Half-Baked Redemptions

A Half-Baked Redemption is when a villain who is written to be very evil suddenly redeems without any hints of redemption before this happened. This kind of redemption is a poor move in terms of writing and teaching mercy and forgiveness in fiction.

Examples

 * Rei Isurugei (Gegege no Kitaro (2018 – 2020)): The anime practically ignored both the fact that he already crossed the Moral Event Horizon more than once with his attacks on Yokai and the fact he refused multiple times to let go of his revenge. Instead, it had the heroes force him to redeem himself because they didn't want to kill him (even Kitaro has been willing to kill if necessary) and used his tragic backstory as an excuse to justify showing mercy even though he never showed any. All of this, plus the fact that Shōnen manga and anime tend to force redemption and mercy even if the said villain does not deserve it.
 * The Diamonds (Steven Universe): These intergalactic dictators colonize planets, have committed kidnapping, murder, trapping humans in a zoo, experimenting on gems (including several Crystal Gems) and genocide, but Steven insists on redeeming then rather then shattering them for their many heinous crimes. This, along with Spinel in the movie, shows how horribly reluctant Rebecca Sugar is to kill villains.
 * Bebop and Rocksteady (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)): Their redemption was forced as they would change the way they act not because the Shredder and Kraang were trying to destroy the world but because they were being mean to Bebop and Rocksteady. It doesn't help that his redemption would occur a few minutes to before the series officially ended, not giving them a proper redemption.
 * Snowball (The Secret Life of Pets)
 * Erisio (Kirakira★PreCure a la Mode (2017))
 * Queen Barb (Trolls: World Tour)
 * The Shadow (Odd Squad)
 * Amy (Cuties)
 * Stalyan (Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (2017-2020)): Not only was her redemption forced, but it also created a double standard saying we can never fight and/or imprison women even if they are criminals who have committed terrible things.
 * Gai Amatsu (Kamen Rider Zero-One)
 * Bucky (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S)
 * Hordak (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020)): Despite his reasons, Hordak committed mass-genocide of intelligent-life and he was ultimately redeemed without any punishment whatsoever. Like Catra, his redemption arc is also rushed.
 * Miss Nettle (Sofia the First (2013-2018))
 * Prisma (Sofia the First (2013-2018))
 * Princess Ivy (Sofia the First (2013-2018))
 * Nyx and the Fairy Scouts (Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast)
 * Tess Tyler (Camp Rock)
 * Quipue (Elena of Avalor (2016-2020))
 * Douglas Davenport (Lab Rats (2012-2016))
 * Colonel Tinker (Rupert (1991-1997))
 * Raiden the Moon King (Kubo and the Two Strings)
 * Master Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts Series)
 * Big Tex Arkana (Buddy Thunderstruck (2017))
 * Xian Lang (Mulan (2020))
 * Ayato Kirishima (Tokyo Ghoul)
 * Toru Mutsuki (Tokyo Ghoul:re)
 * Will of the Abyss (Pandora Hearts)
 * Discord (Season 3 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-2019)): His redemption in Season 3's "Keep Calm and Flutter On" was rushed, but in later seasons (most notably season 4's "Twilight's Kingdom"), his redemption is more justified.
 * Chancellor Neighsay (Season 8 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-2019)): Like Discord, his redemption was rushed, but unlike Discord's, his redemption had little-to-no justification other than the insistence to include villains when saving "everyone".
 * Void Dark (Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance)
 * The Spy Girls (UglyDolls)
 * Astra Logue (Legends of Tomorrow)
 * Charlie/ Clotho (Legends of Tomorrow)
 * Orochimaru (Naruto)
 * Kabuto Yakushi (Naruto)
 * Madara Uchiha (Naruto)
 * Toneri Ōtsutsuki (The Last: Naruto the Movie)
 * Sarina Shizukume (Magical Girl Site): Her redemption was when Aya teleported her to her empty vandalized desk in order to make her realize her bullying.
 * Kaname Asagiri (Magical Girl Site): Like Sarina, his redemption was when Aya wanted to make him realize his cruel nature by protecting him and trying to get over his father's "grueling" training for gifted students like him.
