forum People who have depression, could I please have your opinion? (anyone, but anime fans especially)

Started February 17, 2021 by @LilNerdyGingerKitsune

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Quick context. I am writing an anime inspired slice-of-life graphic novel/manga. If you have seen shows like Fairy Tail or My Hero Academia, it is similar in the way where I have my main characters, but I also have a large supporting cast that throughout the narrative all get some screen time and are fleshed out a little bit here and there. Because I have such a large cast, many of my side characters are characterized by a single personality trait (or shtick if you will) to start off with, so that when the audience is reading they can remember roughly what their main deal is when it comes the time for that character to get more development. The shows I mentioned above also use this tactic: In Fairy Tail Cana loves drinking, Laxus is cocky, and Elfman loves being manly, then in My Hero Iida is strict, Momo is smart, and Kirishima loves being manly.

However, I recently realized I might have a problem with one of my side characters… Yuki.
So, my protagonist is an unrelenting optimist, and so when creating Yuki I thought it would be fun to make her "shtick" being a pessimist to contrast. She is gloomy, and always sees the worst in everyone and everything. She is constantly anxious about what could go wrong, and generally never happy. Think Eeyore from Winnie the Poo. But on the topic of Eeyore… I'm worrying she is starting to feel like a bad caricature of depression: upset all the time, never happy, barely any personality outside of her gloominess.

I didn't intend for her to be an actual representation of someone dealing with depression, but instead just an over-the-top character foil to my protagonist. However, I feel that it's inevitable people will read her as a depressed individual, and I don't want to feed into any harmful stereotypes. I'm also especially worried people might think I'm poking fun at depression, when that is absolutely not I am trying to do.

Anime/manga by itself is a very "exaggerated medium." Emotions, interactions, and character traits are often overly dramatic in such a way that it obviously isn't "realistic." That's often why anime appeals to people, (me especially) because there are so many moments and characters that who'll never find in live-action/western media. I don't know if someone who watches and enjoys anime (which is my target audience) may look and Yuki and not take her as a serious depiction of depression, because they are familiar with the way the medium works.

My story is mainly light-hearted and goofy, although I do delve into some serious topics, and those I try to play as realistically as possible and research thoroughly. In fact, I do actually have a main character that deals with depression, apathy, and dissociation, all of which are portrayed solemnly, although we don't learn about what she's been dealing with until further along in the story.
I did ask my brother about this topic (as he himself has dealt with depression) and he told me that it would probably be fine as long as Yuki was written as over the top as possible, and that having another character that deals with actual depression realistically and seriously helps. My only worry is that since we don't really find out about the other character's struggle until later (because depression isn't always obvious to spot), my readers will first have to experience Yuki.

Soooo, I guess what I'm asking is, what are your thoughts? I don't want to change too much about her, because then I lose my character foil, but at the same time I don't want cause any harm.
Also, if you'd like to let me know, what are some things common in characters suffering with depression that you don't like, or are sick of seeing?

Thank you!

ooh i'd love to help!! this idea sounds good, and for the most part, i think Yuki has been thought out very well- and your brother has a point! i deal with depression myself, and i often find myself hiding my depression with bold actions, hefty amounts of jokes, etc etc, so Yuki could basically embody that. so yeah, this is really good! if you need anything else from me, let me know, i'm very interested to see how this comes out!

Honestly, as someone with depression, I've never had too much of a problem with those exaggerated characters because we all know they're exaggerated. In fact, I kind of love the really gloomy archetype because it's like "oh, me too honey." Personally I think romanticising depression is worse than exaggerating aspects of it, and I totally agree that having actual representation of someone else with depression is a good step, even if it comes later.
Now, I think it would also help to give Yuki her own little arc or backstop reveal so yes, we have this base of gloominess, but we also maybe see why she is this way, if she's always been this way, or maybe we get to see different facets of her personality so that's not her whole personality. This isn't something that has to happen right away, of course, but that's totally something you could incorporate later into the story.

Okay, thanks for the quick response you guys! Yes, Yuki will have a little arc of her own eventually, though I'm still struggling to figure out exactly where I want to go with her. One of the main themes of my story is growth, the protagonist starting the story by leaving the sheltered, privileged environment she was raised in, and consequently growing by being exposed to/learning about the character-arcs of the side cast– some happening during the story others having happened in the past.

I've had depression (might still have it in the future) and met people with depression, and the thing is…there's so many different kinds, really? Sometimes it's so subtle that it takes more than half a lifetime for a person to start wondering if they have something that they should get diagnosed with. Sometimes the only symptoms are oversleeping, a slightly-worse-that-average immune system, and "brain fog" or "bad brain days" that happen more often than the clearheaded days. Other times, the symptom is what appears to be very high-energy criticism and complaints that never stop…something like that can still come from depression, even if it doesn't look like it. And still other times, as you must know, symptoms of depression can be disordered eating, self-injury, and ideations of self-thanasia.

Some people have it all the time as in having the more subtle symptoms since birth, others have it seasonally, others have it when there's been a trauma or bereavement or other high-stress situation…I started life with the "anxiety, hyperfixation, slow emotional metabolism, hypersomnia" package, but after the breadwinner of my family became unemployed and everybody began fighting with each other all the time I started getting these incapacitating headaches and stabbing pains in my chest and cried so much that I ran out of tears, and managed to develop addictions at the same time as developing anhedonia (which is not logical, but it happened). Then it got even so much worse, mental health wise.

I'm still…very, very rarely offended by characters that aren't diagnosed anyway? Even if a person or character actually had it and never got diagnosed, there are so many different ways for symptoms of so many different degrees to show, and so many different ways for it to be handled…that it might as well be a character trait left ambiguous about whether it's pathological or not.

For example, I've met people who watched the Daria animated series and liked it, and began talking like somebody very cynical and not very expressive (the title character)…and, there's nothing behind that but wanting to look cool, which is actually fine by me…back then, and now. If somebody else writes a story based on that person, and a critic goes, "By showing a character who had taken on an image of a depressed person as a personality trait or fashion statement, you're accusing all actually depressed people of faking it for attention" then I will think that the critic is wrong. I might not like the work itself, or it might be an interesting discussion point to start off with about "but what if this character really were depressed, what would how it's shown be interpreted and applied to real life?", but if I take it as a personal attack because my interpretation is the only true correct one, and I say that the author is a bad person who is bad for society and should feel bad, and the story should never have existed…then…that would be a me problem, not a media stigma stereotypes society problem.

If all else fails, I still say write it all out first and then have some sensitivity readers give it a look.