The Good Kind of Edgy

[@reverbthevocal421]

I like how the Postal Dude is essentially the proper way to make Not Important. His motivation makes sense, he has some actual charisma, what’s not to like over NI?

[@kyrazz128]

not important is just postal dude from postal 1 but like... even postal 1 had some type of real message and the postal dude had some actual motivation instead of just "i hate society"

[@WindiChilliwack]

Postal 1 is one of my favs for the series, tells who and what the dude is and it's tragic and terrifying. Easy levels say he's a crazy man spouting nonsense with one liners, but in higher difficulties he is having a trance of fighting those who are "infected"/"sick" and is thought to do the right thing.

[@fenrirsrage4609]

Its kind of funny to me how Postal Dude is vastly superior to Not Important yet the fans seem to enjoy giving them a surprisingly wholesome friendship that also extends to the devs since NI made an appearance in Postal Redux.

[@kyrazz128]

@@fenrirsrage4609 i like to think that NI is Just postal dude's brother that didn't grew out of his emo phase

[@NoMeaniesHere]

also he is funny, worth the 6 dollas

[@edfmed1080]

I love how Raiden turned on his edgy aura when he couldn't pet his robot dog.

[@gabrielpinguet4389]

I just lost ma dawg

[@Zinc_Nitrogen]

RIP @@gabrielpinguet4389

[@nemtudom5074]

He didnt turn it on *It turned itself on, and he stifled it.*

[@deslacooda]

@meat3994 Lmao No no, you have a point.

[@Zherlus]

This guy say "Ryden" instead of "rayden" (talking about the guy who made the video pronouncing the name wrong)

[@jokuma5798]

For Adachi, people forget his backstory before Inaba, bro was a smart guy, top of his classes. He worked his ass off, refused any opportunity to socialize in order to work harder and only got shit from everyone instead of what was promised if he worked hard enough (he's not the lazy guy you see throughout the game and most people assume him to be), that shit would drive me crazy too, the dissatisfaction that he lives with on a constant basis is what drove him to insanity, and then he killed, liked and did it again to cure his boredom and dissatisfaction

[@jouheikisaragi6075]

Adachi is interesting because he embodies the problem with "grinding" and the very ethos of Japanese work culture. He is the dark reflection of the classic "Burnt out formerly gifted asian kid" stereotype, he worked so hard and got nothing out of it, rather than wallowing in despair, he opted to lash out and reward himself with entertainment

[@jokuma5798]

@@jouheikisaragi6075 couldn't have phrased it better!

[@LTDLetsPlays]

@@jouheikisaragi6075and protagonists just doesn’t argue against his ideals I hate p4 and p5 casts because of their unwillingness to actually argue and listen to their enemies

[@jokuma5798]

@@LTDLetsPlays completely agree, I mean they're kids but at least p3 cast was not this way, they see things as black or white, I like them interacting together but man it's annoying when they act like that, like maruki hurts, I hate the illusion of choice you have in p5r, cause I would choose maruki's reality

[@ma.2089]

@@LTDLetsPlays P5 does dabble in the other side of the coin but they never truly address any of the problems nor the moral ambiguity of their actions cuz they just speed right past all of it. Because there’s truth they completely ignore and it sucks. That’s why P3’s my favorite in terms of writing. The other side is never depicted as bad, just the consequence of unfair circumstances. While the cast will at first deny the truth of the opposing argument, they do admit there’s truth to it and argue back with actual facts rather than “nuh uh!”. It helps that the antagonists are victims too and that the problem isn’t a societal one, but rather a truth of existence to begin with. It’s not trying to prove anything, rather just discuss existential themes. I have hope Reload won’t screw it up since they’re planning on developing the antagonists more than the OG, and I doubt they’d be able to reverse what was already done in the OG.

[@NG-gy6iv]

Hatred is basically just what boomers think video games are

[@giygas9305]

Lol I’ve watched my buddy play its a bit its so stupid XD

[@nationalsocialist6590]

What about GTA? You can literally kill noncombatants just like in Hatred.

[@rpbapale2732]

​@@nationalsocialist6590 presentation matters.

[@DeathnoteBB]

@@the_very_cozy_burrito Yeah dude the whole game is satire. You enjoy it for being what it is. Congrats

[@impostrous]

wasn't it primarily made for this purpose

[@wait_wha]

I love edging characters

[@Cinnabun9]

Why

[@Faunadude]

Yeah edgy characters are cool- wait what did you say

[@Razgris]

@@Faunadudehe said what he said

[@armageddongirl612]

@@Faunadude nep eta

[@Faunadude]

@@armageddongirl612 ara dia

[@SpoopyChicken]

What I got from this is that Edgy is good until it borders on being stupid to pursue their edge.

[@georgemeyers7172]

Sounds about right.

[@nooneinparticular5256]

Make the edginess fun for the viewer/player

[@nonamepasserbya6658]

The stupidity is the point. Hatred is meant to parody all the "edgy but the protag is not mentally stable/do it for a message" kind of games. The game is basically that hillariously overused Joker quote: "Some men just want to watch the world burn."

[@josephhetzenauer1890]

No its up to the individual to decide and if you enjoy the entertainment or not. No good or Bad when all the games or characters he cites as bad edgy are loved by large amounts of people.

[@dvdbox360]

edgy is bad cool is cool edgy can be cringe but cool is always cool

[@thenew4559]

I think it really all boils down to whether their edginess is justified by the story, whether they have understandable reasons for acting edgy, or whether it all feels forced.

[@RookieREX]

does doing shitty things because they are a shitty person count in this case? such as, someone really despising their neighbor for example so they go out of their way to grape without the g a close friend of the neighbor simply because they hate their neighbors guts?

[@Nykandros]

Edginess doesn't need to be justified, the edgy character just needs to behave in a rational manner.

[@thenew4559]

@@RookieREX I don’t believe “because they’re a shitty person” is enough of a reason, you have to really explore why they became a terrible person, and what led them to conclude that such an act makes sense.

