otto apocalypse – the pinnacle of a beautifully written multidimensional character

before we actually talk about otto, let me get straight to the point: otto apocalypse is – how do it put this; complicated, to the least. a single-minded point of view could never debunk him at his fullest.

in terms of morality, he’s unredeemable - and otto is aware of that himself. otto knows he is evil; he acknowledges his guilt and the atrocities he committed. he understands he will never be forgiven or absolved by anyone. thus, he never seeks forgiveness from humanity as well.

there should be no debate around the ethics of his actions, but dear lord - otto's love for kallen is just so immaculately pristine and beautiful. i can guarantee you, his sacrifice of basically creating another timeline where he can save kallen thus reversing her faith in exchange of his life is what caught most players off–guard – since most of us always associated him with this “obsessive lover” caricature. and “thus spoke apocalypse” had did him justice in terms of his character. yeah, he’s not all that.

this should have been a common knowledge, but otto probably has the strongest will and desire in the honkai universe. contrary to what most players accused him to be, he almost never yearned for a love relationship with kallen. and the thing is, he never asked for kallen to reciprocate. but rather to wish she could’ve lived a better life – even when it’s a life where his existence ceases to make it.

and the fact that we all either loathe otto deep down to our bones or sympathize with him is a solid proof that otto is a perfect villain that mihoyo has successfully written. he is contentious, his morality is questionable – which makes otto undoubtedly an interesting character that has at least some of us in awe.

my biggest praise of all is how mihoyo successfully created one of the most in–depth villains ever: pure evil and malice but hindered with a humane side, messily wrapped under all the atrocities he's committed just for the sake of one person to continue living. i just love how otto's a villain, a scumbag – but he's not necessarily opposed to any of the characters in the grand scheme of things. like let’s not forget that if the world is faring way better than the previous era in fighting the honkai, it's only thanks to otto. despite pursuing his personal goal, he also cared to protect the world in his own way.

he just became a force of nature with the sole purpose of bringing back kallen, and anything in his way – humanity, honkai, or reality and time itself – will be brought to heel.

kallen died for the sins of humanity and their inability to unite against the honkai, yet her sacrifice was completely unnecessary and meaningless – except for what it did to otto. he took it upon himself to commit all the sins to bring her back, yet also ended up giving humanity its best chance against the honkai, that no amount of technology or power could ever accomplish.

i never expected him to do anything but win in the end and die on his own terms, and i have to say i'm even more impressed with how utterly victorious he was.

he did it, and i’m sincerely happy for him.

———

"he who has walked for centuries"

"he who has lost an irreplaceable friend"

"he who would do anything to achieve his goal even by becoming a villain"

"he who fought for his own selfish ideal"

"he who then revive his cherished friend by sacrificing his life"

otto apocalypse.

he won this battle of faith. he won our respect.