In the anime, the villain is not always bad people who have no motivation. Some people have quite easy -to -understand goals, but on the path towards “greater benefits”, they choose quite suspicious methods.
Here are five anime characters that in another context, can be considered a hero … if they make less extreme decisions.
Pain (Nagato) – Naruto Shippuden
Pain does not want to conquer the world or become stronger. Pain's goal is much more ambitious: breaking the vicious circle of hatred and bringing real peace to the ninja world. Losing his family and friends in the war, he came to conclude that only extreme suffering made humanity understand the need for peace.
Background reason: War in the ninja world takes place in the cycle and each generation suffers the same loss. According to Pain's logic, forcing people to feel pain will prevent the next conflict.
Problem: Peace will be built based on fear and violence. Basically, Pain's plan is “If you do not understand in a good way, you will have to understand in a difficult way”. But Naruto showed him that the real change came from understanding, not mass destruction.
Stain – My Hero Academia
In the world where becoming a hero is a job that is paid high salaries, making a lot of money and reputation, Stain believes that only the heroes really have a mission to deserve. According to him, many people are just opportunists who want to be recognized, so he decided to execute justice himself … with a sword.
Background reason: Stain pointed out a big truth about the hero system: Not all people wearing cloaks act to help. His vision even inspired other characters to ask the world they live.
The problem: Instead of exposing corruption and creating changes, Stain's solution is “If you are not a real hero, you deserve to die”. This is not necessarily the best strategy to implement social reform.
Yeager Zeke – Attack on Titan
Throughout his life, Zeke witnessed the Eldia being mistreated and used as a war weapon. He came to the conclusion that the only way to stop suffering was to ensure that no Eldia was born. Yes, his saving idea is … Controlled extinction.
Background reason: Eldia people have suffered for generations for a conflict that they did not cause. In Zeke's point of view, if the Eldia people no longer exist, the world will stop oppressing them.
Problem: He decided the fate of all Eldia people without giving them the right to choose. His plan was no different from the crimes he wanted to stop, only he disguised it into a “peaceful solution”.
Shougo Makishima – Psycho Pass
Makishima has no supernatural ability and does not want to dominate the world, but he wants to see the SibiL system burned down. This is an artificial intelligence capable of predicting those who are likely to commit crimes before they commit crimes. For Makishima, Sibyl claimed the free will of man and turned them into a slave of an algorithm.
Background reason: Sibyl has condemned those who have “potential” to commit crimes without giving them the opportunity to redeem. In many cases, Sibyl failed and robbed the lives of many innocent people.
Problem: Instead of finding a more structured way to expose the SibiL system, Makishima chose harsh tests … taking human life to prove that the system could not stop themselves. It is ironically when his complaints are unfair.
Askeladd – Vinland Saga
Askeladd is a special case because despite its appearance is a cruel mercenary, his true goal is to overthrow King Sweyn and liberate Wales from the Viking's rule. For many years, he pretended to be a brutal opportunity but actually implementing his own long -term plan.
Background reason: he wants to save his people and knows the only way to do that is to play a dangerous game of power and betrayal.
Problem: To achieve the goal, Askeladd manipulated, betrayed and murdered people without hesitation, including those who trust him. The purpose of Askeladd is noble, but his path is full of corpses of innocent people (and not innocent).
These characters prove that the villain is not always “ugly”. Their reason is very reasonable, easy to understand and in some cases, even admirable. However, the way they use to achieve the goal of turning them into a villain instead of hero.
