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The List - 10 Best Anime Villains of 2017


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Sahmbahdeh



Joined: 05 May 2015
Posts: 712
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 11:56 am Reply with quote
This was a pretty good list, although I may have altered the positions for a few of them somewhat (notably, I think Shishigami should have been higher, honestly). Also, I definitely think the Beast Titan from AoT S2 should have made the list, as he was chilling, horrifying, and mysterious, acting as a good representation for the second season of AoT as a whole. Or spoiler[Reiner/Bertoldt, as the second season fleshed them out significantly, and in their titan forms they're two of the most iconic anime villains of the past several years, although I understand that their inclusion may have been a spoiler in and of itself.]

As for the new poll, definitely Fate/Zero. Not only is it my favorite anime in the Fate franchise, it's my favorite anime period, of all time. It pushes so many of my buttons for what I like in anime/fiction, and I think it's the best utilization of the Fate premise. I could practically write a dissertation about how much I like this show, but I think I'll spare you of that today. Kara no Kyoukai comes in second, for a lot of the same reasons I like F/Z, but I think falls short in the writing quality and pacing departments. among other reasons. In third place is honestly Carnival Phantasm, for being so funny, and such a love letter to the fans that I have yet to see paralleled for any other fictional franchise. Admittedly, I haven't seen the HF movie, so I can't comment on that, unfortunately. This is looking like a good year for Fate, so far, so I'm looking forward to that.
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Kougeru



Joined: 13 May 2008
Posts: 5521
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 11:57 am Reply with quote
I found Usagi/Rabbit to be a really boring villain, honestly. Too overpowered, too cheesy. Made in Abyss dude was easily the most vicious, IMO. What he gave was worse than any death
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:24 pm Reply with quote
Seeing outright villainy in anime has never been much to my liking, I suppose. While the world of politics has proven that such a trait is more realistic than I once thought, unabashed foes still tend to be people you'd prefer not lend your attention. Indeed we distance ourselves from real monsters for the sake of our own composure, so exposing ourselves to their fictional analogues typically needs some sort of trade-off—we'll tolerate hearing what a morally noisome character has to say only if we expect it'll be for the good of the rest of a story; an expectation a writer can easily betray.

I'm fond of the slice-of-life genre for this reason amongst others. Antagonists tend to be more mild and incidental in such shows, and their plots, insofar as there is much to them, seldom revolve around the doings of their worst characters.
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DigitalScratch





PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:26 pm Reply with quote
I wouldn’t necessarily label Stain as a straight-on villain since he’s meant to be a representation of the “anti-hero,” particularly the ones that pop up in classic American comics. His entire motivation is built on how he was also student in the Hero program (at another school) who was enraged and eventually driven to madness by all the corruption he witnessed in the actual Hero world. Hence why the only hero he chooses to acknowledge is All Might, because to Stain he represents what heroism should be.

Stain’s reasons weren’t necessarily wrong (even Deku agreed with him that there are corrupted heroes) but his way of fixing everything was horrendous.

I would say the most intriguing villain of 2017 was Bondrewd for me. I read the manga and the more we see of him, the more horrifying he gets. The sickest thing about him is that he genuinely loves the children that he toys with, too, and sees zero things wrong with what he’s done. spoiler[ Can’t wait for anime-only viewers to see what he does to his actual adopted daughter] Father of the year indeed.
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XerBlade
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Joined: 11 Jul 2005
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Location: Depletion Garden, Nashville, TN
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:34 pm Reply with quote
Canaan isn't set in the Type-Moon universe. It's an anime adaptation intended as a sequel to one of the routes in a live action visual novel by a different company that was guest-scripted by Kinoko Nasu (just that one route, not the whole VN). And they got Takeuchi (Type-Moon's character designer) to do the character designs for the anime (again, the VN used live action graphics).
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6199
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 2:28 pm Reply with quote
Magane's not really a villain, so much as agent of chaos. After all, spoiler[She gave them the key to defeating Altair]

I loved Croix's master plan just for how timely it was. If you're gonna harness magic from negative energy, can you think of a better resource than social media?
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MaskOfBrutality



Joined: 23 Nov 2017
Posts: 62
Location: England
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 4:15 pm Reply with quote
Good list, I'd agree with most of them though would likely put Big Mom first and in any other year where Big Mom wasn't there I'd put Shishigami top, he reminded me a lot of Sato from Ajin last year in all the good ways. Haven't seen LWA or Boku no Hero Academia and reading about Stain and the other guy I feel like I have to go back and watch it.

I'd personally put Belial from Sin Nanatsu no Taizai in the list as well, at first she seemed like a normal villain but as the series went by and her motives became clearer and clearer she grew slimier, more deceitful and stronger as a villain. Plus if the Sins themselves think you've gone too far then you've pretty good villain. She also had the best outfit of any villain this year bar none.

