She is the only one explicitly stated to have killed foreign divers as part of her raids, the title probably is just a fearsome epithet. I suspect she should be fked up by her years(or centuries) in the abyss
@@chenyanhao676 isn't it stated that bondrewd was wanted by foreign countrys but every delver that went after him got dissapeared so they eventualy stop?
@@albertkops2459 Yes, but i think he could have also sacrificed one of his hands in his place and also have gotten away with it, he does have Zoaholic after all
The most clever part of the Bondrewd arc and of the character himself is that in the end, he gives the others exactly what they wanted. He gave Riko's crew their own white whistle- the means to go into the sixth layer and continue their journey. And for Prushka, he arranged for her to go with them, and she also got to satisfy her other wish of helping him with his experiments.
It's kinda like real life, where you go through a traumatizing situation, but if you were given the choice to change it, you wouldn't. Kinda like WW2, it really messes with your morals.
@@LVcatTale >where you go through a traumatizing situation, but if you were given the choice to change it, I work with rape survivors and 100% of them would if given the choice go back and change it....
I absolutely adore his character design. the helmet with its perfect glow is fantastic, along with the tail relic behind him makes him seem inhuman. not to mention his appearance when he becomes a hollow is astounding. Even when his body is no longer human he keeps up appearances.
Really like your video, want to add few notes from myself: 1. Bondrewd went trought exactly same experiments as his victims (I have certain fun reading comments from anime only people, who wish him "elevator himself") and who knows how many deaths. I think his personal experience fucked up him no less than Zoaholic and 10 years in the Abyss; he absolutely lost any sense of mortality and pain. 2. Unlike many other villains, corrupted by "something" he didn't go rampant against the world. And I like how small hints about his past suggest that even pre-zoaholic Bondrewd wasn't a good person. It feels really refreshing after countless stories about good guys going apeshit under demonic/dark/whatever corruption to see a bad guy, who got screwed on many levels by relics and Abyss itself, but didn't become an evil overlord full of evil plans to conquer or destroy everything. 3. His influence on party isn't compeletely negative. Nanachi would've died on the streets, which means no bunny with advanced medical skills to save Riko on 4th Layer (and no whistle for Riko as well) and Reg wouldn't awake his true powers. Probably kids realized it too, because at the end they let him go. (sorry for poor English)
Thanks, glad you liked it :D Yeah, that is true. I have to say, when I first read the manga, I originally thought that Bondrewd had turned evil because he'd experienced the curse of the 6th layer, the loss of humanity, and had just lost his mental humanity, which to an extent could be true. There seems to just be so many little things that have screwed with him, and pushed him from simply being a guy who did some really sketchy shit to a full on villain. I do also like that with Bondrewd, his scope is limited, but that almost makes him all the more terrifying. Sure, he doesn't have plans for world domination, but he has completely dominated the areas of the Abyss he's focused on. And yes, they do manage to grow and develop because of Bondrewd's influence, and in some cases in spite of it. Really it'd add to my point about him embodying a strange idea of duality. Sure, he devastated these children, but he also ended up helping them grow. It's weird, lol
It's pretty obvious that pre-Zoaholic bondrewd was also this ends-justify-the-means amoral/immoral person, considering that you have to be pretty cruel to use the zoaholic, especially on other humans, in the first place.
@@GamingAlgen He can use it. Fact that Bondrew can use his Whistle no matter the body which he uses, with Zoaholic soul machine, gives us interesting look at how powerful of a relic White Whistles actually are, since they basically distinguish SOUL of holder.
More or less, lol. Although, seeing you capitalize the science reminded me of that guy who does those THE SCIENCE OF videos, and now I can't stop laughing at the idea of that guy being the voice of Bondrewd xD
2 years and a bit later, after watching the movie, all I can say is "So much *this*". Bonedrewd was deeply fucking terrifying and fucked up because of how sincere he was in the contrasting traits to his character. The anime forces the fact that such a loving and caring father can be so cold, callous, and fucked up at the same time. The whole thing about the scorpion trap and then being murdered by Riko was calculated so that Prushka would end up loving him enough for the narehate transformation to happen on him. The masks of the Praying Hands, to me, have always given me the feeling of the "esoteric"/"occult". The segmented straight lines and perfect curves gives me the feeling that what's imprinted are runes of some kind, even if they're probably just random. It really reminds me how much that Bonedrewd loves the impossibilities of the Abyss. Contrasting that though, Bonedrewd is the one whose mask is simply a straight line. Pure and direct. A clean partition between equal parts. His mask is something that confers the feeling of "science" to me. Something interesting to note is that the whistle is two of the same hand, and that it makes its sound by rubbing it. Tsukushi was really going hard on the "inhuman" theme on him, as the whistle was made from the original Bonedrewd, showing us how he wasn't truly human in the first place by how his praying hands were warped.
You brought up Riko’s mother at the end. She was always portrayed as some sort of heroic figure but I have my doubts. Why would a mother ask her 12 year old daughter to meet her at the bottom of the abyss? Something that would kill almost anyone and has no chance of returning alive? In my opinion, Riko’s mother either didn’t send the letter, the abyss has warped her mind, or she never really was a good person to begin with.
Nah, I trust habo and leader than Lyza was a good person. Also Ozen speaks very positively of her. There is more to her motives than we know, but this story is only going to get better over time :)
In the third layer, wehen riko and reg get to meet Ozen, Ozen tells them that this note is NOT from Lyza...she even states 'Lyza wouldn't even write this as a joke'... She also explains that it is in relic-writing, not lyzas handwriting, and on a paper even Ozen herself cannot break. Someone or something deep in the abyss has made that note and my theory is either that a white whistle, from the ones we didn't see, may have written it or this note is from an abyss-creature....hell maybe the note wasn't even meant for riko but for reg....who knows
You could say Bondrewds pain is more than they could handle he may be scientifically immortal but he still feels the pain of dying and getting blasted by reg.
@@themustardman219 Doesn't really counter the fact that it was still horrific and agonizing, you act like him being willing somehow minimizes the pain lmao.
The thing that's so terrifying to me about Bondrewd is that he has no ill will for anyone. He never has the classic villain emotional breakdown; even when he's felled by the kids working together, he show genuine admiration for them and wishes them well on the rest of their adventure. Because, even though he's so gentle to others in some circumstances, he's also capable of doing such horrific things in others. So you never know what he'll do, instilling this paranoia.
everything is simply understandable about him when you can think about anything without bringing the moral compass and our sentimentality, he doesn't have a moral limits, he just doesn't think in that way, he simply doing what he doing without thinking if this is good or bad, i'm more interested about if this is the consequences of his mask or he was like that from beginning
I like how Bondrewd was (most likelly) the only one that used himself as the vessel for a White Whistle unlike other delvers that used other people. Ofcourse because of his relic its irrelevant but it was his chocie tto use his original body for the creation of his whistle.
With Ozen considered to be the "strongest" white whistle, and with Bondrewd being Riko's crew's hardest obstacle to cross in their pursuit to the bottom of the abyss by far, imagine how the rest of the white whistles would be like.. 🤔
Personally one of Bondrewd's most interesting aspects is how he serves as an extension of its society as whole, his goals are not all that different from Orth's, still sending kids to their death by using them as the expendable- renewable resource they are, to unravel the misteries of the abyss. From a pragmatic standpoint, his methods just happen to have a higher consumption of lives, but with a significant higher gain. the reason why the 5th layer had become accessible in the first place, is because he established a base there and wiped out most of the hostile wildlife, and the few notes the black and white whistles have about the 6th layer were obtained due the results of his experiments on the curse. I feel that blaming all awful things that happen in the story on his figure is highly hypocritical, when his actions don't speak differently from what Orth is already doing to itself.
To be fair, the story itself is kind of hypocritical. Nanachi tortured a lot of delvers, while trying to figure it how to kill Mitty, but her methods never get criticized. Protagonist's mom killed 12 groups of foreigners and become a hero, somehow Bondrewd's decision to burn flower field after 90(!) days of quarantine was portrayed as act of cruelty. What Bondrewd was doing with orphans is terrible, but it's weird how author overlooks morality of good/main characters. You know, those main characters, who immediately descended to next layer once they got an opportunity and left Bondrewd behind. I can't even say that their "revenge" was productive from moral standpoint, they crippled important researches and made all sacrifices useless, yet their adventure was more important than confidence that he wouldn't repeat the whole shitfest again.
