#orange-kun

When I think of some of the best redemption arcs I’ve seen in fiction, I’m struck by the fact that so many of them are for Ineffectual Sympathetic Starter Villains. There’s Jamack in Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Orange-kun in Code Geass, Tae-jun in Yona of the Dawn, and Yoki in Fullmetal Alchemic. And I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

When writing a redemption arc, the writer needs to really understand what drives the villains to their villanry. For literally all of the above, it’s the desire for power and the willingness to hurt others to obtain that power. (This isn’t the only villain motivation possible, of course, but it’s a tried and true one.) Now, for villains motivated by the desire for power and their willingness to hurt others to obtain that power, three things need to occur for a successful redemption arc.

1.) They need to have a moment (or moment(s)), where they have to take a good hard look at themselves and recognize that they need to change their behavior. For Jamack, it’s when Kipo tells him he needs to do some self-reflection. (And then, later, when she kicks him down that hole.) For Orange-kun, it’s learning that Lelouch and Zero are one in the same. For Tae-jun, it’s him discovering that Yona isn’t dead and him (for the first time in his privileged life) seeing that peasants are a.) people who b.) are lacking basic necessities. Yoki’s is probably the haziest here; it’s less one specific moment and more a gradual change as he finds he has no where else to go except for with Scar. But there are two moments of note here. One is when Yoki emphasizes with Scar’s loss (the first time we see him think of anyone other than himself). And the other, of course, is when he chooses to fight Pride despite the dangers. (To make it clear, this isn’t a criticism of the writing of Yoki in Fullmetal Alchemist. The points I’m describing are a summation. Specific variations are going to occur.)

2.) They need to give up the power they were willing to hurt others to obtain. Jamack joins the theatre, Orange-kun retires to an orange farm (which, in his eyes, has gone from being a Fate Worse Than Death to being a Happy Ending), Tae-jun gives up on trying to force Yona to marry him, and Yoki joins the circus.

3.) They need to be useful. Jamack rescues Kipo and her friends, Orange-kun joins with Zero, Tae-jun improves things in the Fire Tribe and helps Yona prevent a war, and Yoki saves everyone from Pride . (Ineffectual Sympathetic Villains automatically get +10 to competence upon becoming good guys.)

The nature of Starter Villains is that they don’t have to function as villains after the initial story arc. That frees them up to engage in 1.) Self-reflection. It’s exceedingly difficult to have a villain both engage in self-reflection and serve as the primary antagonistic threat at the same time.

The nature of Ineffectual Sympathetic Villains is that they suffer gloriously for our entertainment, which means they basically are halfway to 2.) Giving Up Power just as a matter of course.

So it’s just a matter of writing 3.) Being Useful.

Thus, Ineffectual Sympathetic Starter Villains are primed for redemption arc, simply by their function of being Ineffectual Sympathetic Starter Villains.

There’s something else that works to the benefit of Ineffectual Sympathetic Starter Villains, and that’s that their list of evil deeds usually isn’t too extensive, which comes from a combination of them being incompetent and them only needing to function as villains for a short time. See, the eviler a villain is, the more time needs to be spent on their redemption arc.

Let’s look at other varieties of redemption arcs. Both Tacroy from The Lives of Christopher Chant and Dr. Marcoh from Fullmetal Alchemist have solidly written redemption arcs. And in both cases, they aren’t required to function as the primary antagonistic threat for the duration of the story. Dr. Marcoh’s evil deeds occurred in the past. Tacroy is a minion with too many bosses.

What about villains that are the primary antagonistic threat? Well, if I look at the ones that are well done - Shuri from Basara, Zuko from Avatar: the Last Airbender, and it looks like Scarlemagne from Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts - all of them cease being the primary antagonistic threat at just about the time their redemption arcs kick into gear. And that’s important because, having been the primary antagonistic threat, they require more attention for their redemption arc. Shuri gets ten volumes of content. Zuko gets a solid season and a half. Scarlemagne, it looks like, is getting the third season. (I haven’t finished Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts at the time of writing this.)

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R1 - Episodes 1-3

This was pretty inevitable given the upcoming R3 season: Lelouch of the Revival. However, this is actually a rewatch. I’ve season Code Geass before, however I only watched 12 years ago when fansubs were still a thing and streaming was not lol. So, because I’d watched it originally in Japanese, I decided to rewatch it in English! 

I bought both seasons on Amazon. So, I figured I’d give my thoughts on it now that I’ve had a ten plus year gap on this anime (damn, I feel old!). This honestly feels almost like a new show given how long it’s been, so while I remember most major plot happenings, it’s the little stuff I don’t.

First off, the dub is great. I really like who they chose for the roles and I think they match well. I remember the kerfuffle back when Johnny Yong Bosch was first announced and I know people apparently still think he can’t pull off Lelouch but I think he does quite well. And I also want to say, if you didn’t watch Durarara!! in English, then you definitely missed out on how well Johnny Yong Bosch can do that kind of role that isn’t shonen hero. I know the dialogue is a bit different between the two languages but from what I’ve found out, it’s honestly due to what Lelouch says in Japanese, the way he says things to certain people, is not translatable to English. There’s more to it than that as well and I think people forget that dubbing doesn’t mean strictly translating but also localizing. But, the dubbing conversation is something for another time. Basically, I like the English dub just as much as I like the Japanese. 

Moving on, I’d honestly forgotten how much I enjoyed the music too. I have the soundtrack somewhere on my external and I want to listen to it again in the car lol. It’s beautiful and fitting for a show like this, despite how ridiculously hammy things can get.

Story wise, this is back when anime were normally 24 episodes rather than the recent trend of 12 so it’s moving slower than I am used to but it’s not a bad thing given what I know is coming and I like the pacing. It’s not too slow but it’s not moving too fast. We’re getting little pieces of the puzzle with the plot around Geass and just what Lelouch plans to do. How he’s manipulating Kallen already and keeping himself under the radar of him being Zero. His reaction post Clovis’ murder as also a nice touch and shows he’s pretty human, as is his interactions with Nunnally.

I stopped after Episode 3, where Suzaku is being accused of Clovis’ murder so I’m excited to continue and watch how things play out again. Let me shed a preemptive tear for the true victim on all this...

Jeremiah “Orange” Gottwald. /tear.