I loved the anime but have no idea what to call the genre/theme I’m looking for. I want written books only tho, not manga. I want a protagonist that descends into madness like Kaneki does.
kind/innocent/normal protagonist that becomes evil or no longer cares about anyone. Something like they have an objective they want so strongly they will do anything for it. Getting consumed by the desire type.
I don’t want the truly evil for the fun of it type or the fake evil but really being good all along type. Like a man stricken with grief or trauma so deep they lose sight of everything around them.
I like things that are dark and gut wrenching (but not pretentious or trauma-porn type). I love morally grey characters. I like fantasy/horror/sci fi but I want the emotions and actions to still feel human driven. Someone becoming a monster figurative (and literally).
I don’t know if any of this makes sense. I just feel like it’s a common story line in manga/anime (like AOT) but I never see any written books mimic this.
by spajohncena
1 Comment
You might dig *The Poppy War* by R.F. Kuang – Rin starts out this scrappy underdog trying to escape her shitty village life and ends up… well, let’s just say genocide becomes an option she’s willing to consider. The transformation is brutal and feels earned through all the trauma she experiences
*Prince of Thorns* by Mark Lawrence could work too, though Lawrence starts closer to the “monster” end of the spectrum. Still, watching him justify increasingly horrific actions through his twisted logic scratches that same itch
Both have that manga-esque intensity where you’re rooting for characters even as they cross lines you never thought they would