Protagonist
The protagonist’s color scheme is mostly complementary. He mainly has a mixture of blues and purples with a prominent splash of yellow. Blue is representative of good judgment, and purple is representative of spiritual fulfillment. This works for this character because he is fighting evil. In the meantime, as a teenager of a powerful alien race, he is searching for enlightenment and is coming to terms with his responsibilities as a savior to Earth. Yellow is representative of his intellectual life outside of fighting against evil--he always has his head in the books. He has an important incorporation of white, which reflects his good nature and kindness.
The protagonist is shown with glowing bright lighting and shading that hardly hides any of his features. In a way, it seems as though he is standing outside on a bright, sunny day. This makes look as though he is cast in a light of “goodness”. Instead of dark lighting and dim shading, his bright appearance is reflective of both his joyful young spirit and his heroic demeanor. In addition to this, making the lighting look more as if it is from the sun than artificial sources also has symbolic meaning. The sun, the giver of life, shines on the protagonist, a protector of life.
The triangle is a symbol of masculine (the circle being that of feminine). By having a very triangular shape, the character is given a very masculine and mature appearance, despite his young age. This symbolizes his strong, mature spirit and strength. Also, the character is shown in his more powerful “super” form, which is helped by the triangles symbolism of “ascension”. In addition to all of this, the exaggeration of how triangular his appearance really is gives the sense that he is much like a knight with a strong defensive stance. Like a knight who must protect a kingdom at whatever cost, this character must do the same for the entire planet.
"Super Saiyan" Gohan from Dragon Ball Z
Antagonist
The antagonist has a mainly monochromatic color scheme of green. The color green is often associated with life and nature. This goes well with the antagonist because of his evolution throughout the series. First, he starts as a cicada-like bug, unable to cause harm. When he hatches from this shell, he turns into a more man-like being. In order to evolve to the next stages of his cycle, he must absorb others. As he evolves, he becomes more and more like a human, including his body shape, voice, and intelligence. In a way, he must absorb life to become more life-like as we understand it, and the color green reflects this.
The antagonist is represented under an ominous, stormy sky. The lighting caused by this setting is dark, bleak, and threatening. Just as a sky threatening of storms tends to keep people inside in the safety of their homes, the horrors committed by the antagonist forces the streets to be abandoned. The lighting is also similar to this character’s bleak and evil soul (or lack thereof). In many situations in media, evil characters are often cast in dim, soft lighting that reflects their evil tendencies, and this character is represented in the same way. Darkness of lighting is always analogous of darkness of mood.
The antagonist’s shape most closely resembles that of a bug (specifically a cicada). On the surface, this goes right along with the theme of life and evolution. A cicada is a bug that has several different stages of life, just as this character does. However, bugs are also generally “scary”--entomophobia is a common fear of insects. The artists gave him the angular and “segmented” shapes of an insect overtop a generally humanoid body. This represents how widly feared he is (many people are afraid of insects) but also that he is “equal to” or even more powerful than other human beings.
Cell ("Imperfect" form) from Dragon Ball Z
Gohan battling Cell ("Perfect" form)
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