Characters and actual human beings are, of course, different, but I try to view characters in a similar lens. We only 'see' a very small portion of their lives and character, which lends itself to a reductive view of them an a entity. That's a documented flaw in human psychology- we lessen our cognitive burden by boiling down character perception with the bare minimum of information we need to form an encompassing opinion about someone. It's why I would argue we're very poor judges of character more often than not.

I would argue Endeavour isn't even a particularly 'bad' dad, either. His kids are fed, clothed, and pretty well off seemingly. His wife (suffering from his abuse, I know) is getting treatment at a mental care facility, and he has made steps to reconcile- he is trying harder than some broken families I've heard of.

Are there some transgressions that are beyond redemption (harming women and children); is that why people are so judgemental about this particular character? I admit that his characterization is a bit more complicated, it is revealed, than we typically get in the good versus bad shounen landscape, but these grey characters are becoming a bit more common. I'll also admit I have a soft spot for the theme of redemption in general, as a christian.