 * Most of the humans (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2020)) While Doag and Greta were passable, everyone else was practically forced to redeem just to avoid having the heroes kill them and insist that communication and mercy are better than violence, despite the fact that they already helped Emilia cure a handful of the major mute characters. This also ruins Kipo's character development, making her never accept that she can't redeem everyone.
 * Gene (Wreck-It Ralph)
 * Hawk (Cobra Kai)
 * King Poseidon (The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run)
 * Namaari (Raya and the Last Dragon) Depending on your view.
 * Abraham van Helsing (Hotel Transylvania 3)
 * Merle Dixon (The Walking Dead)
 * Gabriel "Sylar" Gray (Heroes): Depending on your view
 * Laurel Lance (Arrowverse: Earth-2)
 * Maxwell Lord (Wonder Woman 1984)
 * Fairytale villains (Shrek the Third)
 * Noah Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!): His redemption was when he realized that he'd unknowingly aided Gozuburo Kaiba in getting his revenge from beyond the grave. The problem is that he'd done nothing up until that point to earn it.
 * Eva McCulloch/Mirror Mistress (The Flash): Her redemption was when the Flash and Iris West wanted Eva to realize that creating mirror duplicates and "liberating" a new image of herself will not change anything.
 * Baron Draxum (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
 * Zeta (The Angry Birds Movie 2)
 * Master Frown (Unikitty!)
 * The Dino-Birds (Ice Age: Collision Course)
 * Heidi Turner (Season 21 of South Park)
 * Terence (Tom & Jerry (2021 film))
 * Galza (Mashin Sentai Kiramager)
 * Leo Akaba (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V)
 * Lady Vain (Happily N'Ever After 2: Snow White - Another Bite @ the Apple)
 * Great Zamboni (Spooky House)
 * Laurel Lance (Arrowverse: Earth 2)
 * Talia Al Ghul (Season 8 of Arrow)
 * Ker (Battlefield Earth)
 * Kane (F the Prom)
 * Beverly "Bev" Vane (Hillbilly Elegy)
 * Nicole (Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe In Santa)
 * Jesse Justice (Miracle in Toyland)
 * Solid and Nebra Silva (Black Clover)
 * Kimar (Santa Claus Conquers the Martians)
 * Smiler (The Emoji Movie: Junior Novelization): Unlike in the movie, here, she all of the sudden redeems herself near the end and stops trying to kill Gene, Hi-5, and Jailbreak.
 * Jack Frost (The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause)
 * Beelzebul/Raiden Shogun/Ei (Genshin Impact): Rushed in the main campaign without rhyme nor reason until it made sense in Ei's story quest Imperatrix Umbrosa Act II which made her grow to understand what her late sister Makoto did for Inazuma, and leaving the last of her corrupt self behind. Giving more justification and depth into Ei's redemption arc.
 * Bob Bobowski (The Bob Arc - SMG4) Depending on your view.
 * Chloé Bourgeois (Miraculous LadyBug): one of the worst examples is that writers who wanted Chloe irredemmable for petty reasons.
 * Marx (Kirby Star Allies): Marx was dead in Kirby Super Star/Ultra, but he came back as a playable character as he fought alongside Kirby.
 * Dark Meta Knight (Kirby Star Allies): Same reason as Marx except Dark Meta Knight appeared in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror and Kirby: Triple Deluxe.
 * Ava "Ghost" Starr (Ant-Man and the Wasp): She spends the whole film trying to kill Janet to save herself, and the heroes are stupid enough to help her after saving Janet instead killing her or letting her die as a rightful punishment.
 * Takuto Maruki (Persona 5: Royal)
 * Eren Yeager (Attack on Titan): Depending on your view
 * Yelena (Attack on Titan): Became an irrelevant character after she was forced to help the main heroes stop Eren and his Rumbling.
 * Clark "Kal-el" Kent/Superman (Injustice; 2021 film adaptation)
 * Abby Anderson (The Last of Us Part II)
 * Evil-Lyn (Masters of the Universe: Revelation): Same as Hordak from the She-Ra reboot. Was forgiven and told by Teela that she was never evil after she destroyed the afterlife just out of spite.
 * Teela (Masters of the Universe: Revelation)
 * Sheila Broflovski (South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut): This crazy hypocritical moral guardian tortures kids, unfairly blames Canada for the town's kids' profanity, manipulates the other adults into joining her, murders Terrance and Phillip, and nearly causes an apocalypse for her delusional cause of "make the world a better place for children" and everyone just forgives her when she should either be in prison or executed for the atrocities she caused. It's also clear that they only spared her because she's Kyle's mom, which a pathetic reason to keep her on the show.
 * SMG0 (SMG4)
 * Niles (SMG4)
 * Jithu (Koati)

