Thread:Mangetsu20/@comment-4280197-20140210112210/@comment-28861328-20140227200640

I've got news for you:

Kubo isn't the best example when it comes to writing anything, so if you're starting with him as your "Default", that is problem number one. The man couldn't write a coherent plot if they tripled his pay. You have to decide what is more important to you: Character development and the plot that goes along with it, or action coupled with immense power.

That's not to say your fanfiction can't incorporate elements of both, but one tends to suffer when the other is more abundant. I'm going to tell you up front that stories that base themselves in the fact that the characters are god-level powerful are boring, shallow, and one-dimensional. You mention the fact that you want to keep raising the bar to present a threat to your characters, but you overlook the fact that "Power" is not always a source of threat. The most terrifying villains are the ones who are cunning, not powerful, sadistic, not insanely fast.

The main element of a good story is conflict. No, not physical conflict, but emotional and mental conflict. The first priority of any story is to make the readers care about the main character(s). If your readers don't care for them, you've already lost all interest, and your story will never truly be successful in any meaningful way. From there, your villain or villains need to represent a threat to that character personally, their life, their ideals, and the things they care about. Ideally, all of the above. That does not require a powerful person. I can invent a villain with no powers whatsoever, save his manipulative personality, and accomplish every single one of those objectives.

But gauging by your responses, I can tell that you either don't know how to write a character who lacks power, or simply don't want to. Again, I'm going to have to tear down Kubo here, because he sucks at this himself. Weak characters, to me, are always the most fun to watch. You see them develop, grow, and really become strong; whether its their personality, their actual strength, something. But more importantly you care about them because you're watching them grow.

I'm actually doing a non-Bleach story right now in my personal time about two misfit teens in a world consumed by bloodshed and war. They're not exactly the strongest people in the world, in fact, they're pretty puny compared to their other members of their group, but I have the most fun writing them, and the people I've shown this story to (which is now on the eleventh chapter) enjoy reading about them more than the stronger people in the group.

That's how its supposed to be.

Story/Character development > Power/badass/strength

Unfortunately, Kubo will be Kubo, and his manga will continue to be about flashy attacks, one-dimension villains, and a cherry-top protagonist who fluctuates between cry-baby and badass so often that I really question what the fuck he really is. But that doesn't mean fanfiction based in his universe has to follow the same misdirected logic.

That's my two cents.