User blog:BigBadSquid/PE Proposal: Buraki

What's the Work
Dragon Wars: D-War (or just D-War for the folks outside America) is a 2007 action adventure film with some fantasy elements. The general storyline involves giant serpent-like lesser dragons called Imoogis that benefit and protect humanity. Every 500 years, one Imoogi is bestowed magical powers by a holy maiden, or Yuh Yi Joo, that transforms them into Celestial Dragons. The story follows Ethan who is destined to protect the Yuh Yi Joo reincarnation aka Sarah Daniels from the evil Atrox Army who plan to bring her to their leader, a corrupt Imoogi named Buraki who wants to become a Celestial Dragon for his own schemes.

Who is Buraki/What has he Done
If they favored humans, all Imoogis must be gentle giants, right? Not the case for Buraki. The most malevolent of his kind, he does not care about humans or wants to protect them; instead he only seeks power of a Celestial Dragon so he can destroy Heaven and Earth and rebuild both of them in his own twisted image.

So for Buraki to never find the next Yuh Yi Joo, Heaven hid the power in a girl named Narin. But Buraki knew exactly where to find her, and upon Narin's 20th birthday in 1507, Buraki had his Atrox Army decimate her village, slaughtering dozens who stood in their way. This escalates to Narin and her guardian Haram jumping from a cliff into the sea, ruining Buraki's and the other Imoogis' chances to become Celestial Dragons. But Buraki refused to quit and swore to return exactly 500 years later to fulfill his wicked goals.

Indeed Buraki would return 500 years later in 2007, this time in pursuit of Ethan and Sarah, the reincarnations of Haram and Narin. While chasing them across Los Angeles, Buraki takes some time in causing massive destruction throughout the city, killing hundreds simply for sadistic reasons. Cornering them on the US Bank Tower after tossing their rescue helicopter to the ground, Sarah threatens to kill herself, but Buraki isn't faltered and conjures darkness around the city as he prepares to take the magic from Sarah by force, only to be stopped by the military and retreats to his fortress while his forces attack the city.

The Atrox Army eventually captures Ethan and Sarah and bring them to Buraki's fortress for their leader to take the magic from Sarah by force. Ethan uses Haram's medallion that he obtained from Jack to destroy the army, but only slightly wounds Buraki. He prepares to attack them but is stopped by the awaken chosen good Imoogi, who Buraki seemingly kills by breaking his neck. Sarah lets out the magic and appears to give it to Buraki, but this was a distraction for the good Imoogi to recover from his wounds and devour it instead. As the new Celestial Dragon, the good Imoogi kills Buraki, ending his tyranny forever.

Mitigating Factors
No Freudian Excuse, redeeming qualities, or sympathy for Buraki. Even without dialogue, his moral agency is very clear as a vile and destructive monger with control over an army, and he will destroy everything and everyone who stands in his way in achieving his goals, all without any tragedy to define his character.

Oh yeah, have I forgot to mention that one of the citizens in Narin's village that Buraki's forces killed under his orders was a child? It doesn't get much sympathetic after that, trust me.

Heinous Standard
Compared to the other characters in the film, Buraki is easily the worst. Where most Imoogis are virtuous and protect humanity, Buraki is a power hungry harbinger of rebirth who will do anything to become a Celestial Dragon so he can destroy Heaven and Earth to recreate them in his own image. He will destroy and kill everything in his path just because he can, slaughtering innocent lives for sheer sadistic pleasure. He will also kill members of his own army should they fail him or just stand in his way.

Final Verdict
Compared to many giant movie monsters and their amoral natures, I feel that Buraki meets the PE criteria due to his sadism, power hungry arrogance, and numerous people he killed to achieve the power of a Celestial Dragon. That's why my verdict is a yes.