Animated Villains

[Pharass]

Villains, one of my favorite subject. Several of my favorites have already been mentioned (Johan, The Joker, Legato, Sensui etc) so I'll limit myself to characters that haven't already been seen in this thread.

Favorites

David Xanatos (Gargoyles): I'm a bit surprised that I'm the first one to mention him (unless I happen to miss a post). Xanatos was interesting because he was so different from most villains; not only was he charming and intelligent, but he also didn't hold grudges nor did he have anything personal against the heroes. All in all, I think Xanatos is one of the few villains who in some ways can serve as role-model. Of course, he was also a scheming trickster, willing to screw anyone over as long as it benefited his plans, but no-one is perfect.

Nox (Wakfu): One of the best tragic villains I've seen in animation.

Yakomaru (From the New World): Another villain (although antagonist would perhaps be the more proper term) whose goals kept me wondering throughout the series. To be honest, by the end of From the New World I felt a lot more sympathy for him than any of the humans.

Ladd Russo (Baccano!): Unlike the above three, Ladd doesn't really have any sympathetic qualities, but he's just so enthusiastic about what he does that it's hard not to get caught up in that enthusiasm. He's probably the closest equivalent anime has to The Joker and yes, I'm including villains with some sort of clown-motif like Hisoka in that statement.

I'll think of some more later.

Least Favorites:

Abis Mal (Aladdin): Anyone else remember this guy? He was the fat thief that debuted in Return of Jafar and then for some reason became the most prominent villain in the TV-show. Never could stand the guy when I watched the show as a kid, nor did it help that every other episode seemed to feature him as the heroes nemesis.

Agreed on Gluttony, I also didn't care much for the 2003 version of Wrath. Sorry, but in my opinion, a genocidal dictator like King Bradley fits much better as the incarnation of wrath than a kid who throws temper-tantrums, even if said kid tried to kill the main characters.

[LumRanmaYasha]

David Xanatos (Gargoyles): I'm a bit surprised that I'm the first one to mention him (unless I happen to miss a post).

Heh, I was thinking of mentioning Xanatos myself, but I honestly don't consider him a villain, because he's not even strictly an enemy of the Gargoyles, he's just working towards his own ends and happens to antagonize them in the process. He's an antagonist for sure, but it's hard for me to think of him as a villain. Same goes for Macbeth.


I'll think of some more later.

Agreed on Gluttony, I also didn't care much for the 2003 version of Wrath. Sorry, but in my opinion, a genocidal dictator like King Bradley fits much better as the incarnation of wrath than a kid who throws temper-tantrums, even if said kid tried to kill the main characters.

Hmm...I'm not really sure why people hate Gluttony. He's far from my favorite villain in Fullmetal Alchemist, but there isn't anything I consider terrible about him. Now Wrath from the original anime, oh my god how I hate him. His motivation is such a clusterfuck, but worse than that he's just an annoying, bratty little kid. Easily the worst villain in the franchise.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Greed is honestly the only villain I like in FMA (Lust has her moments) for actually attempting to have motivations beyond because.

Most of my favorites are mentioned, but I'll throw in the underrated Seta Soujiro from Rurouni Kenshin. He initially comes off as a very shallow character until you learn that his strength is his biggest weakness and his past haunts him despite his supposed "erasing" of it. He becomes probably the most human character in the story at that point, I think. I feel he's probably the most interesting villain in the series except maybe Einishi.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I love Greed myself, but I prefer the Brotherhood version (they are basically the same for a while in both versions, but he lasts longer and I feel he has an even more rounded character thanks to his relationship with Ling), who really isn't a villain. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

David Xanatos (Gargoyles): I'm a bit surprised that I'm the first one to mention him (unless I happen to miss a post). Xanatos was interesting because he was so different from most villains; not only was he charming and intelligent, but he also didn't hold grudges nor did he have anything personal against the heroes. All in all, I think Xanatos is one of the few villains who in some ways can serve as role-model. Of course, he was also a scheming trickster, willing to screw anyone over as long as it benefited his plans, but no-one is perfect.

