The characters in the Webcomic Bastard.
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Protagonists
Jin Seon
Jin Seon
- Abusive Parents: Goes without saying when one's father is a serial killer. Jin's father is extremely manipulative and controlling as well as physically, emotionally, and mentally abusive. He slaps him in the face with little provocation, constantly keeps him under watch, regularly gaslights him and forbids him from working out or improving his health in order to keep him physically weak and passive so that he never tries to rise up against him. As a result, Jin is outright offended when Kyun naively suggests he appreciate his father while he's still around.
- The Atoner: Jin became this in the final chapter after his father committed suicide. He turned himself in and was sent to juvie to reflect and repent on what he had done. Weeks after he was released from juvie, he finally proves himself to have changed for the better by visiting his mother with Kyun.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: To show how sociopathic Jin used to be, we see that he once found a spider and ripped its limbs off for entertainment, even neatly arranging them on the floor
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Jin eventually reveals that the only reason he didn't give Kyun to his father at first was she was the only person to smile at him.
- Break Her Heart to Save Her: Jin shouts at Kyun to screw off when he learns his father is coming to the hospital to see him because he doesn't want her to become his next victim.
- Break the Cutie: Jin is quite possibly the biggest cutie to ever be broken. Nothing in his life goes right, and in his own words, he doesn't have a single good memory.
- Broken Tears: Jin cries to Kyun in episode 31 after an emotionally-charged confrontation with his father.
- Carry a Big Stick: Jin uses a mallet wrapped in cloth to attack his tutor in the prologue. It's kept hidden behind a painting in the bathroom.
- Chaste Hero: Unsettlingly deconstructed. Episode 15 reveals that he doesn't know what sex is, how it's done, or what its purpose is, despite being in high school. When he innocently asks Kyun to explain porn to him, she asks him why he didn't learn about it in sex ed (he missed a class), on the Internet (he didn't know it could be viewed online), from his friends (he doesn't have any), and finally, from his parents, which triggers in him a panic attack when he recalls an instance in which he listened in on his father murdering a woman. Despite knowing all about a woman's "inner workings," Jin is completely naive in regards to sexuality, emphasizing how exposed he is to the evils of the world and how sheltered he is from the pleasures.
- Creepy Child: Turns out that before his accident, Jin actually enjoyed helping his father murder people without understanding why it was wrong.
- Crush Blush: Jin gets one at the end of episode 22 when he realizes he really does like Kyun.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Jin's father is a serial killer who forced him to help commit his crimes, and when his mother found out what Jin and his father were doing she threw him off the roof of a hospital out of disgust for what he was becoming.
- Flashback Nightmare: Jin has these often, of his father throwing him off a building as a child. The culprit was actually his mother, but he deeply repressed that part of his memory after his Heel Realization.
- Forced into Evil: From a young age, Jin was forced to help his father commit and cover up his crimes even though he knew it was wrong. Now, on pain of death, he can't stop. Or so he thinks. It's revealed that although his father wanted Jin to be a remorseless serial killer like him, he deeply loved his son and would never have killed him.
- Friendless Background: Even as a child, Jin didn't seem to have any friends, as most people found him creepy and unapproachable while being charmed by his charismatic father.
- Glass Eye: His left eye is a prosthetic since he lost the use of it when he was young.
- Green-Eyed Monster: While trying to decide whether to give Kyun up to his dad, he nearly does when he sees her talking to another guy, but decides not to when she smiles and waves at him. However, considering his issues, it may have had more to do with him deciding whether she was worth possibly being killed for than with him being jealous, although he clearly was a at least a little bit.
- Heel Realization: As a kid, Jin enjoyed murdering people with his father and never cared how their victims felt. But when his mother threw him off the hospital ceiling, he realized that he must have done something wrong and wanted to be "good". While he lost his memories, he gained a sense of empathy and was deeply disturbed by his father's actions from then on.
