>cartoon protagonist has at least one parent who is unknown or dead
Why is this such a common trope?
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>cartoon protagonist has at least one parent who is unknown or dead
To better relate to their pathetic audience.
>this
I miss my dad. Not divorce, he died suddenly on a trip a couple years ago. It’s still hard not being able to regularly talk to him and see movies with him. He took me to cool movies ever since I was a kid. Now I usually go with friends. I… can’t go alone.
to rip off anime even more
Guy who's only watched anime: getting some real anime vibes from this
reduces the core cast size
This.
In more comedic shows, sometimes they skirt around this by doing gags where the parents never show up onscreen, or they are always shown together as though they are attached at the hip, making them essentially a single character. But in shows with a bit more of a serious tone, it’s just another character to juggle, so it’s sometimes easier to make one of them dead or out buying cigarettes. And as an added bonus, they can conveniently bring it up for drama whenever they want and pretend they’re being deep and emotional.
Frick the nuclear family
lore fuel
If the character isn't necessary in some way then they're not gonna bother to create it.
to avoid showing the "social construct" of a normal family
>no father
self-insertion
Cartoon creators are too fricking lazy to create 2 parents.
Because of rape
Because it creates easy conflict for the character to overcome.
I see your 1 parent and I raise you 4 missing/dead parents.
one less voice actor and development
most cartoonists have dysfunctional relationships with their parents.
Amphibia keeps winning
Good way to introduce drama
Millennial all come from broken homes.
Anime love this trope too, especially if MC kills their dad.
Usually writers are so focused on the conflict/relationship between the MC and one particular parent that they can't think of an interesting dynamic with the other. So they just don't include them at all.