Best Character Development SEMIFINALS

WHO WINS EACH FIGHT?


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Light D Lamperouge

𝕴𝖓 π•Ώπ–π–Žπ–˜ 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉 π•Ίπ–“π–‘π–ž 𝕴 𝖆𝖒 π•Άπ–Žπ–“π–Œ
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#1
IMPORTANT: I WILL NOT COUNT VOTES FROM THOSE WHO DO NOT VOTE FOR EACH FIGHT. ALSO IF I SEE OR NOTICE SOME SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY THAT ENTRY WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

In this round in this thread we will have 4 characters, which means 2 fights.
FIRST FIGHT


Jamie Lannister
Jaime Lannister was introduced to us as a disloyal, dishonorable, and treasonous murderer.
He was well known by the derogatory titles "Kingslayer" and "Oath breaker" as he
killed the Mad King, who he swore on his life to protect.

Jaime initially holds true to his reputation, with his attempted murder of bran stark, his battle with Ned stark, and his incestous relationship with Cersei.

However, it’s not until season 3 where things begin to change for Jaime's character. On the way to being escorted to King’s Landing by Brienne of Tarth, the two are captured by a small force of Bolton soldiers. It’s here that Jaime begins to show compassion towards Brienne, warning her that the Bolton’s will rape her that evening. Jaime turns out to be correct as the Bolton's
do drag out Brienne to the bushes to gang rape her. Jamie disgusted by this,
lies to the Bolton's to save her and they back down. However Jaime runs
his mouth too much, which results in the Bolton's chopping off his hand. This is where we really see Jaime broken, knowing his best weapon, his sword, is forever neutralized.
Upon Jaime and Brienne’s arrival at Harrenhal, we finally see Jaime really opening up. We learn that he stabbed the Mad King in the back because he was ordered to kill his own father, and then burn the entire city, and it’s inhabitants to the ground with wildfire. Jamie had two choices, either keep your vows to the king and commit mass murder
or
break your vows and save the people and your family.
And he choose the latter, knowing he would be forever mocked by the realm, hence
the title "Kingslayer".
Later, we’re shown yet another one of Jaime’s character traits: his love for his little brother, Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion, born a dwarf, is hated by the rest of the family; including Cersei.
When Tyrion is accused of killing Joffrey by Cersei, Jaime repeatedly pleads with his family on behalf of his brother but is turned away every time. When Tyrion's execution date is set, Jaime is fed up with his family and breaks his brother out of prison.
As Tyrion would later admit, Jaime was the only one to have ever loved
him.
In the beginning of the series, he was arrogant, smug, disloyal and immoral but towards the end he was humble, righteous, brave and honorable.

VS


Canute from Vinland Saga
Canute as far as a side character goes, has by far the best growth I've witnessed in any given series. First, let's just a moment to appreciate his character design and evolution.

My man went from "may I please spend some time with your daughter" to "your wife calls me Daddy too"






Introduced in the brutal unforgiving world of Vinland Saga, Canute came of as a very docile and soft spoken man. A quiet, subservient and feminine man who was often the butt of crude humor, the second son of the King of Denmark seemed to be cannon fodder and a means to an end.


However, what was supposed to be a pawn in the grand scheme of things quickly transformed into a powerhouse who formed an unlikely comradeship with his captors, survived the strongest of battalions chasing him, and grew into a person dominant enough to usurp his father and lead his country to far greater heights.


Somewhat of a "foil" to the main character Thorfinn, Canute was a man who initially hated fighting and violence, but came to understand his position as royalty and understood War was a necessity on his path to building a utopia in Denmark. He awakened massively to his responsibility through the death of his father figure/ bodyguard, understanding the meaning of what makes all men equal, and what value life truly holds.


SECOND FIGHT

Meruem from HxH

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Introduction



Meruem is a rather complex character who throughout the course of Hunter x Hunter's chimera arc struggles between human and animal. Therefore he is highly unpredictable and considered the wild card amidst the several other wild cards.



To explain his relevance to the chimera ant plot, Meruem is the king of the first mutated generation. He plays an integral role in the war between hunter and chimera, one that seems to flunctuate quite a bit.



