The Life Of Lazlo

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Background and context

People are often asked the question who do you look up to and who inspires them, and most people give the answer of a celebrity. However, I always think you only know so much about that given celebrity as we should all be aware that someone’s public or social media persona is not the same as the version they actually are. We do not know everything about these people so I always found it difficult to look up to these people as before you know it…boom, there is a scandal of some kind. Even if there never is a scandal we still don’t know everything about these people.

So if I was suddenly asked the question, of who inspires me. In my moments of doubt and hesitation or when I fall short of my goal, who do I think about for inspiration? Well, my answer would lie in fictional characters. Now, anyone who has engaged in enough media should be aware of how someone can look up to a fictional character. Fictional characters are designed to be flawed, imperfect, and often redeemable. We know everything about the given character, and there are no surprises or at least unintentional surprises. We can hear their inner monologue and judge them on their actions because we are more keenly aware of who they are meant to be as their author/creator has given us that direct insight. There is no surprise scandal or deception or public persona because they are who they are presented as, and nothing more. I give you three (or well, technically four) characters who I feel in media are presented to be inspirational…or at the very least, I draw inspiration from. (Although, having an author who in turn becomes problematic is a whole different conversation…which I won’t be going into, right now at least).

The unremarkable human hero

If for some unknown reason, you haven’t checked the anime/manga that is One Punch Man, I suggest you stop reading this immediately and go watch it. Please, and then thank me later. The manga specifically is a genuine work of art. The landscapes, the detailing, the character designs are all so expertly crafted and presented.

I will give a mild spoiler warning for the series, but nothing significant will be discussed. I will do my best to be as vague as possible. Mumen Rider is a character introduced in the series as someone who is remarkably unremarkable. He is a simple hero with no powers and rides around town doing what he can as a regular human. Even his hero costume is unremarkable. He is quite low-ranked as a hero in a society that ranks its heroes. The higher ranked a hero is, the more powerful and popular they are (or supposed to be), and by extension, are paid more. Mumen Rider is immersed in a world filled with deific threats and fellow heroes so fast that the human eye cannot keep up. So with all that going on, why is a very normal man inspirational when there are far more powerful and interesting characters?

Well, there comes a moment where Mumen Rider stands his ground against a threat that he simply cannot beat, and yet he keeps getting back up to defend those who need protection at that moment. His act of defiance in the face of a terrifying threat is inspirational. He stands tall and brave as a regular person. Him standing his ground rallied those he was defending and through this act…well he has his finest hero moment. He did not shrink or place the responsibility on someone who may come along, he took it all on himself. In that moment, he embodied what a hero should be. He didn’t do it for fame or any accolades, he simply did what he could when he could do it.

The point from this moment is that he knew what has to be done. He did not expect help or some last-minute save. He was fully committed to dying in that moment in order to meet his goal of being a hero. He knew it would be painful and agonising, and yet he kept getting back up because he had a job to do.

The reaper turned farmer

Again, if you haven’t seen Vinland Saga then what are you doing here? Go watch it and then return. As with the previous section, I will do my best to avoid discussing anything of true significance to the overall plot. Vinland Saga is set during the Viking era in which bloodshed justified more bloodshed. There are countless men wishing to be seen as warriors and seeking strength and power. Where men could raid villages, slaughter innocents, and take whatever they wanted if they had the opportunity to do so. In essence, Vinland Saga is set during the height of peak masculinity (and patriarchy). At least, during an era, some now would deem as peak masculinity. Thorfinn comes in as a child who sees all this masculinity and believes that this is how all men should live. As warriors, as fighters, as soldiers. Who could blame him? It is all he knows. However, his father Thors had reached the pinnacle of what it meant to be a man during that era and he turned his back on it. Thors had completed this journey into masculinity and patriarchy and emerged in essence, a “true warrior” as he turns his back on fighting in wars. This is something that young Thorfinn simply cannot wrap his head around. Being a man means being a warrior, and to turn away from that meant turning away from being a man entirely. So it begged the question, what does it mean to be a man? And more importantly, what does it mean to be a good man? 

