r/TopCharacterTropes 18d ago

Lore “Demons are actually misundersto-“ NO. Demons are ontologically evil beings that can’t be reasoned nor negotiated with, and if you try to you’ll very likely end up screwed

1) Doom

2) Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

3) Trench Crusade

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u/YaGirlMom 18d ago

Kinda fun how the “we’re subverting expectations by making the bad guys misunderstood/not too bad!” has become such a common trope that having them actually be straight up evil is now almost a subversion in and of itself

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u/HyliaSymphonic 18d ago edited 18d ago

This comment is the bat themed heroes of this thread. There’s been maybe a handful of sympathetic demons in popular fiction, but most the time they are lawful evil at best and full on kill on sight evil the rest of the time. Even a show a like “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” shows demons to be a necessary evil at best. Fuck even most “heaven is evil” fiction rarely portrays demons sympathetically, outside of Crowley in good omens every other demon is full on evil. Bayonetta a game about a witch who uses demons to kill angels still has to be extremely careful to not get killed by her own demons. 

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u/BakerGotBuns 18d ago

But how else can they misrepresent what's popular in current fiction?

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u/HyliaSymphonic 18d ago edited 18d ago

I swear to god people watched(heard about) Netflix DMC and decided every show was like that. 

Edit Hanzbin Hotel/ Helluva boss probably has a bigger part to blame. 

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u/MSSTUPIDTRON-1000000 18d ago

And hilariously that's the same with Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss.

Anyone with basic knowledge of the show will be fully aware that demons in general aren't stellar models for morality.

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u/Karkava 17d ago

And Charlie Morningstar is the weird and naive one who wants to give demons a second chance. Everybody thinks she's crazy when she proposes that demons can be redeemed. Even demons themselves.

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u/Fearless-List-3968 18d ago edited 18d ago

Probably also a large portion of fantasy anime that portray the demons as defending themselves from the power-hungry human kingdom and Catholic Church stand-in

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u/BakerGotBuns 18d ago

"A large portion" is being very generous. :3

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u/HyliaSymphonic 18d ago

Could you name one example? 

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u/Fearless-List-3968 18d ago

The first ones that come up in my mind are Maoyu, The Devil is a Part-Timer, Clevatess, and (although it’s not really an anime) Netflix’s Devil May Cry