You know, this reminds me of Help Wanted, where Glitchtrap dances around in front of the stuffed Animatronics after forcing them to "Sing and Dance". It is so... Look at me, see how I screwed everything up.
18:24 gave me the mental imagine of William saying "I know what's Henry trying to pull, but he's too much of a *bitch* to do it" followed by a jumpcut to William screaming on the fire
Afton's taste for "narrative symmetry" is almost directly confirmed in the FNAF movie when he tells Mike "This is perfect. First I killed your brother... now I kill you, symmetry, my friend!"
I always imagined that William loved his children, but only when they are extensions to him and fuel his ego. As soon as they become opposition, he completely flips to having it out for them and actively trying to kill them. (i.e. Michael and movie Vanessa) I feel that also goes for any character William could've loved, including the missing children.
Also I fully agree that William's confidence is just a front he uses to appear more clever and intimidating. Control is something insanely important to him, and being the "most capable" person in a room is one way to gain that
not diagnosing him, just that he shares a lot of symptoms of NPD. including what you said, the kids being an extension of him. only fuelling his ego in whatever way he wants.
I wanna point out that, with the establishment made with the "Bittersweet, but fitting," that Afton isn't quite fond of killing Michael, the line "That was easier than I thought it would be." also gives me the vibe of a double meaning. Like yes, it was easier as in it wasn't much of a challenge to do, but also it was easier in that... it was far easier for him to decide to and go through with killing his own *son* than he thought it would be.
I am fascinated by just how many different angles people are able to approach these lines with. But wow, this one is so good, I love double meanings omg. Afton only realising just how corrupt he's become once he's killed the last of his kin??? YES!!! IT'S BRILLIANT!!!
I agree that In a Way. William never really stopped seeing his Own Kids as well His Children. He Probably Hates Michael non existing guts,Its hard to Tell what he thinks of Elizabeth but There was probably Some affection there and His Interaction With CC in Fnaf4 was rather Neglectful, And He is Straight up Abusive towards the MCI in their Animatronic Shells in the Movie and Vanessa. But he never seems to Disregard them as Just his Tools(well,except in the novels but still) But I think that It’s rather Ironic and Fitting that The Man that destroyed so many childhoods and Families in Universe was a Father himself.
I think he was also expecting Michael to be stronger, as he himself raised the kid. Will was also probably the type to perceive his actions as "Tough love," and rant about how Mike's suffering would "build character" instead of just traumatize him.
"For someone who hates being lied to, Afton sure does struggle being honest himself" You've done it, you've sold me on William Afton as a character. I never had many thoughts on him before, more of a terrible cruel monster killing kids and a looming force, an infection spread through all of the games, not really a character in his own right. This video has made me realize and think about him like this a lot more, this hypocritical, egotistical, manipulative man, full of over confidence and ill will. (Pun not intended) William has a surprising depth of character, the way he treats the kids should and animatronixs in such a dehumanized way says so much about him. He's a robotic genius, and he fancies himself a scientist as well. God, he's such a pathetic lover lying hypocrite it's great. He presents himself as this great powerful force, so smart and unbeatable, but he's not. He's a shambling husk, pee paw afton barely able to function, he's an idiot who has trapped himself or let himself get trapped with full confidence he will be fine until the spring locks trigger or the fire starts. Basicallwhay im saying is that this video makes me want to study his brain under a microscope
Something small you seem to have missed is how William's "you may not recognise me at first" line is also stolen from Mike, where he says "at first they didn't recognise me, but then they thought I was you" (might not be 1-to-1 what he said). This is basically just further hammering home that William was telling Mike who he is and also maybe taunting him, so it's not super significant, but it's a neat little consistency of his line stealing habbit. Also: "We're going to come find you"- William, Special Delivery "I'm going to come find you"- Mike
God, I even made that comparison in a previous video, I can't believe I didn't mention it here! Thank you for pointing that out, I absolutely agree with your assessment as well. It's like William is putting a code into his words that only Michael will pick up on.
