Magnificent Bastard/Anime

""Just As Planned.""

- Light Yagami, upon getting his memories back

""Don't you recall? The two of us used to play chess together as boys. Of course, I would always win.""

- Lelouch Lamperouge

See also:

"Manning: "When I give you the signal I want you to push that button. That's not so hard."
 * The most impressive and villainous character in Ashita no Nadja? . Said character steals the spotlight brilliantly by kicking puppies so well and hard that even the local Smug Snake, who thought the kid would be an easy-to-manipulate puppet at first, in the end utterly fears them. And for all that, the punishment amounts to nothing more than a   Karma Houdini, indeed.
 * Balalaika from Black Lagoon. Ruthless, cool, very dignified ex-special forces commander, now the queen of the mafia. Her huge facial scars can't completely tarnish her incredible beauty, and her fighting skills and intelligence keep her on top of the crime control of Roanapur.
 * Series protaganist Rock seems to be turning into a anti-heroic Magnificent Bastard as he becomes steadily more jaded. Whilst he's manipulating everyone around him and with a Slasher Smile that tells you he's thoroughly enjoying himself, is that his goal is ultimately to save as many lives as possible.
 * He talked back at Balalaika and lived. That alone shows how much of a Magnificent Bastard he is.
 * Let's not forget Balalaika's biggest Rival and pretty much the only mafia leader in Roanapur who can more or less constantly keep up with her: Mr. Chang from the Sun-Yee On Triad.
 * With the latest OVA series it is clear that Chan and Balalaika are equals. Balalaika might have her absolute lead in provess and wit, but Chan makes it up with his great influence and far superior contacts, with CIA for example.
 * Bleach's Sosuke Aizen. The man caused the exile of six Gotei 13 captains, multiple vice-captains, and both the Kidou Corps captain and vice-captain in a single move, while pinning it all on one of the exiled captains. He got away with this for over a century then had the entire governing body of the Soul Society slaughtered and replaced by him and his henchman without anyone noticing. He then manipulated everyone with ease in a great, long-running Gambit Roulette to steal the Hogyoku trapped in Rukia's soul, take over the Hollow world, create a new army of soul-eating supersoldiers, and then take over... pretty much everything else. He had backup plan upon backup plan, faked his own death, nearly stabbed to death his fiercely-loyal lieutenant (who remained fiercely loyal for a while afterward), took out the fighting strength of the Gotei 13, and very nearly succeeded in obliterating Ichigo's hometown to fuel his ambitions.
 * One arc is pretty much the struggle between two Magnificent Bastard candidates: Shujuro Tsukishima and Ginjo Kugo.
 * Tsukishima manages to become the only other person besides Ichigo to outgambit Byakuya Kuchiki by using his power to insert himself into Byakuya's memories as his fighting mentor, allowing him to learn all of Byakuya's abilities in a single sword strike.
 * Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion is full of these, with the Anti Hero Or Villain Protagonist Lelouch being one of the best examples. He turns a weak regional rebellion into a massive world war against his father, all while under the guise of the fabulously theatrical masked persona, Zero. His older brother Schneizel lacks the theatrics, but more than makes up for it in sheer competence,
 * Considering both, it's In the Blood, after all.
 * Even when Schneizel He then goes on to . His Magnificent Bastardness REALLY shines through, however, when you realize that
 * That entire sequence is even more awesome when you realize: He could have done this from the start. This is what Lelouch becomes after you take away his friends and love interest.
 * C.C. is one of these as well, seeing as she helps Lelouch with almost everything he does. She may be Lelouch's right-hand woman, but she's never outshined by him.
 * Light Yagami of Death Note employs Memory Gambits, Batman Gambits and Gambit Roulettes left, right and centre while eating potato chips and wielding his pen like a sword to Ominous Latin Chanting.
 * Mello might to be a runner-up for the role since.
 * L and Near also qualify, as they match Light gambit for gambit. This series is an excellent example of what happens when two Magnificent Bastards are pitted against each other.
 * Jean-Luc LeBlanc, Nietzsche Wannabe and Evilutionary Biologist, of Divergence Eve.
 * in Ergo Proxy, who is even referenced to be "the winner at the end of the world" (with good reason). Not only is he the master manipulator of nearly everything that happens in the course of the series, but he.
 * Hiruma, the team captain and quarterback for the Devil Bats, of Eyeshield 21. Scarily enough, he's also the Team Dad.
 * The Count from Gankutsuou- holy shit. Perhaps even more so than he was in the original story.
 * Katekyo Hitman Reborn has the third major Big Bad of the series.
 * But the true mastermind of the whole Future Arc was   
 * The Inheritance Ceremony Arc Big Bad,, is showing signs of this.
 * Saralegui from Kyo Kara Maoh. In one move, he made sure that Yuuri's crew all trusted him and wiped out Large Shimaron's army by He then followed that up by  Remarkably, he still managed to finish up the series with Yuuri trusting him completely until the very end.
 * Johan Liebert - the Monster. He manipulates everyone he encounters as they were puppets on a string and then disposes of them without a second thought, subverts every Pet the Dog moment he's given in chilling ways, and never loses that Dissonant Serenity permanently affixed to his face. The problem is, the straight treatment the series gives his activities also makes him freaking scary to behold. A perfect example of a character who manages to be both this trope and a Complete Monster.
 * Tobi from Naruto fits this trope. He's got the plans, the style, and the nerve for it. He even manages.
 * Arguably, the closest to Magnificent Bastard in Naruto is who has   Holy CRAP!
 * Neon Genesis Evangelion has Gendo Ikari, the leader of the NERV organization. While far from his only ploy, the greatest reason he is on this page is for his involvement in, even though he wasn't the one in charge. He was enough of a key factor to be considered the one most responsible for it, and he even had his own motive for manipulating its execution:
 * Rebuild of Evangelion took his badassery to new heights. If you think back to it, Hoo-lee shit, is this guy awesome or what?!
 * Recommend studying of his entry on the Memetic Badass page as well.
 * Manning from Orguss 02 is a perfect example of the trope. Perfect quote, when he's on a plane with two others that's under attack by an enemy Giant Robot:

