Majora is the essence of death, disintegration, dismemberment, and the death of loved ones. He causes these events in Termina. Majora is the harsh reality of life for the people of Termina. And this is why Majora is the perfect villain. He has absolutely no motive other then death and destruction. He wants nothing more then to see everything dead. He manipulates Link into following him to his near-death. Manipulates the literal moon into destroying the world it watches over, even obviously causing it distress which can been seen with it's face and its tears, but yet the moon "shall consume. Consume... consume everything..." He manipulates Anju and Kafei apart, destroying their love. Controls a young skullkid into doing his bidding and then throws him aside as "This one has served its purpose, and it is useless." No other villain thus far has done so much to destroy everyone's lives in such a subtle way. It's almost like he is a virus slowly eating away at everything the people of Termina love.
Another thing, which is purely aesthetic in its value is the visual look of Majora. First of all, he's a mask. That alone gives him an otherworldly creepiness. Humans seem to naturally have a fear of inanimate objects somehow coming alive. Majora taps into that irrational fear and amplifies it to a new level. Also, is the visual look of the mask. It's a heart with spikes coming out of it, which quite literally is the perfect metaphor for Majora.
He digs into people's hearts and destroys them. And finally are the eyes of his mask. They have an obvious determined, focused look to them. It's as if they are looking directly into your soul, attempting to tear it apart. The visual is fantastic and has only been almost matched with the Twilight Realm in Twilight Princess.Zelda is a wonderful series, but we need more of these villains. That's not to say Ganondorf should completely disappear, but there is no sense of wonder with him anymore. He's Ganondorf, he had the Triforce of Power and wants the whole thing for his own. He's obviously greedy, but he's not like Majora. He doesn't want the complete destruction of Hyrule. No, in fact the whole reason why he wants the Triforce is because he envied Hyrule with its green, beautiful rolling fields and mountains. He wants that for his own. This obviously evolves into evil, but it's evil with a cause which is far less menacing then evil with no cause.
That's what makes Majora such a great character. Majora has a sense of myth, wonder, and fantasy around him. He's a lurking evil, one around every corner, that makes his presence absolutely known. That is the essence of evil and that is why Majora is the perfect villain. His evil has no source. It has an absoluteness to it that can't be understood on our level. Perhaps Majora has his motive, but likely he doesn't. He is the essence of Evil in Termina, maybe even in Hyrule as well, and the only action for evil is destruction.
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I do agree here... Majora is what I would call a true villain, especially compared to others in the series.
Fantastic read, I agree with this 100%.
I love the aesthetic of Majora's Mask, it's shape is a twisted heart, it's colors are like those of a poisonous frog, and it's expression pierces the soul in a really cunning, intimate way.
You really nail it when you bring up the sense of wonder associated with the mask. This villain is awe-inspiring in a very unsettling way.
I've actually made an argument about the mask's underlying motive. I've discussed this concept in my recent article:
http://www.zeldauniverse.net/articles/the-missing-link/immortal-childhood/#more-5822
The mask wants to upset the order of the universe and destroy time itself. It manifests itself as a child who refuses to grow up, and its home is a world that stays the same forever. It's goal is to destroy the world where time exists, which is why Termina has the shape of a clock. This is also why Majora's Mask is the ultimate enemy in the Hero of Time's story.
The final battle symbolically is a battle between the sun and the moon - Majora's Mask represents the sun, the shape it takes on for its fire attack, and the Fierce Deity represents the moon, with his pale colors and the crescent emblem on his chest. The message of the symbolism is this: the world cannot stay the same forever, the rising sun must eventually set.
good point, there's nothing more evil than a person or creature who wants to destroy everything and bring dead and sadness to everyone, nice article man =)
I don't know if you'll read this HylianDan, but I'm very fond of your theories, and I myself have also studied the true nature of MM for a long time. Yet there are some things I still don't understand.
For an example, what about the masked children? What are their relation to the HMS? They have his exact shape, and they seem very excited to become mask salesmen. Why is that? I don't know if you have already touched upon this, but I can't seem to figure out what the exact meaning of the HMS character is...
Their relation to the Happy Mask Salesman is probably only metaphorical, like my explanation of the Fierce Deity. No need for a background story beyond that.
Since the game is largely about helping people find true happiness, I believe the Happy Mask Salesman is connected to the developers' idea of what true happiness is. When people surrender their masks to you, it is also a sign of true happiness.
One of Komali's lines from TWW seems to relate to this idea. When he gives you Din's Pearl, he says, “Giving you the thing I value most will give me the courage I need to stand up to bad things!” And Mila's father finds true happiness when he loses all of his riches.
At the end of MM, the children ask you to give up the masks that people have given up to you. The masks all carry some value, sentimental or material, so it can be difficult to give them away. But in the process Link becomes a Happy Mask Salesman himself. The children are wearing their own masks, with the implication that they will one day give up these masks to someone else.
So the mystery pretty much boils down to the idea that the four children will grow up, give away their masks, and spread happiness as Link has done. They'll become Happy Mask Salesmen, but the weak fifth child will not.
Keep in mind that the game's title, "Majora's Mask," actually means "The Child's Mask." The story is about the contrast between "children" who give away their masks and "children" who hold on to them.
i agree with you,you have some cool ideas,i also like that majora doesnt take it seriously,he laughs at his own evil,takes everything as a game ,and calls himself the good guy
I like Majora because it's just pure, absolute, unabashed evil.
All of the major bad guys in the Zelda series have but one thing in common: they want power. What they intend to do with that power varies from person to person, some of them having somewhat noble causes aside from their methods, others merely want power for the sake of having it. This is what separates Majora from the rest of the villains in the Zelda series.
Majora doesn't want power; it's already nigh omnipotent. It wants chaos. It wants turmoil, destruction, annihilation. It wants this not as some means to an end or even an end, but just for entertainment. A more malevolent or powerful villain you will not find in the Zelda universe, and yet, it is also child-like. I kinda have a faint hope that they'll bring Majora back in the future, but that probably won't happen.
A good comparison I've used for Majora sometimes is like the Joker, though some people might not get that comparison.
Dan and Oni Nick: Just so happens that one of my few articles touches on that very subject in great detail, if you'd care to give it a read.
http://www.zeldainformer.com/2007/08/the-skull-kids-identity.php#more
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