PERSONALITY
A man of contrasting identities, Yuri possesses a strict sense of morality that manifests itself both in his role as a judge and as the vigilante NEXT known as Lunatic. In order for peace to be more than a mere ideal, he believes that criminals who have committed the act of murder must die to repent for their sins.
A well-known public figure in the city of Sternbild, Yuri goes to painstaking lengths to cover up anything that might lead to people questioning him about his personal life and his past. Rather than allowing his mentally ill mother to be seen to by proper medical staff, he takes care of her in his own home. The palm-print scar he bears upon half of his face (the mark of his father's burning hand) is also something Yuri hides from those who know him, for it could easily be connected to the death of his father and Yuri's alter-ego, Lunatic. To the untrained eye, Yuri might seem self-assured in his ways, but nothing could be so far from the truth. Although he believes it is his place to punish the wicked, he has grown up questioning whether having defended his mother by killing his father was really the right thing to do. The bottom line is, Yuri knows that he is also a sinner, that he committed an act of unquestionable wickedness, and that he has gone for many years, and continues to go, unpunished for that deed.
Yuri is an isolated man who does not keep any friends. He seldom seems to associate with his peers beyond the demands of work, and is more often seen alone than not. This is likely due to his inability to welcome people into his life lest they uncover his past, but also because it is easier to pass an unbiased sentence upon them if he feels nothing for them. With regards to his mother, Yuri's feelings are complicated. She is his responsibility as someone whom he loves and as someone he has damaged, but she is also a shell and someone he deeply pities and grows weary of. His mother's refusal to accept reality appears to be quite a strain on Yuri, as do her frequent outbursts at any sign of disapproval from him. As for the Heroes, his opinion of them is incredibly low, although he would never openly admit it; it is their "weak and frail" sense of justice that first awoke Lunatic.
In the eyes of others, Yuri is seen many ways: The Heroes see Yuri as a helpful man, a respectable figure with whom they have occasional dealings, particularly when damage fines need to be issued or little odds-and-ends need to be taken care of; he appears to get along well with those he associates with at the office, although he is quite the clear-headed and goal-oriented stoic when in the presence of the rest of the city's council; and his own mother teeters between babbling sweetly at him and calling him a demon. As Lunatic, Yuri is hated by the Heroes (and also considered an idiot by some), anticipated by Agnes (who directs Hero TV and loves the ratings his presence brings), and is both applauded by and feared by the citizens themselves.
He appears to like simple things like fashion, honey in his tea, and reading. His dislikes include injustice, his scar, Kotetsu's beard (which is said to make his scar ache due to its resemblance to his father's), and the Heroes themselves, all of whom he considers idiots.
Yuri's greatest strength — his mind — is also his greatest weakness. He is capable of thinking himself out of the most complicated of situations; of upholding, without fail, two separate identities; of knowing, understanding and practicing the laws of the city and attending the various needs of the Heroes; and looking after his mentally ill mother, who most likely suffers from Stockholm Syndrome. On the flip-side, Yuri is far from stable, himself. He suffers from the occasional hallucination of his deceased Hero father, Mr. Legend, and questions himself as a person who has sinned and has not been judged.
A multifaceted man, Yuri is confident, but unbalanced; kind, but unforgiving; and honest, but two-faced. For every layer there is to the man, another exists beneath. He thinks before he speaks, is every bit a workaholic, will lend a hand when one is needed...but as Lunatic? Will speak on the fly, openly mock and bait his targets, will disappear into a burst of flame, and cannot at all be trusted. Where one man is rigid, the other dances with justice like a passionate flame. In the end, however...both answer only to the Voice of Thanatos.
BACKGROUND
Yuri's upbringing was not an unpleasant one until his father's NEXT super powers began to fade. At that time, Yuri's father, the renowned Mr. Legend, transformed from doting husband and dad of the year into an alcoholic and angry man who abused his wife and lost control of his temper with his own son. Having grown up with his father instilling the belief that he should "never turn a blind eye to evil," Yuri took justice into his own hands as a young teen. On a day when he was witness to a particularly brutal beating of his mother by his father, Yuri intervened. However, in protecting his mother, his father struck him and Yuri's own NEXT abilities manifested. With so little control of his fiery power and so much anger welling up inside, Yuri wound up burning his father to death in order to save his mother. It was a day that changed everything for him, including the way his mother looked at him and even the way he looked at the rest of the world.
Several years passed. As an adult, the idea of justice possessed Yuri to an extreme. He became something of a constant in the lives of the Heroes of Sternbild, taking on both the role of judge and curator, seeing to the distribution of city damage fines as well as any facility repairs the Heroes required to help them train. The Heroes looked up to him as a figure of wisdom and morality, but to Yuri, the Heroes' sense of justice was weak and frail, their existence more humorous than helpful. Lunatic was born of this mindset, and once more Yuri took the deliverance of justice into his own hands. He became more than a simple figure in the background; he became one of the primary antagonists of the entire series, perpetuating capital punishment.
