During the investigation of recent hollers in the Complete Monster thread, it's become apparent to the staff that an insular, unfriendly culture has evolved in the Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard threads that is causing problems.
Specific issues include:
- Overzealous hollers on tropers who come into the threads without being familiar with all the rules and traditions of the tropes. And when they are familiar with said rules and traditions, they get accused (with little evidence) of being ban evaders.
- A few tropers in the thread habitually engage in snotty, impolite mini-modding. There are also regular complaints about excessive, offtopic "socializing" posts.
- Many many thread regulars barely post/edit anywhere else, making the threads look like they are divorced from the rest of TV Tropes.
- Following that, there are often complaints about the threads and their regulars violating wiki rules, such as on indexing, crosswicking, example context and example categorization. Some folks are working on resolving the issues, but...
- Often moderator action against thread regulars leads to a lot of participants suddenly showing up in the moderation threads to protest and speak on their behalf, like a clique.
It is not a super high level problem, but it has been going on for years and we cannot ignore it any longer. There will be a thread in Wiki Talk
to discuss the problem; in the meantime there is a moratorium on further Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard example discussion until we have gotten this sorted out.
Update: The new threads have been made and can be found here:
for the earliest date a work can be discussed, (usually two weeks from the US release), as well as who's reserved discussion.
- Why do a cleanup?: This trope definitely exists and has a well documented history of use. That being said, it frequently gets misused to a character who meets one of the components, namely that they are smart, charming while not necessarily even being a villain, or create good plans. While these are components, there is also a certain personality required, not to mention that all of the above are required to be present for a character to be a true Magnificent Bastard. As the trope attracts interest, it unfortunately brings in a lot of misuse and I thought the best way to rectify this would be a Perpetual Cleanup Thread, as is being done and has seen success with Complete Monster.
- What makes a Magnificent Bastard: Below is a list of the individual components to make this character. Note that they must all be present, not just some, which has lead to frequent misuse:
- Must be intelligent: Goes without saying, to be a Magnificent Bastard, the character has to be smart in the first place and use their brain to work towards whatever their end goal may be;
- Must be a Bastard: While going overboard in how vile the character is can be detrimental, a key aspect is the Bastard part of the trope, whether the character is an out-and-out antagonist in the work, some manner of Villain Protagonist, or something in between, they at least have some unscrupulous qualities to qualify for this trope;
- Must not be too detestable: Again, there is a ceiling on how bad the character can be before they just become too nefarious, blocking out the Magnificent part of the trope. A genocidal racist or child-raping Sadist aren't going to make the cut;
- Think on their feet: In addition to being a Chessmaster, a Magnificent Bastard, if the character deals with situations in which their initial plan is ruined, has to be able to pull a Xanatos Speed Chess and at least come up with a competent strategy to make up for lost time, otherwise they fail for being unable to think in tough spots;
- Have charm: Even if they don't necessarily make every character they meet fall in love with them and can even be detested by others, the audience has to find an amicable social relation to the character, or they are failing to make the impact required for this trope.
- What to do if a character is listed on a page but has not been approved?: They need to be removed, all candidates need to come through the cleanup thread first. The character could well count but they need to be analyzed properly and voted on first.
- Do we list Playing With this trope?: No; as a YMMV trope, this cannot be Played With, so we only want examples that are Played Straight.
- What do I do if I want a character to be listed as a Magnificent Bastard?: The greatest success Complete Monster saw for its cleanup effort was from the invention of the effort post format, so, borrowing from that, a troper wishing to propose a Magnificent Bastard will create such a post in the following format:
- Begin by describing The work, this will help establish the setting the character is in and for the reader to understand what kind of a scenario they are in;
- Summarize The character's actions, this will provide a listing for readers to understand what they do and how it applies to this trope because charm and lack of smugness are so crucial, this is a good time to be incorporating exactly the flavor of how they operate to explain this;
- List circumstances in which the character must Think on their feet, these are times where a wrench might be thrown in their initial plan and they have to adapt on the spot or even come up with a new scheme all together, this is also a good time to explain how the villain reacts to defeat when they have to face it, a true Magnificent Bastard won't break down into tears at the thought of death, they should have known such a possibility could occur and be able to handle it with more dignity;
- The competition, similar to the Heinous Standard dealt with for a Complete Monster, this section is to deal with how successful the character is in carrying out their plans compared to other characters. While, as a villain, they probably are going to lose in the end, it is good to explain how other characters handle the same situation. There is no exceptionalism case to be made for this trope but explaining the variety helps the reader have a better understanding of the proposal.
