Following off of last week's post, I thought I would draw attention to some more deals. Only this time, they aren't with the devil per se, but rather, with an individual of great power, whether they are human, spiritual, or an ordinary demon. A Faustian Bargain is any deal between two people where one person is willing to make a great sacrifice to get something they want, and they can either go well for the individual, or punish them with unintended consequences.
In Naruto, Sasooke (he's really cool!) is bitten by Orochimaru, one of the three strongest ninja in the world, and is left with a curse mark on his neck that grants him incredible power, though he feels pain and slowly becomes corrupted through its use. Sasooke eventually seeks Orochimaru out in order to gain more power, while unbeknownst to him, Orochimaru simply wants his body as a vessel as part of his goal to achieve immortality. This is luckily subverted when Sasooke kills Orochimaru before he has the chance to possess him.
In Death Note, Yagami Light is the son of a police detective, who one day discovers the Death Note, a magical notebook "accidentally" dropped by Ryuk, a demon who is somewhat of a trickster. The notebook gives the writer the ability to kill anyone who's name is written within, at the cost of the writer living a miserable life. Light decides to use the book anyway so that he can rid the world of criminals and other people he considers unworthy of living.
In Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Madoka Kaname and her best friend Sayaka Miki encounter a cat-like creature with white fur named Kyubey, who offers the girls one wish of their choosing if they decide to become magical girls, girls with magical superpowers who use those powers to protect the city from evil witches. Sayaka eventually makes her wish and becomes a magical girl, though she discovers that these witches were former magical girls themselves, having transformed because they could not purify their soul gems (gems that contain their souls) in time. These soul gems naturally become tainted over time, and the only way to purify them is to defeat witches. This is a mentally draining task and fills the girls with despair, which makes it easier for them to become the very witches they fought, creating a self-perpetuating cycle. It turns out the Kyubey set all this up to feed off of these negative emotions in order to transform them into an energy force for his race.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/20/Naruto
https://myanimelist.net/anime/1535/Death_Note
https://myanimelist.net/anime/9756/Mahou_Shoujo_Madoka%E2%98%85Magica
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