The revised, considerably shorter rant

There is something that I have always despised in a story, whether it be book, movie or comic, with the exception of Norse sagas: the character who is always in the right, and the enemy who is always in the wrong. I think that it makes the story boring because that mindset over-simplifies most interactions between people. For instance, The Three Musketeers is a classic - great plot, great adventure, great writing. But Cardinal Richelieu and Lady de Winter and all the Musketeers are, in my opinion, quite boring characters. They're either good or bad, and that's that.

This doesn't happen in Blade. Characters realise that people don't always do good, or bad. One of the main character, Rin, even acknowledges that in taking her revenge, she'll do what was done to her to somebody else, and repeat the cycle. But she also knows that that fact alone isn't enough to stop her from trying to avenge her parents. I can't help but be more intrigued by this than by a clearly delineated set of characters who only want an eye for an eye. Rin knows that in taking an eye for an eye, everybody who's left is blind. So, while I enjoy the terrific artwork, the intriguing plot, and the snappy dialouge, it's really the characterisation that does it for me.