Why this Happens

 * Many parents and writers think it is the right way to teach children the importance of mercy.
 * People often confuse the idea of justice with revenge or violence.
 * Some people are scared of the very concept of death and want to avoid it at all cost.
 * Due to the rise of radical feminism propganda some female characters ending up being redeemed just to promote a idology.

Why The Trope Sucks

 * 1) These redemptions are thrown in their stories, lacking any proper structure and skipping important steps of a redemption arc.
 * 2) It creates a misguided and false belief that everyone can  AND WILL redeem.
 * 3) Many of these examples are villains who have already crossed what is called the Moral Event Horizon, which means they have committed an act so evil or selfish or have crossed so many lines that audiences won't want them redeemed anymore, meaning these redemptions are forced down audiences' throats!
 * 4) *Also, making a villain commit terrible acts and refuse to give up, only to have the heroes force them to redeem is a waste of suspense!
 * 5) Most examples of these villains didn't do anything at all to earn redemption, yet they are still give forgiveness.
 * 6) Insisting on this kind of redemption all the time can make audience members annoyed and become tired of the idea of redemption ALL TOGETHER.
 * 7) It is extremely limiting to viewers of all ages.
 * 8) While it does succeed in teaching that mercy is possible, it purposely leaves out the fact that it does not always work.
 * 9) Depending on the view, this move means the villain is getting away with the terrible things they did without any punishment whatsoever and they are still a threat,  and it’s being treated like it's a good thing!
 * 10) Making characters who are supposed to be "heroes" force this kind of redemption and treat it as a good thing turns those characters into one-dimensional, unrealistic, and worst of all... downright flat!
 * 11) It is also a bad influence to viewers as anyone, in reality, could be easily killed or have their lives ruined by a bad person or someone evil when and if they do show mercy.

The Only Redeeming Quality

 * 1) While many of these redemptions are forced, some redemptions are executed very well, such as Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Karai from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 and 2012) and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader from Star Wars.

How to make proper redemptions in writing

 * 1) First of all, redemptions is very hard! Meaning you can't just forgive villains instantly because sometimes it angers the fans.
 * 2) If you want to redeem a villain character, give them an understandable backstory and their flaws because it's important for a villain to redeem.
 * 3) *However, even if this their backstory and flaws are understandable, do not use it as an excuse to redeem them if they cross Moral Event Horizon.
 * 4) Do not ever skip steps of a redemption arc. Even if one part is left out, the redemption will look forced.
 * 5) Do not make a villain irredeemable and then redeem them anyway. This means if they commit anything that is going too far, they cannot be redeemed anymore.
 * 6) Make fans want the villain(s) to redeem in the first place. Never redeem a villain whom people have always hated.

