Memoirs of the Returnee Chapter 220 Discussion

Right; It is evident how much this author loves to draw inspiration from other works (Breaking bad and cancer, for example). It's amazing that he does this, especially if the target media is really good, but Jee Gab Song should also try to achieve the same quality as these. Study for this. And, although his novels are very interesting in a wide range of ways, they still lack substance and narrative imbalance. Let's look at an example!

Spoiler

At one point, the protagonist and one of the heroines are thrown into a time loop world. They develop their own relationship, there's emotion, catharsis, etc., it's excellent. However, after a few chapters, the protagonist falling in love and not wanting to forget the protagonist, she simply gives up remembering and joins him in oblivion. What a waste! Why make her forget? What is the use of all this if there will be no applicability to the unfolding of the drama? Make her remember! Make her a fanatic about the protagonist and let everyone question themselves! These imbalances are necessary because they serve as a convergence for new conflicts, character arcs and could even have been used as leverage for the entry of a second act! Do like in hunter x hunter (one of its extremely obvious inspirations, vide Gon's personality conversion) and suddenly change the character's personality! You always do this with situations and scenes, why not with personalities, which is what would make everything extremely more interesting and multiply the number of conflicting moments naturally?

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Many of the characters are stereotypes and not very individual. Nobles and students follow stereotypes of the harsh and prejudiced Elite. The intrigues seem like a facade, especially when they involve the Libra family. The characters demonstrate who they are only when they interact with the protagonist. If the Libra family is built to be distant and mysterious from the beginning, this is a mistake! Make them really scary through intrigue and conflicts that are above the protagonist. Develop real factions, not just facades that don't say much.

Real world building is extremely important for this type of narrative, and should affect the characters themselves. It is not a solo and introspective character arc, but rather a story actively oriented towards the external world.

Spoiler

Example: in Hunter x Hunter, regarding character arcs, there is the arc of Kurapika, Killua, Gon, the Chimera Ants, Hisoka and the Phantom Troupe (the last two are not as developed as the Arc). In this work, only the protagonist, the future evil heroine and the Libra family (and the last two are only developed with the presence of the protagonist).

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