Clichés that are Actually Liked...

[Twisted-Eva]

Lurking around the forums, I noticed there was one thread titled "Questions about VNs" that eventually led to some replies noting some clichés many members hate. Well what about clichés people actually like? If there are so many clichés people hate, how come people usually don't mention about clichés they like or don't mind? I'm only started this thread hoping to get some discussion rolling about clichés that are actually liked or tolerated so some writers who are new to writing a story can draw some hope or inspiration.

Plus, what I didn't mention in the subject was asking how some of the hated clichés can be improved or put a new spin to it. Yeah, some people might think that hogging all the ideas to themselves is better than sharing, but how will any of us know it's a good idea unless people share it?

[ludeshka]

Well...If I understand this right, there ARE some clichès that people like in visual novels.
Specially in romantic settings. I mean, although I really appreciate "alternative" endings such as friendship, or an interesting rivalry, or whatever, if a character in a romantic visual novel has a "path" then I expect that there will be at least one romantic ending where the characters are as happy as possible.

Or things like...characters like "the loyal bodyguard", or "the childhood friend". Of course one remembers the characters that stray from the mold, but some "cliché" characterization can be very effective. Anyone played Fire Emblem : Sacred Stones? (Not a visual novel but an rpg, sorry)
One of the characters the heroine, Eirika, might end up with is one of her Knights, Seth, and the guy is written as pretty much the cliche of the honorable knight in shining armor. Very cliché, but still, it's my favourite pairing from that game (and it seems to be one of the most popular for the fire emblem fandom...)

[ludeshka]

edited- doublepost.

sorry!

[Samu-kun]

Well, just about anything you write or draw is a cliche in one way or another. Whether or not you like a particular one is pretty much based entirely on taste, so I don't think you'll get much important information. A good approach is to just have the cliches you like - and eventually, others who share your interests will gather.

[MaiMai]

It depends on whether the cliche is executed or used well too. For instance, in anime/manga almost everyone and their mom makes boob jokes. Do they work? Sometimes. Other times they're just sort of bland and just there for the sake of boobs. An example of that cliche working though would probably be the jokes in Mitsudomoe. The jokes they made made me chuckle at least.

[Machus]

I don't really pay attention to the mold each character fills, i.e. "knight in shining armor", so I'm not really aware of many cliches when I see them.
As was already said, most of the cliche's effect is dependent on one crucial step: execution. As long as you get that right, it'll most likely be successful.

I enjoy "the long-lost friend coming back and becoming your girl/boyfriend". Not sure if that's exactly a cliche though.

I enjoy the tsundere type character, as well as the "reckless hero" and "the lonely protaganist who is changed by a chance meeting." An example of the latter is the protagonist in Ripples, a great KN, definitely check that out if you haven't already.

[Twisted-Eva]

A "cliché" I really like in a male character is also tsundere where the guy tries to be tough, but he's all soft on the inside. That kind of character puts a large grin on my face when the male character interacts with the heroine. I don't know if Akihiko in P3P can be categorized as tsundere (maybe just dense in sensing a girl's feelings), but I admit being in the Akihiko camp over the Shinjiro camp because Akihiko is just so adorable >///<. How can a female player (typically in following P3P's heroine's case) not find this both hilarious and cute at the same time?
Heroine: What type do you like?
Akihiko: Type? Oh, do you mean beef bowl? ... Oh, you mean type of girl... I guess I like girls like you? Strong, reliable, etc. (something like that, I forgot)

[lepapillonrouge]

Clichés that I like...

Moe -shot-
But uh, moe towards my gender. I feel like...it's rare. 8D

I like tsundere guys...tsundere girls not as much. Please have more of those types.
But I also like girls who are motherly, which there is a good amount of, I think.

And let there always be shoujo where a guy protects a girl forever <3
Except the guy should be the nerdy/less manly looking one more often. I'm tired of all the pretty guys getting the girls -shot-

(though sometimes its fine to screw that around...like Utena.)

[Aleema]

Oh thank god, everyone else likes tsundere, too ... xD So I'm not a masochist. That was the first thing that came to mind when I thought of cliche goodness. It might be because it's "easy" for girls to get laid, so guys who are like I LUV U U SO PREETI right away just sound they want to get in your pants. Tsundere guys I guess have that vibe that they're interested in you, not your pants, since they had to come around first. Though also being interested in "pants" is good, too. Just not ... JUST that.

I'm not a fan of moe for either gender, but I like the way-too-happy best friend cliche. Makes your char do things they wouldn't normally do, and it would be exhausting being way-too-happy yourself. Also allows for talking about the boys in the game, because she's usually a sex fiend and needs to know (*rolls eyes*). And any recognition the game makes about your choices is cool.

