i feel like im going thru that trope in my life rn lol, gotta make sure to not screw up, so watching those kind of video's, so far i got that you don't need to be obsessed with something to the absolute
BoJack doesn't show that 'money doesn't buy happiness' (which is a ham-fisted, cliché phrase). He shows that even with money and opportunities, it's ultimately you who has to decide to be better. BoJack has been a millionaire since he was in his 20s. But in all that time, it never occurred to him to, you know, use the money to get f***ing therapy! Only after assaulting a woman does he actually go to rehab. BoJack suffered extreme emotional abuse as a child, and learned a flawed worldview from the TV shows that gave him comfort as a child. But that doesn't excuse him choosing to be shitty as a grown-ass adult with the money and opportunities to make himself a better person.
Always remember: the *author*, the *narrator* and the *protagonist* are all different people. The thoughts and actions of one do not necessarily map onto the others. It’s why you can have a cruel protagonist, even one that the story paints in a positive light, and it doesn’t mean the author’s somehow in the wrong for that.
Yeah, this is one of the biggest memes you can do as a reader. Because sometimes, it's painfully clear the author is just using the book as their glorified diary, where the MC is a Mary-sue self-insert. But in other situations, you cannot really do armchair psychological analysis of someone solely based on the characters they write. If the MC wants to kill everyone, that doesn't say shit about the author other than what topics and themes they are interested in exploring. Maybe the only one you can theorize are fetishes. Like if a male author writes extensively about the MCs periods, then it is kinda sus. But then again, that's where if you didn't know the author was male and thought they were female, you wouldn't think twice about it and would herald the MC as "super relatable" and the author "brave". We should always separate the art from the artist, but we also... Kinda can't. Everything happens for a reason, so sometimes it is worth to just discuss why that is. Because if the intentions of the author are not pure and there's some kind of a harmful agenda behind it, you must do some armchair psycho-analysis on them. That's how you can choose which artists you wish to support and what not to. And you don't have to support and like every artists or piece of art.
I loved this video, it helped me put things about these characters in a better perspective, in terms of my understanding about them. It used to make me really sad how people would make an argument out of the certain actions these characters committed rather than focusing on the message they carry. It's important to wonder about what these characters were, what they became throughout the story and what we can takeaway from their journey and personality. Just quarreling about whether these characters are right or wrong misses the whole point of the story. In my personal opinion, I think the true beauty here lies in the fact that it offers a raw representation of contrast and duality through the lens of these characters from the start of their journey and how their journey comes to an end, which in turn makes us question our own opinions and ideology. It questions what we find acceptable through different stages of the story and how we justify it.
Your section on Eren in context with the rest of the video I think finally made me realize why I empathize with Eren so much. I spent all of middle school as a child thinking 'oh things will improve when I get to high school', and then when I got to high school, I said the same thing about University. Then, in University I told myself that when I had a stable income and a job I liked my mental state would improve and life would get better. Now, I am done University and entered the field (which I do enjoy), but life still feels miserable. So much so it makes me Nihilistic, and quite angry. It makes me regret not appreciating all the opportunities I had in University and high school to meet new people and branch out, even despite covid. Had I done so, I feel like I would not have let myself devolve to this point. I now face Vet bills for my dog and need to help cover the finances of my aging parents, and don't see anything improving anytime soon. I don't go out, and I don't meet new people anymore. I know its cringe and a bit fascistic to be like 'Eren is literally me' such a feeling is probably a common one, as I don't think any part of my life is particularly unique in what I've described. Thank you for this video.
I wouldn’t call relating to Eren cringe, I think it’s normal to have an urge to wipe everything away. However, letting that feeling define is what can ruin you and I think that’s what the cautionary message behind Eren’s character is
It is very cringe. But we all have an immature self we have to regulate and acknowledge. Eren is a character that does that. That’s why he’s so relatable.
You're absolutely not cringe. You're just human hun. Good luck to you and I hope you get to where you want to mentally. It's a struggle for all of us and you're brave for branching out and sharing your experience. You're still here. You're still trying and that's all you can do. ❤
@@UncleHuss1I feel like the cautionary message behind Eren you talk about was secondary. Or more so that you have the right context but you see it the wrong way. I believe that Isayama definitely changed the ending. The whole narrative of “Eren was just acting” that Isayama tries to push at the end just doesn’t hold up at all. Their are many instances where we see Eren by himself and still being that way, and we also get inner dialogue of Eren still being that way. Which is why the Eren we see in the ending just seems like a complete switch up. The Eren we see in the ending is Isayama calling himself an idiot. Isayama inserted hisself onto Eren. Originally Eren was going to follow through with his plan but then Isayama came to his own realization and this change of heart is what prompted him to change Eren because like you said, Isayama uses Eren as a reflection of himself. At the time Isayama was set on wiping everything away which was how he felt himself, but then he woke up from that feeling during the ending and changed everything he was building the story up to, in order to express the way he felt about himself. This is why people dislike the ending because, you can say they feel robbed of what they were supposed to see by Isayama’s inability to stick it through and his lack of will.
A well written cautionary character is one we should play devils advocate for. We saw small steps or mistakes turn good meaning charcters into depraved and often turn away from the very things that made them start that journey in the furst place.
I had an insight today, that ofcourse everyone is redeemable when looking through his eyes. If you believe that anyone deserves any pain and suffering - you just hadnt seen enough pain and suffering to know that - noone deserves anything. everyone deserves anything. If you want to see less pain and sufferring in the world - please be gentle, noone is Your enemy, except You.
It's surprising that Gollum and Smeagol were not even mentioned in the video. He is the perfect cautionary character. He hits every mark you've described.
As for Eren, I think a lot people who were in his EXACT situation would have ended up taking similar actions. Eren wanting to wipe everything away is an extremely relatable sentiment. Now, there's big a difference between wanting to wipe everything away and actually doing it. For one thing, you would need the POWER to do it. Second, you need the URGE to do it. Eren had both, so it was inevitable that he'd do it. We forget that Eren is fundamentally an average joe with violent tendencies who was given way too much power for his own good. It makes wonder how many people in real life would act on this urge if given the power to do so...
I understand Eren’s disappointment so much it’s crazy. Back when I was young I was always interested in studying history. I used to have an optimistic view on humanity as a whole, bordering on delusional. I’ll never forget the day our middle school history teacher taught us about the holocaust. The topic of human cruelty sparked something within me that day. Like how you can’t divert your eyes from watching a car crash despite how horrible it is, it was a grotesque fascination. I started delving down into the rabbit hole of war crimes. Mass murder. Mass rapes. You name it. And after I was done with it all I was filled with a great sense of disappointment and nihilistic apathy. Like I just wanted to wipe the planet clean after having my optimistic worldview get shattered by the reality stick. I suppose that’s how Eren felt when he finally realized what kind of shit they were really in.
I read a post recently, and I don't know where it went... but what it said stuck with me. basically, the op described the world as though we're all living in a haunted house. horrible things have happened within these walls, and as long as we stay here, we'll be mired in all that history. it feels like it'd be easy to just burn it to the ground, and leave all that bad blood with no home in this world. but then you remember... there are children in there. this world is the home we have. there is no clearing the slate... I think the best cautionary tales deal with that reality. that's honestly why I love Thorfinn so much in Vinland Saga. all of the most righteous people in that story begin flawed. even Thors used to be a soldier, and Thorfinn's character in season 1 is nothing but a series of gruesomely accumulating mistakes. but the story is about these people on purpose. the message is that it's not impossible to arrive in a better place, no matter where you start from. you aren't required to wipe the slate clean, and only have pristine things to show there. perfection is not a prerequisite, and flaws do not disqualify you from your right or responsibility to improve. let the record show the flaws, and the ugliness. even a person with that history can still go far beyond where they began, even if they have to carry a million ghosts with them. it's the history that informs us of the most important lessons that we must always keep in mind. this is the power of the cautionary tale. if a person can do it, then there is hope for the state of the world. and even if there wasn't, this is still the house we live in, like it or not. there are still people in there, as beautiful and ugly as they've ever been. the crimes of humanity are sickening, primarily because they are committed against humanity. you have to love first, in order to know why this matters at all.
