heroes and villains in anime and manga(long)
In my Soul Hunter posts, crumpeteer and I got to talking about how a lot of villains in anime and manga tend to actually be good guys, or at least, understandable, something that never really happens as much in western literature. (and she made her own post on the subject here) Which isn't to say we don't have more than our fair share of cackling, scenery chewing, out to destroy the world villains, we have plenty of those, it's just that good and bad in manga and anime tend to be many shades of gray with a little black and white at opposite ends of the spectrum, as opposed to black and white dominating the spectrum, with a bit of grey in the middle. There are exceptions, of course, but they're exceptions, not a common theme.
Quick note: While the 2 characters that prompted this post(and thus, everything outside the cut) are cases of good guys stuck working for bad guys, that's not the entire post. Most of what's under the case is more cases of good and bad not being as black and white as western fare.
In anything that came out over here, a protagonist, such as Kougaiji in Saiyuki or Bunchu in Soul Hunter would never be allowed to stay on the wrong side through the bulk of the series. What's more, they (and others like them) are, technically, on the wrong side by choice...they are both operating of free will, fully cognizant of their actions and the consequences of their actions.
Kougaiji, however, is arguably the nicest guy in Saiyuki. If he doesn't work as the chief enforcer of the villains, his mother will die, period. In addition, the villainess is actually his father's lover, and she's the mother of his half-sister, Lirin, who she has bad plans for. It's very clear that Kougaiji's good behavior is the only thing standing between Lirin and regular experimentation(and even that isn't a sure thing) and his two friends, Doukugaku and Yaone are, in many ways, completely dependent on him. Only their loyalty to him and his to them keeps them from succumbing to the madness other youkai suffer(and for that matter, while she's not exactly a pushover, Yaone would be a goner without his protection) As far as strength and power go, the only ones really on a par with Kougaiji in the series are Goku and Hakkai, both good guys, if he wanted to, he could walk, but if he did so, everyone he cared about would suffer, and with the exception of Lirin, either be driven mad and sent to kill him, or just killed off. Because of this, he's trapped, and likely will be until the end of the series.
Like Kougaiji, Bunchu is one of the most powerful people in Soul Hunter. However, while Kougaiji is trapped on the wrong side because of his emotional ties to those dependent on him, Bunchu is held captive by his sense of honor and duty. He swore generations ago to always uphold and protect the Yin Dynasty. He's well aware that the current ruler is corrupt and beyond redemption, but he is, however, the CURRENT ruler...who has two children. The princes, therefore, ARE the Yin Dynasty to him, and his hope for the future. Like Kougaiji, his honor and goodness is used against him and he's manipulated to be forced to wage war against Kou Hiko, the only man he's ever called friend in three hundred years. He knows he's being manipulated, but he has no choice...Kou Hiko has become a rebel, and has to die. Bunchu's choices are to let Dakki's people kill him or his own, and if it's his own, then he can ensure it's an honorable death, and that others won't be killed in the process, especially the princes.
In a western fantasy, in either Kougaiji or Bunchu were allowed to remain themselves and not eventually revealed to be evil or be portrayed as weak or comedic, then early in the story, Kougaiji's mother would be either killed or free, allowing him, Lirin, Yaone and Doukugaku to switch sides, and Bunchu would have chosen to turn against his corrupt ruler as opposed to try to maintain the dynasty he had served for so long early in the story. The idea of having a good guy serving the bad guy without brainwashing or direct control, or their being a weak character, for the bulk of the series, simply wouldn't happen. The idea of "right and wrong" tends to take precedence over obligation, honor, loyalty, etc. in western literature...the good guys fight for the good guys, and the bad guys fight for the bad guys, and never the two shall meet. Neither Kougaiji nor Bunchu-or many other characters, some of which I'll get to in a minute- would ever exist with the complexity they do, and wouldn't be nearly as interesting or appealing. Yes, there are exceptions in western literature, but they're the exceptions, as opposed to a common theme.
On the flip side(which would be a whole other post if I really wanted to get into it, but I will a bit under the cut) just like the bad guys aren't always necessarily bad, the good guys aren't necessarily all good, and it's not uncommon for a person who starts out good to become bad, or vice versa..
Note: consider anything listed in the tags as spoiler fodder. I'm actively trying to avoid direct spoilers, and especially for anything I know that hasn't been released yet and largely stick to motivations and roles, but some spoilers are a necessity. I think it's MOSTLY safe though, except for Wolf's Rain.
