Some characters are meant to be terrible human beings.
Some characters are accidentally written as such.
Just because they are terrible doesn’t mean their stories are.
If these terrible characters are someone’s favorites, beware of that person.
Some stories are not about upstanding, inspiring heroes, tragic figures that make us cry, or even characters to sympathize with. Some stories are about the worst of the worst, the scum of the earth we are meant to hate and despise, regardless of how well-written they are — or rather, BECAUSE of how well-written they are.
Though of course, some people still like them, and associate with these characters — like the Joker (Batman), or Rick Sanchez (Rick & Morty) — because of how these characters are “cool” or even “sympathetic”. This is never a good sign of someone’s personality — and of course, there are similar “litmus tests” in anime as well.
Horrible protagonists in amazing works
Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- (Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu) is an isekai about a typical shut-in loser named Subaru. In another world, he immediately sets off to do the most basic Main Hero things most similar stories attempt — except, it’s not that kind of isekai. His only “cheat ability” is resetting to the latest save point after death. And not only does he have to live through the entire death experience, he can’t choose when to reset either. Which means that his expectations are repeatedly dashed, as the cold reality settles in — and he never truly learns from it. He just breaks.
Saga of Tanya the Evil (Youjo Senki) tells us a story of a sociopathic corporate middle manager reborn as a little girl during World War I on an alternate Earth (this time, with magic!). In an attempt to receive a cushy backline office position, she becomes a magic equivalent of an ace pilot, and commits war crimes and atrocities to bring her country a quick victory in what is inevitably turning from WWI to WWII. Which, of course, is never meant to be, since she’s opposed not just by that world’s analog to Entente and karma, but also by a literal God.
Neither of these stories is meant to make you sympathize with the protagonist. Subaru is a pathetic jerk, meant as a deconstruction of a typical isekai protagonist. Tanya is meant to be a direct critique of the meritocratic corporate mindset. Neither are written, nor are meant to be admired.
Horrible protagonists in subpar works
Overlord is a story of Ainz Oal Gown (previously Momonga) — a typical high-level MMO player whose only claim to uniqueness was that he chose a monstrous race to roleplay as. After isekaing as his monstrous player character, the story COULD have been a tragedy or, indeed, a proper villain story where we are supposed to hate and despise its protagonist — except, the author is also doing everything possible to excuse Ainz of any culpability, turning Overlord into a cool fights generator (whenever its bad CGI doesn’t mess things up)
The Rising of the Shield Hero (Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari) tells us about Naofumi Iwatani — an EDGY isekai protagonist who was betrayed once, and went off the deep end. He’s a slave owner, actively using slavery to make his way through the world — and would’ve been a fantastic villain protagonist, if only the story was not hell-bent on telling us that he’s right, over and over again.
In the hands of a more competent writer, both Ainz and Naofumi would’ve blossomed into fantastically despicable, disgusting protagonists — but alas, neither Yusagi Aneko (Shield Hero), nor Kugane Maruyama (Overlord) could ever be called competent writers.
Hate the characters, not the works
Tanya von Degurechaff is a despicable human being. Subaru is a pathetic waste of space with a hero complex. Ainz is an incompetent buffoon. Naofumi is a slaver. Neither, by itself, means that their stories are bad — what matters is the intent behind their writing, and how it’s executed. But either way, if someone tells you that one of these characters — or, indeed, a character written to be a villain protagonist — is their favorite, be very, very careful around that person.
Think about why you like a character.
Summary:
Some characters are meant to be terrible human beings.
Some characters are accidentally written as such.
Just because they are terrible doesn’t mean their stories are.
If these terrible characters are someone’s favorites, beware of that person.
Some stories are not about upstanding, inspiring heroes, tragic figures that make us cry, or even characters to sympathize with. Some stories are about the worst of the worst, the scum of the earth we are meant to hate and despise, regardless of how well-written they are — or rather, BECAUSE of how well-written they are.
Though of course, some people still like them, and associate with these characters — like the Joker (Batman), or Rick Sanchez (Rick & Morty) — because of how these characters are “cool” or even “sympathetic”. This is never a good sign of someone’s personality — and of course, there are similar “litmus tests” in anime as well.
Horrible protagonists in amazing works
Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- (Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu) is an isekai about a typical shut-in loser named Subaru. In another world, he immediately sets off to do the most basic Main Hero things most similar stories attempt — except, it’s not that kind of isekai. His only “cheat ability” is resetting to the latest save point after death. And not only does he have to live through the entire death experience, he can’t choose when to reset either. Which means that his expectations are repeatedly dashed, as the cold reality settles in — and he never truly learns from it. He just breaks.
Saga of Tanya the Evil (Youjo Senki) tells us a story of a sociopathic corporate middle manager reborn as a little girl during World War I on an alternate Earth (this time, with magic!). In an attempt to receive a cushy backline office position, she becomes a magic equivalent of an ace pilot, and commits war crimes and atrocities to bring her country a quick victory in what is inevitably turning from WWI to WWII. Which, of course, is never meant to be, since she’s opposed not just by that world’s analog to Entente and karma, but also by a literal God.
Neither of these stories is meant to make you sympathize with the protagonist. Subaru is a pathetic jerk, meant as a deconstruction of a typical isekai protagonist. Tanya is meant to be a direct critique of the meritocratic corporate mindset. Neither are written, nor are meant to be admired.
Horrible protagonists in subpar works
Overlord is a story of Ainz Oal Gown (previously Momonga) — a typical high-level MMO player whose only claim to uniqueness was that he chose a monstrous race to roleplay as. After isekaing as his monstrous player character, the story COULD have been a tragedy or, indeed, a proper villain story where we are supposed to hate and despise its protagonist — except, the author is also doing everything possible to excuse Ainz of any culpability, turning Overlord into a cool fights generator (whenever its bad CGI doesn’t mess things up)
The Rising of the Shield Hero (Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari) tells us about Naofumi Iwatani — an EDGY isekai protagonist who was betrayed once, and went off the deep end. He’s a slave owner, actively using slavery to make his way through the world — and would’ve been a fantastic villain protagonist, if only the story was not hell-bent on telling us that he’s right, over and over again.
In the hands of a more competent writer, both Ainz and Naofumi would’ve blossomed into fantastically despicable, disgusting protagonists — but alas, neither Yusagi Aneko (Shield Hero), nor Kugane Maruyama (Overlord) could ever be called competent writers.
Hate the characters, not the works
Tanya von Degurechaff is a despicable human being. Subaru is a pathetic waste of space with a hero complex. Ainz is an incompetent buffoon. Naofumi is a slaver. Neither, by itself, means that their stories are bad — what matters is the intent behind their writing, and how it’s executed. But either way, if someone tells you that one of these characters — or, indeed, a character written to be a villain protagonist — is their favorite, be very, very careful around that person.