Same I'm so sorry I know how you feel, those realizations are extremely painful. The world I wanted was one where nobody ever got abused and everyone could've trusted eachother. No one asked anyone to be perfect just don't abuse innocent people. Fact of matter is some people deliberately go out of their way to ruin the lives of others unfortunately. Remember you chose not to do horrible acts to others so thank you. Whatever life/existence is, it wouldn't even of had a chance if people like you didn't exist. Believe it or not how I see it, there's not a single thing more valuable than people like you guys in all existence. The only reason I bother living is so I can hopefully make this world less worst for the real people like you guys, even if it's through small actions. I can't think of any good analogies but you guys are stars, you shine despite darkness being all around you. Even if stars are usually far apart from eachother there still so many. You're not alone is what I'm tying to say...I'm rooting for you guys and I genuinely hope you find happiness despite everything...
I sometimes feel like my view on humanity is rather positive because I never had that surprising moment of realizing human cruelty. I grew up in though circumstances and always understood the cruelty and unnecessary violence of people. I was rather surprised when I got older and experienced altruism for the first time
I’m so surprised you included bojack horseman 😭😭😭 that show is actually sooo good. Idk if yall seen it but if not you should def watch it. He’s def the epitome of this topic lmfaooo. He’s exactly the type of character that shows u what trauma and a damaged person looks like, someone u have no doubt in empathizing with, but at the same time shows them in the context that plainly does NOT justify their actions and behavior despite all that. You wanna feel bad for him and you might even understand some of the things he says and does, but at the end of the day it doesn’t make any of it okay, and at a certain point you want/have to say it’s too much
I completely agree, Bojack was so hard to talk about because you really have to make it clear that even though you relate to him you can’t justify is actions at all😭
Bojack Horseman is to me the only cautionary tale that's good for it's audience. Bojack finds a way out at the end that isn't an escape, and the series shows us every step without holding anything back. The moral ultimately is that Bojack isn't a good person, but if you don't want to do what he does, you have to untether yourself from the idea that there are good or bad people, there's only our actions. Doing good is a skill, and skills are hard to learn, but pain can get in the way of that. You need to juggle pain and choice to live. Technically Bojack wasn't a bad person either, but he was bad news; he was irresponsible and dangerous for others. No amount of sympathy from others would change that until he admitted to his own weaknesses. It's why Herb didn't forgive him. It's not about how Bojack felt. He did feel bad, but he still failed Herb.
Splendid video! Something my mom should see. My mom is quite strict and when she sees something "bad" or against her values in shows she forbids me to watch them. The thing she fails to understand and perhaps refuses to understand is that some of these shows do in fact fall in line with her values. Simply put these "bad" (as in morally bad) shows that my mom simply labels as, show how life could get messed up if doing the things shown in the show. As in the way you (Huss) put it, these morally "bad" shows serve as cautionary tales to how life could get messed up if one behaves as such characters in these shows. Therefore, they do (whether intentionally or unintentionally) teach how not to live your life, how not to mess up your life by avoiding the paths and behaviors shown. Something that falls in line with my mom's values. Too bad my mom doesn't think this way and just simply forbids me to watch the moment she sees a hint of "badness".
Amazing video bro, I was able to understand more of the cautionary character arc type & it’s awesome that we are able to take away so much about them & learn more about the author & ourselves in these stories.
Dude this is EXACTLY what i was looking for my media assignment. I wanted to talk about characters in media who are the protagonists, but they fall from grace due to their power and pride, but I could never find the correct term. Thank you so much for this video, and I may or may not steal a few points you made 👀
What I love about cautionary characters is that they will always be relevant, no matter the time for place, history has taught us that. They reflect the highs and lows, the good and bad of humanity very well and they are so relevant and hard hitting because many of us can see ourselves in these characters, not because a lot of these characters are esthetically cool, but they are our dark intentions and thoughts manifested on screen. However, no matter how justified they are, they’re still evil at the end of the day, ether it would be Eren, Walt, Franklin or Light, they’re all deep down all heinous people. That’s where in my opinion they all get misconstrued as the point of these characters is not, support them (despite their intentions), but to show us a worst case scenario of what would happen if we let our darker interests take ahold of ourselves.
im glad bojack didnt just get killed off, because whats the point if he abuses people, apologizes yet does it again over and over, just to die without any resolution. even tho he started really late, its inspiring to see even an abusive, self loathing person like him can grow to be better. it gives me hope when i feel i am irredeemable or whatnot, i can self pity like bojack did & get absolutelely nowhere, or i can learn from it, take accountability, improve myself
I love these types of characters. I find their stories to be much more engaging than a typical hero journey. I am so glad you make this video and iam looking forward for future videos like this. Hell, i would have loved if you analyze these characters one by one, such as Eren or Walter White. I would also suggest a show titled Barry, played by Bill Hader cause he is a great, underrated example of a dark main character
What a good video, really, I had chills a lot during it, and as a person who whatched AoT 10 times entirely by sharing that experience with always a new friend, you really made Justice to that masterpiece. I followed you hoping to see other video like this, you have an impactful way to speak and to explain these concepts, if this is your start, I can’t wait to see your development. Greetings from Italy man.
Thank you I really appreciate this comment, I’m also a HUGE aot fan so I’m happy I got to express my love for through this video I plan on sticking to this and comments like this really help me❤
I think that calm they seem to feel or realized at the end of their journey is peace, they don't have to run anymore, they don't have to fight, to be torture in their minds with the endless emptiness they feel of never getting what they wanted, because what they wanted it was always an impossible dream, it's finally over. They can rest. And that's a piece of mind that they could never have, like the rest of us. Only at the end, no matter if they succeeded or not, if their actions will be remembered or how they will, nothing matter, because it's finally over.
The chapter on Eren describes how I feel about him and AOT as a whole perfectly, I’ve never had someone put that disappointment with Eren into words. To me the story of aot is exactly as Mikasa said, it’s about this world being cruel but beautiful and there’s always a reason to keep living.
This is insanely well done. I love the comedy throughout and the way you explain these characters, while also including a personal aspect to it. I really love your style of content and it's something I'd expect from a much bigger channel. Keep it up, I can see your blowing up even more any day now :)
For a very long time, I always justified Eren's actions. I never thought they were wrong, and I admired the determination it took to do what he did, giving up everything for his dream. I only realized why he was wrong when I watched Vinland Saga, specifically season 2. The hardest thing to do in this world is to love everyone, including your enemies. Doing so would prevent you from making the same choices that Eren did, as you would believe that every life is precious. However, if you can manage this, then you will be free of all desire. Thorfinn went down an incredibly similar path to Eren, but instead of choosing hate until the end, he eventually ended up choosing love. I used to think freedom was only an external concept, and that I had to fight for my right to live how I want, destroying anyone who got in my way. Now I am aware that true freedom comes from within. For there is no freedom without love.
this is an excellent comment, and I agree wholeheartedly. you have to love first, in order to be frustrated by the world. some of the deepest and most justified anger is felt by good people who know better, toward those who are careless or cruel. the trick is to be mindful, and consciously decide how that feeling should move you. engaging with the world as it is, is a labor of love. even with all it's conundrums and complications, and the full breadth of it's history... the love is why you keep trying, even when you haven't been perfect, and even when the world never was either. even Thorfinn in season 1 couldn't feel that much anger toward Askeladd without first loving his father. the frustration comes from there. sometimes it's just a long, difficult journey, to figure out what to do with all that sentiment.
I agree with you, it's conflicting, but at the same time I understand why Eren did what did too. The whole world was determined to kill him and his people from the start and they all declared a war against them together. He sadly didn't have a choice, you can see his talk with Ramzi he did not want to do this. They tried with Armin and everyone to talk it out, show them they're just humans like them but still the world wouldn't accept them and wanted them dead. Great takes on both characters. The depth in Thorfinn's character s2 was phenomenal.
Attack on Titan’s story is about the cycle of hatred, which will always exist as long as humans live. Eren’s story was structured in a way where there is no space for forgiveness or love for his enemies… It’s either fight for survival, or death. Eren acknowledged that the people on the other side of the sea were the same as him and his people; he even cried, felt guilt and remorse, tried to think of other solutions, but there was no other way unlike for Thorfinn.
