If we're going for a controversial character for bingo, Jack Seward seems to fit the bill! Or if someone already asked for him, Satoshi Hiwatari/Hikari maybe?
HAHAHAHA OHHHHH BOY, HERE WE GO
... Okay, but let's start off with Satoshi 'cause that'll probably be less controversial. (Also, any excuse to talk about my boy!)
"everyone but me is wrong about them" - There are very few characters where I'm LITERALLY out here like "I AM THE AUTHORITY ON THIS CHARACTER ACTUALLY, ALL OF YOU ARE WRONG." Satoshi is one of those characters.
"wasted potential" - I mean, he honestly probably was LESS wasted than some other characters in canon (Riku got SO badly effed over by canon, godammit), but that doesn't mean there wasn't still a TON of wasted potential here. I think one of the most disappointing aspects of the ending is that after spending pretty much the entire series suffering and being abused... there's never any meaningful confrontation or catharsis between him and either of his abusers? There's so much more that needed to be explored and addressed there.
"they're like a blorbo to me" - As with Dick Grayson, he's a strong contender for my #1 blorbo.
"deeper than they seem" - I should really just add this one automatically.
"I like them enough to project my own issues onto them" - this is interesting because on the face of it, I don't consider myself particularly similar to Satoshi. I guess it's more that... I connect with his character in a very personal way? And also I think that when you really love a character, there's always a certain danger of projection.
"they got done DIRTY by the fans" - So, fun story. Did I ever tell you guys that I was once so fed up with the DNAngel fandom that I made up a "Victim-Blaming and Abuse Apologism Bingo Card" with all the worst takes I'd seen? No?
... Yeah, I think that says it all.
"didn't get enough screentime" - I mean, he got a fair amount, but there's still SO MUCH MORE I WANTED TO SEE DEVELOPED AND DEALT WITH W/ HIS CHARACTER, GOSHDANGIT.
Jack Seward:
"everyone but me is wrong about them" - I have this very particular reaction to the Jack Seward Discourse where it's like, I hate seeing people say they hate him and he's evil, but I also hate seeing the people who make excuses for him about things that IMO they really shouldn't? Like NO, you are NOT allowed to say you hate him and he should be kicked out of the polycule. But NO, you also should NOT be acting like it's totally fine and non-comment-worthy that he thinks letting Renfield eat kittens is a tempting scientific prospect. Goddamn!! Get it right!!
(Necessary disclaimer that in actuality everyone can and should feel however they like about his character and there are multiple valid takes, etc. etc. But also, mine is the correct one.)
"they're deeper than they seem" - I think there's honestly ENDLESS material to explore with Jack, from the way he interacts with his patients (to both the good and bad), what he represents in terms of the development of psychology, his depression and fears about his own mental health, his low-key mad scientist tendencies (and yet the fact that he has a strong enough conscience to hold himself back from going down that path)... there's SO much there.
"I like them enough to project my own issues onto them" - I honestly relate to Jack a lot, as someone who's struggled with depression for years, and decided to go into psychology partly as a result of that struggle. That doesn't mean I'm down for his dubious psychological ethics, but there's a lot about his core struggle that resonates with me,
"they got done DIRTY by the fans" - I should note that there are also a lot of fans writing really balanced, nuanced, thoughtful posts about him. But hooooo boy, some edges of the discourse can get... interesting.
"Didn't get enough screen time" - in terms of the actual story of Dracula and the need to balance all the different characters, he probably got the correct amount of screentime. But like, I would've been happy for more! He's kind of the polar opposite of what I said about the Joker, in that I probably would happily read a spinoff about whatever shenanigans he gets up to running the asylum and joining a 12-Step Program for Staying on The Mad Scientist Wagon or whatever, even if the rest of the Dracula cast only briefly showed up in it.
