The phrase “comfort character” is part of that pop culture landscape.
What is a “comfort character”?
Everything You Need to Know about Comfort Characters
By: Author Marcel Iseli
Posted on Last updated: April 18, 2023
What is a “comfort character”?
A comfort character is a character in a fictional world, such as a TV show, movie, game, book, or comic, that a person strongly identifies with and takes comfort from. They may use thoughts of the comfort character to help them through hard times.
The person will simply feel drawn toward the character.
Even if you have never encountered the term before, you probably know this feeling of really liking or identifying with a character.
When the person feels down, they could watch, read or play whatever this character appears in and then feel better after spending some time with the character.
Strong identification with a character is another way a person may choose a comfort character.
For example, maybe there is a main character in a movie who has a story arc that show them becoming a more confident person.
Someone who identified with this comfort character might struggle with their confidence as well.
When they were in situations where they lacked confidence, they could think about how this character handled similar situations.
The concept of comfort characters is very popular in online fandom.
“Fandom” refers to any community that arises around a piece of media, whether that’s a game, a popular show, a book, a comic or a movie.
It’s a little bit different from simply being a fan of something.
People involved in a fandom often belong to internet communities that talk about these characters a lot. They might attend meetups or conventions based around this fandom and dress up like the character.
It’s also very common for them to create their own art around the stories that they love. For example, they might draw pictures of the character in various situations, or they might write new stories about adventures that the characters have beyond the scope of the original tale that they came from.
In fact, you might find some accounts entirely devoted to comfort characters, sometimes called “stan accounts.”
“Stan” is slang that refers to being a big fan of something or someone.
How comfort characters help
People report comfort characters helping them in very real ways in their lives. If they struggle with anxiety and panic attacks, thinking about their comfort character can often help stave off these feelings.
There has been some research that shows that these characters can have a positive effect on fans, encouraging them to act in ways that are more beneficial for them.
For most people, comfort characters are fun, beneficial ways to better enjoy the stories they love.