@@vacilion nah, I don't accept that whole "there was no other way" type of mindset. if anything, Eren is a cautionary tale, to us, _because_ his "no other way" mindset is probably so similar to how someone justified the initial atrocities to themselves a long time ago, which led to the current state of things. as long as anyone's excuses remain acceptable, we'll never get anywhere. we'll get nowhere as long as there is this lack of self awareness... this lack of resistance to that hopeless line of thought. if we have had the benefit of seeing the worst of where that leads, then it's up to at least you and me, to learn something else from it all. I think Thorfinn is a great counterpoint to this mindset, because no... the conclusions Thorfinn comes to aren't easy. for every positive thing that he could ever think, there's a million miles of Eren's mentality, your skepticism, and his own lifetime's worth of pain and frustration, willing to try and say "um, actually," and his job is _still_ to not let that feeling turn him into something he hates. "idealism" seems like it sets you up with an impossible task. it seems like it demands that you be perfect, or that you ignore the harsh reality of a situation, or that you live in la la land, because nothing in reality works that way. but if that's what you think, then you misunderstand the practical use of an ideal. an ideal is a blueprint, and realism must be its constant companion. everyone who wants to use idealism effectively, knows that you can't expect perfection. that's why Vinland Saga is _never_ about perfect people. none of them _ever_ start with their slate clean. Thors was a soldier before he was a pacifist, same as Thorfinn... and every other sorry son of a bitch we encounter in the story is as dedicated to violence as they are to breathing air. the struggle is still to acknowledge the potential of these men anyway... every single one of them. to shoot for the blueprint, and land as close as possible, even if it will never be possible to fully hit the mark. the ideal in your mind's eye cannot require perfection as a prerequisite, or your efforts will serve absolutely no one. the most hopeless thing about Eren is his own emotional state, really. he doesn't think it would be possible to sway himself, so that's how incontrovertible he imagines his enemies to be as well. and you can't get anywhere if the conclusion is foregone for you already. but Thorfinn also knows the incontrovertible state from which he came. he knows for a fact that people are mutable, just as long as you acknowledge exactly how hard that process truly is. the cycle of hatred isn't the only cycle that humanity has... especially if you make the conscious choice to feed other drives. I'm not saying that Eren should've just magically come to these conclusions all on his own. his tragedy is the fact that he didn't. but we can see it all, from where we are. and we can understand that different ingredients might've begat a different man. Thorfinn attempts to be all sides of this equation... do you think the Thorfinn of season 1 would've made any better decisions than Eren, if he were faced with Eren's choices at that point in his life? of course not. sometimes the commitment to an atrocity really is as simple as "wrong place wrong time" like that. but these things are in no way absolute.
I really love your analysis style. I really like how it's not just a recap of the character's story; but really looks deeply into the author and characters' personalities and informational sources, using the storyline as the basis to pry deeply into them. To me this style of analysis is pretty hard to find online, so thank you sincerely for that.
Another 2 characters i would personally put on this list are Rick Grimes and Negan. Both are genuinely good people who for some reason or another have had to result in really fucked up things, which would make them out to be villains in the eyes of others. Eventually both of them kept it going until the world forced them to stop. In this case, Negan stopped Rick and Rick's Group/family stopped Negan. (I said it like this to avoid major spoilers)
Beautiful. This is a sappy comment but I wanted to thank you for creating this video. I am going through multiple mental battles right now and your expression of these many characters, both ones I am and am not familiar with, gave me a sense of peace. At the end of the day, I am just a stranger on the internet. But even if it was just for today, this video has given me resolve to take the right path, as you mentioned in this video. I'll be sticking around for more of your content. Thank you.
Ah man this comment means the world to me I really appreciate it, you just made my day a lot better too I hope everything gets better I know what’s it’s like to have those battles, everyday is a new day and as long as you keep moving forward and try to stay positive I’m sure happiness is right around the corner!
This was a genuinely enjoyable video/video essay. Your explanations of each character, their motivations, flaws, and relatabilities were very eloquently put. Good work all around, thanks for posting this 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
"Surface level analysis" in your channel description my man you're selling yourself short! I clicked on this vid just because there's Eren, Walt, and Bojack in the same topic but I feel like I've hit algorithm jackpot! This was a great video essay! To be honest I never liked Eren from the start not because he's a terrible character (I mean he kind of is considering how many times he's been kidnapped lol) but because there's bits of him that is also within me but I wouldn't admit that before I watched this. I still won't join the Yeagerists though.
Thanks man i appreciate the compliments, i think it’s hard to admit that we relate to any of these characters but it’s something that we have to accept so we can be better than them
Kidnapping eren did a psychological damage to him that was the whole reason he broke down in s2 First since he was a kid mikasa was miles better than him in combat and his mother constantly told him to be a man and he should protect mikasa and not the other way around so he tried to save her since then and act manly but wasn’t successful and since he got titan powers He was completely worthless and survey corps members died left and right to save him and HE couldn’t do anything about it
Loved this video, this is my favourite type of character and Eren is also my favourite out of the rest, however regarding the final part of the video I would like to point out one thing about him: I think Eren didn't really do all of this because he wanted to save his friends that's why he kills Sasha and Hanji and tries to kill the entire squad on the final battle... he even admit it while talking to Armin, that he was just following "something" he wanted (his dream of watching the world Armin showed him on his book and his desire to turn upside down humanity and being free). So, in some way I see the "I did this to save you" as an excuse that he gave himself when he was trying to get his plan done to not feel completely bad about what he was doing (Even if he himself didn't really want to kill his friends and wanted them to live a long life). However I loved your reflection about all of this characters (specially the Eren's and Light's ones). Keep it up!
Thank you, I completely agree. Eren is a very multifaceted character and he has many motivations for why he did the rumbling, I wish I could’ve spoken more about him but I didn’t want this video to just be about him😭 Maybe in the future I’ll dive deeper into him, thanks for the insight!
you have the right context but you see it the wrong way. I believe that Isayama definitely changed the ending. The whole narrative of “Eren was just acting” that Isayama tries to push at the end just doesn’t hold up at all. Their are many instances where we see Eren by himself and still being that way, and we also get inner dialogue of Eren still being that way. Which is why the Eren we see in the ending just seems like a complete switch up. Isayama uses Eren as a reflection of himself. At the time Isayama was set on wiping everything away which was how he felt himself, but then he woke up from that feeling during the ending and changed everything he was building the story up to, in order to express the way he felt about himself. This is why people dislike the ending because, you can say they feel robbed of what they were supposed to see by Isayama’s inability to stick it through and his lack of will.
But he never actually killed hange and sasha those were only consequences of his actions his whole reason for rumbling is many not just one and believe me of actually wanted he would have killed his friends he literally has the founder just like erwin had selfish reason to sacrifice scouts eren also did
Just finished Breaking Bad and all I have to say is, “Wow.” What a narrative. I really gravitate towards shows like Bojack, AoT, BB, and DN because of the moral grayness that is present throughout the story. No character is perfect, but neither is irredeemable. Great video 👍
I hear the Made in Abyss ost and I will like the video. But seriously, really enjoyed the video! I feel like not enough people really take the time to think about this angle of storytelling, even though it’s integral to the story
many thanks i was wondering where have i listened to it before and couldnt find it so end up scrolling the comment section to see if anyone has mentioned it
Subscribing!! This video was top top quality, editing was fantastic and you spoke your thoughts so well regarding these characters. Looking forward to watching the rest of your videos 😄 this was excellent watch
I am still at the beginning of the video, but the points at 1:43 to 2:13 struck a chord within me. I think that a major part of the harsh rejection of the cautionary characters' choices and the characters themselves is because they feel, in a sense, like a mirror reflection of ourselves or who we want to be, and so we invest our very being into wanting to see them succeed, be happy, and reach what they hope for. Because what they hope for is what we really want in our own lives. But when they choose to surrender to a harsher fate, and it all comes crashing down; there is a sense of betrayal. A sense of, "Why did you put me through all of this, just to have his story, *my* story end like that." This sort of thing tends to happen when you have a great story that people can fall or escape into. Some end up living their lives through the characters, until they are abruptly pulled back into reality when it seeps into the imaginary. Edit: Awesoome! Eren Jaeger and Walter White are the perfect examples of this. During the times we feel most powerless and helpless, it's no surprise that we may look to Eren and Walt as opportunities for salvation from our own powerlessness and weaknesses. While I do think it is good when a character inspires us to better our lives, I also think it is to our detriment when, instead of applying some of the lessons we learned from the story to our own lives, we postpone them and rage against the unfairness of everything and everyone that has to do with the story ending the way it did, when it wasn't even our story to begin with. This video essay is a really fascinating and captivating breakdown!!!!
This was incredibly well-made. I think if you keep doing videos like this, and putting in the same amount of love and effort, you’ll definitely grow to a large channel, good luck
Awesome video! It's interesting to see the outrageously profound ways a character can bungle their potential. I especially love seeing the inverse happen where a character brushes up against that failure and just barley manages to turn it around and improve themselves (a big reason my favourite movie is Fantastic Mr Fox). Both are good at giving blueprints for how not to screw-up lol.