He is an incredibly skilled Nen user with abilities that are a bit unexplored, although he is thought to be the most powerful chimera ant and he has strength that surpasses even Netero's combat skills.


Meruem was born to lead the current generation of chimera ants and has his own squad of elite protectors, respectively Neferpitou, Shaiapouf, and Menthuthuyoupi, listed in order of birth.



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Debut



To judge Meruem solely on first impressions would be an enormous underestimation of his character depth, but since it is important in identifying development, his personality as of early on also matters.



Initially Meruem has the persona of an aggressive, blatantly arrogant individual, though he is conscious of his own inexperience in the ways of the world. Honestly, at first I like any reasonable person did not like him all that much.



I mean, his just about first action after birth is to brutally kill a lovable penguin-esque chimera, then proceed to eat him. Talk about behavior issues.



Meruem has relatively no concern for life, chimera or human. He literally leaves his mother bleeding out on the ground, wow this macho baby I can't even. He seems almost like a ridiculously hyberbolized statement on youth, being apathetic, hot-headed, and just generally giving zero shits.



There is a certain defining trait to his ignorance, in that Meruem at his utmost ugliest of his person is at the very beginning of his character arc. This makes perfect sense as he was created to be the king, to rule over all other life forms, so it seems almost natural for him to be so uncaring until he is developed by his changing environment and lifestyle.



Overall Meruem's debut is really goddamn aggravating and rather generic. One could say that Togashi used the template for every raging shounen antagonist ever and called it a day.


Except Togashi's better than that, folks, and this is only the debut...



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Komugi's Effect



As we all know it was Meruem's relationship with Komugi that allowed him to progress. There are a few topics of interest to be discussed concerning what Komugi taught him as a person.

Strength



Meruem is one of the most powerful beings in the Hunter x Hunter universe. If he wanted, he could kill Komugi with a flick of his wrist. However, as he discovers, she possesses a different strength, one that surpasses his. She is a Nen specialist whose ability refers directly to the game of gungi, in which she is and will always be the victor. Her strength is one he will never defeat, no matter if he should kill her. Komugi represents the diversity of an individual's worth, something that Meruem would never have considered had he not met her.



Respect



Meruem once stated to Neferpitou that he respected her, as her stability was able to withstand one of his attacks. Although the respect he felt for his servant was less that and more acknowledgement of her strength, as Pitou was just that; a servant. Respect is fueled by a sense of equality in some shape or form, and is an ideal Meruem learnt from Komugi, since she was the first to rival his strength.



Concern



The concept of forsaking ones who are sick, weak, or dying is hardly unheard of to animalistic thought process and ritual; it was what motivated Meruem to ignore his dying mother and ruthlessly kill his penguin comrade that had disobeyed him. Ones who operate with this mindset generally have little to no care for others, like grossly hyperbolized animals.



Komugi is a delicate, fragile girl who in her screentime is injured twice - once by an aggressive bird and once fatally wounded by Zeno's attack on the palace. On both occasions Meruem acts radically out of character, exhibiting extreme, sincere concern for her.



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Other Developments

Meruem is hardly the only character in Hunter x Hunter's masterful chimera arc to endure some kind of progression. There are characters whose developments directly or indirectly relate to Meruem's.

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Gon Freecs; Switched Selves



Gon and Meruem begin as core opposites; Gon the amiable, carefree protagonist that is the driving force of HxH, and Meruem the typical violent antagonist with aspirations of conquering the world. Though, the brutality and mercilessness of war that the young boy experiences firsthand, darker than anything he has ever seen before, steadily transforms him into the unforgiving monster that kills Neferpitou in the flames of a vengeful rage.



Contrastively, the honor and nobility of Komugi awakens Meruem. He gradually ascends from his throne as king of primitive animals to an intellectual and open-minded way of thought. As Gon becomes an animal, Meruem is humanized.



Their mental changes can be encapsulated into their own respective reactions to Komugi's near-death experience. Being an innocent girl who was roped into the situation, there was no reason for her to die to the hunters. In fact, as defenders of the human race, it was natural for the hunters to have every desire to save her before she was victimized.