[@RookieREX]

@@thenew4559 i'd would personally argue that not all characters need to have totally justifiable actions, sometimes you just need a bastard to hate in the story, totally unforgivable, may or may not be understandable (your choice) but still effective as an antagonist this may not fit in with edgy characters but ive noticed how some people like villains that know they're fucked and continue anyway

[@Sammysapphira]

If their reason is "understandable", then it's not edgy. Plain as. You're advocating for safe edgy, where "ahktually the evil character was good all along!"

[@m1seryf0nt40]

i feel like you missed the point of the axe scene with hank and marco. it's been repeatedly established in prior episodes to the salamancas that "family is all". a value that is held near and dear to them, each of them also appear to be quite proud, and to an extent: arrogant. It would make sense that seeing the killer of his cousin in a vulnerable position would make him want to give hank a painful and gruesome end. They're shown to be quite sadistic as shown in better call saul (spoilers) when they were going to torture nacho in the desert for betraying the cartel and allowing lalo to be killed. But in the end, that hatred and and desire to torture hank in what could've potentially been his last moments ended in downfall as he was shot in the head with his own bullet. i do agree with your points in regards to them being overly "terminator" like in some scenes like the truck blowing up and ESPECIALLY when leonel got fucking run into by hank. not the best writing in those scenes but i suppose you could chalk that up to them getting cocky or being desensitised to danger (which even then, it seems like a slight stretch LOL). good video regardless 👍👍 always been a fan of these types of vids you post

[@mariko909]

Yeah I agree, and being part of the cartel means that they love the flashiness and theatrics to drive their "message". Maybe not in a public place, probably kidnapped drugged and tortured in a controlled environment. Especially if the attack was as personal as involving a family member. Regardless there have been many instances when famous sicarios have felt invulnerable simply for having such a high body count at a young age costing them their lives, one of them being a young adult woman. Breaking bad definitely bends things to serve its plot even if it means being silly, but I think it does a decent job portraying the cartel.

[@jestyo0o]

i think there are a lot of reasons why they decided to burn the truck, burning the truck would leave absolutely zero evidence that they were there and nothing could be traced back to them considering they're hitmen and pretty experienced ones it makes sense that someone with that much experience would do in that situation (but maybe not the slow walk)

[@drake9634]

@@jestyo0o why not walk lol, it's not like they are in a hurry, but I understand the frustration at their "terminator" feel

[@jouheikisaragi6075]

I'm here purely to say that the thumbnail fucking sends me. I hate that I can't look at Adachi without laughing anymore

[@SheklerStealerIII]

Adachy

[@ltb1345]

True!

[@lunactiathemoth]

adachi

[@kidnamedelevator3433]

​@@ltb1345fax my brother! spit your shit indeed!

[@lemon66111]

ADACHI

[@saparapatepete]

I don't think antagonists or villains are edgy by default. It depends of the kind of goals they have, their personality and the means they are willing to go for it. For example, Jesse, James and Meowth from Team Rocket are criminals that steal pokemon (or at least try to do so), but despite their illicit activities they have a conscience. They treat their pokemon with love and care and Meowth is seen as an equal for Jesse and James. This conscience even comes in dire situations when they often help to save the world in the movies or feel bad for some of the struggles of the protagonists or one of their pokemons. For example, they decided to help Ash's Charizard to be allowed to train in the Charicific Valley because they saw how he was outclassed and struggling to prove himself, so they set one of their classic plans, but this time it was done so Charizard could defeat them so he looks good in the eyes of the other Charizards and the trainer.

[@skell6134]

Good example of non edgy antagonist also is Maruki from Persona 5 :p

[@cosmicspacething3474]

Also there was the movie where they were being literally disintegrated by acid blobs, and the first thing that they did was set their Pokémon free to save themselves

[@Pulporila]

Dios mío, Rocky, no esperaba encontrarte en un video essay XD

[@saparapatepete]

@@Pulporila Que pequeño es el mundo, tampoco esperaba encontrarte en un video essay sobre edgyness XD

[@Nykandros]

So essentially villains aren't edgy so long as they retain a semblance of conscience & morals? Nah, sounds boring lol. I want my villains utterly & ruthlessly committed to their goals. A true oppositional force, not some clown relying on half-measures.

[@koboldwizard]

The thing with Raiden is that he leans all into the edge, so much that it cancels itself out. Instead of being so edgy its bad, it becomes so edgy its good.

[@luis-sophus-8227]

In short...

[@danaa-]

Hes so edgy that its funny lmao

[@danaa-]

​@@luis-sophus-8227i did not expect to see you here.

[@luis-sophus-8227]

@@danaa- Edgy is a word that goes with me after all

[@danaa-]

@@luis-sophus-8227 yes, we can all see that.

[@Tycini1]

7:30 The Twins' main characteristic is their love and care for each other. -Leonel just got his legs detached from his body by Hank and Marco saw that. You can see the expression on his face if you watch it again. It's not pointless by any means.

[@arenkai]

Thank you, I just wrote an entire rant of this part of the video haha I fell like he missed their point entirely

[@Tycini1]

You are welcome@@arenkai

[@NikkioTheNeko]

me too, I was looking for comments like this. Their silence speaks 1000's of words, they are scary@@arenkai

[@essa8557]

Literally they were about to kill Hank in a "fast way"(axe was in a car) but Hank was warned and thats only reason the fight started😭

[@mr.cheese1865]

Not to mention, the whole reason why they were there is because Hank killed their cousin. Family is very important to the Salamancas, and Cartels are known for being exceptionally brutal with their kills.

[@morningbell3690]

The reason the twins decide to make Hanks death more painful is because he killed their cousin, Tuco. It’s literally said IN THE EPISODE. WHAT IS THIS ARGUMENT.

[@andrew2353]

Plus, Hank crushed the legs of the other twin with his car, which would be more motivation to make his death sadistic and personal.

