Yang Wenli from Legend of the Galactic Heroes
INTP - The Architect (Rational)
Yang Wenli has to be one of my favorite fictional characters of all time; he made the series complete for me. Despite the show being more focused on Reinhard, Yang is arguably the fan favorite character. Yang’s cool, but in an unconventional way. He doesn’t have to be slick like Spike Spiegel or as tough as Motoko Kusanagi; all of his power resides in his head. When he’s not busy napping or drinking tea he’ll command his way out of any situation.
Now that I’m done fanboying over Yang Wenli, let’s begin.
Dominant Function: Introverted Thinking (Ti)
“People need societies, but they don’t necessarily need nations.”
“If the defense of our homeland and self-sacrifice are as necessary as you say, before you tell other people ‘do this and do that,’ how about if you actually do it yourselves?”
Yang Wenli’s logic was highly unorthodox. He rejected the established plans and strategies being used by his superiors and brainstormed his own. His introverted thinking allowed him to see things from all perspectives. Whenever approaching a situation, he didn’t care so much about arriving at a clear result like a Te user would do, he just wanted to issue the most logical command.
Yang Wenli was well known for his trickery, and many of his secrets came from his introverted thinking. Unlike every other commander in the show who loved to charge to their deaths, Yang took a calm, non-confrontational approach to strategy. Not only did this save men’s lives, but he was able to formulate stronger strategies and tactics.
Many of Yang Wenli’s political views also stem from his introverted thinking. He refutes the notion that people need nations to control them (Te), yet he doesn’t throw out the necessity of societies (Fe). He constantly thinks about both factions in the conflict and tinkers with many possibilities for the future.
Auxiliary Function: Extroverted Intuition (Ne)
“Perhaps there is a universal, absolute truth. Perhaps it justifies every question. But that’s beyond the reach of these small hands.”
Yang Wenli didn’t really have social ingenuity, but when his extroverted intuition worked with his introverted thinking, he was able to perform miracles. While his Ti was used to create his own personal methods and strategies, he used his Ne to perform unheard tactics which worked well against his enemies. Remember the episode in which he got the enemy fleet to charge into a black hole? Or when he took Iserlohn by taking the commander hotsage? These aren’t exactly conventional tactics, but they worked.
Whenever Yang is inside his own head, his Ti and Ne work to navigate many ideas and possibilities. His Ne is so strong that he is able to predict most of the show’s events before they happen.
Tertiary Function: Introverted Sensing (Si)
“Humans were drinking alcohol five-thousand years ago, and we’re still drinking it now. Alcohol is humanity’s friend. Can I abandon a friend?”
Yang has a deep affection for history and he lives within the past. He complains a lot that many modern inconveniences could have been avoided if we learned from history. Yang also applies his Si to his strategies and tactics — he creates detailed plans and stragies
Inferior Function: Extroverted Feeling (Fe)
“…I’m Yang Wenli. Pleased to meet you all…”
Yang wasn’t the best public speaker, but he was a polite man. He certainly developed to care more about others than himself. He abhorred meaningless deaths and corrupt politicians that manipulated their populace. He doesn’t really have any personal conviction than an Fi user does — in fact it takes him a while to rebel against anything. He cares more about his friends and their well being than his own.
Alignment: Neutral Good
Yang Wenli sees the benefits and faults of both the FPA and the Empire. He recognizes that even though the FPA is flawed, he’d rather fight for them because they’re democratic and promote freedoms that people in the Empire do not enjoy. Even when the Empire reforms and the Alliance becomes more corrupte, Yang decides to continue fighting for the FPA because he refuses to believe in the long-term benefits of autocracy. He openly criticizes the Alliance government yet he doesn’t go against their orders like a Chaotic Good would.
