OCs: Yay or Nay?

[Gallant Halliviere]

We've all encountered them in creative fanart, fanfictions, whatever, right? OCs...The come in many forms, but I am talking about the 3 main types, at least in my opinion:

1. Mary Sues: Little poisonous devils who insert themselves into a canon storyline. Whether they are an author or artist's creative flow gone awry, or simply their intense desire to live in that universe, they subject us to the cruel and unforgiving mutilation of a once sacred franchise.

2. Happy-to-be-Here's: These OCs are nothing more than background fodder. Need more nondescript faces for your teams? Feel there aren't enough characters present to make a decent mob? Having no other purpose than to take up space, they aren't trying to be the center of attention, or even HAVE attention. They are simply happy to be here.

3. Plotline Progressors: The golden children of the OC world, these characters appear and aid the actual main characters throughout the story. Perhaps they are the random best friend who appears when the main character is in distress, or they are that elderly lady who the MC meets in the park who helps them come to a profound understanding? They don't try to take over the story with 6 pages dedicated to their own background story that people rarely care about. They are just there to make things better.

I used to just write all OCs off as unclean taints of the holy franchise, but now I see that only some of them fit this description.

I am curious, though, about the opinions of others on this subject. Am I the only one who views OCs this way?  

[Gallant Halliviere]

R a i t h e s

I completely agree, I've been around the block on OC's and they definitely tend to polarise to at least one of those descriptions.

The case is also very similar with Self Inserts, they either tend to be the cliché "Oh wow I've been magically transported into [insert anime here]!" or they are meticulously woven into the plot and actually give a new perspective on the world.

There's definitely a pattern, but you could argue that some fall into the middle for a few; like a Mary Sue that tries to add to the plot but its general nature just gets in the way of good story telling, or a plotline progressor that sounds a bit too good to be true.

True. OCs do it the most, authors either trying to make their characters helpful and likeable, but often try too hard and make them seem obnoxious, having Mary Sues that pull back and find redeeming qualities, or characters that were meant to be something important but fell too short to even be noticed.

I've also noticed that a lot of the problems with Self-Inserts come from the author just playing out the fantasy of being the important one in their favorite franchise. Not saying it's wrong--I'd magic myself into Fairy Tail if it were possible--but the plotline often gets lost in the fantasy. I always thought that the best Self Inserts are the ones that are aware that they shouldn't tamper with someone else's canon plotline and simply offer assistance, or as you said, offer a new perspective.

I think that they greatest offense on both counts is canon characters being manipulated into someone so different they can't even be considered the same character. I can't tell you how many times I've read fanfictions with a red or black-haired emo Naruto with Sharingan and a fierce hate of ramen. But even in these situations, sometimes the character overhaul works, but in others, not so much. I suppose it really depends on what the plotline demands and if the characters live up to the expectations.