so I got my bf into Trollhunters and he turns to me and says “Jim and Strickler look a lot alike”, and I kinda picked up on the resemblances before (esp in some fan arts I’ve seen) but it never hit me just how much they look alike and can we just talk about that for a sec
Character designs are always very conscious and deliberate choices, and Jim and Strickler share a lot of likenesses. They both have long faces, long hooked noses, darker hair, thin lips, noticeable eye bags. Their body types are the same too: long and lean. Jim, in all honesty, looks more like Strickler than his own mother. Barbara has a rounder face, a smaller upturned nose, paler skin, red hair, and electric blue eyes. Very pretty, but not much like her son. We can assume Jim probably takes after his dad in this case, but I think its interesting that Strickler is the only character we’ve physically seen so far who Jim seems to resemble a decent amount. In the words of my bf “imagine what Strickler looked like when he was Jim’s age and tell me they don’t look alike.”
To which you’re probably thinking: ‘so whats the point?’ I don’t know, but characters designed similarly usually indicate similarities between those characters, like in personality or familial relations or maybe to show Jim has some changeling blood in him too. Regardless, I do find the parallels between Jim and Strickler interesting. Such as how they both love knives and are skilled knife twirlers
Or how they prefer passive aggression and snark
Or “Get [Barbara] out of here!” and “I’m only helping you for [Barbara]” aka Barbara Lake is both of their biggest concern always
Or how they trick each other, which I think Jim managing to do is pretty impressive considering Strickler’s a crafty little shit
Or how they come to the same conclusion and concoct the same clever plan to defeat Angor Rot together, following which Strickler claims how he’s surprised how well he and Jim work together. Basically: they make a good team
Or how they love being petty and annoyed with each other, but secretly care about the other
Or how they lie to others (esp Barbara) continuously
Or how they literally yell the same thing in unison at one point
Etc. Jim and Strickler are definitely not the same, like at all. But parallels like these are some of the things that make their interactions so fun and interesting. They have a great dynamic, definitely one of my favorites, and I think their physical similarities kinda emphasize that.
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