**This is a recent entry I wrote for my blog. You can visit my blog at: http://www.mangatherapy.com**
One of the most antisocial video game characters in history has made his way to Manga Therapy. I’m talking about one of the more badass protagonists in recent memory, Kratos; from the “God of War” series. He is a ruthless, remorseless, and savage warrior who seeks to achieve one thing & one thing only: vengeance upon those who have brought him pain & misery into his life.
**POSSIBLE SPOILERS**
Kratos is one violent man. He has mercilessly killed many warriors, monsters, gods, and even innocent people. This is a man who also murdered his wife and child in cold blood. He only thinks for himself and has no respect for anyone beneath him. So what makes him stand out from other characters that are completely antisocial? Kratos has some compassion & sincerity. He also does not lie to people to get what he wants.
Kratos’ character is a one of a tragic nature. The first game in the God of War series made you empathize with him. Here was a man who lost his family and consumed by the guilt of being the one who murdered them. In the end, you were pulling for him to kill Ares, the God of War & his former master. The series could have ended right there, but fans loved Kratos, and we had a sequel in which he becomes the new God of War, but showed signs of rebellion within the Gods of Olympus. Kratos tried to forget his pain by having an army of Spartan soldiers take over & destroy every Greek city possible.
Although he doesn’t show it, I believe he actually cared about his soldiers as he bred & trained them himself. This is evident during the latter parts of God of War II, where he kills the last of his Spartan soldiers accidentally and showing a little bit of remorse for what he’s done. This is an example of him being compassionate & sincere (in a good way). He could have abused them & tricked them like how the Gods have manipulated him, but Kratos did not stoop to their level. His credo was to make them strong & proud to be Spartans. Plain & simple. And you know what? He did do a good job at motivating them.
Another example of his compassion & sincerity was when Kratos decided to protect Pandora in God of War III. Despite killing her father, Hephaestus, he took on the task of rescuing & protecting her. He honored Hephaestus’ last wish for his daughter to be protected. Though Hephaestus did try to kill Kratos, Kratos still agreed upon the Smith God’s dying request. You think a person with a case of antisocial personality disorder would honor a guy who just tried to sneak attack him? It says a lot about Kratos, though you can say that he understands since he once was a father himself.
It makes me wonder if those with antisocial personalities have some part of their humanity locked deep inside them. I know it’s a video game, but Kratos is a great example of someone with a case of antisocial personality disorder can be wholeheartedly respected to a certain degree. As much as he’s a violent person, Kratos would never try to backstab anyone. He can be a loyal person as long as you don’t break his trust.
Which leads me to this. People abuse others’ trust a lot and it causes a lot of problems, especially among young people. There are so many manipulative & deceitful people out there who are out for themselves. Not everyone is taught how to handle those people properly and or aware that there are still trustworthy people. That is a big reason why some people develop antisocial personality disorder. For all those pathological liars out there, do you want to create chaos not only for yourself, but for others possibly? Those bastards don’t understand the ramifications of their actions sometimes. It’s ridiculous!
In the end, God of War (& Kratos) teaches us one main thing that people need to remember: break someone’s trust and you might set off a fire that you possibly can’t contain.
