Spoiler Is Ghirahim Actually Bad?

[Cabbage]

So, I looked up what his name means- and this is what I came up with.
Ghira (as defined on Google) relates to someone of having self respect, honour, social status, purity and decency.

Rahim is a masculine Arabic name meaning "kind" or "compassionate."
Ghira + Rahim = Ghirahim

So I'm thinking that he might not even turn out to be a villian in the end. Maybe one of those people where at first you think they're all bad***, but then they're actually a good guy. (For all we know, he could be trying to help Zelda somehow.) Or maybe he turns good. Or maybe his name has absolutely nothing to do with this at all. What do you all think?

 

[JuicieJ]

Maybe it's for irony, or something. Then again, maybe that was unintentional. But notice how "rahim" has the last two letters of "ghira". I don't think they'd be combining the two words right there. Just my opinion. He's a villain, though. I mean, "cross me again and you're dead". And he's using dark magic.

 

[Fullmetal]

I'm not sure that we have enough input yet to determine if Ghirahim is actually good. All we really know about him is from the the one boss battle with him. It's too soon to say.

 

[Hero_in_Green]

I think he'll remain as one of our main "Villains" in the game. I think Nintendo stated that Ghirahim is a conceptual opposite of Ganondorf so what he lusts for is not brute power but something more. I think they'll develop Ghirahim's character a lot over the course of the game and although I firmly believe he is an enemy, there may be a small chance where he redeems himself for his crimes, maybe becoming the first of the Sheikah? This archetype isn't uncommon in the many stories throughout the world where certain characters start off as being the "enemy" but realize what they're doing is wrong and come over to the side of good.

For example think of say....Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars. Okay at first he was the protagonist of the series, stated to be the "chosen one". However, things go terribly wrong and he transforms into a Sith and wipes out the Jedi. He later redeems himself when he kills the emperor to save his son and realizes that what he firmly "believed" during his years as a Sith was wrong. He fulfills the prophecy but dies in the process.

We can also think of Big Boss from the Metal Gear Solid series, who shares almost the same fate as Anakin Skywalker. He starts off as a solider who believes in his country but that same country betrays him and his motherly mentor "The Boss". With the death of his mentor by his own hands, Big Boss fights against those who betrayed him becoming an antagonist in teh future to his own son, Solid Snake. It's not until he is "revived" that he realized the bad he had caused the world.

This archetype can be used by Nintendo for Ghirahim and I dont think that there isn't a possibility of that not happening.

 

[Caelus]

Rahim also means "merciful" and "proud", I would know, I'm Arabic. Ghirahim shows both of these traits, so it may not be irony or a contradiction at all.

 

[Ventus]

Ghira (غيرة ) is your honor, self respect, ferocity. For example, 'you would be offending my Ghira were you to enter my house alone with my wife' (not in real life, I'm only 15!). So, judging from the E3 demo where Ghirahim was talking about killing Link if he got in his way again, that would be like Link is fighting Ghirahim's honor. Ghirahim's retaliation in a way isn't evil, but his intentions definitely are. I think he's a bad character simply for wanting (or maybe even needing) to capture Zelda. We'll find out when the game releases I guess.

Then again, I don't think that SS is based off of Arab culture so much as it is Greek, and for all I know Ghirahim doesn't really mean anything in Greek language.

 

[Caelus]

Then again, I don't think that SS is based off of Arab culture so much as it is Greek, and for all I know Ghirahim doesn't really mean anything in Greek language.

The aesthetics of Skyward Sword are based on ancient China, Greece, Rome, Arabic culture etc. Zelda also has a lot of Arabic influence in general.

 

[Cuju]

Ok, he threatens to kill Link the next time he sees him, and he nearly kills him with a tornado. He wants to kidnapp a little girl! How is he not bad?!?

 

[Ventus]

I didn't see much Arabic influence in any recent Zelda games, for example the architecture of TP reminds me much of Roman architect. I could be wrong in saying that but that's what I honestly believe. The boats in TWW, PT, and kind ST just remind me of corsairs, and I think corsairs (pirate mercenaries?) gained their infamy for work around China though I could still be wrong there.

 

[JuicieJ]

Rahim also means "merciful" and "proud", I would know, I'm Arabic. Ghirahim shows both of these traits, so it may not be irony or a contradiction at all.

Ghira (غيرة ) is your honor, self respect, ferocity.

These two together could be to represent that he's highly proud of himself. I mean, he says "I prefer to be called by my full title, Lord Ghirahim", and the way he carries himself is insanely arrogent. Makes sense to me.

 

[Big Octo]

Why use the the context of his name to figure out his allegiance? To me, that seems like a strange standpoint, as Ghirahim's name isn't intended to be a pun, so to speak. As stated before, the name of a character doesn't usually describe who he/she is in the Zelda series. For example, Ganondorf doesn't seem to mean anything, so why judge our new villain by his name?

 

[Ventus]

Rahim means mercy, not pride. Ghirahim was giving that pseudo mercy with the "I won't kill you, I'll beat you within an inch of your life!" remark, so Nintendo could intentionally be using both names to define this guy. No matter what they're trying to do though, it's clear that Ghirahim is both crazy and evil. xD

Big Octo, it's to find any 'hidden' meanings behind the character. More than one way to skin a cat, and in this case we could either play the game and see what Ghirahim does ingame, or we could do some basic research and see what underlies.

 

[Big Octo]

Yes, but when have we used a name to figure a character previously? I don't believe we have, so it still seems like a strange standpoint.

 

[Ventus]

Yup. Link. That's pretty self explanatory!

 

[UraZelda]

he evil because he keeps trying to kill link