- Hiding Behind Your Bangs: He covers his glass eye with his bangs.
- Lack of Empathy: As a child, Jin had no care about the people that his father murdered. He quickly grew out of this after his "accident".
- Loners Are Freaks: What his classmates think of him.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Turns out that Jin is actually very rich but he has never had any friends and his only family is his serial killer father.
- Master Actor: Jin had to become this to bring girls for his dad, he even calls himself one.
- No Social Skills: Jin, not having much social interaction with his peers (due to finding him creepy) has little clue on how to act around other kids his age, and has only a child's understanding on certain topics such as sex, even flat-out asking Kyun what porn was without realizing how it could have been interpreted as a perverse gesture. This works to Dongsoo's advantage of keeping him under control.
- Psychotic Smirk: He pulls one for just a moment in episode 7 when Beau Park is being forced to apologize to him, which surprises and unnerves Manny Kim, who questions if Jin's really afraid of them. This hints at his former psychotic nature.
- The Runaway: In episode 32, Jin tells his father over the phone that he's running away from home.
- Took a Level in Badass: After he utilizes Manny Kim's training to defeat Faye Kim.
- Trapped in Villainy: He is forced to assist in his father's murders or else be killed himself.
- Trauma-Induced Amnesia: His first memory is of lying in a hospital bed with horrific injuries and no idea how he ended up there. Subverted, he later realized he was repressing his memories after his mother threw him off the hospital.
- Troubled, but Cute: He is reasonably attractive, and very troubled.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: As a child, Jin was forced to pretend he was lost in order to lure a woman to his father so that he could kill her.
- Yandere: He's a milder romantic and platonic example. Although he hasn't killed anyone, there's little doubt that Jin would to protect Kyun and Manny. Justified, in that he knows there's a serial killer who wants to kill one, and is more than willing to kill the other.
Kyun Yoon
Kyun Yoon
- Break the Cutie: Amazingly averted. Despite her father dying and leaving her not only with a massive debt and loan sharks, but a grandpa with dementia, she's still able to have a positive outlook. Even after being kidnapped by two serial killers, she remains unbroken.
- Damsel in Distress: Gets kidnapped by not one, but two serial killers.
- Good Is Dumb: Kyun decides to visit Dongsoo after Jin stated that Dongsoo liked her to turn him down. Downplayed because Jin didn't tell her that Dongsoo is a serial killer.
- Identical Stranger: Eerily discussed and averted when Dongsoo mentions that Kyun looks like his late wife; Jin notes to himself that they look absolutely nothing alike.
- Love Interest: To Jin.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Subverted. She does draw Jin out of his shell, but it's not only her who does it; Manny helps too, and it's mostly Jin who decides to make friends. Plus, she has her own problems to deal with, and doesn't exist only to help Jin.
- Morality Pet/ Morality Chain: She is the deciding factor in Jin rebelling against his father, and is also what keeps him from snapping on numerous occasions, like when she convinced him not to kill Faye Kim.
- Nice Girl: She really is.
- New Transfer Student: At Jin's school...where she's immediately targeted by a serial killer.
- Team Mom: Is the responsible one in her group, which consists of herself, Jin, and Manny.
- Tsundere: Is usually very sweet, but does berate Jin during some of his weirder times, ranging from his lack of social skills to his creepy moments.
- She's All Grown Up: The epilogue shows her after a time skip.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Kyun is repeatedly stated to be rather cute but this has only made her the target of two serial killers.
- Starving Artist: Played With. Kyun wants to be an artist in the future but her current poverty isn't due to her passion.
Dongsoo Seon
The main antagonist of the story, Dongsoo Seon is Jin's father, and is the well-known CEO of a giant corporation. He's also a prolific serial killer who's successfully disguised himself as a kindly and upstanding citizen for years.
- Batman Gambit: Dongsoo is adept at understanding and manipulating people's darker impulses. He was able to get the upper hand during his confrontation with Manny and Mandeuk by playing with Manny's hatred.
