Lessons from Anime- Monster and the Slow Thriller

Welcome back to Lessons from Anime!

Taking a break from talking about anything Durarara (my god) I want to give a spotlight to a particular favorite show of mine today. It’s not in my top 10 animes, but it is truly a master work and I’ve written posts about it before: Monster.

This is magnum opus of a thriller, with a wide spread of interesting characters, intrigue, and my favorite villain of all time in anything ever. But I want to talk more about the first aspect today, particularly, the lost art of the slow thriller.

I think we have an idea of thrillers these days that they have to be fast paced. You should be able to rip through them in a day and by the end, be left with your heart pounding. And while there is something to be said for the intense but short thriller, there is also something to be said for a different, but much more difficult route.

The slow thriller, is by no means boring. No, it’s just not littered with gun fights and action set pieces. It relies often on the intricacies of the human mind. Slow thrillers are psychological. While a fast thriller might make your heart race with anticipation, a slow thriller makes your heart race because you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. You know something is going to happen, but you have no idea when and it puts you on edge.

While re-watching Monster, I was struck how well constructed it is as a thriller. It constantly makes you nervous. Constantly. Something idyllic? Nervous. Something quiet? Nervous. A pleasant, nice character is introduced? Nervous. It’s not that things always go wrong either. Sometimes everything turns out great and nice characters live. But you never know. Just about every episode I watched with my roommate, she said the phrase, ‘I don’t trust this’. Which is a pretty good sign that the thriller was doing its job.

So what does Monster do so well that makes it such a stellar, psychological thriller?

Well, it all connects back to the handling of its villain. It takes the first four episodes to build this guy up before revealing him in one of the most intense scenes I’ve ever watched. And then he disappears. His presence doesn’t disappear, but he does not arrive on screen for the next twenty episodes. Instead we just see the results of his work. We see his hand in several dangerous organizations. We meet a group of Neo-Nazis who want to make them their leader, and then stumble across their bodies as the villain has killed them all and written frightening messages on the wall.

When he finally does show up, he does so very casually at the end of an episode that seemed like another fake out for his reveal. And then--boom--he just walks up two characters and engages in casual conversation with them. It’s a great sort of bait and switch.

When we’re not paranoid about the villain, we’re paranoid for the hero who is accused of murder. Every nice person he meets, we wonder if they will ultimately turn him in. The show puts us into his head, giving us a great view of his fear and distrust, contrasting it with his desire to help people even if they turn them in.

Most importantly, the show holds the answers back. The show is dedicated to finding out what made the villain the monster that he is. At first, it seems that his evil was born in a brutal orphanage. But we find out he was screwed up before that. It’s possible that he has an alternate personality because of messages he writes, but then it turns out he’s just quoting a picture book. At some point you’re watching the show just because you want to figure this guy out. And his ultimate fall off the wagon into the depths of depravity is something so oddly simple, which I won’t spoil here. The show isn’t interested in doling out answers immediately. They give them little by little to keep its watchers chomping at the bit the whole way through.

If you’re looking for a good example of a slow burn, psychological thriller, this is the show to watch. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, make you nervous, but also be one heck of a ride.

Heroes and Heroism: The Anti-Hero vs. The Line

This week, let’s look at what many might consider the opposite of the moral center: the anti-hero. I’m a villain lover as many of you know from all my fangirling during the villain series I did a little while back. Which means I’m also a fan of a complex hero who walks the line between the dark side and the light. Simply put, an anti-hero is a hero in a story that lacks the typical heroic attributes. However, they are still considered a hero and not a villain because of a few key redeeming features.

It follows then that the anti-hero’s main obstacle would be the moral line between good and evil. This line can affect them on an external or internal level. On an external level they might work outside of the normal moral bounds of society. They could be a thief or a cold blooded assassin. Or they could just be a general asshole. Mugen from Samurai Champloo is a good example of this. 

So is Cat Woman from the batman universe, who finds herself on the hero side of things as much as the villain side.

But that moral line also is present on an internal level. The hero might struggle with becoming a monster or, depending on what side of the line they tend to, going soft. Hei, the hero of Darker than Black, struggles with being a contractor, which are said to be monsters by nature. He works for a shady organization dealing with difficult contractors, but he often doesn’t follow orders directly, being softer than he lets on.

This moral line provides a lot of interesting conflicts, both internally and externally, but a key part of the antihero’s journey is that they ultimately do the heroic thing in the end. That’s what makes them an anti-hero rather than a tragic villain. Its this ultimate move toward the lighter side of thing that gives them their arc. 

