User blog comment:ThatGuy456/A Guy's Thoughts: Tobias Wilson - The Joke of a Jock/@comment-37450836-20191231032338/@comment-30307603-20191231181925

Wow, thanks! It’s great to hear you thought so highly of this article!

You certainly make a good point there. There is a lot to be said about how Tobias is this self-centered obnoxious jerk whose constant boasting about his non-existent achievements and how he only perpetuates his status as the butt of the joke by continuing to be something that he is quite frankly not, but there is something to his persistence that makes him such an endearing character. Even if his oversized ego, emotional fragility, and his lack of agency are what often speak the loudest about him as a person, there is a certain grit to how he comes out of each situation that you cannot really take away from him. At the end of day, he isn’t doing anything constructive in regards to actually bettering himself, but his perseverance to keep up his facade is what makes him so lovable even at some of his most pathetic points.

Interesting that you bring up the idea of Tobias being somewhat of a shadow of Gumball. Both characters do share quite a bit in common in regards to their egos and arrogant natures, but whereas Gumball has the self-awareness and agency to at least address his shortcomings and work towards elevating himself when the situation calls for it, Tobias really doesn’t have that. He will always have that voice in the back of his head telling him he’s not as awesome as he makes himself out to be, of course, but it’s a voice that he will continue to ignore.

Don’t worry about it! You contributed plenty with this comment! I’m glad to see that you’ll be waiting for my next piece; hopefully, it will deliver whenever that finally comes out.