[@ExpertContrarian]

Soft people just hate anything dark unless it goes out of its way to be cringe purposefully, or “deep.”

[@easiestcc6451]

Everyone who makes edgy rogues in DND should REALLY watch this video. SO MANY of them end up in the bad category of edgy.

[@saparapatepete]

I play rogues more like sleazy con men or thief with a heart of gold......for edgyness i always assumed Warlock was the default option XD

[@TheCrimsonElite666]

The best kind of Rogues are the ones that act like Garrett from Thief 1, 2 and Deadly Shadows. I know he's specifically a thief who doesn't really kill, but his charming wit makes him so entertaining and he isn't really edgy, unlike a certain reboot that flanderized his character and turned him into Batman.

[@humanoidshrek5524]

i play a monk who has two souls and the other soul sometimes possesses my monk’s body and the other soul’s humor is crude, he swears and stuff and is kind of an asshole but still knows he wants to keep the party around so he can complete his goal. my monk is nice, awkward all the time and has the Sage background. i think its a good balance on my part. btw nobody even me expected my monk to be soulbound with a changeling, we were fighting him and the changeling was pretending to be my character and we almost killed him but he literally jumped into my character’s body and joined their souls

[@crimsonzone8984]

Um.. no. I think everyone should just search for the actual definition of edgy so that they don't end up making stereotypes. If everyone does not agree with the actual definition of edgy, then that clearly says a lot about society and we're all just stereotypical as how Americans are handled in Japanese media.

[@thomasrose2149]

Why are they playing DnD to begin with?

[@guesty924]

I get your gripes with the cousins, but you must understand that the Salamancas work like sadists, not hitmen. They want their target to feel as much pain as possible for as long as possible. And in cases like Lalo and the cousins, that is why they fail.

[@aaronlaughter6471]

Jeez and they say Saw is torture porn.

[@guesty924]

because the salamancas are seldom in the bb universe while saw is all about the traps and gore? I dont get your point @@aaronlaughter6471

[@JGIF229]

I am a simple man I see adachi i click

[@MonMon-jx2fj]

I dunno but I accidentally read "I am spider man" Yeah my humor is bad

[@disgracedmilo]

In BB, I think you misunderstood the point of having the twins go over the edge. In the show, the writers portray members of the cartel as brutal or just straight up ego centered, but also meeting their end due to such egos. Walter refuses money from Grey Matter even though he has cancer and becomes a drug lord, ruining his family and giving up his happiness in life to be "right". Gus refuses to just kill Hector straight up and lets him get hospitalized, then gets the best doctors to treat him just to make sure he survives and he can suffer more, then gets killed by Hector because he decided to poison him and stayed around too long. The twins burn the truck and try to cut Hank's head off because they're cartel members, in an industry where your image matters most, then Marco meets his end to that very ego centered decision. Gus' boss kills Gus' partner to establish that he wont let Gus sell meth in his territory, leading to Gus eventually causing his death because of the anger he kept inside of him. I believe that your critique wasn't very well thought out considering that this is a theme in the show.

[@enderclasscraft6411]

To be honest, I'm from Mexico and it seems strange to me that they decapitate him. I think they would have dismembered him before, mostly because those people want to show how heartless they are to get media and investigators afraid of them Damn, I think that happened a lot with the researchers here.

[@fabianbarreto2713]

You know, Andrew Graves, for a character, "Edgy" seems like a very well-written character to me, since he has a justification for his attitude, why he is traumatized because of his psychotic sister and he is not like that all the time, and how he tries to not to fall into madness and go from being the sanest and how he keeps his feet constantly on the ground, how bad that they only know him because of the insest despite more than that

[@Ducksen]

I wanted to include Andy and Leyley analysis in this video because they're edgy, horribly evil characters who barely have reasonable motivations, and yet I still find them to be interesting and well written. But I decided against it because the game is so new.

[@fabianbarreto2713]

@@Ducksen that and the absurd controversy that arose on Twitter because "Oh no, anime characters are having sex because they are Siflings" acts as if in anime any character who has a sister and who is not thanjiro and Nezuko ends up fucking her and also that the majority only saw the most superficial of the story different from us and the fact that the majority of "Memes" are about incest does not help much

[@skel-l7825]

@@Ducksen I wouldn't say their motives are barely reasonable. Pretty much every horrible thing they do is for survival, which isn't interesting per se, but it's understandable. It's the lack of remorse that makes them evil. Plus, there's their whole toxic dynamic and the constant question of why Andrew doesn't ditch Ashley despite how she treats him. There's a lot of layers to it

[@tomoop8867]

​@@Ducksenclass of o9 is edgy and just evil that it makes it quite funny but also sad

[@skel-l7825]

@@epshga Pretty sure they were going to turn them in, or at least Ashley was going to be turned in, so it kinda was (obviosuly, it wasn't right to do, but yeah)

[@ritzexists2201]

The statement ‘yes, this has become another white man adachi video essay’ is so funny to me

[@Lobsre]

i love edging thanks for clearing the stigma around it

[@evasmojang]

huh ..

[@juarever4436]

thanks for clearing the sigma*

[@Lobsre]

@@juarever4436 um what the sigma

[@ShadowArtist]

the main character in "Hatred" is more than "edgy"; his whole personality is excessive "grim-dark"

[@roberto-o2f]

Tbh if theres a bus stop infront of my house I'd understand Not Important's hatred lol

[@gimmeyourrights8292]

Vaas from Far Cry 3 is also great edgy character because of his tragic backstory but also because of his realistic depiction of a modern pirate, his personality, his attempted mutiny, and also the fact that his gang is called the privateers.

