User blog:BigBadSquid/PE Proposal: Evil (Starfy)



It's been about more than three months since I've proposed and approved Ogura from the manga. Might as well look at the mainstream Starfy series. I'll start with Evil/Iburu.

What's the Work
Densetsu no Stafy 3 (The Legendary Starfy 3) is a Japan-exclusive Gameboy Advance game and the third installment to the Starfy games made by Tose. It's about Starfy, the starfish prince of Pufftop and his friends including his younger sister Starly, Moe the clam, Old Man Lobster, and a mermaid named... Mermaid. The series was only released in Japan, never coming to the west until Densetsu no Stafy 5 (The Legendary Starfy) on the DS, because Nintendo of America thought the series was too weird (and yet they said yes to stuff like Pokemon Channel).

Back to the plot: it has been several years since Starfy defeated his nemesis, the evil eel magician Ogura, sealed away within another magical jar. Not only does the jar break again, but this time, Ogura is put under some type of spell that permanently makes him immune to being caged in another jar. It's his boss, Evil.

Who is Evil and what he has done
A demonic being and the hidden bigger bad of the first three games, Evil enslaves people into following his commands, including Ogura, who was enslaved at a young age to conquer Pufftop. First permanently smashing his jar, Evil grants his apprentice "another chance", as in painfully transforming Ogura into a giant monster and sends him off to take over Pufftop, but was defeated by Starfy.

We first "officially" hear of Evil from Kyorozou, Moe's father, who tells Starfy and friends about how he too was enslaved by Evil many years ago after falling out with his ill wife. When he declares that he will never help the wicked demon, this somehow gets to Evil and he sends a lightning bolt straight towards the clams. Not targeting Kyorozou, but his son. Possibly as a way of punishing Kyorozou's claimed betrayal by smiting his son. However, Kyorozou pushes Moe out of the way and is killed in his son's place, but Evil doesn't seem to care about the outcome.

At the end of the game, Starfy and friends reach Evil's castle and defeat Ogura again, but no Evil. It turns out, from an elderly Pufftop Scholar, the only way to face Evil is to collect 42 Evil Crystals located at the end of each level, essentially telling the player to "play the whole fricking game again". Once the castle stage is reached again, Starfy has only collected 41 of the crystals, but decides to confront Evil anyways. After defeating corrupted Ogura again, Evil finally reveals himself, seemingly killing Ogura by blasting him, saying that he is no longer in use to him before facing Starfy for the final battle.

After defeating Evil, due to Starfy and the others being one Evil Crystal short to slay the demon, are ultimately overwhelmed. Evil mocks Starfy and his friends, taunting them about how he will destroy the entire universe for the fun of it. But here comes Ogura, revealing that he holds the last Evil Crystal. Saying his apologies to Starfy, Ogura sacrifices his life to take out Evil with him.

Migitating Factors
Despite what you think based on his name, Evil is not some generic monster made of evil. He commits multiple actions with full agency over his actions, sadistically toying with the heroes and the villain of the trilogy. Including killing a father in his son's place and nearly successful plan to take out the entire universe with him for the thrills. Despite his acclaimed "promises" to help Ogura become a better person, he truly cares nothing about him and is only using him as a pawn for his plans.

Heinous Standards
Easy pass. This guy completely stands out among the lighthearted Starfy franchise, just because nobody comes close to him. Ogura in the first two games doesn't do anything major to cross other than kidnap Starfy's mother, and in the second game, he was teamed up with his "children" the Puchi Ogura, feeling saddened when Starfy defeats them in battle. The fourth game has Degil, who takes over a kingdom to marry a prince she "loves", but she can't count because of her love. The fifth has Mashtooth, who conquers planets for power alone. While he lacks any redeeming qualities and causes much more on-screen murders than Evil, he falls flat of Evil's plan to completely destroy the universe to create his new one. I'll get to him eventually.

Verdict
I think he does enough to qualify. Thoughts?