Meruem reacts to Komugi's injury with love and care. He carries her, gently, before demanding Neferpitou to heal her with more sincerity than he had ever shown before. Meanwhile Gon makes a dangerous agreement with the guard, telling Pitou that she had increasing less and less time to save the critically wounded Komugi, simply because of his selfish need to restore Kaito. Hopefully I don't need to interpret that one.



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Neferpitou; Mirror Image



Neferpitou has always been alike her king - loyal to her purpose, excitable only when battling one of rivalling strength. Living only for Meruem, existing for that sole reason, his developments were reflected in her own actions.



Pitou has always had a crass and unsympathetic persona, much like the rest of the guard who find Meruem's affiliation with Komugi to be an unneeded distraction. Though, loyalty is a complex ideal, one that the others never truly understood.



There is allegiance to a concept, in this case the concept of king, and there is devotion to an individual, which was practiced only by Neferpitou after her revolutionary changes. When Meruem developed not as a king but as an individual with his own purpose beyond world dominance she began to view him and her loyalty not as vague regulations but as individual, personal entities.



This in turn broadened Pitou's mind and understanding and lead to her emotional response when Komugi is wounded. While Meruem contains himself and proceeds efficiently, Pitou completely decomposes and tears drip from her gaping eyes. The raw feeling that was so unlike anything she had felt as a bloodthirsty machine left her vulnerable against her king's sorrow and caused her visceral reaction.



The following sequence in which Pitou passionately defends Komugi from Gon is vehement and maternal in nature, her frame poised over the girl akin to a mother cat. Her determined desperation shows her in her most basic person, and like Meruem not a far cry away from the loose idea of human.



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In Love and Death



Meruem and Komugi meet their ends in the chimera ant arc finale. Unlike one would assume, however, they die in peace and satisfaction, away from the violence and hatred of war.



Komugi is a blind human who knows nothing of Meruem's true appearance, nor cares to know. The unconditional love exhibited by both parties is astounding, even when their bodies are slowly collapsing from radiation poisoning.



Meruem is a drastically different person from who he originally was. He bows to Palm, a half-chimera hybrid for whom he would have never considered as his equal. He attempts to negotiate with Netero instead of resorting to battle, proposing a compromise to their opposing ideals. He even chooses to spend his final moments with a human of no strategic worth to him, Komugi, reliving their grandest gungi matches while dying in her arms.



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Meruem is no longer simply a king, nor a rudimentary antagonist. He is a human in the body of an animal, who may have one day ruled with the utmost nobility and respect.



And that, my friends, is my analysis on the character development of Hunter x Hunter's incredible Meruem.




VS

Thorfinn from Vinland saga
It is rare you will get to witness the journey of a character as good as Thorfinn from Vinland Saga has.

From


to



Thorfinn is son of Thors, legendary Viking warrior. Growing up Thorfinn always wanted to be like his father, to be a great warrior. His chance appeared when Thors was called to war, snucking on the ship Thorfinn joined his father as a mere child. Thors always preached to Thorfinn about peace and that a real warrior doesn't need a sword.

Sometime after their ship was ambushed by Askelad and his mercenaries. Thors fought them by himself and bested them, however he gave his life so that his friends may live. Thorfinn witnessing the murder of his father was consumed by anger and rage. He promised to kill Askelad by any means necessary.

His rage and anger consumed him so much he started working for Askelad just so that he can fight him in the future. Thorfinn committed dozen murders and led raids on many villages just to get a shot to fight Askelad. He didn't care how many people need to die in order to achieve his dream.

After meeting Canute we see first changes of Thorfinn. During his duel with Askelad he gained an upper hand only for askelad to use his rage and anger against Thorfin, calling him an idiot boy in the end that wasted his life chasing revenge, never understanding the words of his father.

When Askelad die at the hand of Canute Thorfin was sent into fit of rage, screaming at Askelad that he can't die because Thorfin is the one that needs to kill him.

With his goal taken from him Thorfinn was lost and confused. His life and story led him to the pivotal Farm Arc which i will not disclose here because spoilers and because no words i can write here give justice to that masterpiece of an arc.

