Sympathy for the 'Evil' Characters in Fiction

What is evil, anyway?

It’s such a loaded term, with different meanings depending on the context.

Evil doesn’t mean completely hated, either. Just think of all the Hannibal Lecter fans.

Lecter is a serial killer and cannibal…It’s hard to get any worse than that, but he still has his stans.

Another character who is intensely hated but also loved, is Leo Kurosagi from Tokyo Debunker.

I’ll do a case study on him. We’ll explore the nature of “evil,” and how we may have sympathy for such a character.

Leo Kurosagi, the diabolical influencer

Lately, I grew obsessed with this video game, Tokyo Debunker. The game is essentially a graphic novel with music and voice acting.

Spoilers ahead for the story!

The MC (main character) is a girl who got cursed. She’s invited to Darkwick, the top school in Tokyo, where they promise to find a cure for her curse.

At Darkwick, some of her classmates are ghouls. Ghouls look human but are physically much stronger. Each ghoul has a “stigma,” their special ability.

The most controversial character is the ghoul Leo Kurosagi. He’s also a famous TikTok influencer and brilliant hacker. His stigma enhances his hearing, and lets him eavesdrop on conversations.

As you can see, Leo is pretty, but rude.

(Yes, looks are subjective. But most Tokyo Debunker fans find him beautiful, even if they hate him.)

It would be great if his only flaw was being rude. But he’s mean in his actions too, not just his words.

Egregious incidents at the prison mission

On a mission, Leo and the MC disguise themselves as prison guards. Leo’s best friend, Sho, and their captain, Alan, go undercover as inmates.

During a scene in the lunch room, some gang members beat up Alan. Alan doesn't fight back because he’s afraid he’ll hit too hard and kill someone. He went to juvie before for murder, so he has trauma from that experience.

Soon after, Leo enters the room and calls off the prisoners. Then he handcuffs Alan and Sho, taking them away for “discipline.”

When they arrive at a private office, Leo rebukes Sho and Alan, asking them what the hell they were doing.

Sho retorts that they’re working undercover as prisoners. Leo responds with a sardonic smile, “So that includes spitting blood? Wow, gotta respect the commitment.”

Then he yanks Alan by the handcuff chain, and grips his chin. Sho warns Leo, while Alan demands that he unlock the cuffs.

Leo replies, “Whatcha gonna do if I don't?”

Alan tells him to quit screwing around. Leo says, “Ooh, scary,” and steps back as if admitting defeat. But it’s only after Sho explained that the other prisoners instigated, and that they still got valuable information, that Leo finally frees Alan from his cuffs.

Later, Leo leaves the office for their next patrol. Sho remarks that Leo still hasn’t freed him from his cuffs. Leo replies, “Oops. Almost forgot.”

He tells the MC to unlock Sho’s cuffs instead. Leo tosses her the keys, which she barely catches. Sho mutters that Leo is an asshole. Who on earth forgets to undo the cuffs?

If Leo doesn’t sound bad enough here, he gets worse.

While Leo and the MC investigate the prison cells, Leo starts playing with his police baton. Then he uses the baton to push MC’s throat against the wall. He murmurs, “The inmates who die in here may not have any qualms about killing people.”

It’s only when the MC tells him that she can’t breathe, that he says in a cheery voice, “Just kidding!” She pushes hard against him, and he finally lets her go.

It looks really dire, right?

Jealousy towards Sho’s friend

Arguably, the worst moment is when Leo lets it rip against Subaru, Sho’s new friend.

Sho left his magical motorcycle with Subaru while he was gone undercover. His motorbike, Bonnie, is a picky eater.

Subaru was having trouble getting her to eat.

Meanwhile, Alan gets possessed by the ghost of a vengeful prison guard, and murders an inmate.

As a consequence, Alan gets carted off to lifetime imprisonment.

Desperate, Sho, Leo, and MC want to chase after Alan. Leo tells Sho to return to campus ASAP and get his motorbike.

But they learn from the MC that Subaru had problems feeding Bonnie.

Uh oh. Sho explains that if Bonnie doesn't eat three times a day, her engine won’t start.

Leo demands that Sho steal a car. But Sho, hilariously, doesn't have a driver’s license. Then suddenly, Subaru shows up with Bonnie!

Leo leaps in and says that it’s no use. He mocks Subaru's failure to cook even for a motorcycle, and blames him for keeping them all stuck here. Leo cackles, declaring that Subaru’s plan to show off to Sho failed completely.

However, to Leo’s surprise, Subaru actually figured out what Bonnie wanted, and she happily ate his food!

A different angle to Leo’s problematic actions

There’s no denying that Leo’s actions were mean and nasty. Yet, if we see a broader context for his actions, we may feel differently.

Firstly, the handcuff incident. Leo cuffs and insults his teammates, and plays at not freeing them. Terrible, right?

But let’s rewind for a moment.

Right before this scene, Alan got beaten up by a bunch of thugs. He didn't fight back at all, despite being one of the strongest ghouls in the story. Sho sat on the sidelines, doing nothing to intervene.

How does this picture look to Leo?

Leo abhors it when people seem to be useless. Of course, Leo wasn’t present to hear why the thugs launched on Alan. Nor did he know that Alan ordered Sho to not intervene.

All Leo sees, are two of the most powerful ghouls sitting on their asses, letting a bunch of weak human thugs bully them. Of course Leo would be livid.

