Such examples include his attack on the Great Wall, where he allowed a lone sentry to light the signal fire, sending word to the Emperor and giving him time to mobilize the Imperial Army. Shan Yu is also supremely confident in both his and his army's strength and superiority, sometimes allowing his enemies to have an advantage in order for him to defeat them anyway and prove his might. This also likely means he is not completely incapable of caring about others but only about those who he considers very close to him. He is also shown to never ill-treat or abuse Hayabusa his pet falcon, meaning he may care and have attachment to him (the same deleted scene actually showed him calling Hayabusa his friend which seems to back this up). A deleted scene showing his massacre of the village onscreen, however, makes clear that he is not above slaying even members of his own army should they show any degree of weakness in battle, in particular showing mercy towards any living thing (though he does acknowledge all life deserves to be free, he also makes clear that freedom has its price after subtly ordering Hayabusa to attack the freed bird). This is exemplified by his Elite Huns, who are able to speak to him on equal terms. Despite his brutality, or probably because of it, he is a respected leader, as his Hun army seems to be kept together out of loyalty to him, rather than out of fear of him. His penchant for brutality was such that the Emperor of China immediately took the matter seriously as soon as he learned that Shan Yu was leading the invasion, and one of the captured scouts fearfully recognized him when they were brought before him. He is also shown to be merciless even to defenseless individuals, as evidenced by his murderous smirk when he suggests that he 'return' a lost doll to its owner later he is implied to have killed the owner of the doll as well as her entire village. The archer then draws his bow and replies, 'One.' Ultimately, only one scout delivers the message, heavily implying that the archer killed the other. While he shows the same arrogant and megalomaniacal traits, he is not above killing his enemies in cold blood to prove his strength, and he has been shown to make jokes about it: after capturing two Imperial scouts and sending them to deliver his challenge to the Emperor, he asks his lead archer how many men it takes to deliver a message.

Shan Yu is in great contrast with his predecessors and successors.

Shan yu mulan voice