Analyze an Existing Character or an Existing Setting in 5-7 pages. Select an existing character and setting from a Japanese manga or anime. How does this manga or anime conform to the principles Araki describes in Manga in Theory and Practice (you can apply Araki's ideas easily from manga to anime.) This could be the anime or manga you wrote about in your Midterm Assignment and you are welcome to use that prose again so long as you edit it. Be sure to do the following: 1) Provide basic information at the beginning of your paper listing the name of the author/writer/manga-ka/director/designer (as appropriate), the title in English, the original Japanese publisher or studio, the US or global translation publisher/ streaming platform where you accessed the work, and the year of release.   2) Provide a brief summary of the manga/anime story in at least two paragraphs near the beginning of your paper. 3) Then in the main body of your paper, describe at least three elements that make up that character’s or that world’s visual design. Explain how these elements conform to/deviate from the genre, which you must also identify clearly. 4) Support with visual examples by adding a screenshot or panel example.

Using information from the two following paragraphs answer the previous prompt.

 On December 3, 1984 Dragon Ball's Sun Goku was introduced to the public, and over the last 35 years has become one of the most recognizable and prolific characters of the modern age. From TV shows to commercials to blockbuster movies, from video games to parades to being the mascot for the 2020 Olympic Games, you would assume for one to accrue such incredible success, said character would need to be widely accepted as a good one, or at least a well-written one. However, nowadays there's a strongly held belief that if a character doesn't develop or grow from an experience, then that character in question is a poorly written one. Therefore to test this theory, a while back I posted a poll on my Twitter asking the question, if given the choice between Goku and Vegeta, who'd you prefer, and why? The one that was close with over 4,000 votes cast Vegeta 1. With the majority of people who voted for Vegeta bolstering their choice by arguing, Vegeta has grown and changed a considerable amount over his character arc. Goku has no arc. He remains the same. While most of the statement is technically correct, this led me to believe that on a fundamental narrative level, the character of Sun Goku is deeply misunderstood by an enormous portion of the viewership because Goku does have a character arc. He is a terrific example of what writers call the Flat Character arc. In 2016, KM Wild and Publisha Book called, Create and Character arcs, in which she describes three character arc methods. The Positive Character arc? This is the most common character arc found in fiction where the character undergoes a positive change. The Negative Character arc, where the character undergoes a negative change, and finally, the Flat Character arc, which we will be discussing in this video. In order to make sense of the Flat Character arc, it's important to understand the most common arc in storytelling first. The Positive Character arc, in which the character and question spends their entire journey overcoming a specific lie they hold to be true, Wild and calls this script writing trope. The lie the character believes. A wonderful example of this positive character arc is observed with the character of Vegeta. For his entire existence, Vegeta has been someone who believed that power was the only important thing in life. And to pursue anything else would be a fool's errand. This was the lie Vegeta believed. And throughout his life, this lie was reinforced by the world around him. Through pursuing this end, Vegeta sacrificed his everything to achieve his goal. It's his belief in this lie that leads him to die on planet Namik. When faced with the reality his choices have led him to, he crumbles, and ultimately falls. Vegeta's lie was that he believed the only value to be found in life was through the pursuit of power. And his arc was about the journey he took in order to overcome this lie and to embrace what was actually true. To find value in those he loved. And in that moment the viewer and Vegeta share a much-needed catharsis. As while in writes, the Positive Character arc is about the lie the character believes, which he will spend the entire journey overcoming. However, unlike the Positive Character arc which tells the story based on a lie the character believes, the flat character arc is about the truth the character believes. In the flat character arc the protagonist already has a handle on what the truth is. And he will use that truth to overcome the challenges of the plot. And probably to transform a lie-burdened world. One of the defining features of the flat arc is that the character begins his journey to already believing in a certain truth. So in Goku is an enthusiastic, innocent and