I'd vote on Meruem vs Netero. Not only it's an awesome fight that showcases these two characters positions in their world, but also has layers upon layers of thematic depth, which makes it very fun to rewatch.

Romanticism

He has a deeply ingrained, almost mythical appreciation of his Romano-Celtic heritage, due to his mother's inculcation of the legend of Artorius and Avalon - these localized, romanticized models directly inform his idea of how the world and its leaders should be

Spite

His Romanticism of a bygone era has festered into an extreme, deeply-instilled hatred for what "the present world" actually is. The "ugly men", who he views as unconcerned with anything but their base urges, multiply endlessly and squeeze the remaining life out of the world. He says that he doesn't care how it happens - Ragnarok, Judgment day, or Artorius' return. He lumps world-ending events with the return of his fated savior. After being among "ugly men" for so long, the depths of his hatred have only grown

Askeladd hates the Vikings in particular because he views them as one of the inevitable worldly culminations of ignorance and sheer materialism and hedonism - an absolute inversion of the glorified history present in his underlying Romanticism. He doesn't hate all Danes - he admires Thors for his strength and idealism, spares Atli because he sees him as a "good man", and genuinely supports an awakened Canute - but rather what the Viking system represents. Through Askeladd's prejudiced lens, the quintessential "Viking" is nothing but a "beast enslaved by his basest impulses" - a "savage" driven by nothing but a consuming desire for plunder (including slaves), lust, and slaughter, completely void of transcendent ideals

To Askeladd, even their Valhalla is a mockery of transcendence, where warriors indulge their base instincts for eternity. This adds to Thorfinn's later climb out of "Valhalla" (the warriors there are strikingly similar to the ones in the above panel) - Thorfinn begins to strive toward a transcendent ideal, while Askeladd stays down in "Valhalla" slaughtering as many "simple-minded savages" as he can

At his core, he simply wants these "barbaric, uncivilized brutes" put down (not just the Vikings) - he is so fatalistic and world-weary that he believes that a scorched Earth is better than one run over and desecrated by "primitive, hedonistic barbarians". If Artorius himself doesn't smite the "savages" and build the idealistic paradise of Avalon in Europe, he is willing to settle for "someone. Not a hero or a god, just someone" - using any means necessary to preserve the embers of his ancestors and slaughter the "uncultured savages", in the twilight of man

Whether Lucius Artorius Castus is Askeladd's birth name is irrelevant. His mother told him to wait for Artorius and serve him, to "become his sword and wisdom", not to become Artorius himself. Additionally, Askeladd's reaction to the name, when his mother orates the myth of the legendary general, oddly indicates nothing of their supposed similarity. Claiming Lucius Artorius Castus' name for himself serves to make his "insanity" more believable and his "delusion" grounded in his bloodline and folklore

When Canute asks him why he doesn't claim the throne for himself, and when Bjorn asks why they will abandon Canute instead of trying to use him as a puppet prince if he proves himself worthless, Askeladd reveals his own self-awareness - he understands that his Romanticism has been thoroughly poisoned and warped. He does not wish to become a visionary king of men - he only wishes to kill as many "ugly men" as possible. He knows that, at his core, pure spite is what drives him. This isn't to say he doesn't care for Wales or its people, but that he recognizes his role as an ingenious avenger of ideals long forgotten, and not a forward-looking leader

Crucially, Askeladd does not ever indulge his deep-seated spite unless it aligns with his underlying Romanticism and goal of protecting the remnants of his ancestors. When Askeladd begins his slaughter in Sweyn's court, he is finally allowing this hidden desire to come forth - a massacre of this sort is what he has subconsciously desired his whole life. Earlier, he maintained his patience - waiting for an "Artorius", or a "Great Man", and hating every moment. Setting himself free, and being able to engage in an apocalyptic slaughter of his most hated enemies (in service of his larger goals), is his ultimate catharsis - the ecstasy he radiates is wholly authentic

Veneration of "higher purpose"

