Writer's Guide 101 (Wattpad Edition)

LX. "TOO MANY CHARACTERS?!"

Believe it or not, you can write engaging stories with multiple lead characters. It makes the world feel lived in and diverse. It actually depends on how well you flesh out each of them.
I remember discussing this in an old post, but here are a couple of examples I could give to anyone who hasn't seen it: "Helluva Boss" and "DURARARA!!". Now, let me start off with the latter.

DURARARA!! is a unique anime where you slowly get to know about each character at the same time.
One episode would center around a new kid name Mikado Ryugamine moving into the city of Ikebukuro. He is always seeking for something that's out of the ordinary. In the next scene, he meets his goofy childhood friend name Masaomi Kida.
We also later get to see a mysterious rider name Celty and a smug info broker name Izaya Orihara. What is interesting is you slowly get to see how connected these random people are.
It turns out that Mikado is no ordinary kid as he is actually the leader of the anonymous group called The Dollars. Izaya even knows this. Celty also works for him. What I like about the show is how everybody gets to develop and find resolve.
Now, time to move on to "Helluva Boss." While I am supposed to be this kid-friendly author who bans any explicit content on my platform, it's because I don't want my younger audience to actually stumble upon something that is not suitable for them.
However, I am old enough to watch this show myself. Everybody loved it because it was something you wouldn't see on mainstream TV. It's got a colorful cast of characters, buuuut there's just one problem. Too many characters and lacking focus.
Unlike the anime where they will always follow things up in the next episode, HB has the habit of introducing new characters and never bringing them up again.
Why not have an episode where we get to see Blitzø and his crew on their way to assassinate a human organization while Stolas watches from the distance like "Interesting ... Bring them to me"?
Then, show in the next episode where I.M.P. suddenly gets kidnapped by a gang and turns out Stolas wants Blitz to help him foil the Cherubs (who are actually working for the human organization). Have the characters grow and work on their relationships with one another albeit in a twisted way.

Now, I bet you guys are thinking how unfair and bizarre it is to compare an indie cartoon to a show made by an established studio. So what does this have to do with Wattpad?
I wrote this chapter in hopes that it could help writers in establishing their characters. I personally thought about how similar both premises are - edgy, unpredictable and bizarre.