Author Comment
DarKaeli 
Mana Mistress
Posts: 147
(12/24/01 3:15:14 pm)
Bad guys in good anime.
What does a "good" bad guy look like? What characteristics must he have?
And what series have "good" villains?
Today (and following) on IcyBri's web forum! ;)

Post your opinion, and your HONEST opinion only! Go crazy in your villain worship (if any)! Spare me no details!
KrazySam 
Roushi Ravager
Posts: 718
(12/24/01 3:55:35 pm)
Re: Bad guys in good anime.
Well, you can usually spot a good guy by their large eyes. I think that in Japan, the eyes are viewed as the windows to the soul (Well, duh. They are.) And that if someone has large eyes, that means they're allowing others to look at their soul. Which means that they must be good because they have nothing to hide. If a character has smaller eyes, they're either a villian or they're the dark brooding type with a past they can't run from.

Look at some of the series where this applies. Gundam Wing is a BIG one. Zechs Merquise. He's got smaller eyes than everyone. And he rambles on the entire series about how his hands are too stained with blood.... yaddah yaddah.

But then again, I've seen a bad guy with large eyes. Sephiroth being one. But Sephiroth isn't the true villian, in my opinion. In my opinon, the people who created him are the true bad guys. Eh. Whatever.

Ahhh, and Dakki's from Houshin Engi. She's a good example. She's a bad mutha-shut yo mouth and she's got huuuuuge eyes. But then again... (Mild spoilers ahead. I'm censoring out the huge ones)

She does go pretty neutral toward the very end of the manga. I mean, after all, she DID (spoiler) (spoiler), and one would think that'd she'd let (spoiler) (spoiler)

Hmm.... If anyone's seen Photon, that's a good example. Everyone in the whole series has HUGE eyes. Except Papacha. But then again, Papacha has "Villian" written all over his face because it's a comedy.

Etc etc etc. ^_^; I shut up now.
Linta 
Hawk
Posts: 137
(12/24/01 5:05:37 pm)
Re: Bad guys in good anime.
Ah.....lessee....
Cell from DBZ. Something about him that I just like. Very creepy. Villainy. Etc.
Uhmm....Oh! Jedite from Sailor Moon! I had an obsession with him for quite some time...^_~
intrasonic
Hawk
Posts: 49
(12/24/01 5:05:47 pm)
Re: Bad guys in good anime.
*Cough*MagicalKnightRayearth*cough*

Hmm... there might be some merit to that whole 'big eyes=good person' thing. On the same note, shrouding the person's face with their hair is often done to give a mysterious air to the character, by not giving the viewer a glimpse of the face. And with outright evil guys, the front view, with the nose-upwards blackened tends to imply the person is evil. One example would be a character like Slayers' Xellos, who almost always has his eyes closed (and is not a very trustworthy person), except when he finally takes action (in which case he has slitted, non-human eyes).

I imagine that the bad guy should either be a bishonen or else have enough spiky armour to give a mortal a hernia. Or in extreme cases, both. If the bad 'guy' is a woman, she should have a rack with its own gravitational constant. I don't know if it makes for a 'GOOD' bad guy, but it seems rather traditional.
Average Joe
Smarter Than The Average Bear
Posts: 223
(12/24/01 7:35:50 pm)
Re: Bad guys in good anime.
The outfit is another thing. Bad guys have costumes, while the good guys wear clothes. The more it looks like something you'd really not be seen in public in, the more likely that they're a bad guy.

Also, bad guys tend to either have slouchy postures or have their chins tucked in, often both. This makes them look as if they're trying to protect themselves from something, which is often the case. This makes them stare out from beneath their eyebrows, like they're glaring at you.

Something else to look for is shadows (though this is more true of manga than anime). The heavier the shadows around the character, the more likely for it to be an evil character. This also applies to dirt. Evil characters will look dirty instead of shadowed. (Just watch for crosshatching in manga.)

Keep an eye out for sharp lines and jagged edges as well. Crisp, clean lines denotes a crisp, clean character, while jagged edges and broken lines show a tortured or evil soul.

Anyhow, that's just my take on it. I might be wrong on any of these points. These were just some general observations.
Minmei 
Pie Queen

Posts: 1108
(12/24/01 8:04:13 pm)

Re: Bad guys in good anime.
Eyes, huh?

I wonder if anyone can explain Chiba Mamoru (NA: Darien) and Dr. Tomoe from Sailor Moon..

Well, I guess I could. [commence spoilers]

Mamoru has smaller eyes than the typical male in the series. In the first season of Sailor Moon, he mentions that he was orphaned in a car crash when he was young, and can't remember anything up until that point. He doesn't know who he is, but he has frequent and mysterious dreams about a princess asking him to set her free. (explained when he finds out he was in love with a moon princess in a former life)

Later in the season, he's wounded fatally but is revived when his body is taken by Beryl and Kunzite. There he's brainwashed into becoming one of Beryl's minions, and goes up several times against the sailor senshi for the silver crystal. So...could smaller eyes not only be a symbol of a dark past, but also portend villainy?

