Most Sympathetic Antagonist

[kolasis]

There are villains like Akakabuto who are pretty much irredeemable, but there are also villains whose motives you can at least understand, or who you may find yourself rooting for against the heroes.

Which of the bad guys did you feel were as sympathetic as, if not more than, the main characters?

[kolasis]

I'll go first and say that the one I sympathized with the most was Monster/P4. He tried very hard to be loyal to humans, wanted to know how the outside world was like, up until he couldn't take it anymore.

He didn't go chaotic evil, he never went out murdering fellow dogs, only humans. Even while defending himself from the assassins, he hesitated to killing them, even if they are traitors of their own kind in his eyes.

Jerome's only counter-argument was "Killing humans is unforgivable ALWAYS AND FOREVER and dogs must simply endure their cruel masters!!! So you must die!" Shut up, Jerome.

[tenrou]

P4 for sure, Yoshi isn't one for great motivations and backstories so you've gotta fill in some blanks yourself.
He must of felt so throw-away. He protected that research lab and then they go and do something so horrible to him? His only friend was Jerome because no one else wanted anything else to do with him, he was a monster, mostly in body, but eventually in mind too. It's not surprising he went on to kill as much as he did.

Kurojacki. From what we know from GDA, he was just following his ancestors wishes until the very end. So we Akame, I guess, but had the sense to stop after years of nothing being accomplished.

Blue. A good guy who turned bad to survive and got really wrapped up in it but showed his true colours at the very end.

[barneytoad]

i think masamune is somewhat sympathetic. the lengths he went to were inappropriate, but the original cause was very understanding. he worked his entire life to be was terumune wanted, who in turn passed him up for a little puppy. of course i cannot approve of his future behaviours, but his backstory is really sad and relatable.

[18Gingasoldier]

I'd say P4, he had to endure what the scientists did to him for many months, I pity the poor guy. I would have probably snapped too if I spent too much time in pain like P4 did...

[Jazz-chan]

P4 is a definate for me, for reasons already explained by everyone else. I just feel so bad for him considering he didn't ask for any of this, and yeah, no dog should have to simply take abuse like Jerome says.

I'm not entirely sure if they count, but the Kamakiri brothers as well, since they were abandoned by their supposedly nice and kind mother, raised by a garbage father, and had to go around thinking they could be nothing but the exact same as their father. Luckily, they're better now (except for poor Kamajiro...).

[Kuro]

Jun 29, 2017 18:25:34 GMT -7 Jazz-chan said:

P4 is a definate for me, for reasons already explained by everyone else. I just feel so bad for him considering he didn't ask for any of this, and yeah, no dog should have to simply take abuse like Jerome says.

I'm not entirely sure if they count, but the Kamakiri brothers as well, since they were abandoned by their supposedly nice and kind mother, raised by a garbage father, and had to go around thinking they could be nothing but the exact same as their father. Luckily, they're better now (except for poor Kamajiro...).

I wanted to say the kamakiri bros too, but didn't know if they counted or not Even Akakama. Yoshi has some weird sense of humor, but I felt like some of Aka's outbursts must be like some sort of 'he's just a hothead kind of guy' thing. Though it's still messed up to beat around a few months old pup, I guess you got to take what Ginga offers sometimes...

But P4 for sure. In fact, what was his arc's moral?! Don't be angry for being mutated, just be killed by your old friend for betraying the people who deformed you?! Like... it feels sad thinking how beautiful Jerome's relationship was with him, just for him to so easily help kill him. I wish Yoshi made that a different story, unless he meant for it to be tragic. At least Jerome thought about P4 before dying in the anime. It makes it almost worth it, because we know he still shows care for him.

[smiff]

Moral ambiguity? In my Ginga?! It's more common than you think!!!

Ok but in all seriousness... Literally all of the villains besides Akakabuto and seldom few others aren't a black and white 'evil'. I think Masamune is the one I personally find to be the most empathetic, but Hougen/Genba, P4, and even Monsoon are contenders.

[Kuro]

Good point I wanted to say Hougen when he lost Genba, buuttt... they were pretty bad from the start. Even in the dog-cannibal house. Yet, just had a small ping of pity for losing his other half, even if deserved.

[kolasis]

Jun 29, 2017 22:10:20 GMT -7 Kuro said:

But P4 for sure. In fact, what was his arc's moral?! Don't be angry for being mutated, just be killed by your old friend for betraying the people who deformed you?! Like... it feels sad thinking how beautiful Jerome's relationship was with him, just for him to so easily help kill him. I wish Yoshi made that a different story, unless he meant for it to be tragic. At least Jerome thought about P4 before dying in the anime. It makes it almost worth it, because we know he still shows care for him.

I agree, the anime may be getting lots of flack, but at least Jerome felt so much guilt for killing his friend that he self-punished himself by letting the bullet fester his wound, eventually leading to his death. I prefer this version over the manga's to be honest.

Isn't Musamune just a rip-off of the real warlord?