LogFAQs > #914065403

Movies have a designated beginning and end. They don't have to worry about putting out a consistent product week after week year after year and keeping a near-endless rotation of characters interesting. They have defined arcs where they can develop naturally without ever changing their basic good guy or bad guy alignment.

New Japan is gaining new fans every year while WWE is losing them. There's a multitude of reasons for that, but in my opinion, they can all be traced back to a willingness to do something akin to what I've been saying. They let their characters breathe. They have complex motivations that change a little bit at a time. They don't act the same way toward every opponent of one alignment or the other. And they evolve within themselves. Tanahashi's been a face for a long time, but he's been a different kind of face. In the beginning of the so-called "Okada era," he was the valiant, pure hero who always stuck to his ideals and conquered the impure villains who challenged him. Once Okada showed up, he got a little frustrated at his spotlight being stolen and showed a willingness to play a little dirty - but only against Okada. Against everyone else he was the same old Tanahashi. As the years wore on, that edge showed up more and more often. Then last year, and earlier this year, he was essentially a midlife crisis dude who refused to accept that his time was over. Fans loved him now because he was an earnest underdog most of the time who just couldn't quite get the job done in big spots anymore. And now, he's got a little bit of that valiance back in his clash of ideals against weirdo Omega as he gets ready for what could be his last shot at the top.

Through it all, sometimes he's been overwhelmingly cheered in his matches, sometimes pretty overwhelmingly booed, sometimes somewhere in the middle. But no matter what, it's made money. I don't believe Tanahashi would still be drawing the way he did five years ago if he was still written the way he was five years ago. But they've kept him fresh without ever really getting away from the core of his character.

THAT'S what I want more of. But the face/heel system makes it too tempting to take the easy way out instead of finding a way to keep guys interesting with subtle changes like NJPW does.
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