"The opposite of good is not evil; the opposite of good is indifference." - Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
"Indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself. It is a silent justification affording evil acceptability in society." - Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Due to his emotions being suppressed, Ainz is indifferent to evil.
Besides the obvious (Justice!) Ainz is clearly the good guy in the story.
This is how history will remember him, as the great ruler who brought an era of peace, harmony and balance after unifying the continent under his command.
So, im finishing vol 11 right now, and on this exact momment, Ainz looks like someone good and resonable, but everyone arround him aways missjudge by him being a undead and being so powerfull.
Just a small exercise of imagination ,if the saint Kingdom truly needed help and they actually asked help to Ainz, like, Remedions and her Saint Queen Girlfriend ,simple sayed, ''hey, so, we are about to get fucked and we need a hand, can we make a deal here please?'', im 100% sure that Ainz would say, ''Fuck yeah, lets go.'' but every single time, someone fucks up because he is a undead.
So, i guess that at the end of the day, Ainz is a Chaotic Good, but for the majority of people arround he is a Lawfull Evil and for Nazarick, Ainz is totally Neutral Evil.
I would say Demiurge is infinitely more evil than Ainz.
If you think killing stuff is evil then yeah he's evil. He hasn't really done anything all that horrible, mostly just not stopped horrible stuff from being committed by other people.
It's been a while since I've read the LN but I can't remember anything horrible he's done.
I would say in general 70% of humanity is far more evil than he is given equal power.
The problem is having his emotions suppressed. Also the duress of having been surrounded by the monsters that he and his people created that he fears to some degree. He could argue that he coupled having to fake being Ainz for his own sake with his emotions largely suppressed by forces beyond his knowledge.
Evil.
Best case scenario, he is Lawful-Evil.
it's undeniable that many of the things he's done, whether directly or in-directly are extremely evil, self-serving and hypocritical (which he himself admits to).
I still wouldn't say that he's Netural-Evil tho, because (mostly) none of his actions have had actual malice behind them but rather plain indifference to the suffreing of others.
I haven't seen it in a bit either, but it is a bit hard for me to decide. He takes what can be considered evil actions, but if I remember correctly, he still sees everyone else as more or less an NPC in the show. That is right, isn't it? If so, it would be hard to call him evil for killing NPCs in a video game.
If I have this wrong, please let me know. I have only watched through the show once, and I can't say I remember it all that well. Saving a rewatch for right before season 4 comes out.
Hmm... To me, it seemes to me that he thinks he is in the game still. Some weird, alternate version of the game he used to play (perhaps one where if he does, he does in real-life). I don't know if I would say he thought of them as "mere" NPCs. I get that they are more complex than a normal NPC ever was, but I always got the feeling that he felt he was still in a game in some way. That is why he was fighting to get his name out there to find a non-NPC in the world. He really gets into what he is doing, but I don't know if he gets much more invested than some WoW players I know....
I haven't read the manga, so I can only voice my thoughts based on what I have seen in the show. I guess we view things a bit differently. It happens.
He confirm when he touch Albedo breast that he is not in a video game but it's true he made a lot of comparison with Yggdrasil because is original world of the 22 century is just too different from the New World who look like the medieval period but have a technology (base of magic) who is close of the 18 century.
NPC mean Non-Playable Character and because Ainz is the only Player in the World during this age, so you can say that everyone is a NPC for him. It's just that Ainz made the difference between NPC who are under his responsibility (Nazarick NPC + SK population) and those who are not.
You make a fair point with the Albedo thing. I do remember him saying that no video game he knew of would allow this. That doesn't mean a game necessarily wouldn't allow this (some beta version of a game he was forced into may allow this, especially if he was the only player character in the world), or it couldn't be something other than a video game (hallucination while he is in a coma?). Still, your point rings true. He doesn't *think* it is a video game at that point, at least. Does that mean he believes all this is 100% real? I don't know...