You should read usogui fs. It has a very interesting take on the everyone being a slave to something idea. It presents it in a positive way. That no person is perfect and the flaws we have are the reason we can even shine.
I feel like some of the "justifiable"s should've been replaced with "understandable". I also feel like this is missing characters like Killmonger and Magneto, two people with very understandable causes who let their hatred take them too far. Magneto I feel especially deserves a spot on this list due to how iconic he is and how his character actually reversed in public reception (things like #/Magnetowasright trending on twitter) compared somehow like Light who people agreed with at first before people understood his god complex nature and how he fundamentally fails at trying to fix crime.
I'm back. This video hits close to home, because I both want to be an author, and because I can't lie to myself about my own flaws. EDIT: I always viewed Light's death on the stairwell as his final moment of denial, accepting his death, but never taking responsibility for his actions, dying by his own arrogance.
loved this video brother keep it up these are some of my favorite characters ever especially eren i loved him from day one love his journey as a character he will forever e my favorite anime character i think and your analysis was top notch
This was an amazing video u hit my niche of obsession. Thank you! I’d absolutely recommend you check out Better Call Saul! It being a brba spin off has obvious parallels to that show, but excels in its own right and I’d say is even better that it’s predecessor. Amazing work again !
First of all, amazing video. I'm a big fan of this trope, and I can safely say that you hit the nail on the head. I think characters like Count Dooku and Jimmy McGill were also worthy inclusions.
i try to force myself through long yt videos as a way to fight my short attention span and your video was so well done that i didn't feel the slightest bit of boredom while watching. i was so surprised when i saw your subscribers count and i truly believe you deserve more recognition. keep up the great work.
I always had in mind these characters are supposed to be people that you shouldn't aspire to be, you should admire them, empathise with them, but their ending and life style makes you see that their life isn't glory, it is a tragedy, Light Doesn't have any friends, he kills his own allies and in the end he sees he could have had a normal life with friends and a loving family. Eren because he wanted to create a peaceful world that meant he had to die and lose all of his friends, Thomas Shelby every season loses a family member, his wife, his brother... and only because he can't just get enough and lives a life overly ambitious. You have to see these characters for what they really represent a tragedy tale
For the Light part, if you hadn't noticed already he died in the middle of the staircase. The bottom of the staircase represents hell and the top represents heaven. But in the first episode of Death Note Ryuk said people who use the Death Note can neither go to heaven nor hell. That means Light went to a purgatory. Many people theorize that he went to the Shinigami realm
That quote from Kenny in aot stood out to me so much from that show for the exact reasons you described, and on that note, another incredibly powerful quote from aot was from Levi after Erwin decided he was going to lead his soldiers into a suicide mission against the beast titan, when he said, "Give up on your dreams and die." In a sense, Erwin was really the only character in that show who became free, as it was Levi essentially giving him permission to abandon all of his principles, hopes, judgements, and fears that kept him going and pushing through the hell that being the scout leader was. It makes you wonder what could've happened to these characters if they gave up on what they wanted instead of seeing it through to the end.
I look at the Character of Fiona Fox from the Sonic Archie comics as a cautionary character due to her own selfishness and pride. She started as someone who held a grudge against Sonic claiming that he forgot to rescue her even though he really tried to save her. A while later she acknowledges Sonic isn't a bad guy and she tries to become a Heroine and even starts dating Sonic for a time until Tails had a jealous tantrum over his one-sided crush on Fiona which causes her relationship with Sonic to slow down which leaves her dissatisfied. This leads to her beginning to cheat on Sonic with her-ex, Scourge and then she betrays Sonic and the Freedom Fighters and goes back to blaming Sonic for her own misfortunes and stubbornly clinging to a clearly abusive boyfriend who is a lost cause.
I remember thinking BoJack was truly gone when he almost slept with Penny. But THEN when you learn he waited to call an ambulance for Sarah Lynn…that was when he became irredeemable in my mind 😔 sure, Sarah Lynn was an adult who chose to go on a bender…but he could have saved her life. That shit hurt.
Everyone keeps saying Eren wanted to wipe out all of humanity but he didn’t. He felt awful doing that, it tormented him for months, he searched for alternatives and couldn't find one. Eren wanted to save his family; the people he loved. The only people who didn’t hate him, that's all it was. He did the rumbling to give them a chance at a few years of peace, family life and a life free from war and titans.
@@ExpertContrarian how because he literally says it was to save his people, he even broke it down when he talked about how with 5% of humanity left, it would take years before retaliation would happen.
@@MJ-py7dm 20% of humanity was left alive, which will just lead to more of what they were dealing with in season 4, people hating and wanting to kill them rendering the rumbling pointless. Go big or go home, no more half measures
I agree with everything you said but Light. Light went out sad because his defeat wasn't Near or L's legacy. It was himself. Mikami or whatever his name is fucked up. There's poetry in that sure but as far as a narrative bite, to me it was just not the type of setup I was getting. As opposed to Franklin whose self sabotage was referenced since season 1.
Ah yes the, "hes just like me fr" genre of characters
i feel like im going thru that trope in my life rn lol, gotta make sure to not screw up, so watching those kind of video's, so far i got that you don't need to be obsessed with something to the absolute
I don't see Shinji
I’d reference the hospital scene in the film but I don’t want to ruin him for me either
@@The_Man_Who_Sold_the_World.Shinji is literally me in every way minus the hospital scene💀
@@juiceboxinc.2745 lmao, that's what everybody who relates to Shinji says
Eren and Walt in the same video? This is about to be good
The mangaka of aot is a big breaking bad fan 👍 there is even a titan looking like saul goodman
@@123VRa classic Isayama W. legend recoqnize legend
I’ve never realized how much I love cautionary stories/characters until this video. These are some of my favorite shows ever.
Cautionary tale characters are my favorite types. Modern day Shakespeare tragedies
BoJack doesn't show that 'money doesn't buy happiness' (which is a ham-fisted, cliché phrase). He shows that even with money and opportunities, it's ultimately you who has to decide to be better. BoJack has been a millionaire since he was in his 20s. But in all that time, it never occurred to him to, you know, use the money to get f***ing therapy! Only after assaulting a woman does he actually go to rehab. BoJack suffered extreme emotional abuse as a child, and learned a flawed worldview from the TV shows that gave him comfort as a child. But that doesn't excuse him choosing to be shitty as a grown-ass adult with the money and opportunities to make himself a better person.
This comment reminded me of why Bojack is such a phenomenal character
By far the best depiction of self destruction I’ve ever seen
i am a simple man , i see eren i click ( nice vid keep up king )
I see your a man that knows ball
@@UncleHuss1balls
I love child killers 🤤 eren is modern day prophet
@@UncleHuss1you can’t kill me i can transfer my consciousness to my balls
yummy
Always remember: the *author*, the *narrator* and the *protagonist* are all different people. The thoughts and actions of one do not necessarily map onto the others. It’s why you can have a cruel protagonist, even one that the story paints in a positive light, and it doesn’t mean the author’s somehow in the wrong for that.
Yeah, this is one of the biggest memes you can do as a reader. Because sometimes, it's painfully clear the author is just using the book as their glorified diary, where the MC is a Mary-sue self-insert. But in other situations, you cannot really do armchair psychological analysis of someone solely based on the characters they write. If the MC wants to kill everyone, that doesn't say shit about the author other than what topics and themes they are interested in exploring.
Maybe the only one you can theorize are fetishes. Like if a male author writes extensively about the MCs periods, then it is kinda sus. But then again, that's where if you didn't know the author was male and thought they were female, you wouldn't think twice about it and would herald the MC as "super relatable" and the author "brave".
We should always separate the art from the artist, but we also... Kinda can't. Everything happens for a reason, so sometimes it is worth to just discuss why that is. Because if the intentions of the author are not pure and there's some kind of a harmful agenda behind it, you must do some armchair psycho-analysis on them. That's how you can choose which artists you wish to support and what not to. And you don't have to support and like every artists or piece of art.
a good example is Aot.
Armin is the narrator
Isayama is the author
Eren is the protagonist
Franklin Saint deserves way more video essays doing the story justice like yours! He's such an interesting character to pick apart and study 😊
I feel guilty because I felt like I should’ve talked about him more😭
@@UncleHuss1Awww don't sweat it bro! I really dug the comparison you made between Light/L and Franklin/Leon's respective dynamics
I loved this video, it helped me put things about these characters in a better perspective, in terms of my understanding about them. It used to make me really sad how people would make an argument out of the certain actions these characters committed rather than focusing on the message they carry. It's important to wonder about what these characters were, what they became throughout the story and what we can takeaway from their journey and personality.
