Anime Help! Which anime has characters that struggles being good or evil?

[Guest leecwen]

Hi, I'm actually a student doing a japanese popular culture module with the focus on anime. I'm not a huge fan of anime so I need help with my project. The theme is GOOD AND EVIL. so far what my group has thought of include portraying (1) the different kinds of good and evil or (2) perhaps finding characters that struggle between being good or evil.

so far recommendations for characters with internal struggles include the 1st OVA for RYONIN KENSHIN. actually i do read some manga. and i think that the character KIRA in DEATHNOTE is a conflicting character of good and evil. but there is no anime version for that too! i have tried to watch X: The movie but i really bored me as i had no idea what was going on in the storyline.

SO CAN ANY KIND SOUL GIVE SOME ADVICE? any anime that depicts good and evil, or has characters with internal struggles or anyone has suggestions of what other point of views for GOOD AND EVIL?

thank you so much!!! :animeblus

[fizerin]

Well,...... .hack//sign, gandam seed and Tales of Symphonia. Tales of Symphonia is an anime video game on gamecube.

[Dagger]

[b]fizerin[/b], care to elaborate?

Light/Kira is an excellent example of this--but, as you mentioned, there's no Death Note anime. I guess his two-second cameo in Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid wouldn't count either, no? ;)

I think that [b]Gungrave[/b] does a wonderful job of presenting characters whose actions are morally ambivalent and who frequently struggle with their choices. Harry is tormented by [spoiler]his betrayal of Brandon, and Brandon's perceived betrayal of him.[/spoiler] Brandon, meanwhile, must decide whether to be loyal to [spoiler]Harry or to Big Daddy.[/spoiler] Despite being criminals and killers, these characters are torn by guilt and--when they seek to do the right thing--have trouble figuring out exactly what the "right thing" is.

In [b]Escaflowne[/b], Folken, [spoiler]who started off being essentially a good person, is drawn astray by fear (among other things). From what I recall, it's made clear that he regrets many of the things he's done.[/spoiler]

[b]Elfen Lied[/b] may or may not be appropriate for your purposes, but Nana, Lucy and Mariko all vacillate between good and evil (though the series does its best to make these things relative). Lucy is a cold-blooded murderer who has destroyed many lives, [spoiler]but she also has a more human side (no, I'm not talking about Nyu) that grapples to come to terms with the atrocities she's committed. While she was at first driven to kill, she soon came to take pleasure from it. Is this genetic or something stemming from the individual? That's left up to the viewer to decide.[/spoiler]

Oh, and in [b]Devil Lady[/b], Jun (the main character) is at once horrified and drawn in by her own demonic inner nature. On the one hand, Devil Lady upends traditional notions of religion-based morality (like, [spoiler]God raping Satan?[/spoiler] O~kaay...). On the other hand, Jun still tries--sometimes futilely--to strive for an intangible idea of that which is good.

~Dagger~

[Stark]

A character with deep internal conflict, huh? I have a couple of ideas that may help you...

Kougaiji, from Saiyuki, clearly has issues dealing in where his loyalties lie and what he wants to do. Even though he has to fight and annihilate the Sanzo Ikkou, he probably would't do that if given the choice. His main goal is [spoiler] to revive his mother and to protect his little sister as best as he can.[/spoiler] However, he clearly is being black mailed into fighting by the real enemy in the series.

To make matters worse, [spoiler] the Kougaiji as we know him is essentially lost by the end of the first season of Saiyuki, essentially turned into a shell of his former self.[/spoiler] Last I saw of him, I found little hope for his character.

About your comment on X...did you watch the movie, or the series? I understand that they are quite different in their portrayal of the original manga.

For different protrayals of Good and Evil...that's in the plot, right?

I think that Full Metal Alchemist may fit the bill. Not only does the main character, Ed, suffer through bouts of what I call psychological torture, there also several moments when you question the motives behind the actions of nearly every character.

Plot in a sentence; two brothers attempt a forbidden usage of Alchemy, and now seek out the Philosopher's Stone to repair the damage.

Besides that, Evil is clearly depicted by the presence of the Sins. They are, essentially,[spoiler] personifications of each of the seven sins mentioned in Christian Texts.[/spoiler]

And everyone seems to want the Philosopher's Stone for some reason or another, usuallly for reasons more destructive than immortality.