[@gabriela.pizarrog7150]

privateers are a mercenary group hired by the hoit guy, and vass gang are simply called pirates if I'm not wrong

[@a_pyroshark997]

I think it's possible to make a good edgy character even without the nuences if they bring cool new ideas. Like Noob Saibot, he's a huge edgelord, but in MK11 he had a cool, unique moveset and design, which saves a lot of him even when his actual character falls flat

[@IaloneAmTHEChoppedONE]

people cry about "bad" edgy characters because they aren't edgy or bad enough to understand them or even like them, skill issues

[@GreenSabre187]

​@@IaloneAmTHEChoppedONE i actually think so truelie. People are just like edgie equal evil and evil equals bad, some persons tho dont even think about this. MAybe some people genunely like it to be evil? Thats an option.

[@margerald1]

7:27 >there's absolutely no reason a cartel member wouldn't just end him then and there Lmao as if cartel people in real life don't draw out people's deaths for no reason. This guy definitely doesn't know about the funky town video. Edit: also its pretty obvious the reason why Marco drew out Hank's death is because Hank crippled his bro, like if you're gonna be dishonest at least be good at it bro.

[@The_Prizessin_der_Verurteilung]

It's true, but definitely seems as though they drag them out moreso for onlookers, to "send a message" as opposed to an isolated murder to someone who won't live to tell of it if there's nothing to gain (information, money, etc.) from keeping them alive. (Torture not withstanding)

[@MarioTehNewOne]

8:07 I mean... I'm not saying your argument doesn't make sense, it's actually extremely logical. BUUUUUUUUUT I present 1 counter argument called Mexico. With all the massacre and stuff we see daily on the news, the way the cartels murder/torture people here and even worse the way they dispose of the bodies and the fact that there is even a website that compilates cartels and their acts of violence. I don't think it's too farfetched to think they'd rather take their time killing their target with an axe than do it quickly considering they think it was Hank who killed their cousin.

[@toastergaming7783]

If the Twins weren't trying to make it fast before they get caught, they'd go full Funky Town on Hank

[@mr.burn-out6553]

The point of Adachi was that he was an obedient dude that did as told he busted his ass studying but by happenstance ended up as a cop, even worse he was sent to the boonies... The MC Mac Perfect and his gang of well-off friends (Yukiko can inherit her Inn, Yosuke and Teddie have Junes, Kanji and his family textile, Naoto is already a detective, etc. even Chie got into the police force thanks to Akihiko) told Adachi that being miserable was his fault (not defending him, but you can understand how he grew bitter and how the message gets diluted by having the cast be the ones fighting him)

[@Artemi22]

chie and akihiko? is that cannon? I'd figure that's from the arena games or somethin

[@ReinzTheKing]

​@@Artemi22 It is, even the dancing all night also canon.

[@egg_l0rd13]

I don’t feel like the opportunities the group gets invalidates their message to Adachi. The only reason anyone in the party is able to succeed is because they get past their own personal issues and accept the hand they’ve been dealt. Yukiko initially hates the idea of inheriting the inn and wants nothing more than to escape her situation, but by growing to understand her love for the people of her hometown, she begins to soften up to the idea. She can only move forward in life once she comes to terms with her reality. In contrast, Adachi was in a similarly unfair position, but instead of trying to find anything that could make his life worth living, he perpetually sunk deeper and deeper into his misery. (Despite being given people to care about in Dojima, Nanako, and even the protagonist in Golden, he still decides to forsake his relationships in favor of perpetuating his misery) I do think Adachi is still a somewhat sympathetic character, but I disagree with the notion that the message is sullied by the success of the party members when they only achieved that through their journeys of self-acceptance. Opportunity means nothing if you don’t have the mindset to take advantage of it, and that’s part of why Adachi’s life never improved.

[@jirase3097]

I disagree. Adachi studied hard but he didn’t made ANY connections at all. And when life inevitably didn’t go his way. He kill people for fun. Most of the cast aren’t well off. Only Yukiko and Naoto. Teddy was literally mascot which anyone could do. Kanji inheriting a little store his family have is definitely not a well off thing. Considering how little people visit those. Chie getting recommended is the point of making connection with people duh. Yosuke dad didn’t own Junes. He was just manger isn’t he?

[@ma.2089]

While I agree to some extent, that also invalidates the P4’s casts efforts.

[@nhpkm1]

Bruh you skipped the edgyest of edge lords Shadow from 'the eminence in shadow ' . One of the main plotlines is him being worried someone will personally be targeted with a nuclear weapon .

[@lvcrimosv]

he’s funny edgy though because he’s edgy _because_ he’s a big fan of edgy characters and he’s emulating them (and failing sometimes)

[@alexzander1142]

Peak edginess

[@nitalukder2108]

I wanted to like that because every time I see it mentioned, it sounds hilarious but the anime itself feels too similar to what I think "isekai with overpowered protagonist" is like. I did drop it after a few episodes though and I've heard the manga delivers better. Maybe I'll try again one day.

[@lvcrimosv]

@@nitalukder2108 oh the anime doesn’t have the same comedy aspect of the manga (which i personally think takes away from the quality of the story) so if you rlly want to give it a go again i recommend trying the manga instead, the anime tries to be a little more serious honestly

[@nhpkm1]

@@nitalukder2108 I'll definitely recommend to retry watching. Due if you didn't enjoy it by episode 3 then probably not your style. The main character isn't really the protagonist, at one point he fights vs shadow garden for lols

[@Blazertazer]

5:11 GOD DAMMIT I CAN'T ESCAPE HIM

[@oneballRCK]

the entire video in a nutshell: Edgy is good untill the motivation is not making sense at all from any points of view or they are just edgy for the sake of it.

