Who Exactly Is Freya In Ragnarok Manhwa?

This post is also known as "why is Freya the villain / antagonist / bad guy in Ragnarok: Into The Abyss manhwa?" What could be wrong with the aforementioned being the case?

Aside from being the name of a character in the comic, Freya is also the name of a goddess in Norse Mythology.

But since the graphic novel is loosely based on Norse Mythology, it's not such a surprise to know about this. It's just like how the characters of Loki, Balder, Fenris Fenrir and Frigg, among many others in the manhwa, also share the names of mythological figures.

However, the keyword here is 'loosely,' so it's only to be expected that there are many differences between these characters regardless of the fact that they share the same name. In some cases, the only similarity between these people are the names they share. The same can be said for the two Freyas in question.

In Norse Mythology, Freya is associated with many things including being the goddess of love and beauty. For this reason, she can be said to be the counterpart of the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Roman goddess Venus. She is also known as Freyja and she's got a brother named Freyr.

In contrast to all that, in the Ragnarok manhwa series, Freya is said to be the bad guy, the antagonist, the villain. When I first heard that that was the case, I had to wonder exactly why it had to be that way because there doesn't seem to be anything at all in mythology that would indicate or paint said goddess as an antagonist.

In fact, there are some sources that paint her or view her as a good person who protects the weak, who helps out the humans who seek it from her, etc. She was even said to have taught the other gods, like Odin (king of the Norse gods), magic, which is all the more reason to wonder why her counterpart in the comic would hate Odin enough to usurp him and take his position as the ruler of Asgard.

More than that though, it's not like the Freya in mythology doesn't already have a place that she presides over. She is actually the ruler of a heavenly afterlife field known as Fólkvangr, which is located somewhere in the realm of the gods (Asgard). Within this place is a hall known as Sessrúmnir. Half of the people who die in battle go to this place while the other half goes to Valhalla.

But, perhaps, one reason why Freya has been made the new ruler of Asgard in the graphic novel is because, in Norse Mythology, she can actually easily be mistaken to be Frigg or Frigga, the queen of the Norse gods and the wife of Odin because their names are rather similar, among some other reasons.

There are even some sources which say that Freya was married to Odin.

However, while she is also sometimes seen as a warrior and death goddess, there doesn't seem to be any mention of her being portrayed as a dark and malevolent entity.

She is even described in a flattering way (some say she is very beautiful and that she is blonde and blue-eyed).

Anyway, the main point is that it doesn't really make all that much sense for Freya to be shown as the bad guy, considering how she really is in Norse Mythology. In fact, it would have made much more sense if some other figure was portrayed as the evil villain.

For instance, if we were told that the main antagonist was actually Hel, then that would have been more believable. This is because, in Norse Mythology, Hel is the name of the ruler of Niflheim, the Underworld. You can say that she's like the counterpart of the Greek god Hades and the Roman god Pluto.

Honestly, even Loki himself could pull off being the supreme evil overlord much better than Freya ever could especially since there's basis for this in Norse Mythology. Loki is actually a trickster and he has done a number of evil things such as cause the death of Balder (now, would you say it's kind of odd to see Chaos and Loki in the comic getting along pretty well?).

Of course, it's okay for things to be different especially since the aforementioned graphic novel is only supposed to be loosely based on Norse Mythology anyway.

However, for those that are familiar with the name Freya and what she is and how she is, it's rather inevitable that when those people hear her name, they will think about the goddess in question even if this isn't the person that is being referred to.

Anyway, aside from the utter confusion and puzzlement as to why Freya just happens to be the main bad guy, there's also the question of exactly what her motives are? Why would she want to usurp Odin? Why does she want to rule Asgard and the rest of the world? In Volume 5, Chapter 44, we find out that Freya wants the shards of Ymir's Heart in order to recreate the world in her image.

That's nice and all, but, seriously, why would she want to do that? What's her motive and her reason for wanting to do something like that? What does she hope to gain by doing that? People should have a reason (believable, realistic and logical) as to why they would want to do whatever they're trying to do.

The same can be said for Freya. She can't just want to do this just because. She can't just be the villain just because. She can't just take on the role of the antagonist just because there isn't anyone else to fill that part. There should be a reason as to why, otherwise all this just falls flat and ends up becoming unbelievable and even contrived.

For example, Sara Irine didn't just hate the city of Fayon and Lord Irine for the sake of hating them. She actually has a good reason as to why she would want to destroy the city and the people in it.

In contrast to that, we know pretty much nothing about Freya's motives and reasons. It's not just that though. Did you notice that we never actually got to see her, as in, at all, ever?

We've never met her. We've never been introduced to her. We don't even know how she looks like. Is she blonde and blue-eyed like how the goddess Freya in Norse Mythology is said to look like?

More than that though, the main question is why haven't we seen her? Why can't we see her? How come she is never shown to us? What's wrong with revealing herself to us, the readers?

After all, we've even seen other characters (for example, we met Arkana even before Chaos and the others met her) that our heroes haven't met, so it shouldn't be a problem to show Freya to us.

