“You dig two holes when you curse someone.”

Why successful vigilante justice stories feel so satisfying (999 words)

by IGN: AsukaIshimaru, UID: 200000099141120, server: UK S363-Third Mizukage

Many a story h00ks on some form of severe injustice dealt to a character, which then sets that character out on a journey to seek some form of justice (often outside the law) so the wrongs be righted – and you can’t help but root for them, following their every step with bated breath towards that goal, hoping beyond hope for success and cheering for them when finally justice is served!

But why is that?

Why are we so drawn to and feel accomplished by stories of successful vigilante justice?

Let’s find out together with the example of what is my favourite story arc of Naruto: the Akatsuki Suppression Mission (chapters 311 to 342 of the manga/ episodes 72 to 88 of the Shippuuden anime).

In this story arc the Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakauzu kill the monk Chiriku, who is one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Fire Country, for the bounty on his head. The Jonin Asuma Sarutobi-- Chiriku’s friend and fellow Guardian – is then tasked to investigate the death of Chiriku with his newly founded task force consisting of himself, his student Shikamaru Nara, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki.

The team encounter Kakuzu and Hidan eventually at the bounty station where they engage in combat with the Akatsuki, but find themselves seriously outmatched against just one of them. Asuma, failing to avenge Chiriku, is fatally wounded in the fight against Hidan while Shikamaru can only stand by and watch his Sensei be sacrificed to Hidan’s blood ritual right in front of his eyes. The Akatsuki retreat once reinforcements from Konoha arrive, but Asuma dies in a heartbreaking scene in the arms of his student trio of Team 10, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara, passing on his ‘Will of Fire’ along with a parting message for each of them.

In the following scenes it is portrayed how the village deals with the loss of Asuma, the well liked son of the Third Hokage, uncle of Konohamaru, and boyfriend of fellow Jonin Kurenai Yuuhi, who at that time is already pregnant with his child.

The focus, however, lies on his maybe favourite student and infamous lazy genius Shikamaru, and how he copes with the trauma, going through various stages of grief before meticulously preparing for and setting out on a self-assigned mission to hunt Asuma’s killers down with the rest of Team 10. The Fifth Hokage explicitly tries to stop them from going vigilante, but when the Chuunin trio is joined by Asuma’s Jonin friend Kakashi Hatake, Tsunade lets them go on the manhunt.

They manage to track Hidan and Kakuzu down, and an even tougher battle than the previous encounter with them ensues, as now Kakuzu actively joins the fight.

Shikamaru eventually singles out Hidan with his Kagemane no Jutsu and leads him deep into the Nara Forest while the rest of the team keep fighting Kakuzu and the beasts emerging from his stored hearts. Through some cunning and preparation Shikamaru manages to trick Hidan into sacrificing his own partner Kakuzu in his blood ritual and then proceeds to entrap the immortal and bury him, meeting the spirit of his Sensei once more upon completing his revenge as he engulfs Hidan in an explosion, while the others – now reinforced by team 10 – deal with Kakuzu for good.

The arc concludes with Shikamaru meeting the pregnant Kurenai at Asuma’s grave, reminiscing with her and promising to her to become a teacher for the unborn child in the future, as Asuma was to him. We see Shikamaru nostalgic and still mourning the loss, but at peace with himself upon completing his revenge, and facing towards bettering the future rather than becoming bitter and getting lost in the past.

This makes for great character development on his part and allows Shikamaru to shine even more than during the Chuunin Exams and the Sasuke Retrieval arc, and cement his position as a major side-character you actually care about. (Later on in the series the understanding he gains from this experience even enables him to help Naruto cope with the loss of Jiraiya a little.)

But why do you care so much about Shikamaru here?

Why do you feel so satisfied and still root for him when he defies direct orders from his superiors (the Hokage) to follow his own agenda of essentially murdering two men, not in an instinctive fit of rage but in a merciless, well calculated and meticulously planned way?

What sets him apart from the killers of his teacher and makes it feel ‘right’ and ‘justified’ what he does?

The answer, in my opinion, is surprisingly simple: good storytelling.

Kishimoto makes you first sympathize with Asuma’s good sides, introducing his friendship to Chiriku, delving into his relationships with Kurenai and his students, making you emotionally invested in him so that the loss hits you extra hard when you are forced to watch him getting slaughtered just as helplessly as Shikamaru and then die in the arms of his students, leaving a positive, caring last message to each of them.

Then the focus cleverly switches to Shikamaru. You experience the devastating emotions the stages of grief evoke in him, feel what he goes through -- through his own eyes. His loss becomes your loss.

Like this Kishimoto aligns your reasoning and sense of ‘justice’ with Shikamaru’s reasoning and his agenda of cold revenge, despite it being objectively against the law and not so much different (except for the motivation) from the Akatsuki’s deed – killing a man.

And therefore you root for him when he sets out on the journey, you hold your breath when he’s in a pinch, you cheer for him when he outsmarts his foes, you feel satisfied as he completes his mission with the support of his friends, and when he finally lets go off his destructive feelings of revenge as soon as he’s done, you are likewise relieved from his burden.

It feels ‘right’ and ‘just’ and… honestly, good.

Brilliant, in my opinion.