[@GreenSabre187]

not able to understand a motivation =//= motivation is not making sense

[@oneballRCK]

@@GreenSabre187 exactly

[@smallebige]

7:28 Cartels what they do is send messages so him deciding to smack hank a couple times with an axe makes sense which how sharp it is literally stands up when the blade hit the asphalt like how you even do that

[@Kira-pv4xq]

1:43 There's an edgier character than Raiden on screen here

[@noobgamersland6969]

2:03 yeah because what you say is not important! What's important is what he's gonna do... I think NI and hatred are supposed to be stupid...considering the protagonist and the ending cutscene(boy I laughed hard when NI started laughing with the detonator) and the weirdly arcade like and non chalant nature of not important just killing people...literally is a parody of edgy characters....I think the developers just took every bad edgy character stereotype and every protestor from postal 2(iykwim) and decided that would be the personality of their character....and considering his so overly generic bad stereotypical characterisation as an edgelord...not important doesn't even have a name!!! (except for what we gave because hey you gotta work with something) I can see the vision being somewhat along the lines of postal dude but they still ended up with a dark acting comedy of an edgelord ....who's seriously comedic if that's even a term..

[@wander7812]

1:25 I heard this type of contrasting, of a Very Heroic and Loyal hero dressed as edgy is called a "Gothic Hero" Alternatively, its also related to the trope of "Dark is not Evil", which is when something or someone who looks and/or take powers from darker things, is not DARK at all. Contrast of "Light is not Good", which is exactly what u think it is.

[@kohaiame2691]

When I read "Light is not good" I immediately thought of Light Yagami from deathnote.

[@wander7812]

@@kohaiame2691 Yeah thats a good example bcuz design wise he-- ... Thought u were slick didnt u

[@bayzul7405]

Motive is everything, even when playing the bad guy. Gives purpose as good guy, bad guy - even revelling in the moment that makes Adachi both entertaining but competent.

[@GreenSabre187]

its not tbh, you just find it important to have a reason for beeing evil, just beeing evil is fine too tho. Maybe you have to be an evil person irl to know that. Beeing evil just for giggles is already reason enough, nobody needs your emo stories where somebody got bullied and then they go crazy. Just let them go crazy bruh.

[@WuhHuh]

@@GreenSabre187Even simply being evil “just because” already has a reason behind it. Doing evil stuff for joy is usually sadism. The reason doesn’t necessarily have to be deep or tragic, it just has to make sense. Bowser, the main villain of most of the Mario games, usually does what he does because he wants the power to control the kingdom, and while it’s not explained much further, it’s pretty easy to assume that he does this because he likes having power. It’s not deep or sad, but it makes sense. That’s all we need for any good character in general.

[@EVILHORSE666]

I’ve always wanted to make a game where there’s a side character you barely notice but he slowly acts more and more insane until he eventually becomes the final boss, finding him in your home.

[@boslyporshy6553]

In a way, Henry from No More Heroes 1.

[@Brotherofthe4thCompany]

Good edgy: Guts from Berserk Bad edgy: Hajime Nagumo from Arifureta

[@vlexonkol8466]

Thats just bad character, not bad edgy

[@Brotherofthe4thCompany]

@@vlexonkol8466 Doesn’t help that the English dub give him the worst voice actor working today. Say what you want about Kouki and his self righteous entitlement, but at least he’s played by a decent voice actor.

[@SpectreMkTwo]

Finally someone finally talks about what ive been thinking for years. Edginess is good. Hell its amazing. My first anime was hellsing ultimate and death note and all these years i still believe edginess can bring peak. Devil May Cry 3 for example. Edgy as hell but amazing

[@MALICEM12]

There's good edgy and then there is straight degeneracy or cringe.

[@Falkenhorst2000]

Preach! I mean, for another example: Everyone loves Ghost Rider, and for good reason! What's not to love about a fucking burning skeleton man in a leather jacket on a cool motorcycle who brings vengeance to the scum of the earth? Edgy chars can be amazing if people put in the effort to make them compelling!

[@Etzelsschizo]

Death Note isn't really edgy

[@toro2812]

​@@EtzelsschizoSmart teenage protagonist with a magical notebook, kills people even if they aren't evil or "undesired" simply because they stand in his way (or at least he thinks so), goes to a man's grave just to laugh at him after having killed said man, and then starts to develop a God complex and tries to rationalize his killing spree through his boredom, dude death note is edgy, but it's the cool kind of edgy that this video talks about. In fact, light was the character that made me love edgelords in media.

[@Etzelsschizo]

@@toro2812 light is an edgelord, but a villain protagonist who is an edgelord doesn't make the story itself edgy just as featuring a racist protagonist doesn't make the story racist. If the story condones Light's actions and personality, then it could be called edgy

[@AlkisGD]

Counterpoint: Hatred got an adult-only rating vs Rising's M because of its presentation which lead to a moral panic. And yes, you can make Rising _sound_ more extreme on paper, but the presentation is stylized, so over-the-top and anime like that the violence simply hits different. It's like playing an FPS like Call of Duty and a horror game with FPS mechanics like Alan Wake 2. Presentation matters. P.S.: The moral panic over Hatred was as sad as it was ludicrous.

[@GreenSabre187]

and its still going concerning all the ried to invalidade the game xD who cares if its edge?

[@xLuis89x]

It´s funny since people who become mass murderers or just murderers, aren't exactly moved by a videogame but by feeling abandoned by ACTUAL society, but politicians and stupid people want to put the blame on videogames... hell no, fk off, if you want to fix the problem you gotta aim at the roots, and that is making the youth feel like they are worth something and that they are being heard , not treat them like crap that is useless and that it should feel bad for being born like what they do in the USA currently...

[@SmexyDevvi]

This man just called Rune Factory slop.

[@cappedminer369]

2:32 the coffin of andy and leyley is peak edge in the best way imo

[@hundvd_7]

I'm shocked it didn't even get pointed out in this video

[@MasterIsabelle]

I think he didn’t bring it up due to a lot of stuff it has going on and he may not like it or may get backlash idk

[@forcers5k]

im edging to you

[@cappedminer369]

@@MasterIsabelle dude the people who are offended by this game have to grow up. And if they don’t like then they should not play it ! They shouldn’t dox people for making stuff ! Plus it’s an optional path they hate and not everything else !