But this is life itself. We almost always decide about actions depending on the benefits for us. And this goes even for whole countries when somebody is a hero for a nation and a monster for another. Sigismund of Luxembourg for example. Neither in manga nor in anime Akihito describes somebody as evil objectively, he does that from perspective of Riko who is highly naive even in terms of her mother who left fer alone since she was two. This is how it should be. To be honest we got a shit ton of new informations about healthcare and illnesses from Nazi and Soviet research which you can call everything but ethical.
@@lanneil3231 The author does not judge any of the characters or their actions. We, however, often do. For starters, there is not even a narrator, except (Liza's voice in the anime) objectively explaining stuff here and there like a documentary); The whole story is told by the characters we met, in order. Riko at first, then Reg (which does not add much because of amnesia), that instructor I forgot the name, then Ozen (flashbacks start to appear) and Nanachi (truth unveiled). It's worth note that Bondrewd is so warped by the Zoaholic that he does not even get flashbacks (lul). The reason why Made in Abyss is so moraly gray isn't for the sake of edgy stuff such as telling how life can be unfair and that no one is truly evil or good and blah blah blah. Rather, cruelty is just portrayed at a visceral level to add weight to what happens in The Abyss. Made in Abyss is an epic odissey about greed, suffering, discovery, progress and humanity. Behind such deep themes, there is no light left to simply judge characters, lest the story not lose impact.
@@TRak598 I don't think that Made in Abyss is morally gray by any means. Reg is clearly Jesus-kun from any shounen anime, who can do no wrong, flawless and perfect, Riko is Purity Sue, who protected by author from any questionable deeds (hence her free White Whistle, which she got without sacirifcing anyone by herself). I used to think it's a deep morally gray story, but since last years I changed my opinion. The futher story goes, the more cliche it gets and it's become more and more obvious how Riko and Reg are classic good guys, who will always win without any effort or losses. I tired from "muh evil man torturing innocent lolis" every layer, I tired from how every heavy morale dilemma is always resolving for Riko in the most easist way by other characters, I hate that story lost ALL impact, because there is no negative consequnces for MC. It's obvious that author likes his main characters too much and made them so superior so anyone.
@@lanneil3231 Bruh, that's each character displaying its morals. Clearly the show has no intention of ever making anyone chose a side, if you did not notice it yet. Good deeds are not rewarded, and evil acts aren't punished, unless they have direct, physical consequences. Karma does not exist. Reg and Riko only "win" because they are the main characters and therefore must survive until nearly the end. Still, they've been paying quite the price in the form of suffering and even mutilation in the case of Reg. What for? Nothing at all. Reg just fits as a lab rat and Riko does stupid stuff (or is straight "unlucky"). That's why Bondrewd is loved by the fandom. There is no effort on villanizing him, the own fact that he is considered a villain is something judged by the readers. Like I said before, good and evil exist, but MiA has no intention to be a classic clash between opposing forces. Morals only exist to build each character, period.
He reminds me of Cave Johnson from the Portal series. If you think about it, they are kinda similar. Both grab homeless people off the streets, then force them (more or less) to do inhuman experiments that 99% of the time result in gruesome deaths. Some of his experiments include turning blood to gasoline, burning people with a jet engine, "disassembling" a live person, teleportation that might not teleport the whole body and placing someone between superconductors for no reason. However, he is generally regarded as a "hero" rather than villain; because in the end, he invented the portal gun. What makes the difference? Is it solely because his lines were read humorously?
Luckily portals story is a bit easier to swallow due to it’s mostly implied these things occurred instead of downright showing you everything. I personally did not need to see regs peen be sucked clean.
Despite being completely irredeemable due to his heinous actions, I could not find myself disliking Bondrewd for the sole reason that he was just so damn friendly. He didn't do any of it with malice, and he seemed to hope that everyone did their best and got what they wanted. Horrible monster? Yes, absolutely. Bad guy? Maybe not.
He did what was necessary. No one calls Oppenheimer irredeemable. He knows something that no one else knows and he is desperately trying to stop some unknown horror from occurring. Likely the secret of the 2000 year mark and what will happen.
My only complie about this video is the lack of Scientific Triumph. On a more serious note, Bondrewd is hands down my favourite anime villain EVER. Everything, from his character design (Awesome mask, THAT black coat and his later fluffyness) to his personality and motivations (Bondrewd did nothing wrong), is just perfect. And I love that we never really see what's beneath the mask, so that he doesn't lose its uncanny feeling. Akihito got some good talent for storytelling. Also, those manga panels felt smooth as fuck since they helped to convey what you were saying. Good job. Also also, I hadn't noticed Bondrewd's presence in pannels on a conscient level before, so nice catch there.
Couldn't agree more with ya man. Well, except for the bondrewd did nothing wrong thing, but, hey, do it for the meme I guess, lol. And thanks! Glad you liked it. Bondrewd's stretched arms in the panels was only something I only barely noticed though on the reread, it's a clever little artistic trick :D
Bondrewd is a monster there is no doubt about that, but the context of the story he isn't as horrific. He just like Riko and all the other whistles but to an extreme level kinda like Turner from Full metal Alchemist. His curiosity to find out the secrets the abyss for a greater knowledge and understanding to find a way to allow humanity to progress and evolve from that knowledge is admirable. However the sick and twisted way that he goes about doing it does not justify the means to the end
the cartridges are one of THE MOST FUCKED UP THINGS i've ever seen in manga, but i agree bondrewd is one of the best villiains ever, trully the definition of a mad scientist
You know, I was originally gonna try and do a series of videos breaking down various villains and why I think they work, but then I realized I was just going out of my way to make an excuse to talk about Bondrewd, so, screw it, lol. Also, let me know how yous think the visuals turned out for this vid. I was a bit wary of making a video about this considering that I would have to be relying purely on manga panels and stuff, but I think it turned out well enough :D
TravenTalks just to let you know the Japanese voice actor of bondrewd is that guy that voices Griffith from berserk and that blond serial killer Kira I think from jojo adventures. Which why fans joke that bondrewd did nothing wrong and been given the draco in leather pants treatment. Interesting that Griffith is a villain that is widely considered a messiah and hero in his world while the other the serial killer in which like other serial killers would do in real life would just fit in society by being a respectable person while killing people when they don't realize their true horrific nature and are sociapath.
TravenTalks there are villains from hero academia especially stain as well as a video character analysis similar toward this video about bondwerd that is on call stain changes everything and you can do these videos on these villians such as as Griffith, Johan liebert from monster and finally legato bluesummer from trigun as well as ladd Russo
Welp i belive he will fix everything . Just dont expect to be rmotional about sacrefices:D (but realy if you look what he acomplish in the manga evertyhing he do is efective lol)
bondrewd is the personification coneptual horror, and the most well written and characterized villain i can possibly imagine. ..and about the most horrifying. i dont think he saved prushka out of affection or even mercy, but for her potential as a subject. everything hints towards it. "a payer can not be born out of those who know nothing but joy. - oh child of sufferung, cursing life itself.. certainly there is something that only you can do." (chapter 37. and yes, i went to check back.) prushka wasnt present in the nanachi flashback, didnt recognize her, and it's left to the imagination how much time has passed since nanachi ran away from bondrewd, but she seems well established. so it's very likely that bondrwed only decided to keep prushka after his truimph of science, and raised her as his own daughter with a clear purpose in mind. ultimately the fight with reg was a most welcome opportunity to get himself killed in front of prushka, just to resurrect and re-inforce her bond, and her dedicaiton to do everything for her daddy - her believe ... before tapping into her potential he had cultivated, to finally receive the blessing of the abyss through her willing sacrifice. a decade of eternity well spent! the novel written between the lines of MiA is a masterclass in subtle storytelling, and there are some details i have yet to make sense of. almost every review or disgussion i see points out some correlation or detail i havent thought about myself yet, or put into the right context. PS: that he hasnt been defeated, but only bypassed after he got what he wanted, only adds to ones feelings towards him.
