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Kura
Nov '15
1

I actually only get bored of school themes in if it's another 'high school romance' anything else I at least give a try.

Also,I really dislike when a weird and oddly specific school theme is awkwardly forced into the story. Like "main character has to go to a school for the super magically naturally gifted in a far off country yet it's an all girls school and main character is a guy, but don't worry, someone on staff is related to main character so they are secretly going to cross dress to get in. Also when then get to their dorm room they find out it's hunted by a chatty ghost, oh no, the ghost is threatening to tell his secret, but promises to keep it if he joins the cheer-leading team like she always dreamed. Also some end of the would shit is going on so main character has to go through training arcs."

AffectedMind
Nov '15

Oh my god I'm so sick of those xD Or the more important character the closer to the window he sits xD

That's the main reason I avoid romances. I don't really like them it's too easy to guess what will happen, but I like to create them (maybe because I mix them with other genres).

I bumped into one manga, don't even remember the name, but it was more action, supernatural like and yet they gave us school theme. It bothered me so much and I stopped reading.

Yea well, mine story is kinda like that. You know the main protagonist go to the college, but that's really it because it's not really the main focus of the plot.

mariusthered
Nov '15

I came to see early on that the worst of human behavior happens in school. wars, fights and feuds can all be found there and mostly followed by the drama of getting caught by teachers or parents and that leads to more drama. and to add to it my comic throws the old fashion schooling into the mix and a principal who enjoys scaring the hell out of students with her trusty cane. I think writing about school will be around as long as we have schools.

keii4ii
Nov '15

School itself isn't overdone. The problem is when authors just throw [cool element] into a school setting and expect that to be the big draw of the story. For example: vampires + high school. Magic users + high school. Aliens + high school. etc etc...

It's okay to do a school story. It's okay to do a [cool element] + school story, even. Just make sure the story has something interesting to offer other than just the setting. A story needs substance.

joannekwan(ง ˙o˙)ว here to help~
Nov '15

I think it'd be neat if someone did a school story with a fantasy element but the main cast were the teachers.

Anyway,
I myself am a bit jaded with the school setting, specially with all the anime/manga out there with that and even more so that the Japanese school system is very different from what I grew up with in America. And perhaps I am less interested now because I'm out of school entirely. I prefer college/university settings because there's more leeway for the characters to not be stuck on campus all the time and you can see them in different environments.

MannyMelancholy
Nov '15

I understand why it's so popular, but personally I am so tired of it. I have been trying so hard to find anime that involves older characters, but that is only because I myself have gotten older and would like to see characters I can relate to naturally. That's my only reason for being mostly done with the school scene in anime.

kazukitakamura126
Nov '15
joannekwan

Having the teachers as the protagonists of a fantasy school sounds interesting it is always the students. I usually don't do the school theme except in my comic In The Midst. However isn't a central plot point all the good stuff happens before or after school.

kazukitakamura126
Nov '15

The school theme is a tad over-used but, it is how the author approaches the subject of school that draws me in. That doesn't just relate to school it relates to all subjects. One design aspect of school in most anime are they have to wear uniforms. How they wear the outfit can truly show their personality but the design choice is a little restricting at times. I am a particular artist who wants their characters to have their own distinct look so my characters in my comic In The Midst go to an American school. That way they can dress in whatever outfit they want.

Vikiro_Hop
Nov '15

Hmm depends, schools as a setting is just a very broad thing, and it can be used in so many ways that I find it hard to believe that there aren't quite a few things that can still be done with it. School as the main force that drives the plot along on the other hand can get a bit tired and specific school cliches especially the ones in manga can totally drag things on uncomfortably.

Eh I plan on using school as setting eventually so I suppose I believe I have something to contribute. At the same time the fact that the characters are at school is more just to do with having a contained setting and less to do with them actually going to classes and such. I also like coming of age like stories or stuff set in transfomative times in peoples lives, and there is tons of that in schools.

shazzbaa
Nov '15

oh man Iiiiiiiiii love this idea?????

I feel like saying that "the school theme is overdone" would be like saying "romance stories are overdone," like, yeah, they're everywhere, and there are specific elements that get repeated so often that we're sick of seeing them, but the idea itself is so broad, so I think it would be weird to say "stories that focus solely on this element are overused THEREFORE this element shouldn't appear in your work."

dracoplato
Nov '15

While it's super common I'd say it's all about the execution of the theme and how it's used. I also agree that it'd be nice to see more stories focus on the teachers, since more than the school theme I'm tired of stories making it seem like your life is pretty much over after a certain age.

Aspie_Gamer
Nov '15

As others have said, school is school How you use the setting is what makes or breaks your story. Substance in other words.

enidean
Nov '15

It is overdone, a bit. But I think it depends on how you handle it really. There are many ways to make a school setting more interesting and unique.

mattcleaver
Nov '15

I'm kind of to the point where if I read a blurb and it says something like '(insert name here) was just an ordinary high school student....until...'
I immediately switch off. Maybe it's because high school wasn't great for me, or that I don't relate to it anymore, but it seems to be a story crutch that gets more and more obvious the less relevant it becomes.

SpavVy
Nov '15

Honestly I tend to avoid school themes like the plague xD I'm sure that there are some great stories on Tapastic and elsewhere that use this theme but I've grown rather tired of it.

iasucomic
Nov '15

Yeah it is, that doesn't mean you cant make a good comic set in school though. Follow your hearttttt~~~

jjfresh
Nov '15

It's cliche yes but you have to think of the stories in terms of the readers. Who is reading this shoujo romance? High school girls (in Japan).

Who is reading this action-packed shounen? Highschool boys. Who is reading most of these stories? Highschoolers and middleschoolers. Hence, why in most manga, the characters are very young (Naruto: 12yr old in beginning, Bleach: 15-16yr in beginning, etc)

It depends on who you are appealing to. Also, when the writer is young himself/herself, he/she will often make the age of the characters the same as his/her age. For me, I try to do ages that make sense to me.

jjfresh
Nov '15
HVOICE

I understand. As a hobby, you can go wherever you'd like in terms of imagination with your story. As a career, you have to appeal to the audience (unless you know you have a secure source of income elsewhere). How do you appeal to the mass? You make the story funny, cool, relatable, etc. Who mostly reads these kinds of stories? High school kids.

If it was a seinen or jousei, those appeal to college women and men and older, so those cahracters are often young, somewhat average men and women. If it was a hentai, those appeal to older men so the characters are often older, average men. Yuri, yaoi, Horror and psychological are slightly different.

The age of the characters and the settings somewhat represent the audience.

EDIT: Also, for beginners and amateurs, think of archetypes and cliche settings as starting points.

joannekwan(ง ˙o˙)ว here to help~
Nov '15
jjfresh

Actually I really liked how Naruto handled the whole school thing, because it was an interesting school and they rarely spent time in classrooms and it wasn't your usual brick and mortar building.

jjfresh
Nov '15

Well Naruto isn't school Life themed or in the real world. So, naturally, the structure of the school would be different. Not to mention that the story rarely focuses on school except in the beginning. reminds me of Skip Beat in which Kyoko attends high school but the story doesn't focus on school.

For me, if the story is good, cliches, drawing style, lack of logic, etc. can be overlooked.