motivated person who believes that he can always be better today than he is tomorrow. And not in a diminishing or deprecating way he thrives annoying he can be better tomorrow than he is today. And these ideals have not changed since he was first introduced to us in the mid-80s. To help prove that I'm not making these points up, here are some other characters that fit this mold too. Forced Gun is an honest, compassionate and determined individual who wants to find and be with the person he loves, Jenny, and from the beginning of the film to the end his outlook on life never falters reflected in the famous quote, Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get until you take that first bite. Indiana Jones is a determined and courageous man who believes in doing what is right. From the outset these are what his ideals are and what makes his story compelling isn't how he changes but how the world around him reacts to these characteristics he possesses. The titan is an infinitely powerful otherwise ordinary guy with strong morals and ideals for what he thinks a hero should be, bored by conventional crime fighting he earns for the thrill of a real challenge. And despite never actually getting that, his personality and ideals don't waver. He is human but he is also a real hero. What I find personally interesting about all of these characters is, none of them are really praised or remembered for being great characters. Instead people will often say, for a scum is an amazing movie, or that one punchman was a great TV series. However a fundamental difference between for a scum but one punchman is that one is a movie and the other is a television show. Rarely will you see someone say that the character for a scum is a bad one but people will flat out dismiss one punchman on its main character as very premise alone. Personally I think the length of a TV series versus a movie plays a large factor here. People expect a desire a TV shows characters to grow and develop over the series in order to justify its long length. Specific emphasis is put on shows like Dragon Ball, Naruto or One Piece because their theme is sent around self-improvement. Whereas in a film it's not as noticeable if their characters don't develop over the course of its runtime. If we look closely at the character of Sun Goku, we observe from the very beginning of the show, his character is fundamentally at odds with the story and world around. This is a writing technique specifically used for characters that utilize a flat arc and so while Goku himself believes the truth from the outset, pretty much all those he interacts with believes a lot and the intrigue for the journey comes from Goku's sensibilities changing the world around him for the better. For example, this is a very important thing. Or if you want an even earlier example, here's this. Despite Master Oshih having taken a considerable amount of his life to perfect the Kamehameha, Goku managed to learn it with relative ease. However the most noticeable example of Goku changing the world around him using the truth he has is right here. On top of changing the world around him, he also changes the supporting cast for the better too. The characters like Master Oshih are now retired because Goku is now the new savior of the earth. Characters like Ten Shinhan, Piccolo and Vegeta have changed from bad to good because of his actions. The reason why Goku remains the focus of Dragon Ball is due to one simple fact. Goku is Dragon Ball. Everything that happens in Dragon Ball is due to this character and it can't be any other way. So let me explain why. Goku's character is ideal for a long running show because unlike Vegeta and Piccolo, his arc doesn't have an expiry date. Vegeta's character was praised in its climax, but because the show wanted to continue, his development had to be altered and slightly red-cut at the beginning of Dragon Ball super. During which they had to repeat certain key scenes to invoke a similar reaction from the fanbase. The same we said for Piccolo, jumping in front of Gohan blocking a blast during the resurrection F arc, it's just not the same because as the show reflects, his time in the sun is over. On a much more real level, Gohan's story is absolutely over. It ended itself. That was the coming of age moment and nothing he can do will ever top that. Unless they drastically revamped, reinvent or retcon his character. But unlike Vegeta, Piccolo and Gohan, Goku is not restricted by such conventions due to the nature of his story arc. Because Goku doesn't need to change or grow from an experience, the intrigue when he interacts with a character or situation comes from how the world or that character reacts to Goku. So technically, Goku and characters like Goku that implement the flat arc have as much intrigue as the world around them does. And as I'm sure many writers would tell you, it's much easier to create interesting tasks and worlds for Goku to explore than it would be for someone to write