Childhood friend. -_- I dunno. There's ... just ... something ... about it ... So romantic. I think it's the exposition, like, the character had a life before you dropped in. Relationships that are already in progress, to me, are way more interesting. We get past that "what are you favorite TV shows?" kind of thinking and we're intimately engaged.

Surprise hugs and accidental kisses. <3 That mostly stems from Japan's culture, like most of these cliches, since hugging is about the equivalent of a kiss, so it makes both of them go O_O which is cute to me, since people just hug like whatever over here. And then accidental kiss because it's cause for much blushing and stuttering. <3

Walking in on them naked/undressing. Obviously I prefer the boy version. But if I can have that, the guys can have the girl's version.

Probably some other plot devices, but I'm thinking too specifically to remember now.

[Nanomot]

Hmm... romantic cliches, I would have to go with the distressed damsel.... A girl with a dark or harsh tragic past which taps into my naturalistic need to save them from whatever's causing them trouble and rid them of their helplessness. (Sometimes I like when I can't, and get a depressing, tear-jerker ending. ;__;) But I hate the pathetic helplessness, they really need to stand up on their own.

I also agree, I like those Tsundere archetypes, but probably for similar reasons.... (And Yangire, but dear god, not in real life...) I can't forget cat girls either~

Yes I know, kind of lame.

For vague plot cliches, I do enjoy a classic detective mystery approach, and some sort of science fiction in space or time travel.

[Mirage]

Super overdone stuff that I like:

1. A hero/heroine with super rare ability, or the last of their race
2. Lost memory
3. Secret identity (The moment of unveiling the identity is usually my favorite)
4. Characters that appears stupid but can be cool at crucial moment
5. Weak characters who grow up overcoming all odds
6. Whodunnit mystery murder case
7. Characters who are misunderstood

There are more but that's all I can think for now. Despite being cliches, I hardly see the above done right. >___>

[Sapphi]

I'm sort of afraid to mention cliches I like since I'm sure if we all say the cliches we like, they'll get overused in an attempt to use cliches people like... But what the heck. Here's mine:

1. Amnesiac characters
2. The "too pure for this world" sobfest
3. The death/rebirth or "Jesus" concept as cracked.com likes to put it (Think Gungrave or 8 Man)
4. The "serious loli" syndrome
5. The shadowy "older brother" anti-hero figure who constantly drops in to advise everyone but is too cool to stick around for long
6. The long-lost friend, lover, or hero who would probably be the most likable character if they were still alive (Rem from Trigun to some extent, Tochiro from the Harlock stories, Saya from Black Cat)
7. The ridiculously powerful/cunning/beautiful/whatever, too-cool-for-you characters. Not really sure how to describe it, but they are usually the title character of their respective stories because they would completely overshadow everyone else with their ridiculous awesomeness. Obviously Captain Harlock (and Maetel and Emeraldas to some extent) but also Vash from Trigun, Alucard (and Integra.. lol) from Hellsing, Bolt Crank from Eat-Man, and I think Oscar from Rose of Versailles would qualify here too. (Also, Natasha Zabigov from G Gundam, because I love her. )

[Deji]

From the top of my head...

1. Childhood friend; the one that has known you since forever and loves you just the way you are.
2. "I'll protect you". I'm a COMPLETE sucker for that phrase. If it goes with a guy standing in front of a girl to defend her from the bad guys or if it goes with a hug in a moment of vulnerability, I'm completely sold.
3. Psycho-ish characters with a tragic past that drove them insane.
4. Super cute and short tsundere-ish girls - I don't like the overly abusive violent type, though, they scare me D:
5. The always-smiling older and wiser bishounen.

[SusanTheCat]

Animal/Pet that is smarter than the humans around.

It is the cliché for my NaNo novels to all include a talking cat that tells the characters how stupid they are being.

Susan

[Aetheria]

Well, most clichés have become cliché because they work and people like them in the first place. The real problem isn't that they're derivative or overused, but that they get used in lazy, oversimplified ways. So, many common VN tropes can be done well, I think. It's just a matter of applying some imagination and work to make your story something more than the tropes it employs.

I do kind of like the shoujo-manga-style teacher/student romance stories - where they both secretly like each other but of course can't admit it, and then end up getting together after graduation. In the real world, I'd think that was kind of sketchy (although I do know one case where it actually worked out, but that was college not high school), but in fiction it always makes me go "aww!" And, I guess, forbidden love/Romeo-and-Juliet type stories in general. (Not family members, though. Ew.) Whether or not they end happily.