William really do be like, "Your words? ...MY words." Michael can't even make a cry for help and/or quiet condemnation without William taking it as bluffing fodder, SMH.
William's voice lines is the reason why I will never agree with a theory that paints William as a man who was pushed to the edge. He was always a sociopathic narcissist, that's probably why two of his kids got done in by his creations. He was probably the one pushing for the springlocks to be a feature, because no sane person would keep something that dangerous around. And his arrogance probably also killed Elizabeth, since he didn't think it was possible for her to disobey and go to Circus Baby anyway, so he didn't put any safety precautions to prevent his daughter from getting murdered
Honestly i think that he made the springlocks because he was so egotistical and liked attention that he made the springlocks so delicate and complex so that either he or someone under his supervision could use his suits (again goes to show how he likes control and power over others).
Conflating two real disorders (narcissistic personality disorder and sociopathy, which is a subtype of Antisocial personality disorder) with an evil person is harmful and ableist. You can’t just slap mental health labels on a character, armchair diagnosing them, without considering the real world consequences of what you are doing, which is stigmatising an entire group of people as evil for existing. People with ASPD and NPD aren’t inherently abusive, they are personality disorders that are disabling and often come from trauma.
@@promeneuzivotu117 kinda reminds me of the comment someone left on some video about how scientists make complex ideas as complex as possible as an ego thing or whatever "Smart people can make complex things simplified for others, while people who pretend to be smart make them as complex as possible" (incredibly paraphrased quote from memory, dont crucify me lol)
@@n_art_cissistYeah idk about that, most of the narcissistic people you encounter in life are surely going to screw you up in one way or another, plus, it really isn’t that much of an association but rather a fact: William Afton has been proven many times to share the exact same logical thinking that of a narcissist, especially with the fact that he essentially fucked everything up by himself for himself. If you get what I’m trying to say…
I think the thing about William kind of hesitating after finally going hands on against his children, killing Michael in FNAF6, can be seen in the movie too, with how William stumbles back after thinking he did a "killing blow" to Vanessa not because it hurts him but because there was nothing fullfilled or "poetic" after killing her like compared to how he had done with the animatronics I think that's soooo cool to spot across continuities if that's the case, just "that was easier than I thought it would be..." playing in his head after shanking her
Id say your point about afton appreciating narrative symmetry is almost explicitly stated considering he literally has a whole speech about it in the movie "SYMMETRY, MY FRIEND!"
The laughter during "it's still me" could also be because of how proud he is of what he's become. Not only did his creations trap the children's souls, the Springtrap suit effectively made him immortal. If we believe MatPat's theory of that suit being Afton's personal favourite then it makes it even more possible that he's genuinely proud of changing like this
I think that "Fascinating, wha the have become" is specifically refers to Molten Freddy. He knows Elizabeth is Baby. He knows Chrlie in the Puppet. He knows the MCI kids are in the Funtimes (if you believe MoltenMXI ofc). What he doesn't know is that the Funtimes have used his own discovery, the scooper, to become something they weren't and escaoed th prison he put them into. Also please continue doing this shit it's addicting i love this
I always saw Afton saying “I knew it was a lie the moment I heard it” and “how can I resist a promise such as this?” as him knowing that he was going to die and he wants to die. If I’m being honest, I think Afton is in excruciating pain and is trying to act like he isn’t. He has “died” twice, his body has been impaled, burned, torn apart. In my eyes, I think he wants the easy way out of the pain. Tying into the idea that he thinks he’ll be fine, maybe he believes he’ll come back stronger and in less pain than before.
You gotta be, like, my favorite person making FNAF videos right now. Everyone else is trying to pinpoint the lore and exactly what’s going on, but I personally see solving the plot as only the first step. The way you assemble what we know for sure about this story and use it to put the characters under a microscope? EXACTLY how I like tackling FNAF, absolutely brilliant!