[@goober2946]

💀@@cappedminer369

[@shotgunkaius]

TLDR: Hatred is too edgy for the cartoon avatar because it made him uncomfortable :O

[@shotgunkaius]

And missing the point with BB is just the cherry on top. Stick to persona if it makes you comfortable

[@The-Black-Death]

Guts from Berserk laughs like this too 0:03, and he's one of the most well-known best edgy characters out there.

[@Hawkatana]

He's not really that edgy after a while. The whole second half of the series is about him opening up to others and letting go of his hate and vengeance.

[@The-Black-Death]

@@Hawkatana That's the beauty of it really.

[@christhechilled]

1:19 I never considered cyborg Raiden as edgy! It was super cool to see a cyborg ninja kick ass, like GREY FOX? Anyway, the best example of a good edgy character is The Punisher.

[@damarkisallen1013]

about the twins vs Hank, cartels are notorious for being very over the top to prove a point I don’t think that’s too crazy

[@sharzinlalebazri5673]

And then there are characters like Ragna the Bloodedge from Blazblue who shouldn't even be classified as edgelords but people still call him one because of surface level observations that are in actuality, just part of a façade he puts up, a mask that's easily seen through by characters like Noel, Taokaka, Kagura and Celica. But noooooooooooooo, just because he has an edgy name and acts tough around people, some idiots (cough, cough, Nervous Nick from Screw Attack / Rooster Teeth, cough, cough) are absolutely convinced that he is an edgelord and nothing but an edgelord.

[@noirekuroraigami2270]

nahhh bruh....that exactly what edge lords do

[@sharzinlalebazri5673]

@@noirekuroraigami2270 No. With most edgelord characters, the tough attitude and the dark and menacing thing is what their character really is, as opposed to Ragna who is just a goofy, friendly dork with a heart of gold beneath that mask who can't help but care about his friends and fight for them until the bitter end.

[@wannabecinnabon]

Ragna's name, design, battle quotes, attack names...etc, are all some of the absolute cheesiest edgelord schlock there is. He *genuinely* comes across like a 12 year old's OC. Sadly, people who write off BlazBlue's story and characters as incomprehensible schlock see the surface level corniness and assume that it's nothing more than that, when in reality he is *deliberately* over the top because, well, "Bloodedge" is quite literally a character some dork came up with to seem cool and powerful. Ragna is just...a guy, but he plays the role of an extravagant supervillain because that's what will get people to fear and avoid him, which is...well, exactly what he wants for his goals. I think it's something of an overarching theme among the original Calamity Trigger cast that the characters are all not what they seem at first glance. Jin looks like the responsible and dependable, if a bit standoffish, counterpart to Ragna, but in reality he's a deeply unstable man whose repressed childhood trauma, alongside the suffocating expectations of the world around him, has become desperate and unrelenting in his attempts to take agency back for his life and destroy any who would be an obstacle in his path...or Rachel seeming like the ultimate snooty rich bitch looking down upon all else nonstop, but in reality the only reason she's looking down is because she's determined to protect all those in the world, regardless of what it means for herself...or god, don't get me started on Nu, the unstoppable, horrifying killing machine concerned with nothing but her directive to kill Ragna, but was in reality a little girl driven mad by the prospects of her own "brother" wanting her dead and gone forever, and whose twisted concept of love would end up nearly bringing about the end of the entire world.... Sorry, got sidetracked there. Uh. Ragna is cool.

[@sharzinlalebazri5673]

@@wannabecinnabon Exactly. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[@T.L.P50]

Shadow in SA2 and 06 is just perfect

[@detectivemememachin5011]

A majority of 06's story was great but it got overshadowed by the poor gameplay. If the gameplay was good and the developers weren't forced to rush it, it probably would've been one of the better Sonic games

[@T.L.P50]

@@detectivemememachin5011 that game really needed more time you can tell it had potential its still a bad game as of today but i like it anyway even if its been ridiculed for the past 17 years.

[@detectivemememachin5011]

@@T.L.P50 That's nice to hear. People hated Unleashed back then but I loved it (except the night missions. Those were meh)

[@The_Prizessin_der_Verurteilung]

06 gameplay isn't poor, it's just buggy. See the Unity remake on PC for this. (Seriously, you won't regret it) As for Unleashed, I understand some* of the hate, the werehog wasn't bad, but it dragged on and on and even as a fan of the concept I feel it overstayed its welcome.

[@detectivemememachin5011]

@@The_Prizessin_der_Verurteilung Ngl I liked Unleashed despite the night stages

[@coolcat001100]

“I don’t suffer from insanity. I enjoy it.” -Caleb from Blood, probably

[@brimple]

Adachi

[@pankeksenpai5323]

riku from kingdom hearts is also a good example, he learns to not be a cringe emo that constantly yaps about darkness and actually learns from that; becoming a better character throughout the game series, And you can see that he changes a lot in comparison to the first game up until KH3.

[@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051]

I agree that Not Important is a garbage character but I think your reasons for hating him are quite strange. An edgy character can definitely kill innocent people and still be compelling and interesting at the same time. They can also be over-the-top and excessive too. I mean, for example, that’s the whole point of the 40k universe, “In the grim darkness of the future there is only war.”, the appeal of 40k is that everyone is awful there. It’s a universe where one of the least evil factions (The Salamanders) burned entire villages of elder and killed their children brutally, yet, people still love the salamanders and state that it is their favorite faction. It is the kind of universe where one of the “good guy” factions, the sisters of battle, literally use brain dead babies as ammunition carriers. Everything in the 40k universe is excessively edgy and yet, that is the charm of it. Your protagonist doesn’t need to be a good person to be an interesting protagonist, if your main character is well written enough, you can make him kill brutally an innocent person who is begging for their life and yet you still like him or find him compelling.