- How do you know when the character's arc is done so they can be proposed? When their tenure as a villain or antagonist finishes. This could happen in a single Story Arc in an entire work, a single work of a franchise, or the whole series in general. We'll show lenience to Long-Runners with constantly recurring candidates or series with outstanding continuities (ex. comic books), and it's entirely possible to count in a work or two but not in general for a reason like Depending on the Writer.
- What about candidates evil because of external sources? Those Made of Evil can qualify if they show enough individuality and tactical acumen — in other words, they have the personality to fulfill the magnificence requirement. Conversely, those brainwashed, especially if they're a better person without it, may fail the individuality aspect and cannot count.
- What if they are under orders from a higher-up? Depends. If the boss created the plans down to the letter and the candidate is just following them, sounds like we should discuss the boss instead. However, if the candidate takes creative liberties with the orders, adds their own charm and flair to them, fills in holes in the orders, and/or actively deals with obstacles their boss did not talk about, the candidate shows enough individual thinking to qualify.
- What about Character Development? An MB is something a character can develop into... a nice person who plots well might become more morally gray as the work goes on and hits the "Bastard" criteria, thus making them viable. Likewise, a Smug Snake might shed their ego, become more understanding of the threat others pose and gain the personality or "Magnificent" criteria, likewise making them viable. Conversely, a character who looks like this trope might suffer from a Sanity Slippage or just get outed as not being as smart as they thought they were and become incompatible with MB.
- Can an MB be a good guy? Not in the conventional sense... it is required they have at least some dubious traits lest they fail the "Bastard" criteria. That being said, a character who pulls a Heel–Face Turn or eventually stops taking villainous actions is still fair game: as there was a point in time where they were both "Magnificent" and a "Bastard" at the same time and they've merely adapted as time goes on. Now... if such a character begins showing other issues (i.e.: becomes prone to freak outs or starts getting outwitted) then they're compromising their Magnificence and will probably be deemed a cut. What's important is stylishly operating while at least for some time being willing to take at best underhanded methods to see a job done. A Heel–Face Turn in itself isn't a disqualifier but they do have to have been "Magnificent" and a "Bastard" at the same time and afterwards can't start slipping on the former front.
- What about characters whose stories can take different routes?: When proposing a character in a form of media that has them in multiple story routes. Said character must be consistent with their characteristics in all routes. (ex.: Can't have an example who shows promise on one route yet fails in another.) The only exception is if a later installment of the series confirms the character's actions which made them worth proposing are the canon route.
- Is there a timeframe rule like with Complete Monster?: Yes, please wait two weeks until after the work has concluded before proposing a character (again, usually using the North American air date). As is the case with CM, we want to give a reasonable time frame so that everyone interested in seeing the work has done so and can participate in the discussion without having anything spoiled.
- What about groups like with Complete Monster?: This is a point of divergence between the two tropes. While CM does not allow for a single entry encompassing more than three characters lest their heinousness for crimes becomes too watered down, with MB as long as they are treated as one "unit" it is acceptable to lump all characters provided they share acts of charm and intelligence.
- Can I propose my own work's character as a Magnificent Bastard?: No, this is a YMMV subject and the creator of a content is way too biased to be able to evaluate the criteria we're looking for without a second opinion taking over. That being said, you are more than welcome to encourage someone to consume your creation and if they feel a character counts, are more than welcome to suggest them.
- My example/edit has been approved, but the example subpage is locked! How do I get it added?: The moderators do not add examples to locked example subpages in the MagnificentBastard/ namespace directly. Rather, you need to do the edit to a sandbox page that follows the format Sandbox.MagnificentBastard<Name of the example subpage> (e.g for MagnificentBastard.Fullmetal Alchemist it's Sandbox.Magnificent Bastard Fullmetal Alchemist) and on a Friday, ask in the locked pages edit requests thread for the content to be swapped in.
Thread rules
When voting a troper must specify the effort post they're voting on and cannot merely vote on "Everything I missed" as in the past it has indicated the poster didn't read the effort post and is guessing instead of analyzing.
Resolved items
In general, a character listed on this trope is considered "settled". This means they should not be challenged unless information used to list them was incorrect or information was missed in the initial discussion.