@@protol5683 I’ve loved fnaf from the beginning, and the first couple years had incredibly interesting and immersive lore and community content, but right now it feels like it’s at a standstill and no one seems to bring anything new or interesting to the table. So stuff like this is just what I need to fuel my obsession with
@@CallofFreaky I feel just the same, stuff like Glitchtrap and The Mimic don't feel much like developments in a story as much as they are new bullet points to jot down on the latest iteration of the FNAF timeline. Cassie and Gregory's friendship seems like it COULD be an exception, like I can imagine there'd be a lot of intrigue in exactly what their friendship is like and how the experiences they go through will effect it. But we're being starved for information on exactly how these two usually interact so they can break the story up and sell it across 2 more sequels and 10 more books.
HARD AGREE. discovered the channel yesterday and i’ve been binging ever since. i love to hear “waffling” from someone who very obviously loves and cares about the series. really only watch NotRealName NotAtAll for theories and lore discussions. they do a similar thing of walking us through their thought process if you want to go check out those videos :)
The "Bittersweet, but fitting..." line is honestly one of my favorites, because it definitely adds a further layer of nuance to William I feel. Most lines are bloodthirsty or savage, but that is the rare time he expresses some level of brooding or remorse. Which I feel is an aspect of William most neglect to acknowledge or even entertain the thought of existing.
The line “That was easier than I thought it would be…” makes me think that he thought it would be harder because he figured out that Micheal is reanimated like him. As he is a scientist he likely had a theory about if someone became like Micheal did, reanimated but tied to only their body, as he is tied to the suit and his own flesh and others are tied only to the metal. The fact it is easy to kill you as easy it is to kill a normal person is possibly a dent his ego of thinking he is invincible as he possibly thought about his own flesh being a weakness and his possible theory about what a person’s remnant being tied only to their body would be like.
I like the picture that this paint William as, I know you wrote that this isn't Willcare propaganda, but I would call this something like... Willtwistedcare? The idea that William might have actually gave a shit about his children, but his way of caring was incredibly twisted and fucked up to where he both sees trying to kill his son as father-son bonding but also is sad over his death at least a bit. Would work with a lot of CC dying first theories. EDIT: Maybe he's even a bit PROUD of Michael for standing against him.
I absolutely agree with this, especially if you consider (the questionably canon??) Dittophobia story, wherein he really really has a fucked up view of what "taking care of someone" and "not being alone" is by how he talks to Rory. I think he genuinely believes in what he's saying in that speech, because it tracks with CC and FNAF4: he watches CC all the time through Fredbear and talks to him and so on but he apparently never steps in to help with Michael's bullying or the scary situations CC finds himself in, thinking that "being monitored 24/7" somehow equates to "being taken care of" i.e. proper parenting which its N O T at all William and parenting is a subject for another 50 minute video TBH
@@EpicFroggz NotRealName NotAtAll has an interesting video on how Afton's less than stellar parenting had disastrous consequences on his kids titled "How William Ruined his Kids' Lives (His Favorite Toys)"
I've been a believer that William did have *some* care for his kids but he went about it in some of the worst possible ways. He gave C.C. a Fredbear Plush that he used to give advice and encouragement to navigate Michael's pranks and tried to keep Elizabeth away from Circus Baby knowing what the robot was created for. Signs that he did have some measure of love for (at least 2 of) his kids. But, there's an element of neglect in his parenting. He doesn't seem to try to directly stop Michael from messing with C.C. in any capacity and all it took was for Elizabeth to get a few seconds alone with Circus Baby for her fate to be sealed (instead of just.....not bringing Elizabeth to CBPW or even having the built the darn thing in the first place). WillTwistedCare is definitely a new favorite name for this theory now. Much appreciated 👍
@@Takejiro24 the problem I have with this video is that I disagree with the idea of William always being completely fucked up from the very start. He was twisted and a narcissist from the start yes, but not "murder children" insane from the start. I like the idea that although a shitty person, he only really. became TRULY evil after his son's death.
AR isn't the only time he quoted Michael's monologue. In Fnaf 6, his line "You may not recognize me at first, but I assure you, it's still me." is reminiscent of Michael's line "They didn't recognize me at first, but then they thought I was you."
