Read on Twitter
William Vangeance [A THREAD].
William Vangeance is a character that polarizes the Black Clover fandom a lot. He is loved by some and hated by others. I aim to show why he is one of the most beautifully written characters in BC and why he doesn't really deserve the hate he gets.
![William Vangeance [A THREAD].William Vangeance is a character that polarizes the Black Clover fandom a lot. He is loved by some and hated by others. I aim to show why he is one of the most beautifully written characters in BC and why he doesn't really deserve the hate he gets.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EhK4PcGWkAA_3aK.jpg "William Vangeance [A THREAD].William Vangeance is a character that polarizes the Black Clover fandom a lot. He is loved by some and hated by others. I aim to show why he is one of the most beautifully written characters in BC and why he doesn't really deserve the hate he gets.")
William Vangeance is a character that polarizes the Black Clover fandom a lot. He is loved by some and hated by others. I aim to show why he is one of the most beautifully written characters in BC and why he doesn't really deserve the hate he gets.
First, some backstory:
William is an illegitimate child and was cursed from birth, giving him an unusual scar on his face. Because of this, he was discriminated against; his childhood was horrible and he endured deep suffering. Even so, William was shown to be very kind-hearted.
William is an illegitimate child and was cursed from birth, giving him an unusual scar on his face. Because of this, he was discriminated against; his childhood was horrible and he endured deep suffering. Even so, William was shown to be very kind-hearted.
He had always felt that there was a person asleep inside of him. This person was deeply hurt, sad, and angry and at the age of 9, he started having repeated dreams portraying times of happiness but also an ending of disloyalty, hatred, and despair.
William sympathized with this person. He felt he had to protect them, that his body wasn't just his. This helped William survive his terrible childhood because he felt he wasn't alone.
When he turned 13, he met Julius. Julius was the first person to acknowledge him and treat him like a human being - he asked him to join the Magic Knights. At 16years old, after just joining Julius' Magic Knight Squad, Patry awakened inside of William.
From William's backstory, we can identify two major influences on his life: Patry, who shares his body and who's pain he sympathizes with,and Julius, the first person to acknowledge him and give him a purpose. This sets up the context for what makes his character so well-written.
The Dilemma:
Patry became the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun - a terrorist group that was terrorizing the Clover Kingdom, Julius became the Wizard King - the head of all the Magic Knights, and William became the Captain of the Golden Dawn - the elite Magic Knight Squad.
Patry became the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun - a terrorist group that was terrorizing the Clover Kingdom, Julius became the Wizard King - the head of all the Magic Knights, and William became the Captain of the Golden Dawn - the elite Magic Knight Squad.
It got to the point where he had to choose: Patry had a goal that he had to accomplish at all costs - he wanted to destroy the humans of the CK and bring back his elven comrades and William understood the motivation behind that goal. But he had a duty; a duty to his country...
...and a duty to the one man who made him what he is today. Patry or Julius?
This internal conflict accomplishes two things: (1) it humanizes William and turns him into a complex multi-dimensional character. Real humans often grapple with tough dilemmas...
This internal conflict accomplishes two things: (1) it humanizes William and turns him into a complex multi-dimensional character. Real humans often grapple with tough dilemmas...
...and William's indecisiveness is a flaw that most people can relate to. Humans are not computers and our emotions play a big part in the decisions we make(or don't make).
Most people criticize William for not making a decision,allowing Patry fight Julius which eventually led to Julius' demise and the havoc caused by the Elf reincarnation. But the decision is not as straightforward as people think. It's like choosing between a father and a brother.
William had a duty as a Magic Knight to protect the kingdom but he couldn't ignore Patry whom he had shared a body with and who's feelings he understood more than anyone else. In truth, there was no correct choice, which leads to the second thing this dilemma accomplishes.
(2)it highlights the moral ambiguity of the entire situation to the reader. The Dilemma that William faces is similar to the moral dilemma which the audience faces while reading the Elf War Arc. There's no morally satisfactory resolution to the conflict between the elves and the+
+humans. Once we as readers understand both sides, it becomes clear that no side is actually wrong - both have morally justifiable reasons for doing what they're doing, and no outcome seems satisfactory.
If the elves win then the current humans of the Clover Kingdom, who had nothing to do with the Elf massacre 500 years ago, would all be unjustly annihilated. OTOH, if the humans win then the elves won't get justice. Turns out, the readers are in the same position as William.
And this is one of the reasons why the Elf arc is the best written new-gen Shounen arc. There aren't many works of fiction that pose such a morally ambiguous conflict and then resolve it with one of the greatest plot twists in fiction (*cough* Devil *cough*).
Well, that's it for the thread on William. Thoughts, likes, and RT's appreciated..
@BlkDeathScythe @Potacio4 @qbtheking2 @MoeSand_ @Pastor_Kam1 @CobTheWeeb @juliusnova2
@BlkDeathScythe @Potacio4 @qbtheking2 @MoeSand_ @Pastor_Kam1 @CobTheWeeb @juliusnova2
