KARNOCHERY

i've seen a lot of people put madara into this one specific box: he's either interpreted as a kind, completely just and Sane individual, whose plans were entirely made in goodwill and also would NEEEVER do anything immoral... OR, if he does do something immoral, he's completely justified in those actions, and actually, someone else [USUALLY, for whatever reason, Hashirama] is the true bad guy. i won't disagree fully, it's completely possible to intepret him in a nuanced way, that doesn't entirely focus on his participation in the 4th shinobi war. i'm of the opinion that ignoring these aspects generally water his character down & ruins his purpose as a commentary on war and it's effects on people. if you were to simply pretend madara is pure evil, and that he does what he does out of malice, you would lose the entire significance of the evil of war itself and how it shapes people

yes, to some degree, madara IS compassionate, his plans are not solely selfish. him feeling almost powerless in the constant ebb and flow of war & peace's futility in that regard is Realistic and reflects on his humanity. Yes!!! he can still be empathetic, and generally a caring individual. madara's love for people, for his BROTHER especially, is wholly integral to his story. he needs to have that side of him acknowledged to be a strong narrative tool in the ideology that naruto presents; war is awful and will damage even the kindest of people.

Hhowever. At the same time. pretending madara is incapable of willful cruelty, or worse, is Justified in it, ALSO is detrimental to his character. for as kind and compassionate as he was he is not compassionate anymore. if it's to fullfil his idea of peace – which, 100%, is Not made in good intentions – there is VERY little he wouldn't do to achieve it. madara has always seen power as the ultimate tool for peace; this is reflected in his conversations with ohnoki, with hashirama and later with the shinobi alliance. madara isn't above committing acts of terrorism [that endangered his own people, mind you], traumatizing & grooming children into his cause, and jumpstarting – or at least planning to – domestic wars. he 'assures' that this is for the best, that the world needs to subjugate to his ideals, and in turn spins the wheel of war himself. he hates war, but he lives and breathes it so thoroughly, he isn't opposed to using it to his own benefit

inherently, madara is a hypocrite, powerhungry and Dare I Say delusional. but he can also be understanding, remorseful and empathetic in that same regard. And you know what?? that's what makes his character so, so fun. he's an unreliable narrator to the story, his flawed thinking is so glaringly obvious that it's fun to pick apart at what's ACTUALLY truthful, and what isn't!!! he's a villain and a particularly entertaining one!!! i think many can agree that his visual appeal isn't the only thing that draws them in to his character, so it makes me all the more confused when people make lengthy posts about how he was Totally in the right and he never did anything wrong... i guess it's easier to like characters who are More-redeemable villains; it's easier to take in a character who is only 'mildly flawed' over one whose entire point as a character to have those flaws be glaringly obvious

but then again, it sucks the air out of the sails when it comes to topics about madara, and makes conversation about even Other characters relating to madara. there's no nuance when discussing characters like tobirama, or even hashirama, because there's already an Established Opinion on either characters: tobirama is wholly an oppressive force, who hates uchiha wholeheartedly [← This in Particular Makes Me Wail Like an Old Mad Dog] and hashirama is either another oppessor – although rather dimwitted and unintentional – or he's just. madara's d1 glazer who would Totally back madara fully if it weren't for his pesky evil brother who hates uchiha. it's very, very, VERY difficult to talk about these characters all together without the notion that madara is just clogging up people's minds