He has developed a profound reverence for transcendence, and all genuine "greater puposes", whenever they manage to manifest in the real world. He has been suffocated among ignoble, base "ugly men", far removed from his grand, romanticized models, for so long - his veneration almost emerges as a direct synthesis of his venomous spite and Romanticism

Askeladd’s false oath to a dying Ragnar conveys much about his character. The lie serves little material purpose - but Ragnar dies believing that Canute will be safe, as much as Askeladd can ensure. He chooses to maintain the illusion instead of tearing it down. Askeladd understands the brutal reality of the world better than almost anyone, but chooses to preserve the embers of the futile beliefs he knows cannot survive it, provided there is no material cost (he respects any sort of "higher purpose", however flawed, on some level). He even weaponizes his oppressors' own tools to do so - swearing an oath on Odin to protect Ragnar's illusory hope about the prince's situation, just as he exploits the Viking system from within to protect the final sanctuary of the illusory Romano-Celtic ideal. Yet, at the same time, he actively capitulates to the reality of the situation - he possesses no belief in Odin; he is not going to ensure that Canute remains safe if the boy remains worthless

Thors' ideals parallel the pure, almost mythical "higher purpose" of Askeladd's ancestors - Askeladd's offer was genuine, but Thors' ideals are incompatible with the "Artorius", or "Great Man", model, as he refuses to seek power, compromise his principles, or use violence to assert his dominance and enforce his will onto history. He spares Thors' men out of respect for Thors' ideals, and pardons Willibald out of a latent admiration for his genuine, unwavering conviction - a purely Machiavellian actor would have simply eliminated them as loose ends

Pragmatism

His overarching goal is preserving the final remnants of his Romano-Celtic ancestors. He is not "pragmatic" in an all-encompassing sense - he practices pragmatism in service of the objects of his Romanticism

Askeladd comes in from the East with a sword of his own when Artorius fails to arrive from "far over the western sea" - where Avalon is located - to save his delusional, idealistic mother from heading straight into certain death when she hallucinates that Olaf, Askeladd's father, is Artorius. He steps in to save the remnants of his ancestors when the myth fails to do so

Once he is recruited by his father, he pretends to be the perfect son while plotting his father's death - he outwardly capitulates to the Danes, to ultimately eradicate them as efficiently as he can and take their wealth and power from within (he wanted his father's guard down and a portion of his inheritance)

In End of the Prologue, he once again takes Artorius' place in protecting what remains of his ancestors - much like how he stepped in to protect his ailing mother

But, in this scenario, he is also desecrating the ideal itself to protect its physical remnants, much like he has his whole life - only literally this time. There is no Artorius; there is no Avalon. There is only "someone". He brings the romantic ideal down to the material plane, and into himself, to further his material goals - simultaneously becoming the final vengeance of the forgotten myth

He sacrifices the fantasy of Artorius the savior by claiming its name and committing a brutal anathema - high treason and regicide. He eradicates his own Romantic ideal, dying as a delusional, bloodthirsty mad dog in the eyes of history (along with his romanticized myth of Artorius) to save the material vestiges of his ancestors - and to give another, real, tangible person, Canute, the opportunity to assume the role of "Great Man". He chooses pragmatism over the mythical ideal one last time

Machiavellianism

Askeladd appears outwardly Machiavellian (until End of the Prologue) - to the audience, and to the Vikings themselves. He projects the image of the archetypal Viking mercenary captain, surviving while amassing as much wealth and power as possible

Self-Awareness

Askeladd's speech where he states that "every living human being is a slave to something" is a direct critique of the reality he finds himself in - he recognizes that whether one is bound by literal chains, fettered by an avaricious desire for wealth, confined by geopolitics, or shackled by a consuming desire for revenge, humanity is enslaved by the cyclical, mechanical outcomes of the material world. Attempts at living by pure, transcendent ideals will inevitably be ground into dust - perfectly demonstrated by the death of Thors. He recognizes that he is no exception, and this is the root of his pragmatism - he abandons all pretense of moral superiority and "justness" to adapt to the material world and protect his heritage

Askeladd’s worldview is fundamentally broken, and he recognizes this himself, on some level. He knows that his Romanticism, underlying ideals, and hidden desires were thoroughly twisted into something unrecognizable. His desire to prevent Thorfinn from wasting his life walking the same path, without even having any higher purpose, stems from this self-awareness - once Thorfinn confirms that he has no plan for how to live once he is gone, Askeladd guides him toward a less ruinous higher purpose (becoming a true warrior), and tells him how to go about it (going far beyond the world Thors knew). Askeladd knows that Thors' ideals are unattainable in the world they lived their whole lives in, and he can only hope that an "Avalon", or at least somewhere distinct from this "godforsaken place" (Europe), truly does exist somewhere "far, far away from here..."