Even if they’re still kind of an asshole, it’s the results of their actions that ultimately make a difference.

Villain Spotlight: Zuko and Jaime Lannister

Hello and welcome to the last villain spotlight! We’ve looked at a wide range of villains over these past few months and today we’re going to look at two of the most complex baddies out there. Ones who went from villain to hero. Or sort of hero in the case of the second.

First, a look at Zuko, the exiled prince of the fire nation in Avatar the Last Airbender. Zuko starts out with a bad haircut and an equally bad attitude. 

Yes... you do.

For the first season, he’s the main antagonist for our group of heroes, trying to capture Aang to regain his honor. By the second season, he becomes more of an antihero as his sister Azula, who we’ve already talked about on this series, takes on the role of main antagonist. From then on out Zuko struggles between his light and dark side, his desire to break free of his family and his desire to be loved by them. He has a few major slip ups along the way, even throwing away a few chances at redemption before he finally becomes a full on good guy. But eventually, he gets there, and the whole world cheers.

Awkward Zuko is adorable

Zuko’s character arc is masterful. From the very beginning we feel sympathy for him because, even though he is clearly an antagonist, he’s also just a kid trying to please his father and regain his honor. He’s a teenager trying to be bad when he actually has a soft heart. From season one, Zuko has the support of the audience, rooting for him to make the right decision and shouting at the screen when he slips up. But we never give up on him

The transformation is all very slow going, which is the brilliant thing about this show. Zuko’s shift to a good guy feels organic and he faces many obstacles along the way. Its not easy to change from antagonist to protagonist, so its essential to take baby steps.

Also his hair got better. Which is important.

With Zuko, the audience feels sympathy for him early on and there are well placed hints that he will make the transition. As such, its hard to ever hate him. Jaime Lannister on the other hand…

Okay, yeah, he's pretty, but when you push a kid out a window in the first episode, you garner the hate of every raging audience member. Who does that? Also incest is gross. Jaime Lannister is not a character you start off liking. Though there are hints of a complex character beneath the surface, through season one and season two, he’s pretty terrible. I was totally fine with hating him for the duration of the show.

But then… suddenly… season three happens. 

You said it.

Before I knew it, I went from hating to adoring Jaime’s character. Mostly because of his interaction with my girl Brienne. By the Bear episode (you know the one I’m talking about), I committed Jaime to my dangerous list of favorite characters.

How did this work so well? I think it helps that Game of Thrones is a morally grey world. Most of the characters have done bad things at one time. Plenty of villains are not as they seem. And some villains are so bad that everyone else seems fine in comparison. Jaime Lannister is a human being. He’s done bad things but he’s also done VERY good things that he gets no recognition for because of vows. He also, unlike most of the players in Game of Thrones, has no interest in the throne itself. Even Tyrion has ambitions for power but Jaime recognizes that its not his scene. There’s something pretty respectable about that.

Going back to watch the first two seasons of Game of Thrones, its easy to see the signs of Jaime’s arc. It happened so smoothly you didn’t even realize it was happening until it was too late. And now you have an OTP in Game of Thrones which is super dangerous because everything you love dies but they’re still alive but separated and you want them together again and I SWEAR, DAVE AND DAN, IF YOU KILL THEM BEFORE THEY MEET AGAIN I WILL END YOU!

Sorry. Got of track. What were we talking about?

Right. Well-constructed arcs. The transition is everything with these characters. If there’s a poor transition, the character won’t be as convincing or endearing. Make it gradual. Take your time.

That’s it for the last villain spotlight. Next week we’ll be starting a new series on types of heroes. Because those are pretty important too.

Also, in other news, the cover reveal of HOUR OF MISCHIEF is marked for July 20^th. Mark your calendars because that’s also when the book goes up for preorder! *squeals and flails*

Until next time, have a great weekend!

Villains and Villainy- The Redeemed

Alright, so here we come to our final villain type and one of my personal favorites. The redeemed villain. This is the villain that starts out bad. The villain that in the beginning you hate and want to see go down. But over the course of the story, you slowly warm up to them as you discover their motivations were grayer than you thought.

You can probably name off several redeemed villains off the top of your head. They’re everywhere throughout literature. It’s not hard to see why, either. All throughout this series, my continued mantra has been ‘make your characters human’. This trope capitalizes on that by breaking through an audiences initial first impressions and changing their minds.

