Who would be considered the 'Central Character'?
 

Everyone who's read 8bit even a little knows that it has four main characters, Fighter, Black Mage, Red Mage and Thief. Four murderous, destructive, greedy con-men. But of these four murderous, destructive, greedy con-men, who do you think could be considered the 'central character' the guy that it all revolves around. I don't think there is one, but two central characters. Black Mage and Fighter, RM and Thief are important, but there isn't NEARLY as much focus or character development for them as there is for Fighter and BM. I think that Fighter is the real central character, as he is the only Light Warrior that isn't completely murderous and genocidal, though mind you, his goodness is only because of his MASSIVE stupidity. Anyway, I say Fighter, but that's just me. Other thoughts?

Black Mage. The universe revolves around him being hurt in any possible way or another, so he has to be the central character. Fighter is the second most important character, but I think he mainly serves as a foil of everything that Black Mage represents.

Really, I thought it was universally accepted that Black Mage was the main character. He has the most screen time, he's in the largest number of punch lines, he conducts a lot of the plot, he has the largest fanbase. Fighter is second, for sure, but really, he has nowhere near the same amount of lines or screentime as BM. And elf-face and long-hair-guy are far, far behind.

I'm not saying who's a better character, or who I enjoy more, but it's pretty clear who's in charge of this comic.

Like I said, I say it's Fighter with BM in a close second. Afterall, Fighter is the only 'good guy' that manages not to commit genocide on an epic scale. Besides, in every RPG i've played, melee-centered characters always manage to be the central one.

However, does the protagonist have to always be the good guy? Black Mage could be considered the antihero (or not a hero at all) of this story. 8-bit Theater doesn't seem to me like the epic quest of a band of guys who travel the world to save it, but rather the epic quest of a band of assholes and one naive guy who travel the world to save it, yet fail at doing it so badly that they end up destroying it.

If you take the second point of view you could see why most people consider Black Mage to be the main character.

Black Mage. He has more "screentime",more dialogue, and more character interaction. He also has more depth: Fighter's inner genius is rather cliché, while Black Mage's rare "good side" is quite touching.

Side-note: The order of the main characters (back when there was that "Cast" section) was: BM > Fighter > Thief > RM > WM? > BB? > Garland? > EPS?

I'd have to stick with agreeing it's BM. Here are my reasons:

1. Even in the beginning, Fighter's role was to set things up for a BM-based joke.
2. BM is the only one who is always, ALWAYS kept track of. Anytime any of the others have left the party, they lose the main focus of the plot, though they often get blurbs. This does not happen with BM.
3. He, ironically, has the most expressive face. Overall, the faces of everyone else remain comparatively static in normal conversation sequences, save WM to a lesser extent. Even so, WM interacts most heavily with BM.
4. BM also has the most interaction with secondary and incidental characters, whether directly or through the consequences of his actions. As such, he makes the most happen in the comic, both in side jokes and the main plot.


There's probably more, but those alone make it pretty clear he's the star of the comic, even among the four main characters and WM.

I'd say BM is the main character, but with how things are said in the story, its possible this may change further into the story. As is, BM has been seperated from the group time and time again, and I don't recall him ever being added back to the party after he left it. Eventually, he may get to travel his own path.

That said, the story seems more like it follows Fighter since he is the one actually seeking to complete the quest. In addition, there was a prophecy that spoke of Fighter.

I'd say RM and Thief have slightly more screen time than Fighter since they better interact with the villians (BM). However, they don't have the motivation like Fighter does. RM has little tying him to the story. He remains in the party not to save the day or due to a prophecy, but rather because he wants the experience. Likewise, Thief does not have any strong ties to the story itself (Although, it has been he who has found most the orbs), and remains in the party only due to his own greed.

But I can't picture them remaining on Fighter's side forever...
'Fighter being a mastermind' theories aside, according to Swordopolis, it is Fighter who will stand alone against the tides of darkness.

Was that the prophecy where "an enlightened warrior would awaken Bahamut"? If so, remember that it was BM who actually woke him up.

In fact, here's some food for thought:
-BM awakened Bahamut, Fighter took the credit
-Fighter summoned Ur, BM was blamed

But yeah, I agree with you.

I always think of Black Mage and Fighter being the equal central character.