Man, couldn't have said it better myself. And that perspective on Bondrewd, of him just manipulating Prushka for the sake of his own progress just makes it all the more fucked up, oh god.
Sorry to burst your bubble but he used Prushka to his own benefit. You can read the manga but be warned that you will not come out of there with your whole body intact!!! You will understand the last line after you have gone through the manga.
I read the manga. I think he loved Prushka as a daughter. Just because he destroyed her (as we would see it) doesn't mean he didn't. This is unless I missed some line of dialogue that contradicts it. If so please link and point it out to me. I could also be confused by his general attitude of always being nice to everyone... even as he does things to them.
thanks. traven! the eye-opening piece you have added to my puzzle was just HOW alike riko and bondred are. that seemingly obvious aspect hand't even occured to me untill you pointed it out.
Excellent dissection... However, it's nah-reh-HAH-teh, not nair-hait. Comes from the Japanese phrase 'nare no hate' (成れの果て), meaning 'shadow of one's former self, ruin of what once was' -- apt. ;)
Raphael Taillefer his Japanese voice actor voices griilffith and another mad scientist that has a fatherly relationship with a female protagonist so he probably done nothing bad
It's all fun and games until you realized nutjobs like this really exist. And they seriously think this monster who experimented with countless children and has no qualms is making them suffer has done nothing wrong.
If he lacks empathy, everything he did could be considered from the perspective of someone who was literally just helping Riko and Reg, he presumed the two were coming down and he initiated a progress of premeditating the necessary 'ingredients' needed to create a White Whistle so they could travel deeper, their fight and trauma and bonding and emotions were used to boost the White Whistle and result of the experiment. He more or less did everything as both an experiment, and to assist the main characters, though a part of him that is demented probably does want to hoard the main characters and experiment on them to learn - the other side is that father-figure side where he did what he did knowingly because he presumed 'The Truth' would've been told to them from Ozen, but they weren't - so it would moreso feel like he Forced them, but he somewhat didn't force anyone to do anything, though it may be arguable based on Reg being captured - which may be a result of his 'more curious nature' getting the better of him. Otherwise? People came to him for help, Prushka said she wanted to be of help to him and he made use of her. If Prushka didn't say she wanted to help him in any way - and if she wasn't the best nominee in becoming a White Whistle for Riko, I'm sure she'd still be alive, but no other individual was sane and capable at the time to grow a bond with the main characters to assist in his demented desire to 'help them go deeper in the Abyss'. Zero empathy but pure and morbid curiosity as well as results obtained with side effects like pain, emotions, sadness, meaning nothing to sway him. Prushka only died because Riko and Reg decided to adventure at the time that she'd be the perfect nominee, one could easily argue. If they hadn't arrived - Prushka would either be adventuring with Bondrewd or perhaps would've potentially have been experimented on to also become Blessed like Nanachi, which is why manga-wise they had shown what she'd have been if she'd be Blessed, but, MC's quest to the bottom of the Abyss changed her fate to be of use to MC's rather than what would've been if they never showed up. That's at least how I see it.
Bondrewd arc reminds me of red baron questline from "Witcher 3" [spoiler alert] where if you choose to kill forest spirit that offered you a chance to save orphan cildren, you get better ending not resaulting in your tragic failure in saving baron's family. Children are sacrificed, but your evil choice brings good resaults later on. Same goes with Bondrewd actions, that allowed our heroes to press on. To continue journey a sacrifice was needed and Bonedaddy was the only one who was aware of that. After all he is called "Bondrewd lord of dawn" and if you want to see dawn you need to endure night first. Thats my interpretation of his character - natural evil that don't seek to destroy or corrupt, but is neccesary part of our world (so its not Catholic view of evil but rather Taoism one).
Huh, that's a pretty interesting way to interpret Bondrewd. I love the fact that so many people have been able to get so many different perspectives on him :D
Hah, his arc reminded me of Red Baron quest line from TW3 too, but for different reason: both stories managed to create such an awesome and well written characters, which I can't bring myself to hate despite of their deeds.
Have you heard Rumble of Scientific Triumph from the new OST? Omg I cannot wait to see Idofront fight beautifully animated. And anime-only watchers being completely scarred by the word "cartridge"
Good video. But I think Bondrewd had a bad personality even before getting crazy with the zoaholic. Thats because of his white whistle. All white whistles were people that cared about their users. the reason why they only work with one person. In Bondrewd case his whistle is himself. So he was so egocentric that only himself could love him. He was probably aways a person that only tought about his own things. His cientific advents were made to feed his own curiosity even if some of his exepriments resulted in something that helped the delvers. Also no one does nothing to him not only because he is doing something good for his country or something like this. Just selling relics illegaly to other countrys is probably bad enough to sentence any person for more heroic they could be. Not only to mention that he probably killed and/or transformed a lot of other delvers in his bodies or mindless slaves. But reaching his base is very much impossible for most of people. And if you manage to reach there you will have to face his little army weaponized with tons of relics beyond anyones imagination. If it wasn't for Regs secret power I doubt that even Ozen, Lyza or anyone could win a fight against him in his lair. Anyway, everything you said is very true. Very good toughts on that.
This was a great analysis! I love that you brought up the parallels between Bondrewd and Riko, and also FINALLY someone didn't just pretend that Nanachi is a girl x.x
Re-visiting this video after a while because of your 1K vid. Something I think you can think about when you consider Bondrewd's personality is when he appears in the manga (look at all the panels you took in your vid), he's always standing there with his arms spread-out, almost like he's waiting for a hug.
Yeah, that is true. I think it's a combination of, that pose makes him look bigger and thus more intimidating, while at the same time making him seem warm and inviting . . . it's a weird dichotomy with this guy, lol
Bondrewd's experiments worked, to a degree at least. He is the only white whistle to ever go into the top of sixth layer and emerge unchanged. Between the hope that he cracks the code on the curse of the ascension and how near-impossible it would be to actually kill him or stop him and also the fact that he operated the furthest outpost into the Abyss reachable and even took care of some monsters and other dangers, letting him continue at the price of a couple dozen unwanted children per year was a sensible decision.
Bondrewd has some cool equipment and powers as well. One of the more subtle things is that he made his whistle so that it activates by rubbing on the opening, rather than blowing. Since he’s got the mask on all the time.
he is a good guy. i think his intentions are good to save the population. but he uses this to justify the horrors he does to others. its like the philosopher stone. for such disgusting progress he ignores all compassion to others for ambition and power
Bondrewd gives me some really strong Nazi doctor vibes. During WWII the Nazi doctors committed countless atrocities and did horrible things to the prisoners, using them as guinea pigs. Yet many of them got off the hook because despite all of their crimes they managed to make great discoveries. Bondrewd is the perfect modern example of a monster with no regard for human life when it comes to his work. But no authorities are even thinking of arresting him because his work is too important for the survival of humanity. So they let him do what he wants.
Bondrewd is a great character, but the thing that really makes him stick in my mind as an awesome villain is just his character design. He just looks dope as fuck. Also the scene where they first kill bondrewd and then one of the praying hands puts on his mask and is like "oh yeah I forgot to introduce myself, my name is bondrewd" holy shit its the greatest scene ever
After Bondrewd's conversation with Riko, I think 'irredeemable' is the word suited best to describe the White Whistles. After all getting their namesake requires a human sacrifice. I wonder why Riko afterwards never started to question, how Ozen and Lyza got their whistles. Whom did they sacrifice to get them?
To me, part of bendrewds scare factor also comes from the fact that he, with all of his deeds and sacrifices, never reached beyond the sixth layer. What prevents a man like him, immortalized by his earlier successes from delving much deeper?
Praying Hands is a two-way take on Bondrewd's character, the first tied to the second. First its white whistle, which takes the appearence of hands in a pray, and that shows the second point, which is his (for at the time he was still human) wish for humanity survival in the next great extinction event. Also, remember how ancient corpses are found praying in the face of death; Bondrewd's choice on its order name may also be a hint that, instead of waiting for salvation, it's going to force the way into the Abyss and the misteries permeating the extiction events belonging to the great chasm.