However, when re-litigating a candidate, the same rules apply for when they were originally proposed. If they do not have five or more upvotes than downvotes for approval upon a re-litigation, including votes from the initial discussion if they do not change, then they are a cut.
This especially applies to the characters listed below, who have been discussed excessively and repeated attempts to get them listed/cut may result in punitive action for bogging down the thread.
Definitely an MB
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers: Any sadism Darkrai displays is limited in effect thanks to the game's nature and any cowardice which can be inferred about him is Alternative Character Interpretation about his tactical retreats.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: Azula's Villainous Breakdown is undone in the sequel comic Smoke & Shadow where she regains her composure and ends up stable and in control enough to count.
Definitely not an MB
- South Park: The show's frequent use of vulgar comedy and mean-spirited humor leaves any potential candidates devoid of the dignity or charm to qualify.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Aug 31st 2023 at 4:15:22 AM
My Writeup for Joker from the Batman:
The Batman: While seeking insight into the Riddler, Batman goes to visit an unnamed Arkham prisoner. Looking at the photos Batman gives him, he quickly deduces that the motive is personal and that he both has a grudge against Batman but also admires him. While Batman feels he's wasting his time, he finally probes Batman by taunting Bruce with the fact that he feels Riddler's' victims deserved it. Meanwhile the prisoner discretely keeps a paperclip that was on one of the Riddler's files. Towards the end of the film, the Riddlers scheme has been foiled, and he's having a nervous breakdown in Arkham. The prisoner comforts him, praising his genius, and convinces Riddler to be his friend while telling him "Gotham loves a good comeback story."
I really feel like this should incorporate the fact that he only counts with the scene released through the ARG. I have no idea how to put that in the writeup without it sounding really awkward. Anybody have any ideas? Do you think it's needed at all?
Edit: Will read Tokiko later.
Edited by jjjj2 on Jul 27th 2022 at 9:23:54 AM
You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
"Cool. Coolcoolcool."
Your friendly neighborhood stank goblin
![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
for Nate, Malachi, and Selina "Catwoman" Kyle.
Goku Black
Catwoman and Tokiko
Bull why'd you delete that answer about my question? I thought it was a good answer, although I would appreciate more opinions.
Tokiko.
Edited by jjjj2 on Jul 27th 2022 at 9:53:50 AM
You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
"Cool. Coolcoolcool."
j: Sorry I always get nervous giving my opinions on things and deleted out of anxiety. Let me repost it here.
I don't think we need to note that personally as I can't think of any way it wouldn't be awkward.
Edited by Bullman on Jul 27th 2022 at 8:58:50 AM
Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
Based on the EP, to that Catwoman. Really wishing I hadn't missed the EP for the Batman 1966 version. I've seen the two animated movies they did in 2016 and 2017 at least–and the 1966 movie as well—so I probably would've said yes to her.
Who got Ms. Marvel by the way? Finale was two weeks ago today.
Edited by futuremoviewriter on Jul 27th 2022 at 7:53:11 AM
Woagh
to Malachi, Nate, Catwoman, The Joker and Tokiko.
Yes to Malachi and Tokiko. Not sure there j, if you want maybe check how Rav did it for the Dictator from 9 it could be a guide, I recall talk of how the film's site expanded on the character.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Thanks man that's perfect!
The Batman: As revealed through the ARG, while seeking insight into the Riddler, Batman goes to visit an unnamed Arkham prisoner. Looking at the photos Batman gives him, he quickly deduces that the motive is personal and that he both has a grudge against Batman but also admires him. While Batman feels he's wasting his time, he finally probes Batman by taunting Bruce with the fact that he feels Riddler's' victims deserved it. Meanwhile the prisoner discretely keeps a paperclip that was on one of the Riddler's files. Towards the end of the film, the Riddlers scheme has been foiled, and he's having a nervous breakdown in Arkham. The prisoner comforts him, praising his genius, and convinces Riddler to be his friend while telling him "Gotham loves a good comeback story."
You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
My next Godfather example: Peter Clemenza (MOVIE ONLY)
Who is Clemenza?
Peter Clemenza is the Big Fun of the Corleone family. Once a close friend of Don Vito in the old days, Clemenza was a founding member of the Corleone family and one of the Caporegimes. His big, boisterous joviality conceals a wickedly sharp mind and a ruthless demeanor as well. Clemenza is kind of the Red Oni, Blue Oni duo with his old friend Salvatore "Sal" Tessio, who is thin, reserved and more calculating. First introduced at the big wedding, Clemenza is shown cheerfully dancing with every woman he can, but the hints he's a bit darker are demonstrated when Vito is asked to kill a pair of ruffians who beat a mortician's daughter. Vito has this downgraded to a brutal beating and orders it to be given to Clemenza as he wants "reliable people" on it.