Yuri is not truly a villain in every sense of the word, of course. He struggles with his own demons every day and has yet to overcome them. More importantly, he does not harm the innocent unless they make themselves into an accessory of the crime in question. He is even willing to help the Heroes on occasion, but the extent of that good nature is limited and, as of his current canon point, hasn't been fully explored.
Yuri's overall role in Tiger & Bunny is quite simple; he exists to demonstrate the consequence of action (or inaction) and to demonstrate the other side of justice, the side that is either seen as necessary or inhumane, and never anything in between. He challenges the "good" perspective people have right and wrong, and by doing so, forces the viewers and the Heroes to consider the repercussions of his own code of justice and how it impacts everyone. Yuri embodies the saying "Justice is a double-edged sword" by proving time-and-time again that for every good deed done, however well-intentioned, someone else will be inconvenienced or harmed. (See: The time when Lunatic burned a criminal to death, preventing Barnaby from extracting answers from the individual regarding the nature of his parents' deaths. While the prevention wasn't Lunatic's intention, it was nevertheless a side-effect of his idea of justice.)
POWERS
Yuri possesses the NEXT ability to generate and manipulate blue-green flames which are proven to burn even hotter than Fire Emblem's and can easily burn through thick prison walls. His control over this ability is such that he can form arrows of fire which he uses in correspondence with his crossbow for launching long-range attacks; he can propel himself through the air as a means of flying; and he can set ablaze certain objects (like his cloak, walls, or other objects of his choosing) and not have the fire burn indiscriminately and without end. It would appear as though his flames are connected to his emotional state, as when he is angry or at his lowest points, the blue-green flames appear to burn around the edges of his eyes. There is also speculation as to whether he can turn himself into flames or not, as he is certainly capable of disappearing into a burst of fire mid-fall, as seen towards the beginning of episode 16.
SKILLS
Possessing a number of skills, Yuri is quite the well-rounded man. He demonstrates an admirable level of expertise with makeup artistry, enough that he is able to completely hide the burn scar that covers half of his face. His job as judge, curator, and head of the Department of Justice of Sternbild also requires him to be a supremely organized individual, a thorough researcher, and a strong mathematician; he is constantly on the watch for targets, navigating databases and judicial responsibilities, looking after his ill mother, running behind-the-scenes errands, and calculating the damage fines that the Heroes need to pay. It is suspected that he also designed and fashioned his own Hero costume.
KING OF WORKS BIOGRAPHY
Name: Yuri Petrov
Company: Sternbild Bureau of Justice
Height: 188cm (6'2)
Living location: Undisclosed
Strong point: Cool, calm, and collected
Weak points: Lacking in the spirit of cooperation, out of touch with fashion, bad at singing
Favorite food: Sugar
Least favorite food: Mushrooms
Good at: Human analysis, jigsaw puzzles
Dislikes (weaknesses): Idle chat and small talk
Hobbies (how they spend holidays): Music appreciation, conversing with houseplant, jigsaw puzzles, care-giving
Motto: In this world, there is no animal so heinous as a human. Even wolves aren't cannibals, yet humans swallow each other alive.
Future goals: To eradicate evil, complete a 5000 piece puzzle
CHARACTER SONG: THANATOS NO KOE WO KIKE / HEAR THE VOICE OF THANATOS
Quelling the evil hearted who run rampant with [my] blue [-green] flames,
Unseemly evil will [receive] retribution from the moon.
That guide will lead all sinners to justice,
And bring Themis' scales back into balance.
Latching onto righteousness in the fissured darkness, day after day,
Why is it that there is no hesitancy [within me]?
In order to ridicule my own deep sin,
My unfading scar aches.
The whispering of "Who [really] is the most damnable one?"
Still does not reach me.
Coffins are not needed, for everything shall be turned to ash,
As I bestow upon [them their] just ends.
Atonement is the only road left [for them].
I won't allow for a single one to escape.
Embracing my unhealed scars,
Without faltering, I inflict the punishment of an untimely death.
Wickedness, of course, leads to nothing but ruin...
[Something] I must consider closely reconsider [for myself].
Even [with them] burning in the fires of Hell,
My buried memories still cling on [to me].
But once I have burned all of my hated [memories]...
In order to ridicule my own deep sin,
My unfading scar aches.
There is still the far off whispering of
"Who [really] is the most damnable one?"
Embracing my unhealed scars,
Without faltering, I inflict the punishment of an untimely death.
This is the form of my justice.
So now, hear the voice of Thanatos!
( lyric translation and analysis source )
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