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Here's my third character comparison! And now, the ones under scrutiny are two villains we are supposed to sympathize with and feel pity for: Nakago from Fushigi Yuugi, and Cancer Cell from Cells At Work. Do they live up to their task?

Both of them had a traumatic, painful past that left them unhinged and drove them to evil, and now they're trying to take revenge on the world that mistreated them. However, the way they go about it determines the result of this comparison...

Nakago's past was left a mystery for pretty much the Whole show. Indeed, it was only in the end, when Tamahome finally drove a fist right through the bastard, that we finally get a glimpse of Nakago's Freudian Excuse, via a poorly set up and convenient plot device. Admittedly, Nakago's past was genuinely terrible - accidentally killing his mother when his powers awakened, and being used as a sex slave by the evil Emperor of Kutou… but it is only revealed in an hasty fashion, after we have seen him commit countless acts of ruthless, and often pointless, cruelty… not the least of which is taking advantage of Suboshi's despair and manipulate him into murdering Tamahome's kid siblings.
As a result, it comes across as a cheap attempt to humanize Nakago that completey fails to explain his sadistic tendencies; and most insulting of all, this last-minute reveal is considered enough for him to be redeemed and go to Heaven despite a lifetime spent committing evil.

With Cancer Cell, we get to see his past long before he is defeated. He was born a mistake, and was going to be a threat to the body whether he wanted it or not; as a result, he was hunted down by the other cells that, in other circumstances, would have been his friends, leaving him confused, angry and despairing as to why they wanted to destroy him even though he had never done anything wrong at that point. When he realized that his life was indeed pointless and that he only existed to be a danger, he understandably snapped and raged against the body and the immune cells that wanted him dead just for being born that way - eventually resolving to bring everyone down with him. In the end, Cancer Cell is defeated, and White Blood Cell allows him to at least let out all of his bitterness before finishing him off, understanding that while Cancer Cell was a threat that needed to be taken out, he was at least worthy of understanding.
Though we are rooting for White Blood Cell and his companions to stop him, at least Cancer Cell manages to inspire compassion without it feeling forced. It is made abundantly clear how his evil is fueled by his pain and despair, and furthermore, he keeps his dog-kicking moments to a minimum so that he never completely loses audience sympathy. At the same time, the writing never forgets that Cancer Cell is the villain, and doesn't try to use his past to justify what he was trying to do.

No contest here, folks. Cancer Cell is the better-written tragic villain.

Description
Here's my third character comparison! And now, the ones under scrutiny are two villains we are supposed to sympathize with and feel pity for: Nakago from Fushigi Yuugi, and Cancer Cell from Cells At Work. Do they live up to their task?

Both of them had a traumatic, painful past that left them unhinged and drove them to evil, and now they're trying to take revenge on the world that mistreated them. However, the way they go about it determines the result of this comparison...

Nakago's past was left a mystery for pretty much the Whole show. Indeed, it was only in the end, when Tamahome finally drove a fist right through the bastard, that we finally get a glimpse of Nakago's Freudian Excuse, via a poorly set up and convenient plot device. Admittedly, Nakago's past was genuinely terrible - accidentally killing his mother when his powers awakened, and being used as a sex slave by the evil Emperor of Kutou… but it is only revealed in an hasty fashion, after we have seen him commit countless acts of ruthless, and often pointless, cruelty… not the least of which is taking advantage of Suboshi's despair and manipulate him into murdering Tamahome's kid siblings.
As a result, it comes across as a cheap attempt to humanize Nakago that completey fails to explain his sadistic tendencies; and most insulting of all, this last-minute reveal is considered enough for him to be redeemed and go to Heaven despite a lifetime spent committing evil.

With Cancer Cell, we get to see his past long before he is defeated. He was born a mistake, and was going to be a threat to the body whether he wanted it or not; as a result, he was hunted down by the other cells that, in other circumstances, would have been his friends, leaving him confused, angry and despairing as to why they wanted to destroy him even though he had never done anything wrong at that point. When he realized that his life was indeed pointless and that he only existed to be a danger, he understandably snapped and raged against the body and the immune cells that wanted him dead just for being born that way - eventually resolving to bring everyone down with him. In the end, Cancer Cell is defeated, and White Blood Cell allows him to at least let out all of his bitterness before finishing him off, understanding that while Cancer Cell was a threat that needed to be taken out, he was at least worthy of understanding.
Though we are rooting for White Blood Cell and his companions to stop him, at least Cancer Cell manages to inspire compassion without it feeling forced. It is made abundantly clear how his evil is fueled by his pain and despair, and furthermore, he keeps his dog-kicking moments to a minimum so that he never completely loses audience sympathy. At the same time, the writing never forgets that Cancer Cell is the villain, and doesn't try to use his past to justify what he was trying to do.

No contest here, folks. Cancer Cell is the better-written tragic villain.