- Driven to Suicide: With the police heading towards the location, having found out about Dongsoo's murders, he and Jin set things straight with each other. After this, he jumps off the roof of the apartment complex.
- Easily Forgiven: Sort of? Despite everything he's put Jin through, Jin, given the opportunity to kill Dongsoo, forgives him in the end. For what it's worth, it seems like Dongsoo didn't see it coming either, and right before he jumps off the apartment roof, he expresses some slight happiness that his son forgave him.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He's an absolutely evil person with no remorse for what he does, but he's revealed to genuinely love his wife and son, even if he has a very twisted and cruel love for them.
- Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Averted. Dongsoo actually wanted Jin to be just like him and considered their coordinated murders father-son bonding.
- Has a Type: Jin realizes that Dongsoo has a tendency to murder women like his wife. Non-dyed hair, round eyes and simple clothes.
- Hidden Depths: Despite being a serial murderer who has emotionally and physically abused his son for his entire life, it's revealed that he in fact tried to save Jin from being murdered by his mother when he was a toddler. He also couldn't bring himself to kill Jin's mother after this incident, and states that he doesn't know why he can't bring himself to kill his family. And when Jin, preparing to hit him with a sledgehammer, tells him to die if he ever really loved him, Dongsoo replies, "If that is your wish" and opens his arms.
- I Love the Dead: Disturbingly implied as being one of the factors that govern his choice of victims.
- Karma Houdini: Arguably. He may be Driven to Suicide by the very end of the story, but he's eerily tranquil about it, and he's able to evade being imprisoned for his crimes.
- Knight Templar Parent: Turns out he's this. He attacked Manny, killed his parents, and rendered his sister comatose for a time because he thought Manny was bullying Jin. And he was enraged when Manny threatened to cripple Jin as revenge, killing Manny and getting uncharacteristically sloppy in the process. This leads to his crimes being brought to light.
- Master Actor: This goes without saying, as he's able to fool nearly everyone into thinking he's a mild-mannered businessman and philanthropist and escape police notice for years.
- Parents as People: Yes, in a supremely fucked-up way. He was genuinely attached to Jin as his son, albeit only as much as someone like him was able to be, and tried to look out for him. The problem is, he does so by killing one of Jin's only friends and kidnapping his girlfriend.
- Psychotic Smirk: An absolutely terrifying one, made even scarier when comparing the sweet smiles he gives to strangers, and the look Jin is well-acquainted with.
- They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: Absolutely epitomizes this trope. It would be very difficult to infer just the monster he is by his demeanor, which he utilizes to his full advantage. This is one of his better advantages against Jin, who has No Social Skills.
- Unskilled, but Strong: As Mandeuk notes, Dongsoo is not a fighter by any means but he has no hesitation to murder which makes him very dangerous.
- Unstoppable Rage: Manny said something to Dongsoo that made him murder both Manny and Mandeuk in an uncharacteristically sloppy and rushed fashion, leading to him being caught. It's revealed that Manny threatened Jin.
- Villain with Good Publicity: He's a brutal serial murderer who happens to be a renowned businessman and philanthropist.
Manny Kim
- The Bully: He has a nickname of The Alpha Wolf of the pack. He regularly targets Beau and Jin.
- Jerk Jock: He picks on the kids less fit than him
- Jerkass: Unpleasant to everyone around him, and he even admits to Kyun that he only befriended Jin because of the family connections his father had.
- Gold Digger: Non romantic example. He wants to befriend Jin because his father is the CEO of The G company.
- Tsundere: He tells Jin not to act like he knows him to keep his reputation clean.
Pann Hann
- Beta Bitch: To Manny.
- The Big Guy
Beau Park
- Bullying a Dragon: He tries to bully Jin to earn Manny's good graces but in Chapter 40 Jin beats him up