In short Thorfinn realized the true words of his father how a true warrior doesn't need a sword. He turned his life around and dedicated his life to peace. He became a mere shadow of an angry little boy he was.

I HIGHLY suggest you read Vinland saga and join us in the journey of this great character.



 
Last edited:

Fujishiro

Cheese for everyone!
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#8
Oddly enough Thorfinn and Meruem have same problems and same growth
I agree, but Meruems is more extreme as he is litteraly going against his instincts and nature whereas Thorfinn is still human at the end of the day so the change is less impressive and impactful imo.

Like he starts the Arc as the most inhuman one of them all with complete disregard for life and ends up the most human at the end of it.
 

Adam 🍎

Pretty Boy
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#11
I agree, but Meruems is more extreme as he is litteraly going against his instincts and nature whereas Thorfinn is still human at the end of the day so the change is less impressive and impactful imo.
Huh

Thorfin literally
Masacred hundreds of people, led raids on villages. Hilde represents the shadows that he still has and haunt him. He is incarnate of destruction in his youth only to develop into a remorsful and humble person.

And while Meruem is an ant he still has intelect and he gains memories of people he eats. So Meruem in a way isnt full beast bcs he represents next stage in evolution
 

Fujishiro

Cheese for everyone!
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#13
Huh

Thorfin literally
Masacred hundreds of people, led raids on villages. Hilde represents the shadows that he still has and haunt him. He is incarnate of destruction in his youth only to develop into a remorsful and humble person.

And while Meruem is an ant he still has intelect and he gains memories of people he eats. So Meruem in a way isnt full beast bcs he represents next stage in evolution
Meruem's express objective and goal was to kill millions( or billions) of people and subjugate everything on earth. I think viewing humans and anyone else as inferior to you and merely food/entertainment at the begining and then ending up as just a humble guy who wants to spend his time playing with the woman he loves is a much much much jarring change.

As I said, Thorfinn is still human and much more prone to guilt/empathy and thus change. Therefore his change while impressive isn't as notable as Meruems in my opinion.

I like both though and it was a close vote for me.
 

Adam 🍎

Pretty Boy
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#16
Meruem's express objective and goal was to kill millions( or billions) of people and subjugate everything on earth. I think viewing humans and anyone else as inferior to you and merely food/entertainment at the begining and then ending up as just a humble guy who wants to spend his time playing with the woman he loves is a much much much jarring change.

As I said, Thorfinn is still human and much more prone to guilt/empathy and thus change. Therefore his change while impressive isn't as notable as Meruems in my opinion.

I like both though and it was a close vote for me.
Meruem still opted to enslave humans. He was nowhere near chill and humble. Post Netero he kinda softened up bcs he ALLOWED humans to live in a special reservation.

Meanwhile Thorfinn got sucked in the life of rage and violence as an innocent kid. He became a monster only to save himself. He metaphoricly went to hell and back. The weight of all he killed still lingers on his shoulders and the shadow of the past haunts him

Meamwhile Meruem doesnt give a shit about 99% people he killed lmao
 

Fujishiro

Cheese for everyone!
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#17
Meruem still opted to enslave humans. He was nowhere near chill and humble. Post Netero he kinda softened up bcs he ALLOWED humans to live in a special reservation.

Meanwhile Thorfinn got sucked in the life of rage and violence as an innocent kid. He became a monster only to save himself. He metaphoricly went to hell and back. The weight of all he killed still lingers on his shoulders and the shadow of the past haunts him

Meamwhile Meruem doesnt give a shit about 99% people he killed lmao
Well thats still a big change for him, and you cant expect him to completely change overnight.

He's still not human at the end of the day.

Counterpoint here is most of the people in the HxH universe are high functioning sociopaths tbh, bar people like Knuckle, most people dont care about the people they killed.

And I disagree about him not being humble, he was litteraly going to kneel( the guy meant to rule the world, a King) in front of Palm to get her to tell him where Komugi was.

He's been pretty chill too since Welfin litteraly told him to go fuck himself and that he is no King of his, and all Meruem told him was ''I respect your opinion, good luck mate''.

Compare that to how he was at the begining. Its night and day.
 
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