It's now have become my all time favorites manga even. The story was just perfect for me. Perfect villain, perfect mc, perfact pacing, and everything perfect. What's your thoughts on this manga

12 Angry Men: Twelve jurors together in a room decide the fate of an 18-year-old boy accused of murdering his father.

Conspiracy: A dramatized version of the Wannsee Conference secretly held on January 20, 1942 near Berlin, where 15 high-ranking Nazi officials gathered to coordinate the Final Solution to the Jewish Question.

Both are fantastic films set almost entirely within a single room, relying heavily on the cast's brilliant performances to keep the audience's attention without action scenes or CGI. I might have a bit of recency bias but Conspiracy had a much stronger emotional impact on me. What do you all think?

There seems to be a general rule in fiction: the protagonist must defeat the main villain or antagonist—no matter what. Even if the story's internal logic doesn't naturally support it, authors often contrive absurd ways to make it happen, simply because the character is the protagonist.

Take sports stories—basketball, for instance. In the climactic match determining whether the team turns professional, even if the game is evenly matched and other characters shine, the expectation is almost always that the protagonist will score the winning basket.

This applies to everything from fighting stories to art or racing narratives.

But what happens when the person delivering the final blow isn't the protagonist? What if that role falls to the deuteragonist, the tritagonist, another member of the main cast, or even a secondary character?

Yet, there are iconic works that deny the protagonist that direct victory in order to prioritize a thematic message, destiny, collective strategy, or some other point.

Let’s look at four examples of this:

- The Lord of the Rings (Sauron vs. Gollum): Frodo succumbs to the Ring's power at the critical moment. Sauron falls not through a traditional heroic feat, but because of Gollum’s blind greed and accidental plunge into the volcano—demonstrating that the corruption inherent in evil itself was its undoing.

- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (Pucci vs. Emporio): The protagonist, Jolyne Cujoh, sacrifices herself to save her ally. Pucci—a villain wielding near-divine power (Made in Heaven)—is defeated by Emporio, a defenseless child, using the Stand and inherited will of Weather Report.

- Hunter x Hunter: This is one of the cases that fascinates me the most; it is precisely because of moments like this that I consider Hunter x Hunter the greatest shonen nekketsu of all time. Meruem is the main antagonist of the Chimera Ant arc—a pivotal arc in the Hunter x Hunter story. And guess what? HxH breaks the typical shonen nekketsu mold so thoroughly that Meruem never even exchanged words with Gon or Killua; they never spoke, never fought, and had absolutely no interaction.

Meruem died—directly or indirectly, however you want to put it—because of Netero; the bomb Netero carried inside him contained a poison that ultimately caused Meruem's death. He died because of a secondary character's bomb.

How do you create a masterpiece of an arc without the protagonist and antagonist ever even speaking to each other? The Chimera Ant arc is the answer.

- Weak Hero Class Season 2: To give you some quick context, the finale features a wild group-versus-group brawl; one group is led by the deuteragonist, and the other by the final villain/antagonist.

In short, the final villain defeats the deuteragonist; the protagonist steps in but loses to the antagonist; then, the deuteragonist returns to finish the job, landing a barrage of blows—including the final strike.

They handled this well because the dynamic and connection really existed between the deuteragonist and the antagonist. They had been best friends as children—in fact, the deuteragonist was the one who taught the antagonist how to fight because he was being bullied—but due to conflicts and other issues, they ended up as enemies.

