The "Edgelord" Protagonist

[Nidoking's iconNidoking]

Vegeta, Sasuke, Kanda, Bakugo, Killua, Byakuya, Levi... All of these characters, and many more, embody some version of the "distant edgelord" trope. They're also all fan-favorites and many are easily the most popular in their respective series. Many of them end up having considerable character growth as they 'open up', but let's be honest... most of the time this happens long after their fandom exploded. Something about them just... captures people.

But how do you feel? Do you tend to flock towards these characters? What is it about them that people find so captivating?

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For me personally, they're usually pretty off-putting before they get that development, and a small few are honestly so bad about it that it almost hurts the series for me... but even those ones usually pay off eventually. Some even become favorites of mine.

 

[No-Bo-Dy]

 

[fake-kun]

Bass is technically one. If I were to talk about all the reasons I like him, I would be here all day.

 

[Tonberry]

As long as they are more than their boring chuuni mentality they're usually fine.
Vegeta starts out as a true-blue villain, then turns into an antihero, then to a reluctant hero, then to a true hero, and everybody loves Vegeta. He was easy to like in any state because he was always pretty card-carrying no matter if he's a goodie or a baddie.

Guts and Kenshiro probably fit the bill too, and I like both of them.
Sasuke is fine because Naruto exists. Without him, he'd probably be pretty tiresome.

I like Zoro because to people outside of the strawhats he's this terrifying invincible killer, but to the strawhats he's a dumb fuck and a great friend.

For games, I think Cloud is a good example, and he has a great character arc.

I tend not to gravitate towards them (loved them as a kid though), but any character is good if they simply are good characters.

 

[goregoregoregoregoregore]

I like the edgelord protagonists, but i like more when you have the freedom to be the edgelord. Some games make you locked in to try to be the moral hero and something like that, that's what i don't like about cyberpunk 2077 sometimes, it doesn't let you really be a horrible person all the time. One game that i see many people referring to about the moral freedom is Baldur's Gate 3, but i'm yet to try it. Only games i played that really gave you liberty to follow any moral path you want was Dwarf Fortress and to some degree Morrowind and other elder scrolls games, and well, Visual Novels but most of them are focused on you choosing the path you want to take so...
I would love to know some games that give you a lot of freedom to be what you want but are not necessarily RPG games

 

[ciro64]

There's just something fundamentally appealing about acting on the feeling of spite. Life isn't always nice to us, instead of being the hero who just keep smiling, having this fantasy where you can project yourself on the guy who screams "fuck you" back to the world can be satisfying.

Since I realize now this is on the Anime & Manga section (we have a fair share of videogame characters who fit in this category), I'll go with my boy Garou. He's by far my favorite One Punch Man character.

 

[DunkeyKong]

 

[ciro64]

View attachment 27953

The interesting thing about Batman is that he never crosses the line of being a true edgelord.

Doesn't kill, refuses to use guns, will stop what he's doing to help those in need, but most importantly: he might use fear or even his fists to interrogate criminals, but will always bring a lollipop in case he needs to interrogate children.

 

[chufflord]

The archetype is definitely at it's best when it's almost so ridiculously tongue in cheek that it's making fun of itself. A certain red and black hedgehog with a gun and motorcycle immediately come to mind..

 

[destinyduelist]

You forgot the two ogs, one of which inspired half those characters

 

[fake-kun]

You forgot the two ogs, one of which inspired half those characters

Hiei and Bass were voiced by the same voice actor, BTW.

 

[DanVzare]

"Nobody understands me or this dark power that's inside me."
*Proceeds to look at you with his red eyes, then flaunt his white hair that's covering one of his eyes, turn dramatically so his black trench coat flows in the wind, all while cradling his absurdly long sword.*

You ever notice how that partially describes all of them?
From Riku in Kingdom Hearts, to Protoman in Megaman. They all love their swords, white hair, long coats, red eyes, and "dark power" that they insist that no one could ever understand, because it's such a burden for some reason.

Honestly though, they are cool (what can I'm a 90s kid). Albeit very unoriginal.

 

[fake-kun]

"Nobody understands me or this dark power that's inside me."
*Proceeds to look at you with his red eyes, then flaunt his white hair that's covering one of his eyes, turn dramatically so his black trench coat flows in the wind, all while cradling his absurdly long sword.*

You ever notice how that partially describes all of them?
From Riku in Kingdom Hearts, to Protoman in Megaman. They all love their swords, white hair, long coats, red eyes, and "dark power" that they insist that no one could ever understand, because it's such a burden for some reason.

Honestly though, they are cool (what can I'm a 90s kid). Albeit very unoriginal.

Please, don't bring Proto Man into this. He doesn't deserve this.

 

[DunkeyKong]

The interesting thing about Batman is that he never crosses the line of being a true edgelord.

Doesn't kill, refuses to use guns, will stop what he's doing to help those in need, but most importantly: he might use fear or even his fists to interrogate criminals, but will always bring a lollipop in case he needs to interrogate children.

That's pretty accurate, The Batman Who Laughs though

Hiei and Bass were voiced by the same voice actor, BTW.