[@Ducksen]

I just think his motivations don't carry enough weight. Lashing out at the world can be compelling if we see how the character got to that point, but all we know about Not Important is that he woke up one morning, decided he hated the world, and went on a killing spree. I also agree with you completely about the protagonist not needing to be a good person, I talk about it at 4:36

[@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051]

​@@Ducksen What you said makes sense if you are only applying it to the protagonist. But you also talk about villains in this video, which is quite bizarre to me. Because it's very hard to gauge what is a edgy villain even is... A villain being evil is one of the most ancient storytelling ideas. Is just being evil your criteria for edginess? Because then characters like Skeletor and Sauron could be called very edgy. And that is just weird...

[@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051]

@HelloHelloe The literal creators of the thing would like to have a word with you, read up on old 40k please.

[@misterboxhead3045]

Owlman from dc is a edgy character that kill innocent people and even so his a much better character than not important

[@GreenSabre187]

that he woke up one morning, decided he hated the world, and went on a killing spree. my question about i wonder is: since this happens in real life too, do you call these happening "edgy" also in real life?@@Ducksen its a thing that is happening, sometimes there is no big story to find and tbh, there shouldnt.

[@Doreo.]

Clicked off the video when i saw the persona character

[@channel45853]

After seeing the thumbnail with the Persona character or after taking the time to leave a comment?

[@Super-7327]

Based

[@ryohazuki9626]

Edgy shouldn't have to be endearing I'm tired of people thinking every villain needs some sort of tragic deeper meaning to what they do. Why cant they simply just be an evil bastard? Some people really do just hate everything and want it all to burn. Also the metal gear rising opinion is just garbage they are simply just 2 very different games on a technical level.

[@hardVatsuki]

people are trying to be "intellectual", thats why we have all those villains lately who get a sad backstory so people could relate by "rationalizing" their choice through explanations. you can't just enjoy simple things, it needs to be deep and extensive with thousands pages of lore, sureeee.

[@channel45853]

I do agree. But a lack of an engaging backstory means that in order to keep the character interesting, they would need to have a very good motivation. Not an understandable one, mind you. Like, for example, a character could just do villainous stuff like burning down a hospital or killing certain people because they think it's funny and know they can get away with it. And if the acting or dialogue is good enough and their characterization is fun, they don't need a sad backstory. But a backstory can improve an edgy character, and make you look at their actions with new context and piece together why someone would do such things, which some people find engaging. It's all a matter of perspective and nobody is wrong. Writing is a lot more fluid and flexible than people think it is, or at least that is what I think.

[@GreenSabre187]

you see and thats totally fine for character in a game that only goes 5 hours at best@@channel45853

[@GreenSabre187]

@@hardVatsuki yuop xD feel like they need to put excuses there cause nobody can handle it to be actually evil no no no no we need to have a reason, then its fine.

[@TheRealAdachi]

I am perfect

[@grimmy6447]

I love this essay, though I'll have to disagree with your interpretation on the twins being "excessively slow". While it's sorta comedic, it does make sense in the context of their motivations to want to make Hank's death painful with the axe, albeit it's a tid bit silly in public. I will agree though that the slow walk from the explosion was excessively theatrical.

[@Reversemotion20]

I think adachi is a great villain edgy or not hes what brings persona 4 together

[@akiyama-gaming]

Adachi seen, neron activated.

[@dinonuggets7148]

Thanks for putting vergil whenever you said motivation, really helps send the message

[@burglovesdmr]

The fact that he didn't mention vergil is criminal

[@NevilsicoShard]

I know this is shallow to say but I subscribed the moment I saw the Vergil clip when talking about "motivations."

[@Aperson-rs4eh]

the chad 'my name is not important, whats important is what im about to do' vs the virgin 'HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHH'

[@LTDLetsPlays]

He is a Chad of Edgy chars he knows he isn’t important and what he wants to do is the important part

[@PerunsZGRevenge]

The twins aren't really a good example of a bad edgelord imo. I liked them and the vibe they brought to the shows very much. If you read up a bit about various brutal cartel sicarios, you'll find that many of them are very over the top and flamboyant. Almost anime levels. They seem right out of a world like that.

[@c-love6753]

Terumi and by extention Hazama from BlazBlue are another pair of good edgy antagonists. Motivations are there and ffs Terumi literally feeds of suffering and hatred. He will dissapear if He plays goody two shoes for too long

[@knightesquire36]

The word "Edge" is forever ruined for me

[@omens255]

Simply Put the best edgy dudes are the ones that are not trying to be Edgy.

[@denisn8336]

No

[@bugonboris6681]

@@denisn8336 It depends really...

[@boslyporshy6553]

The right one doesn't have to try?

[@Kardiac77]

Ducksen when a edgy character is cruel and unusual 😭😭

[@puffythedestroyer8878]

“ It not safe-edgy so it bad ”.

[@StarroStar]

bad edging got me losing my 1 year streak 0:23

[@C_Corpze]

Glad there's at least some appreciation for edgy characters. You make solid points in this video, context and motivation is very important. I love edgy, but I feel like it also needs a reason. Though I sometimes like over-the-top for comedic value or of it's meant for dark humor.

[@TheMemesSmellFunny]

4:00 Pipkin Pippa You Absolutely Need to Take Your Medication Right Now Otherwise The Voices Will Never Stop I'm Pleading With You spotted!!!! Fucking love Ken Ashcorp Edit: just heard Absolute Territory in the very next chapter, looks like it's intentional :DDD

[@selenium9479]

Whatever is the meaning of "edgy" now? I don't understand anymore.

[@DukeofWrexham]

The thumbnail is the other way around

[@Yalovayahznepomnimena]

I like Shadow from his solo project without irony, despite the fact that he sometimes says such nonsense on the positive endings and his memory was erased...About 3 times per franchise. But otherwise, the game does everything right- all the endings are logical, but the canonical one is the one where Shadow forgets about the past on his own

[@crimsonzone8984]

Indeed. And he forgets the past of his own so that he can think for himself and not be defined by others nor have them decide what he should do. I wish more people would look at the context in the Japanese dub of the games before judging the inaccurate context in English.

