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As someone who'd been devouring shoujo mangas throughout her teens and webtoons now in her adult years, I've had my fair share of the 'sunshine naive' girl trope. And I know why most people hate it. these characters tend to be written as very dumb and they are generally frustrating as main characters because they make decisions not suitable for their age and supposed maturity (if it's an adult), leading to unnecessary misunderstandings and weird ass plot holes. Personally, I don't like this trope and I find it annoying.
Fast forward to today.
I am currently working on a webtoon named Jukebox, and I find that my heroine, Yuuria, is just like that. The webtoon is mainly about Ryuu (who's a grumpy musician with self esteem issues) but she plays a huge role in the story. I can't sugar coat it; she is the embodiment of the trope: trusting to a fault, naive, a bookworm nerd, and a cringelord. but she's not JUST that. she's also someone who clings to the bright side of things despite the tragedy she'd undergone and the huge responsibilities on her shoulders. she's very emotionally intelligent and is actually more mature in relationships than Ryuu (the supposed cynic). she's actually written this way to be the antithesis to Ryuu, whose world view is bleak, dreary and dark because of his own trauma.
HENCE this post. I am worried she's going to be hated because of the trope she subscribes to I totally get the exhaustion with this type, but she really can't be otherwise for Ryuu's story to take shape the way it should: through her inner strength, emotional depth, and inherent innocence, she'd slowly change his view of the world and of himself for the better.
OK enough yapping. please share your thoughts. do you think she's too basic a character?
i think the trope itself is fine and even interesting, if the character has a solid reason behind their behaviour not just the "oh shes sheltered so shes kind and innocent" or " she just has a kind heart" typa vibe. and the way youre describing it sounds like she has a thorough and meaningful reason to have this kind of personality, which already adds a lot of depth to her character. And the antithesis makes this even more interesting. side note: this kinda reminds me of kimi wa yotsuba clover, where the trope is present but is necessary for the plot and therefore executed nicely. hope this helps and good luck with your webtoon:)!
i also dislike this trope immensely because their behaviour usually comes across as sanctimonious. but you can still balance their goodness without them being a pushover or stupid. i dont think theres anything wrong w the trope itself just that the execution often fails to hit the mark.
i really like sunshine x grumpy tbh and her shining light into his bleak world is soo cute. your character doesnt sound bad, well rounded. imo as long as shes not making frustratingly foolish decisions that dont make sense with the reason as being kind, it should be okay? thats what frustrates me most ab this trope. good luck!!
honestly, what you and I and everybody else hate is the shallowness of a character, not the trope or cliché per se but when a character has nothing more to offer than that. I know a lot of people read for a plot, for comedy or entertainment, etc... but imo a character that feels complex and real completes or at least adds on to a story for all. I think you're cooking something really delicious and I know I would eat up a story like that and taste it so ever finely!!
Thank you so much! that's so relieving to hear (づ￣ ³￣)づ I have confidence in my Yuuria, I just need her to be given a chance <3
Oh, thank you for your response and kind words! and I'll definitely check it out <3
I totally agree! and I'm also a sucker for sunshine x grumpy (which is why I'm making a webtoon about it). I do think my Yuuria is a round character and her extreme optimism is presented as a flaw that stems from her past etc, but I'm glad to hear you guys are willing to give her a chance! (●'◡'●)ﾉ
Besides them looking like whole ass adults when they're like, 15, the misunderstandings are getting annoying... Feels like watching a really old teen flick which I guess is the point but I'm too old for this bullshit. I don't think the writing will get any better.
HAHAHA agree we're too old for this kind of plot.
Just going to enjoy the beautiful art ig
(=・ω・=)