Lean: "That's the hatch release. If I open the hatch, then what?"

Manning: "I'll escape in the Decimator."

Lean: "You mean the only person who's going to get out of this alive is you?"

Manning:  "Beats everyone dying, doesn't it?""

""Do not look away from each new death. Look straight ahead, and never forget them. Because they certainly won't.""
 * Several characters from Ouran High School Host Club:
 * Everything Kyouya did had a purpose that would benefit him in the long run (with one or two notable exceptions).
 * Considering that many of his manipulations turn out to be more or less benevolent and that he comes to really care for the Host Club people, Kyouya might belong more in Guile Hero.
 * Akio Ohtori from Revolutionary Girl Utena. He seduces multiple women including  as well as some guys  . He also: rigs ; creates ; convinces ; and runs a private school in his spare time. And he gets away with all of that. (
 * Lord Laertes Van Di Montague from Romeo X Juliet, who  And that's just the beginning...
 * Kunzite from Sailor Moon. After over a season of Monsters Of The Week, most of the Shitennou repeatedly showing themselves to be incompetent, and Usagi continuing to win and even gain ground against the Dark Kingdom, it was a breath of fresh air to see Beryl's Dragon set clever traps, catch the entire team and almost finish them off (and only fail because of a scout he didn't know about), tear through Usagi's obvious Out Gambitted ploy like it was made of wet paper, and finally go down fighting against Sailor Moon instead of getting the You Have Failed Me treatment. Even if he's not as awesome as some of the examples on this page and went through a five episode period of Badass Decay, the series could have used more like him.
 * Also, Sailor Galaxia. Her super effective manipulations of all of her soldiers (and Queen Nehelenia, in the anime) as well as her sheer power puts her squarely here in this trope.
 * Xellos for The Slayers fits this bill quite nicely, even moreso in the original novels.
 * Jillas from Slayers TRY, likewise. You would normally think a Goldfish Poop Gang member would be unable to manipulate the entire party against their actions. Think again.
 * Medusa the Witch in Soul Eater. Manipulates her daughter... son... child into becoming a Dark Magical Child... but subverts the usual Heel Face Turn instead. Blackmails other witches, like Eruka, into working for her by planting parts of her body in them that explode whenever she wills it. Matches the best Technician and Death Scythe in Shibusen in battle,, gives The Corruption to the main heroine/hero duo, comes Back From the Dead by stealing the body of a little girl with the promise of returning it later (a promise she actually keeps  ) but still fully using said little girl's body as an advantage so no one can attack her, drives the best tech crazy, frames him for murder, drives out a good witch who wanted to defect, and
 * Then she proves herself to be an Uber Magnificent Bitch when she reveals that
 * The last point is arguable, as  Let's see how it works out...
 * In the manga, Medusa may be even more of a Magnificent Bitch,  What would normally be  ... becomes   in Medusa's hands. Hoooo Leee Sheeeeet.
 * Askeladd Olafson from Vinland Saga has pulled off damn near every gambit there is, kicked the dog, and kicked ass all with style. It's very easy to forget how much of a bastard he can be.
 * There is actually quite a suprising number of Magnificent Bastards for a manga about blood thirsty vikings.
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's brings us Rex Goodwin; a very different villain given the genre. For all of the first season, he operates behinds behind the scenes, manipulating the Five Signers in order to force them to reveal themselves. For example, in order to get Yusei Fudo to participate in his tournament, he kidnaps his friends and threatens him with their deaths. Yeah. And the kicker; it's revealed that his reasons for this were inherently noble, and he has received no comeuppance for his actions. And throughout all of this, he has maintained a calm, friendly demeanor.
 * And then it's revealed that, which makes him even more magnificent and even more of a bastard!
 * Pegasus from the original series.