A series of events leads Thorfinn to the battlefield as Thorfinn gains a reason to join the fight and leave home. Thorfinn over time becomes a very capable warrior in his own right. However, proceeding events eventually lead to Thorfinn losing the will to fight. Thorfinn now without a purpose, does not know what to do with himself. For the first time in a very long time, Thorfinn had no purpose, no direction for his rage, and became very empty. He had all this rage and violence that eventually became pointless. Thorfinn comes to realise he robbed himself of a genuine and carefree childhood, but more than that, he realised the monster he became on the battlefield. He becomes haunted by the atrocities he caused to people when he didn’t even know their names. He was an empty vessel with a boundless pit inside his soul in essence. He goes on this spiritual journey on what it means to live a good life and be a good person. He also has to find a new goal and obtain it without violence. However, in a world fraught with violence, this isn’t an easy task. Thorfinn is aware that he is empty, a shell of an individual who never took the time to get to know himself. Never learning what he really loved and enjoyed, and with this realisation a character says to him “being empty means anything can fit inside you. if you want to be reborn, empty’s the best way to be ”.

What I love about Thorfinn and his character is that he is strong enough to be a warrior and deemed a man, but he turns his back on this lifestyle. Thorfinn could have gained so much fame, land, and power if he snatched it through violence for himself. However, he seeks the meaning of what life should be like, not just for himself, but for those around him also suffering under what is essentially peak toxic masculinity and patriarchy. He could have taken the easy way out, without redemption or reflection and sold his services to the highest bidder. Instead, he looks inward and seeks atonement. He looks to be reborn. He reflects on all those he hurt with or without just cause and prepares himself to make up for the wrong he did. Whilst I haven’t gone on a murdering spree, I can understand what it is like to be a rageful teenager who believes violence or harshness is a fair and just way to act or react in the world. Struggling with what it means to be a man, and more importantly, the definition of a good man. On top of this, I looked inward and saw all the damage that was caused by my anger and the people I hurt. I spent a lot of my adolescent years drowning in anger and sadness without taking the time to think if there was a better way to carry myself. (Therapy would have helped a lot). 

Thorfinn’s story is not specifically one about redemption, but rather about atonement. Can he atone for all he has done? Can he save himself and others? Now I don’t know how Thorfinn’s story ends at the time of writing this, but I am extremely excited to see how it ends. 

The scarred prince without honour

So this last character is from probably my favourite childhood series that is Avatar the Last Airbender. Not avatar as in the blue people and we certainly do not discuss the live action movie. Not only because it was awful, but because animation was the perfect medium for this story and live-action cheapens that. Let me not get side-tracked with my passion for animation to be a more respected medium to tell stories. 

Again, you should watch this series as it has a lot of elements in it that would simply go over children’s heads and there is something to be gained from the series even as an adult. I will do my best to gloss over major points, however, unlike the other two characters, I will touch upon the ending of Zuko’s arc. I will not go into all the things that happen in-between so I will be discussing the destination more so than the journey. 

When we as the audience meet Prince Zuko, he is a highly troubled teen. He is banished from his home country, filled with unfettered rage, and is overall a cold individual. He barks orders at his men, he treats his esteemed war hero of an uncle with much contempt and disdain. We are not immediately told where Zuko gets his scar nor what he did to earn being banished considering he is the crowned prince of the fire nation. However, we do come to learn that the scar is a reminder of his supposed dishonour. Zuko is hell bent on finding the avatar (again – nothing to do with the blue people, I have gotten that before). The reason for this is that his father gave him this near impossible task for Zuko to redeem his honour. Zuko is an individual with a single purpose, drive, and ambition which makes him a well-written and near-ever present antagonist hot on the heels of our protagonists. 

The world is in the midst of a war due to the actions of the fire nation, an imperialistic nation at that. They believe that they are superior to the other nations and it is their destiny to rule the world to share their “greatness”. Considering Zuko is the prince of this nation, you could say he also has these beliefs. As that is the reason for the war, and the propaganda that the fire nation pushes even to its most infantile subjects. Zuko believes that there is only one way to redeem his honour and that is to capture the world’s last hope for peace and balance. 

