True Neutral: Difference between revisions

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* Fred Lou from ''[[Outlaw Star]]''. His business policy is "Don't ask questions" and (with exception to Gene, who he's [[Yaoi Guys|in love with]]) "Don't take credit." There's even a scene where Fred calls in to alert Gene about the Kei Pirates' arrival. How does he know they're on Sentinel? Because he ''sold them their weapons''. Twilight Suzuka also falls into this trope, mainly due to her wavering between [[Lawful Neutral]] and [[Chaotic Neutral]] in the series and her apathy. She adheres to strict codes about assassination, but is willing to twist the letter, if not the spirit, of her code when it suits her purpose. She travels with the Outlaw Star and is a loyal crew member in crisis, but in everyday life walks alone from the others, neither contributing money towards the expenses, nor racking up further expenses.

* Guts from ''[[Berserk]]'' is so burned out with all the political maneuvering and demonic atrocities that mark his world that he no longer cares about good, evil, law, chaos, or anything outside his own survival and the well-being of his [[True Companions]]. Back when he was with the Band of the Hawk, he was closer to Lawful Neutral due to his respect for Griffith, but that's ''long'' gone now thanks to the events of the Eclipse. In addition to all of that, he also has to contend with a [[Chaotic Evil]] [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] that acts as his [[Enemy Within]]

** And then we have Kyon of course. Sure he saves the world and genuinely cares about the Brigade members, Yuki the most. But then again, he also likes to be a cynical jerk. Above all of course is his sheer apathy to everything.

* Dracule Mihawk from ''[[One Piece]]'' doesn't seem to really care about anything short of finding someone who can surpass him in swordsman skills. He takes a passing interest in Zoro and Luffy, which is why he ''doesn't kill'' the former after their [[Curb Stomp Battle|hopelessly one-sided duel]]; as for Luffy, during the Whitebeard War saga he decides to attack him without holding back just to see if [[Because Destiny Says So|fate]] will really somehow miraculously save his life despite his best efforts.

* Shizuru from ''[[Mai-HiME]]'' started out as a Type 2 Neutral, taking a relaxed approach to everything (her official bio states that one of her pet peeves is "being rushed") but eventually became [[Neutral Evil]] when {{spoiler|she received her powers and felt that [[Love Makes You Evil|violence was the only way to keep her from being separated from Natsuki]].}}

* The ''[[Gundam]]'' series has many great examples.

* Papillion of ''[[Busou Renkin]]''. He doesn't want to kill humans and burn the world to ash, but, he's not going to help anyone out unless he gets something out of it.

* Yuko Ichihara, the Dimension Witch of ''[[xxxHolic]]'' and ''[[Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle]]''.

* In ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'', {{spoiler|Kyubey is one of these. Despite behaving in an extremely creepy manner at all times, he's only watching for the wellbeing of the universe, even though during the main plot that causes a huge amount of death and suffering. After the finale it can be seen that he keeps the same personality, but behaves in a much friendlier manner. But that's not because he changed, he still has the same goal, it's just that in the new universe the most straightforward way of achieving it looks friendlier.}}

* [[The Chessmaster|Roger Dunstan]], his doji [[Badass Long Hair|Milleiu]] and [[Badass Normal|Fushimi Agari]] from ''[[Karakuridouji Ultimo]]''.

* ''[[Wormy]]'' the dragon is true neutral in increasingly complex ways.

* Metron of [[The DCU]]'s ''[[New Gods]]'' is more concerned with seeking out knowledge than taking part in the huge cosmic war that the rest of his people are engaged in, and has aided both sides over the years.

* Doctor Manhattan from ''[[Watchmen]]'', to the absolute screaming extreme. He's just stopped viewing life from a human perspective, and cares almost nothing for anything else than observing pretty physics.

* [[Marvel]]'s [[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]] arc had characters that fell firmly in the number 7 group. In particular, [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Ben Grimm]] (The Thing) - who ran off [[Unfortunate Implications|to France]] rather than choose a side and end up fighting one teammate (Mr. Fantastic, Pro-Reg) or the other two (Sue and Johnny Storm, Anti-Reg).

