Nobody likes the bad guy, but there are some villains out there who deserve some shine. Here are a few that we think embody the meaning of the word “villain”
1. Father (Full Metal Alchemist)
What makes Father an excellent villain, especially in FMA: Brotherhood is his unbridled ambition, and quest for perfection. Although most of FMA follows Edward & Al on their quest to get Al’s body back when we’re finally introduced to Father the story instantly develops another layer of depth.
Father’s story is simple enough — a tiny being stuck in a flask with hopes of being more. The dwarf in the flask definitely achieved more than he ever could have ever hoped for. Nevertheless, his fatal flaw proved to be his ego. He’s the perfect villain because in his quest for more Father can’t see where he falls short; His penchant for playing God ultimately lead to his downfall and Truth ends up consuming him which seems like a fitting end for such a dope villain.
2. Madara Uchiha (Naruto)
Madara is one of the most well-written villains in all of anime. Unlike most villains who wanted world domination simply for domination’s sake, Madara recognized the damaging role that chakra played in their existence and sought to rectify the damage caused by earlier generations. Coincidentally, his means for doing so was through world domination.
If that’s not enough, Madara’s strength made him one of the strongest shinobi’s in the Naruto universe. He took on an entire fleet of ninja with no assistance, and he was able to control all of the tailed beasts with little effort. His fight scenes in Shippuden are a highlight of the series and in a league of their own in terms of quality.
Madara’s undoing, like a lot of villains, proves to be his inability to see where his actions could take him. Although no one can predict the future, he should’ve foreseen the betrayal of Zetsu — especially with him being so well versed in the art of betrayal. With that in mind, Madara’s villainous status is solidified.
3. Toguro (YuYu Hakusho)
Toguro was a badass. He killed his brother, killed the love of his life, killed Yusuke’s best friend, and the only thing he respected was POWER. While those qualities sound like regular villain characteristics, what makes Toguro interesting is that while he’s technically a villain, there are valid arguments to be made saying that Toguro was a protagonist of sorts. Our first glimpse into the complexity of Toguro’s villainous path presents itself in the form of a final showdown between him and Genkai where we learn more about his motivations for attaining power, and a subsequent love lost in the process of him attaining that power.
Even after he dies, Koenma tries to pardon Toguro and give him a lighter sentence stating that his crimes aren’t too severe to be forgiven. Despite Koenma’s objections, Toguro sentences himself to an even worse eternity than the one he was due for; He chooses this path as a twisted way to atone for the deaths of his students — deaths that he wished he could have prevented; Deaths that sent him down the path of ultimate power.
Essentially, what we learn with Toguro, and what YuYu Hakashu does best, is they give us cause to believe that Toguro was redeemable. But at the end of the day, regardless of what redeemable qualities he may or may not have shown, Toguro was an incredible villain who pushed Yusuke to the edge.
To be continued…
– SnobHop