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redwoodalchanI figured I should create a post about this and put it on my blogs as a proactive measure so that anyone who sees me refer to "character tiers" down the road will know what I'm talking about.
The tier system is something I've taken to using to describe, for want of a better term, a character's presence and importance in his or her narrative. I came up with the idea by myself (though I'm sure other versions of it exist elsewhere) as I was watching "Shiki," and it occurred to me that simply using words like "protagonist," "antagonist," or "minor character" probably wouldn't work too well given its structure.
So instead I came up with a system for ranking characters which consists of five tiers, with Tier 1 representing the highest level of significance and Tier 5 the lowest (characters in Tier 5 are pretty much generic background characters who in any ensemble will be too numerous to list and too forgettable to keep track of even if they're given names--think of them as backup dancers in a musical). Characters can fall into any tier, and there isn't a specific set of characteristics that divides the tiers, meaning that there's probably some overlap between them. So instead I'll attempt to break them down the best I can, using characters from Harry Potter as examples (since Harry Potter is so widely known that just about everyone will know what I meant). I'll also make mention of "Shiki" characters just so anyone who's seen the show can tell what I've based my criteria on.
Tier 1 is the tier of protagonists and central antagonists. These characters, more often than not, are the face of their stories and the ones just about everyone thinks of when they think of those stories. Examples from Harry Potter are obvious: Harry himself, but also Ron, Hermione, and Voldemort. Examples from "Shiki" are Toshio Ozaki, Seishin, Sunako, and Natsuno.
Tier 2 is the tier of secondary characters. These characters are still very important, and some could, on some level, be considered protagonists; but they're not the face of the story (or at least not the most common one) and they don't carry the story by themselves. Examples from Harry Potter include Ginny, Draco, and Snape. Examples from "Shiki" include Megumi, Toru, and Tatsumi.
Tier 3 characters are a middle-of-the-road in terms of importance. These characters get notably less screen time and development than those in Tiers 1 or 2, but they're still usually fully fleshed-out characters in their own right, and usually get character arcs of some sort as well. Examples from Harry Potter include Neville and Luna. Examples from "Shiki" include Masao and Nao.
Tier 4 marks the start of the truly minor characters. Tier 4 characters don't get proper character arcs and often don't contribute to the plot directly, though some do. More commonly, a Tier 4 character will somehow inspire or force a character of a higher tier to get more involved in the plot, whether deliberately or inadvertently. Some Tier 4 characters do leave an impression on fans of the story, and a lot of lower-deck fanworks deal with them. Examples from Harry Potter include Cho Chang and Lee Jordan. Examples from "Shiki" include Takatoshi and Yasuyuki.
I already went over Tier 5 so I don't think I need to say it again.
Of course, the thing about the tier system is that it only works in series that actually have ensemble casts. If there's only a few characters in a story, or only a few characters of any importance whatsoever, then the tier system doesn't really apply and isn't necessary to make sense of the cast in the first place. For best results, use it on a series with a large ensemble cast that contains lots of character development and fleshing-out at multiple tier levels (like "Shiki" or, in a way, Harry Potter).
The tier system is something I've taken to using to describe, for want of a better term, a character's presence and importance in his or her narrative. I came up with the idea by myself (though I'm sure other versions of it exist elsewhere) as I was watching "Shiki," and it occurred to me that simply using words like "protagonist," "antagonist," or "minor character" probably wouldn't work too well given its structure.
So instead I came up with a system for ranking characters which consists of five tiers, with Tier 1 representing the highest level of significance and Tier 5 the lowest (characters in Tier 5 are pretty much generic background characters who in any ensemble will be too numerous to list and too forgettable to keep track of even if they're given names--think of them as backup dancers in a musical). Characters can fall into any tier, and there isn't a specific set of characteristics that divides the tiers, meaning that there's probably some overlap between them. So instead I'll attempt to break them down the best I can, using characters from Harry Potter as examples (since Harry Potter is so widely known that just about everyone will know what I meant). I'll also make mention of "Shiki" characters just so anyone who's seen the show can tell what I've based my criteria on.
Tier 1 is the tier of protagonists and central antagonists. These characters, more often than not, are the face of their stories and the ones just about everyone thinks of when they think of those stories. Examples from Harry Potter are obvious: Harry himself, but also Ron, Hermione, and Voldemort. Examples from "Shiki" are Toshio Ozaki, Seishin, Sunako, and Natsuno.
Tier 2 is the tier of secondary characters. These characters are still very important, and some could, on some level, be considered protagonists; but they're not the face of the story (or at least not the most common one) and they don't carry the story by themselves. Examples from Harry Potter include Ginny, Draco, and Snape. Examples from "Shiki" include Megumi, Toru, and Tatsumi.
Tier 3 characters are a middle-of-the-road in terms of importance. These characters get notably less screen time and development than those in Tiers 1 or 2, but they're still usually fully fleshed-out characters in their own right, and usually get character arcs of some sort as well. Examples from Harry Potter include Neville and Luna. Examples from "Shiki" include Masao and Nao.
Tier 4 marks the start of the truly minor characters. Tier 4 characters don't get proper character arcs and often don't contribute to the plot directly, though some do. More commonly, a Tier 4 character will somehow inspire or force a character of a higher tier to get more involved in the plot, whether deliberately or inadvertently. Some Tier 4 characters do leave an impression on fans of the story, and a lot of lower-deck fanworks deal with them. Examples from Harry Potter include Cho Chang and Lee Jordan. Examples from "Shiki" include Takatoshi and Yasuyuki.
I already went over Tier 5 so I don't think I need to say it again.
Of course, the thing about the tier system is that it only works in series that actually have ensemble casts. If there's only a few characters in a story, or only a few characters of any importance whatsoever, then the tier system doesn't really apply and isn't necessary to make sense of the cast in the first place. For best results, use it on a series with a large ensemble cast that contains lots of character development and fleshing-out at multiple tier levels (like "Shiki" or, in a way, Harry Potter).
