Shinji, as I expected, has a substantial lead in the “most annoying character” poll. ChibiUsa and Happosai are battling for second place, and C-ko and Kimura have also made strong showings. I doubt that the standings will change significantly with additional votes, so let’s start a new poll.
Who’s the best villain in anime? Please post your nominations in the comments. You can nominate more than one character, but please don’t get carried away. (Also, please avoid spoilers. If an apparently benign character is revealed to be a malefactor only in the last few episodes of a series, don’t mention him. There are plenty of other evildoers to choose from.)
You might find it useful to review Steven’s criteria for a good villain:
1. Hubris: He thinks he’s strong and dangerous because he is strong and dangerous. But he isn’t quite as strong as he thinks he is, which is why…
2. Nemesis: he eventually gets what’s coming to him. Maybe it’s incremental punishment, or maybe it’s a grand reckoning, but in the end he suffers and probably dies. And before it happens, he knows what will happen to him and why. When it happens, in the eyes of the audience there should be a feeling of justice being done, and feeling of triumph.
3. Comprehensibility: We understand his motivation, even though we may not agree with it. What he does makes sense.
4. Menace: Serious villains should genuinely scare us.
5. Attraction: But villains should also be a bit seductive. There should be just a little bit of a temptation to root for the bad guy over the good guys. We should admire the bad guy, just a little, maybe. And feel just a bit sorry for him in the end.
Johan from Monster. Menacing and attracting at the same time.
My choices for the two best villains in anime are Cell in DBZ and Friagne in Shakugan no Shana.
I would say Sephiroth from Final Fantasy and Yagami Light from Death Note. Cell is a very good one as well, but only in his ultimate form. Before that he just annoys me.
Leader Desslok.
Lord Genome, the Spiral King, from Gurren Lagann.
I’d like to vote for Gendo Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion. I think he hits all the criteria and…I just LIKE him. He is my favorite villain.
Ladd Russo from Baccano.
“It’s Gendo!”
(cue ’70s music)
I’ll go with King Hamdo from Now and Then, Here and There. The fact that our world actually have someone on par with this madman is what make him an excellent villian.
Beatrice from Umineko no Naku Koro ni.
Piccoro Daimaou from Dragon Ball and Light Yagami from Death Note.
I nominate Joker from ROD the TV anime series. He is the only anime villain (anti-villain?) I know of who inspires his minions rather than demean/terrify them. As a result his minions work wonders for him unlike the minions in most other anime.
One could say Joker doesn’t meet the villain criteria of 1 and 5 in the usual sense but actually does in his own way.
Charles Solomon.
The Schoolgirl In Black from Ga-Rei Zero, Yomi Isayama.
Several from DBZ: Vegeta (even if he isn’t destroyed by the forces of “good”, his pure ambition for power is unrivaled IMO), Freeza, Cell.
Full Metal Alchemist: Lust
Rurouni Kenshin: Lord Shishio
Char Asnable, Gundam. Went over so well as a villain that he completely overshadows the hero. So good the Gundam series had to follow up with a series of villains just like him.