Ah so that's why, the source of energy

 

[chufflord]

"Nobody understands me or this dark power that's inside me."
*Proceeds to look at you with his red eyes, then flaunt his white hair that's covering one of his eyes, turn dramatically so his black trench coat flows in the wind, all while cradling his absurdly long sword.*

You ever notice how that partially describes all of them?
From Riku in Kingdom Hearts, to Protoman in Megaman. They all love their swords, white hair, long coats, red eyes, and "dark power" that they insist that no one could ever understand, because it's such a burden for some reason.

Honestly though, they are cool (what can I'm a 90s kid). Albeit very unoriginal.

Angst-powered pretty boy swordsmen do at LEAST 200 more damage on hit, that's why! Gotta keep the numbers up.

 

[ciro64]

"Nobody understands me or this dark power that's inside me."
*Proceeds to look at you with his red eyes, then flaunt his white hair that's covering one of his eyes, turn dramatically so his black trench coat flows in the wind, all while cradling his absurdly long sword.*

That's fucking sexy ngl

 

[J.B’s rabbit den]

The original boys were edgy in the most childishly gruesome and silliest way possible.
Violence jack was around the time devil man and other stuff Go Nagai was adding sexually overtop wacky stuff in his manga which this is a good example.and then there’s this guy who is the true main character

 

[HextarVigar]

"Nobody understands me or this dark power that's inside me."
*Proceeds to look at you with his red eyes, then flaunt his white hair that's covering one of his eyes, turn dramatically so his black trench coat flows in the wind, all while cradling his absurdly long sword.*

You ever notice how that partially describes all of them?
From Riku in Kingdom Hearts, to Protoman in Megaman. They all love their swords, white hair, long coats, red eyes, and "dark power" that they insist that no one could ever understand, because it's such a burden for some reason.

Honestly though, they are cool (what can I'm a 90s kid). Albeit very unoriginal.

Vegeta doesn't give a shit what anyone thinks about him - he's basically anger in human form.

 

[Tonberry]

Vegeta doesn't give a shit what anyone thinks about him - he's basically anger in human form.

This post was written by Vegeta while thinking about Goku.

 

[Nidstang]

Some of my fav edgelords are Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Nero (Devil May Cry)

And, I don't know if it's entirely "edgelord", but I LOVE "too angry to die" characters:
Doomguy (Doom), Raphael (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Shadow (Sonic), Kratos (old Kratos, from classic God Of War), Jacket (Hotline Miami), Kir Kanos (Star Wars), Darth Bane (Star Wars)

 

[HextarVigar]

This post was written by Vegeta while thinking about Goku.

The first time he meets someone starts with him disliking them.

 

[Num]

The archetype is definitely at it's best when it's almost so ridiculously tongue in cheek that it's making fun of itself.

not at all. im tired of writers feeling so self conscious that they hide behind irony. not every character has to practically wink at the camera like theyre embarrassed to exist let them be genuine in their melodrama let them monologue about the futility of existence without a knowing smirk. the edgelord is at its best when the author isnt afraid of committing to the sincerity theres something more engaging about a character who you can tell is genuinely intense and has some sort of believable edgy thought process, than one who just turns into a performance for the audience to laugh about how silly it is to take things seriously

 

[Antilocal123]

I think people just like badass characters.

Obviously, sometimes it’s their relatability or their writing, but it’s all based on the rule of cool.

However, I remember recently the resurgence in Superman interest because people were tired of the same edgy circlejerk, which I think will happen again and again.

People get tired of moral heroes; they flock to edgelords; they get tired of those and flock back to moral heroes; they get tired of those—

I had an edgelord phase where all I listened to was shitty Brazilian funk or metal, watched those ‘Entrepreneur’ videos and idolised characters like Sasuke or Walter White or Tyler Durden before I got bored of it.

I like edgelords, but I also have a soft spot for normal heroes with a morally grey pattern.

 

[chufflord]

not at all. im tired of writers feeling so self conscious that they hide behind irony. not every character has to practically wink at the camera like theyre embarrassed to exist let them be genuine in their melodrama let them monologue about the futility of existence without a knowing smirk. the edgelord is at its best when the author isnt afraid of committing to the sincerity theres something more engaging about a character who you can tell is genuinely intense and has some sort of believable edgy thought process, than one who just turns into a performance for the audience to laugh about how silly it is to take things seriously

I'm not saying that writing edgy characters is something to be embarrassed about. It's usually portrayed as some form of growth- this brooding person growing to open up to others around them and the like. Squall, Cloud, and Luke come to mind right away as characters that got some serious growth in their own stories- they mature. I just appreciate it when writers poke fun at the trope, because it definitely comes from a place of love, not self consciousness.

Like, who could hate someone like Dante from Devil May Cry, or write a character like that because they're insecure about the trope? That would be completely incomprehensible.

 

[Yousef]

Vegeta, Sasuke, Kanda, Bakugo, Killua, Byakuya, Levi... All of these characters, and many more, embody some version of the "distant edgelord" trope. They're also all fan-favorites and many are easily the most popular in their respective series. Many of them end up having considerable character growth as they 'open up', but let's be honest... most of the time this happens long after their fandom exploded. Something about them just... captures people.

But how do you feel? Do you tend to flock towards these characters? What is it about them that people find so captivating?

View attachment 27947
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For me personally, they're usually pretty off-putting before they get that development, and a small few are honestly so bad about it that it almost hurts the series for me... but even those ones usually pay off eventually. Some even become favorites of mine.

I actually like most or the guys listed here. I’m very anti edgelord hate. I think an edgelord can still be fun.