Usually this happens to anti-heroes or villains (especially ones with complicated backgrounds); for a character that is so flawed, so infuriating (so evil…?) I think redemption is a necessity. But when it isn’t? Should character redemption always need to happen? Do characters need to redeem themselves, or should we let them suffer the consequences? Let them be their real evil selves?

Normally, I always want the characters to redeem themselves. And in our true human nature, I’d like to see how he repents of the actions he chose to take—whether it’s in the form of sacrifice or a change in ideals, I want to see it because, to me, it’s a solid form of growth. I’m the type of reader who is always eager to witness character growth, but more so if the characters have done terrible things and have big regrets that weigh them down!

But as much as I want to see it, I also want to see them own up to their mistakes or their actions. They have to bear the consequences; otherwise, the redemption wouldn’t feel true or honest. At least to me, it will feel inadequate, lackluster, or, at worst, a sham if no big thing happens after all of it. Also, I forgot to mention that I also want to know the reason behind the action. It is why character exposition is so imperative! What drove this character to do this? Why did he take this course of action? Those questions! So it isn’t exactly to simply repent but to understand every aspect of it, and the actual redemption must be real and honest.

I should not fail to mention my favorite character’s redemption, right? For example, Mukuro Dokuro from 家庭教師ヒットマンREBORN! (Katekyo Hitman Reborn!) He was the first antagonist in the first battle arc in the series. He hated the mafia, and because Tsuna (the protagonist) was affiliated with the mafia, he involved him in his plan. But there was more to it than just venting anger; the story made it possible for us reader/watchers to understand his hate and the objective of taking such action. Because Tsuna was not your ordinary Mafioso (more like he refused it continuously), his encounter with him made the change in Mukuro possible (in a tsundere kind of way). And amazingly, he became one of his guardians. It’s pretty amazing, right? In fact, a lot of antagonists from this series ended up being allies due to Tsuna’s charisma and idealism (the whole Varia, remember?).

Regardless of what they say about BLEACH (ブリーチ), I think the best shocker for me was Gin Ichimaru’s character (next to Aizen’s reveal), because we can all agree that was one of the greatest plot twists in the history of manga! Give that man, Kubo, credit. When I first saw the series, Gin came off as a totally shady character, which, if you’ve read or seen Bleach, you know what happened in the Soul Society arc. He betrayed them, fled, and continued doing shady things with Aizen and co., but then the Fake Karakura Town arc happened, and we got to know the real reason why he was with Aizen and how important Rangiku was to him. It was all a ploy; that revelation was completely unexpected (at least to me), so he redeemed without the actual change—because in the first place, it was all staged, and the revelation made the redemption pretty clever. This is also how Itachi Uchiha from Naruto, upon learning the ‘real’ reason why he killed his entire clan.

OK, I got carried away there, but now you see how amazing character redemption is (if done right!). It’s very powerful! It’s exciting, and it gives meaningful in-depth character development, so character redemption is needed. Unless he’s just way too terrible (but I’m saving that topic for another day!)