Yapping abt William Afton’s character is so interesting. His character in general is very interesting, I like to think about how his personality, and mindset is. He’s a rlly clever character, way ahead of his time honestly. William has been my hyper fixation for years now and i genuinely love talking about his character
PJ's performance has always been my favourite casting for the series of FNAF, I think. Ever since Sister Location first released where we got our first main line FNAF game fully voiced... ah- save Funtime Foxy I guess lol. But ever since then, he's been my favourite voice actor for this series, giving alot of life to William, aswell as Michael. Could it easily be bias because he's Australian and I never really hear any Aussies voice characters in games I like? Perhaps JKHJGHGFHSD But his delivery and performance is very damn inspiring. Gods, I do wish if William appears again, they cast PJ yet again. Especially if Steelwool creates the game they wanna make that's set at the beginning. Surely, they'd let the man who gave character to William, voice him again in his beginnings? Whatever happens, I hope to hear him again in the future.
Somehow I never read much into the “bittersweet” line, but I think you and ponds-of-ink are right. The delivery sounds heavier at the end, like he would rather it hadn’t come to this. Honestly your analyzation and storytelling during this part gave me chills
It’s amazing how well this analysis aligns with Afton’s depictions across the fnaf books. As deranged as those things get, he remains relatively consistent throughout to the point where people were able to identify him in Dittophobia based on how he spoke alone. It may not interest you but I’d kill for someone to do an extended analysis of him in them.
“That was _easier_ than I thought it would be…” tells me that he is disappointed, perhaps, in Michael’s abilities. Michael defeated him once before, nearly burned him to death, and now that Michael and William are coming back to blows William wins? And so easily too? It’s almost as if he expected more from Michael. Not in a taunting “is that really all you have?” but more of a disappointed “I expected more out of you.” It gives me scolding father vibes, a sort of OmniMan beating the hell out of Invincible moment. Maybe in a way William was hoping Michael would be better, a normal father wishes for his son to surpass him, or (more likely) maybe Will was hoping Mike would have made for a better hunt. I believe that William, despite the fact he enjoyed and found satisfaction in killing Michael (twas “bittersweet, but fitting”), was maybe hoping his son would be better. Despite how sociopathic William is (note that I said sociopathy, not psychopathy), deep down William wanted more from his son. Be it for his own sadistic habits or for his paternal desires, he had hoped his son would have put up a better fight. I want to make it clear that I also 100% with Bonk Boy’s takes on the voice lines. Also, I hope that I don’t have to say that I do not empathize with William. I pity him, so I guess I have a bit of sympathy, but it is of disdain. No WillCare from me. I simply just love to find alternate or parallel/coinciding meanings to things. Language is a very powerful tool, and the more meaning you can put behind a phrase the more power and characterization you can put within the phrase… Yes, my English teachers do love me
Saying it was easier than he thought can also just be him taunting Michael, basically implying Michael is weak when he was all "im going to come find you."
"You may not recognize me at first, but I assure you, it's still me" said with stifled laughter is William throwing Mike's own words back at him; "They didn't recognize me at first, but then, they thought I was you". To me it reads as making a mockery of Mike's promise of "I'm going to come find you", like "yeah you found me, and you're powerless".
That and that Mike was likely the one who set fire to Fazbear's Frights in FNAF 3 which could have killed William. This one line pretty much confirms to me that, yes, we play as Michael in FFPS and it tells so much about their characters.
@@Takejiro24 i know what you mean but rather than just establishing a relationship with both characters, it is hard to deny what their actions have in common with one another.
" You may not recognize me at first, but I assure you: it's still me" I feel is a double meta reference. The first part referencing Michael Afton at the end of Sister Location ("They didn't recognize me at first, but then they thought I was you"), and "it's still me" a reference to the Golden Freddy "It's me".