[Veritas]

[quote name='Dagger]I think that [b]Gungrave[/b] does a wonderful job of presenting characters whose actions are morally ambivalent and who frequently struggle with their choices. Harry is tormented by [spoiler]his betrayal of Brandon, and Brandon's perceived betrayal of him.[/spoiler] Brandon, meanwhile, must decide whether to be loyal to [spoiler]Harry or to Big Daddy.[/spoiler'] Despite being criminals and killers, these characters are torn by guilt and--when they seek to do the right thing--have trouble figuring out exactly what the "right thing" is.[/quote][font=Arial][color=darkred]I agree with you there, though I think you missed one; I think Big Daddy could also fall under this, [spoiler]he seems to be haunted by Brandon's death, as well as his choice to become Necrolized. Also I thing he is somewhat tormented by what he has to do to protect the ones he loves.[/spoiler] Lol anywho I forgot what I was getting at.[/color][/font]
[font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font]
[font=Arial][color=darkred]Another hat I think has alot of internalized Good vs Evil, is [b]Soultaker[/b]. I have not seen the show in far to long to ellaborate more but It seems [spoiler]Kyoske struggles aot with his identity, as well as who and what he is.[/spoiler] I would go into more detail but, I dont trust my memory that well, so I might be wrong.[/color][/font]

[jeian]

Kougaiji is one...(saiyuki)
Kyuzu from samurai7... actually his purpose is to kill Kanbei... so he joined the group to fight for good... but don't you think he's still on the other side...?

[Guest leecwen]

thanks for all your replies and suggestions! i shall go find out more about the anime and see if they are available at the anime kissaten in my school.

to stark : the X i watched is the movie version. after 45mins, the plot seems to be rather stagnent still and i didn't watch the 2nd half. i might watched the anime series instead. is it recommended? becos i thought that the plot of KAMUI vs FUMA would be a good "good vs evil" plot. but this would seem rather "american" in the sense where heroes are just born and no explanation is given for their behavious. or would the series provide more insight?

[Delta]

[COLOR=#C352AC][SIZE=1][quote name='jeian?']Kyuzu from samurai7... actually his purpose is to kill Kanbei... so he joined the group to fight for good... but don't you think he's still on the other side...?[/quote][spoiler]When Kyuzo died, I'm pretty sure what he felt about Kanbei was something along the lines of friendly competition. Episode 25, I think.[/Spoiler]

[b]Kazutaka Muraki[/b] started out good. He just got frustrated with the fact that [spoiler]humans are very fragilebeings. His broken dolls can be fixed anytime but it's not as impossible as resurrecting the dead.[/spoiler][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Ikillion]

[COLOR=DarkSlateGray]Well a good character that really does have a hard timr struggling being good or going over to the darkness is Uchiha Saskue. I mean is you seriously think about it besides the [spoiler] curse seal that he had been given by Orichimaru(sp?)[/spoiler] everything was basicly good for him. Until he had his big[spoiler] fight with Itachi and and his crave for power to him over. Thus leading him down the path to darkness[/spoiler] So I would basicly call that a path of coming from light into one that leads into darkness.

I am not totally 100% sure if this would be considered struggling to chose between light and darkness.[spoiler] Later on in the Bleach series when Ichigo fights Barkruya (Darnit why cant I ever spell his name right!). Later in their final fight when Ichigo begins to lose. His inner hollow starts to take his body over and fight for him. This does however only last for a wile so im not sure if its chosing to be evil, since he does rip off the mask himself.[/spoiler] That to me seems like a struggle for darkness. However as afore mentioned im not completly sure.[/COLOR]

[densuke]

[b]Now and Then, Here and There[/b] would be easy to use in your assignment. The good and bad characters are easy to spot and easy to read. The series is also fairly short and fairly popular.

[b]Juuni Kokki[/b] would be harder to use -- it's twice as long, has too many characters and is harder to "get." But I will recommend it anyway because it has a lot to say about good vs. evil as it relates to governance and politics. It is also very entertaining, encompassing wars and rebellions and assassinations and things like that.

[TigerFantasy17]

[QUOTE=leecwen]Hi, I'm actually a student doing a japanese popular culture module with the focus on anime. I'm not a huge fan of anime so I need help with my project. The theme is GOOD AND EVIL. so far what my group has thought of include portraying (1) the different kinds of good and evil or (2) perhaps finding characters that struggle between being good or evil.

so far recommendations for characters with internal struggles include the 1st OVA for RYONIN KENSHIN. actually i do read some manga. and i think that the character KIRA in DEATHNOTE is a conflicting character of good and evil. but there is no anime version for that too! i have tried to watch X: The movie but i really bored me as i had no idea what was going on in the storyline.