[@dr_rowby.scramble]

I feel it's important to note that many Japanese people can resonant with how Adachi felt, but his story is a cautionary tale about crossing the line of sanity. Thousands of working class people in Japan go through the same routine every day and experience nothing but monotony. People in Adachi's situation can understand why he gravitated towards something that made him feel good, but that something was murdering women. And that's bad.

[@happinessstudios3889]

Am I the only one who don't like that you just that every villain is edgy. Maybe it's because I feel that it reduce their characters so much. But it's also probably because for me the word itself "edgy" has become another buzzword (like cringe, objective, overated) with no meaning that people throw around at anything to feel smarter than others and rudece works to the minimum...

[@master.baiter2050]

Edgy word always have been a buzzwords since many people doesn't exactly know what edgy means.

[@channel45853]

Your opinion isn't objective, is cringe, and overrated. Stop being so edgy. 😡😡😡

[@goose93]

2:29 how dare you suggest that class of '09 is slop

[@rodrigo_tm]

The game to the left of it is def slop

[@charliewooderson7573]

This video really helped me feel better about writing an edgy protagonist, and it’s something I can’t thank you enough for, even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal to you.

[@edwinmaster7326]

4:25 to make a good edgy character, make a good character

[@thestudentofficial5483]

Honestly what this video taught me most is that Mickey Mouse Club House had Breaking Bad reference

[@ProgZ]

3:00 : no one's gonna talk about Unreal Engine's blueprints in the background?

[@josephhetzenauer1890]

Dont tell me what is bad edgy and what is good edgy.

[@Bob-kn7nc]

Dark themes ≠ edgy (a majority of the time)

[@omni0414]

Every time someone talks about raiden, i fall in love with the game all over again. Amazing video!

[@MALICEM12]

He's great

[@frankwest5388]

Actually there are two things more important than motivation and design. Those are presentation and context. Presentation is how we as an audience perceive the character and context is how the surrounding elements interact with each other

[@LunarKR]

Hey, Story Writer here with a Quick Comment; I think The reason why the Cartel Members don't just kill Hank right away is because They have a Deep Case of Pride. Not just for Themselves but also for Their Cartel, S4E4 'Talk'; They went out of Their way to go kill a Rival Gang on their own because They attacked nacho, They also grew up with the Saying 'La Familia es todo' (Family is Everything), Basically any attack on the Salamanca Cartel or Allied Forces is an Attack on their Ego, Notice how silent They are, like They think the world deserves little from them, rarely speaking and yet They still find a way to express the overarching volume of their Status as Cartel Members, The only time I've seen sadness (or remember LMAO) is when they've seen a dead body of their cousin; Lalo Salamanca, I wouldn't call it oversaturated because it served a purpose even when it is dramatically goofy; it showed the deep-seeded ego of a Salamanca and even explained through visuals why They were so needed for the story to work the way it did. Anyways, if You took the time to read this comment or wanna TL;DR: Ducksen: "I think the Cousin Salamancas are Bad Edgy Characters." Me: "Nuh uh."

[@papaq3810]

Did you only watch the parts in breaking bad where the twins were in it? That’s the only way I could see you actually thinking there was any point to be made

[@mushroom3371]

Oh my fricking soy! People like raiden don't exist. People like Not Important do exist. People who bitch about hatred always say the same shit "too edgy for me wowzers"

[@massghully]

Btw this is all arbitrary cherrypicking and no substantial points are made. I hate "watch me summarise this games plot and then harp over standards that you watch me actively make up" tubers maaan

[@grrrr255]

Sentenced to 40 minutes of left leaning white guy video essay

[@Dreadhatpog]

Yang from Sifu is a pretty good example of a well done edgy character. He doesn’t go over the top and doesn’t go way below either. His story also makes sense and you can see the reasoning behind his acts very well after progressing through the story.

[@FatManThor953]

Im pretty sure not important was a big joke

[@Moonking7]

saying antagonists are automatically edgy is the most incorrect thing i've heard while watching the video, its so wrong on so many levels.

[@_a.lel_]

I see the funny cabbage detective Torhu Adachi, i click

[@bannedmann4469]

Games don’t make school shooters. The Hate Hatred got was hilarious, cause it exposed everyone’s BS double standards. In that way it did its job. Perfectly timed after Hotline Miami.

[@ded4ss]

western edgy > asian edgy

[@Truth_chan_studio]

L

[@truereaper4572]

Bro was cooking until the Breaking Bad segment. Completely missed the point of the twins.

[@AnNguyen-es4kx]

Bro literally derailed his entire argument just to hate on Breaking Bad, that’s peak aut*sm

[@CoolSs]

Here is a hot take. I think not important from Hatred is a good edgy character. The game didn't sugarcoat it. Not important is clear and simple character. An embodiment of our sick and intrusive thoughts taking over. The game smartly start you shooting at defenseless target (to level of glorifying violence, but it still feel like a game) the game slowly become a slog to play. What i believe was intentional. It doesn't matter what pushed you to the edge. What matters that your actions after you let your intrusive thoughts take over will never justify what you have done. The game is not preachy about it and it "showed don't tell" us that fantsy of hurting people is childish. I think Hatred tried to pull spec ops the line but it was not as effective. Both start like your typical game. By the end or when you hit a certain point where the whiplash hits you and it make you stop seeing them as just a "game". Then you realize what happened. Leaving you dramatize. An effective story telling only unique to games.

[@privatehudson516]

I love how back then Hatred was infamous for being controversial, yet now Hatred is infamous for just being shit.

[@GreenSabre187]

is it really infamous? its not even talked about mate

[@flamestoyershadowkill]

Another good edgy protag is Jackie estacado from the darkness videogame

[@ScoundrelChestnut]

you know it's a top tier game FOR making men fight in high heels 👠✨

[@fuyuki_alt]

5:24 Ten years in the joint

[@tangofrown3352]

no shot the drawn talking duck is gonna tell me whats cool and whats not