The mainstream media seems to be working overtime to keep Trese at the top of popularity charts so it will have a second season. A part of me wants the first Filipino anime to succeed. After all, the animation is excellent. The physical and socio-cultural setting is the Philippines, thus making the story world relatable and fascinating. Finally, the monsters of Philippine folklore look scarier than the ones I’ve seen in Japanese anime.
The keyword in the last statement is “look”. The monsters look frightening. The problem is that they don’t terrify me despite their appearances.
There are 3 elements that make a villain frightening. To highlight how Trese fails in this area, I will contrast its main antagonist Datu Talagbusao with Johan Liebert, the main antagonist of Monster. Unlike the evil forces at work in Trese, Johan is 100% human. He has no superpowers. And yet, I was too terrified to go into any dark room in our house for fear that Johan might be there waiting for me. So what does Johan have that Datu Talagbusao doesn’t?
An antagonist must have compelling reasons for opposing the protagonist. Those reasons don’t have to come from a complex worldview for it to have internal consistency. For example, the antagonist in Jurassic Park is the Tyrannosaurus Rex. The T-Rex hunts down human beings because it needs to eat. Otherwise, it will die. That motivation is logical and compelling albeit its simplicity.
What motivates Datu Talagbusao? He wants to stop Alexandra Trese from destroying the underworld, where he is one of the gods. But what does he want to do as a god that he won’t get to accomplish if he’ll promote the greater good with Alexandra the way the other mythical creatures do? It seems as though he wants to continue fueling wars among mankind because, well, he’s a god of war. The ideology that undergirds his lust for atrocities is still unclear. So being pro-war for the sake of being pro-war is a copout.
Now what motivates Johan Liebert? First, he wants to give his sister Nina the best of everything because he believes that family gives life meaning. Second, he strikes me as a lawyer and black operations soldier who’s out to kill communists, Neo-Nazis, serial killers, and criminals who can’t be convicted through the legal system. He murders certain people in order to save others. Third, it’s hinted that he wants to become a world leader so he can destroy the old order and create a new one. Accomplishing the third goal will make the first two feasible for the long term.
An antagonist must have strengths that will effectively attack the protagonist’s weaknesses, says John Truby. The resulting conflict will force the latter to grow. Otherwise, there won’t be a story. Those admirable qualities will also convince the villain that he is the hero of the narrative, thus driving him to become relentless.
Datu Talagbusao is physically strong and goal-oriented. Alexandra is the same, which is good. But how does his physical strength and determination attack Alexandra’s weaknesses? That hasn’t been established yet. And it looks like it will never be because Alexandra is a Mary Sue.
Johan, on the other hand, is the best in everything. He is the most gorgeous, most talented, most intelligent, and most far-sighted character in Monster. Moreover, he is quite virtuous. He loves Nina and Dr. Kenzo Tenma. He cares for the orphans. He exercises great self-discipline so he can create a new world order.
The antagonist must have skills that are greater than those of the protagonist to increase the stakes in the story. They will make the audience feel that the hero is truly in danger and is likely to fail in his quest.
Datu Talagbusao’s powers don’t seem to be greater than Alexandra’s. For crying out loud, the girl can trap him in alternative dimensions! The writers also resort to deus ex machina by making the other mythical creatures rescue her when she’s overpowered by someone else. On the other hand, Dr. Tenma’s fighting skills are no match to Johan’s military prowess, tradecraft, athleticism, hypnotic abilities, and political connections.
If I were to rewrite Trese’s main bad guy, I’ll make the prophesied sixth child of the sixth child the main antagonist. She’ll have most of the superpowers that the current Alexandra Trese has and will have. Then I will turn the protagonist into an ordinary young woman who has admirable qualities. More importantly, she will have moral and psychological weaknesses. It is by overcoming those weaknesses to defeat the villain that she will become a hero.
(Photo from Canva)
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