I'd also put the Knights of Hanoi from Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS there, the top guys in particular who were behind the Lost Incident, experimenting on kids is a surefire way to up your villainous but their plans in the current timeline are sickening as well.
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Emdykay



Joined: 14 Nov 2017
Posts: 85
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 4:22 pm Reply with quote
Wait, is there a top villain list in a year where there was a Berserk release, without mention of Griffith..?
Ok, I will interpret it this way:
Griffith was left out because it is entirely superfluous to even mention, as it is common knowledge he is one of the most remarkable villains out there, regardless of medium, and thus redundant to put him on the top of every list time and time again. That is the only explanation that I can reconcile with my view of the world and internal logic!

Shame on you Jake, I know that adaption was an abomination, but Griffith is still Griffith Razz


For the Type-Moon one: Despite its inconsistence in quality over all movies, my vote goes to Kara no Kyoukai beating out Fate/Zero, then there comes a gaping quality abyss until it is actually Carnival Phantasm next up! Very Happy (No Heavens Feel screenings for me, so not in my ranking yet)
And yes Canaan is a Type-Moon show, but not set in the Nasuverse, I think those two things were conflated here.
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Chrysostomus



Joined: 11 Mar 2015
Posts: 335
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 4:32 pm Reply with quote
Croix was a really, really crappy villain and her master plan is indicative of how mediocre the LWA anime was. In a world of magic where nothing really feels magical, and any excuse for magic is buried under ham-fisted, overly sentimental and shounen-y "you have to BELIEVE!" cliches... she uses soccer hooligans, of all things, to bring her plans to fruition.

SOCCER HOOLIGANS... IN WHAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE ANIME HARRY POTTER.

It's just amazing how un-magical the LWA world is after the TV series.
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Spastic Minnow
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Joined: 02 May 2006
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 8:53 pm Reply with quote
regarding Magane...
Quote:
Her one superpower is surprisingly versatile; she can make any lie she tells into reality if the foolish heroes call her bluff, and of course they always do.

And this was pretty much when I gave up on the show. They all knew what her power was, they knew it was stupid to listen to her and engage in conversation, and above all, BELIEVE HER. Yet they all did.

It's like she had this bag that has something that can kill them in it. But the only way it can be used is if they themselves pick it up, open it, and stick their heads in. Everyone knows whats in it but when she says "wanna look?" they're all like "what's the big deal? I think that will make an excellent hat!"
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 9:35 pm Reply with quote
I found Altair rather a boring antagonist given how overpowered she was. The plan to defeat her was never really clearly presented either, or maybe I was just too slow to understand it.
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FireballDragon



Joined: 17 Nov 2014
Posts: 682
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 10:26 pm Reply with quote
I really like how Shigaraki's growth as a villain is an obvious parallel to Deku's growth as a hero.

But did you seriously have to use his goddamn "It's all 'cause of All Might" face for the thumbnail!?
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Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 4564
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 12:59 am Reply with quote
I loved me some Croix, and Big Mom is fantastically demented, but I don't think I've ever gone as quickly from 0-to-RIPHISHEADOFF as I did with Bondrewd. I only watched that final episode a week or two ago, and...Jesus, I don't have the words for it.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 1:13 am Reply with quote
Everyone keeps describing Usagi's outfit as Daisy Dukes, but to me they just look like a fur-trimmed thong. I guess they could be frayed, but the material doesn't quite seem like it would lend itself to that. Whatever, to me the most hilariously striking part of his outfit was that ginormous tail. Smile

v1cious wrote:
Magane's not really a villain, so much as agent of chaos.

I think the bookseller and her creator would disagree, if they could. But I loved her anyway. It's hard to dislike someone who's so gosh-darn happy all the time.

Spastic Minnow wrote:
Quote:
Her one superpower is surprisingly versatile; she can make any lie she tells into reality if the foolish heroes call her bluff, and of course they always do.

And this was pretty much when I gave up on the show. They all knew what her power was, they knew it was stupid to listen to her and engage in conversation, and above all, BELIEVE HER. Yet they all did.

Actually, her power kicked in when they said they didn't believe her. And as many thousands of times as I've watched people (including myself, this very day) apparently helpless to stop feeding trolls online, even when specifically told to ignore them, it was hardly a stretch to think people would find her personal taunts excruciatingly difficult to ignore, especially when she's right there in their face and not as easily dismissed as clicking away from a page.
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jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 4369
Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:46 am Reply with quote
Kougeru wrote:
I found Usagi/Rabbit to be a really boring villain, honestly. Too overpowered, too cheesy. Made in Abyss dude was easily the most vicious, IMO. What he gave was worse than any death


i know. that guy should have been number one than altair. and to be frank, shigarashi shouldn't be on this list since he didn't have any actual character development at all unlike stain who more or less got the whole nine yards in that department. one ep for him isn't enough to warrant being on this list. while its possible he'll get more in season three, i'm extremely concerned that he might get overshadowed by all for one. personally reiner and berholth from attack on titan should get the number 9 spot instead of that "man-child"

as for the poll. its clearly 2006 FSN followed by tsukihime and prisma illya with both UBW versions in the bottom of the pile.

though while its good that heavens feel is getting a movie version for 2018, it would have been more interesting if that route had got the TV version instead of the half assed unlimited blade works route. or at least hollow ataraxia. at least apocrypha got a tv series unlike grand order which for some reason instead are getting ova movies aka "glorified ad promo ovas" for its mobile game instead of a tv series adaptation.
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