Discussion Is it common for power fantasy MC to be rather brutal once they got power?

But as bad as it sounds, you don't torture the children you kill. as a reply to the OP, torturing the entire family as you kill them wouldn't be normal. remember, cultivation novels are worlds where people can die at any moment and you can be 100% justified killing someone in the middle of the street in broad daylight because it's revenge or because they offended you. This means you can't really use modern standards to judge them.

 

There's modern standard, there's also world setting standard (like wuxia standard or something like that), and there's my personal preference. I just don't like when MC behave that way regardless of standard.

 

What doesn't get brutal after having power

 

Nano Machine is a murim story. The murim stories/manwha I've read all have the same settings of taking place in China, 5 noble families, 9 great sects, Heavenly Demonic Cult, etc. I'm unsure why the settings are so similar as if they're all fan fictions of the same novel.

Since the "murim genre" is Korean, it doesn't really fit into the Chinese categories of wuxia, xianxia, and xuanhuan. They all share similar settings like in a wuxia (murim = wulin, gangho = jianghu, jungwon = zhongyuan aka central plains, etc). The martial sects are the same and such as well. However, the powers exhibited by the martial artists in murim stories are greater and more fantastical than in wuxia stories. Murim characters can toss fireballs, communicate via "telepathy", go thru body reformation, forgo food for weeks, set up illusion formations, etc. These are all powers that exist in xianxia but not wuxia stories.

As for Nano Machine itself, the MC's behavior is typical of a Chinese xianxia power fantasy protagonist.

 

yeah, me neither but i can understand why they would do it. was simply answering the original posts question and explaining the logic behind it, well what i see as logical anyways.

 

MC of most story I like doesn't behave that way. There's Saitama, Son Goku, etc etc

 

They tend to lean to that yes.

 

I have quit nano machine for the same reason. He's too much brutal and tries to act like an righteous as*hole. As for what happens later on? Idk but I'm pretty sure he'll get more brutal nothing else. And anyway from what I have seen most protagonist becomes a*shole and arrogant after becoming stronger(brutal too). They last the s#it named empathy. They are pure as*hole but of course most people would say " Their enemy deserved it" or " there wasn't anything else they could have done" or " They killed them so that they won't be able to trouble them in future". lol I feel amused when I see people arguing why killing can be justified or killing isn't bad. When all these argument can be ended with a simple sentence "The protagonist is an as*hole". Anyway I'm diverging from main topic so I guess I'll end it here.

 

´No

 

I dropped nano machine when his personality did a 180 like that. I was pissed , felt so disappointed. I think after sometime passes of you defeating enemies , you see things that changes your mind , you mature from seeing your enemies being brutal to you and the people you care about and you in turn start thinking what was the point of being kind?

They (enemies) don't understand it that way. you realise that the only way to get things done is to be brutal and unfeeling and it's just how the world works if you don't like it then just die. I worked hard and lived if you can't take it then you're just weak. I've adapted and look at me? In the end you get a Mc who lacks empathy and morals.

 

if we are talking about standard novels trope of those genres then no. if we are talking about novels in the 2000s, those days, they might be more common than you think it is (maybe). because people back in the days still had some common sense and decency with them when writing their novels. but now, i don't think so. nowadays, its always about slice of life OP MC, dungeon and whatnot. you do however will find sometimes novels with the kinds of synopsis where MC had too much power and go monke or something like that. im not much about anything else than JP so don't quote me on anything please.

 

Those novels are always based in a world where might makes right. The MCs in those stories almost always start weak where they can't be brutal in the early chapters because they aren't strong enough yet. As they grow in power they are able to start slaughtering those that are weaker until their default answer to any slight is kill! A guy looks at one of his harem members, kill! A guy bids against him at an auction, kill! Someone wants his table at a restaurant, kill! One of his family members wants to beat him at the family tournament, kill! A woman dares to be beautiful but rejects him publicly, rape!

 

nah, its very rare bruv
usually, after getting the power, mc just go around helping a random stranger and stick their nose in other's matters and create problems for themselves, and then to solve them they grow stronger and the cycle continues

its not a bad thing anyway. this is how usually plot progress.
So ig your question is only relevant to a few novels, something like warlock of magus world.
but such books are rare. Most get 404 by chinese sites before they even get a chance to get translated in english

 

i don't think so. depending on the kind of novel you are reading.
and i don't think you are referring to being ruthless as in mc killing his enemy, are you?

 

yes, they make it like that so people can feel angry at first, and then the feeling of satisfaction
feels like thirst gets quenched

 

can anyone suggest any such novels where this happens. i am looking for brutal mcs but i cant them even in chinese novels. they chop off hands when the deserved to be tortured for 7 nights straight before being killed. their are some cases where MCs get agitated and dont kill the enemy right away but think about what all that person wanted to do to us and i start to think that MC is merciful rather than brutal. so i dont think such protagonists who become brutal after gaining power are common. if you were reading japanese beta MCs and suddenly came across such a protagonist then that is one thing.

 

it's pretty common on xianxia especially when it's revenge
that's basically because our logic and common sense in this peace era doesn't match that of who kill or get killed

 

I think its a Chinese thing

 

... (｡ŏ_ŏ) That's why I lowkey don't like this sort of setting. But its a norm in cultivation genres. I guess I don't find lots of fluffy ones, when focusing on cultivation or getting stronger ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

I consider Nanomachine to be crap.

Power fantasy have the rule that brutality = being cool.

It's not norm regardless of what people tell you.

There are a few that are true wuxia or Murim but these are rare eg Peerless Dad and possibly Return of the Mount Hua Sect.

Even Reverend Insanity is better than most because Fang Yuan knew revenge has no benefit. Today's enemies can be tomorrow's allies.

I think he used the phrase, There are no forever enemies but forever benefits.

I can't recall it correctly.

I personally got disillusioned by the nonsensical violence and didn't bother to read anymore.

But since the protagonist is always right, there won't be any remorse and the story ends up just being a mass murderer psychopath as your "hero".

You should try "god of crime"