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Character Arcs are the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story. There are 3 types of character arcs.
Positive Character Arc
In the positive arc, the character will start out with varying levels of personal unfulfillment and denial. Over the course of the story, he will be forced to challenge his beliefs about himself and the world, until finally he conquers his inner demons (and, as a result, probably his outer antagonists as well) and ends his arc having changed in a positive way. This is about "The Lie the Character Believes".
Notable characters with positive character arcs
- Aang (Avatar:The Last Airbender)
- Zuko (Avatar:The Last Airbender)
- Taiga Aisaka (Toradora!)
- Woody (Toy Story)
Flat Character Arc
Many popular stories feature characters who are already essentially complete unto themselves. They're already heroes and don't require any noticeable personal growth to gain the inner strength to defeat the external antagonists. These characters experience little to no change over the course of the story, making their arcs static or "flat". Sometimes these characters are the catalysts for change in the story world around them, so that we find more prominent growth arcs in the recurring or minor characters. This is about "The Truth the Character Believes".
Notable characters with flat character arcs
- Son Goku
- Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump)
- Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Super Mario
- Link (The Legend of Zelda)
Negative Character Arc
Negative character arcs offer, arguably, more variations that either of the other arcs. However, at their most basic level, the Negative Arc is just a Change Arc flipped on its head. Instead of a character who grows out of his faults into a better person, the Negative Arc presents a character who ends up in a worse state than that in which he began the story, and in the worst-case scenario, they might end up becoming full-blown villains.
Notable characters with negative character arcs
- Aquamarine "Aqua" Hoshino (Oshi no Ko)
- Ruby Hoshino (Oshi no Ko; post chapter 79)
- Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (Stars Wars Prequel Trilogy)
- Eren Yeager (Attack on Titan)
- Light Yagami (Death Note)
- Minori Kushieda (Toradora!)
- Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto)
Why These Tropes Rock
- They demonstrate the potential of character development.