SO CAN ANY KIND SOUL GIVE SOME ADVICE? any anime that depicts good and evil, or has characters with internal struggles or anyone has suggestions of what other point of views for GOOD AND EVIL?

thank you so much!!! :animeblus[/QUOTE]
wat ur doin a project i sssoooooo wana do that..even tho i alredy kno 2 much cuz i ammm japanese!!!and soooo obsesd..!!!n e wey itz not ryonin kenshin itz rurouni kenshin..translation..kenshin the wanderer..wel kenshin..also known az harakiri battousai..sori i hav 2 corect that cuz itz one of my favorites..um kikyo from inuyasha...akito from fruits basket..ur not a fan of anime???once u reed one manga or watch anime u r gona wnt 2 watch another one or reed..and ur hooked...sooo i'm warning u dont turn in2 an otaku..like me....i had 2 suffer..muahaha

[Guest leecwen]

oh, i am studying in Singapore and this module that i am taking in school now is "japanese popular culture". but because the lecturer is an anime specialist, we are focusing on anime this semester.

the project i am suppose to do is to pick out any aspect in the anime and study it, make relations with how japanese society is like. so i'm suppose to watch like ALOT ALOT of anime and perhaps pick a few to focus on.

i do read manga. more than i watch anime. used to read all slam dunk, harlem beat, dear boys, conan. recently i've read deathnote (damn good). i seldom watch anime. so that's the problem now. haha. not a hard core otaku. but i do like anime and manga. but i think i'm sure going to watch more anime after taking this module. haha.

[Nekova]

I've heard that X the movie was really confusion (and no wonder- 18 plus manga squeezed into 2 hours?), but I have the 24 episode anime and it's amazing. If you want to see about a struggle between good and evil, definately go for X.

[nika2999]

I'd have to say Sesshomaru from inuyasha, he has a good side and a bad side. He has no regard for humans except when it comes to rin. Which is unusually seeing how he despises humans because there weak.

[algazaleen!]

I thought that Shinji from Evangelion had to come to terms with good and evil near the end of the series.

[Dagger]

[quote name='algazaleen!']I thought that Shinji from Evangelion had to come to terms with good and evil near the end of the series.[/quote]
Good and evil might be putting it a bit starkly, but in other respects I totally agree. Anyone who wants to see a character really struggle with himself should watch Eva (and, more specifically, the last two or three episodes).

~Dagger~

[Starwind]

I ahve to agree that if you want to see a real struggle you should see the last three episodes of the series and watch the movie as well. He has to decide whether or not the world should end. He was the jaded instegator of the apocalypse, for a true good and evil struggle see Evangelian.

[darkfuuma]

I'd have to agree that X the movie is a servere disappointment-as mentioned by nekova, you're not gonna fit that much info into a 2hr film. You could try the X tv series, but its a little slow, and i doubt you've the time to watch a entire series for your project. Pitty really, since the conflict kamui has to face between the oppossing agruments of the chi no ryu and ten no ryu would be exactly what you're looking for.
Since gungrave, and escaflowne have been mentioned(and are good suggestions) i'll throw out Hellsing as a maybe. [spoiler] Alucard is a monster-in every sense of the word, but he's doing the right thing by killing vampires. Or is he? They are his own kind- but in episode one alucard sums up his own personal belif regarding hunting his own kind pretty well. You also have seras interal conflict as well- her refusal to drink blood, until she sees her master feeding on a human (a "bad" one regardless) at which point she bolts back to her room to feed her self.[/spoiler]

Hope thats helpfull!

[Nomura]

Seshomaru(Inuyasha) and Sasuke(Naruto). They both have these good moments and they have their evil moments. They sorta struggle, but in the end you can tell their on the good side.

[Ima]

Haha Well most of all DBZ is probably the most obvious... In the theme song is even says "A struggle between good and evil" haha you cannot get any more obvious that that :P

[Veritas]

[font=Arial][size=1][color=darkred]I got to thinking and I realized that Ryu Soma of ArgentoSoma has some internalized struggles of good and evil. [spoiler]Ryu pretty much has a identity change (for the better I think;) ) so he can join Funeral, and get his chance to get back at Frank. Though it seems as though he helps Frank/Extra-1 more than anything which frustrates him more. It seems like part of him realizes the threat of the aliens and use of the Extra-1 as a weapon, but the other part of him hates Frank and wants revenge for Maki's death. Also how Frank doesnt even view Ryu as an Enemy, which frustrates him further. Where I am at in the series it seems like he has gotten over the whole revenge aspect though.[/spoiler] I dunno that might be more of a internalized conflict with nothing to do with good and evil. Also anybody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.[/color][/size][/font]

[Qukey]

Kind of surprise that no one mention Char Aznable of Mobile Suit Gundam, a truly "gray" character. For detail about him, check out Wikipedia's entry about him at:
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Char_Aznable[/url]

[animepersun]

Demon Diary! Poor raenef >.<

[passionate slay]

no one even mentioned scar from full metal alchemist, i mean, he killed human lives, and for what, [spoiler]revenge for his people, but it seemed in the end, he turned over a new leaf and truly understood the reaon for his brther giving his right arm to him[/spoiler]