Then there's Dr. Tomoe....he has the typical large eyes, but he's a villain. He was actually a good guy until a lab accident cost him the life of his daughter, Hotaru. However, he bargained with an evil force to let Hotaru live...but he would no longer be in control of his own mind.

In the light, as a normal father and citizen, his eyes seem very gentle and loving, but in the darkness, as a mad scientist, all you can see are his glasses and a cheesy evil grin. He looks sort of goofy, even. (Actually, it's pretty funny especially at that part he's sitting on his front porch with a snack) Also, there's something about his glasses....one of the lenses is clear, while the other....well, I'm not sure what's in it. Some sort of design. So how about glasses? Does that play a part in good/evil characteristics?
KrazySam 
Roushi Ravager
Posts: 720
(12/24/01 8:26:29 pm)
Re: Bad guys in good anime.
Well, I notice that if some guy's acting kinda shady, he'll be "missing" an eye or one of his glasses lenses turns opaque, it seems. =P Or there's a huuuge glare. Something like that, perhaps?
Minmei 
Pie Queen

Posts: 1109
(12/24/01 8:44:55 pm)

Re: Bad guys in good anime.
Yeah, the pattern in the lens...damn, I know there was something significant about it...oh wait, a black star went into one of his eyes and the lens was kind of opaque. That's what it was.

But yeah, whatever it is, it covers his other eye.
Nagers 
Hawk
Posts: 68
(12/25/01 2:50:51 am)
Kagato- the best example
He has the dignity and class of the highest gentleman. You could call him the Hannibal Lecter of Anime. He isn't extremely powerful, which is good, since most (namely DBZ) are always rediculously powerful for no reason. Plus, he didn't freak out when he died. I have more reasons but I posted them in a Kagato message board. Ask me if you want the link.
KrazySam 
Roushi Ravager
Posts: 722
(12/25/01 3:17:07 am)
woo woo woo!
A really really really really really good villain is Legato Bluesummers from Trigun. Not only is he sexy, have a sexy voice, insane mind-powers, and style, he has a saxophone-wielding buddy, an INSANE way of doing things, AWESOME calmness, and he had himself (SPOILER) just to torture Vash! Now THAT'S a villain. Willing to (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER) for the sole purpose of torturing Vash forever and ever.
Human12
Welcome To Corneria!
Posts: 460
(12/26/01 9:46:44 pm)
Re: Bad guys in good anime.
I like any villains where you can at least sympathize, if not agree with, their motivations.
KrazySam 
Roushi Ravager
Posts: 728
(12/26/01 10:07:24 pm)
Re: Bad guys in good anime.
Oh, you mean the entire "bad guy" side of X?
Nyvinyd
Hawk
Posts: 18
(12/27/01 4:38:20 am)
Re: Bad guys in good anime.
Ashram, anyone? Best damned villian I've ever seen in an anime.
Roy Fokker 99th
Hawk
Posts: 39
(1/5/02 2:22:40 am)
Kagato...
I'm going to have to agree with Nagers. He says some of the most smooth lines in the history of villany. In either Japanese or English, the OAV Kagato owns your mom.

"You've won boy..."
-Kagato
Nagers 
Hawk
Posts: 84
(1/5/02 3:27:31 am)
Re: Kagato...
Damn right. Please, if anyone even can think of one reason why they like (yes an opinion can be wrong here ;) ) the TV Kagato better than the OVA one, they must die.
Human12
Welcome To Corneria!
Posts: 500
(1/5/02 3:41:12 am)
Re: Kagato...
OVA Kagato was nifty-keen. Plus, Ryoko kicked ass. Anything that showcases Ryoko coolness as okay by me.
Nagers 
Hawk
Posts: 90
(1/6/02 3:03:01 am)
Re: Kagato...
Here's that link, regardless of nobody asking for it, this is hands-down the best site for Kagato. I used to post there under "Nagi" and "spazz". I quit due to people there knowing more than me, which is very disturbing if you ask me. It used to have more topics, but I don't know where they went.

www.geocities.com/kagatofollower/
JSeraphim
Hawk
Posts: 4
(1/6/02 3:47:08 am)
Re: Bad guys in good anime.
I think...something about their hair makes them evil...I was playing FFX and I saw Seymour...my first intuition was that he was evil, based on his hair...

nakago from FY had some whack hair too...I mean...it's definitely unconventional...

or when i was watching angelic layer...just by the hairstyle...you'd know like, all the contestants couldn't be truly evil just because of their hair...

like...unless their hair is truly defining of the character...the most radical hair belongs to the villain.
Akira07
Hawk
Posts: 89
(1/6/02 6:37:22 pm)
Re: Bad guys in good anime.
I think that Dr. Tomoe's look defines ALL evil. Mwa-ha-ha
therealdragonwarrior
Hawk
Posts: 38
(1/11/02 9:30:07 pm)
Re: Bad guys in good anime.
A good bad guy has certain aire about him. The way he walks, if he has the right amount of arrogance in his voice, clothes don't play into it much but they do help, and if he can make it seem like he isn't a bad guy.

Seymour in FFX is a good example. The entire time you couldn't really figure out if he was good or evil but by the way he was one could tell that he was evil.

Maybe its just me I dunno...

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