Me personally, I've always been really intrigued by his various designs. Mostly about the 'corpse' stuffed away inside the suit. More importantly how it doesn't actually look like a real human corpse at all. I know you've just talked about his voice for over half an hour, but I also think certain parts of his visual design add a lot to his character in displaying WHAT he is. That being a MONSTER with a HUMAN mind. Now, look, Scott himself has admitted that he struggles to model humans, let alone corpses which could explain the weird remains within Springtrap. But I personally believe that works in his favour rather than against it AND the other option is a lot less fun compared to what I believe. Starting off from no particular point, I like how his head is really the only recognisable part of his former human body. The way his flesh is there in clumps and strands. My personal headcanon is that the agony/remnant within the suit and within him has made it so that his organic parts adapt to the suit and make the suit its new body and furthermore GROW into it. Have you ever looked at the insides of Springtrap before? The way the flesh coils around the mechanical parts and clings onto it? It's kind of like vines that grow around things like fences or trees and how they coil around things and adapt to their environment. It gives the impression that the human body is gone and the actual organic LIVING part of Afton is using the suit as its new body. Its new "HOST." This can most prominently be seen in the 'ankle guts' where it coils around the ankle joints and even grows along the foot like toe tendons, allowing his living self to manipulate the suit movement. This idea is kept in Pizzeria Simulator. Now, look, I don't think Scraptrap has the BEST design in all of FNAF history. Not even close. But I do think that it stays consistent on how his remains work. They have grown even more, the flesh is much more prominent and even grows in thicker clumps. The whole theory that Afton's organic parts 'adapt' to their new conditions could explain why the skull looks so different. As goofy and Jimmy Neutron as it looks, it clearly shows EVOLUTION. His skull has stretched and bloated to fit the suit better and we can see this begin to take place in the FNAF 3 Afton skull where the mechanical parts are notably stretching out parts of the face. He has grown lips and teeth and even BONE EARS. Like I said before, my headcanon for why this can happen is simple: the agony/remnant allows for this to happen. We see Michael come back to life after having all of his insides and presumably his skeleton scooped out thanks to the scooper's remnant injection, so why is it too far fetched to say that remnant can create LITERAL new life by growing parts back? Afton DIED, but his body isn't really DEAD. It CAN'T die by normal means, just like the animatronics. In the Fazbear Frights book story "The Man in Room 1280", he is literally a corpse that WON'T DIE. This could explain how he can speak in FNAF 6, but not FNAF 3. In FNAF 3, all we can really hear are faint groans of pain, but no audible speech. But in FNAF 6, he has fully regained the ability to speak, but evidently his voice isn't quite right either as heard in his gravelly and very strained sounding voice, like it rips at his vocal chords to make a sound. But still, it shows that the suit is becoming more and more his REAL body. Like he is becoming one with the suit. This corpse design is even consistent in Burntrap. The skull is misshapen and deformed thanks to the suit, he now has all of his teeth and we can see the flesh literally in the middle of GROWING in the new endoskeleton, presumably originating from the head. It stretches down and grabs onto other parts of the suit. Like growing vines. All this to say, Afton's corpse design is kind of brilliant by accident. At least according to me. It shows how much less of a man he is and how much more of a monster he is, no longer really even having a human body. His design in each game gets progressively less and less like a human body. The original Springtrap had more human proportions, but by Security Breach, he's so much taller, thinner and NOT HUMAN. He still has the human mind, but he is far from being a real human and much more closely resembles a MONSTER. A force of nature. A beast in need of slaying (over and over again). His voice is important, but SEEING the monster is just as important as hearing it. Anyway, thanks for reading all this. I'm surprised anyone did, but then again... this is about over-analysing stuff, right? :D "He's more machine now than man. Twisted and evil." - Obi-Wan Kenobi, 1983
What I love about this video is how everyone knew this about William. Anyone who heard this little thing would just assume that’s his personality, but they wouldn’t know WHY they think he’s a smug lying piece of shit, they could just “tell”. Thanks for this video, which breaks down how the game communicates with the player that William is a piece of shit through just his voice.
