Spotlight Character: Judeau (Berserk) MAL Character Information Page: Judeau MAL Favorites: 137 Original Spotlight Thread: Judeau (Berserk) For the next week I would like to have everyone familiar with this character discuss what they think makes it an exceptional character. What attributes make it stand out in the ocean of interesting characters that exist in the realms of anime and manga. Unlike the other two subjects I will not force this conversation to fall into any set structure. Characters that are nominated typically get here because they are adept at breaking the existing character moulds and defying definition. Because of this freedom I encourage everyone to do their very best to stay on topic and keep any and all debate civil. Have fun and I look forward to seeing what everyone has to say about this character. RESULTS OF THE RESURRECTION POLL Judeau was PERMANENTLY BARRED from induction in the club Character list: 1 Yes - 2.6% 37 No - 97.4% 39 Don't know this character - 44.8% of the total number polled 10 Abstained - 11.5% of the total number polled |
Dark-EvolutionMay 4, 2013 4:06 PM
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| Alright, so, I've only seen the anime, however as the original spotlight claims that the anime is enough to make a sufficient judgement on him, I can safely say: no, of course Judeau does not deserve to be in the relations list. Even ignoring the rather silly question of whether we should induct a character on the basis of being an exemplary supporting character, Judeau is not an exemplary supporting character. Good, perhaps, but not exemplary. Being of significance for all of maybe two or three scenes and having only a few lines of dialogue, in of itself, stops a character being exemplary - keep in mind, we turned down Kaworu Nagisa who perhaps makes an even stronger impression based on a similarly miniscule amount of screentime. What santetjan's post in the original spotlight outlines, more than anything, is why Judeau's small handful of unique character traits made him a handy plot device - to me, that's just not good enough. In terms of better supporting characters, there's already the aforementioned Kaworu Nagisa, and arguably Wolfgang Grimmer (depending on whether you class him as a supporting character or not), who has actually been inducted. But if anything, I'd probably throw the "exemplary supporting character" badge at none other than Dusty Attenborough from Legend of the Galactic Heroes - though he parallels many of Judeau's attributes, the sheer length of LotGH allowed him to have much more focus and effect the story overall more than Judeau did - which isn't saying much, but regardless. |
| I would say Judeau is basically like a representation of the Band of the Hawk's feelings, a jack-of-all-trades who represents the rest of the Band when they aren't there, but that isn't enough to really show through, since other members of the Band leave a better impression, and act the same role, even within the same series. Judeau's role is actually quite small, and this is proven by the lack of scenes, like Lindle said. |
Lindle said: Alright, so, I've only seen the anime, however as the original spotlight claims that the anime is enough to make a sufficient judgement on him, I can safely say: no, of course Judeau does not deserve to be in the relations list. Even ignoring the rather silly question of whether we should induct a character on the basis of being an exemplary supporting character, Judeau is not an exemplary supporting character. But if anything, I'd probably throw the "exemplary supporting character" badge at none other than Dusty Attenborough from Legend of the Galactic Heroes - though he parallels many of Judeau's attributes, the sheer length of LotGH allowed him to have much more focus and effect the story overall more than Judeau did - which isn't saying much, but regardless. Astroturfing Dusty? Anyway, I don't agree with the idea that a supporting character should not be inducted, though you obviously do not take a strong stand on this point. A characters' strengths is based on their representation, rather than their substance. I think we are often uneasy with this concept. A character is strong because of their attributes, not because of a backstory or lots of screentime. Those things might help flesh out the reasons or the minutiae of the representation, but the character is strong [or not] because of its current presentation and diegetic context. I also accept this is a tentative argument. I have also only seen the anime of Berserk. I agree with your points, Judeau comes off as little but a plot device. He holds a small amount of interest as enigma through the early part of the show as he demands attention within the brigade yet has no past. If anything, the extra details such as 'I came from the circus' actually devalues any interest. TheSilverHawk said: I would say Judeau is basically like a representation of the Band of the Hawk's feelings, a jack-of-all-trades who represents the rest of the Band when they aren't there, but that isn't enough to really show through, since other members of the Band leave a better impression, and act the same role, even within the same series. Judeau's role is actually quite small, and this is proven by the lack of scenes, like Lindle said. He does hold this kind of mediator role, which I think is actually him projecting for Casca/Guts rather than solely a plot device. Yet when the band is portrayed, the other minor characters like pipin(?) etc also share in the spotlight. |
| Recent translated article on characters |
ridojiri said: TheSilverHawk said: I would say Judeau is basically like a representation of the Band of the Hawk's feelings, a jack-of-all-trades who represents the rest of the Band when they aren't there, but that isn't enough to really show through, since other members of the Band leave a better impression, and act the same role, even within the same series. Judeau's role is actually quite small, and this is proven by the lack of scenes, like Lindle said. He does hold this kind of mediator role, which I think is actually him projecting for Casca/Guts rather than solely a plot device. Yet when the band is portrayed, the other minor characters like pipin(?) etc also share in the spotlight. That's the big point, that you only really get the whole character with Judeau, Pippin, Corkus, and Rickert. By himself, Judeau isn't enough to really distinguish himself. If he was the sort of character where you could take out the rest of these guys, and still get most of the effect, he'd be good enough for this kind of role, but instead, he's just one small part of this machine that all adds up to one supporting character. And, he's not an exactly essential part of it. I'd say Corkus was a better character, with more hidden depths than Judeau ever really had. Sure, it was a big hit to the audience when he died during the Eclipse, but there's not really much more to it. |
| (Coming from having read the manga.) I agree with Lindle. Aside from whether or not supporting characters should be inducted (I believe they should to an extent, but my criterion basically requires them to be borderline main characters..), Judeau is surely a good one, but not necessarily an "exemplary" one. As santetjan argues in the previous spotlight, Judeau serves as a balanced adviser with an acute sense of timing—never taking up the center stage, and yet inconspicuously and deftly supporting others from the shadows. Further, his mannerisms are solid and fully realized; but from what little we even know of him, his role (and significance) ultimately matters little in the story and towards other characters' developments. Moreover, considering Berserk's gargantuan length, appraising him as an exemplary character is equivalent to appraising that generic old man sensei from some 2-hour film. Can we really say that Judeau truly stands out from his archetype? What strengths he holds is derived from the strength of the trope. As for comparisons, Kaworu makes a finer example of a supporting character with significant influence on the story, characters, and themes. And he takes up little spotlight in the grand scheme of the story. |
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