Bondrewd reminds me so much a villain from a show called wakfu. their is Nox the scientist that Exemplifies the idea that the ends justify the means that brought suffering and killed millions believing it would all be fixed once he had gained the necessary amount of energy to undo it all with his time abilities
He is legitimately a great father, no sarcasm, I’m dead serious! Its just once the opportunity for the pursuit of scientific triumph means someone must suffer as an experiment, he will not shy away from doing that to *anyone.* _Even his children._
Maybe, but idk. I usually do my best not to talk about any given series/etc over and over again, although I've thought about potentially, when the manga's over, doing a whole retrospective on it and etc. But, idk, I'll see
He's become my favorite villain ever. From the start I wasn't able to really hate him, the way he never lied and always acted nice... It was weird, I couldn't see him as the horrible person I saw at the end of the second movie. When he started saying the names of everyone he experimented on, I realized how he always cared for them and always thought he was doing a good thing. Damn, even when he was really defeated, he didn't say anything but compliments. And it actually scares me how I think he was never really wrong. I can understand his point, feel disgusted by it and think he wasn't wrong all at the same time. Look at the results those fucked up experiments gave to all the explorers. He's disgusting and useful at the same time, and I still don't really understand it. He confuses me. It's the first character who made me actually confused and is still making me question my morality after a whole day of watching the movie. I can't even tell if I should consider him a villain, if he should be considered evil.
Notice his whistle is two hands clasping? It would be uplifting if not for the orientation. The way he wears it gives the impression of someone forcefully holding another down.
One thing I hope is that you would take a look at Reinhard and Mercurius from the VN Dies Irae. I am asking this due to as far as villains go, they are absolutely depraved, yet like with Bondrewed, have this strange kind of charisma and allure too them. Seriously, many consider those two to be the primary reason to read the VN.
imo the whole society built around Abyss is monstrous and Bondrewd is merely a product of that. nobody in Orth thinks anything of the punishment Riko is given at the orphanage and the kids themselves dont seem to mind much that Rikos room is a converted execution/torture chamber. it isnt until Riko and Reg are actually face to face with the nightmare Bondrewd is and what he does that they really get how off things are. of course there was never any chance of them turning back and even less so after fighting Bondrewd and the loss of Prushka.
I kind of got the vibe that part if people being okay with Bondrewd's actions is because they know or think that at least he's trapped deep enough in the abyss that they can't bring their evil up to the surface. It's not only contained to an extent, but this allows people to ignore and invent a more positive thing of what he does. In a way, that makes him even more terrifying if he is ever ale to escape to the surface again and the realities and dangers he could bring to the unsuspecting populace.
It's funny how Lyza seems to be the only white whistle so far to understand that reaching the bottom is the only real goal inside the abyss. Bondrewd is stuck. And I believe he's aware of it. There's just nothing he can do about it, the only thing he's got left is to press on to bring the world it's dawn, destined to stay within the fifth layer forever, never reaching the bottom of this mystery.
I think that most the other children, he only loved them because that's the condition for the blessing But i think for Nanachi, it's a genuine father-child love. If we think about it from his own mindset, the next logical thing to do with nanachi after they're furrified is to dissect and experiment on them. But he didn't. He let them do whatever the fuck they want. He could have easily mind controlled Nanachi into one of the Praying Hands but he didnt. He only pleaded for Nanachi to work with him(altho his "plead" is more like blackmailing). Heck dude even mutter the effort to wish them bon voyage when his perfect body was dying. The above detail, the detail that he had put himself through the same experiments and the detail that his end goal produce positive results for society as whole. Those 3 details give him a shred of humanity and differentiate him from just "this guy's cray cray" type of villian
Well, now i am here 2 years after reading the chapters, having just gotten the chance to watch the Dawn of the deep soul film. It really adapted these chapters, and Bondrewd really well
Are the post-anime sections clearly marked? I'd like to be able to watch this before either a second season comes out or I bite the bullet and continue with the manga if possible.
I think it's worth noting that Lyza is the only lord with an explicitly violent title.
True. Maybe she'll end up being fine? Like, maybe it's a thing of don't judge a book by its cover? *shrugs*
She is the only one explicitly stated to have killed foreign divers as part of her raids, the title probably is just a fearsome epithet. I suspect she should be fked up by her years(or centuries) in the abyss
@@chenyanhao676 isn't it stated that bondrewd was wanted by foreign countrys but every delver that went after him got dissapeared so they eventualy stop?
I hope she's an even worse monster than bondrewd
@@albertkops2459
Yes, but i think he could have also sacrificed one of his hands in his place and also have gotten away with it, he does have Zoaholic after all
"When life gives you lemons, make cartridges" -Bondrewd
Coinbeggar Oh boy !! 😂😂
Oya oya
Bondrewd: Ultimately, I got maimed by *EVERYTHING.*
Hmm i sould try that
Oh my fucking god. That’s amazing
The most clever part of the Bondrewd arc and of the character himself is that in the end, he gives the others exactly what they wanted. He gave Riko's crew their own white whistle- the means to go into the sixth layer and continue their journey. And for Prushka, he arranged for her to go with them, and she also got to satisfy her other wish of helping him with his experiments.
In a twisted sense, Bondrewd is both the Hero and anti-hero of his arc
@@savagecabbage9850 that's why he's best dad
@@teakix6366 Bondrewd: even when he's bad, he is the best.
It's kinda like real life, where you go through a traumatizing situation, but if you were given the choice to change it, you wouldn't. Kinda like WW2, it really messes with your morals.
@@LVcatTale >where you go through a traumatizing situation, but if you were given the choice to change it,
I work with rape survivors and 100% of them would if given the choice go back and change it....
Oh, come on! He helped his daughter become a white whistle.
good one
Well that's a plus
Best daddy
Ahhh I see what you did there 😏
He pulled a genie move with that wish.
I absolutely adore his character design. the helmet with its perfect glow is fantastic, along with the tail relic behind him makes him seem inhuman. not to mention his appearance when he becomes a hollow is astounding. Even when his body is no longer human he keeps up appearances.
Agreed. I personally just love the perfectly uncanny nature of his appearance :D
Just because you don't look good doesn't mean your looks should be abandoned.
The scientific triumph panel was so epic, dude.
To be honest he already seemed inhuman even before the tail. The tail just made him look like a furry beta.
The helmet reminds me of excalibur from warframe for some reason
Prushka: "Papa! I hope I can become a White Whistle one day!"
Bondrewd: "I think I can make that happen, Prushka."
Really like your video, want to add few notes from myself:
1. Bondrewd went trought exactly same experiments as his victims (I have certain fun reading comments from anime only people, who wish him "elevator himself") and who knows how many deaths. I think his personal experience fucked up him no less than Zoaholic and 10 years in the Abyss; he absolutely lost any sense of mortality and pain.
2. Unlike many other villains, corrupted by "something" he didn't go rampant against the world. And I like how small hints about his past suggest that even pre-zoaholic Bondrewd wasn't a good person. It feels really refreshing after countless stories about good guys going apeshit under demonic/dark/whatever corruption to see a bad guy, who got screwed on many levels by relics and Abyss itself, but didn't become an evil overlord full of evil plans to conquer or destroy everything.
3. His influence on party isn't compeletely negative. Nanachi would've died on the streets, which means no bunny with advanced medical skills to save Riko on 4th Layer (and no whistle for Riko as well) and Reg wouldn't awake his true powers. Probably kids realized it too, because at the end they let him go.
(sorry for poor English)
Thanks, glad you liked it :D
Yeah, that is true. I have to say, when I first read the manga, I originally thought that Bondrewd had turned evil because he'd experienced the curse of the 6th layer, the loss of humanity, and had just lost his mental humanity, which to an extent could be true. There seems to just be so many little things that have screwed with him, and pushed him from simply being a guy who did some really sketchy shit to a full on villain.
I do also like that with Bondrewd, his scope is limited, but that almost makes him all the more terrifying. Sure, he doesn't have plans for world domination, but he has completely dominated the areas of the Abyss he's focused on.