 * Bakura from the original series is perhaps an even bigger example. In his debut appearance, he's shown to be the Phaoroh's equal in being a master of all games and he manipulates all events to fit in with his "game." Afterwards, he begins a Gambit Roulette that lasts for the remainder of the series and almost brings  into the living world. Not to mention that he's gleefully deliciously and charismatically evil the whole way through.
 * Dartz had 10,000 years to complete his master plan, and it shows. He's set everything up so that no matter whether he and his minions win or lose, he still wins. He is the richest and most powerful man in the world owning a tiny piece of every company on Earth, and has enough capital to buy out Kaiba-Corp for no other reason than to provoke Kaiba. He has supernatural powers that outshine anything Yami Yugi has in his arsenal (The Power of Friendship excluded, naturally), has assembled the most broken deck in the series, and survived monster armies, Egyptian Gods and the loss of his own soul before he was defeated.
 * Sakyou from Yu Yu Hakusho. Even before his main role in the Dark Tournament arc, he effortlessly used Yusuke's team to cause the downfall of one of his rivals.
 * And later, we have the only living being able to Out Gambit  and get away with it:  . Not only he did that, but   Fucking awesome.
 * There's also Shinobu Sensui, who expertly manipulated disadvantaged superpowered youths into heinous acts in an attempt to stall the good guys, . Later, after, Sensui manipulates Kuwabara into.
 * Although she is one of the good guys, Haruna Saotome herself is this in regards to pactios, or anything involving magic. Ships everyone with Negi, DRAGS Negi to Comiket, and makes plans to conquer the entire Magic World.
 * A ton of characters in Mirai Nikki count. It looks like the biggest one of all is
 * from Macross Frontier is slowly revealed to be a shining example of this trope.
 * For most of the first half of the series, we are only given very subtle hints at  role in the grand scheme of things. Even the first time we actually see   working towards   goals, it's with a disguise so well done that fans were arguing if it even was  . Even the choice voice actor playing the role was seemingly meant to mislead.
 * It's only around halfway when
 * Later on we learn that
 * All the while.
 * And the reason for all this,
 * Legend of Galactic Heroes has quite a few, but one that really stands out is Adrian Rubinsky, who manipulates both sides of a massive intergalactic war to increase his own profit, and eventually
 * Most of the enemies in Fullmetal Alchemist are either outright monsters or have a very tragic element to their existence. However, Zolf J. Kimbley walks the fine line between Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard. Despite his psychopathic tendencies, he has a very strong (if completely alien) moral and warrior code that he follows, one that he is aware of being at odds with society (which is why he takes great lengths to mask it). But his Crowning Moment of Awesome for this trope was when, in the manga, !
 * Perhaps the earliest sign that he had tendencies toward this was during the Ishbalan massacre. Even though he delighted in the genocide, he was one of the very few soldiers present willing to acknowledge the full weight of his actions and remember those he cut down while others chose to look away.
 * Most of the enemies in Fullmetal Alchemist are either outright monsters or have a very tragic element to their existence. However, Zolf J. Kimbley walks the fine line between Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard. Despite his psychopathic tendencies, he has a very strong (if completely alien) moral and warrior code that he follows, one that he is aware of being at odds with society (which is why he takes great lengths to mask it). But his Crowning Moment of Awesome for this trope was when, in the manga, !
 * Perhaps the earliest sign that he had tendencies toward this was during the Ishbalan massacre. Even though he delighted in the genocide, he was one of the very few soldiers present willing to acknowledge the full weight of his actions and remember those he cut down while others chose to look away.


