I guess Naoni knows, and subsequently hates, that I love morally gray side characters. I don't know why I just have an affinity to them. I just love how you can never be sure what decision that they'll make throughout the series and to me that's what keeps me coming back to a series. Most people think my fave characters are "bad guys" (queue Billie Eilish song), but I prefer to call them morally gray because what I have noticed in my 21 years of living is that bad people aren't simply bad people, but the living embodiment of all the bad things that have happened to them and how the characters has chosen to carry these bad things in their lives. This is why I love Itachi Uchiha. He mad some bad decisions despite being one of the greatest prodigy and one of the youngest ninja in the Naruto universe. If you look at him at the surface level he's just a murder who doesn't know how to socialize, but if you take into account that his dad made him into basically a child soldier and that propelled him to become an extreme pacifist that will do anything to avoid conflict and war to the point where he's willing to kill for the belief he becomes less of a bad guy and instead a very complex person. All of my other favorite characters have similar dilemmas and viewpoints such as Guren Ichinose, Shigure Sohma, Tobari, Chuuya Nakahara, Light Yagami, and Azula (the pictures are in that order if you were wondering). They are all really poweful and skilled characters that are often misinterpreted into being these bad people that they aren't. To spare you guys a long, long, loooonnnggg, post about my feelings on each of these characters you can ask me in the comments and I can respond ! I love talking about them, a little bit too much. Unfortunately, my faves are clearly controversial like so many other things I like, but no one takes the time out to understand them and love them for who they are instead of for their actions. That's why I believe so firmly in good intentions and results justify the means!
@emma: thanks 🙏 @rachel: to be honest i think humans are inherently evil and are taught to love, so i think evilness will always exist in humans, so yes everyone is evil and they receive the love they need from others and hence why they are good people. But evilness imo is the shortcomings of society and not the individual, you know! @naoni: nah, i simply think that people are inherently evil, so why would Azula go against her nature if no one fostered love in her you know 🤔
I hate this ;P I like your analysis of gray characters but at the end of the day, I often feel you don’t give enough will to people. You often portray people as helpless and unable to escape fate. For example, sure like off of ATLA, Azula was taught by her father to only care about power and her mom told/treated her like she was a bad person, but why couldn’t Azula try to prove her mom wrong and be a good person and still adhere to her father’s concerns of power if she felt so pressured to do so? That’s why gray characters are annoying, sure they keep things interesting but the characters themselves are frustrating cuz they know…
Ahh I don’t know most of these guys except azula! But yes I noticed this about you I think, knowing that things aren’t black and white. In this case, do you think some characters can be pure evil, like no redeemable characteristics?? Like people who’ve done horrendous things in history. But I guess it’s interesting bc there are other people who do just as horrendous things but aren’t equally condemned (not gonna get too political here with names but.....) ya know? Bc I also struggle with saying someone is not all bad when they’ve clearly done something terrible. But also you’re totally right that people are a product of their environment and experiences that mayve been forced on them. Does…
whoa I like your analysis of "bad" characters