another way for Vegeta to swallow his pride and for us to care about it. The point that I'm trying to make here is, despite his unwavering sensibilities, Goku has remained engaging throughout. Specifically when he is written by a curatorial Yamaha, who understood that the character of Goku needed to have a flat arc if he wanted to have the flexibility to write a week to week manga chapter. Goku is a flexible engaging character because he utilizes the flat character arc. And that is why this particular arc has value. And so with the stigma nowadays claiming that Goku is a boring character because he has no personal development, I feel compelled to say, no, that's not a fair assessment at all. On top of the positive character arc being the most common arc in character writing, and one of the most noticeable, it also seems to be the only one given any spotlight at all. Rarely does someone talk about a negative character arc which would be observed with characters like Yagami from Death Note or even Zamasu from Dragon Ball Super. This is when a character goes from a good or benign standing to that of a villain or changes for the worse. Even a flat arc like Goku's can be subdivided into categories, Goku is a positive flat arc. And an example of a negative flat arc can be observed with characters like Freeze, who are evil to the core, unwavering, manipulating the world around them instead of the world changing them. One of the reason why Freeze and Goku's interactions are so compelling, because they are both steadfast in their beliefs. I am certainly not trying to claim that one character arc is superior to the other, but merely pointing out certain advantages the flat arc might have over the others because of its design. So just to reiterate, Dragon Ball cannot be Dragon Ball without Goku. And while wonderful characters like Piccolo and Vegeta are thrilling and fun to watch, I think it's important to acknowledge that Goku's character has value 2, but in a vastly different way.

Dragon Ball Super didn't understand the first thing about Goku's character. Thank you so much for watching. Okay, let's back up a bit. At the beginning of 2019, I wrote a video entitled Goku, the misunderstood character, in which I decided to talk about the main character of the popular TV show Dragon Ball. I guess, in a way, not many before me had done. It got a lot of views. Since then, I've released a video every single week, gained a bunch of new subscribers, thanks by the way, and I made this my full-time career. However, there has been one thing that has bothered me since writing that video almost a year ago. One thing that has never added up quite right in my head. And that was this line from a resurrection F. Being too relaxed can also be a weakness. And don't even get me started on the issues with your overconfidence. My problem with this is that he says it as if it's obvious, or some sort of an arguable defining trait of Goku's character. And I have to say I disagree with that assessment of Goku. At best, I think it's misleading, and at worst, it's wrong. So, what better way to run out this terrific year than by bringing it full-circle with the character that started it all. A character that I thought was only misunderstood by the fans, but as it happens, is also grossly misunderstood by the very company that owns it. This is <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PERSON>. And how to weigh? Got him wrong. Before I start this, I want to say that I love Dragon Ball Dragon Ball Z and even Dragon Ball Super. So if you think I'm just some guy spewing hatred towards the series, check out this copy-sentimental video I wrote for the series last year when it ended. Okay? Moving on. Once I finish writing last week's episode, I decided to send out a tweet asking you guys a question. Can anyone point me to instances where Goku was overconfident before Dragon Ball Super? The common section was interesting. Thousands of people began listing circumstances like him allowing Frieza to reach a hundred percent. His misplaced confidence would go on during the cell games, or even his decision to fight Antoine 19 in the first place. Comments kept pouring and touting example after example. However, and unsurprisingly, a significant amount of discussion and arguing stemmed from the various responses to this tweet of mine. Largely because, I believe, now having looked into it, Colin Goku overconfident would be at best a very low resolution observation of his character. Allow me to explain what I make. Overconfidence as it's defined is, and belief in one's own abilities that exceed the parameters of reality. In other words, one who is overconfident has no reason at all to be. Interestingly, a perfect example of this could be observed with Vegeta, who during the cell saga allowed Selt to reach his perfect form simply because the G2 believes no one could ever be as powerful as he was. A belief in his own abilities that exceeded the realms of reality. Resulting in? Reality