And yes, they do manage to grow and develop because of Bondrewd's influence, and in some cases in spite of it. Really it'd add to my point about him embodying a strange idea of duality. Sure, he devastated these children, but he also ended up helping them grow. It's weird, lol
It's pretty obvious that pre-Zoaholic bondrewd was also this ends-justify-the-means amoral/immoral person, considering that you have to be pretty cruel to use the zoaholic, especially on other humans, in the first place.
His white wissle is his own heart,which sadly he can't use after reviving through the relic
@@GamingAlgen He can use it.
Fact that Bondrew can use his Whistle no matter the body which he uses, with Zoaholic soul machine, gives us interesting look at how powerful of a relic White Whistles actually are, since they basically distinguish SOUL of holder.
.
Nice video.
Best Dad's moral compass was replaced with pure SCIENCE.
More or less, lol.
Although, seeing you capitalize the science reminded me of that guy who does those THE SCIENCE OF videos, and now I can't stop laughing at the idea of that guy being the voice of Bondrewd xD
The science got to his head after to many explanations
@@TravenTalks
Austin of Shoddycast and Game Theory?
Exactly!
2 years and a bit later, after watching the movie, all I can say is "So much *this*".
Bonedrewd was deeply fucking terrifying and fucked up because of how sincere he was in the contrasting traits to his character. The anime forces the fact that such a loving and caring father can be so cold, callous, and fucked up at the same time. The whole thing about the scorpion trap and then being murdered by Riko was calculated so that Prushka would end up loving him enough for the narehate transformation to happen on him.
The masks of the Praying Hands, to me, have always given me the feeling of the "esoteric"/"occult". The segmented straight lines and perfect curves gives me the feeling that what's imprinted are runes of some kind, even if they're probably just random. It really reminds me how much that Bonedrewd loves the impossibilities of the Abyss.
Contrasting that though, Bonedrewd is the one whose mask is simply a straight line. Pure and direct. A clean partition between equal parts. His mask is something that confers the feeling of "science" to me.
Something interesting to note is that the whistle is two of the same hand, and that it makes its sound by rubbing it. Tsukushi was really going hard on the "inhuman" theme on him, as the whistle was made from the original Bonedrewd, showing us how he wasn't truly human in the first place by how his praying hands were warped.
He's a truly man of science after all, he'd go to any length to discover the secrets of the Abyss
"When life gives you children, make some soup"
~akihito tsukuchi
You brought up Riko’s mother at the end. She was always portrayed as some sort of heroic figure but I have my doubts. Why would a mother ask her 12 year old daughter to meet her at the bottom of the abyss? Something that would kill almost anyone and has no chance of returning alive? In my opinion, Riko’s mother either didn’t send the letter, the abyss has warped her mind, or she never really was a good person to begin with.
Nah, I trust habo and leader than Lyza was a good person. Also Ozen speaks very positively of her. There is more to her motives than we know, but this story is only going to get better over time :)
That note didn't even feature Lyza's handwriting tho????
In the third layer, wehen riko and reg get to meet Ozen, Ozen tells them that this note is NOT from Lyza...she even states 'Lyza wouldn't even write this as a joke'...
She also explains that it is in relic-writing, not lyzas handwriting, and on a paper even Ozen herself cannot break.
Someone or something deep in the abyss has made that note and my theory is either that a white whistle, from the ones we didn't see, may have written it or this note is from an abyss-creature....hell maybe the note wasn't even meant for riko but for reg....who knows
What are you talking about? Ozen tells Riko that Lyza didn't write that early on
Her mother wasn't the one who wrote that note telling her to meet her at the bottom, right? It wasn't her handwriting.
Everyone: "Don't this bastard know the pain and suffering he puts those poor kids through!?"
Bondrewd: *Laughs in Zoaholic*
not to mention horrifically experimented on himself to create his own white whistle.
Yeah, well he was willing.
You could say Bondrewds pain is more than they could handle he may be scientifically immortal but he still feels the pain of dying and getting blasted by reg.
@@themustardman219 Doesn't really counter the fact that it was still horrific and agonizing, you act like him being willing somehow minimizes the pain lmao.
@@mrreyes5004 yeah but he was probably way more capable of handling it than the average person, and probably was numb to it after a while
The thing that's so terrifying to me about Bondrewd is that he has no ill will for anyone. He never has the classic villain emotional breakdown; even when he's felled by the kids working together, he show genuine admiration for them and wishes them well on the rest of their adventure. Because, even though he's so gentle to others in some circumstances, he's also capable of doing such horrific things in others. So you never know what he'll do, instilling this paranoia.
everything is simply understandable about him when you can think about anything without bringing the moral compass and our sentimentality, he doesn't have a moral limits, he just doesn't think in that way, he simply doing what he doing without thinking if this is good or bad, i'm more interested about if this is the consequences of his mask or he was like that from beginning
Bondrewd's character becomes much easier to understand when you watch him for the second time and realize that everything he says is genuine.
*Rumble of Scientific Triumph*
I like how Bondrewd was (most likelly) the only one that used himself as the vessel for a White Whistle unlike other delvers that used other people. Ofcourse because of his relic its irrelevant but it was his chocie tto use his original body for the creation of his whistle.
It’s such a massive flex
With Ozen considered to be the "strongest" white whistle, and with Bondrewd being Riko's crew's hardest obstacle to cross in their pursuit to the bottom of the abyss by far, imagine how the rest of the white whistles would be like.. 🤔
Personally one of Bondrewd's most interesting aspects is how he serves as an extension of its society as whole, his goals are not all that different from Orth's, still sending kids to their death by using them as the expendable- renewable resource they are, to unravel the misteries of the abyss.
From a pragmatic standpoint, his methods just happen to have a higher consumption of lives, but with a significant higher gain.
the reason why the 5th layer had become accessible in the first place, is because he established a base there and wiped out most of the hostile wildlife, and the few notes the black and white whistles have about the 6th layer were obtained due the results of his experiments on the curse.
I feel that blaming all awful things that happen in the story on his figure is highly hypocritical, when his actions don't speak differently from what Orth is already doing to itself.
To be fair, the story itself is kind of hypocritical. Nanachi tortured a lot of delvers, while trying to figure it how to kill Mitty, but her methods never get criticized. Protagonist's mom killed 12 groups of foreigners and become a hero, somehow Bondrewd's decision to burn flower field after 90(!) days of quarantine was portrayed as act of cruelty. What Bondrewd was doing with orphans is terrible, but it's weird how author overlooks morality of good/main characters. You know, those main characters, who immediately descended to next layer once they got an opportunity and left Bondrewd behind. I can't even say that their "revenge" was productive from moral standpoint, they crippled important researches and made all sacrifices useless, yet their adventure was more important than confidence that he wouldn't repeat the whole shitfest again.
But this is life itself. We almost always decide about actions depending on the benefits for us. And this goes even for whole countries when somebody is a hero for a nation and a monster for another. Sigismund of Luxembourg for example. Neither in manga nor in anime Akihito describes somebody as evil objectively, he does that from perspective of Riko who is highly naive even in terms of her mother who left fer alone since she was two. This is how it should be. To be honest we got a shit ton of new informations about healthcare and illnesses from Nazi and Soviet research which you can call everything but ethical.
@@lanneil3231 The author does not judge any of the characters or their actions. We, however, often do.
For starters, there is not even a narrator, except (Liza's voice in the anime) objectively explaining stuff here and there like a documentary); The whole story is told by the characters we met, in order. Riko at first, then Reg (which does not add much because of amnesia), that instructor I forgot the name, then Ozen (flashbacks start to appear) and Nanachi (truth unveiled). It's worth note that Bondrewd is so warped by the Zoaholic that he does not even get flashbacks (lul).
The reason why Made in Abyss is so moraly gray isn't for the sake of edgy stuff such as telling how life can be unfair and that no one is truly evil or good and blah blah blah. Rather, cruelty is just portrayed at a visceral level to add weight to what happens in The Abyss.