Even if the comic wants to keep Freya's identity and look a secret to create an air of mystery around her, we could, at the very least, be told about her reasons and motives. We could have been given just a bit more information about her.

After all, we already know her name and the fact that she's apparently evil and wants to find the heart shards. But why can't we be told the reasons for this? Without knowing much of anything, it just seems like Freya's actions don't make any sense and they don't come across as believable at all.

What do you think of the character of Freya in the Ragnarok manhwa? Does she fit the role of the villain? Does it make sense for her to be the main antagonist? Do you wish that we had been able to see how she looks like?

*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by hayashinomura, CC:BY-SA from deviantArt
- Image is meant to represent the goddess Freya in Norse Mythology because she is said to be blonde
- The rest of the pics are enlarged product images from Amazon.com; links shown above via Amazon's Native Shopping Ads widget

Is There Ever A Valid Reason For A Character Makeover (Ragnarok Manhwa)?

What is the reason why some of the characters in Ragnarok: Into The Abyss manhwa changed their outfits and looks? Is this a valid or pointless reason?

We first see some of the characters of the graphic novel change their outfits in Volume 8.

This seemed to have come from out of the blue and completely without rhyme or reason because we've already spent about 7 volumes getting used to how these characters look.

We're practically in the middle of the series already (especially considering that the manhwa abruptly ends in volume 10), so, if one or some of them was going to change their look, then it should have happened much earlier. What's wrong and what could possibly be the problem with this change in the getup of some of the characters?

First of all, upon initially being introduced to a character, readers start getting to know this person. Readers will begin to get used to the character's outfit, looks, hairstyle, weapons and the like, so much so that, when this person shows up, there is no question or doubt as to his or her identity because it's easy to tell right away who this person is.

However, if things abruptly change and seemingly without reason, then this just comes across as extremely unbelievable. Let's take a look at a good example of a believable character makeover.

We can see this in the anime and manga series called Card Captor Sakura by CLAMP.

In the aforementioned series, we see the main character, Sakura Kinomoto, is pretty much always changing her resident outfit though she does have a few regular staples.

But why is this not a problem? Why is it that people wouldn't and shouldn't mind if Sakura wears a different costume every time she goes off to capture the Clow Cards?

This is because we are given a valid and believable reason as to why she has to wear different costumes all the time. Furthermore, this costume change doesn't happen in the middle of the series. We see this occurring even in the early parts of the show, so we've come to expect that this is how it goes in this particular anime.

Moreover, even though Sakura's outfits constantly change, her look remains the same, ensuring that readers of the manga and viewers of the anime will always recognize her. This is especially so since her hairstyle doesn't really change and she pretty much looks the same as always, only with a different outfit in each episode.

In contrast to that, let's take a look at Iris Irine and Fenris Fenrir who both undergo a complete and total makeover. With regards to these 2, there is such a drastic change not just in their choice of clothing, but even in their hair style that it makes it difficult to recognize these 2 at first. With how they look right now, it almost seems as if they're new characters.

The question now is why? Why is it necessary for these 2 to change their outfit and looks? Why do they have to look different? What was wrong with how they used to look? Did they have to change their outfits because their fight with Bijou and her troll caused much damage to their old clothing?

This is possible since we did see how damaged and torn their clothing were. However, what was wrong with getting those clothes fixed instead or even just buying clothes that were similar to the ones they always wear? Why the need to change the way their clothes look?

And what about their hair style? Why would there be a need to change that as well?

If you look at it in that way, it's hard to see why there's a need for either of these women to undergo such a drastic makeover.

They were already perfectly recognizable before as readers got to know them and how they looked for the past volumes.

But now, thanks to all these changes, there is a need to get used to these characters all over again.

Could this makeover be just an excuse to give existing characters new clothes and new hairstyles for no clear reason? After all, it's not like their new outfits gave them special powers or something.

Perhaps, if the new clothes were actually special, it would make for a very good reason as to why the 2 ladies had to change their outfits. As it is though, this whole makeover just comes across as completely pointless and useless.

Moreover, even if you can somehow attribute Iris and Fenris' makeover as being due to the fact that their former outfits sustained much damage during their fight with Bijou and her troll (though that wouldn't explain the need to change their hair styles), how can anyone possibly explain Skurai's sudden and unexpected makeover?

Skurai was not part of the fight against Bijou and her troll or even against Sara Irine and Himmelmez.

We never see him get his clothes torn or damaged. In fact, it's more likely that he would be the one to destroy other people's outfits as opposed to getting his own destroyed.

So what's the reason for his makeover? Why the sudden need to change his hairstyle and even his clothing?

At the moment, his new look comes across as more than a bit disconcerting, disturbing and even unappealing.

Simply put, he doesn't seem to look right at all. He looks very strange and odd and weird. If there's no real good reason for him to change his hairstyle and his clothes, then why do that? What's the point of his makeover?

What do you think of the 3 aforementioned characters' makeovers? Do you like their new looks and hairstyles? Do you think there's a good reason why they had to do this or was this just an excuse for the characters to look different and sport new clothing and hair styles?