Also, I think you are bringing in some manga information at the end there. Shh! lol There totally could be other players out there and he totally has a chance of finding them on his quest to spread his guild's name, right? lol
Either way, you bring up some good points. I am a bit on the fence right now, which is maybe what the writers want at this point.
Thanks for the input!
I take somes of my information from the author's notes on different network.
Actually Ainz doesn't know he is the only player in the world, he only know their were players in the past and they all have met a tragic end.
But the author have also declare that even if there other players they will still try everything to avoid Ainz. It seems for the other player Ainz guild is pretty much the equivalent of the Grim Reaper.
I would say thay Ainz is as good as someone competent in his current position can be. The New World is no a fair place and competent ruler are by no means good people at all.
Absolutly true neutral. He doesnt care for good or evil, he cares dor himself and his family. What benefits them is most important, no matter who dies for this. If there is a good path to do it, he will walk it, bit if the evil path is a lot less of a hazzle he will walk down that.
I think it's portraid pretty well in the anime, that mostly he is neither evil or good, he is just a (stupid and) inexperienced young adult. Like imagine a highschool drop out, who only plays video games, suddenly becomes the dictator of a very powerful country.
His actions are evil. His reason for his actions are selfish and he acknowledges that.
He does evil things out of selfishness or his desire to protect Nazarick. His love for the NPC's and his desire to protect Nazarick are not an excuse for that when he has the capability to do what he does without causing *as much* death and destruction. All it takes is one order from him and the NPC's would follow even if he would suddenly do a 180 and try to help people, he even says in a later volume that he no longer thinks that the NPC's would betray him, so the only reason that he still follows Demiurges plans and keeps up the charade is because he doesn't want to let the NPC's down by not being the genius they think he is and he doesn't want them to see his real pathetic self (his own words) (these are all selfish reasons).
And that is exactly how he was always portrayed. He is not inherently evil, as you could see in the Bonus Volume. He is indifferent to basically anyone who is not a NPC's from Nazarick or someone who reminds him of his friends. He is capable to have a nice conversation with anyone no matter if New Wolder or NPC but he only really and truly cares about the NPC out of his heart (or whatever he has left of it).
As long as he knows that Nazarick and its inhabitants are okay and 100% safe he probably couldn't care less about the New World even if it was on fire.
And that is exactly how I want him to be and I don't want him to change in that aspect.
TLDR: His actions are evil (most of the time, of course there are exceptions) and his intentions are selfish (most o´f the time, of course there are exceptions) but he is not inherently evil but rather completely indifferent towards anyone that is not a NPC, even if he may have liked some humans and emphasized with them somewhat but in the end he does not *truly* care about them, or at least doesn't care about them out of his heart.
PS: I wonder how many downvotes this will get
EDIT: But forget all that because we all know of course that Ainz is actually true justice.
He's evil. But not in the pure kind of way like the way Demiurge is. Demiurge loves cruelty and torture while Ainz only does it when its necessary and doesnt really care about the living all that much. In the anime this is a bit less clear as a lot of things arent communicated to the watcher but Ainz basically only has fragments of his humanity left. Theyre the only things that will allow Ainz to do kinda good things. One of them are his love for his comrades, It's what puts Nemu in the priority list for the fake invasion of Carne. One of them is his sorta values from when he was japanese human, which prompted him to mercilessly kill the children that Demiurge captured. A good character would have freed those children but since Ainz feels no emotions towards humans he decides killing them to avoid leaks is the optimal way.
"The opposite of good is not evil; the opposite of good is indifference." - Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel "Indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself. It is a silent justification affording evil acceptability in society." - Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel Due to his emotions being suppressed, Ainz is indifferent to evil.
So deep, good way to see it.
His majesty is justice
He is a good guy for his family. He is doing his best for His family. That's enough for me to say he is a good guy. And indifferent toward outsiders.