Clemenza's right hand man Paulie ends up being a traitor, giving info to Sollozzo. Clemenza takes exception to this and lures in Paulie on a normal drive, having Paulie shot in the car, with one of the most famous lines: "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." (as he promised his wife he'd get one back). Clemenza's ruthless frontline leadership keeps the Corleone family afloat, and he is also the one who has a gun stashed for Michael to later kill Sollozzo. However, as the Corleone star fades, Michael returns home, hardened, to take the family's reins. While Michael suspects Clemenza may turn traitor, the real traitor is Tessio who intends to sell him to Barzini. When Michael initiates the purge of the five families, Clemenza handles the Stracci family, luring them to an ambush with a case of flowers that conceals a shotgun and traps them in an elevator.
Clemenza is also the one to kill Carlo Rizzi, when Michael thinks Carlo is to be put on a plane to Vegas. Clemenza is waiting in the backseat of the car with a garotte (Sonny was Clemenza's protege, which makes it extra personal)...Clemenza is last seen pledging allegiance to Michael as "Don Corleone."
Clemenza dies between movies 1 and 2, suffering a fatal heart attack, as there were disagreements between the actor and creators.
Mitigating issues?
Nah, Clemenza's one of the best. He's big, fun, friendly, his soldiers love him and he's shown to cheerfully cook pasta for them when they "go to the mattresses," taking the same risks as his men and ensuring he takes care of them while sharing his recipes for the best pasta sauce. This can turn on a dime, since Clemenza is possessed of an immense ruthlessness and when he's on the job, it's kinda scary to see. Clemenza was the one who trained Sonny and is a professional killer. He's very good at it and acts as an assassin multiple times as well as a general.
Clemenza isn't shown in the film to be a racist or misogynist. He's a bit of a Henpecked Husband, arguing with his wife who nags him not to forget the cannoli when he goes to kill Paulie, but he sure remembers it in the end. Interestingly, Clemenza is explicitly said to be the lesser intellect between himself and Tessio...curiously, I find this helps him here. Tessio is too smart for his own good and betrays Michael to Barzini, thinking he's done for. This gets him killed. Clemenza, on the other hand? His loyalty is ironclad and he never considers betraying the Corleones. It's them or death for him.
This might have changed in the sequel as the treacherous Frank Pentangelli fills Clemenza's probable role, but as it stands, we got what we got.
conclusion?
A yes to the good capo
Goku Black
Clemenza
Clemenza.
Yes to Clemenza... the writer insisting one person's smarter than another doesn't mean much to a viewer when they perform differently in practice. Same shit as the insistence Safin was "the most evil villain Bond ever faced."
to Catwoman, Tokiko, and Clemenza
Okay so its now been two weeks since season 3 of Solar Opposites aired on Hulu so I guess I should talk about it. So the one character that came closest to counting Tim from The Wall Story Arc ends up failing to make the mark, as he spends his last moments having lost his mind and becoming severely ill as a result of drinking water from a glass painted with lead, and dies having an erection thinking about Cherrie in his Dying Dream, so yeah doesn't make it.
That's a definite to Clemenza. Did Vito ever share any interactions with Roth offscreen and did Vito and Barzini do business together fine until Barzini tried to murder him? I gotta watch all these movies again sometime, but VERY hesitant due to having bad thoughts about the ending of the third one.
@43 Or that Euron made Ramsay look like a little kid. Haha.
Gonna work on that Sandman EP some point soon, but not sure when.
![[down]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_down.png "[down]"){kind=icon}
Vito's only in flashbacks in the second movie. Yeah, that all makes sense though.
Edited by futuremoviewriter on Jul 27th 2022 at 9:05:50 AM
Vito doesn't reappear in movie 2 where Roth does, and Barzini does work with the other families, to the point he got an invite to Connie's wedding.
Sure to Clem.
