The only team I can think of that wasn't 2:1 is the old ino shika cho trio with all men but honestly besides them I can't think of a single other team.
"we wanna attract the boys, but in case some girls watch, lets add in a girl too. We can even make a romance out of it! And some fanservice"
Edit: when its shōnen
I've seen two guys one girl trio in many shoujo like Fruit Basket. It's all about the mc. They just wanna create more and more relationship dynamics around him/her, that's all.
The funniest shit in the entire world to me is the fact that Kurapika canonically crossdresses to try to disguise himself - except for the fact that uhh, Chrollo didn't know what Kurapika looked like, so he does it for no reason only then to immediately reveal his true appearance to Chrollo lmao.
Yes. It was actually a long-standing debate before it was sort of confirmed by Togashi (I couldn't find the source now though). When I was a teenager, I was in complete denial that Kurapica is a man, even after the "lipstick-wiping" episode of the Yorknew city arc. It doesn't help that Kurapica's design (small frame, long-ish hair, tunic, earrings worn in both ears) and voice in the 1999 anime was feminine, and there are some uh... moments with Leorio (though it was only in filler episodes). In the 2011 anime though, Kurapica is presented as more androgynous than feminine.
It's not just the VA. I was very much aware of that at the time (Shinji Ikari was voiced by a woman). In this case, the voice itself very much sounded feminine as well as the overall presentation as I enumerated.
They weren’t really a trio any longer than they were a duo or a foursome. They just recruited one after another until they were 5, which stayed the case for a little while.
True, just wanted to point out that Oda made it look like a classic trope at first and then completely subverted it to get a more balanced crew where everyone counts.
Yeah. I vaguely remember some cinema article mentioning some "Goldilocks rule" for male female ratios. I think another cliche is 3 guys: 1 gal but I'm no cinema/anime buff.
Many of these shows are primarily targeted at a male audience. The dynamic revolves around the protagonist (whom the viewer can relate to), the male friend (often the best friend), and the female friend (often the love interest).
🤭👍🏻 Demon Slayer is the best proof that you can show three androgynous men and still make it work! The result: the audience is briefly irritated but still loves it. Well done.
Protag with female friends for some fans and male friends for others. Oftentimes, female friend becomes love interest to provide a romantic relationship to counterbalance the male best friend dynamic.
Authors will sometimes switch it up depending on how they feel about gender roles and clichés.
Imo this trio concept with mixed gender is one of the greatest ideas for a movie/series trope in media history. Genuinely want to appreciate the one who came up with this for the first time. Opens up some great possibilities and something is there for all fans here.
We have our main character who drives things forward generally and we cant have him interact with no one so usually that secondary is complimentary and then because women exist they need to add a foid good for shipping as well I guess
FT goes for different trope, most parties are either groups of 3 or 5. Tho, gotta say, FT was really ahead of its time in terms of cultural things. Putting aside stupid fan service, we have a woman as a team powerhouse and some male fan service from Gray (as a gay guy, I appreciate).
Fairy Tail just decided that instead of doing less fanservice, it'd just be better to do MORE fanservice, but justify/counterbalance it with making the women way cooler and have the guys also get naked.
Whether you like it or not, you gotta admit it was a brave approach.
My headcanon is its the writer's way to ensure no fanmade pairings occur
and allows more dynamic and creative liberties, showing a better bond of the characters with someone other.
These are 99% male fantasies and escapism. So you have your male lead, his best bro, and love interest. Or the girl is used to expand demographics and make the story feel more varied.
I think its just a natural team comp for a show aimed at boys, 3 is a good number of protags to balance and then you can have the hero, rival and love interest be all together
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u/Francophilippe 2d ago