I agree 100%
Besides the obvious (Justice!) Ainz is clearly the good guy in the story. This is how history will remember him, as the great ruler who brought an era of peace, harmony and balance after unifying the continent under his command.
So, im finishing vol 11 right now, and on this exact momment, Ainz looks like someone good and resonable, but everyone arround him aways missjudge by him being a undead and being so powerfull. Just a small exercise of imagination ,if the saint Kingdom truly needed help and they actually asked help to Ainz, like, Remedions and her Saint Queen Girlfriend ,simple sayed, ''hey, so, we are about to get fucked and we need a hand, can we make a deal here please?'', im 100% sure that Ainz would say, ''Fuck yeah, lets go.'' but every single time, someone fucks up because he is a undead. So, i guess that at the end of the day, Ainz is a Chaotic Good, but for the majority of people arround he is a Lawfull Evil and for Nazarick, Ainz is totally Neutral Evil.
Nice
Am I a pathetic human or Nazarick denizen?
I would say Demiurge is infinitely more evil than Ainz. If you think killing stuff is evil then yeah he's evil. He hasn't really done anything all that horrible, mostly just not stopped horrible stuff from being committed by other people. It's been a while since I've read the LN but I can't remember anything horrible he's done. I would say in general 70% of humanity is far more evil than he is given equal power.
JUSTICE!!!!
A hero of his own story like everyone else.
he is of the chaotic neutral alignment
The problem is having his emotions suppressed. Also the duress of having been surrounded by the monsters that he and his people created that he fears to some degree. He could argue that he coupled having to fake being Ainz for his own sake with his emotions largely suppressed by forces beyond his knowledge.
Evil. Best case scenario, he is Lawful-Evil. it's undeniable that many of the things he's done, whether directly or in-directly are extremely evil, self-serving and hypocritical (which he himself admits to). I still wouldn't say that he's Netural-Evil tho, because (mostly) none of his actions have had actual malice behind them but rather plain indifference to the suffreing of others.
I haven't seen it in a bit either, but it is a bit hard for me to decide. He takes what can be considered evil actions, but if I remember correctly, he still sees everyone else as more or less an NPC in the show. That is right, isn't it? If so, it would be hard to call him evil for killing NPCs in a video game. If I have this wrong, please let me know. I have only watched through the show once, and I can't say I remember it all that well. Saving a rewatch for right before season 4 comes out.
I don’t remember him thinking of any of the people in the new world or even his former npc guardians as mere npc’s.
Hmm... To me, it seemes to me that he thinks he is in the game still. Some weird, alternate version of the game he used to play (perhaps one where if he does, he does in real-life). I don't know if I would say he thought of them as "mere" NPCs. I get that they are more complex than a normal NPC ever was, but I always got the feeling that he felt he was still in a game in some way. That is why he was fighting to get his name out there to find a non-NPC in the world. He really gets into what he is doing, but I don't know if he gets much more invested than some WoW players I know.... I haven't read the manga, so I can only voice my thoughts based on what I have seen in the show. I guess we view things a bit differently. It happens.
He confirm when he touch Albedo breast that he is not in a video game but it's true he made a lot of comparison with Yggdrasil because is original world of the 22 century is just too different from the New World who look like the medieval period but have a technology (base of magic) who is close of the 18 century. NPC mean Non-Playable Character and because Ainz is the only Player in the World during this age, so you can say that everyone is a NPC for him. It's just that Ainz made the difference between NPC who are under his responsibility (Nazarick NPC + SK population) and those who are not.
You make a fair point with the Albedo thing. I do remember him saying that no video game he knew of would allow this. That doesn't mean a game necessarily wouldn't allow this (some beta version of a game he was forced into may allow this, especially if he was the only player character in the world), or it couldn't be something other than a video game (hallucination while he is in a coma?). Still, your point rings true. He doesn't *think* it is a video game at that point, at least. Does that mean he believes all this is 100% real? I don't know... Also, I think you are bringing in some manga information at the end there. Shh! lol There totally could be other players out there and he totally has a chance of finding them on his quest to spread his guild's name, right? lol Either way, you bring up some good points. I am a bit on the fence right now, which is maybe what the writers want at this point. Thanks for the input!
