Let Characters Keep Their Secrets - Writing Analysis
Written by Rei Caldombra 8/19/24 Video: https://youtu.be/I5icmWECfoM
One of the best ways to create a memorable and engaging minor character is to have mysteries and hidden details that you don’t give answers to. Encouraging the audience to be imaginative and think deeply about your characters is critical to engagement, and this is especially important for side characters who are easy to forget due to their irrelevance. Letting characters keep their secrets gives them long-lasting intrigue, encouraging the viewers to use their imagination to come up with the answers themself.
I have 2 characters I will be talking about to illustrate this point, Mikitaka from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Thirteen from My Hero Academy. Both of these characters have unique designs and an element of mystery to them. Neither of these characters was especially important in their series long term, and are from a series with a massive cast of characters. They had a few moments where they assisted the main characters, but they did not contribute much to the overall story and mainly existed to add flavor to the world. But for me Mikitaka is one of the most memorable side characters in Jojo. Meanwhile, Thirteen was a waste of potential who could have had the same position for MHA. There will be minor spoilers for both Jojo and MHA.
Mikataka Hazekura is a citizen of Morioh from Part 4 of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Diamond is Unbreakable.
Part 4 uses the power system of Stand abilities, obtained primarily by being pierced with the stand arrow. In Mikitaka’s introduction, the stand arrow bounces off of him, which has never happened before in Jojo. When Josuke meets him, Mikataka introduces himself as an alien. He can drastically transform his body, being able to become functional objects like rocket shoes and dice, and has an allergic reaction to loud sounds.
The big mystery surrounding this character is whether he is an alien as he claims or if he is another weirdo stand user. Jojo was already a very weird series, but aliens were a new element of weirdness. It is specifically because of Jojo’s existing weirdness that it really could go both ways. A stand user who has fully deluded himself into thinking he’s an alien would not be hard to accept. Aliens would not be out of left field in a series with soul warriors, sun magic, and vampires. The truth about his identity is never confirmed, and this is what makes him a memorable and engaging character. He was written in a way that stimulates the viewer’s imagination. it makes you contemplate his character on a deeper level than just another weirdo of the week. The viewer is left to decide for themselves based on the clues. This is what makes him a memorable and especially engaging character.
Despite being introduced in the manga all the way back in 1994 and 2016 in the anime, he is still talked about to this day. The mystery of his true identity keeps the community discussing him long after he became irrelevant. Practically every year someone puts out a new video discussing his character on YouTube. This year I get to be one of those people singing his praise. Every time you rewatch Part 4 and get back to him, all your questions and theories come flooding back. This is only possible because the answer was not given. I do not want to know whether he truly is an alien or not, the fun is in not knowing. And I am glad I never got the answer. Knowing LESS about his character made him into a character that is so much MORE.
Now for the contrary, we have Thirteen from My Hero Academy. Space Hero: Thirteen is a professional hero who can create black holes out of her fingertips.
The most striking thing about her to me is her hero costume design and how it pairs with her quirk. It is very similar to a traditional bulky astronaut suit. But unlike a traditional space suit, her face is hidden by the helmet, which is black with big white spots for eyes. An astronaut with black hole powers is a simple but fun match, and I really like how the black dome with eyes almost looks like a black hole itself. And as a black hole destroys what goes inside it, it is fitting for it to hide the person beneath. Many of the characters had a hero costume that did not clearly show their identity, but this was still more interesting than them because of how it fits with her quirk. She spends most of the story without showing her body under her hero costume. Just from her introduction I already liked her more than most of the other characters.
We have this very cool moment later where her costume gets torn and all we see is a black void. This moment got my imagination flowing. It made me wonder- is she more like a living black hole similar to Kurogiri? Kurogiri is in this scene, so it facilitates that comparison even more. Is her human body inside a black hole? Or did she put black holes around her whole body in self-defense and to hide her identity? This took the mystery of her character and dialed it up even more, driving me to be even more interested in her and mentally engaged with the story. But then late in the series, Thirteen flips up a visor on her suit and we see what she looks like. And it’s lame. Not because it’s a bad design or anything though, how she looks isn’t the point. Nothing under the mask would have satisfied me. Because I did not want to see what was under the mask. The face reveal felt pointless to me. It did not even have any dramatic weight or purpose, it just happened as if it was something they had to do before the story ended. It’s disappointing.
I recognize that Thirteen was likely not written with quite as strong an intent for mystery as Mikitaka. But she still applies to my point about how hidden details make for more interesting characters. The loss of her hidden detail destroyed what made her a fun character for me. When they showed what she looked like, they turned an ambiguous character design into just another human in a costume. There’s nothing to think about anymore concerning her character if I go back and rewatch or read MHA. All stories have elements of mystery that get revealed later, and there is often value in returning to the earlier parts with that information in mind. But there is no deeper meaning to be enjoyed with hindsight here. I feel that Thirteen is simply a more boring character now. By revealing more about her character, she became less of a character.
Just because a character has a minor role does not mean they can’t be beloved and held onto by fans. Adding elements of uncertainty to a character is one way to make them a stronger character without increasing their relevance. I love Mikitaka because he is a character who presented me with the opportunity to be imaginative and think about him and the world of Jojo more deeply. This led to him being a very memorable and fun character who stands out amongst the huge cast, even compared to some of the main characters. Thirteen initially did this, but then they spoiled the fun for nothing in return. All characters don’t need mysteries, but providing mysteries is a great way to engage the viewer and elevate a character. It also helps foster long-term engagement in the community, such as people doing things like I am doing right now. Mikitaka is a character I and others have thought about for years after he became irrelevant. Meanwhile, I cannot see that happening for Thirteen.
If you have any characters you think are better off for having less explained, or a character you found yourself liking less after having mysteries revealed then please do share! Please note that this is not meant to encompass all characters in all situations, this is primarily for minor characters without strong ties to the plot where answering questions is important and necessary. This is just my opinion, and I would love to hear yours. Thanks for reading!
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