Chaotic Neutral: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Chaotic Neutral comes in a variety of flavours:

* Morally neutral versions of [[The Unfettered]].

* [[Villain Protagonist]]: Those who aren't really evil.

 

{{examples}}

 

 

* [[Ms. Fanservice|Michiko]] The [[Villain Protagonist|criminal]] from [[Michiko to Hatchin]]

* ''[[Ranma ½]]'' has characters that swing all over the [[Character Alignment]] scale, with only a few who can truly be said to fit into a definitive alignment ([[Neutral Good|Kasumi Tendo]], [[Neutral Evil|Nabiki Tendo]], [[Neutral Evil|Shampoo]], [[Chaotic Evil|Happosai]]) -- and even they are [[Alternative Character Interpretation|open to different readings]]. Especially between the two versions (the anime treats the other members of Ranma's [[Unwanted Harem]] much more sympathetically than the original manga does), most of the main crew can switch between [[Neutral Evil]] or [[Chaotic Evil]] malice, [[Chaotic Good]] benevolence and sympathy, and just self-centeredness, which means that Chaotic Neutral (and [[Neutral Evil]], for characters more frequently used as villains) is more of the 'average' alignment then anything else.

** Ranma Saotome is a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] more often than not, shrugging off frequent abuse and manipulations as no big deal and capable of feeling genuinely sorry for [[Neutral Evil|Taro or Herb]], despite petty casual murder attempts. Yet, anytime a possible cure for his curse comes up, he gets jealous, he wants to upstage someone who beat him in something, a fiancee starts treating him coldly, someone claims that his female side isn't pretty, he has a comparatively banal or more justified (Genma and Happosai) grudge, etc, he can be one of the most petty, childish, spiteful, manipulative, and even outright [[Disproportionate Retribution|cruel]] members of the cast. Still, most of his "good" actions are genuinely heroic, and most of his "bad" actions are—even while cruel—less intentionally malicious than they are insensitive.

** Ukyo Kuonji is a generally pleasant, affable, self-reliant, and loyal girl-next-door ([[Wholesome Crossdresser|choice of clothes aside]]) who tries to be a friend to Ranma, and even gets on relatively well with Akane outside of competition. She has romantic fantasies about Ranma, and clings to whatever scraps of [[Selective Obliviousness|apparent kindness]] he throws her way. At the same time, she is capable of being very manipulative and underhanded; including setting violent ambushes and using threats of violence to get her way. She also has a tendency to whack any male she finds annoying or stupid with her giant steel spatula, no insults necessary, and together with Shampoo and Kodachi has beat up Ranma in various melee brawls. However, she does not appear to be as amoral and ruthless as the other two, as she can be compassionate, loyal, or charitable—the two most notable examples of this last aspect are her allowing [[Extreme Doormat|Konatsu]] to live with her, despite being a socially clueless and naive bother (admittedly, she has him working for pathetically low wages) and her willingness to allow the Tendos to stay in her house after they briefly lost their own, even though she had no obligation to do so. She can be considered the least violent of the [[Unwanted Harem]]; she avoided killing Genma when first introduced despite that he turned her into an outcast, prefers to use non-violent plots half the time, and never actually states an intent to kill anybody. However, when teamed up with Shampoo and Kodachi, this line can turn very blurry, as, regardless if she only intended to beat Nabiki, Hinako, or (during the wedding) Akane unconscious, the other two would go all the way if convenient. In the manga she also seems more cynical and suspicious than Akane; for example, in their relative opinions on Miss Hinako's intents towards Ranma in an exchange between them. In the anime, she is kinder however, and more likely to fall into [[Chaotic Good]].