hitting him hard. So, how does this apply or not apply to the story of Goku's adult life? Well, from my experience reading about Goku, it's true that he's naive, innocent, selfish, honest, and tenacious, but overconfident seems like a stretch in a lot of ways to me. Let's look at some examples. For the very same reason Goku was excited to fight Frieza while traveling to Namek, he allows Frieza to reach max power here. In this instance, Goku is aware of what he's doing, what the consequences are, and he's ready to face them. In this instance, he's confident that he can defeat Frieza. This might very well have been chosen through a selfish, self-indulgent path to revenge, but he wasn't overconfident. Overconfidence requires confidence that is unwarranted in order for Goku to be overconfident his confidence in this scene would have to be misplaced. And as I'm sure you're aware, it wasn't. He was confident that he could defeat Frieza and he did. With relative ease, all things considered. In this case, his confidence wasn't misplaced. Similarly, his assertion to Vegeta that he was stronger than him in the Selsaga wasn't cockiness or overconfident either, but a statement of fact, and observation of reality. He was, in fact, stronger than Vegeta during that time. But regardless, I'm all else what Goku really wants is to challenge himself against the strongest opponents he can. Thanks to Master Rochee's teachings in early Dragon Ball, he trains and fights under the philosophy that there will always be someone stronger around the next corner. There's a humbleness in that mindset. He doesn't presuppose that he's invincible, he expects there to be someone better. And these encounters translate into opportunities for Goku to always push himself to greater and greater heights. Goku does let his guard down, allowing his opponent the best chance to defeat him, but it's inaccurate I think to say that this is as a result of overconfidence. Quite the opposite. What he lets his guard down, he's not necessarily confident that he will get away with it, because anything that would feel like he would get away with it, would be boring to him. He wants to always ride the Razer's edge of battle, pushing closer and closer to his limits and going beyond his comfort and confidence zone. He specifically seeks circumstances where he isn't confident in his abilities. That's where the fun is for Goku in a fight, and that's why he said things like he's scared, but also excited. The Desire to test himself against a strong opponent has always overpowered his fear to run. This particular scene with Android 19 was yet another instance that came up time and again in the comment section of that tweet I send out. I'm not sure what about this demonstrates Goku being popular overconfident, Goku sort of shoots his to fight the android because he's the most capable at the time, and he's the one thereafter. He's also under the impression that Vegeta will show up sooner or later as backup as set in manga. In addition to this, he also doesn't know what's happening to his body. You can label him as foolish or forgetful here, but not overconfident. In these high pressure instances, he isn't confident that he'll win, but he is confident in his abilities, and that's what he's searching for. Anytime he finds himself up against top odds, he pushes himself and doesn't quit unless completely unmatched. And even saying that, he has given up and not even attempted to fight in some cases because he knew he was outmatched. I do give up. I've given all I've got, Lord Beerus, but there's still no way I can be you. For instance, or if you want an even earlier example, check out this one. There's no way that we can defeat a power like Cell in a fight right now. Not exactly the move you'd see from someone who would be labeled as overconfident. However, the most popular example of Goku being overconfident in the series within my little Twitter thread was his decision to pit go on up against perfect Cell. While throwing a sense to be itself to even up the odds, he's mind. And what's interesting about that specific scene with Gohan is that Goku was technically correct. His confidence in what Gohan was capable of wasn't misplaced. While he didn't count on was that he understood that better than Gohan did. That particular circumstance is way more nuanced than simple overconfidence. And I think a better word to describe that decision is naivety. Naivety is described as, lack of experience, wisdom or judgment. Sometimes out of innocence. And that perfectly describes this particular misunderstanding between Gohan and Goku. And let's make no bones about this. This is Goku's flaw. It's not overconfidence in himself. It's that he naively presupposes that everyone, B. There his friends or his enemies, treaty fight with the same honor as he does. It's for this very reason he's constantly taking it back during instances where he's opponent treats their fight like anything other than a fair contest. Whether it