Tumgik
#nozomu ijuin
violetosprey · 6 years
Text
Good Endings for a Yandere
I have to wonder how often a creator is able to make a satisfying story with a good ending for a yandere.  Now when I say this,  I’m not talking about the yandere’s envisioned “happy ending” where they have complete control over their loved one.
I’m talking about from a good story standpoint.  If you want to have a happy ending for a yandere, they need to be redeemed first.  They need to stop treating their love interest as a possession, and see them as an equal instead.  A redeemed yandere could then either end up giving up on the person they’ve harmed, or they can actually have a happy relationship with the person they were originally obsessing over.
This can be a lot more tricky than you think. 
**SUPER Long post ahead**
It feels like the majority of the time when I come across yanderes, they’re more often one-shot kind of characters or just involved in a small arc over a bigger story.  In these cases, yes you could have the yandere “win” and get exactly what they wanted without changing.  That’s because the creator isn’t dragging out the horror of the situation to a distasteful degree.  
I’ll admit, I love watching yanderes work as the villain of a story.  And the more screentime/appearances they get the better!  But even I have say if you’re reading about a particular yandere as a one-shot villain versus say...a manga that’s at least 30 chapters long and the yandere STILL doesn’t change but manages to win instead, that might be a tad too sadistic for my tastes.  In that case if you’re not gonna think about redeeming the yandere who’s been around for a long time, it’s better to have them defeated/killed in the end.
I think really the best you can do for dragging out the victim’s torture is in film format at best.  I’d say play it up like a horror film in that case.  Horror films are notorious for having either good, bad, or even ambiguous endings.  So as long as the movie keeps people invested, you might be able to get away with that.  But if you did something like even just a 12 episode TV series where the yandere didn’t change but still wins, people would be very uncomfortable.
I’ve seen a couple of yanderes that stick around a lot longer in a story if they’re made as side characters that pop up only every now and then, or the yandere side of them isn’t displayed as their only defining feature.  But in these cases I’m trying to think of one where the yandere didn’t get redeemed in the end or didn’t even end up being defeated altogether.  I don’t think long-lasting side character yanderes ever really win the way they wanted to from the start.
However, that all being said, I HAVE seen it happen where a yandere does become redeemed and get a good ending for a story.  Not only that, but said yandere isn’t a side character: they’re one of the main cast, if not one of the main (pro?)tagonists.
Female yandere:
Tumblr media
Yuno Gasai from “Future Diary” (aka “Mirai Nikki”)
Male yandere:
Tumblr media
Nozomu Ijuin from “Stepping on Roses” (aka Hadashi de Bara o Fume)
It’s always the nice good-looking ones that are crazy :)   Yes I picked sweet images for them on purpose.  Make no mistake, they are a top-notch kind of crazy.  And I kid you not, they BOTH have an axe scene.  
Anyways, I’d be very surprised if anyone reading this didn’t recognize Yuno.  She’s kind of notorious for being the epitome of a yandere.  I don’t come across a lot of male yanderes that aren’t in one shots or small arcs, so it was hard to find a long-lasting one in a story.   But Nozomu is indeed prominent in the main cast of the story.  There’s no anime version of “Stepping on Roses” as I write this post, so probably not as many people have heard of him.
I won’t try to spoil the story for either of these characters.  All I can say is:
- Yes they are both extreme yanderes
- Their yandere side of them is one of their defining features, and even one of the main plot points of each of their stories
- They are not a side character, but part of the main cast in their story
- They both change and get a happy ending from a story standpoint.
Now their happy endings are DIFFERENT from each other, but I won’t say who ended up in what way.  You’ll just have to go read the manga or watch the anime to find out.
The question here is did these characters deserve the ending they got.  If you asked me, my personal opinion is, “Mmmmm Nozomu yes maybe, but I’m sitting on the fence in Yuno’s case.”  But my opinion isn’t really the important thing here.
What really determines if a yandere character was worth being redeemed from a story standpoint is contingent upon how far they have gone.  I mean how many criminal acts did they commit or get away with.  Was their yandere side limited to idle threats and glaring at people?  Did they ever stalk their love interest?  Did they every forcibly kiss their love interest?  Did they ever harm or kill friends and family of their love interest?  Did they ever kidnap their love interest?  Did they ever physical or sexually assault their love interest?
It’s a matter of what kind of offences they commit, as well as what the reader will give a “pass.”  This is where you get into a very opinionated territory.  For some people, certain offences aren’t as traumatic, so redemption of a yandere may be easier.  For others, once you cross a certain line, redemption doesn’t seem realistic anymore.
This is not a post meant to call out anyone on what offences they will let slide in a story.  I myself actually let a LOT of things slide in a story as long as the writing isn’t clunky.  It does not prevent me from enjoying the story.  That doesn’t mean I let EVERYTHING slide by the way (I’ve found even some rather small details in stories that ruin the experience for me).  However, pretty much 60% of the stuff I would allow in a story standpoint...would not fly for me in real life.  Heck, there’s a manhwa with a male yandere happy ending that I love, but whenever I think about it I’m like, “Yeah in real life that guy should have gone to jail...a LOT.”  Reality and fiction almost NEVER mix for me.
I actually don’t recommend creators catering to audience members like myself.  That is, if you want a wider audience and still want to redeem your yandere.  The more heinous the villain, the less realistic redemption becomes.  And even if it’s a work of fiction, people do like to say “Yeah, I could see that happening.”  Makes the story seem more intelligently written.  Still, it’s not my place tell anyone how they should write their own characters and stories.
At least if you’re going to make a yandere pretty prominent in the story, you have the opportunity to allow people to see how the character develops and better explain their actions.  It’s easier to make the character appear more sympathetic.
Sorry this post doesn’t give a definite answer as to “what a yandere should not do in order to be capable of redemption.”  It’s both up to the opinion of the readers and what they’re actually interested in seeing in a story.  Some want to keep it as realistic as possible and avoid any major trauma to the characters.  Others are actually specifically looking for some more hardcore and extreme content to enjoy the drama of it all.  To each their own really.
So yeah, I’ll keep looking for my villain yanderes, and hoping they stick around in a story for a long time.  But if I want a story to not end poorly, I’m ready to accept either a) the yandere needs to get taken down or b) the yandere will be limited as to what offences they commit so they can be redeemed later.  
130 notes · View notes
insanityroams · 7 years
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Hadashi de Bara wo Fume
252 notes · View notes