** When it comes to [[Character Alignment]], Ryoga Hibiki is the biggest [[Base Breaker]] of the cast, with some saying he improves from Chaotic Neutral to in-between [[Chaotic Good]] and [[Neutral Good]] with varying degrees of speed (see the former link for that side of the argument), others that he remains Chaotic Neutral, and yet others that he started out as [[Chaotic Good]], but had been provoked to extremes. In all cases, most agree with the fact he is an inherently sympathetic character with an absolutely terrible background, though some consider Ryoga-fans to be [[Draco in Leather Pants|too willing to excuse his misdeeds in light of his extreme circumstances]]. Unpredictable to the extreme, he can [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/013/006/007/ literally be unable to force himself to hit Ranma one moment] (because he knows Ranma is now [[Brought Down to Normal|too weak]] to fight back)... [[Insane Troll Logic|and shortly afterwards accuse Ranma of raping]] [[Cute Bruiser|Akane Tendo]], [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/013/006/016/ ragingly attacking him] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/013/007/004/ after finding Ranma with a tatter-clothed and teary-eyed Akane in the woods], [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/013/007/005/ despite Akane outright saying that's not the case] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/013/007/006/ and shouting at Ranma to stop encouraging Ryoga's beliefs]. He's willing to go along with Akane using him as her pet piglet, yet is genuinely extremely shy, and refuses to peek at her while she's not fully dressed, [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/029/008/009/ once even declaring outright] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/029/008/010/ that it's the most evil thing he can] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/029/008/011/ think of doing]. [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/008/004/ The], [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/008/008/ worst] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/009/003/ thing] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/009/005/ he] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/009/006/ has] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/009/007/ ever] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/009/010/ did] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/009/012/ was] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/010/002/ when] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/010/004/ he] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/010/005/ possessed] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/010/009/ the] "[http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/010/010/ Koi] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/010/011/ rod], [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/010/012/ of] [http://www.anymanga.com/ranma/023/010/014/ love]" . Even Ryoga doesn't really seem to know what he's going to do from one moment to the next, sometimes.

** The creator-deity of the Slayers universe, the Lord of Nightmares, fits this alignment even better, being chaos itself. Lets put it this way, She's the source of all good and evil. She created the world, and will destroy it when it pleases her.

** Xellos, despite being [[Lawful Evil]] in the novel, in the anime is this.

* Excel from ''[[Excel Saga (manga)|Excel Saga]]''. All she cares about is serving her lord Il Palazzo, regardless of his intentions. She's alsosomewhat insane.

** Probably also Lord Il Palazzo and Dr. Kabapu, in the manga at least, even though both insist otherwise. And indeed, probably majority of the main cast in general.

* [[Yu-Gi-Oh!|Seto Kaiba]]. Challenges anybody and everybody, regardless of what side they're on (though he seems [[Foe Yay|inordinately obsessed with battling Yugi]]) and [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|screws the rules, because he has money...and lots of it]].

* Joichiro Nishi from ''[[Gantz]]'' is a good example of the "amoral nutjob" type. Though he does have a [[Chaotic Evil]] streak, he's really just an an aggressive kid who cares more about how many points he gets than how many people die in the process.

* Killerbee in ''[[Naruto]]'', who disregards his brother—the Raikage's -- repeated reminders not to {{spoiler|transform into his full Tailed Beast form}} and {{spoiler|fakes being captured in order to leave the village and write music}}. He hardly cares about anything apart from what he wants to do at the moment, but doesn't do anything particularly bad in order to fulfill those desires.

** Subverted as we learn more about him. Bee tends to lean more toward [[Chaotic Good]] - he cares about his village and his brother very much, he's just irresponsible and was tired of not being allowed to leave. {{spoiler|Later on, he teaches Naruto how to control the 9-tails and promises Iruka that he'll watch Naruto's back during the war. He's currently [[The Lancer]] to Naruto.}}

* [[Noble Demon|Evangeline]] of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' swears she is [[Exclusively Evil]], and [[Offstage Villainy|has the reputation to back it up.]] However, she helps out Sayo, friendly neighborhood ghost, out of sympathy/boredom, is a sort of ally to Negi and willing to help him and others out if she considers them a <s>friend</s> <s>nakama</s> [[Subordinate Excuse|useful pawn.]] She doesn't care about anything else, though, either. What she does or wants is anyone's guess. Except wanting to get the hell out of that school. Who wouldn't?