Death Note
The protagonist is also the villain, as villains are normally defined. Light is an intelligent person who, we know, started out with good intentions. Had his life progressed normally, he would have become a lawyer or politician or police officer, and worked to fix the world legally. He is, however, a perfect example of the corruption caused by power. When Light is literally given the power over life and death, he uses that power to attempt to create a perfect, crimeless world by killing evil people. We can appreciate his motives-to make the world a better place, but what he does is attempt(and pretty much succeed) to rule the world by fear, and as the series progresses, he consistently loses sight of anything but his goal and eventually everything becomes an acceptable loss if it will help achieve his goals.
Samurai Deeper Kyo
Ok, seriously in any other manga, most of the heroes would have been villains. Heck, usually Kyo himself would be considered a villain. And, in fact, at the start of the series, it's what he seems to be. For that matter, a fairly high percentage of the heroes were introduced as villains...either nominally, like Benitora, or moderately like Akira(though mostly he was sulking because Kyo wasn't all "KILLKILLKILL!!!" anymore, but he got over it fairly quickly) or the main bad guy of a major storyarc, like Shinrei. Pretty much every hero of the series is a psychotic killer to some degree, and their idea of making friends is trying to kill each other
Saiyuki
I've already covered Kougaiji(and could go on about him even more, really) but lets look at Hakkai. Sure, Hakkai always seems to be a nice, calm, considerate guy, and he is(though I'm sure he ponders slaughtering everyone in the jeep at least 5 times a day) but lets face it, he's a mass murderer. He became a demon by slaughtering an entire demon clan to save his lover, and personally, I've always thought there wasn't much left of the village he lived in, either. Then there's the subject of incest, which the anime(understandably) skirts around for the most part(really the only way it isn't faithful to the manga). Doukugaku slept with his mother to project Gojyo from her rages because it made her forget he wasn't his father. He's aware of the dirtiness of the act, but at the time, it was the only method he had of protecting his brother, so he did it. And the love of Hakkai's life is his sister, either adopted or biological(the manga has indicated both ways, but the relationship is clearly regarded as having been "dirty," so biological is more likely)
Then there's the fact that, by personality types, you'd think people would be on opposites sides. Sanzo is surly, cranky, always drinking, cussing, smoking and threatening to kill his companions, and generally mostly means it when he says it. Gojyo, in addition to being a lech, is also a hard drinking chain smoker. Hakkai, as already covered, is pretty much a mass murderer. Goku...well, on the surface he's a nice if perpetually hungry kid, but lets face it...you don't have your memory stripped and get locked up in a cave for centuries unless you seriously screw up some how. These are the chief heroes of the series. On the flipside, Kougaiji is too nice, honorable and noble for his own good, Doukugaku is generally pretty calm, laid back and affable, not to mention utterly loyal, Yaone is kind and sweet and essentially regarded as a haven of niceness and goodness by most of the other characters and, oh yeah, also utterly loyal, and Lirin, well, she's a brat, but she loves them all, hates her mother and really wishes she had Kougaiji's mother instead of her own. These, technically, are the bad guys.
Inu Yasha
The easiest one to point to, of course, is Sesshomaru. He started out the main villain of the series, but over time he's become a borderline ally. He's hopelessly arrogant and views death as a suitable punishment for being in his way, yet he allows an annoying sycophant to follow him around and takes in a young human girl, despite claiming to hate humans. Then there's also the fact that, given how half demons are treated and the number of enemies their father had, we almost have to assume that Sesshomaru's protection is the only thing that allowed Inu Yasha to survive to adulthood. And what about Koga? It's really easy to forget, but for all that Koga's a nice if rough and short tempered guy far too fond of causing fights, when we met him, he was turning his wolves lose on a village for lunch, which resulted in Rin's death. Despite this, Koga is one of the heroes of the series, and it never really occurs to us to question it because he's a wolf who(mostly) looks like a human.