37:03 I think it actually makes sense for AR Spring Trap to be more furious, he’s the version of himself when he first became Spring Trap, he’s still bitter about being cornered and forced into a situation he didn’t want, and he may be more himself in the suit, but I doubt he appreciates the agonizing death he went through. He’s basically high off rage in the beginning, and as time goes by he settles himself back into a more controlled personality.
“Bittersweet, but fitting…” tells me one thing in particular: William knows he just killed his son, and although he does feel a bit of remorse he also feels pleasure from it. Willy A. just realized that a part of him, somewhere deep down, still held _some_ form of affection for Michael yet he also feels satisfied. The “but fitting…” section of his line explains the ‘sweet’ in the bittersweet emotions: Willy got revenge after Michael tried to burn him within Fazbear Frights, as well as him still holding resentment after Michael accidentally killed William’s other son, Garret/Evan/Chris (the name depending on the continuity). William got his revenge, and feels that it is both fitting and deserving for Michael. On top of that, there is the poeticism that Bonk Boy talks about. William Afton appreciates being poetic, and so although he feels bittersweet about murdering his son he also finds it satisfyingly poetic that he has now (directly/indirectly) killed all of his children In short, William Afton’s “Bittersweet, but fitting…” line tells us that he still holds a form of affection for Michael (whatever form it is) but overall found pleasure in revenge and satisfaction because of what Michael did to the Bite of ‘83 victim. I want to make it clear that I also 100% with Bonk Boy’s takes on the voice lines. Also, I hope that I don’t have to say that I do not empathize with William. I pity him, so I guess I have a bit of sympathy, but it is of disdain. No WillCare here. I simply just love to find alternate or parallel/coinciding meanings to things. Language is a very powerful tool, and the more meaning you can put behind a phrase the more power and characterization you can put within the phrase… Yes, my English teachers do love me
I just love how many a few of these reads i recognize from the movie. The "bitter sweet , but fitting" applies perfectly to afton stabbing vanessa and i think i did the pointing di caprio meme when you said narrative "symmetry"
recently stumbled on “overthinking Michael Afton’s monologue, and ended up watching all your videos. finally, someone who is truly obsessed with these two purple fuckers. thank you for another great analysis
the voiceover is so clean and the editing is nice. Also the fact that this feels like a normal documentary but with the random memes sprinkled in is unexpected but quite funny
lol no, i'm not american, and where i live "waffle" is used a lot as slang, havent seen pulp fiction so thought thats what u were talking about, cool video@@bonkboy4386
Now this, this the type of FNaF analysis that deserves a 50 minute video. Keep making these insanely specific videos, folllow your bliss, never let them tell you otherwise, absolute king behavior.
This video is purely the reason why I subscribed to you. Like, wow, you completely dissected William’s character to the bone with the analysis you put in, it’s so well done and you have put so much heart into it. As a criminology student, I appreciate any tie-in’s to anything about crime because it doesn’t just show how twisted a person may be, but it makes you understand what made them get to that point; with the points you made with William, Michael, and also the children and his methods of what he does, I find it really intriguing that what he says reflects so much yet so less of his character and his actions leading him to the kind of person that he is. I also love how you picked up so closely on slight mannerisms that William portrays in his lines, since it gives off more than meets the eye and its details like those which give me a certain “fascination”. I know it seems like I’m rambling a bit, but I love your style of analysis and I can tell that this series is something that you love working on. Keep up the amazing work, I won’t forget this for sure ❤
Personally I believed william always struggled with satisfaction for example even though he part owns one of the most successful entertainment Food business. He's still not satisfied no matter what he does but he still can be prideful. For short I believe that William puts up the ACT that he's a satisfied as he can be but in reality every moment and every second is always the thing back in his mind telling him he's not good enough or or you're a failure etc so what did he try to do satisfy his own ego.
I very seldom will directly interact with a RU-vid video, but I’ve got to tell you, this is genuinely one of if not the best character studies on William Afton. Your takes on him are so set in the reality of what the games showcase while also staying true to the direction Scott and PJ took the mannerisms of his voice lines, it’s admirable to see you research and write something you’re very clearly heavily passionate about. Your content is out of this world, Bonk Boy. Look forward to the next video!
