I’m surprised it isn’t mentioned but Sacchin is no mere off the shelf extra. The Plus-Disc of Tsukihime released in between Kagetsu Tohya and Tsukihime showed a fair amount of materials for her story. Her story was cut from the the original Tsukihime. After hinting at the content (which includes an all new battle at the school and finally getting to the once mentioned coffin) and showing a lot of art for her path they ended the segment with a statement that they do plan to release her route in some form or another.

A remake would of course be the best way to do that ^_^

@evad83: I’ve only seen very few examples of spin-offs eclipsing the main series, but spin-offs in general, yeah, those tend to be common.

Maybe it’s that the side characters are just frameworks of the main characters, with similar major personality traits like the ones that attract fans like you and me, and they’re just waiting for the minor details to be filled in. I think it’s more rewarding to support a character which is better developed, but then again, maybe with our support, we can help cause this development.

Best hopes for Sacchin Side as well.

@remotemine: You might be right; all I know is that Melty Blood is based off one of Satsuki’s endings. I haven’t had time to research the intricacies of the plot, although I should since what I’ve seen of Sion’s character in the manga intrigues me.

I’m horrible at Melty Blood in general, although extra-so with Sacchin, mainly because she’s a largely ground-based character with short range. Her Blood Heat Arc against Shiki is a treat to watch though, and I like her character, so I still try to master her.

@IKnight: That’s a good point on Mayumi you’ve brought up – that’s probably one of the reasons she’s still one of the better characters of that show (along with Sia). I always thought her and Itsuki deserved some relationship development … I’ve heard the case is such in the Shuffle! PS2 game, but no translation / summary is easily found.

I can relate with Nanami of School Days … I think she was the one female character who didn’t sleep with Makoto? Although that was more of an anti-Makoto vote.

@drmchsr0: I imagine she’s become kind of a joke character ever since the game was released, as the “isn’t it sad” fad took off. I wonder if Nasu has begun to think the same way, tempting us with little morsels of Sacchin here and there, not to mention the Ten Nights stories in Kagetsu Tohya.

I decline to consider the content of a Sacchin H-scene. Forgot it was an H-game ever since mirror moon’s non-ero patch. Although, if it was the worst scene, wouldn’t it be more Shiki’s fault?

@TheBigN: Nice job on bringing up Churuya, that was one of the examples I really shouldn’t have forgotten. Tsuruya, in the anime, even was quite the bit player (showing up for probably a few minutes total), but watching her get morphed into a chibi character whose popularity has skyrocketed (Hell, I’d admit to mumbling “nyoro~n” when frustrated…weeaboo power!) is quite something.

I enjoy her character, at least, although it’s utterly nonsensible. But like others have said, what’s the problem in that? (Well… I do wish Emiri had more attention, for starters. XD)

@Hemisphere: True… side characters are a lot easier to have fun with and can be filled to an extent with any personality, but I think that’s only true for doujin works that try to stay canon. In less canon works, I think messing with already-established traits of main characters can be equally rewarding.

Yuki Nagato from ‘The Dissapearance of Haruhi Suzumiya’ is my best example of that (even if it is an official work), how it can be very enjoyable to see a character who is clearly defined go against all their traits. It’s part of the appeal of strong & silent girls like her, or for archetypes like the tsundere in general.

I understand what you’re saying about Miku Hatsune, although I never really understood how she became so popular (except for the fact she’s a pretty face that you can define as you wish – the programming nerd in me would call her an ‘abstract class’). Probably the same factor that made Churuya big.

Quite simply side characters sometimes just exist as cutouts. Akiko is the generic permanently happy MILF with unintentionally deadly cooking. Itsuki’s the Harem Runner-Up and Mayumi the Harem Reject. Hamaji exists to make us alternatingly laugh and want to go Oedipus, jabbing sharp objects into our eye sockets.

There’s nothing wrong with that – they can produce some easy laughs with their exaggerated personality, they are easy to use and (more often than not) easy on the eyes – but really, would I pick any of these characters over a main character?

It’s possible that the common weakness of side characters could also be their greatest strength, in that they aren’t restricted to any form of story in accordance to their character because they don’t have one – they’re usually just given a set of traits and personality necessary for them to do whatever the author intended for them to do. Though this is quite a glaring weakness when you’re judging the worth of characters by their development and how much they’re fleshed out by their story, it’s also somewhat of a burden when you’re trying to use these characters in something like, say, a doujin work. You have to consider just how much you can play around with the character before they start going “out of character”, something which might upset your audience.

With side characters, however, you don’t have to be as strict when it comes to how they’ll stay in character, because their character is fairly one-dimensional and easy to represent. For example, there’s Hatsune Miku, a character whose popularity seems to be quite high, yet there’s very little backstory or actual story involving her character at all. It’s like tabula rasa, only you don’t have a blank slate to work with, but a character who can easily be molded into any situation/story without concerns for her backstory or character. Not that I’m saying that Hatsune Miku is a side character, but that her circumstances are similar to that of a side characters, what with the absence of a story and character development to cement their…character.

Though I’d say that it’d still depend on the fandom as to how far a character’s popularity can be taken.

Anyways, happy 1 year anniversary!

When you see things like Churuya, it makes sense that things can go much farther than the creator intended them to be. Is it misleading from the actual character? Sure. Is it bad in the long run? I guess that depends on the source material. :/

I’m hoping she has the worst sex scene in a VN, ever. So that the joke may go on.

I realise now that yes, Mayumi Thyme probably was my favourite element of Shuffle!, though I never came into contact with the show’s fandom, if there is one. (I don’t normally declare my alliegances, but it seemed interesting in the context of this entry.) I suspect fourth-wall moe may have had something to do with it, though there’s also the way she’s not involved in (read: superior to) the competition for that nonentity, Tsuchimi Rin.

Yes, I have fairly insane levels of anticipation for it as well. Though as far as I know, Melty Blood was based off Satsuki’s normal ending and not her true ending (though this is hearsay, so I’m not sure if it’s correct). I’m not all that fond of Satsuki (it’s because of Melty Blood, where the computer can spam her A attacks and hit you out of everything. And constantly throw you the instant they’re close enough. Gahhhhhhh).

However, if that is so, there are also many other side characters that are being left out of development, yet I am no fan of them. Why is that so? For myself, I still think some side characters, no matter how developed (in terms of character) or not, have their own basic personalities that makes me want to know more about them and cheer for their cause.

After all, it all starts somewhere, whether for main characters or side characters. The only difference is main characters were given the privilege of being fleshed out more. Should the side characters become main characters, they may overtriumph the original main characters. This can be seen in spinoffs of series becoming more popular than original series itself when the side characters in the original series became the main characters.

True, it is also likely possible that the addition of storyline and development may cause the side character to be liked lesser than before. But I am optimistic in this kind of change. Can’t wait for Sacchin story and replaying Tsukihime !!!

P.S. : Oops, sorry for the long post… will try to learn how to write more clearly.