The Rise of Narcissists
I’m bored of the old fashioned goody two-shoes protagonists. I hate the “I’m an idiot! Hear me roar!” types, and I’ll kill the next angst-filled teenager piloting a giant, fighting robot. Maybe I’m becoming jaded by seeing the same character personalities copied and pasted into a countless number of anime. Who knows? What I do know is that I’m seeing the emergence of a new breed of character personality that I really like.
Okay, I’m speaking from a very small pool of two characters – Light from Death Note and Lelouch from Code Geass – but I believe these two shows are popular enough a spark a change of trend. Instead of the uncertain, vulnerable male leads we were inundated with over the past decade, I would like to see more assertive and devilishly smart protagonists in the future. What I want can be summed up in three words: a smart narcissist.
Narcissus is mythological character who falls in love with himself after seeing a reflection of his face. While this does not mean this “new breed” is in love with a mirror, they sure are attached to their egos. Whether it is subtle gloating through sadistic smiles or maniacal displays of laughter, these characters know that they are better than you and they have the brains to prove it. Who needs bulging muscles or massive ki blasts when you’re smart enough to make society bend to your splendor? Sure, these characters were demure, seemingly everyday individuals before receiving supernatural powers, but afterwards, their minds completely warp into a self-obsessive state.
Death Note explores the very extreme side of narcissism with a character who loves absolutely no one but himself. Colleagues, friends, family, these are all just expendable commodities to Light. He is willing to kill every single human on the planet, but he doesn’t only because he secretly needs the praise of others to fuel his ever-growing ego. On the more moderate part of the spectrum, Lelouch from Code Geass is a person who can love others but places and has an undue amount of pride of his abilities. Arrogant but irrevocably down to earth, he is the type of narcissist who can win the hearts of the audience despite being so haughty… Although I admit, his likeability comes in no small part from Sunrise’s “convenient” scripting.
Yes, so far I have only covered male narcissists. Before you start labeling me as sexist, don’t forget that the rise in popularity of the tsundere and harem anime in general should insure a fresh supply of female narcissists in any given season. Sure, not all will be “smart,” but there always be a few Haruhis mixed in with the coal. As for male narcissists, I can only cross my fingers and hope that the trend doesn’t die out. The idea is too good to put on the backburners. If the premise, sadly, does fade away, I can always relive the greatness of the maniacal laughs and the sadistic grins by re-watching Death Note or Code Geass.