I would love to see your takes and analysis of circus baby’s voice lines!! Her voice will always be my fav out of all the characters and I think it’s so interesting how she’s so manipulative like her father but never seems impulsive…always so calculated and in control.
William has to be one of my most favorite villains of all time, and I couldn't be more thankful for PJ Haywood and his amazing performances to give that amazing character an amazing voice. I also like how slightly different Scraptrap's and Special Delivery Springtrap's voices are. Really nice touch PS: Found your channel a few months ago and I gotta admit, I'm a huge fan of your videos and channel. So when I discovered that you recently uploaded a new video, let alone one analyzing William's voice and PJ's performance, it instantly made my day. Keep up the great work
i think you did a really good job here. i would argue you are a very inteligent person, i don't often come across people that can pick up subtle cues in someones voice without them having to be made overtly obvious. its a rare quality to se in other people, and i apreciate you for it. again, i think you did a fantastic job and have very clear understaning and reasoning abilities. I wish you alot of success in your future, and i hope all is well for you in the present.
the emphasis on fear is due to agony, the energy that sparks possession of steel. This emphasis on suffering and fear is the cause of possession and hes attempting to leech off of it and enduce as much as he can. Quite litterally 'it is your fear that sustains me.'
"fascinating what they have become" sounds more like admission of cause, but dismission of effect, like he admits that he killed them but didn't cause them to become the animatronics, which I really like because it hints at the timeline in a really good way if you look at it from the lens of who died first. he killed Charlotte first, and then the MCI, then the puppet made them possessed, then he turned them into the funtimes, then something else turned them into molten freddy.
I love this analysis so much! The fact William’s voice is influenced by the idea of a snake oil salesman is so cool because I personally see his smugness coming from his idea that he’s getting away with actions despite others’ suspicions rather than from the lack of it, he thinks so smart and resilient that any evidence is circumstantial at best and can manipulate his way out of any corner he’s backed into
Bro, aftons character potrayed through his voice is so nicely done. It reminds me of the joker. They are both similar in the way they act toward life. Treating it like a show. How the show must go on. The villain has to be the villain, so i will continue. Type feel. Its nice to see other people who also appreciate his character. And bonk is the harley quinn of afton lmao
I love your voice analysis videos so much.. One other voice actor from fnaf I've always been a fan of was Circus Baby's. I think what really set it for me was when she says, "I know it was an accident", it just unlocked a whole lot of depth between Micheal and Elizabeth's relationship just with the way she says it.
Never thought I would stuck to such massive yapping about a single character but here we are!! I loved this-I love everything about this, specially the interpretations for Scraptrap’s voice lines where he sounds a bit ‘gloomy’ or even fatherly. And the smile board things goooshhh I literally SEE the grins William makes when he’s speaking; amazing how that method works 🎉 Got the zoomies throughout this whole video, it’s just exactly how I picture William: he’s a narcissistic father who grudges the idea of being questioned and deceived (even by his own children) yet when HE does those things, there is no issue because he is the one doing so. Such a character; incredible how such curt voice lines carry such subtle characteristics, creating a perfect villain. Keep up the good work! These analysis are astounding!!
I think it’s quite likely that Scraptrap’s “promise” he likes so much is related to his arrogance. He likely knows the place will burn (it already happened to him once) but only once he and the others are present. He thinks he will survive while his enemies, Michael and Henry, will burn alive and be out of his way.