Made in Abyss is an epic odissey about greed, suffering, discovery, progress and humanity. Behind such deep themes, there is no light left to simply judge characters, lest the story not lose impact.
@@TRak598 I don't think that Made in Abyss is morally gray by any means. Reg is clearly Jesus-kun from any shounen anime, who can do no wrong, flawless and perfect, Riko is Purity Sue, who protected by author from any questionable deeds (hence her free White Whistle, which she got without sacirifcing anyone by herself). I used to think it's a deep morally gray story, but since last years I changed my opinion. The futher story goes, the more cliche it gets and it's become more and more obvious how Riko and Reg are classic good guys, who will always win without any effort or losses. I tired from "muh evil man torturing innocent lolis" every layer, I tired from how every heavy morale dilemma is always resolving for Riko in the most easist way by other characters, I hate that story lost ALL impact, because there is no negative consequnces for MC.
It's obvious that author likes his main characters too much and made them so superior so anyone.
@@lanneil3231 Bruh, that's each character displaying its morals. Clearly the show has no intention of ever making anyone chose a side, if you did not notice it yet. Good deeds are not rewarded, and evil acts aren't punished, unless they have direct, physical consequences. Karma does not exist.
Reg and Riko only "win" because they are the main characters and therefore must survive until nearly the end. Still, they've been paying quite the price in the form of suffering and even mutilation in the case of Reg. What for? Nothing at all. Reg just fits as a lab rat and Riko does stupid stuff (or is straight "unlucky").
That's why Bondrewd is loved by the fandom. There is no effort on villanizing him, the own fact that he is considered a villain is something judged by the readers.
Like I said before, good and evil exist, but MiA has no intention to be a classic clash between opposing forces. Morals only exist to build each character, period.
He reminds me of Cave Johnson from the Portal series.
If you think about it, they are kinda similar.
Both grab homeless people off the streets, then force them (more or less) to do inhuman experiments that 99% of the time result in gruesome deaths.
Some of his experiments include turning blood to gasoline, burning people with a jet engine, "disassembling" a live person, teleportation that might not teleport the whole body and placing someone between superconductors for no reason.
However, he is generally regarded as a "hero" rather than villain; because in the end, he invented the portal gun.
What makes the difference? Is it solely because his lines were read humorously?
Because he plans to make explodable lemons
@@abelkoh2723 and we are back to the square first, "When life gives you lemons, make cartridges" -Bondrewd
Dont forget mixing human dna with that of praying mantises.
Luckily portals story is a bit easier to swallow due to it’s mostly implied these things occurred instead of downright showing you everything. I personally did not need to see regs peen be sucked clean.
Despite being completely irredeemable due to his heinous actions, I could not find myself disliking Bondrewd for the sole reason that he was just so damn friendly. He didn't do any of it with malice, and he seemed to hope that everyone did their best and got what they wanted. Horrible monster? Yes, absolutely. Bad guy? Maybe not.
He did what was necessary. No one calls Oppenheimer irredeemable. He knows something that no one else knows and he is desperately trying to stop some unknown horror from occurring. Likely the secret of the 2000 year mark and what will happen.
he's a bad guy but that doesn't mean he's a bad guy
My only complie about this video is the lack of Scientific Triumph.
On a more serious note, Bondrewd is hands down my favourite anime villain EVER. Everything, from his character design (Awesome mask, THAT black coat and his later fluffyness) to his personality and motivations (Bondrewd did nothing wrong), is just perfect. And I love that we never really see what's beneath the mask, so that he doesn't lose its uncanny feeling. Akihito got some good talent for storytelling.
Also, those manga panels felt smooth as fuck since they helped to convey what you were saying. Good job.
Also also, I hadn't noticed Bondrewd's presence in pannels on a conscient level before, so nice catch there.
Couldn't agree more with ya man. Well, except for the bondrewd did nothing wrong thing, but, hey, do it for the meme I guess, lol.
And thanks! Glad you liked it. Bondrewd's stretched arms in the panels was only something I only barely noticed though on the reread, it's a clever little artistic trick :D
I didn't have a problem with the way you integrated the manga panels. Overall a good video.
Sweet, good to hear. Just worried that at times it'd feel static, lol.
And thanks man :D
Bondrewd is a monster there is no doubt about that, but the context of the story he isn't as horrific. He just like Riko and all the other whistles but to an extreme level kinda like Turner from Full metal Alchemist. His curiosity to find out the secrets the abyss for a greater knowledge and understanding to find a way to allow humanity to progress and evolve from that knowledge is admirable. However the sick and twisted way that he goes about doing it does not justify the means to the end
It does justify
the cartridges are one of THE MOST FUCKED UP THINGS i've ever seen in manga, but i agree bondrewd is one of the best villiains ever, trully the definition of a mad scientist
I love seeing people talk about made in abyss, especially best dad. I wish more people knew and watched the show
i know right? I feel as though it didn't get the attention it deserved, but at least people find it and fall in love with it every day.
You know, I was originally gonna try and do a series of videos breaking down various villains and why I think they work, but then I realized I was just going out of my way to make an excuse to talk about Bondrewd, so, screw it, lol.
Also, let me know how yous think the visuals turned out for this vid. I was a bit wary of making a video about this considering that I would have to be relying purely on manga panels and stuff, but I think it turned out well enough :D
TravenTalks do it
TravenTalks just to let you know the Japanese voice actor of bondrewd is that guy that voices Griffith from berserk and that blond serial killer Kira I think from jojo adventures. Which why fans joke that bondrewd did nothing wrong and been given the draco in leather pants treatment. Interesting that Griffith is a villain that is widely considered a messiah and hero in his world while the other the serial killer in which like other serial killers would do in real life would just fit in society by being a respectable person while killing people when they don't realize their true horrific nature and are sociapath.
TravenTalks there are villains from hero academia especially stain as well as a video character analysis similar toward this video about bondwerd that is on call stain changes everything and you can do these videos on these villians such as as Griffith, Johan liebert from monster and finally legato bluesummer from trigun as well as ladd Russo
Handsome Jack from the Borderlands is also an interesting villain, although in a completely different way from Bondrewd
Vote for Bondrewd for next president in 2020
Welp i belive he will fix everything . Just dont expect to be rmotional about sacrefices:D (but realy if you look what he acomplish in the manga evertyhing he do is efective lol)
Make sure you don’t use elevators. No one wants to be a blobby thing....or worse, Furries!
@@brianpola8183 i choose rather to be a furrie then a blob
I can see it now
"Brondrewd 2020 -We already fell off the cliff, might as well swandive, right?"
Bondrewd champion,
He will fix science
That have gone
How to survive the abyss 101: dont go down and sell figurines at the surface.
bondrewd is the personification coneptual horror, and the most well written and characterized villain i can possibly imagine. ..and about the most horrifying.
i dont think he saved prushka out of affection or even mercy, but for her potential as a subject. everything hints towards it. "a payer can not be born out of those who know nothing but joy. - oh child of sufferung, cursing life itself.. certainly there is something that only you can do." (chapter 37. and yes, i went to check back.)
prushka wasnt present in the nanachi flashback, didnt recognize her, and it's left to the imagination how much time has passed since nanachi ran away from bondrewd, but she seems well established. so it's very likely that bondrwed only decided to keep prushka after his truimph of science, and raised her as his own daughter with a clear purpose in mind. ultimately the fight with reg was a most welcome opportunity to get himself killed in front of prushka, just to resurrect and re-inforce her bond, and her dedicaiton to do everything for her daddy - her believe ... before tapping into her potential he had cultivated, to finally receive the blessing of the abyss through her willing sacrifice. a decade of eternity well spent!
the novel written between the lines of MiA is a masterclass in subtle storytelling, and there are some details i have yet to make sense of. almost every review or disgussion i see points out some correlation or detail i havent thought about myself yet, or put into the right context.
PS: that he hasnt been defeated, but only bypassed after he got what he wanted, only adds to ones feelings towards him.
Man, couldn't have said it better myself. And that perspective on Bondrewd, of him just manipulating Prushka for the sake of his own progress just makes it all the more fucked up, oh god.
I agree that he manipulated things for his own benefit. But at the same time I believe that he did actually love Prushka.