Xanatos is a great character, and like many Gargoyles "villains," its actually pretty difficult to outright classify him as a villain by the standards that we think we define villains. Many of his actions can be viewed as antagonistic, but on many occasions he has had some sort of clear motivation for the things he does, and they haven't always been selfish. I think that by the time he has his own son, you could even say that he's made the transition from being a villain into a more neutral person, than anything else. What I can say for sure, though, is that Xanatos is probably my favorite Gargoyles character, villain or not.

On that note, though, I'd have to say that in terms of having a compelling back-story and clear motivations that make for an interesting villain, Macbeth is not only my favorite Gargoyles villain, but also one of my favorite villains in general. Hell, I'll probably create a top 10 list when I get the chance, but for now, anyone who hasn't seen City of Stone should really do so. Then go back and watch Macbeth's earlier episodes and you'll see his character from a new point of view and the way he acts will make a lot more sense, and be a lot more interesting. I'm not sure if Greg Weisman had already planned out his entire back-story from the very beginning of the series, but if he then did I could certainly believe it, because his character previous to the flash-back in City of Stone is so consistent with the events of that story arc. And of course Macbeth still has great appearances even after that.

[Spark Of Spirit]

As it should be because Macbeth is a fantastic story on its own.

[gunswordfist]

Ling Greed comes off as a boring fanservice character to me. It's like he was there to have a 'cool' character jump in every once in awhile.

FMA Greed though is probably my favorite character out of either series. I've always thought Lust was vastly overrated. In the first series, she was cruel up until she decided to act human late in the series. That wasn't enough. In Brotherhood, she was just cruel.

As for the rest of the Homunculi, FMA Wrath is the WOAT, Sloth being around just made Bradley look stupid. HEY KIDS! I have a copy of your mother walking around me, I'm sure that'll raise no suspicions...Anyway, original series King Bradley revealed his plot twice too late which gave me no reason to pay attention to him. Envy is passable in both series because I like his personality.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Alright, here is a list of my top 10 favorite villains from animation. Like most of my lists, its subject to change, but I've put a lot of thought into these villains, and I am pretty confident that they make up my favorites.

First, though, here are some honorable mentions: Light Yagami (Death Note), Gauron (Full Metal Panic!), David Xanatos (Gargoyles), Demona (Gargoyles), Kang The Conqueror (Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes), The Big Man (The Spectacular Spider-Man), Scar (The Lion King)

And, here are my favorites:

10. Sir Crocodile (One Piece)


9. Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)


8. Frieza (Dragon Ball Z Kai)


7. Chrollo Lucifer (Hunter X Hunter)


6. Claudandus (Felidae)


5. The Joker (Batman: The Animated Series)


4. Makoto Shishio (Rurouni Kenshin)


3. Macbeth (Gargoyles)


2.

An interesting villian with a genuinely tragic backstory and unique abilites? In a shounen fighing series? Who woulda thunk it!

This.

1. Johan Liebert (Monster)


If you guys want me to explain any of my choices, please feel free to ask. I'm just far too lazy to type up my usual long-winded paragraphs about each of them, for right now.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

9. Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Agruably one of the best animated Disney villain.

[Avaitor]

He'd make my top 5, but I just can't say that any of them surpass Maleficent for me.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Malificent is a classic, but I'd say that Frollo could at least be argued to be Disney's most 3-dimensional villain. He's clearly a bad guy, but he actually does experience emotions beyond just anger and maniacal laughter.

[GregX]

Top Twenty-Five Animated TV Villains
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8tQ7-yq9yg

Top Twenty-Five Comic Book Villains (disqualified them from the other video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn0MedI8wyo

Top Twenty-Five Movie Villains (four are animated)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkcZU4DWSJ0

[Daikun]

10. Sir Crocodile (One Piece)

This guy is awesome.

My personal favorite villain:



Darkseid (Superman: TAS and the DCAU)

[Spark Of Spirit]

A lot of good choices, but I don't think anyone will ever top:

1. Johan Liebert (Monster)

Who remains my personal favorite.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

My personal favorite villain:



Darkseid (Superman: TAS and the DCAU)

You especially have to give him credit for being the first DCAU villain to kill off an established character, Dan Turpin (and now that I think about it, that may be the only case in which that ever happened in the entire DCAU). For me, that was a BIG deal when I was a kid.