I totally get hyper fixating on an actors voice, happened to me with a broadway actor who only did like 2 musicals. I’d love to get PJ back as afton for future content as well! Never be ashamed to waffle about an VA’s great performance
I cannot believe you actually uploaded an almost 50 minute video on this man. The autism is real. Though..i really respect it. 😌 Finished the video and this was such a good watch holy shit. I think it's honestly really cool how you went into speech patterns and whatnot. Especially how you got into the intricacies of it all. Its so..fascinating. Also on the bit about narrative symmetry. Even though its kinda loosely related..i do think it's interesting that "symmetry" itself is something afton himself, says in his big grandiose speech at the end of the movie. Just something i though i'd point out. But all in all, bravo.The dedication is amazing. I absolutely loved this. And definitely will be coming back to it as someone who loves the character. 🤩
@@bonkboy4386 From how much research you've done on PJ's VO work (concerning fnaf)..i'm sure it is LMAO. But damn, I respect it a lot. Your video on it was honestly a joy to watch. I know you've been writing this one up for quite a bit now. And it came your amazing!
show but dont tell. tell but dont show. fnaf mastered both and never did them at the same time we were used to seeing William in the minigames, so hearing a voice gives us much more to work with when figuring out a character
I just have to say how much I ADORE these videos. I've had these kinda ideas bouncing in my head for ages I'm sososo happy to see them layed out so clearly like this
William's voicelines show very well the multiple layers he has and the developement into a serial killer (which is actually very similar to irl serial killers). Deep down he's vunerable but it's covered up by cocky and violent behaviour and mental problems and then this is masked under the image of a calm business man. Then over time the mask gets harder and harder to keep on, to pretend being "normal". In the SL intro he's wearing the mask, coming out as a cold and calm man whereas underneath he's violent, self-centred and sadistic. Still sometimes the innermost layer, deeply broken, shines through, no matter how much he tries to hide it. He's very interesting from a psychological perspective Also if you happen to see this, can you make a video overthinking Henry's voicelines (at least the monologues in completation ending and insanity ending)?
Picking apart the acting, emotion, and directing decisions of these voice lines is something fresh. I love these videos and what they mean for the LOOOORE
I really adore how you dive so deep into Afton's theatrics. Its not something I've thought about before but this undead crusty rabbit love putting on a show. Amazing how much we can get from a voice.
27:35 "You may not recognize me at first, but I assure you: it's still me." sounds almost like someone who's genuinely excited to reconnect with someone who doesn't recognize him.
Afton probably talks that way, in the part where hes like "you may not recognize me at first" because Michael possibly tried to kill him in FNaF 3. Michael is in shock he lived and looks like this, or thats what William imagines.
This entire video I've been smiling and quoting along, and seeing other people get so much joy out of voice acting really makes me want to try it one day.
Honestly this video changed my mind on the voices ( partly ) , I'm not exactly a big fan of the voices since they really don't help with FNAF's grasp on horror, whenever i hear a kellen goff animatronic call out to me from the hallways It breaks the immerson and makes me think " i'm supposed to take this seriously? " It also just works to steal from baby, one of the things that made baby stand out as an antagonist was the fact ( for a while at least ) she was the only animatronic that could talk and she'd use that to her advantage to manipulate her victims
28:00 Perhaps he considers that he is not really his old self anymore and saying that he is still that old himself is a joke to him? He thinks he's better than he's ever been and he laughs at the thought of how he's used to be
I loved both this analysis and your one on Michael! There are so many cues we can examine to get a better look at fnaf’s characters despite its fairly cryptic storytelling, and the voice acting is a great avenue for that! I really enjoyed your analysis (and that of ponds-of-ink) and I hope to see more of your thoughts on the series in the future :)
I think the changes in AR makes sense since he is no longer trying to kill his own son but a complete stranger so whatever is controlling the clone of Springtrap (maybe Mimic Virus?) it acts like how Afton would have acted after killing a complete stranger.
The lines that springtrap "stole" from nightmare/Fredbear could be the last words that the child that possessed Fredbear heard from Afton. Considering you can actually hear a child toned voice underneath (especially Fredbear).
Loved this video. There’s a lot of to every piece of dialogue in FNAF but it’s so nice to be able to carefully craft this character of William Afton that has been such a crucial part of this series for so long.
I'd love to hear your (over)thoughts on Henry's lines, especially the ending monologue because "So don't keep the devil waiting, old friend." has no right going that hard. He talks with a presence that reminds me of Walter White or Cave Johnson, in the antihero kind of way. (I know he's technically a villain, but you get it)