*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Rusembell (CC:BY) from deviantArt
- Image is meant to symbolize the changes in a character's looks and outfits
- The rest of the pics are enlarged product images from Amazon.com; links shown above via Amazon's Native Shopping Ads widget

Why Is Sara Irine The Anti-Climax And Deus Ex Machina (Ragnarok Manhwa)?

Why is it that we can classify Sara Irine, the Valkyrie, from Ragnarok: Into The Abyss as the anti-climax and deus ex machina of said manhwa? What did this character do to get such a label?

This post is also known as "the uselessness of the main characters," "the pointlessness of some scenes and chapters," and "why does Sara Irine get to do all the work?".

So what reason is there for anyone to want to consider the aforementioned Valkyrie as the comic's anti-climax and deus ex machina?

To answer that question, let's take a look at Volume 7, particularly the scene wherein we see Sara killing Bijou. Don't you think that this was very anti-climactic? Why, you ask?

This is because, prior to this scene, we had several chapters showing us the fight between Fenris Fenrir, Iris Irine, Bijou and her troll. After being shown all those fight scenes, who would have expected it to end in the way that it did? It could be that the good guys will win or maybe the bad guys will temporarily win. Either way would have been fine.

But having the Valkyrie be the one to finish off Bijou when they were supposed to be in the same side is very much unexpected and not in the good way. While unexpected scenes would save the graphic novel from being predictable, this particular scene just fell flat and ended up becoming so anti-climactic.

After all, what was the use of showing us all those fight scenes between the women and the troll when it's just going to end with Sara, who wasn't even part of the fight in the first place, showing up to help out the heroes?

The Valkyrie's appearance made all the long fight scenes we had to go through pointless and a complete waste of time. After all, if Sara was just going to show up to off Bijou anyway, then what's the point of having the readers see all those pages and pages of fight scenes?

We could have been shown more plot instead. That would have been much more preferable as compared to this.

What about the deus ex machina though? How can Sara's appearance in that scene be described as a deus ex machina?

It's quite easy to see her appearance as a deus ex machina, because, if you recall, Bijou was winning in this particular chapter in Volume 7. She was about to defeat Fenris and Iris.

It would have been the end for our 2 female protagonists had it not been for the sudden and unexpected appearance of Sara Irine who comes to save the day. If she hadn't shown up, those two would have been destroyed by Bijou. How's that for a deus ex machina?

It doesn't even make sense for Sara to want to kill Bijou. When asked for a reason, she responds with, "Because I choose to," but what does that even mean? Why would she want to off Bijou when they're both working on the same side, when they're both working for Freya?

None of this makes sense and we don't even know what the Valkyrie is planning, so this really just comes across as being one anti-climactic scene topped with a deus ex machina.

It's like Bijou became so much more powerful than the main characters, so much so that there was no other way for them to win and they would have lost if a deus ex machina, in the form of Sara, hadn't shown up to help them out.

That scene isn't the only time that we see Sara the anti-climax and deus ex machina though. Later on, we see her killing Himmelmez in order to help out Chaos and Loki.

Once again, all the fight scenes that readers had to endure (and those were very, very long, annoyingly so) all went to waste thanks to how anti-climactic things turned out to be.

Once again, we see how the heroes couldn't possibly win and there would be no other way out but to introduce a deus ex machina in the form of Sara to get the protagonists out of this mess. It's very dissatisfying, to say the least.

This is exacerbated by the fact that we don't get a decent reason as to why Sara would do such a thing. Why would she destroy Himmelmez when they're both working for Freya? Her lame attempts at providing us with reasons as to why she kills Himmelmez just falls flat and ends up sounding weird and even insane, not to mention absolutely ridiculous.

She says she killed Himmelmez because she didn't like the woman and because the latter was apparently an obstacle, but to what, we don't know and it's likely that we never will.

Besides, even if Sara really wanted to off the woman, why didn't she do that after Himmelmez was through fighting with Chaos and Loki? Why does it have to be at that precise moment? Why not later on or before the heroes get in trouble? It's really like the Valkyrie just had to do this, so she could be the deus ex machina for the heroes.

Even if we can explain that the reason she killed Bijou was because she did care about Iris who is actually her half-sister (even though that's still unbelievable since the 2 aren't even close and she has jealousy issues seeing as her father, the Lord Irine, prefers Iris to her), Sara helping out Chaos just does not make sense.

After all, Chaos is the reincarnation of Balder and she knows that already, so why would she help the guy out? In short, it's really like all those fight scenes we just read were nothing but a complete waste of time.

Instead of seeing the main characters further develop their skills and learn from their battles, we just see Sara doing all the work for them. If this is what was going to happen anyway, then we should have skipped straight to this, so we could have had more plot-related scenes.

What do you think? Do you think that Sara Irine is indeed an anti-climax and deus ex machina? Do you think she shouldn't have done all the work for the heroes especially since she's not even on their side?

*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by hayashinomura, CC:BY-SA from deviantArt
- Image is meant to symbolize Sara Irine being the anti-climax and deus ex machina because the figure in said image appears to have come from out of nowhere
- The rest of the pics are enlarged product images from Amazon.com; links shown above via Amazon's Native Shopping Ads widget