Remember Severus Snape? Of course you do. The mean professor who was a red herring for half of the evil doings at Hogwarts? Who likes him? 

Well... a lot of people now. Because while Snape’s actions are still incredibly problematic and he really is a pretty terrible person for taking out his anger on children who he had authority over, by the end of book seven, we see the reason behind his actions. We see some of the tremendous good he has done through the tremendous bad. And we soften to him.

A lot of the villains I’ve talked about in this series get their redemption too. Lots of baddies from Once Upon a Time and Avatar the Last Airbender get their redemption (We’ll talk about Zuko in the spotlight). They have an arc that eventually leads them back to the good side. None of them start out evil, so they don’t have to end evil.

The key to pulling off a good redeemed character is to know where they’re going from the get go. That way you can smooth the transition and plan for it. You can add hints even at the beginning that your villain isn’t all bad. You don’t want a redemptive arc to just pop out of nowhere or it feels cheap and disingenuous. The result shouldn’t make the reader think, ‘what?’ It should make the reader think, ‘Of course! How did I not see the signs?!’

What’s so wonderful about this trope is it truly plays off the complexities of human nature. All human beings have a dark side, and some let it take over more than others. But it’s never too late to turn back and do good. It’s a hopeful trope and probably the one I use the most in my writing. These characters, the redeemed villains, are my absolute favorites in any given series. Because they make me so happy when they get back on the right path.

Thanks for reading. See you for the villain spotlight on Friday!

Villain Spotlight- Ruin and Johan Liebert

This week we’re looking at two terrifying, malevolent and very different Lucifer figures.

The first, Ruin, from the Mistborn series, is more typical of a Lucifer figure. For one thing, he’s actually a god, one who delights in destruction and chaos. He is also a master manipulator, able to pull strings without anybody noticing. His presence can be felt through every page of the series even before you know he EXISTS. I don’t want to spoil too much about him because he’s kind of incredible, but he is genuinely terrifying and utterly without mercy or human ties.

But he does keep to the shadows. The books rightly focus on his deeds and his subtle manipulations rather on him until the end of book three. Still, you’ll be hard pressed to find a greater presence than Ruin in these books, or a more malevolent one. Just when you thought you understood the real threat… you really had no idea.

Really though, why hasn’t everyone read these books?

The second villain is more atypical. For one thing, he might not actually be pure evil. Maybe. The show makes it unclear. And for another thing, he is a constant presence throughout the show Monster.

I’m talking of course about Johan Liebert. While Johan uses his fair share of other people to do his work, he’s perfectly content to carry it out himself. He’s a silver tongued devil in the disguise of a charming young man and everyone trusts him to a fault. No one is aware they are being duped until its too late.

But Johan is pretty constantly on screen. He takes up a huge chunk of the show, and only the golden hearted Tenma, the main character, has more screen time than him. It would be easy to make a villain like this so ridiculous and cheesy.

And yet… God, he works so well. I’ve talked about him before in my review of Monster and raved about him being one of the best villains in anything ever. And I mean it. There are very few villains who have matched his malevolence with any success. I highly recommend the show if you like psychological thrillers.

So there you have it. Two villains who take the crown for evil. Pretty dark stuff if you ask me. But let’s start climbing out of the pit. Next week we’re taking a look at The Redeemed villains, and after that, at the suggestion of a reader, I will be starting up a heroes series to look at the many shades of heroes.

Until then, happy writing!

Villain Spotlight- Dolores Umbridge and Joffery Baratheon

Last week on the spotlight, I fangirled. This week? Its time for a rant.

Not that you haven’t heard a rant in this vein before. Because today I am discussing two of the most infamously hated villains of all time. Dolores Umbridge and Joffery Baratheon.

Oh my god, where to start.

I think it says a lot about a Harry Potter character’s evil when people want them dead more than Voldemort. VOLDEMORT! The main villain of the series. The monsterous man who ruined the lives of our young hero. But if given the choice? Oh yeah. Everyone would take out Umbridge. Because she is just the most unpleasant woman.

Oh sure, she hasn’t killed anyone (though she did help sentence several muggle borns to Azkaban in book seven). But she weasels her way into your soft spots and hits you where it hurts. What I mean by that is, she’s familiar.