 * Amusingly, Hayate the Combat Butler has a character who straddles the line between this and Guile Hero. Miki Hanabishi is known for her plots to make trouble for Hinagiku, in fact it's clearly stated in her profile that she enjoys it, but generally seems to be using such tactics to push Hina to the forefront of the competition for Hayate's affection. While at the same time pursuing Hinagiku with her own romantic interest.
 * A possible example is Mikado Sanzennin, Nagi's grandfather. A pretty much fearless Tsundere like Nagi is terrified of him, and with good reason.
 * Durarara!! has Orihara Izaya. Everything that happens in Ikebukuro is a result of his massive game of Xanatos Speed Chess. Except in book four, but he makes up for it in five and six because he felt left out.
 * Black Butler has Lau in the anime and
 * Even more of a worthy choice is
 * Ciel Phantomhive himself is basically a Magnificent Bastard in training (if he's not already one). He's a Badass Adorable Deadpan Snarker Chessmaster who's arguably even more dangerous than his demonic Battle Butler.
 * Souichi of Challengers and The Tyrant Falls in Love is a relatively down-to-earth version of this. When a professor attempts to rape him, Souichi attempts to murder the guy.  stops him, but Souichi still manages to stab the guy deep in the ass with a pair of scissors. When Soichi and Morinaga witness a guy on his cellphone ignoring the pleas of a woman who has an assistive device in her heart, Soichi gets fed up when the woman collapses and snatches the phone out of the guy's hand then snaps it in half. Soichi is not a supervillain and he hasn't got the world under his thumb, but he's a damned terrifying force when his protectiveness of his brother, his sense of justice or his hatred of gays is crossed, which is often.
 * Vincent Nightray from Pandora Hearts also fits this title pretty well.
 * Xerxes Break too; he and Vincent each appear to have the upper hand on the other at points, and it's unclear who is actually the master manipulator between them.
 * TONS of characters are getting in on the game. Isla Yura (though there's nothing admirable about him), Duke Barma, and even Oz have had their moments. But the most jarring example:  Holy crap.
 * Souma Saiki from Sakura Gari is mostly a Broken Ace, but shows shades of this -- specially when he
 * Kanako from Star Driver, you are fighting against the Ginga Bishounen who has beaten everyone else and you are ineveitably next on the chopping block? Why you betray your call to be "professional" (Splitting real life from your life in the Crux) and steal the first kiss of the Ginga Bishounen (without using a glass wall to make it innocent).
 * from Puella Magi Madoka Magica seems to be the kind of person who walks the line between Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard. So far his plans are very cruel and have had huge consequences (like ), but except for , it has all gone just as planned. It's even better/worse when you see that
 * However, he gets screwed over by someone else at the last moment...
 * Even then, he doesn't exactly 'lose.' It's not as efficient a method of harvesting energy, but it still allows  to accomplish his mission, just in a somewhat more modest way.
 * Some fans take this further, speculating that was in fact All According to Plan; indeed, some ascribe everything that happened in the series to his machinations, even the parts that seemed to go against his intentions.
 * Kenneth Yamaoka from Eagle: The Making Of An Asian American President.
 * Rurouni Kenshin's Shishio Makoto came up with the plan to burn Kyoto right to the ground . This is just his biggest, most expensive example though. He practically lives for this trope.
 * Ukyo, the Big Bad of Samurai 7.
 * The main point of Iason Mink's character in Ai no Kusabi is that he is both magnificent...and a complete and utter bastard. Only his high status in society let's him get away with it.
 * Kokujo, of Duel Masters, uses his phenomenal skills in psychological warfare to completely destroy the hero in their first duel. The dub furthers his status by having him shamelessly call himself "an evil genius."
 * Toua Tokuchi, the protagonist of One Outs, definitely qualifies.
 * Well Intentioned Extremist Choji Suitengu of Speed Grapher.
 * Knight Templar Lieutenant Colonel Dewey Novak of Eureka Seven.
 * The latest Bakugan Big Bad Mag Mel. The guy managed to effortlessly trick the heroes into giving him the power to free himself from his prison before they even know he existed. He proves to be a Manipulative Bastard and Chessmaster so cunning that he's always several steps ahead of the group and even the one time thus far he's lost, he still got half of what he wanted and the Brawlers find out while they were fighting his forces on one of their ally's homeworlds, Mag Mel had utterly demolished Bakugan Interspace with another attack that cripples the transporters so no one can get out except his minions, who are free to get in and out at will. While he's not exactly charming, he realized this and made (literally) his Co Dragons extremely charismatic and planted them in Bakugan Interspace to raise followers and generally cause chaos.