Then there's Kikyo. When she was first resurrected she was a villain who wanted to destroy both Inu Yasha and Kagome, but once her initial anger faded, she became the heroine she had been in life. Ultimately, however, once she achieves her vengeance against Naraku, all she wants is to die with Inu Yasha. Not after a long, happy life...she wants to kill Naraku, and then kill herself and Inu Yasha, because she's still ruled by the final wishes she had before her death. Then, of course, there's Inu Yasha himself. While Inu Yasha was never necessarily BAD, he was skirting the edge when he met Kikyo, and after he believed she had betrayed him, he was pretty ready to become a human hating villain, and probably would have if Kaede's spell hadn't let Kagome keep him under control until he calmed down.
Basara
Shuri, the hero, is also one of the villains. He's not misunderstood-he's hard, cold, shrewd and ruthless because that's what life has forced him to be to survive. However, what largely makes him the villain is that his army destroyed Sarasa, the heroine's, village. And it wasn't a misunderstanding-he destroyed the village because he knew they planned to eventually have their "chosen one" Tatara, overthrow him. This makes him Sarasa's enemy, and as the series progresses, Shuri continues to be ruthless...both in his war against Tatara(really Sarasa) and in his protection of Sarasa herself(not knowing she's also Tatara) Even without the act of destroying Sarasa's village, Shuri's very nature would have had him skirting the edge of hero and villain...only the fact that, ultimately, his goal is to protect the people and give them a better kingdom and his complete and utter loyalty to those he cares about keeps him from crossing the line.
Blade of the Immortal
Here, "good guys" and "bad guys" are kind of defined by whether or not the character is on Manji and Rin's side. Rin is a teenaged girl who wants revenge on the group that killed her parents, and this means the death's of a hundred or so people. Manji killed a hundred people(not including people he was supposed to kill in service to his lord before that) and seeks to compensate for his crime by killing a thousand bad guys (he has a very straightforward mind and tends to view most things in light of whether or not he can kill them) They're the good guys because they're the protagonists: a girl seeking revenge because she couldn't get justice, and the man who protects her. Hyakurin and Giichi are both murderers on "death row" as it were who are given a second chance if they can take down the Itto Ryu. They're good guys because they're on Manji and Rin's side, but if they'd been told to stop the people after the Itto Ryu, they'd be bad guys(and, for that matter, one of their initial allies, Shira, is one of the most psychotic sickos in the series)
On the flipside, Anotsu and Magatsu are technically bad guys, but that's largely because they're, respectively, the leader of the group Manji and Rin are after, and his best. Anotsu seeks revenge for the loss of his family's honor and to destroy a hypocritical system that says a man(his grandfather) is inferior and lacks honor because hey, he saved everyone's butts, but he didn't do it by strictly following the rules of his school, so he got kicked out and became a disgrace, and to replace that system with one that judges a man by his merits. In pursuit of that goal, however, he's pretty much passed the point of redemption, and yet we can still understand where he's coming form, and why he does what he does. Plus, grandpa was a mean sadistic emotionally and physically abusive SOB.
Then there's Magatsu. Like Kougaiji, Magatsu is actually the character in the series that's the closest to being what's conventionally regarded as a hero. A peasant, when he was younger, his little sister was cut down by a samurai for playing in the street and being in front of his horse and thus, in his way. By law, the criminal was his sister because she was a peasant hindering a samurai's way. As a result, Magatsu wanted revenge against the entire caste and social system that declared that the murder of a little girl was right. By the time we meet him, though he's still going through the motions, he's largely over his "kill them all" mindset and is there partly out of habit, but mostly because the only friend he really has and the only person he really feels like following is Anotsu, and even though he was with the group that killed Rin's parents, he didn't take part in either act and even tried to stop the rape of Rin's mother. He leaves the Itto Ryu because he doesn't like where Anotsu's goals are leading him, but despite his later almost-friendship with Manji, he returns when he learns Anotsu is in trouble, not because it's what he feels is right in terms morals or a higher calling, but because ultimately his greatest(and only real) tie is his loyalty to Anotsu, no matter his opinion on what direction Anotsu is going. (Also, his latest appearance was arguably an attempt at damage control and his way of protecting Rin, who likely would have been dead or worse if he hadn't been there)
Wolf's Rain
First of all, we have Darcia. By all accounts(and in flashbacks) Darcia was actually a pretty nice guy before Hamona was struck with Paradise Sickness, but to save her, he was forced to become hard and ruthless because he was literally facing opposition from every side. Even though he's a villain because he opposes the heroes, he walks the fine line between good and bad, and in his interactions with Cher, we can see that the nice guy he used to be is still there somewhere. Even after Jagara murders Hamona and he's consumed by his need for revenge he still walks the line, and he doesn't become a flatout villain until Jagara's poison drives him insane. On a far lesser scale, Jagara, while evil-unlike Darcia-is at least partly motivated by love. She was in love with Darcia and loved Hamona, who was her younger sister. As far as she was concerned, Hamona had been dead in all the ways that mattered since the day she became sick, and by killing her, she was freeing both Darcia and Hamona. Yes, she turns on Darcia when he realizes that he'll never join her, but there was more than JUST evil behind her motives.
