Talk:Kuuderika/@comment-2607:FEA8:55E0:6E7:D9A3:CE5C:812:F1D0-20180404024731/@comment-45.56.46.26-20180823230554

Arche's death is supposed to make you feel bad.

Full stop.

You're not supposed to "feel sad but"...you're supposed to feel sad/angry/hurt/confused/etc. You can argue that it isn't a legitimate artistic purpose, but that ignores the entire theme of Overlord that is presented in the initial volume and developed throughout...the impossibility of being "an ally of justice" (or whatever).

That theme doesn't rest solely on Arche...but she does make an outsized contribution. Especially as I fall into the faction that felt Maruyama really did artistically fail to make her fate in the Web Novel worse than death. I also feel that in the LN, where there has been no experiment with Shalltear turning a proper vampire minion (rather than a mere lesser vampire), that Ainz is missing a bet by failing to test it on a talented spellcaster.

In other words, I feel that her fate is a mistake on Ainz's part, but serves an important dramatic purpose in the story Maruyama is telling. And part of that point is the moral weight of Ainz's mistakes...they have heavy consequences. The other part is the moral weight of Ainz's impulses to mercy...those also have consequences, sometimes dire.

After all, it is Ainz's mercy to Demiurge that causes most of the suffering which can be attributed to Nazarick. There are plausible character motives for Ainz to give Demiurge so much lattitude, but it doesn't change the fact that being too nice can have horrible consequences.

Maruyama's willingness to confront this dilemma is what makes Overlord really great literature. It's not as simple-minded or limited as the Aesop fable about the man, the boy, and the donkey. There isn't just one explicit moral of the story. But the impossibility of being merciful to everyone is a major theme. Even with unlimited resources, Ainz cannot avoid being a black hearted organization towards someone. And merely sacrificing his own comfort and pleasure doesn't mean nobody else has to be sacrificed.

Yes, this is a difficult theme, it involves facing painful emotions. But it's a deeply true and profound theme and most of the horrors in our world are the result of people failing to accept it.

Especially powerful people.