The problem with a lot of sympathetic villains in Batman stories is they need to keep coming back, so their sympathetic act has to either justify repeat offenses, or they choose to keep making mistakes etc.

Very true. And also one reason the comics can't be particularly Utopian, as they would stray too far away from the premise to be recognizable to new readers.

The complexity is sacrificed for serialization

One reason why I grew into an Anime fan over time. They tend to have much better direction and purpose

Point taken about the Penguin, though.