Griffith from Berserk is an interesting variation on this archetype (post-transformation). He has gained incredible power, but did so by surrendering to fate, which he once struggled against, and since then it's not clear whether he has free will at all, or is simply a tool of greater forces.
(Berserk is also very concerned with free will with Guts, who repeatedly wishes that he was dead and feels that he has nothing to live for, but finds himself surviving against his own will, driven by instinct rather than volition).
Great post! I love this character archetype (it may be the power scaler in me), and I think another great example would be Netero and Meruem from HXH. It makes me think of how often this archetype finds a counterpart they have to prove themselves against (Netero/Meruem, Gojo/Sukuna, Madara/Hashirama, etc.) To me, having the "Strongest" character have to face someone on their level and seeing how they feel about it, be excitement or rage, is what makes them so compelling.
True! These characters need to have these fights for us to see everything that they're capable of. I was going to talk about Hashirama (it's crazy the number of characters in Naruto who used his cells for power) but I didn't have enough time
Griffith from Berserk is an interesting variation on this archetype (post-transformation). He has gained incredible power, but did so by surrendering to fate, which he once struggled against, and since then it's not clear whether he has free will at all, or is simply a tool of greater forces.
(Berserk is also very concerned with free will with Guts, who repeatedly wishes that he was dead and feels that he has nothing to live for, but finds himself surviving against his own will, driven by instinct rather than volition).
Great post! I love this character archetype (it may be the power scaler in me), and I think another great example would be Netero and Meruem from HXH. It makes me think of how often this archetype finds a counterpart they have to prove themselves against (Netero/Meruem, Gojo/Sukuna, Madara/Hashirama, etc.) To me, having the "Strongest" character have to face someone on their level and seeing how they feel about it, be excitement or rage, is what makes them so compelling.
True! These characters need to have these fights for us to see everything that they're capable of. I was going to talk about Hashirama (it's crazy the number of characters in Naruto who used his cells for power) but I didn't have enough time
Interesting observations Rhyan. Look forward to such character analysis from other genres as well