Happy Birthday Lan Di

Do you think that Lan Di is pure evil?

  • Total voters
    16
Kirino_Matsuyama

Kirino_Matsuyama

Joined
Jul 28, 2018
Location
Japan
Just wanted to send my Happy Birthday wishes to Lan Di today who is 63 years of age today :D

Personally, I think that he isn't evil, just acting in revenge as he believes that Ryo's father killed Sunming Zhao, Lan Di's father. I think that Ryo is acting in a similar way as Lan Di, in the sense that he is seeking revenge.

Do you guys think that Lan Di is pure evil or do you feel that there is some good in him? I've set up a poll to see if anybody else thinks that there might be some good left in Lan Di.
 
Although I would generally say that I don't think most people could be fully consumed by evil, as of yet I haven't seen anything about Lan Di that indicates that he still has any good/human aspects. It's part of why I'm perplexed why anyone would want the Lan Di statue in their home. Sure I can understand if someone is a superfan of the game, but what it represents is not something I would want to have around me. Not that I think it would have any "evil" power in real life, it's just that I don't see anything likeable or even sympathetic about this character.
 
Yeah, I wouldn't go as far as getting a statue of Lan Di in my home. Not until I find out more about his story.

If for example Ryo didn't have any friends, lived in a rough neighbourhood, and didn't have the upbringing that he had. Maybe I could imagine Ryo joining the Yakuza or something as a means of trying to get his revenge.

I wonder if something could happen in Lan Di's story line which makes Ryo forgive him, and they end up working together to take down the Chi You Men.

Also why does Lan Di have a scar on his face that is similar to Ryo's scare or plaster/band aid.
 
Always found it weird how Lan Di is shrouded with mystery yet the passport tells his full age and date of birth. Lol.
As for him being pure evil? I'm gonna go with yes. Nothing we've seen of him suggest anything else but pure maliece though there is still a lot about him we don't know. That said, i feel killing someone would be enough for me to consider him pure evil at that very moment in the intro of the game.
However he very likely wasn't like this for his entire life and Ryo could easily go in that evil downfall himself if he were to theoretically murder Lan Di but as of right now i'm going with yes.
 
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Kirino_Matsuyama said:
Also why does Lan Di have a scar on his face that is similar to Ryo's scare or plaster/band aid.
Click to expand...

Story-wise I think it represents the risk that Ryo is taking in following the path of vengeance - that he might one day essentially become the same as Lan Di. Also, these characters might be caught up in a repeating cycle that has gone on for generations. But I think symbolically you've got Ryo's bandage which represents that there is still time for a healing process to occur, whereas Lan Di has crossed a line somewhere and now has a permanent scar and there won't be any going back.
 
Lan Di sure is an ice cold character without any signs of decency whatsover but we haven't seen that much of him.

He kills Iwao because that is what he came for and in that situation it is well... natural to be so ruthless. He's only really hostile when he needs to be. The bad ending can't even be considered as canon and remember what he did when he was on that chopper. We don't know what he was really up to with Yuanda Zhu but if he was really that evil he could've just come down and kill everyone on that roof to get to him.

Lan Di is driven by revenge and greed over the mirrors. But wanting the mirrors so bad could be only because he was tasked by Tentei for example, to bring them to him. Even the kill could potentially come from nothing but manipulation from others in the Chiyoumen.
That is of course pure speculation and things remain yet to be seen.

I believe there is more than just evil behind his character and we'll eventually see him show some decency.
 
Lan Di had one brief moment of "decency" if you interpret it this way. He could have easily killed Iwao in a much harsher fashion, but in his words he "allowed him to die like a warrior" meaning there was some sort of code of honor that he went by before he killed him.

The conversation between him and Ryo is my most anticipated moment in Shenmue III as this will answer a lot of questions in my head. It's hard to believe someone is pure evil when the game is literally pushing you to forgive him by the 3rd game and the creator of said game going out of his way to tell you he is not the final boss of the saga.
 
I don't see him "allowing" Iwao to die like a warrior as being an expression of honor, more of disrespect. Lan Di showed up in a surprise attack, broke the sign, roughed up Ine-san and Fuku-san, dug up the tree in search of the mirror. Everything he did was dishonorable, and Iwao's status as a "warrior" was evident in his life's work, not dependent on whether he was standing or fallen.

At best I could see Lan Di, in his own mind, believing he is "just following orders." But I would have to say that people who "just follow orders" of evil, have themselves succumbed to evil. That's how a lot of corrupt organizations continue to function, by tricking or coercing or persuading underlings to commit immoral acts. Once the underling agrees to do this, they have crossed a line and will not be welcomed back in honorable society, so they don't have anywhere else to go other than to continue on a path of corruption.
 
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