Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari - Vol. 24 Ch. 98 - Therianthrope Transformation

[Haunted-Flame]

bruh she pulled up w the “take responsibility” naofumi wasn’t supposed to be hearing those words for another couple arcs 😳😳

What?

 

[Ant1989]

I'm of the belief that the villains are cartoonishly evil because they're meant to be personified tests of the protagonist's character as he grapples with evil without succumbing to his own. In that light, there's a particular value to their excessive, un-nuanced, irrational, one-note villainies that I can appreciate-- they're regardless lofty obstacles that complexly challenge Naofumi.

They could stand to be more complex and less on-the-nose, I guess, but can I even imagine how the author would go about that? How would that serve his purposes?

I'm not gonna crap on Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella because of how one-note Maleficent or the evil stepmother are, is what I'm getting at.

You can have cartoonish villains, but they aren't good. And please one thing is Maleficent asserting her bitchness and another is what these new villains are trying to do, with no remorse for futile reasons. L'arc began as a villain, and so did Glass, even before Kizuna's arc, and both of them were far more realistic and believable depictions of villains that do the really big stuff.

So if you gonna do something so evil, you better have some really good reasons and some honor. Kyo had his research, and that's all. He wasn't even trying to take over the world and was just sure that they'd win. But no more than a coward that only risked himself because he had plan B. A good clash or desires is what makes a good story, if one of the desires is weak and unbelievable, the clash isn't as good. Imagine if Thanos was just a cartoonish, and wasted all those resources to kill half of the population for nothing. It wouldn't be as good, would it?

 

[Ant1989]

What?

Oh, you don't know? From here on out, harem becomes part of the genre of this story.

 

[Eighty-six]

You can have cartoonish villains, but they aren't good.

My point is that they don't have to be. They "just" have to directly or indirectly provoke something else that's engaging.

And please one thing is Maleficent asserting her bitchness and another is what these new villains are trying to do, with no remorse for futile reasons.

I think you're underplaying how Maleficient curses a newborn solely because she wasn't invited to her christening, with no purpose except to spite the parents. That's more than "bitchness".

L'arc began as a villain, and so did Glass, even before Kizuna's arc,

Before Kizuna, they may have been antagonists, but their identities and motives were unclear at the time-- and then they were revealed to be antagonizing the protagonist for very understandable reasons (they were doing what Naofumi was doing, but for their own universe, and they thought that they had to kill the Cardinal Heroes as part of their defense). So, they weren't villains in that they didn't seek to do evil or something especially selfish.

So if you gonna do something so evil, you better have some really good reasons and some honor.

Why? What even constitutes a "really good reason"? For that matter, why is "realism" something to strive for-- especially in something inherently and flagrantly non-realistic?

Imagine if Thanos was just a cartoonish, and wasted all those resources to kill half of the population for nothing.

It'd have been absolutely cartoonish if he wasn't the "Mad Titan" (him killing loads of people so he can get Lady Death to like him is more internally consistent). His idea would have been certain civilizational collapse across the universe precisely because it was indiscriminate (people aren't interchangeable, and "resources" aren't a monolithic abstraction equally theoretically accessible by everyone in the universe). He didn't have a "good reason" for what he did because he was clinically insane to the point that he was able to truly feel like he loved the adoptive daughter who had her parents killed by him and had nothing but terrible memories of him.

And how much "nothing" is "for nothing"? I've discussed other works where people say that certain things are done "for nothing" while discounting various material consequences as well as the psychological effects on the characters.

 

[Ant1989]

And how much "nothing" is "for nothing"? I've discussed other works where people say that certain things are done "for nothing" while discounting various material consequences as well as the psychological effects on the characters.

Are you talking about Joker? Well, he's insane, that in and of itself is a reason. And while we know that Thanos's idea would be the downfall of civilization, for surface-level thinking it would not. Just like socialism, is a good thing at a surface level thinking, but when you think through it, it's the downfall of civilization, and despite that, so many people believe in it. So, it's understandable that someone could think that killing half the population would be a good idea. Let's keep it at the movies for now, I didn't really like this lady Death plot.

Why realism is something to strive for? Believability. Suspension of disbelief can only go so far. A story may have fantastical elements, but it must be grounded on reality. Or else, you have a story "anything goes" and those are boring and unengaging as hell.

Also, in my understanding, antagonists and villains are the same thing. But ok, are there good villains that don't have very good reasons? Sure. One of the best of them is Baran, from Dragon Quest Dai no Daibouken, his reason is kinda shallow, and so is Haddler, but at least they have some personality and presence, and they sure are not insufferable like Kyo and these two guys from the next arc here. But I do think that better reasons make the villains more compelling and more believable, though that's not the only characteristic that they can have.

 

[CyanHide]

So, if my understanding is correct, Sardina/Sadeena's absence is the reason why Raphtalia's village went to shit? If she had even a fraction of the power displayed here I doubt the slavers would have gotten away with any of them in the first place.

 

[emmyy]

Oh, you don't know? From here on out, harem becomes part of the genre of this story.

Not really, no. lol This isn't based on the web novel.

 

[Kampfarsch]

Thats a huge bitch

 

[Ant1989]

Not really, no. lol This isn't based on the web novel.

Spoiler

Raphtalia, Sadeena, Syne, Atla

that's already 4 by volume 13 of the light novel, I believe this can already be considered a harem.

 

[999kirby]

Spoiler

Raphtalia, Sadeena, Syne, Atla

that's already 4 by volume 13 of the light novel, I believe this can already be considered a harem.

I honestly don't think we have been confirmed 100% that

Spoiler

S'yne

is like the other 3 "yet." I honestly feel it would be interesting if it was

Spoiler: Hypothesis

she cares about him because she is some sort of time traveling or frozen in a time capsule ancestor or descendant

.