Characters Never Aging

geekgo4 · December 18, 2009, 06:29:15 AM

In most fiction, characters never age and and time hardy, if ever, moves. I believe this is because makings some changes can complicate things for the creators, as well as alienate their audence. But still, there are some things that should never change(namely icons), but are their series that you think should move forward and adapt?

Take Family Guy, for instance. Sure, all the other characters age and mature, but why does Stewie remain one? Would aging him to two cause some problems?

And this is probably one of the reasons why most people prefer the Digimon anime over the Pokemon anime. Even in the Pokemon Adventures Manga, the characters age. Of course, the video games were no better.

They don't even look 10.

Rin · December 18, 2009, 06:54:25 AM

STATING THE OBVIOUS: THE THREAD

Well, personally, I think that it would be good if Pokemon moved forward.
Sure, we just had DEATH IN [tornado fang]ing POKEMON not too long ago, and now we're getting Evil Ash in next movie, but...
From what I heard, ever since Ash started his joruney, not even a one [tornado fang]ing year passed(or just one year, don't remember).

There's quite a lot of mango and comics that have their characters change and age over time. Shaman King for example. [tornado fang], even Naruto did it.

Quickman · December 18, 2009, 07:06:58 AM

There are very few comics and series out there in which real time as we know it affect the characters. Aging the characters in real time with the audience limits the series and changes the characters. To keep a series accessible to an audience for as long as the series will last in syndication, it is preferable to just not have the characters age.

Satoryu · December 18, 2009, 07:33:12 AM

I think the OP thinks too much.

HyperSonicEXE · December 18, 2009, 07:39:37 AM

Why can't Roll be 18?!

...

err...uhhh, I mean...

PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME

Flame · December 18, 2009, 08:02:29 AM

Its the same reason many characters never change their clothes.

Quote from: Aldo on December 18, 2009, 07:39:37 AM
Why can't Roll be 18?!

...

err...uhhh, I mean...

PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME

Because she's a delicious Loli.

Ohshi- Have a seat over there...

Sky · December 18, 2009, 08:36:35 AM

itt we care way too much about fictional characters

Flame · December 18, 2009, 08:40:21 AM

Well, we practically live on a forum that spends time arguing over Megaman Canon and story possibilities.
...
Yes, we do.

Quickman · December 18, 2009, 08:46:27 AM

I edit a wiki about a fictional space opera. So, yes. Nothing wrong with it, though.

Flame · December 18, 2009, 09:24:51 AM

No, not at all. No one ever said there was.

Protoman Blues · December 18, 2009, 09:27:03 AM

Quote from: Quickman on December 18, 2009, 07:06:58 AM
To keep a series accessible to an audience for as long as the series will last in syndication, it is preferable to just not have the characters age.

It's why there are Retcons in the first place, usually. Some are handled well, others are not.

Quickman · December 18, 2009, 09:40:49 AM

Ah, retcons... Boy, am I ever familiar with retcons...

But for an ongoing series that is intended to be timeless and accessible to a large audience, it is more preferable to not have the characters age.

Protoman Blues · December 18, 2009, 09:45:10 AM

It was one of the main reasons behind so many terrible Spider-Man comic decisions of the past 4-5 years. That whole Norman Osborn/Gwen Stacy debacle was because Quesada couldn't make the kids Peter's & Gwen's, cause that'd make Spidey seem old. Same with the whole marriage thing too.

Quickman · December 18, 2009, 10:03:29 AM

It'd be better to keep the characters ageless and timeless, or really drag out the years. But, multiple retcons and relaunches work fine, too.

geekgo4 · December 18, 2009, 11:05:56 AM

Quote from: Kharaxel on December 18, 2009, 06:54:25 AM
STATING THE OBVIOUS: THE THREAD

Well, personally, I think that it would be good if Pokemon moved forward.
Sure, we just had DEATH IN [tornado fang]ing POKEMON not too long ago, and now we're getting Evil Ash in next movie, but...
From what I heard, ever since Ash started his joruney, not even a one [tornado fang]ing year passed(or just one year, don't remember).

There's quite a lot of mango and comics that have their characters change and age over time. Shaman King for example. [tornado fang], even Naruto did it.

I believe many Shonen Jump Titles did it for Time Skips. Naruto did it. Death Note did it. Dragon Ball ABUSED it.

One Piece however, didn't. Luffy forever celibrates his 17th birthday. I'm beginning to think that Oda is full of it. Rumiko Takahashi's fiction is also an offender. I believe there was only one exception to her work.

And someone has stated that the creators of the Pokemon anime will make the character stay the same ages their debut as long as the anime airs. I find that BULLCRAP!

Flame · December 18, 2009, 10:21:45 PM

666 Satan/O-Parts hunter did it too. they had one heck of a time skip. From little kids to teenagers.

Blaze Yeager · December 18, 2009, 10:24:10 PM

i agree with this thread.....But some characters do...I.e Ratchet & Clank

Jericho · December 19, 2009, 06:03:15 AM

Just a thought, what's wrong with characters not aging? If the scenario doesn't call for it and it's handled well, what's the problem?

Sapphire Knight · December 19, 2009, 06:27:11 AM

With pokemon, a year passed part way through the FIRST SEASON. IE the episode they got back to Veridian City, Ash clearly states "Wow, I can't believe it's been a year since last time we were here!" Well, not word-for-word, but he does say it. So I think the American dub directors decided that people would assume that they are actually getting older.

With One Piece, it pretty much says that it's still year one for Luffy, but when you look at Nami (her bust has gone from a relatively small size to almost the size of her head (okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but still...)), one starts to wonder...

With American cartoons, the not aging bit can (and is) periodically used for comedic purposes (such as someone mentioning that Stewie's been one for X-amout of years).

Rin · December 19, 2009, 12:48:21 PM

Quote from: Azure D. Jericho on December 19, 2009, 06:03:15 AM
Just a thought, what's wrong with characters not aging? If the scenario doesn't call for it and it's handled well, what's the problem?

Nothing, really.
[Top Spin]s like Quesada should have their "comic writing license" taken away.
ALSO LOEB, but that's a bit different story.

Fxeni · December 21, 2009, 05:10:02 PM

Eh, Loeb is hit or miss... well, mainly miss nowadays.

As for characters aging, it really depends on how it's handled. While it's good to keep characters timeless in some cases (ie. Mario), in others it can really limit options.

Protoman Blues · December 21, 2009, 08:16:33 PM

Quote from: Fxeni on December 21, 2009, 05:10:02 PM
Eh, Loeb is hit or miss... well, mainly miss nowadays.

Loeb can easily be described as Comic Book Cancer these days. It's such a shame, really.

Rad Lionheart · December 23, 2009, 10:25:15 AM

When I used to come up with characters for whatever reason I had, I always aged them as time went by.
I don't like it to feel like time doesn't have any meaning in a fictional world I created.

And when the time comes again, that I create a set of characters, for whatever reason, they will age and time will flow and it will be good.

NayusDante · January 08, 2010, 02:15:27 PM

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned The Simpsons here. That twisted chronology is actually an occasional joke. Still, it's funny to see it now with them poking fun at Apple and Harry Potter, given that I grew up watching them in the early 90s.

Hiryu · January 08, 2010, 08:16:46 PM

I've actually got one better than the Simpsons.

CHARLIE BROWN

Oh, and probably any of the other American comic strip characters.

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Characters Never Aging