Not Even Your Final Form: Motivation With Anime Villains

Maybe we can learn something from the way this guy operates. Image: http://goo.gl/zM11I6

In your life, you're probably going to fail at something you attempt, even if you're pretty good at it. But that shouldn't stop you from coming back to the challenge stronger, smarter, and with less restraint.

So you're at the top of your game- a horde of loyal soldiers at your back, countless planets under your control, and immortality nearly within reach.

Squad goals, amirite? Image:http://goo.gl/2yyNZI

Or, I don't know, maybe you have some kind of normal people job, and things are just going mostly okay.

This sandwich tastes like existential crisis. Image:http://goo.gl/1QolUn

Either way, you're secure in the fact that things are going to turn out okay. You're in control, you're in your element. Life is looking like something that actually makes sense for once.

Not a high power level in sight. I think I might retire here. Image:http://goo.gl/qaAG35

But then it happens- you're betrayed by some henchman, or some do-gooder comes along making grand speeches about how you've oppressed this planet for far too long, or how they're going to stop you in the name of truth or justice or some such.

And usually, this situation is adorable and amusing. Image:http://goo.gl/tVyBGx

Or maybe you like…lost an important fax? Is that a thing that people still do? Is that a thing people ever did?

Ahh, that clears it up. Image:http://goo.gl/8lJVP5

It’s not like you haven't dealt with a situation like this before. You wouldn't be where you are today if you hadn’t been able to tackle adversity head-on. So, you take a step back, focus up, and get ready to fix the problem the way you always have.

You know, with finger-based energy weapons. Image:http://goo.gl/hI5j4S

But that’s when it happens- your usual solution falls flat on its face. This problem is a little too big for the routine approach. It requires your full attention.

No biggie, just step out of the hovercar and strike an intimidating pose. Image:http://goo.gl/uqzUc9

But as you start to struggle and work against the problem, you start to get a sinking feeling that even now, you may be in a bit over your head. Maybe Ron from the fax department gives you a call and reveals that all of your faxes have gone missing- now things are really getting out of hand.

Ron really has no idea what he’s doing. He’s here as a favor from his uncle, I think. Image:http://goo.gl/Jb50yz

Or maybe you realize it when you’re actually fought to a standstill by a man whose race you've either killed or subjugated.

I assume it’s a rather common situation. Image:http://goo.gl/T9x6ab

But just when you think you're beat, when Ron’s incompetence has put you in a hole so deep you can’t possibly climb out, or when the arrogant prince of the monkey people thinks he has your number, you just have to remember one simple thing:

This isn't even your final form.

There was a burly guy hiding inside you all along! Image:http://goo.gl/6EHQmX

A lesser individual might take being brought to a standstill against a problem that started out as insignificant as an opportunity to throw in the towel- but not you. You’re ready for this possibility. You put on a second pot of coffee, sharpen your horns, and commandeer the entire fax wing of the office.

This metaphor is getting really muddled. Image:http://goo.gl/qhMOun

But just as you're hitting your stride, in walks another set of problems.

Ron’s older sibling is a junior executive, and every bit as incompetent. Image:http://goo.gl/0xGdK9

Whatever, though. It’s not as if you're out of strategies. You are, if nothing else, flexible. Because, as always, you only have to remember that you haven't even reached your final form.

Nothing says “in control of the situation” like a penis-shaped head. Image:http://goo.gl/61BJOU

But let’s assume a worst-case scenario. Maybe you've finally come up against a challenge that pushes you to your very limits.

Such as forgetting this character design ever existed. Image:http://goo.gl/WX5m7k

The world’s fax machines have been rendered useless by a very specific kind of electromagnetic storm. You're starting to realize that maybe, just maybe, there’s no amount of graceful handling that will make this situation go away. And, to make matters worse, a spiky-haired idiot suddenly appears to make your life absolutely miserable.

Scourge of the despot, master of all martial arts, and father of the year. Image: http://goo.gl/5iOsU1

After all of this, after the world has proven on multiple occasions to be completely opposed to you succeeding, you decide that it’s final time to reveal your final form. No more games- this is the real thing.

What if we just BECAME the fax machines? Image:https://goo.gl/raknIu

You pull out all the stops, use all of your hard years of experience, call in every favor, streamline every process, and get way shorter for some reason.

Possibly because concentrating all that power in a smaller space increases its…density? Is that a thing that power has? Image:http://goo.gl/tgajzA

There is nothing else you are capable of. You've reached every sensible limit, you've even surpassed what you'd usually consider an appropriate response to the situation.

It was a silly planet, anyways. Image:http://goo.gl/I7CU7J

And despite this, despite all of this, despite throwing in everything you are capable of, the problem mutates, on the spot, into something you simply cannot work through.

Dude, what happened to Ron? Image:http://goo.gl/smEAhO

And just like that, you realize you've lost. You, who cannot be beaten. You, who always had another trick up their sleeve. You, who has been doing this forever without ever really struggling. You've reached your final form, and yet the problem persists. It’s over.

But that’s not true. It isn't over.

Because this still isn’t your final form.

You might need to take a little time off, recover your strength, find out that fax machines are no longer a viable means of communication, and learn a new skill to compensate for that fact. You might need to go back to school, or find a job environment that is more supportive, or make sacrifices along the way. You might need to go home for a while, to get most of your body replaced by cybernetics.

It was a weird phase, okay? Image:http://goo.gl/6L5erB

And you know what? After all that, you might return to find that you’re still not up to snuff. The game has changed. There’s time travel now.

I mean, just imagine the disappointment. Image:http://goo.gl/xXw2h2

But that’s okay, too. Because you'll be back, you'll always be back. It’s easy to forget while you're struggling, but as long as you remember your guiding credo, the one truth upon which you’ve always based your approach to struggles, you'll be able to gain more strength, more skills, more knowledge, and conquer even the most persistent of issues.

No matter what color they can make their hair. Image:http://goo.gl/F6WfRe

You'll gain new transformations, and finally succeed where you failed before. If you fail again, you'll repeat the process. Failure will only make you stronger.

Because this isn't even your final form.