This is not a discussion post regarding a story, far from it in fact. I was just wondering something, and realised it might make an interesting conversation piece.
Say that you were to create your own Tainted Cube or Tainted Gestalt thread. Which eight characters would you pick? Not necessarily the main characters or anything like that. If your answers would be different for the two different stories, please post where they would differ and why.
I'd also like to hear a rough summary of where you think such a story would go, because quite frankly we would probably never see it. I somehow doubt anyone else is insane enough to try anything like Tainted Cube. Maybe Gestalt. Either way, it should make for fun conversation.
Hmm. I shall have to think on this one a bit. Of course I want to say Akane and Asuka, but Ranma and Shinji are such great choices for this type of concept. Maybe split the difference…Ranma and Asuka? Akane and Shinji? Well, someone from each of those series, at any rate.
ReplyDeleteInstead of Lelouch, maybe Keima from The World God Only Knows? Or go in the completely opposite direction and do Kira himself, Light. But probably only in the Gestalt option, because otherwise his desires for people to die could result in a lot of good characters dropping dead in the other worlds. And it would be fascinating to have good guys have to deal with sharing their existence with a mass murderer. And maybe their influence would temper Light's psychopathy a bit.
So that's three slots. Next…maybe another favorite heroine of mine, Nagisa Furukawa from Clannad. Totally different mold than Akane or Asuka (or Usagi), she's polite, shy and compassionate to a fault. Quite adorable, really. And stricken with one of those mysterious anime diseases. But there aren't enough ladies in the mix, and she's different enough from all the other characters to warrant her inclusion.
Next, Rito from To Love-Ru in place of Tsukune, maybe?
This is difficult. Hmm…perhaps a bit of an unexpected choice: Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. He's a walking, talking suit of armor! That would be particularly interesting the in the Gestalt setting, I think, as it would allow the others to experience something as bizarre as being alive and interacting with the world despite not having an actual body. But for the Cube option, maybe his brother Edward instead.
Eureka from Eureka seveN. She's more than a little derivative of Rei Ayanami, admittedly, especially at the start, but she's actually an extremely sensitive character whose presence would be beneficial, I think, to the others connected to her.
Who else? Maybe keep Kyon? There are still a lot of other ways that could play out. Or Usagi. It depends on whether Akane and/or Asuka were included.
So that's eight, sort of. I'll probably change my mind on most of them an hour from now, but that's what I came up with at the moment. I guess my take would be significantly less comedic, but that's partly because you've already used some of the best of that genre and I wanted to distinguish my selections. But I could easily swap out a couple of characters to lighten things up more. What do you think?
Hmm... what would my Tainted Cube lineup look like?
ReplyDeleteWell, for starters I would have to exclude Shinji and Ataru because of lack of familiarity with their series. Unfortunately, there's probably more than two new series I'd like to use.
The three main anime series that really launched my fandom were (in order): Slayers! Sailor Moon, and Tenchi Muyo (the Tenchi Universe series). I would probably start my roster with those three. However, for Slayers! I think Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun would be a much more entertaining choice story-wise than either Lina or Gourry, so I would probably give her the cube.
As for other series I liked... I don't really see the cube working for Rurouni Kenshin. Likewise, I've watched the full first series of Fullmetal Alchemist but it doesn't feel like a fit for any character there. I admit I watched the first season or so of Pokemon, but the characters there seem a bit too young, and I have a hard time remembering anyone beyond Ash, Brock, and Misty.
More recently, I have to agree with Tuatara that Rito from To Love-Ru would be fun, if only for his supporting cast. So I would give him a nod. Also, a series called Kampfer has become a guilty pleasure of mine. I think if I'm selecting 8 characters, I don't think it's too selfish to pick 1 I really like that's a bit obscure.
The big three have to be brought up. Admission time: I'm not really fond of One Piece. So no Luffy. Naruto could be chosen easily, but it's done to death. That leaves Bleach, which is probably the one I would choose... if I had room. Pretty sure I'm not going to have room for Ichigo, since my well documented love for the fourth of the big three, Fairy Tail, dictates I reserve a seat at the table for either Lucy Heartfilia or Natsu Dragoneel.
Only two slots remaining. I thought about giving Kagome from Inuyasha the nod over Ranma, but not only am I not familiar enough with Inuyasha to carry it, but I think Ranma's a more unusual character. I'm not sold on Ranma's cast over Rosario + Vampire or Code Geass, however when I look at Tsukune Aono I think he's just a little too similar to Tenchi and Rito. So Ranma 1/2 and Code Geass get the final nods.
Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun (Slayers!)
Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon)
Tenchi Masaki (Tenchi Muyo)
Rito Yuki (To Love-Ru)
Natsuru Seno (Kampfer)
Lucy Heartfilia (Fairy Tail)
Ranma Saotome (Ranma 1/2)
Lelouch vi Britannia (Code Geass)
Final totals: 3 girls, 3 boys, 2 gender-switchers. As for where the story would go from here... I think that's a post for another day. I just know I would feel really, really sorry for whoever received the cube from Amelia.
Amelia's an interesting choice. Nice call. I don't know Fairy Tail well enough to go with someone from it, but Lucy seems like a pretty good character from what I've seen.
DeleteI thought about Tenchi, but then I decided he already has enough things going on. Adding the cube feels a little like overkill to me there. (The same could be argued for Usagi, actually, but she's just such a fun choice.)
Natsuru is a fantastic choice, and I wish I'd thought of him/her (maybe instead of an Elric brother.) I enjoy Kämpfer quite a bit.
I also thought about the big three, but One Piece is not really my thing, and Naruto's godlike enough as it is. Well, if I didn't do either Akane or Asuka from Evangelion, I might pick Sakura. As for Bleach…maybe. Orihime could be fun, possibly.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLets see here. I'd have Xander Harris from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter because I'm most familiar with them. I also like the harem anime's so I'd keep Love Hana and add Vandread. Jimmy Olson from the Superman comics simply because I like him and there are beings in the DCU that could resist the influence of the cube, making conflict occur. After that I'd add Natsu from Fairy Tail simply because I'm enjoying it so much. Finally ending with unknown characters from Rosario + Vampire and Cage of Eden.
ReplyDeleteSo for me the list would be:
Xander Harris (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Harry Potter or the Weasly twins (Harry Potter)
Keitaro (Love Hana)
Hibiki (Vandread)
Jimmy Olson (Superman comics)
Natsu (Fairy Tail)
Yukari? (Rosario + Vampire)
Akira Sengoku (Cage of Eden)
Okay for me there’s several types of people that I’d want for my group: a strategist, a fighter, a mage, a genius/builder, the face (charismatic), the Crazy and the pervert.
ReplyDeleteFirst off for Strategist I’m picking Lelouch. I don’t feel that I need to explain myself.
For my Fighter I’d normally choose someone like Ranma but as seen in your own story, even a Master martial artist can be reduced to the level of a novice when thrust into a weak and unfamiliar body. Instead I’m going to choose Jotaro Kujo because who needs martial arts, Chakra gates, magic circuits or magical artifacts when you can stop time and DESTROY people with the power of your very soul?
For Magic I’m going to be choosing Rachel Roth aka Raven from Teen Titans for the same reason and the fact that I see all of her various personalities jumping to other bodies on their own to help stir up an interesting story.
For Genius I’d normally choose The Doctor but there’s that whole problem of looking into the mind of a Time Lord causing your own to literally burn thing so I think instead I’ll pick Washuu Habuki who probably isn’t much better but hey she can be hot and has a mischievously perverted side to her if I remember correctly.
I felt torn on who the Face should be and almost went with Captain Jack Harkness but I felt that giving him access to eight separate universes might just shatter the multiverse somehow. So I decided to go with a Paragon, Soldier Fem!Shep instead.
And finally, just to spice things up I’m going to take a guy who could cover Fighter, Pervert and CRAZY in one sweet package. I am of course talking of none other than The Merc with the Mouth, The Guy who won’t Die; DEADPOOL! I’m sure him and the other voices in his head would enjoy the added company. What I’m not sure of is how Raven would feel though, sharing bodies with the insane, alternate version of the Titans’ most hated enemy.
…That kinda covers all of my bases but I’ve still got two free spots left so…
Emiya Shirou to act as the group’s conscience?
Aaaaaand, uh, oh what the hell? Luffy, simply for the shenanigans.
So in summary:
Lelouch (Code Geass)
Jotaro Kujo (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Raven (Teen Titans)
Washuu (Tenchi Muyo)
Fem!Shep (Mass Effect)
Deadpool (Marvel Comics)
Emiya Shirou (Fate/Stay Night)
Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
…Hm. Is it odd that it literally never occurred to me to include non-anime/manga characters? I dunno. Opening up the field to pretty much anything throws me a bit, honestly. The options are then so broad that I have a hard time narrowing it down.
ReplyDeleteBut there are some fascinating choices in those lists that aren't exclusively anime. Good, good.