1.
characterization; depiction of a character; portrayal of a person
The way a person is portrayed in a novel, film, drama, or other work — covering appearance, personality, background, and behavior. Standard in literary criticism, film reviews, and writing guides; used to praise a work for its vivid portrayal of characters or to criticize it as flat or shallow.
人物描写が巧みだ。
The characterization is skillful.
この小説は人物描写が細やかだ。
This novel has delicate, nuanced characterization.
脚本家は人物描写を深めるために役者と話し合った。
The screenwriter discussed the script with the actors in order to deepen the characterization.
Compound of 人物 ('a person; character') and 描写 ('description; depiction; portrayal'). A standard term in literary, theater, and film criticism.
USAGE:
- Typically appears as the subject of evaluative predicates like 巧みだ ('skillful'), 細やかだ ('nuanced'), 深い ('deep'), 薄い ('thin; shallow'), 平板だ ('flat').
- Used by critics, reviewers, and creative writing teachers; also by fans discussing novels, manga, anime, and dramas.
- Not usually used for non-fiction profiles — those would be 人物紹介 ('profile; introduction of a person').
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 人物描写が巧みだ: the characterization is skillful
- 人物描写が細やか: nuanced, detailed characterization
- 人物描写が薄い: the characterization is thin/shallow
- 人物描写を深める: to deepen the characterization
- リアルな人物描写: realistic characterization
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 情景描写: description of a scene or setting — the counterpart dealing with scenery rather than people.
- 心理描写: psychological description — focuses on a character's inner thoughts and feelings; a subset of 人物描写.
- キャラクター造形: character design; character construction — used especially in manga, anime, and game contexts, with a production-side nuance.
- 人物像: character profile; image of a person — the resulting picture of the character rather than the act of depicting.