Most people haven’t personally known a Voldemort. We’re pretty familiar with the archetype at least. But a lot of people have known an Umbridge. That person who is so bigoted and so ignorant and yet so very sure of their righteous intentions. The person who shames you and makes you feel lesser than them with just a condescending laugh. Plenty of people have had teachers or coworkers like this. Voldemort is a threat sure. But a far off threat.

If you don't get this last one, you haven't watched the Very Potter musicals. And you should

As one of my friends once put it: “Umbridge is personal”.

And then there’s Joffery. Even if you haven’t seen Game of Thrones, you know Joffery. As far as evil goes, he definitely takes the cake from Umbridge for pure number of people hurt and kingdoms screwed up. He does a lot more damage with his power. He tortures people and punishes them for misdemeanors and makes foolish decisions that throw the seven kingdoms into war. Which destroys supplies. Right before a winter. And winters last several years in this world.

Not his brightest moment.

There are certainly people who do as much damage as him. Tywin Lannister for instance, causes tons of pain. But he doesn’t do it for the sake of causing pain but for some sort of aim. And also he’s not STUPID. At least he’s aware of what he’s doing. Joffery knows nothing and he causes pain for the fun of it. And even Ramsay Bolton (who is totally more twisted) at least is smart. That’s a redeeming quality right?

At least he gets slapped a lot

Joffery has no redeeming qualities. And that is why he is so hated. Though it will be interested to see who ultimately comes out of Game of Thrones the most hated. Because there are some recent new contenders.

*Cough* episode nine season five *cough*

Still, these are good villains. As much as I hate them, it’s really because they do their job to well. Because they get under my skin to the point where I can’t enjoy them. That’s a well written villain right there. Making villainy as disgusting as it is in reality.

Villains and Villainy- The One you Hate

Remember how last week I talked about villains you just can’t hate? And how in general I’ve discussed a lot of villains on this series that I also love to hate or hate to love for all their delicious villainy.

Well this week, we’re covering the opposite of that category. Because there are some villains that are, objectively, great villains. They do evil things and they advance the plot wonderfully.

But oh my god, you’ve just got to hate them.

Just wait for the spotlight on Friday. Its coming

This week is less a type of villain and more a… category of response to villains. The spine tingling, stomach roiling disgust that you feel when you walk on screen? That’s one of these villains. And this is probably different for everyone honestly. Everyone responds differently to certain villains. But there are definitely some baddies that… no one likes.

Like Lady Tremaine from Cinderella. Don’t you just want to smite her when she gives one of those looks to Cinderella.

Or Hans. Does anyone not want to punch Hans in the face for deceiving us with his charm?

Get him Ana

These villains are, however, in a lot of ways, some of the best villains. Because in the end, aren’t you supposed to hate the villains? These are the ones that actually do their job. Often I’ve found myself in the position of liking a villain more than a hero because they’re more interesting.

With these baddies? I never have that problem. I guess it’s good to know that I have standards.

Villain Spotlight- Maleficent and Azula

So… Maleficent and Azula are fabulous.

Like, I know I should hate them but… I just can’t. They wear their evil so well. Something about animated villains just gets me, man. So let’s talk about why I like them. 

First off, Maleficent. The evil queen might be the first but Maleficent perfected the art. She cursed Sleeping Beauty because she wasn’t invited to a birthday party (which was actually a pretty serious snub back in the day). Petty, perhaps, but she was a little justified based on medieval customs. And she really knows how to leave a party

Maleficent is one of those villains that embodies class. She knows how to carry herself, how to speak, and even when she loses her cool, she never seems like a child throwing a tantrum. She’s scary and maintains her dignity.

Also, SHE TURNS INTO A DRAGON!

Where were you on that one live action remake?

She’s just one of those powerhouse villains that will go down in history. And she’s still probably one of the best Disney villains of all time.

Another monarch I adore is Princess Azula, from Avatar the Last Airbender. She was raised in a life of privilege but rather than act like a spoiled brat, she is a genuinely capable strategist. She knows how to play the game better than most of the other characters, often outwitting the adults of other nations. And she’s only fourteen! This was a Maleficent in the making if you ask me.

She’s also completely nuts.

Azula is pretty much unlike any other villain I’ve ever seen before. Young but intelligent, crazy but put together the next minute, a capable villainous with her own backstory. I could go on forever about how much I adore this show in general, but Azula is the star today. And I just cannot hate her. Its so much fun to watch her play off the heroes and there are points she even draws sympathy from you.