Thus, Leo “punishes” his colleagues for their stupidity and incompetence, by using the handcuffs.

No, that’s not a nice thing to do. But remember that Alan and Sho are ghouls, and Alan even has super strength.

The handcuffs would only be a minor inconvenience to them. They wouldn't truly be hurt. So to Leo, the cuffs would just be a harmless punishment.

What about the choking threat?

I hated this scene, to be frank. I wished Leo wouldn’t do such a thing.

However, Leo isn’t from our peaceful, civilized background. Out of the seven school houses at Darkwick, he’s from Vagastrom, which is basically a thug den. Choking is rude and hostile, but it’s a common means to threaten someone who crosses a line.

Once again, let’s rewind to what happened before Leo tried to strangle the MC.

While they investigated the prison cells, Leo had to repeatedly ask the MC to stop standing there, and please make herself useful.

Leo has a big problem with people who seem idle and unhelpful. From how successful he is as an influencer and hacker, at such a young age, he must be incredibly hardworking.

Some extremely hardworking people, scorn those who have a more passive, laidback approach to life.

On the other hand, the MC once makes a helpful suggestion on what to do. Sho doubts it, but surprisingly, Leo defends and accepts her idea!

Thus, despite Leo’s hostility, he isn’t completely demeaning. Sometimes he’s supportive. He hates it when someone is being “useless.” But he becomes a little nicer when the person takes the initiative to be helpful.

Jealousy hurts

Another reason for Leo’s strangling act, in my opinion, is because of jealousy. After Leo finally unlocks Alan’s handcuffs, the MC asks Alan if his injuries are okay.

Alan’s face softens and he smiles at the MC, reassuring her that he’s all right. Now, Alan is a stoic guy who rarely smiles.

So imagine what you’d think if you were Leo.

His gorgeous captain is always so annoyed at Leo. But this random girl comes along and gets his rare smiles! How is that fair?

I believe Leo has a crush on his captain, by the way. He keeps trying to get Alan’s approval, and is pissed when Alan ignores him. Leo flirts with Alan a lot, too.

Leo has a pattern of being hostile towards people he’s jealous of. He clearly feels threatened by this girl who might steal Alan from him.

Best friend jealousy

Sho has been growing closer to Subaru. Subaru was Sho’s first ever customer at his food truck, and has always been appreciative and kind.

Leo is afraid of losing Sho to Subaru, especially as Subaru is so classy, sophisticated, and sweet…everything that Leo is not.

So, Leo lashes out and tries to drive his “rival” Subaru away.

Caring about Alan’s safety and well-being

Despite his meanness, Leo does care about Alan’s welfare.

When the prison guards take Alan away to lifetime imprisonment, that would be the perfect opportunity for Leo to ditch him.

Leo could easily give up and say, “What a shame. We’ll need a new captain, then.”

But instead, Leo becomes enraged and screams at Sho and Subaru.

When Leo gets scared, he attacks people around him, rather than voicing his fear directly.

He’s terrified that Alan would be shut in prison for a life sentence, and Leo would lose him forever.

Likable traits?

In spite of his many problems, Leo does have positive traits.

He’s super smart. Sho, MC, and sometimes even Alan look to Leo for what to do.

It’s a funny paradox where everyone is mad at Leo, yet they also rely on him. For better or worse, Leo is the brains behind the operations.

Aside from his quick wits, he’s also courageous. He dares to do things many of us secretly want to do. In a way, Leo is more honest than most of us are. He’s shameless and unapologetic, and some of us envy his bravery.

A third positive trait about Leo, is that he’s hilarious. Many others feel this way too, not just me. I recall a commenter say, “I’m sorry, but I can’t hate Leo when he says the funniest things.”

He’s one of the most entertaining characters in the story. Some people admitted that they like how antagonistic he is, since it stirs up drama and conflict.

A surprising redeeming quality

In the opening scene, a prison guard frowns at MC and Leo, saying he thought Darkwick sent them two men. (The MC is female).

Leo responds with this:

Text reads: Ahaha. What year do you think it is? Personally, I think your job has nothing to do with your gender.

Some argue that Leo only defends you for the sake of the mission. Some say Leo is a jerk to everyone, regardless of their gender.

Those may be true, yet I think Leo truly doesn't discriminate based on gender.

In fact, he reminds me of people who are rude and unpleasant, but are surprisingly supportive when it comes to gender, sexual, and racial diversity.

Complex and interesting character

A final positive thing about Leo, is that he’s a complex, morally gray character. There are many ways you can interpret his actions.

He’s definitely not boring or simplistic! His complexity is a big reason why some of us love him, despite his myriad problems.

Where does this all lead us?

It’s easy to just hate an “evil” character. But if we deeply analyze the context and motives, we may feel more sympathetic towards them.

It’s possible to love a character without liking them as a person. This is fiction, after all, not real life.

Plus, no matter how awful someone is, they still have positive traits. Such as being clever, brave, and hilarious, in Leo’s case.

Of course, we may still hate them after this analysis, and that’s fine. It’s just a shame when someone dismisses a character without trying to appreciate the layers. They’re missing out!

Do you agree that, if we pay careful attention, we can sympathize even with “evil” characters in fiction?

If you want to write more compelling characters, good or evil (or both), join me here!