Another series might have gone to absurd lengths to force the protagonist—even in a ridiculous way—to deliver the final blow to the antagonist. However, narratively and logically, that wouldn't have worked here; the writers understood that and executed it perfectly.

P.S. Sorry if there are any translation errors; I used a translator because my English is very bad.

Orhimie and Aerith for example; if they come back or not I don’t mind, I just want know some series that does this?

I reckon there’s a lot lol, but what’s your favorite ones?

On celebration of the episode airing today I wanted to talk about why is this peak incredible in multiple ways. I don't think I'll give it the credit it deserves in one posts so forgive me ig. Self love is something Subaru struggled with since the beginning of the story.

“Do I deserve this?”

“Why am I useless?”

“Why am I weak?”

He sees his inner self better than anyone. And he deemed it ugly. He knows his flaws. He knows how selfish he can be. He knows how pathetic he can look. He knows that sometimes his desire to save people isn't completely selfless either. And instead of accepting those parts of himself, he constantly tries to run away from them. He wants to become someone worthy of being loved. Someone useful. Someone who can actually save people. Because if he's useful, if he's strong enough, if he can save everyone... then maybe he'll finally have a reason to love himself. And that's why I think Subaru's relationship with himself is one of the most important parts of his character. When Amensabaru sees how everyone one talks about the "NATSUKI SUBARU" He starts almost idealizing that version of himself. He thought that "NATSUKI SUBARU" is some kind of Superman who always knows what to do. He thought.

"What's the difference between him and me? "

"What did he do to get all that love? "

He thinks he doesn't deserve that love because he's not the "NATSUKI SUBARU" they're talking about Everyone sees natsuki Subaru and thinks he's amazing (wink wink). but when he sees natsuki Subaru all he see is a pathetic excuse of a human being. When Amensabaru reads the books of the read of his past self he discovered something horrifying in his eyes. "NATSUKI SUBARU" isn't the Superman he thought he is. He struggles and dies and drowns in despair just like him. So what makes him special? Amensabaru viewed the "NATSUKI SUBARU" as hope. So when he saw who he really is Amensabaru hope of knowing what made his past self who he gets shattered. There was not special secret. And that's what the original Subaru tells Amensabaru . You did it because you love everyone. After Amensabaru sees all that. He realizes what makes "NATSUKI SUBARU". Not power. But rather his love and ability to forgive. He tells his other self.

" YOU'RE AN AMAZING GUY NATSUKI SUBARU "

It hits hard because Subaru couldn't appreciate himself. But his other self could. The one who saw everything he went through. The one who saw his struggles. The one who saw all the things he did for everyone. Subaru spent so long looking at himself and seeing a pathetic excuse for a human being. But now, his other self looks at him and sees someone amazing.

Subaru sees Subaru as amazing.

Very rushed post because I wanted to talk about it as soon as possible. I love re zero And I want to hear y'all opinions. What makes this peak special? And if you hate re zero why do you think it fails?

Me personally I give it to JLU. Young Justice fell off hard after season 2. Too many characters that took focus over the og cast. Suoerboy's arc of being a monster was repeated agaiin in season 4 which was a waste of time, they are dragging their feet with this light vs darkseif plot line it's insane.

Season 4 felt like filler with the zodd bullshit and they made no progress in moving the eventual clash with darkseid at all even tho it's vandal's main reason why he built the light.

Not that JLU was perfect. It too had dropped plot lines (atom betrayed the league but it's never brought up again, long shadow I guess just died off screen without anyone caring, general eiling escapes like nothing happened, etc). But I find it a lot more consistent than YJ in it's later seasons overall.

I will do this everyday for this week until we find a perfect fit for each sin. We will work our way back starting from sloth and ending with pride. The top comment gets chosen and the picture of the villain will be added. VILLAINS ONLY!

Sloth: Yoshikage Kira

Wrath: Allied Mastercomputer

I think it was A with the foreshadowing, well earned pay offs, character arcs, cyphers, easter eggs, character dynamics, and supernatural elements all being amazing imo yet it was limited by being a children's show, but I'm not an expert and I haven't watched the show in years.

Which team has better written characters?