Examples of a well-written redemption

 * Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
 * Karai (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 and 2012))
 * Goro Akechi/Crow (Persona 5 and Persona 5: Royal)
 * Chidori Yoshino (Persona 3)
 * Jinx (Teen Titans (2003))
 * Ice King (Adventure Time)
 * Tetrax Shard (Ben 10)
 * The Highbreed (Ben 10: Alien Force)
 * Kevin Levin (Ben 10: Alien Force)
 * Pterano (The Land Before Time VII: Stone of Cold Fire)
 * Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (Star Wars) The most famous example of a well-written redemption.
 * Varian (Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (2017-2020)):
 * Yamcha (Dragon Ball)
 * Tien Shinhan (Dragon Ball)
 * Piccolo (Dragon Ball Z)
 * Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z)
 * Android 18 (Dragon Ball Z)
 * Android 17 (Dragon Ball Z)
 * Majin Buu (Dragon Ball Z)
 * Nuova Shenron (Dragon Ball GT)
 * Zabuza Momochi (Naruto)
 * Neji Hyuuga (Naruto)
 * Gaara (Naruto)
 * Obito Uchiha (Naruto)
 * Nagato Uzumaki/Pain (Naruto)
 * Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)
 * Meruem (Hunter x Hunter)
 * Jamack (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2020))
 * Sunset Shimmer (My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks): After being forgiven too fast in the first movie, the second one gave Sunset proper character development, making her redemption more realistic and complete.
 * Emerald Sustrai (RWBY (2013-present))
 * Illia Amitola (RWBY (2013-present))
 * Scorpia (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020))
 * Entrapta (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020))
 * Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020))
 * Felonious Gru (Despicable Me (2010))
 * Juvia Lockser (Fairy Tail (2009-2019))
 * The Newton Wolves (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2020))
 * John Silver (Treasure Planet)
 * Steve Harrington (Stranger Things (2016-present))
 * Globby (Big Hero 6: The Series (2017-2021))
 * Lena Sabrewing (Ducktales (2017-2021))
 * Tex Arkana Jr. (Buddy Thunderstruck (2017))
 * Sheriff Cannonball (Buddy Thunderstruck (2017))
 * Endeavor (My Hero Academia)
 * Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia)
 * Nina Einstein (Code Geass)
 * Severus Snape (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
 * Isabella (The Promised Neverland; Manga)
 * Kovu (The Lion King II: Simba's Pride)
 * Curtis Everett (Snowpiercer)
 * The Mad Scientific (Robot Chicken)
 * Byakuya Togami (Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (2010))
 * Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair)
 * Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu (Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair)
 * Kyosuke Munakata (Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School)
 * Juzo Sakakura (Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School)
 * Maki Harukawa (Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony)
 * Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist; Manga and Brotherhood)
 * Greed (Fullmetal Alchemist; Manga and Brotherhood)
 * Lust (Fullmetal Alchemist; 2003 anime)
 * Boromir (The Lord of the Rings)
 * Megamind (Megamind)
 * Peridot (Steven Universe)
 * Flandre Scarlet (Touhou Project)
 * Remilia Scarlet (Touhou Project)
 * Yuyuko Saigyouji (Touhou Project)
 * Suwako Moriya (Touhou Project)
 * Fujiwara no Mokou (Touhou Project)
 * Kaguya Houraisan (Touhou Project)
 * Byakuren Hijiri (Touhou Project)
 * Hiei (Yu Yu Hakusho)
 * Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
 * Starscream (  Transformers: Armada  )
 * Diamond Tiara (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
 * Silver Spoon (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
 * Ruby Tojo (Rosario + Vampire; Manga)
 * Dinobot (Beast Wars: Transformers)
 * Origami Tobiichi (Date A Live)
 * Kurumi Tokisaki (Date A Live)
 * Miku Izayoi (Date A Live)
 * Natsumi Kyouno (Date A Live)
 * Theon Greyjoy (Game of Thrones)
 * Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones)
 * Grace Monroe (Infinity Train)
 * Jae Galhwa (The Devil's Boy)
 * Eleanor Shellstrop (The Good Place (2016-2020))
 * Diego (Ice Age)
 * Ericka Van Helsing (Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vaccation)
 * Iago (Aladdin: The Return of Jafar)
 * King Harold (Shrek 2)
 * Beast (Beauty and the Beast (1991))
 * Kuzco (The Emperor's New Groove)
 * Vitani (The Lion King II: Simba's Pride)
 * Stitch (Lilo & Stitch (2002))
 * Captain Gantu (Leroy & Stitch)
 * Homura's Crimson Squad (Senran Kagura)
 * Dru Gru (Despicable Me 3)
 * Veronica Sawyer (Heathers)
 * Kyoko Sakura (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
 * Damon Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries)
 * Anastasia Tremaine (Cinderella III: A Twist in Time) After being forgiven too fast in the second movie, Dreams Come True, A Twist in Time gave Anastasia proper character development and made her redemption arc feel more realistic and complete.
 * Sadira (Aladdin (1994-1995 TV series))
 * Chuck (Larva Island)
 * Akito Sohma (Fruits Basket)
 * Shira (Ice Age: Continental Drift)
 * Ian Hawke (Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked)
 * Ronnie Slithers (Sanjay and Craig)
 * Ken Ichijouji (Digimon Adventure 02)
 * Mitsuo Yamaki (Digimon Tamers)
 * Impmon (Digimon Tamers)
 * SMG3 (SMG4): During the Genesis Arc, SMG3 became a temporary ally of SMG4, met SMG1 and SMG2 and they fight together against SMG0.
 * Reiner Braun (Attack on Titan)
 * Gabi Braun (Attack in Titan)
 * Annie Leonhart (Attack on Titan)
 * Zeke Yeager (Attack on Titan)
 * Kenny Ackerman (Attack on Titan)
 * Bertholdt Hoover (Attack on Titan)
 * Tanjiro Kamado (Demon Slayer): after being freed from Muzan's powers
 * Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
 * Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus (Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home)
 * Flint Marco/Sandman (Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man: No Way Home)
 * Max Dillon/Electro (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
 * Taiga Aisaka (Toradora!)
 * Nino Nakano (The Quintessential Quintuplets)
 * Vergil (Devil May Cry 5)
 * Ken Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul:re)
 * Kishou Arima (Tokyo Ghoul:re)
 * Shū Tsukiyama (Tokyo Ghoul:re)
 * Nishiki Nishio (Tokyo Ghoul)
 * Noriaki Kakyoin (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
 * Alma Madrigal (Encanto) Depending on your view
 * Nephrite (Sailor Moon (1992-1993):
 * The Ayakashi Sisters (Sailor Moon R (1993-1994)):
 * Saphir (Sailor Moon R (1993-1994)):
 * Prince Demande (Sailor Moon R (1993-1994)):
 * Professor Tomoe (Sailor Moon S (1994-1995)):
 * The Amazon Trio (Sailor Moon SuperS (1995-1996)):
 * The Amazoness Quartet (Sailor Moon SuperS (1995-1996)):
 * Queen Nehellenia (Sailor Moon Sailor Stars (1996-1997)):