Warcraft: The Accuser is one of the Harvesters of Revendreth who takes great pride in guiding evil souls to atonement through eons of torture while draining them of their sin-laden anima. Once a heartless assassin in life, in death, the Accuser is among the first to side with Prince Renathal against their Sire Denathrius for siding with the Jailer and the Maw. The last holdout of their failed rebellion, the Accuser nearly overwhelms her enemies when captured and punished by being hunted for sport by the Fearstalker. Always a step ahead, she creates a trap to teleport her hunter away while turning the Maw Walker to her side by revealing the Sire's true intentions. She then lures in the Fearstalker and all her hunters into a complex trap to wipe them out before sending the Maw Walker to find and rescue Renathal and restore the rebellion that eventually overthrows Denathrius.
Think you're tough because you made it through Lord of the Rings? Real men survive The Silmarillion.
By the way, this is what I created for Discworld as the heading.
The Discworld is a fantastical and bizarre setting home to a wide cast of charming and colorful characters. Some of these have the moral ambiguity and devious cunning to make life all the more interesting.
Edited by LoreDeluxe on Jul 27th 2022 at 9:29:02 AM
Think you're tough because you made it through Lord of the Rings? Real men survive The Silmarillion.
I've decided to put a spoiler on my Joker writeup considering it was a huge surprise when the movie came out.
You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
Okay now then here's my write-up for Bowman
- Spriggan: "The Forgotten Kingdom": Bowman was Yu Ominae's knife instructor before leaving ARCAM and joining the Trident Corporation. Tasked with retrieving an ancient Message Plate in Phantom Island and kill his former student, Bowman uses his Doppelgänger to hold Yoshino Somei hostage forcing Yu to hand over the Message Plate to him. Bowman would then proceed to fight Yu before getting defeating after a grueling battle, where Bowman admits on how proud he is of Yu before embracing his death.
Edited by G-Editor on Jul 27th 2022 at 12:44:41 PM
Ultimate Moral Compass
Clemenza
Lies and Violence!
Tokiko and Clemenza.
So guys, got another one from a pretty recent game that have been buzzing around in my circle, AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative, and while the last game didn't have any keepers, we got one for this and she's a bit of a doozy mainly for the mind breaking plot this game has. We got Tokiko Shigure.
What is the setting?
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative is a puzzle mystery game release last month and a sequel to AI: The Somnium Files. While the last game dealt with a serial killer removing the eyes of the victim, nicknamed the Cyclops Killer, this one deals with another killer this time who slices victims in half, leaving only one half of the body to be discovered. Nicknamed the Tearer, the plot revolves around previous major character Mizuki and new character Ryuki investigating these crimes, labelled the Half Body Killings, and find the perpretrator and a mysterious plan they have called Nirvana Initiative.
Our candidate here isn't the Tearer, but rather one of the major figures in making this happen, I present Tokiko Shigure.
Who is Tokiko Shigure and what does she do?
Tokiko is the president of the Japanese section of Naixotlz, a powerful yet mysterious organization that deals with multiple fields like science, entertainment, and even religion, who also believes that the world they live in is a simulation. Seemingly meeting her for the first time after the death of Chikara Horadori, Ryuki investigates her due to her connection with Chikara due to him being formerly associated with Naixoltz and that many weird occurrence happening seem to involve the group. Explaining what Naixoltz is to Ryuki and sharing a bit of intel, Ryuki and his partner Tama became suspicious of and decided to have her psynch in order to gather more intel, learning more about Naixotlz and it being connected to the Half Body Killings. Questioning her more after she wakes up from the psynch, Tokiko decides to share a bit more about it, before asking Ryuki to meet her again her office later to discuss more about proclaiming she'll provide evidence to help his investigation. Unfortunately, when Ryuki does go and meet her, she's found dead as the 3rd victim of the Half Body Killings, with the case having gone colded.
However a twist revealed laters shows the seeming linear timeline of the event is actually not true, and what looks like Tokiko and Ryuki meeting up in the past 6 years ago is actually something that happened at the present day and Tokiko is actually the 5th and final victim of the murders. In truth when the original Half Body Killings were happening 6 years ago, Tokiko was invesitgated, she kept quiet for the most part until the Naixotlz went and emerge placing suspicion on her. Further investigation on her, Chikara, and the different links associated to the Tearer, it's revealed Tokiko was the Greater-Scope Villain behind the entire events.
