Yeah, in FMA Scar doesn't even bother explaining the circumstances and says that anything he could say would just be an excuse. I loved that, as a staple of shounen is the "berserker/alter-ego mode," wherein the hero gets to do terrible, inhuman things without having to bear any culpability for doing so, and Scar murdered Winry's parents in an approximation of a berserker rage.
[quote]But seriously, does this "here is his angsty backstory and it totally makes him more interesting and sympathetic" thing ever work?[/quote]
Heh. It seems like all the asshole shoujo alpha male leads are forgivable because their assholish qualities stem from a Terrible Past. As for shounen, I see this formula a lot:
-1) Hero fights villain -2) Villain in moment of defeat flashes back to Tragic Past/Hero asks villain to justify himself(as in Naruto, bizarrely)/Villain gets more unhinged during the fight and winds up expositing as to Tragic Past or circumstances that led to current villainy -3) Villain dies (sympathetically)/Villain, having expunged past trauma in the crucible of a Fight to the Near Death, sees error of ways and is redeemed (and often becomes the boon companion of Hero)
....I see this so often, my GOD.
Naruto jumps to mind, given the ridiculous woobiefication via Angsty Backstory put in to redeem Gaara and Sasuke, but as you pointed out, it's pretty common in anime and manga. Of course, in mainstream primetime US TV drama, it seems to be common these days to give /all/ the characters Tragic Pasts. One recent drama that started up, The Mentalist, has among its small roster of principals the following traumas:
-1) wife and child murdered -2) mother killed in car accident, father becoming an alcoholic as a result -3) child abuse (hinted) -4) sexual assault (hinted) -5) messed-up personality due to experiences in the military (hinted)
...and it's not even out of the first season yet. Seriously.
no subject
[quote]But seriously, does this "here is his angsty backstory and it totally makes him more interesting and sympathetic" thing ever work?[/quote]
Heh. It seems like all the asshole shoujo alpha male leads are forgivable because their assholish qualities stem from a Terrible Past. As for shounen, I see this formula a lot:
-1) Hero fights villain
-2) Villain in moment of defeat flashes back to Tragic Past/Hero asks villain to justify himself(as in Naruto, bizarrely)/Villain gets more unhinged during the fight and winds up expositing as to Tragic Past or circumstances that led to current villainy
-3) Villain dies (sympathetically)/Villain, having expunged past trauma in the crucible of a Fight to the Near Death, sees error of ways and is redeemed (and often becomes the boon companion of Hero)
....I see this so often, my GOD.
Naruto jumps to mind, given the ridiculous woobiefication via Angsty Backstory put in to redeem Gaara and Sasuke, but as you pointed out, it's pretty common in anime and manga. Of course, in mainstream primetime US TV drama, it seems to be common these days to give /all/ the characters Tragic Pasts. One recent drama that started up, The Mentalist, has among its small roster of principals the following traumas:
-1) wife and child murdered
-2) mother killed in car accident, father becoming an alcoholic as a result
-3) child abuse (hinted)
-4) sexual assault (hinted)
-5) messed-up personality due to experiences in the military (hinted)
...and it's not even out of the first season yet. Seriously.