Ask Anime Question of the Week:
Are there any protagonists you know in anime that had the wrong reasons to be the hero but ended up being the good guy? I'm thinking of anti-hero trope here. They were never meant for the hero type of role but their circumstances led them to be one and it worked out in the end.
Rules:
- Comment your answer to the weekly question to this post as an entry.
- Must be in English but you can attach a section for a different language too as long as there is an English section that conveys the same thought.
- Response must not be AI generated. While this can sometimes be a challenge to detect and prove, it's not worth trying because you're being asked to share in your own words.
The Proud Prince of the Saiyajin Vegeta, is a commercial anime but that does not take away the narrative and solid evolution of the character that many anime would like to have as a concept, in that franchise Vegeta at least until Majin Boo because after that he declines (not including GT that I liked there haha), he starts as a villain, lonely, drowned in his selfishness and servitude to Freezer. ... but he ends up being a great Hero for many fans, someone who accepted to have a family, loving and sacrificing himself for them 😭 (Add here celestial sounds of Valhalla)
I agree with you Vegeta could have been the hero on many occasions but I also think that poor Yamcha haha could have been a hero in the dragon balls, well maybe I liked that character more than Goku because Goku was just a child haha
I think Lelouch from Code Geass is the quintessential example of a hero with questionable motives, at first, he sought revenge against Britannia for personal reasons, his leadership of the Black Knights often highlighted his strategic brilliance, but his ruthlessness and willingness to sacrifice lives showed his less-than-human tendencies.
That's totally Hanako-kun from TBHK. At first, I couldn't really trust him because he's shrouded in mystery. There's even one point where I suspected if he's one of the main villains (because who wouldn't if he's always carrying that kitchen knife?)...but it turns out he's one of the MCs, and he's really an adorable character who definitely had a sad and traumatic past. He had all the reasons to be a villain or to haunt and torment people (which he somehow did, lol), but fortunately it worked fine (I guess, but with how manga is faring—I don't if they're fin—shshshhshsh) when he met Yashiro. It started with a whim to save a girl, and it somehow worked with him—hopefully it will work until the end...
For me, Sasuke deserved to be the superhero of the Naruto sagas because Sauke suffered and fought against everyone who hurt him, he is beautiful haha well Sasuke deserved to be the super hero
I can mention one of my favorite characters so far, Guts. His horrible trauma experiences shaped his personality to be a person that falls in the middle of good and bad. He had no reason to be who he is, he's just a product of very unlucky circumstances that at the end lead hi actions to be somewhat beneficial,but being a good hero never has been his goal.
what anime is this girl? 🙂
¡Muchachón! No había visto tu comentario, perdona. Es Berserk. Te recomiendo muchísimo leer el manga, es una historia muy fuerte pero buenísima
I'd say light Yagami from Death Note. At first he was doing the whole world a favour by getting rid of people who are evil inclined but then it just went way over his head and he started abusing the power he had. He had so much potential as a character and I'm glad the creator exploited a huge majority of them.
There is no current event... I hope I'm not writing here too late :D.
I choose Piccolo from DBZ. His character perfectly shows that some people are evil, but they don't want to be like that, despite the beginning of their path. Sometimes it's enough for someone to treat such a person well, to find the good in them, just like Gohan in Piccolo. What religions, science, psychology, internet coaches tell us is also important - find some occupation or a person for whom we will be responsible. Our brain will start to change on its own. Piccolo not only found his first friend in Gohan (a different type of friend than Goku, who started as his rival), but also found his first goal in life, which did not involve destroying something, but building something. Piccolo Daimao was too "buried" in his evil, but Piccolo Jr. knew a slightly different world from his own and from a certain stage he felt subconsciously that destruction did not bring him joy.
Ironically, this character transformation plotline was criticized in DBZ a long time ago, but looking back over a dozen titles, this aspect has aged really well. Usually these transformations happen quite naturally and do not proceed in a binary manner. Moreover, from time to time we see examples of the greyness of this transformation. I say this in the sense that the old personality breaks through to the surface. Sometimes with a positive effect - evil is used for a good purpose. For example, Piccolo can naturally lie that no one suspects him of it.