Then there's our heroes. Just look at our two alpha heroes, Kiba and Tsume. Kiba, while a good guy, also has a heavy dose of a self-righteous hypocrite to him(which is part of why I love him) and a definate superiority complex. When we properly meet him, he's busy ripping the throat out of one of Tsume's men, which is something that seems perfectly natural to him. He believes in the superiority of wolves over humans and refuses to compromise and disguise himself as a human until he's forced to realize that it'sthe only way he'll be able to get anything done. And Tsume? Tsume, is addition to being unfriendly and antagonistic, was the leader of a group of bandits. And not Robin Hood-like bandits, either. They were in it for themselves and nothing else, and none moreso than Tsume. Then there's Blue, who, even though she didn't know at the time, spent a fair part of her life hunting down her own kind, and then feels no particular guilt over it once she does know(and really, there's no reason she should, but it's an attitude far different from most heroes)
Full Metal Alchemist
Scar is a murderer, yes, on multiple counts. He is, however, acting out of pretty understandable vengeance and what he believes to be divine will. He knows that what he does is wrong and that there's no redemption for him, but he believes that the end result of his actions is for the greater good. His entire nation was slaughtered and alchemy, essentially considered to be evil magic by his people and religion, was used to accomplish that, and his brother gave him an arm capable of alchemy to save his life. As far as he's concerned, that makes him as much of an abomination as the alchemists he wants to destroy, but he believes that alchemy itself is evil and that those who practice it must be destroyed. However, unless you're an alchemist(in which case he'll hunt you down and kill you) as long as you don't try to hurt him, he has no problems with you. He understands why Winry hates him(and regrets what happened, even though he wasn't exactly sane when it happened) and agrees that she has every right to want him dead, but he won't allow her to kill him because he hasn't accomplished his goal, and if she forces him to, he will kill her, but it's not what he wants.
Rurouni Kenshin
Skipping over Kenshin(a former assassin busy punishing himself for his past actions) and Sano(exceptionally angry about his army unjustly being branded traitors and often in trouble because of his desire to get revenge on that, in addition to always being in trouble anyway) themselves because look at how long this already is and consider my poor fingers, lets look at Enishi. Enishi's actions are unquestionably evil...he sets out to systematically and cruelly destroy everything in Kenshin's life, and pretty much succeeds. However, he pretty justifiably blames Kenshin for his sister's death and in the end, he realizes that he and not Kenshin is responsible for who and what he is, and it's he who loses everything. Then there's Saito, who introduces himself into the series by poking Sano full of holes and leaving him there as a gift for Kenshin(YAY! For Megumi and house calls, though...) because he's an old enemy of Kenshin's, yet he soon becomes a steady, if reluctant ally.(and he'll never admit it.) Then there's Aoshi, introduced as a mercenary and enemy, throughout the series he skirts closer and closer to the edge of beyond redemption because he wants to regain the honor of his fallen comrades, and really, the only reason we can believe he hasn't crossed that line is because the people who care about him refuse to believe he has, even though all evidence to the contrary. Then, of course, there's the villain of the Kyoto arc(yeah, I forgot his name and I'm sure I won't remember to check it when I get home before posting this) who became a villain because his bosses tried to kill him because they got scared of how well he did the job they hired him to do, and then he decided it was time for payback.
(there'd be an Otogi Zoshi entry, too, but dangermousie is watching it right now and I'm not sure how much of my other posts she's read and remembers, but clicking my Otogi Zoshi tag will fill anyone who wants to know in)
I could keep going, but A) I'll be impressed if anyone actually made it this far, and B) we're on page 5 of 10 pt font, my brain and fingers want a rest.
ETA: LJ is playing havok with formatting again. *growls*
ETA 2: Not saying either approach is superior, really, just that it makes things interesting, as long as it's done well.