Sorry to burst your bubble but he used Prushka to his own benefit.
You can read the manga but be warned that you will not come out of there with your whole body intact!!!
You will understand the last line after you have gone through the manga.
I read the manga. I think he loved Prushka as a daughter. Just because he destroyed her (as we would see it) doesn't mean he didn't.
This is unless I missed some line of dialogue that contradicts it. If so please link and point it out to me.
I could also be confused by his general attitude of always being nice to everyone... even as he does things to them.
thanks. traven! the eye-opening piece you have added to my puzzle was just HOW alike riko and bondred are. that seemingly obvious aspect hand't even occured to me untill you pointed it out.
Excellent dissection...
However, it's nah-reh-HAH-teh, not nair-hait. Comes from the Japanese phrase 'nare no hate' (成れの果て), meaning 'shadow of one's former self, ruin of what once was' -- apt. ;)
remember Bondrewd did nothing wrong
*begrudged mumbling* xD
Raphael Taillefer his Japanese voice actor voices griilffith and another mad scientist that has a fatherly relationship with a female protagonist so he probably done nothing bad
such a cancer.
It's all fun and games until you realized nutjobs like this really exist. And they seriously think this monster who experimented with countless children and has no qualms is making them suffer has done nothing wrong.
@@marvelousmeh2077 tbh He only did what he did because he lost his mind after dying so many times and being revived by relics
Bondrewd... the Novel? That's not a book, that's a guy!
I'd read a Bondrewd Novel
Novel as in unique or new.
that's not a guy, that's an eldritch entity
If he lacks empathy, everything he did could be considered from the perspective of someone who was literally just helping Riko and Reg, he presumed the two were coming down and he initiated a progress of premeditating the necessary 'ingredients' needed to create a White Whistle so they could travel deeper, their fight and trauma and bonding and emotions were used to boost the White Whistle and result of the experiment. He more or less did everything as both an experiment, and to assist the main characters, though a part of him that is demented probably does want to hoard the main characters and experiment on them to learn - the other side is that father-figure side where he did what he did knowingly because he presumed 'The Truth' would've been told to them from Ozen, but they weren't - so it would moreso feel like he Forced them, but he somewhat didn't force anyone to do anything, though it may be arguable based on Reg being captured - which may be a result of his 'more curious nature' getting the better of him. Otherwise? People came to him for help, Prushka said she wanted to be of help to him and he made use of her.
If Prushka didn't say she wanted to help him in any way - and if she wasn't the best nominee in becoming a White Whistle for Riko, I'm sure she'd still be alive, but no other individual was sane and capable at the time to grow a bond with the main characters to assist in his demented desire to 'help them go deeper in the Abyss'. Zero empathy but pure and morbid curiosity as well as results obtained with side effects like pain, emotions, sadness, meaning nothing to sway him. Prushka only died because Riko and Reg decided to adventure at the time that she'd be the perfect nominee, one could easily argue. If they hadn't arrived - Prushka would either be adventuring with Bondrewd or perhaps would've potentially have been experimented on to also become Blessed like Nanachi, which is why manga-wise they had shown what she'd have been if she'd be Blessed, but, MC's quest to the bottom of the Abyss changed her fate to be of use to MC's rather than what would've been if they never showed up. That's at least how I see it.
Bondrewd arc reminds me of red baron questline from "Witcher 3" [spoiler alert] where if you choose to kill forest spirit that offered you a chance to save orphan cildren, you get better ending not resaulting in your tragic failure in saving baron's family. Children are sacrificed, but your evil choice brings good resaults later on. Same goes with Bondrewd actions, that allowed our heroes to press on. To continue journey a sacrifice was needed and Bonedaddy was the only one who was aware of that. After all he is called "Bondrewd lord of dawn" and if you want to see dawn you need to endure night first. Thats my interpretation of his character - natural evil that don't seek to destroy or corrupt, but is neccesary part of our world (so its not Catholic view of evil but rather Taoism one).
Huh, that's a pretty interesting way to interpret Bondrewd. I love the fact that so many people have been able to get so many different perspectives on him :D
Hah, his arc reminded me of Red Baron quest line from TW3 too, but for different reason: both stories managed to create such an awesome and well written characters, which I can't bring myself to hate despite of their deeds.
Honestly when a dude's custom whistle is a pair of clasped skeletal hands you know he's on some shit.
Have you heard Rumble of Scientific Triumph from the new OST? Omg I cannot wait to see Idofront fight beautifully animated. And anime-only watchers being completely scarred by the word "cartridge"
This was very well done, one of the best character analysis I’ve seen on this manga. 💜💜💜
This video deserves a million views
Amazing quality
Cant wait for the 2nd season to see Bondrewd Fight in full animation.
Well done analysis. You did great with the parallels with Riko and the nuances of Bondrewd's character.
Good video. But I think Bondrewd had a bad personality even before getting crazy with the zoaholic. Thats because of his white whistle. All white whistles were people that cared about their users. the reason why they only work with one person. In Bondrewd case his whistle is himself. So he was so egocentric that only himself could love him. He was probably aways a person that only tought about his own things. His cientific advents were made to feed his own curiosity even if some of his exepriments resulted in something that helped the delvers. Also no one does nothing to him not only because he is doing something good for his country or something like this. Just selling relics illegaly to other countrys is probably bad enough to sentence any person for more heroic they could be. Not only to mention that he probably killed and/or transformed a lot of other delvers in his bodies or mindless slaves. But reaching his base is very much impossible for most of people. And if you manage to reach there you will have to face his little army weaponized with tons of relics beyond anyones imagination. If it wasn't for Regs secret power I doubt that even Ozen, Lyza or anyone could win a fight against him in his lair. Anyway, everything you said is very true. Very good toughts on that.
Bondrewd did nothing wrong.
And yes I hate this guy as I think he's a great villain.
This was a great analysis! I love that you brought up the parallels between Bondrewd and Riko, and also FINALLY someone didn't just pretend that Nanachi is a girl x.x
Re-visiting this video after a while because of your 1K vid. Something I think you can think about when you consider Bondrewd's personality is when he appears in the manga (look at all the panels you took in your vid), he's always standing there with his arms spread-out, almost like he's waiting for a hug.
Yeah, that is true. I think it's a combination of, that pose makes him look bigger and thus more intimidating, while at the same time making him seem warm and inviting . . . it's a weird dichotomy with this guy, lol
So he is following Abridged Alucard advice.
Bondrewd's experiments worked, to a degree at least. He is the only white whistle to ever go into the top of sixth layer and emerge unchanged. Between the hope that he cracks the code on the curse of the ascension and how near-impossible it would be to actually kill him or stop him and also the fact that he operated the furthest outpost into the Abyss reachable and even took care of some monsters and other dangers, letting him continue at the price of a couple dozen unwanted children per year was a sensible decision.
Bondrewd has some cool equipment and powers as well. One of the more subtle things is that he made his whistle so that it activates by rubbing on the opening, rather than blowing. Since he’s got the mask on all the time.
*BEAUTIFUL*
Mitty Screaming
*Absolutely Beautiful*
Bondrewd is my favorite antagonist because he has a cool hat
Excellent analysis of an amazing villain!
he is a good guy. i think his intentions are good to save the population. but he uses this to justify the horrors he does to others. its like the philosopher stone. for such disgusting progress he ignores all compassion to others for ambition and power
Bondrewd gives me some really strong Nazi doctor vibes. During WWII the Nazi doctors committed countless atrocities and did horrible things to the prisoners, using them as guinea pigs. Yet many of them got off the hook because despite all of their crimes they managed to make great discoveries. Bondrewd is the perfect modern example of a monster with no regard for human life when it comes to his work. But no authorities are even thinking of arresting him because his work is too important for the survival of humanity. So they let him do what he wants.
