Here in Code Geass we have both of these types illustrated. I wrote about Lelouch in a separate article.
Suzaku makes a perfect anti-Lelouch character. Perfect illustration of what Last Man is.
In fact, he is so perfect for showcasing this concept, I even do not hate him as much as I might have been, if show was revolving around him. I might have dropped it then.
Examples of Last Man
There are some other shows such as Demon Slayer, Shield Hero or even Gundam SEED, whose protagonists are Last Men. In fact, Demon Slayer makes such a big eulogy to the Last Men, I could not watch it and dropped it despite good quality art and style.
Shows such as Demon Slayer all portray Last Man as a hero who defeats evil and therefore a good guy throughout. A 'shining example' to follow.
Sometimes there are even some preacher characters who all preach the ways of a Last Man to a protagonist and viewers by extension.
What is a Last Man
Last Man is actually something that various moral, Christian and feminist people will praise a lot and tell you this is good. A good man who is an example for all to follow.
I do not trust these groups because they want to convert everyone into Last Men.
A Last Man is someone who puts others before himself. Who always protects the good guys, fights against bad guys. Endures suffering for the cause and stays loyal to his morals even if he is treated badly A kind of saint, martyr type of character who sacrifices himself for others.
Naofumi fights for Kingdom that treats him like shit.
Tanjiro fights demons and serves humans of demon slayer organization who treat him like shit.
Suzaku serve Britannian military who treats him like shit.
In this regard these three characters are the same.
What makes them same is the Last Men qualities all three of them share.
How Suzaku is Different
Code Geass however does something else. it makes Last Man a loser. Loser due to consequences and outcomes of his actions.
It is not that Suzaku is villain, or anti-hero, or even anti-villain. He is a conventional hero in that regard, with good intentions to prevent people from dying and war from happening.
He also always follows the rules, respects his superiors and values lives of others above his own.
A paragon of virtue of sorts. Just like Tanjiro, Naofumi or Kira Yamato.
What makes Suzaku different is the outcomes of his actions. Code Geass consistently portray Suzaku as loser whose actions are never validated in the story. They never lead to anything getting better and villains being defeated. In fact, he protects these very villains with his life.
However, he protects them not because he is villain himself and want to see people suffer under evil rule of Emperor Charles. No, far from it, he is a hero who is willing to lay down his life to save lives of others as well as follow all the rules to the letter.
However, since villains are in power and make the rules, he ends up serving evil. Protecting evil with his life, because doing otherwise will violate his code of ethics and moral conviction.
A hero who serves evil, because he simply refuses to judge people above him critically. A paradox Hollywood based tvtropes stereotype database do not have a term for.
Results of His Action
He does not only serve evil, but the outcomes of his actions do also cause more suffering to people around him.
He defeated Zero and stopped an uprising. He ended all fighting and people no longer dying. Common sense mongers will tell you that war is bad, and peace is good. Suzaku achieved it at the end of 1st season.
Did it make things better? No, oppression of Japanese only increased. People in school had their memories wiped and they ended up under constant surveillance of OSI. Suzaku made lives of everyone much worse.
His continuous interreference with Lelouch also lead to nothing but more problems.
In fact, he could only achieve something good when he finally switched to Lelouch side.
Code Geass is anti-Last Man Show
Unlike the actions of Naofumi and Tanjiro, Suzaku's way of the Last Men did not lead to anything good. The Code Geass consistently tries to show you that being a Last Man, as moral, Christianity and feminism preach will not lead to anything good.
If Lelouch self-serving actions ended up leading to good outcomes for everyone, then Suzaku's selfless self-sacrificing actions only made things worse.
There is a saying that every problem has a simple, clear and wrong solution. Code Geass will help you understand why.
Code Geass asks you to look at moral and society critically. Only then you will be able to see that truth is not as clear and simple as tropes of hero and villain.
No comments:
Post a Comment