Disclaimer: this is mostly about LU Four, not FSA Link
But ok, im going to say it: I am tired of people treating Four as nothing more than a vehicle for the Colors. Don't get me wrong, I love them and think they're such an interesting way to explore someone's identity, but like. ...It's really not utilized for that effectively, imo. I find a lot of writing for the colors to be mostly based on (the manga's) Character Tropes. Which is… fine! Until the colors become flat, exaggerated caricatures, and Four becomes a muddied mess of Tropes in trenchcoat rather than a fully fleshed out character.
I've seen people say they don't know how to write Four or how to characterize him, and I think this comes from trying to build an identify around Four using the colors, when it should really be the other way around: Start with Four, and then break it down into each color's unique traits.
Technically, LU Four actually takes very little inspiration from the Manga (Jojo's own words), but the FSA Manga is accepted as a semi-canon way to characterize the colors. So, for the sake of analyzing how people write LU Four as a Whole Fandom, I will be referencing the manga here.
Let's start with Vio: "The Smart One." I often see people write him to be like your typical nerdy guy. He likes reading, is maybe a bit cold, is very intellectual. But… Vio isn't just smart, he's Four's smarts. Rather than make him a textbook that's knowledgeable about everything, it should be narrowed down to "what is FOUR knowledgeable about?" What specific areas does Four have strong technical skills in? What topics interest Four, and conversely, bore him to death? Not to mention, just because he's logical doesn't mean he's suddenly the smartest person in the room. He should be as smart as Four, not greater than. He should represent Four's intellect, not a generic intellect.
Red: Rather than be emotional to everything, what, specifically, pulls at Four's heartstrings? What moves him to tears, what sorts of things/people does he cherish? Rather than make him react with tears to every major injury, fight, or injustice, his emotions should have nuance. Maybe Four has so much experience in burns/forge-related injuries that there's more empathy/understanding, rather than emotional upset there. Maybe Red is particularly squeamish around blood, or needles, but can handle broken bones ok. I don't know, make it specific. Make it specific to Four.
Blue: Rather than be pissed all the time, what specific things makes Four angry? We see him yell at Wild for his weapons. What else pissses him off? What causes him to swing his sword first and ask questions later? What drives his impulses? An aspect to Blue that feels less explored is that he's also a representation of Four's confidence. So… what things is Four proud of? …What parts of himself is he ashamed of? Something Four (and therefore Blue) would never dare/utter as a weakness. A great way to emphasize certain traits is to also consider what is opposite and in opposition, after all.
And I've left Green for last, because his personality is a bit harder to sum up in one word and gets a bit lost in translation. In the FSA Manga, when all colors are being described, in Japanese they use the word "nekketsukan" (熱血漢). It's a specific character archetype in JP with no easy direct tl to english, but if i had to translate it, i might use words like "Hot-blooded and passionate." Not Aggressive, (what the Fan TL uses, feels a bit too strong and has a bit of a negative connotation), and not exactly the Viz Translation either (They use "focused and motivated" which… works but is missing the "FIRE" part that is associated with nekketsu characters.) For example, I would say Sidon is considered a nekketsu archetype. Theyre people who are passionate and bold in their sense of justice.
So for Four, I've always seen Green as a representation of Four's Heroism. Then, what makes him pick up a sword? What drives his sense of justice, and what/who does he fight for? What is it that he wants to protect? The answers to all of that should drive Green forward.
I've asked many rhetorical questions here and im not asking them with the idea that there is one, singular answer for it. I think its a bit of a playground, and im really interested to see what answers other people might come up with. And i'd like to apologize if this sounds like too strong of a rant, I don't want to make it sound like im demanding people write him a certain way or that others are wrong for writing him different. People can characterize him as they wish.
But no matter how you wish to write him, I think in general, considering Four first -> then breaking him down, allows each color to have a much more in-depth personality. Let Vio do something dumb sometimes. Let Red react with apathy. Let Blue drop into something cold and detached. Let Green falter. Four is human. By extension, so are they. That means they're full of contradictions…
And that's LU Four's greatest strength to me. Because the setting isn't exactly like FSA, where they're split the Entire Time. He's whole, he's chosen to stay as Four, shouldn't there be something intentional about that? I don't read him as four people stuck in one body, I read him as One Person with many complicated parts that can be (literally) dissected and divided. The parts are smaller than the whole, and therefore are prone to faltering. But Four manages to take the Best of them to be Himself. He's more than the sum of their parts.
…and again, i understand a lot of this is my own personal opinion. Either way, I just hope this long essay can maybe inspire someone to consider Four in a new light. Oh and everyone should play Minish Cap. Its a very beautiful game okay listen to me its extremely easy to emulate too, think of Tiny Four starting his First Adventure okay it can lend so much more context/ideas to Four's (and by extension, the Colors') characterization. Also its just a good game. Please thats my final message lets all play Minish Cap thank you for reading
jacobvanloon
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