 * Millions Knives from the Trigun manga. A frighteningly superpowered Badass Abnormal with charisma to spare and the flaws of a Shakespearean character.
 * Legato Bluesummers from the anime. An utterly terrifying, nihilistic, relentless agent of death with the ability to mentally control any villager--man, woman, or child--to their deaths. His first appearance absolutely terrifies Vash, whom he makes his mission to completely break.
 * Or the manga for that matter. And in that version,.
 * Yuto Kigai and Seishiro Sakurazuka from X 1999. Yuto is polite, softspoken, a little snarky, very caring towards Satsuki and yet is able to carry out Kanoe's instructions without even getting his suit dirty. Seishirou is a charismatic murderer with a charming smile, a Star Crossed Lovers bond with Subaru Sumeragi, very cruel and very stylish puppy-kicking acts under his belt, and in the end he.
 * While it's still a little earlier, it looks like  from Mawaru Penguindrum is heading towards this. Her method of   is a little... odd, but the rest of her actions are very efective.   Not good.   Fucking awesome.
 * has some inklings of this too. In his quest to, he has managed to   Later  . And later it's revealed that some time ago   Thus, he has almost completely  , all while looking fabulous in that coat and   hair of his, and specially in  's eyes. Hmmmm!
 * Semmerling from Riding Bean. She does begin to lose her cool somewhat but then, who wouldn't?
 * Meowth of Team Rocket, of all people, attempts to be this in the Best Wishes series of the Pokémon anime. During the journey to Nimbasa City, he played the gang like a fiddle by pretending to be fired from Team Rocket and wanting to join with them instead, and nearly got away with their Pokemon along with the other members of Team Rocket, who were operating a surprisingly well thought out plan. Unfortunately for them, it's another situation where Failure Is the Only Option.
 * Michio Yuki from MW. He kidnaps his victims in order to extract money from the corrupt politicians who covered up the titular chemical warfare that took away his conscience. He even impersonates the women he killed as part of his plan.
 * Miyo Takano from Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni certainly counts. She masterminded the events of the first six arcs, and loves frightening people with tales of Hinamizawa's past. Definitely a Magnificent Bitch. Also manages to be COMPLETELY EVIL (but mostly because of what the orphanage leader, Nomura, and Tokyo did to her).
 * Interestingly, Takano's magnificence is heavily influenced by a Bigger Bad and fellow Magnificent Bitch, her employer, Nomura, who, like Takano, also manages to be a Complete Monster at the same time. She demonstrated a plan to close up a company by tricking Takano into helping her and manipulating everything in order to cause the Great Hinamizawa Disaster, and nobody even seemed to notice that she was behind it all (which makes her a Karma Houdini as well). Another perfect example. Helps that she has a great evil voice provided by Rie Tanaka.
 * Similarly, Umineko no Naku Koro Ni gives us Beatrice, an Anti Villain with standards who, as a Game Master, often clashes with Battler and uses magic to elegantly commit a series of bizarre murders on Rokkenjima. She's truly impressed by Battler's performance, and often looks for ways to make him surrender as best as possible. Oh, and she's also a Laughably Evil Large Ham.
 * Bernkastel counts as well., and ? She definitely deserves a praise for those. Notably,.
 * And what about Lambdadelta? Her plan is to "trap" Bernkastel by making the battle between Battler and Beatrice last for eternity. Another perfect example of a Magnificent Bitch that can also be considered very likely to be truly evil.
 * Higanbana of her self-titled series counts as well. Offering Marie a chance to become Mesomeso and acting as a villain against heroic characters or an Anti Hero against villainous characters is definitely saying something.
 * Perhaps the most impressive and villainous character in Mon Colle Knights happens to be Redda, the Big Bad and final villain. He has a deviously cruel sense of chessmastery and mastery of manipulation, is Bishounen in appearance (especially behind that scary mask of his), and shows a nice Xanatos Gambit . Another perfect example of a villain that happens to be both this and a Complete Monster, so much that even the Laughably Evil Terrible Trio of Villains Out Shopping fear him.
 * Now,.