Is Junichiro a Villain?
December 15, 2025That's for you to decide.
One of the things i love most about Junichiro is how the impact of his actions are never dwelled on. Everything he steals, everything he kills and everything he alters in one way or another is not reflected on after Junichiro is done with it.
Think about it for a moment: If Junichiro doesn't have time to see the impact of what he's done, only assuming that the actions he's caused have done good for the world by "preventing a conflict", how is he supposed to know for sure? He's obviously got good intentions, but considering that he doesn't spend much time to stop and think about what he chases after unless it's something that he's been roped into by another party, does that lack of reflection lead to more trouble than his undeniably good actions are worth?
At the same time, however, Junichiro never takes things with the intention of using them to further some kind of scheme, and when something gets taken by Junichiro, he uses every second of his time to make sure that those artefacts are never seen again. He could so easily use everything he's amassed over the years to become an unstoppable tyrant that nobody has the tools to fight against, but if he were to do that, he'd be betraying the fundamentals that got him as far as he's already gotten.
But on that same note, let's not forget about something that almost all humans have implanted into their brains for a good reason. Stealing's a crime. No matter how many times Junichiro tries to tell himself that he's doing it to prevent future conflicts, he's already stepping outside of the boundaries of actions that most people would do to try and make the world a better place.
All of these could be factors that point towards Junichiro being a Hero, Villain or something inbetween, but you're never directly told whether what he's doing is the work of a Hero or a Villain for a very good reason. If i were to make a definitive statement by saying "Yes, Junichiro's a Hero" or "Yes, Junichiro's a Villain", it would feel like i'm not letting people come to their own conclusions which ends up making the character far more linear as a result.
This was one of the fundamental things i tried to focus on when making Junichiro, and if you ask me i think i nailed it.
Hell, even looking at the good old "Alignment Chart", i have NO idea where i'd put him if i was forced to put him somewhere. If someone can come up with a valid reason for putting him into any of the categories, i'll be very impressed.