Best anime villain

ayase said:
Ark said:
My point is it's hard to really talk about villains within the Japanese context because they have a view of life that's much less moralistic.

There are well developed antagonists in anime but they aren't necessarily good villains. For example I'd say that the protagonist of Jin-Roh is as much a villain as the antagonists if not a actually a better villain.
Click to expand...
I'll agree with you on the less moralistic stance taken WRT both heroes and villains in Anime (hence my decision to include protagonists in my choices, and Fuse from Jin-Roh is an excellent example of this) but I would go on to say that it makes the villains better characters when you can understand them to some degree - ie: they're not just "baddies".

The best characters are always those who's morals are shades of grey, not black and white (because that's most realistic) and while this does make it hard to differentiate, it's not impossible. Things such as killing innocent civilians, or using force where diplomacy would work are classic villainous attributes which most people's moral compasses (regardless of factors such as religious belief) wouldn't be able to justify.
Click to expand...


I hear this arguement a lot in debates about politics and history and it really doesn't win me over. There are times when there is a reasonable choice between a bad and a worse option but within certain contexts it can become a completely ammoral choice.


Likewise in certain contexts the term villain becomes meaningless and should be replaced with anatagonist (if that's even appropriate). What's the point of calling Fuse from Jin-Roh a villain when everyone else is just as bad?
 
ayase said:
Light Yagami: Death Note - Because you're never quite sure which side of the Genius / Insanity divide he's on.

Revy: Black Lagoon - Despite being a protagonist, she certainly ain't no saint.
Click to expand...
Those are anti-heroes. Not villains.
 
Ark said:
What's the point of calling Fuse from Jin-Roh a villain when everyone else is just as bad?
Click to expand...
Then what's the point in labelling anybody anything ever?

Maxon said:
ayase said:
Light Yagami: Death Note - Because you're never quite sure which side of the Genius / Insanity divide he's on.

Revy: Black Lagoon - Despite being a protagonist, she certainly ain't no saint.
Click to expand...
Those are anti-heroes. Not villains.
Click to expand...
Oh God.

/thread
 
Ark said:
I find that anime villains tend to be quite generic and boring.
Click to expand...

There's a tendency perhaps, but there are a few interesting ones out there. I wouldn't say that's any different from other entertainment such as Hollywood, novels or video-games.

It does bug me when anime takes short cuts with villians; classifying them as insane and removing deeper motivation. The most memorable and chilling ones are the kind that are almost understandable - having a backstory which justifies their actions to an extent.

The twins in Black Lagoon come to mind - utterly evil but with a past which somehow inspires your sympathy (seriously, pedo victims? Nasty). That sort of thing is so much more chilling and intriguing than the typical psycho baddy.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Murata Azreal from Gundam SEED, leader of the anti-Coordinator group Blue Cosmos.
The guy is just slime!
Evil, rotten to the core, thinks nothing of slaughtering thousands of people just because they're different from him.

Sad thing is, there really are people out there like that.
 
Princess Mononoke's Lady Eboshi, GITS:SAC's (1st Gig) 'The Laughing Man' and the Russian(?) fella from Tekkonkinkreet..
These arent my favourite villains, just some I thought I'd add to the mix..
 
fusionsox said:
Princess Mononoke's Lady Eboshi, GITS:SAC's (1st Gig) 'The Laughing Man' and the Russian(?) fella from Tekkonkinkreet..
These arent my favourite villains, just some I thought I'd add to the mix..
Click to expand...

All things considering could the real laughing man be considered a villain or is he another grey area? (by real i mean not the one who tries to pass himeself off as the laughing man near the beginning of the series)
 
skikes said:
HIM

from the powerpuff girls!!

defo best villian ever!
Click to expand...

That thing used to scare the crap out of me.

Being a raving Detective Conan fan, the Black org has to be one of the top ones. (do groups count though?... i'll choose Vermouth - my god)

Muraki from Yami no Matsuei - He's got one hell of an evil eye.

Dilandou from Escaflowne - He really was a bit insane though.

I can't think of many more at the moment. None that were really quite villainous.
 
Gemma1412 said:
Dilandou from Escaflowne - He really was a bit insane though.
Click to expand...

Don't you mean she was really insane :p Though i found that plot point a bit forced (plus it didn't seem to make sense at the time)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/7748/4kids2386dc2id8.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"></a><br>

hands down.
 
BlackWolf said:
Gemma1412 said:
Dilandou from Escaflowne - He really was a bit insane though.
Click to expand...

Don't you mean she was really insane :p Though i found that plot point a bit forced (plus it didn't seem to make sense at the time)
Click to expand...

I was never quite sure. Someone should have just stuck their hands down his/her pants and showed us all.


4Kids... hands down. GG.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top