Just quarreling about whether these characters are right or wrong misses the whole point of the story. In my personal opinion, I think the true beauty here lies in the fact that it offers a raw representation of contrast and duality through the lens of these characters from the start of their journey and how their journey comes to an end, which in turn makes us question our own opinions and ideology. It questions what we find acceptable through different stages of the story and how we justify it.
I love this analysis… Isayama’s explanation of using Eren to deal with the worst parts of himself opened up a new love for these characters
Your section on Eren in context with the rest of the video I think finally made me realize why I empathize with Eren so much. I spent all of middle school as a child thinking 'oh things will improve when I get to high school', and then when I got to high school, I said the same thing about University. Then, in University I told myself that when I had a stable income and a job I liked my mental state would improve and life would get better. Now, I am done University and entered the field (which I do enjoy), but life still feels miserable. So much so it makes me Nihilistic, and quite angry. It makes me regret not appreciating all the opportunities I had in University and high school to meet new people and branch out, even despite covid. Had I done so, I feel like I would not have let myself devolve to this point. I now face Vet bills for my dog and need to help cover the finances of my aging parents, and don't see anything improving anytime soon. I don't go out, and I don't meet new people anymore.
I know its cringe and a bit fascistic to be like 'Eren is literally me' such a feeling is probably a common one, as I don't think any part of my life is particularly unique in what I've described. Thank you for this video.
I wouldn’t call relating to Eren cringe, I think it’s normal to have an urge to wipe everything away. However, letting that feeling define is what can ruin you and I think that’s what the cautionary message behind Eren’s character is
You're NOT cringe, just based brother.
It is very cringe. But we all have an immature self we have to regulate and acknowledge. Eren is a character that does that. That’s why he’s so relatable.
You're absolutely not cringe. You're just human hun. Good luck to you and I hope you get to where you want to mentally. It's a struggle for all of us and you're brave for branching out and sharing your experience. You're still here. You're still trying and that's all you can do. ❤
@@UncleHuss1I feel like the cautionary message behind Eren you talk about was secondary. Or more so that you have the right context but you see it the wrong way. I believe that Isayama definitely changed the ending.
The whole narrative of “Eren was just acting” that Isayama tries to push at the end just doesn’t hold up at all. Their are many instances where we see Eren by himself and still being that way, and we also get inner dialogue of Eren still being that way. Which is why the Eren we see in the ending just seems like a complete switch up.
The Eren we see in the ending is Isayama calling himself an idiot. Isayama inserted hisself onto Eren. Originally Eren was going to follow through with his plan but then Isayama came to his own realization and this change of heart is what prompted him to change Eren because like you said, Isayama uses Eren as a reflection of himself.
At the time Isayama was set on wiping everything away which was how he felt himself, but then he woke up from that feeling during the ending and changed everything he was building the story up to, in order to express the way he felt about himself. This is why people dislike the ending because, you can say they feel robbed of what they were supposed to see by Isayama’s inability to stick it through and his lack of will.
A well written cautionary character is one we should play devils advocate for. We saw small steps or mistakes turn good meaning charcters into depraved and often turn away from the very things that made them start that journey in the furst place.
I love your analysis of Eren. Also you should read Dune, I'd argue Paul Atreides was the og character behind this trope.
I was already planning to make my next video about him!
Glad to see people appreciate him
I love both paul atreides (book)and eren sm
Leto II is probably closer to Eren than Paul.
An autodestructive fellow that destroys for nihility and egoism
I had an insight today, that ofcourse everyone is redeemable when looking through his eyes. If you believe that anyone deserves any pain and suffering - you just hadnt seen enough pain and suffering to know that - noone deserves anything. everyone deserves anything.
If you want to see less pain and sufferring in the world - please be gentle, noone is Your enemy, except You.
It's surprising that Gollum and Smeagol were not even mentioned in the video. He is the perfect cautionary character. He hits every mark you've described.
I think he’s covering these characters specifically because they’re very popular with people now
@@goodfella2057 And because they're the main characters of their respective stories.
Maybe it's because these stories are more... Nuanced than that. That one is pretty cut and dry imo
rewatching aot bc of this
Awesome. AoT is incredible
You won't regret it
The rewatch value of AOT is the best I´ve ever seen in any story
most rewatchable story tbh
I literally just finished rewatching the whole thing today. It’s so much better with the context that I now know.
As for Eren, I think a lot people who were in his EXACT situation would have ended up taking similar actions. Eren wanting to wipe everything away is an extremely relatable sentiment.
Now, there's big a difference between wanting to wipe everything away and actually doing it. For one thing, you would need the POWER to do it. Second, you need the URGE to do it. Eren had both, so it was inevitable that he'd do it.
We forget that Eren is fundamentally an average joe with violent tendencies who was given way too much power for his own good. It makes wonder how many people in real life would act on this urge if given the power to do so...
I understand Eren’s disappointment so much it’s crazy. Back when I was young I was always interested in studying history. I used to have an optimistic view on humanity as a whole, bordering on delusional.
I’ll never forget the day our middle school history teacher taught us about the holocaust. The topic of human cruelty sparked something within me that day. Like how you can’t divert your eyes from watching a car crash despite how horrible it is, it was a grotesque fascination.
I started delving down into the rabbit hole of war crimes. Mass murder. Mass rapes. You name it. And after I was done with it all I was filled with a great sense of disappointment and nihilistic apathy. Like I just wanted to wipe the planet clean after having my optimistic worldview get shattered by the reality stick.
I suppose that’s how Eren felt when he finally realized what kind of shit they were really in.
We all had that feeling
remember if you digging rabbit hole, its important to pull your head out . not all people are shit
I read a post recently, and I don't know where it went... but what it said stuck with me. basically, the op described the world as though we're all living in a haunted house. horrible things have happened within these walls, and as long as we stay here, we'll be mired in all that history. it feels like it'd be easy to just burn it to the ground, and leave all that bad blood with no home in this world. but then you remember... there are children in there.
this world is the home we have. there is no clearing the slate... I think the best cautionary tales deal with that reality. that's honestly why I love Thorfinn so much in Vinland Saga. all of the most righteous people in that story begin flawed. even Thors used to be a soldier, and Thorfinn's character in season 1 is nothing but a series of gruesomely accumulating mistakes. but the story is about these people on purpose. the message is that it's not impossible to arrive in a better place, no matter where you start from. you aren't required to wipe the slate clean, and only have pristine things to show there. perfection is not a prerequisite, and flaws do not disqualify you from your right or responsibility to improve. let the record show the flaws, and the ugliness. even a person with that history can still go far beyond where they began, even if they have to carry a million ghosts with them. it's the history that informs us of the most important lessons that we must always keep in mind. this is the power of the cautionary tale.
if a person can do it, then there is hope for the state of the world. and even if there wasn't, this is still the house we live in, like it or not. there are still people in there, as beautiful and ugly as they've ever been. the crimes of humanity are sickening, primarily because they are committed against humanity. you have to love first, in order to know why this matters at all.
Same I'm so sorry I know how you feel, those realizations are extremely painful. The world I wanted was one where nobody ever got abused and everyone could've trusted eachother. No one asked anyone to be perfect just don't abuse innocent people. Fact of matter is some people deliberately go out of their way to ruin the lives of others unfortunately.
Remember you chose not to do horrible acts to others so thank you. Whatever life/existence is, it wouldn't even of had a chance if people like you didn't exist. Believe it or not how I see it, there's not a single thing more valuable than people like you guys in all existence. The only reason I bother living is so I can hopefully make this world less worst for the real people like you guys, even if it's through small actions.
I can't think of any good analogies but you guys are stars, you shine despite darkness being all around you. Even if stars are usually far apart from eachother there still so many. You're not alone is what I'm tying to say...I'm rooting for you guys and I genuinely hope you find happiness despite everything...
