When Kazuya Mishima turned to villainy in the Tekken franchise, the game needed another protagonist. Thankfully, Jin Kazama was able to answer the call. Jin was the son of Kazuya and also carried the curse of the Devil Gene. Though well-intentioned, Jin's actions would earn him a large list of enemies that included his good-natured half-uncle Lars Alexandersson. Though Lars is a hero in his own right, the two protagonists are more similar than they realize.
Lars was introduced in Tekken 6 as Heihachi Mishima's illegitimate son. From his introduction, it's clear that he was nothing like his bloodline when he started a rebellion against the Mishima Zaibatsu. The leading cause of the rebellion was Lars' realization that its goals were no longer aligned with what he thought was right. Around this same time, Jin had enacted his own plan to end his devil curse, sparing the world of his destructive power in the process.
Unlike Lars, Jin isn't a traditional hero but more of a chaotic neutral who wants to free himself of his curse and the baggage that comes with it. To do so, Jin had to make the hard choice to start a world war that would take thousands of lives. The negative energies created from war would awaken the demon Azazel and, by defeating it, free him of the Devil Gene.
Lars' plan to create peace by stopping his nephew and Jin's plan to kill thousands to save the world perfectly represented how these two, while vastly different in their execution, wanted to achieve the same goal. Lars and Jin felt nothing but animosity towards their bloodline in Tekken 6. However, Kazuya Mishima would eventually force the two protagonists to put aside their differences.
Lars took trust very seriously, and he felt that agreeing to work with his half-brother Lee Chaolan in Tekken 7 was a risk. However, he agreed and went to rescue Jin as he played a major role in Lee's plan. By the end of the game, the trio was preparing to take on Kazuya, who had revealed his devil form to the world. Lars was able to put his distrust and animosity towards Jin to the side, and Jin was able to own up to his mistakes and knew that he had to put an end to his father's madness. While they were at odds before, the two heroes finally saw eye to eye.
Through his time in Tekken, Jin Kazama demonstrated that he wanted nothing more than to be a good person and protect the people he cared about. While his methods are questionable and often dangerous, he always falls back to being someone who only wants to stop evil and live a normal life. Lars welcomed the role of hero and would sacrifice himself at any moment to protect an innocent. While their motives are vastly different on the surface, their mutual understanding to keep the world safe has put Jin Kazama and Lars Alexandersson on two sides of the same coin.
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