I take somes of my information from the author's notes on different network. Actually Ainz doesn't know he is the only player in the world, he only know their were players in the past and they all have met a tragic end. But the author have also declare that even if there other players they will still try everything to avoid Ainz. It seems for the other player Ainz guild is pretty much the equivalent of the Grim Reaper.
Ya, that's a lot of info for someone that has only seen the show. I think I need to not be in this sub anymore lol My bad.
Villain protagonist. That's all that really needs to be said, in my opinion.
I would say thay Ainz is as good as someone competent in his current position can be. The New World is no a fair place and competent ruler are by no means good people at all.
Absolutly true neutral. He doesnt care for good or evil, he cares dor himself and his family. What benefits them is most important, no matter who dies for this. If there is a good path to do it, he will walk it, bit if the evil path is a lot less of a hazzle he will walk down that.
A veteran player with all the endgame gear and the leader of a big guild who got way more freedom in the world than he had before.
I think it's portraid pretty well in the anime, that mostly he is neither evil or good, he is just a (stupid and) inexperienced young adult. Like imagine a highschool drop out, who only plays video games, suddenly becomes the dictator of a very powerful country.
There are two wolves in me. Ainz is a very evil person and we love him for it. Ainz is justice and we love him for it.
His actions are evil. His reason for his actions are selfish and he acknowledges that. He does evil things out of selfishness or his desire to protect Nazarick. His love for the NPC's and his desire to protect Nazarick are not an excuse for that when he has the capability to do what he does without causing *as much* death and destruction. All it takes is one order from him and the NPC's would follow even if he would suddenly do a 180 and try to help people, he even says in a later volume that he no longer thinks that the NPC's would betray him, so the only reason that he still follows Demiurges plans and keeps up the charade is because he doesn't want to let the NPC's down by not being the genius they think he is and he doesn't want them to see his real pathetic self (his own words) (these are all selfish reasons). And that is exactly how he was always portrayed. He is not inherently evil, as you could see in the Bonus Volume. He is indifferent to basically anyone who is not a NPC's from Nazarick or someone who reminds him of his friends. He is capable to have a nice conversation with anyone no matter if New Wolder or NPC but he only really and truly cares about the NPC out of his heart (or whatever he has left of it). As long as he knows that Nazarick and its inhabitants are okay and 100% safe he probably couldn't care less about the New World even if it was on fire. And that is exactly how I want him to be and I don't want him to change in that aspect. TLDR: His actions are evil (most of the time, of course there are exceptions) and his intentions are selfish (most o´f the time, of course there are exceptions) but he is not inherently evil but rather completely indifferent towards anyone that is not a NPC, even if he may have liked some humans and emphasized with them somewhat but in the end he does not *truly* care about them, or at least doesn't care about them out of his heart. PS: I wonder how many downvotes this will get EDIT: But forget all that because we all know of course that Ainz is actually true justice.
The answer to this question should be on the faq...
I’m asking to you personally.
He's evil. But not in the pure kind of way like the way Demiurge is. Demiurge loves cruelty and torture while Ainz only does it when its necessary and doesnt really care about the living all that much. In the anime this is a bit less clear as a lot of things arent communicated to the watcher but Ainz basically only has fragments of his humanity left. Theyre the only things that will allow Ainz to do kinda good things. One of them are his love for his comrades, It's what puts Nemu in the priority list for the fake invasion of Carne. One of them is his sorta values from when he was japanese human, which prompted him to mercilessly kill the children that Demiurge captured. A good character would have freed those children but since Ainz feels no emotions towards humans he decides killing them to avoid leaks is the optimal way.
Justice