I sometimes feel like my view on humanity is rather positive because I never had that surprising moment of realizing human cruelty. I grew up in though circumstances and always understood the cruelty and unnecessary violence of people. I was rather surprised when I got older and experienced altruism for the first time
I’m so surprised you included bojack horseman 😭😭😭 that show is actually sooo good. Idk if yall seen it but if not you should def watch it. He’s def the epitome of this topic lmfaooo. He’s exactly the type of character that shows u what trauma and a damaged person looks like, someone u have no doubt in empathizing with, but at the same time shows them in the context that plainly does NOT justify their actions and behavior despite all that. You wanna feel bad for him and you might even understand some of the things he says and does, but at the end of the day it doesn’t make any of it okay, and at a certain point you want/have to say it’s too much
I completely agree, Bojack was so hard to talk about because you really have to make it clear that even though you relate to him you can’t justify is actions at all😭
that's too much man
Your bojack analogy was insanely powerful man. Great work on this video. Super inspirational for sure and i cant wait to see more :)
Bojack Horseman is to me the only cautionary tale that's good for it's audience. Bojack finds a way out at the end that isn't an escape, and the series shows us every step without holding anything back.
The moral ultimately is that Bojack isn't a good person, but if you don't want to do what he does, you have to untether yourself from the idea that there are good or bad people, there's only our actions. Doing good is a skill, and skills are hard to learn, but pain can get in the way of that. You need to juggle pain and choice to live.
Technically Bojack wasn't a bad person either, but he was bad news; he was irresponsible and dangerous for others. No amount of sympathy from others would change that until he admitted to his own weaknesses. It's why Herb didn't forgive him. It's not about how Bojack felt. He did feel bad, but he still failed Herb.
Splendid video! Something my mom should see. My mom is quite strict and when she sees something "bad" or against her values in shows she forbids me to watch them. The thing she fails to understand and perhaps refuses to understand is that some of these shows do in fact fall in line with her values. Simply put these "bad" (as in morally bad) shows that my mom simply labels as, show how life could get messed up if doing the things shown in the show. As in the way you (Huss) put it, these morally "bad" shows serve as cautionary tales to how life could get messed up if one behaves as such characters in these shows. Therefore, they do (whether intentionally or unintentionally) teach how not to live your life, how not to mess up your life by avoiding the paths and behaviors shown. Something that falls in line with my mom's values. Too bad my mom doesn't think this way and just simply forbids me to watch the moment she sees a hint of "badness".
Amazing video bro, I was able to understand more of the cautionary character arc type & it’s awesome that we are able to take away so much about them & learn more about the author & ourselves in these stories.
Dude this is EXACTLY what i was looking for my media assignment. I wanted to talk about characters in media who are the protagonists, but they fall from grace due to their power and pride, but I could never find the correct term. Thank you so much for this video, and I may or may not steal a few points you made 👀
Feel free to do so and I appreciate the support😂❤
i know you failed that assignment 😂
Franklin saint
Power corrupts all. The more human you are the more corruptible you are. It’s a double edge sword.
What I love about cautionary characters is that they will always be relevant, no matter the time for place, history has taught us that. They reflect the highs and lows, the good and bad of humanity very well and they are so relevant and hard hitting because many of us can see ourselves in these characters, not because a lot of these characters are esthetically cool, but they are our dark intentions and thoughts manifested on screen.
However, no matter how justified they are, they’re still evil at the end of the day, ether it would be Eren, Walt, Franklin or Light, they’re all deep down all heinous people. That’s where in my opinion they all get misconstrued as the point of these characters is not, support them (despite their intentions), but to show us a worst case scenario of what would happen if we let our darker interests take ahold of ourselves.
For someone so new to video making, you had me fooled! Really great start, keep up the good work, I’ve subbed
Thanks man I really appreciate it🙏
im glad bojack didnt just get killed off, because whats the point if he abuses people, apologizes yet does it again over and over, just to die without any resolution.
even tho he started really late, its inspiring to see even an abusive, self loathing person like him can grow to be better.
it gives me hope when i feel i am irredeemable or whatnot,
i can self pity like bojack did & get absolutelely nowhere,
or i can learn from it, take accountability, improve myself
I love these types of characters. I find their stories to be much more engaging than a typical hero journey. I am so glad you make this video and iam looking forward for future videos like this. Hell, i would have loved if you analyze these characters one by one, such as Eren or Walter White.
I would also suggest a show titled Barry, played by Bill Hader cause he is a great, underrated example of a dark main character
What a good video, really, I had chills a lot during it, and as a person who whatched AoT 10 times entirely by sharing that experience with always a new friend, you really made Justice to that masterpiece. I followed you hoping to see other video like this, you have an impactful way to speak and to explain these concepts, if this is your start, I can’t wait to see your development. Greetings from Italy man.
Thank you I really appreciate this comment, I’m also a HUGE aot fan so I’m happy I got to express my love for through this video
I plan on sticking to this and comments like this really help me❤
I think that calm they seem to feel or realized at the end of their journey is peace, they don't have to run anymore, they don't have to fight, to be torture in their minds with the endless emptiness they feel of never getting what they wanted, because what they wanted it was always an impossible dream, it's finally over. They can rest. And that's a piece of mind that they could never have, like the rest of us. Only at the end, no matter if they succeeded or not, if their actions will be remembered or how they will, nothing matter, because it's finally over.
Greek Tragedy is the best form of storytelling. Change! My! Mind!
The made in abyss music yooooooo
I've never heard about Snowfall before now. Thanks for introducing it to me.
Hope you enjoy it!
It’s absolutely peak bro
The chapter on Eren describes how I feel about him and AOT as a whole perfectly, I’ve never had someone put that disappointment with Eren into words. To me the story of aot is exactly as Mikasa said, it’s about this world being cruel but beautiful and there’s always a reason to keep living.
This is insanely well done. I love the comedy throughout and the way you explain these characters, while also including a personal aspect to it. I really love your style of content and it's something I'd expect from a much bigger channel. Keep it up, I can see your blowing up even more any day now :)
You gotta love this type of characters, they’re just appealing
Great video btw
Thanks!
Really well done Hussy! You always deliver
For a very long time, I always justified Eren's actions. I never thought they were wrong, and I admired the determination it took to do what he did, giving up everything for his dream. I only realized why he was wrong when I watched Vinland Saga, specifically season 2. The hardest thing to do in this world is to love everyone, including your enemies. Doing so would prevent you from making the same choices that Eren did, as you would believe that every life is precious. However, if you can manage this, then you will be free of all desire. Thorfinn went down an incredibly similar path to Eren, but instead of choosing hate until the end, he eventually ended up choosing love. I used to think freedom was only an external concept, and that I had to fight for my right to live how I want, destroying anyone who got in my way. Now I am aware that true freedom comes from within. For there is no freedom without love.
damn
this is an excellent comment, and I agree wholeheartedly. you have to love first, in order to be frustrated by the world. some of the deepest and most justified anger is felt by good people who know better, toward those who are careless or cruel. the trick is to be mindful, and consciously decide how that feeling should move you. engaging with the world as it is, is a labor of love. even with all it's conundrums and complications, and the full breadth of it's history... the love is why you keep trying, even when you haven't been perfect, and even when the world never was either. even Thorfinn in season 1 couldn't feel that much anger toward Askeladd without first loving his father. the frustration comes from there. sometimes it's just a long, difficult journey, to figure out what to do with all that sentiment.
I agree with you, it's conflicting, but at the same time I understand why Eren did what did too. The whole world was determined to kill him and his people from the start and they all declared a war against them together. He sadly didn't have a choice, you can see his talk with Ramzi he did not want to do this. They tried with Armin and everyone to talk it out, show them they're just humans like them but still the world wouldn't accept them and wanted them dead. Great takes on both characters. The depth in Thorfinn's character s2 was phenomenal.
Attack on Titan’s story is about the cycle of hatred, which will always exist as long as humans live. Eren’s story was structured in a way where there is no space for forgiveness or love for his enemies… It’s either fight for survival, or death.
Eren acknowledged that the people on the other side of the sea were the same as him and his people; he even cried, felt guilt and remorse, tried to think of other solutions, but there was no other way unlike for Thorfinn.
@@vacilion nah, I don't accept that whole "there was no other way" type of mindset. if anything, Eren is a cautionary tale, to us, _because_ his "no other way" mindset is probably so similar to how someone justified the initial atrocities to themselves a long time ago, which led to the current state of things. as long as anyone's excuses remain acceptable, we'll never get anywhere. we'll get nowhere as long as there is this lack of self awareness... this lack of resistance to that hopeless line of thought. if we have had the benefit of seeing the worst of where that leads, then it's up to at least you and me, to learn something else from it all.