be Vegeta's son decision to blow up the earth or Gohan not wanting to go all out in the face, Goku is always caught off guard by someone else's worldview in these high pressure circumstances. Allowing Salah sends to be letting Vegeta and freeze a go. These are all examples of his selfishness and or naivety shining through. To label it overconfidence is inaccurate. Despite Goku and Gohan's dynamic in the Salasaga, weasin Resurrection F isn't talking about Goku's overconfidence in another. It's overconfidence in himself. Chris is in that he constantly lets his guard down. Which he does, but as I explained it's not that he is overconfident or overestimate his abilities, he lowers his guard and doesn't go all out because he selfishly wants to get more out of the fight. If he thought that his opponent was way below him and he overestimated his own abilities, he'd be bored. And that's just not how Goku operates. In Resurrection F weaset tries to demonstrate to Goku that he lets his guard down too often by punching him in his ribs. As he's walking through the garden of Beerus's planet after the sparring session had been brought to a close, this doesn't demonstrate anything. In order for Goku to have his guard up in this non-combat of scenario, he would either need to be consciously on guard 247 which is in practical and exactly the flaw Vegeta has or he would need to have ultra-instinct which is the goal, weaset training them towards. So I don't understand how this could be an indication that he's anything other than a weaker fire than weaset. It doesn't demonstrate anything to further weaset's point about him being overconfident. I mean, if we really want to get into it, overconfidence is much more accurately a trait of Vegeta's than Goku's. He has in the past time and again legitimately brought about his own demise due to this overconfidence in his abilities. And I'm saying all of this while being fully aware that a curatorial remote resurrection F. Because this whole essay isn't to say I think giving Goku a shortcoming in the film was a bad idea. I actually think it's a wonderful and interesting idea if handled correctly. Characters change archetypes all the time and for Goku to shift from a flat arc character into a positive one is a really fascinating development for his character, if they handle it correctly thereafter. Which they didn't. As soon as resurrection have concluded, Goku's shortcomings from that story suddenly disappear, never to be seen again. Despite Goku paying for that shortcoming in that very film, when you give a character a negative trait to overcome, the journey ought to be usually centered around consequences of their internal conflict in rejecting this negative trait of theirs. Suddenly not having it isn't development. It's sudden change. Development is gradual, not sudden. Which to me is a shame because if Goku attained ultra instinct for a genuine growth and development reason rather than just simply getting it, it would have given an already very cool scene and emotional weight behind it that we don't normally see with Goku in the circumstances. It would have made it a very unique moment for Goku specifically in the series. And that's just it in a nutshell. Instead of arcs flowing into each other as consistently and cohesively as the original series did, many arcs have beginning points and end points. Things suddenly happen because plot needs to happen and characters are given things to work on that really if you think about it long enough, don't make a lot of sense for the character. In the entire series, the closest instance I could find to Adolf Goku actually having misplaced confidence in himself was early in the freezer fight. He never believed the fight would be easy, but he wasn't prepared for how monstrous freezer really was. However, to paint this as overconfidence, I think is a stretch. And even if you consider it full blown over confidence, to consider this one instance grounds to label Goku as a definitive overconfident character is I think disingenuous. But at the end of the day, writing is still one of the most difficult things when it comes to art. Dragon Ball Super captured my imagination and for that alone I would label it as success. But just because I like and enjoy something doesn't mean that I have to turn a blind eye instead of questioning things. For me that's one of the more fun aspects of watching a TV show. Hearing out how it's written and where it doesn't make sense, and that really was the impetus for this entire anatomy of anime series. I'm so incredibly thankful that so many of you have decided to share your mornings after known that evenings with me over this last year. I'm truly humbled and will continue to try my best to improve. But until then, let me know what you think about Wiesus comments towards Goku down below. Do you think he's overconfident? Am I right? Am I wrong? Let me know. But that'll do it for this week. I've been totally not Mark. Thank you so much for watching.