Kosuna and Kanta from ‘Desert Punk’
*SPOILERS FOR THE ANIME/MANGA ‘DESERT PUNK’*
This post was inspired by the anime ‘Desert Punk’. It’s fun even though it gets fairly crude at some points. It does something that is fairly interesting as well. The anime is 25 episodes long and Kosuna (the girl/apprentice) ends up taking over for the main character Kanta on episode 21. Won’t say why this happens or what the events that ensued, but it was shocking the first time I watched it. Did it work though?
The truth is that Kosuna was a fun character and she did kind of work with the spotlight, but it didn’t have the same impact as the previous episodes. The anime was called ‘Desert Punk’ and Kanta was Desert Punk. So, you watch the final episodes wondering where the twist is going to be. I would say for something so short, it didn’t hurt the story and it picked up at the end. Yet, I’ve seen some stories attempt a full switch to a new main character and fail. What are some reasons?
- New hero doesn’t have the same charisma as the previous hero.
- Fans refuse the change entirely and begin to abandon the series or demand a return to the status quo.
- It gives a sense that the story is just dragging on and should have ended.
- New hero taking the spotlight results in popular supporting characters being benched/eliminated as well. So, you have an amplification of the second issue.
- Author simply isn’t feeling the change like they had hoped, so they go back.
The switching to a new protagonist in the middle of a story definitely comes with a variety of risks. You never know how people will take to it even if they requested the change. A group of vocal fans could want an apprentice/sidekick to take the helm, but then realize that some of that character’s charm disappears. Once the new hero gets their promotion, they get more attention, scrutiny, and responsibility in terms of story. Their decisions carry more weight because they are one of the major plot progressors. For example, this shift is very distinct when a comic relief apprentice takes over because they will typically have to shed their goofier habits. That doesn’t always appeal to fans because they liked the character’s comedic side.
You run into issues with the villains as well. If the previous villains remain, the new hero has less of a connection. Even if they are avenging their master, they lack the same depth of history. As an apprentice, they were probably spending most of the previous adventures as back-up. The villain knows about them and has probably interacted, but not to a great extent. Maybe they were a hostage at some point or had a few moments of spoiling the evil plan, but they weren’t the focus. A connection needs to be rebuilt, but you can’t rush this or take too long. Doing either will result in a mess and the chemistry needed for a good hero/villain dynamic is lost.
One of the easiest ways to accomplish this switch is to make it a spin-off. Give closure to the previous hero in some fashion. Retirement, achieving their personal goal, death, disappearance, or any number of ways to remove them with an ending. Then, start a new series with the apprentice and have them set out for their own reasons. If they are only there to continue their master’s quest then some fans will be asking why the previous hero couldn’t be used to finish the job. Remember, audiences don’t like unnecessary changes in established stories. You have to justify your reasoning beyond ‘I wanted to’ and demonstrate that the overarching story is improved by the change. Posing the new hero as getting a spin-off helps in doing this because you establish that things are starting at square one.
Personally, I’m always leery of this kind of change. I don’t like the idea of doing it myself since my stories are very character centered. As a reader/viewer, I can get behind it if the event is presented well. Shock value changes make me finish watching or reading out of begrudging loyalty. Probably a big reason on why I really don’t want to try it unless I can make a really good reason in my own head. This might just be me though because I can see how changing the protagonist can erase stagnation and keep an overall story going.
So, what do you think of an apprentice taking over a story?