As Zuko’s story progresses, we see why he is so driven and the story behind his banishment. Watching this as a child, it didn’t fully hit home that Zuko himself is a child. Born into imperialism and patriotic supremacy. Zuko faces many setbacks and challenges throughout his story, which allows him to become an increasingly human antagonist. He is a brilliant mirror to the protagonist as their stories are so wonderfully intertwined. A constant for Zuko is his lovely wise-sage of an uncle called Iroh. Once a highly-esteemed war general, and the older brother of the current fire-lord (aka their version of a king), Iroh is a treasure trove of knowledge. His uncle appears to be the complete antithesis of what his nation and his brother represent. Iroh is at peace, a man content with a good cup of tea and some Pai Sho. However, Iroh was not always like this given his former title as a general. Iroh believes in peace and harmony between all four nations and that knowledge can be sought from even the unlikeliest of places including the other nations. He does not believe in fire nation supremacy which makes him almost…ostracised in a sense for not carrying this belief. Iroh travels with Zuko, offering him advice and counsel constantly as a companion. Iroh constantly supports Zuko throughout the story, as a guide for Zuko to find his way. Iroh offers Zuko unconditional and unwavering love and support, something Zuko could not get from his immediate family at the time. He truly saw the potential of Zuko, long before Zuko even realised he had that potential.

However, like most teenagers who are too busy being angsty and angry at the world, Zuko does not heed his uncle’s words for some time. There is a moment in the story where things get heated between the two and Iroh asks Zuko this question “who are you and what is it that you want?”. Zuko has spent so long chasing after a goal not set by himself that he has no clue who he is or what he actually wants in his life, and this is the source of Zuko’s anguish. Zuko is conflicted with all the knowledge he has learnt being separated from the fire nation and its propaganda versus what his family upholds and represents. Iroh forces Zuko to look inward and decide for himself what his destiny or his story should look like. Zuko is often given the opportunity to do the right thing, and he fails to do it several times. 

Further on in the story, Zuko does gain all that he had hoped and wanted. Then he realised, he was just as angry as ever, if not more so. He obtained a goal he had been striving for, for so long that when he had it, he had no clue who he was meant to be. He had betrayed his very soul so to speak. He is surrounded by loved ones. He has his so-called “honour” back after so long. He is the prince his father wanted, but he wasn’t who he needed to be. Again, he is confronted by loved ones to acknowledge he has all he could possibly want after so long, so why is he still so angry? Then he realises, he is angry at himself for what he became to fit someone else’s description of what honour should be. Honour is not something given by someone else, rather it is something he could have given to himself through virtuous actions. 

I personally can relate because again, I was a very angry teenager and more so after my father passed away. I had no idea who I was or what I wanted to be and it was only recently that I have figured out who I am and what I actually want in this life. In terms of separating myself from the expectations that my family or society have placed upon me, and instead wholeheartedly chasing after the things that bring me joy with or without the need for anyone else’s approval.

People in society deem as having an abundance of wealth and fame as the source of happiness (instead of honour). However, it is those with all this that seem the most tortured. It is those amongst us, content with their lot in life that we should look towards as beacons of advice and happiness. Chasing a career because it looks good or dating someone because everyone else approves of them is something that a lot of us have struggled with or have done. It is a quick way to end up burnt out and miserable even with all the things you thought you wanted at one time. 

I thought I’d be happy with my undergraduate degree in law. I got it, it wasn’t enough, I was not proud of myself. I got a job at a law firm, and I was more miserable than ever. Whilst as a bartender I had so much fun even though I was being paid way way less. I got through law school and got great marks, and I didn’t even want to attend my own graduation.

I realised finally, I was chasing something for someone else and not for me. Zuko’s story is one of redemption and finding one’s purpose. I love his story and the arc he goes through to find himself. Also, uncle Iroh is an incredible character and I so badly wish I had my own. I also think the story does a great job of explaining the dangers of groupthink such as; supremacy and imperialism, and xenophobia and how things like travel, humility, and open-mindedness can do wonders for an individual’s soul.

Now my dear reader…

…have you ever read something or watched something and you have felt seen? Obviously, as you can tell from this post, I have myself. I think media allows us to connect with a range of individuals, often more deeply than other people around us. You get to spend so much time with these characters and see how they develop. Often there are similarities with how a character thinks or reacts and how that aligns with how we feel. I personally think it is also just safer to idolise a character rather than a person so far removed from us. I also think media can host a wealth of wisdom for various scenarios whilst being deeply entertaining. There is something out there for everyone, and there is something to learn from anywhere. So what fictional characters do you idolise? Who do you wish to emulate? In those moments of doubt or fear, who’s words run through your head?