I think the best villains are the ones That had good intentions in the beginning that way you can see The slow change into evil
Yeah that's a pretty cool way to go about it. Has the whole tragic hero sort of aspect to it that makes it really interesting :D
Bondrewd is a great character, but the thing that really makes him stick in my mind as an awesome villain is just his character design. He just looks dope as fuck. Also the scene where they first kill bondrewd and then one of the praying hands puts on his mask and is like "oh yeah I forgot to introduce myself, my name is bondrewd" holy shit its the greatest scene ever
After Bondrewd's conversation with Riko, I think 'irredeemable' is the word suited best to describe the White Whistles. After all getting their namesake requires a human sacrifice. I wonder why Riko afterwards never started to question, how Ozen and Lyza got their whistles. Whom did they sacrifice to get them?
I really love bondrewd's duality, even when I first encountered him, there's this feeling of both dread and comfort
To me, part of bendrewds scare factor also comes from the fact that he, with all of his deeds and sacrifices, never reached beyond the sixth layer. What prevents a man like him, immortalized by his earlier successes from delving much deeper?
"almost casually tortures and experiments on orphan children"
Praying Hands is a two-way take on Bondrewd's character, the first tied to the second. First its white whistle, which takes the appearence of hands in a pray, and that shows the second point, which is his (for at the time he was still human) wish for humanity survival in the next great extinction event.
Also, remember how ancient corpses are found praying in the face of death; Bondrewd's choice on its order name may also be a hint that, instead of waiting for salvation, it's going to force the way into the Abyss and the misteries permeating the extiction events belonging to the great chasm.
Bondrewd reminds me so much a villain from a show called wakfu. their is Nox the scientist that Exemplifies the idea that the ends justify the means that brought suffering and killed millions believing it would all be fixed once he had gained the necessary amount of energy to undo it all with his time abilities
YES, yes thank you for touching on this, no wonder he felt so familiar!
Omg mitty's transformation in the anime was something i dont want to see again but the manga? Oh God that is the stuff of nightmares!!!
He is legitimately a great father, no sarcasm, I’m dead serious! Its just once the opportunity for the pursuit of scientific triumph means someone must suffer as an experiment, he will not shy away from doing that to *anyone.* _Even his children._
one of my favorite anime villains
Jesus this was a damn good video
Goddamn this was a wonderful video!
The only comment who didn't get a like by TravenTalks smh
I only recently learned of this manga/anime, but subscribed as soon as the video finished, very well done!
Thank you for making this video 💪💪 i finally understand the story around this anime.
No problem, glad you liked it :D
TravenTalks by chance if the developer makes a new season or manga can you post a video talking about it? :3
Maybe, but idk. I usually do my best not to talk about any given series/etc over and over again, although I've thought about potentially, when the manga's over, doing a whole retrospective on it and etc. But, idk, I'll see
I don't know about others, but Bondrewd is my favorite character.
He's become my favorite villain ever. From the start I wasn't able to really hate him, the way he never lied and always acted nice... It was weird, I couldn't see him as the horrible person I saw at the end of the second movie. When he started saying the names of everyone he experimented on, I realized how he always cared for them and always thought he was doing a good thing. Damn, even when he was really defeated, he didn't say anything but compliments. And it actually scares me how I think he was never really wrong. I can understand his point, feel disgusted by it and think he wasn't wrong all at the same time. Look at the results those fucked up experiments gave to all the explorers. He's disgusting and useful at the same time, and I still don't really understand it. He confuses me. It's the first character who made me actually confused and is still making me question my morality after a whole day of watching the movie. I can't even tell if I should consider him a villain, if he should be considered evil.
Notice his whistle is two hands clasping? It would be uplifting if not for the orientation. The way he wears it gives the impression of someone forcefully holding another down.
Amazing analysis
i know i am late but damn i totally wi forgot about the other white whistles now i am even more hyped
every kid under his care: "im in pain!"
him: "Hi in pain! im papa!"
great video!
One thing I hope is that you would take a look at Reinhard and Mercurius from the VN Dies Irae. I am asking this due to as far as villains go, they are absolutely depraved, yet like with Bondrewed, have this strange kind of charisma and allure too them. Seriously, many consider those two to be the primary reason to read the VN.
Bondrewd is basically the unholy fusion of Shao Tucker and Desty Nova.
Beautiful episode!! 👍👏
thanks man :D
TravenTalks You deserve it, brother 😁 Keep doing what ur doing 🏆
Bondrewd's mask somehow reminds me of Samuel Hayden from Doom 2016
imo the whole society built around Abyss is monstrous and Bondrewd is merely a product of that. nobody in Orth thinks anything of the punishment Riko is given at the orphanage and the kids themselves dont seem to mind much that Rikos room is a converted execution/torture chamber. it isnt until Riko and Reg are actually face to face with the nightmare Bondrewd is and what he does that they really get how off things are. of course there was never any chance of them turning back and even less so after fighting Bondrewd and the loss of Prushka.
Great video 👍 very interesting
I like this video. It’s well made. Good job
what's Prushka's favorite song?
Whistle by Flo rida
I kind of got the vibe that part if people being okay with Bondrewd's actions is because they know or think that at least he's trapped deep enough in the abyss that they can't bring their evil up to the surface. It's not only contained to an extent, but this allows people to ignore and invent a more positive thing of what he does. In a way, that makes him even more terrifying if he is ever ale to escape to the surface again and the realities and dangers he could bring to the unsuspecting populace.
This made me suscribe... Please keen up the good work
Thanks, glad you liked it! And I'm doin' my best, lol
nice! bondrewd kinda reminds me of gendou, just way more messed up
*Papa's rod*
"Hell, both of them have even strapped Reg to a torture chair and experimented on him."
LOL
It's funny how Lyza seems to be the only white whistle so far to understand that reaching the bottom is the only real goal inside the abyss. Bondrewd is stuck. And I believe he's aware of it. There's just nothing he can do about it, the only thing he's got left is to press on to bring the world it's dawn, destined to stay within the fifth layer forever, never reaching the bottom of this mystery.
Bondrewd did what needed to be done. Without the white whistle the story simply could not progress further.
*Good summary*
TpN Fans:“we have the most terrifying horror with children getting sacrificed „
Made in Abyssfans:“hold my cartridge „
Lol im so late but they announced the movie today and I can't wait to see it!
Hey que gran detalle al decir de que tomo a que tomo hay spoiler un grandisimo detalle que se agradece
Amazing vid. Great analysis.
Tavern talk did you watch the new Made In Abyss movie that just came out?
I haven't gotten round to it yet, unfortunately, but I desperately want to, as I've heard a lot of amazing things about it's turned out!
"Why when I was a child I thought bondrewd was my friend"
*shows off entirely distorted bodh*
" *I KNOW BETTER NOW* "
I love bondrewd i dont kno why lol
I think that most the other children, he only loved them because that's the condition
for the blessing
But i think for Nanachi, it's a genuine father-child love. If we think about it from his own mindset, the next logical thing to do with nanachi after they're furrified is to dissect and experiment on them. But he didn't. He let them do whatever the fuck they want. He could have easily mind controlled Nanachi into one of the Praying Hands but he didnt. He only pleaded for Nanachi to work with him(altho his "plead" is more like blackmailing). Heck dude even mutter the effort to wish them bon voyage when his perfect body was dying.
The above detail, the detail that he had put himself through the same experiments and the detail that his end goal produce positive results for society as whole. Those 3 details give him a shred of humanity and differentiate him from just "this guy's cray cray" type of villian
When I see Bondrew, I see Darth Vader. Inhuman mask, long, flowing robes, etc. They're almost identical in looks and attitude.
Well, I wouldn't say identical, but they do have a fuck ton of similarities, admittedly
Nah, Darth Vader is the whiny bitch that hates sand and likes to choke people
Well, now i am here 2 years after reading the chapters, having just gotten the chance to watch the Dawn of the deep soul film. It really adapted these chapters, and Bondrewd really well
The thing about him, is the potential he had as a good guy. I just keep thinking "what if"
Are the post-anime sections clearly marked? I'd like to be able to watch this before either a second season comes out or I bite the bullet and continue with the manga if possible.
Not really, but the entire video is based around post anime spoilers, so I'd say read Vol 4 & 5 of the manga if you can before watching it.
talking about interesting well-written villain,
you should check Satou from Ajin. and make a review
check the manga too. it has more scenes of him.