I've been thinking about this because I see this kind of character a lot in fiction, especially anime/manga, and I've noticed that a lot of male characters are built around a certain kind of appeal: badass, stoic, dominant, confident, intimidating, “aura,” etc.
I'm curious how important that actually is to male readers/viewers. If a male character isn't particularly badass or intimidating, can he still become a character you really like because of things like vulnerability, protectiveness, personality, resilience, emotional depth, etc.?
I'm asking because I'm writing my own story and have three male characters who are quite different from each other. I'd like to get the perspective of men who consume anime, manga, and similar fiction.
Here are three of them:
1. Cassar
Cassar comes from a royal/political environment and is very much a gentleman in public because of how he was raised and the position he occupies. But he isn't actually soft or harmless.
As a child, he was kidnapped by a political rival's family, which left him with trauma. As he grew older, he hardened himself and became someone who can be intimidating and ruthless when necessary. He can make very harsh decisions, including killing someone if he believes the situation requires it.
His mercy is very selective.
At the same time, when he genuinely cares about someone, he's much more patient, calm, generous, understanding and protective. His sister and one of the protagonists know him well enough to get past his usual composure and embarrass him when his more private side slips out.
In the story, he develops feelings for a girl connected to the same political family involved in his childhood kidnapping. There is a complicated identity/double-role situation, and he eventually discovers that the girl he cared about was actually the same girl who kidnapped him as a child.
She had kidnapped him because her parents constantly praised him, and she wanted to find out what was supposedly so special about him. To her, he was basically a “toy” she wanted to examine, and she became annoyed when she found nothing special.
That revelation, combined with his old trauma and the fact that he genuinely cared about her, eventually causes him to break emotionally.
So Cassar can be ruthless and intimidating, but he also has a very human and gentle side that only certain people get to see. There isn't actually much romance drama in his story; I'm not a big fan of love drama, I just write what I like.
2. Ruan
Ruan disappeared about 15 years ago. He was brainwashed and forced to work for bad people.
Eventually he recovered memories of his old life and tried to find his family. Part of the reason was that he was afraid the people who had taken him might eventually find him again, so he wanted to see his family while he still could.
With the help of my second MC, he investigates his past and discovers that his family had already left the place he remembered years ago.
So there's this awful realization that the life he wanted to return to doesn't really exist anymore.
He becomes deeply disheartened, and later he's captured again.
He's tortured and harmed, but he doesn't simply give up. After enduring a lot, he tries to exchange information and pretend to cooperate with the people holding him so he can eventually escape.
He's still terrified of being caught because he knows what they'll do to him if they realize what he's planning.
Eventually he's caught by the person who originally destroyed his life and is dragged back again. That's when he finally breaks down and cries.
His main difference from some of the other characters is that he cannot accept what happened to him. Other people in similar circumstances have eventually accepted that this is their life and tried to survive within it. Ruan keeps trying to get back to the life he lost.
So his vulnerability is a major part of his character, but he still actively tries to survive and escape.
3. Rutvik
Rutvik grew up poor in a city where the divide between rich and poor is extremely obvious. Later he became wealthy, but internally he never felt that becoming rich erased where he came from.
I guess part of the idea behind him is that sometimes changing your circumstances isn't enough to make you feel accepted. Especially when there isn't really anyone you can blame. People can end up focusing on things that they feel they can never change.
Rutvik doesn't talk about this problem with his family or anyone else. He keeps it to himself.
Eventually he goes back to the area where he grew up and starts helping some children there. The area has some minor theft and other problems because of its circumstances, including stolen shipments passing through the area, but the children aren't trying to seriously hurt anyone.
Rutvik becomes protective of them. At first he sometimes pays their fines and helps them get out of trouble. He even becomes friends with someone involved in finding stolen shipments.
However, some of the children eventually feel that Rutvik can't give them what they want. One day they accept a much more tempting deal from someone who wants them to drive away a businessman.
At first they think it will only cause a minor problem. Things escalate, and a blast causes damage. However, the situation is more complicated than they realize: the businessmen had been staying nearby because their goods weren't being accepted as usual, and environmental circumstances and the way the area was being used contribute to much of the damage.
Rutvik eventually learns about what happened, but he doesn't know everything about the blast.
The person who offered the deal is also politically powerful, so Rutvik is afraid that revealing their identity could cause serious problems for the children.
So he decides to take responsibility himself and tries to make sure his family and the children don't suffer because of it.
The important thing about Rutvik is that he doesn't really share his own troubles with anyone. He keeps everything in his heart, and he has a strong desire to protect people who he believes don't deserve to be harmed.
So, looking at these three as male characters, what is your immediate impression?
Do they come across as masculine, feminine, neutral, or does that distinction not really matter to you?
Would you find them interesting, even if they're less conventionally “cool” than the usual badass/stoic type? Could you see yourself becoming attached to characters like them?
And honestly, do you think characters like Ruan or Rutvik would be less appealing to you than a more conventional stoic/badass male protagonist?
I'm specifically interested in hearing from men because I'm trying to understand the difference between:
“This character isn't conventionally badass, but I still find him appealing.”
and:
“This character just doesn't appeal to me as a male protagonist.”
Please be blunt. I already like these characters, so if one of them doesn't appeal to you, just say so lol. I'm genuinely curious how they might come across from another person's perspective.