I think Thorfinn is a great counterpoint to this mindset, because no... the conclusions Thorfinn comes to aren't easy. for every positive thing that he could ever think, there's a million miles of Eren's mentality, your skepticism, and his own lifetime's worth of pain and frustration, willing to try and say "um, actually," and his job is _still_ to not let that feeling turn him into something he hates.
"idealism" seems like it sets you up with an impossible task. it seems like it demands that you be perfect, or that you ignore the harsh reality of a situation, or that you live in la la land, because nothing in reality works that way. but if that's what you think, then you misunderstand the practical use of an ideal. an ideal is a blueprint, and realism must be its constant companion. everyone who wants to use idealism effectively, knows that you can't expect perfection. that's why Vinland Saga is _never_ about perfect people. none of them _ever_ start with their slate clean. Thors was a soldier before he was a pacifist, same as Thorfinn... and every other sorry son of a bitch we encounter in the story is as dedicated to violence as they are to breathing air. the struggle is still to acknowledge the potential of these men anyway... every single one of them. to shoot for the blueprint, and land as close as possible, even if it will never be possible to fully hit the mark. the ideal in your mind's eye cannot require perfection as a prerequisite, or your efforts will serve absolutely no one.
the most hopeless thing about Eren is his own emotional state, really. he doesn't think it would be possible to sway himself, so that's how incontrovertible he imagines his enemies to be as well. and you can't get anywhere if the conclusion is foregone for you already. but Thorfinn also knows the incontrovertible state from which he came. he knows for a fact that people are mutable, just as long as you acknowledge exactly how hard that process truly is. the cycle of hatred isn't the only cycle that humanity has... especially if you make the conscious choice to feed other drives.
I'm not saying that Eren should've just magically come to these conclusions all on his own. his tragedy is the fact that he didn't. but we can see it all, from where we are. and we can understand that different ingredients might've begat a different man. Thorfinn attempts to be all sides of this equation... do you think the Thorfinn of season 1 would've made any better decisions than Eren, if he were faced with Eren's choices at that point in his life? of course not. sometimes the commitment to an atrocity really is as simple as "wrong place wrong time" like that. but these things are in no way absolute.
This is incredibly well-made man it deserves a lot more views
I really love your analysis style. I really like how it's not just a recap of the character's story; but really looks deeply into the author and characters' personalities and informational sources, using the storyline as the basis to pry deeply into them. To me this style of analysis is pretty hard to find online, so thank you sincerely for that.
Another 2 characters i would personally put on this list are Rick Grimes and Negan. Both are genuinely good people who for some reason or another have had to result in really fucked up things, which would make them out to be villains in the eyes of others. Eventually both of them kept it going until the world forced them to stop. In this case, Negan stopped Rick and Rick's Group/family stopped Negan. (I said it like this to avoid major spoilers)
Well done video my guy ~ I watch a ton of video essays just to pass the time and you have a knack for it, please do keep it up!
Thanks, will do!
Beautifully expressed. You should keep making videos! Your writing skills and editing skills are phenomenal
Thank you I really appreciate your kind words❤️
Beautiful. This is a sappy comment but I wanted to thank you for creating this video. I am going through multiple mental battles right now and your expression of these many characters, both ones I am and am not familiar with, gave me a sense of peace. At the end of the day, I am just a stranger on the internet. But even if it was just for today, this video has given me resolve to take the right path, as you mentioned in this video. I'll be sticking around for more of your content. Thank you.
Ah man this comment means the world to me I really appreciate it, you just made my day a lot better too
I hope everything gets better I know what’s it’s like to have those battles, everyday is a new day and as long as you keep moving forward and try to stay positive I’m sure happiness is right around the corner!
"Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster"" Friedrich Nietzsche
and if you look into the abyss long enough the abyss will look into you
This was a genuinely enjoyable video/video essay. Your explanations of each character, their motivations, flaws, and relatabilities were very eloquently put. Good work all around, thanks for posting this 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Nearly actually cheered hearing the scrap boy in the background.
Veiws be damnrd I thought I was the only person in the world that knew of it
"Surface level analysis" in your channel description my man you're selling yourself short! I clicked on this vid just because there's Eren, Walt, and Bojack in the same topic but I feel like I've hit algorithm jackpot! This was a great video essay!
To be honest I never liked Eren from the start not because he's a terrible character (I mean he kind of is considering how many times he's been kidnapped lol) but because there's bits of him that is also within me but I wouldn't admit that before I watched this. I still won't join the Yeagerists though.
Thanks man i appreciate the compliments, i think it’s hard to admit that we relate to any of these characters but it’s something that we have to accept so we can be better than them
Kidnapping eren did a psychological damage to him that was the whole reason he broke down in s2
First since he was a kid mikasa was miles better than him in combat and his mother constantly told him to be a man and he should protect mikasa and not the other way around so he tried to save her since then and act manly but wasn’t successful and since he got titan powers
He was completely worthless and survey corps members died left and right to save him and HE couldn’t do anything about it
You constantly keep blowing me away with the quality of your videos.
Extremely well made video. 👏
Wow, thank you!
@@UncleHuss1 You’re welcome, keep up the good work
Amazing video, very entertaining and fantastic quality. ✨✨✨
Your voice is very comforting too. 😌
Thank you!
Loved this video, this is my favourite type of character and Eren is also my favourite out of the rest, however regarding the final part of the video I would like to point out one thing about him:
I think Eren didn't really do all of this because he wanted to save his friends that's why he kills Sasha and Hanji and tries to kill the entire squad on the final battle... he even admit it while talking to Armin, that he was just following "something" he wanted (his dream of watching the world Armin showed him on his book and his desire to turn upside down humanity and being free). So, in some way I see the "I did this to save you" as an excuse that he gave himself when he was trying to get his plan done to not feel completely bad about what he was doing (Even if he himself didn't really want to kill his friends and wanted them to live a long life).
However I loved your reflection about all of this characters (specially the Eren's and Light's ones).
Keep it up!
Thank you, I completely agree.
Eren is a very multifaceted character and he has many motivations for why he did the rumbling, I wish I could’ve spoken more about him but I didn’t want this video to just be about him😭
Maybe in the future I’ll dive deeper into him, thanks for the insight!
Please dooo an eren deep dive 😫😫
you have the right context but you see it the wrong way. I believe that Isayama definitely changed the ending.
The whole narrative of “Eren was just acting” that Isayama tries to push at the end just doesn’t hold up at all. Their are many instances where we see Eren by himself and still being that way, and we also get inner dialogue of Eren still being that way. Which is why the Eren we see in the ending just seems like a complete switch up.
Isayama uses Eren as a reflection of himself. At the time Isayama was set on wiping everything away which was how he felt himself, but then he woke up from that feeling during the ending and changed everything he was building the story up to, in order to express the way he felt about himself. This is why people dislike the ending because, you can say they feel robbed of what they were supposed to see by Isayama’s inability to stick it through and his lack of will.
But he never actually killed hange and sasha those were only consequences of his actions his whole reason for rumbling is many not just one and believe me of actually wanted he would have killed his friends he literally has the founder just like erwin had selfish reason to sacrifice scouts eren also did
should've added punpun onodhera in this video
Just finished Breaking Bad and all I have to say is, “Wow.”
What a narrative.
I really gravitate towards shows like Bojack, AoT, BB, and DN because of the moral grayness that is present throughout the story. No character is perfect, but neither is irredeemable.
Great video 👍
I hear the Made in Abyss ost and I will like the video. But seriously, really enjoyed the video! I feel like not enough people really take the time to think about this angle of storytelling, even though it’s integral to the story
Thank youuu I love that ost😭
many thanks i was wondering where have i listened to it before and couldnt find it so end up scrolling the comment section to see if anyone has mentioned it
Subscribing!! This video was top top quality, editing was fantastic and you spoke your thoughts so well regarding these characters. Looking forward to watching the rest of your videos 😄 this was excellent watch
Thank you so much!
I am still at the beginning of the video, but the points at 1:43 to 2:13 struck a chord within me. I think that a major part of the harsh rejection of the cautionary characters' choices and the characters themselves is because they feel, in a sense, like a mirror reflection of ourselves or who we want to be, and so we invest our very being into wanting to see them succeed, be happy, and reach what they hope for. Because what they hope for is what we really want in our own lives.
But when they choose to surrender to a harsher fate, and it all comes crashing down; there is a sense of betrayal. A sense of, "Why did you put me through all of this, just to have his story, *my* story end like that."
This sort of thing tends to happen when you have a great story that people can fall or escape into. Some end up living their lives through the characters, until they are abruptly pulled back into reality when it seeps into the imaginary.