What I appreciate about both of these female villains is that neither are motivated by men or beauty as so many evil women seem to be in the media. Not that some aren’t but its nice to see villains who are strong and own their femininity without compromise or reliance on men. Maybe that’s why I like them so much.

Maleficent and Azula. Fabulous villains you just can’t hate.

Villains and Villainy- The Monarch

This week on the blog, we’re talking about the monarch archetype. Now this one is very similar to the tyrant archetype, because monarchs can indeed be tyrants. But I do classify them as different for a few reasons.

1.  Monarchs have a more regal bearing about them. Tyrants more often are war lords and dictators. Monarchs are royalty. Now of course the line here is thin and easily crossed. The Lord Ruler, for instance, who we talked about earlier, certainly had a regal bearing. But this leads to my second distinction:

2. While tyrants are those who seize power, monarchs are usually born into it. This causes very different character traits. Tyrants believe they have earned their power while monarchs are born thinking they have an inherent right to it. This often means very different character arcs and goals. Again theirs a fine line if some monarchs come into their power by dethroning the previous dynasty, but you get the gist.

Of course this distinction is my own and can’t be found any books. Its also very likely that I made this a separate category to brag about more villains. I only want to spotlight two villains a week… because I’m particular about patterns in that way.

One of the reasons spotlighting monarchs is so important is because we get some of our best evil women from this category!

Evil queens! Evil queens everywhere. From Disney, to Game of Thrones, to Once Upon a Time. Some of the most iconic villainesses come from this category and they make their bad deeds so fabulous.

Some of my favorites include Queen Cersei from Game of Thrones, Regina from Once Upon a Time, and of course her ancestor, the original Evil Queen.

As stated before, any villainous monarch can deal with a lot of interesting issues. They often think the world is owed to them because of how they have been raised. But there is a great variety to be found here. Some are petty and treat their kingdom like a child might a toy. Others believe they are working for the greater good but their actions get lost among the way. You can make a monarch villain as complex and sympathetic or as completely horrible as you like...

We’ll get to you later, Joffery.

Whatever the case, its important to consider how their roots have effected them and how their lavish way of life might explain their terrible actions. This will make them human. And that, if you might have noticed, is the theme here in our keys to successful villains.

Join me on Friday for a look at two of my favorite monarchs! Warning, expect a lot of fangirling J

Villain Spotlight: The Joker and Ramsay Snow

I hinted at one of our spotlights on Wednesday so let’s jump right in with the obvious choice: The Joker.

The joker, in every incarnation, loves to laugh. It’s part of his name, you know. From the Jack Nickelson version to the Animated Series version to the chilling Heath Ledger portrayal in Dark Knight. All of these characters have a distinct laugh and distinct look. There’s a reason why the joker is one of the most beloved villains of the Batman universe. Because he has fun and we can’t help but have fun with him.

My personal favorite interpretation of the joker is Heath Ledger’s unforgettable performance in the Dark Knight. From his pencil magic trick, to his puns, to his casual reaction to catastrophes. He’s an agent of chaos who goes through life with a smile. He’s not quite as openly a joker as the others, but that makes him a lot more interesting as a character. And his laugh is pretty terrifying as well. He’s definitely the most frightening version of the joker, which gets him a lot of points in my book.

Our other spotlight is on Ramsay Snow, from Game of Thrones. He's another side of the coin. Less the really enjoyable to watch joker and more the 'oh god, my soul, help, he's terrifying' kind of joker.

The bastard of Roose Bolton, Ramsay spends much of his time on screen torturing Theon Greyjoy, to the point we actually feel sorry for him. Which is saying a lot. 

Just leave him alone Ramsay. He's paid his dues

Ramsay almost never stops smiling when he’s causing pain and he loves to troll people. Blowing horns, lying and…

This

Ramsay has a sick sense of humor and it makes him without a doubt the most frightening villain in Game of Thrones. Which is saying a lot. Yet, he’s still definitively human. He’s afraid of his father and anxious to prove himself. He has motives outside of causing pain. But causing pain and psychologically torturing people is clearly what he’s best at. Not that this is unusual for Game of Thrones. But for all of the terrible people in this show, he seems to enjoy his villany the most, which sets him apart. He’s a laughing, burning train wreck you just can’t look away from.

He also needs to die. Because he is just about the worst person in existence. Which I guess makes for a great villain

*choked noises of fear and hatred*

That’s my spotlight for this week! What are some of your favorite jokers? Let me know in the comments.