown how this trauma and submission to the ruling class is a viscous cycle only someone as excentric and fearless as Marie can escape. She breaks the status quo by refusing to bow to any rules or accept any restrictions ever. Be they a country's laws or gender roles, she does not give a fuck.

Both have to struggle a lot in both parts of the story. Charles sees his grand visions for the future he had as a child compromised as he grows up, tries to keep his family from making the same mistakes and hurts them just as much in the process, which leads to him losing what he really cares about. He buried his attraction to men and his softer side and discouraged it in his children as well, only to see his son kill himself in front of him after he couldn't behead the boy he was in love with. He gets absolutely broken down for what he did and the path he decided to take.

Marie has to fight every step of her way. She has to be strong both physically and mentally or she would not have prevailed this long and reached her goals. Her own family despises her and tries to make her submit to tradition, gender roles, the class system, the queen, but she rejects all of it. She did not start the revolution alone, but she was an integral part of it and a strong hand that kept the people safe. I've seen people be upset with her end of the story, that after all she's been through she dies, but I don't really mind it that much. It was not a defeat and she has accomplished the most important thing by paving the way for a better future and raising a kid that can follow in her footsteps. She did not solve class struggle, but she was there to accompany the most important steps. There's only so much she alone can do, so it is all on the next generation now.

Tldr: What draws me to a main character is that they suffer, they have to be meaningfully and lastingly altered by the story and their flaws have to be explored and highlighted. Additionally, I also appreciate some moral greyness and if the topic comes up, they should be anti-establishment (I don't accept any bootlickers like Naruto). They don't have to change an oppressive system all on their own, but they should at least question it and work to better it. They don't have to succeed in their goals, but that loss shouldn't be brushed aside.

Some examples of other MCs I like and who fall into some or all of those categories:

Kamiya Toshiro (Fool Night) - Ai Coleman (Dorohedoro) - Johnny Joestar (jjba)