Edit: Awesoome! Eren Jaeger and Walter White are the perfect examples of this. During the times we feel most powerless and helpless, it's no surprise that we may look to Eren and Walt as opportunities for salvation from our own powerlessness and weaknesses. While I do think it is good when a character inspires us to better our lives, I also think it is to our detriment when, instead of applying some of the lessons we learned from the story to our own lives, we postpone them and rage against the unfairness of everything and everyone that has to do with the story ending the way it did, when it wasn't even our story to begin with.
This video essay is a really fascinating and captivating breakdown!!!!
Made in abyss theme after I just watched the show for the first time and finished it 1 week ago, sounds nice
This was incredibly well-made. I think if you keep doing videos like this, and putting in the same amount of love and effort, you’ll definitely grow to a large channel, good luck
Thank you! Will do!
Awesome video! It's interesting to see the outrageously profound ways a character can bungle their potential.
I especially love seeing the inverse happen where a character brushes up against that failure and just barley manages to turn it around and improve themselves (a big reason my favourite movie is Fantastic Mr Fox). Both are good at giving blueprints for how not to screw-up lol.
You’re great at this!! Please make more
Thank you I will❤
You should read usogui fs. It has a very interesting take on the everyone being a slave to something idea. It presents it in a positive way. That no person is perfect and the flaws we have are the reason we can even shine.
Extremely flawed/ cautionary tale protagonists are my favorite kind of protagonists.
I feel like some of the "justifiable"s should've been replaced with "understandable". I also feel like this is missing characters like Killmonger and Magneto, two people with very understandable causes who let their hatred take them too far. Magneto I feel especially deserves a spot on this list due to how iconic he is and how his character actually reversed in public reception (things like #/Magnetowasright trending on twitter) compared somehow like Light who people agreed with at first before people understood his god complex nature and how he fundamentally fails at trying to fix crime.
I can't watch this right now because I am in the mood for warm fuzzies, but I'll come back to this at some point.
I'm back. This video hits close to home, because I both want to be an author, and because I can't lie to myself about my own flaws.
EDIT: I always viewed Light's death on the stairwell as his final moment of denial, accepting his death, but never taking responsibility for his actions, dying by his own arrogance.
"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Good stuff Huss
Amazing video! I think if you ever revisit this topic, Arthur Morgan is one of my favorite examples of a cautionary character.
Great suggestion!
loved this video brother keep it up these are some of my favorite characters ever especially eren i loved him from day one love his journey as a character he will forever e my favorite anime character i think and your analysis was top notch
Thank you for the compliments, your support is what keeps me going❤
Awesome video essay bro
Thank you!
when you look around and the cruelty eclipses the beauty. what then?
This was an amazing video u hit my niche of obsession. Thank you!
I’d absolutely recommend you check out Better Call Saul! It being a brba spin off has obvious parallels to that show, but excels in its own right and I’d say is even better that it’s predecessor. Amazing work again !
Added!
Got 10 seconds in and heard the made in abyss music, insta like
Interesting video topic, and good writing! God bless yall too
Thanks so much!
you have my subscription man, really good video
Awesome, thank you!
First of all, amazing video. I'm a big fan of this trope, and I can safely say that you hit the nail on the head. I think characters like Count Dooku and Jimmy McGill were also worthy inclusions.
You've really outdone yourself with this one mate. Keep up the stellar content. Skilled analysis for sure man. Thanks for sharing this with us all ❤
i LOVE how you analyzed these characters. awesome vid man!
Thanks for the vid it made me realise how much I feel them and how I need to evoid their dark motivation
Really enjoyed the video! Very thought provoking and entertaining. I know these videos can take a lot of time and effort so very well done!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I just watched this and your shoujo video, and you got me with your editing style, keep the good work
I was wondering what exactly this type of character was called. Wasn't sure if they'd all be called an Anti-Hero or Fallen Hero.
i try to force myself through long yt videos as a way to fight my short attention span and your video was so well done that i didn't feel the slightest bit of boredom while watching.
i was so surprised when i saw your subscribers count and i truly believe you deserve more recognition.
keep up the great work.
I always had in mind these characters are supposed to be people that you shouldn't aspire to be, you should admire them, empathise with them, but their ending and life style makes you see that their life isn't glory, it is a tragedy, Light Doesn't have any friends, he kills his own allies and in the end he sees he could have had a normal life with friends and a loving family. Eren because he wanted to create a peaceful world that meant he had to die and lose all of his friends, Thomas Shelby every season loses a family member, his wife, his brother... and only because he can't just get enough and lives a life overly ambitious. You have to see these characters for what they really represent a tragedy tale
For the Light part, if you hadn't noticed already he died in the middle of the staircase. The bottom of the staircase represents hell and the top represents heaven. But in the first episode of Death Note Ryuk said people who use the Death Note can neither go to heaven nor hell. That means Light went to a purgatory. Many people theorize that he went to the Shinigami realm
That quote from Kenny in aot stood out to me so much from that show for the exact reasons you described, and on that note, another incredibly powerful quote from aot was from Levi after Erwin decided he was going to lead his soldiers into a suicide mission against the beast titan, when he said, "Give up on your dreams and die." In a sense, Erwin was really the only character in that show who became free, as it was Levi essentially giving him permission to abandon all of his principles, hopes, judgements, and fears that kept him going and pushing through the hell that being the scout leader was. It makes you wonder what could've happened to these characters if they gave up on what they wanted instead of seeing it through to the end.
armin is the most freest character in aot
I look at the Character of Fiona Fox from the Sonic Archie comics as a cautionary character due to her own selfishness and pride. She started as someone who held a grudge against Sonic claiming that he forgot to rescue her even though he really tried to save her. A while later she acknowledges Sonic isn't a bad guy and she tries to become a Heroine and even starts dating Sonic for a time until Tails had a jealous tantrum over his one-sided crush on Fiona which causes her relationship with Sonic to slow down which leaves her dissatisfied. This leads to her beginning to cheat on Sonic with her-ex, Scourge and then she betrays Sonic and the Freedom Fighters and goes back to blaming Sonic for her own misfortunes and stubbornly clinging to a clearly abusive boyfriend who is a lost cause.
Good video. Good writing. Stay positive 🔥🍻
Thank you! You too!
I remember thinking BoJack was truly gone when he almost slept with Penny. But THEN when you learn he waited to call an ambulance for Sarah Lynn…that was when he became irredeemable in my mind 😔 sure, Sarah Lynn was an adult who chose to go on a bender…but he could have saved her life. That shit hurt.
Great video🖤
Thank you!!
@HussTheAnimeHood hehe no probs some of my fav characters so I'm glad to see a deeper perspective on it always
Great video man, keep up the good work!!
This applies to Paul Atreides too
Everyone keeps saying Eren wanted to wipe out all of humanity but he didn’t. He felt awful doing that, it tormented him for months, he searched for alternatives and couldn't find one. Eren wanted to save his family; the people he loved. The only people who didn’t hate him, that's all it was. He did the rumbling to give them a chance at a few years of peace, family life and a life free from war and titans.
The majority of the audience, Isayama and Eren himself don’t know why he did it 😂
@@ExpertContrarian how because he literally says it was to save his people, he even broke it down when he talked about how with 5% of humanity left, it would take years before retaliation would happen.
@@MJ-py7dm 20% of humanity was left alive, which will just lead to more of what they were dealing with in season 4, people hating and wanting to kill them rendering the rumbling pointless. Go big or go home, no more half measures
Eren was the reason I couldn’t even bring myself to watch season 4, but now I think I want to rewatch all of aot from the beginning
Amazing video good sir thank you for this. These are definitely thee best characters because they’re so human
Nice video man
Appreciate it!
I agree with everything you said but Light.
Light went out sad because his defeat wasn't Near or L's legacy.
It was himself. Mikami or whatever his name is fucked up.
There's poetry in that sure but as far as a narrative bite, to me it was just not the type of setup I was getting. As opposed to Franklin whose self sabotage was referenced since season 1.
Nah, Light lost to bs. No way they could have made a perfect copy of the Death Note that quickly
@@ExpertContrarian that's kinda what I'm getting at. It's bs.
You're new to video essays??? this is much better than most stuff I've seen, mayor props!
New to video essays?? You have professional level engagement!
This is a great video👌🏽
Thank you!!
0:32 What is my boy Aki doing there 😢
Please upload more these are great
great video, m8. keep going!
Thanks, will do!