 

== Fan Fic ==

 

 

** The Erlking is also considered to be of this alignment. He's explicitly stated as not being evil, but as the embodiment of the ideal of the hunt, while he's after prey the Erlking is merciless and vicious. Later on in {{spoiler|''Changes''}}, he's actually quite friendly and polite and gracious when {{spoiler|Susan and Harry burst into his castle-cave.}} On the other hand, the Erlking ''is'' the ruler of goblins, who are most definitely ''not'' this alignment.

** The White Council of Wizards is also officially of this alignment. Their primary goal is the regulation of magic as a whole, to ensure that wizards do not abuse their power by breaking one of the Seven Laws of magic. Justice and morality does not factor into the regulation of magic, only whether or not the wizard has violated one of the Laws. Harry and Luccio actually engage in a bit of a debate on this in ''Turn Coat'', where Luccio makes a good case for why wizards as a whole stay out of mortal affairs, noting that [[Grey and Gray Morality]] complicates efforts to determine who is right and who is wrong. On the other hand, the Council is quite willing to violate the same Laws in the defense of itself and humanity, as evidenced by the office of the Blackstaff, which serves as the Council's assassin and wetworks specialist.

* The Dealy Lama {{spoiler|AKA Gruad the Grayface}} from The ''[[Illuminatus]]'' Trilogy. His philosophy is summed up best by an old koan which tells about a duckling that is placed in a glass bottle and allowed to grow until it is too big to fit through the bottle neck, and asks how to remove it without breaking the bottle. The answer, of course is {{spoiler|to let it continue to grow until it is big enough to break out of the bottle on its own}}. However, he denies being uninvolved in world affairs, stating that {{spoiler|"someone needs to feed the duckling while it grows"}}.

* ''[[Redwall]]'''s Asmodeus could fall into either this trope or [[Neutral Evil]]. He eats good and bad characters alike, bears no grudge or sympathy to either side, and doesn't actively try to make his victims suffer (in fact, his habit of hypnotising them beforehand could be seen as making them suffer ''less''). He's definitely dangerous, but a snake's got to eat something.

** Also, the PC can choose to become [[True Neutral]] close to the end of the game, when {{spoiler|Cain}} offers you "the path of legends and pariahs." In this decision, you assassinate Ming-Xiao, slice the Prince to ribbons, and [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|give Nines Rodriguez a middle finger]] before strolling off into the night.

* Amarant from ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]''. He doesn't care about things. His battle strategy involves letting his opponents kill each other.

* Squall Leonhart in ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' was raised as a mercenary and, as a result, doesn't particularly believe in the concepts of "good" and "evil." He accepts that any given side of a conflict has their own reasons, and believes that one's stance on any subject is shaped by one's point of view. Accordingly, when he gets involved in stopping [[The End of the World as We Know It]], he does so less out of any moral impulse and more as a means of ensuring the safety of the girl he loves - and because the government of Esthar is paying him to do it. By the end of the game he has arguably [[Neutral No Longer|developed]] more towards [[Neutral Good]], but his personal morality is still defined more as "[[Always Save the Girl]]" than anything else.

** This is extended into ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy|Dissidia]]'', where he will fight anyone who interferes with his mission of "get crystal, go home," but never initiates a battle unless provoked.

* Antimony Carver from ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]''. She's respectful towards the school staff even when she disagrees with them and she won't break rules needlessly, but she doesn't hesitate to break them when the need arises, either. She seems to hold to the philosophy that [[Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught|"It's not breaking the rules if you don't get caught"]], yet she criticizes Eglamore for suggesting the same. She's capable of [[Chronic Hero Syndrome|great selflessness]] (see her entire career as a spirit medium) as well as petty selfishness (such as cheating on a test or stealing from her best friend's parents). Overall, it seems Annie's neutrality isn't really a choice on her part; rather, she's young and confused, and her moral compass simply hasn't stabilized.

* In ''[[Dungeon Crawl Inc]].'' the Archdruid, and later, the Archdryad are major opposition to the main characters because the forces of good, in his opinion, have grown too strong.

* ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'':

** Chaz, in spite of its [[Evil Weapon]] vibes. "I am neither good nor evil. I am just a sword. Wield me as you will, master."