When she was young Tokiko ended up in Naixotlz after her early life was depressing and sad, making her vulnerable to the religious orders influence, where she ended up meeting Chikara. Having an affair with him, she gave birth to their baby Jin Furei, the first victim of the killings, but because of her lack of income and no immediate family, Chikara convinced Tokiko to give Jin up to adoption in exchange for Tokiko to get a higher position in the order, which Tokiko reluctantly agreed, giving him away to the Furei family while Tokiko and Chikara kept an eye on the boy. However Jin had a rare genetic disease giving him a life-threatening tumor and out of desperation to save him, Tokiko worked with Chikara in taking a boy and experimenting him for a cure. That boy is Uru, the Tearer, who was forcibly experimented by Chikara for years, while Tokiko assisted and tried to comfort the boy out of guilt.
During this time, Tokiko began learning and embracing the philosophy of Naixotlz after many incidents of near life and death and other phenemon led her to the conclusion the world is a virtual simulation, and started making many attempts to reach Moksha, the state of escaping the virtual reality. Out of misguided hope, Tokiko began teaching it to Uru, which became the kickstarted of the events of the game when he manage to escape and join the order, where by the time Chikara has already splintered off and form his own faction within Naixotlz, the Order of % which believe that because the world is a simulation, they should be allowed to do whatsoever without consequences.
Feeling disgusted about what Chikara has done and disagreeing with Uru's own plans with the Nirvana Initiative, a plan to unleash a virus to mankind which will either kill or brainwash everyone, Tokiko allowed Uru to commit his murders while she set things up in the background. By the time of the present day events, Tokiko has already have everything arranged to achieve her goals. When Amane was called by Uru and ended up killing him out of revenge for her father, Tokiko blackmailed her into following her plan, using the murder she committed and threatening her love ones, she had Amane place her body to be discovered after Tokiko killed herself, and then force her to unravel Uru's Nirvana Initiative so that Ryuki and Mizuki can stop it which ultimately works.
However Tokiko had bigger motives then that. During the epilogue of the game, Ryuki can learn the nil number Tokiko was looking for and by heading back to the first meeting with her, you can give her the number. This allows Tokiko to escape reality and achieve Moksha, where she revealed that she practically allowed the events of the game to happen to get her hands on the nil numer. As thanks for helping her, she reveals Uru and his plans, getting him arrested and stopping the murders from escalating, with the only victims being Jin and Chikara, creating a perfect if hollow happy timeline where nobody dies like Ryuki secretly hoped for. The game ends with Ryuki and Tama comprehending that her claim about the world being virtual being true, and she makes one last comment about it before the game ends.
Is she Magnificent?
Absolutely, not only does she succeeds in stopping the Nirvana Initiative, which while she did help influence she was against with the extreme nature of it including unleashing a virus that will either kill or brainwash all of humanity, but she ultimately gets her way in the Gainax Ending and escape reality and gains Moksha, essentially a form of godhood by setting up the events of the game. That said, if were not counting the Gainax Ending, due to all the ambigiouty, she still succeeds in stopping her Uru's crazy plans which was influence by implied guilt, considering it was her teaching that accidentally drove Uru like that who she just wanted to help as his adoptive mother.
Too Much of a Bastard?
Tokiko may not exactly completely approve Uru Somezuki's actions including the Nirvana Initiative and the Half Body Killings, she also isn't exactly helping the investigators stop it despite being in the know of what's happening and even takes advantage of it when Amane ends up killing Uru in her anger and kills him in the exact same way he committed his murders, blackmailing her into becoming her pawn by setting up the events of the present day, including forcing her to move her body when she commits suicide and hide key info until the time is right all to set-up the downfall of the Nirvana Initiative.
Now while well-intended, Tokiko's still employ pretty ruthless actions, from threatening Amane's friends and family if she doesn't comply with the blackmail driving her further in a more maddening and depressing state, to knowing her plan will get people killed since stopping it did require the Nirvana Initiative to move forward killing others, and if you get the Gainax Ending, Tokiko outright said she planned the entire scenario so she can escape the prison of the world by essentially fooling the Frayer (aka you The Player), into giving her the code to escape reality, although she does something nice by informing the cast about Uru so his murders were stopped and most of the good characters ended up living.
Plus she does seem to genuinely love her son Jin and even her adoptive son Uru, despite the extreme things she done she felt guilt for Uru to the point she was complicating suicide out of remorse for what she did and tried her best to comfort him as much as possible, and she only really did what she did to Uru because she was desperate to find a cure for Jin's tumor, making somewhat sympathetic and far more moral then her ex-lover Chikara.
Final Verdict:
I say for the mind blowing plot this game has, she keeps considering everything.
"Are you the devil?" "Don't compare to me to those small fry" - Mir