** Haruna is another example of Chaotic Neutral.

* Mello from ''[[Death Note]]''. Initially, he was a [[Neutral Evil]] character, but after meeting with [[The Rival|Near]], he mellows out.

 

* The ''[[Incredible Hulk]]'' arguably fits in here. Sure, he'll go [[Ax Crazy]] if you make him mad, and he'll cause tremendous amounts of damage in the process, but a lot of the time he '''does''' go crazy, it's because one of his enemies pushed him too far. He's capable of showing a certain amount of empathy and friendship in rare cases, and rarely seeks to hurt people or try and use his power for personal gain... but God help you if you provoke him.

* Marv from ''[[Sin City]]'' certainly qualifies. He's a violent brute who is more or less insane, and usually kills his enemies in horrible, horrible ways, but like [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan]] does not kill innocents..

* Several [[Walt Disney]] characters ([[Donald Duck]], [[Goofy]], Fethry Duck) fall under this alignment, although [[Mickey Mouse]] is undeniably [[Lawful Good]] and [[Scrooge McDuck]] can [[Depending on the Writer|alternate dramatically]] between [[True Neutral]], [[Lawful Neutral]], [[Lawful Evil]] and [[Chaotic Good]].

** [[Mickey Mouse]] in his early characterizations was more Chaotic Neutral.

* [[Depending on the Writer]], ''[[Batman]]'' villain Two-Face would fit here too, since he can do good or evil depending on how a coin flip goes.

* ''[[Deadpool]]'' seems to be trying this out lately. Early on, he didn't care so much about killing innocents. He'll still hurt them though, even his friends, though now they fall into the [[Amusing Injuries]] category.

* Though not easy to classify, V from ''[[V for Vendetta]]'' (the comic specifically) might be best described as a principled Chaotic Neutral, almost a contradiction in terms. He's a dedicated anarchist who believes in no government, hence chaotic; his goals are good but his methods extreme, averaging out to neutral. Ironically, it might be just the balanced presentation of the different sides that prevents him from being [[Chaotic Good]] instead, so that in a work closer to [[Black and White Morality]] he'd easily pass for good by doing the same things (killing "bad guys", mostly).

 

* Zaerini, the protagonist (corresponding to the [[Player Character]]) from the ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' fan fiction "In the Cards", is [[Word of God|explicitly]] Chaotic Neutral and makes a fine example. She can be a sympathetic character, compassionate towards others and downright heroic - but towards those who happen to annoy her instead, she's a pretty awful (and awesome, if you sympathize) [[Karmic Trickster]]. She does whatever she happens to feel is right at the moment, and, in the end, seems to have no kind of consistent principles whatsoever, not even those that she might claim to. For example, shortly after a chapter beginning with a quote from a book she writes in the future after the story that says she absolutely hates torture, she runs into someone who acts like an incredibly massive jerk towards her, prompting her to leave him tied to a tree in the middle of the forest covered in honey to be chewed upon by ants.

** He's probably just [[True Neutral]], considering the people he's dealing with. The [[Designated Hero|protagonist]] is a Chaotic Neutral who thinks she's [[Chaotic Good]]. [[So Bad It's Good|It's hilarious to watch.]]

* [[Cloudcuckoolander|Socrates]] from ''[[Calvin and Hobbes: The Series]]''; [[The Prankster|his pranks]] are mostly the only thing he cares about.

 

* ''[[A Fistful of Dollars]]'' has Joe, who bounces between Chaotic Neutral and Chaotic Good.

{{quote|'''Joe: '''The Rojos on one side of town, the Baxters on the other, and me right in the middle. Crazy bellringer was right, there's money to be made in a place like this." }}

* In ''[[Star Wars]]'', both Han Solo and Lando Calrissian in their initial appearances. They later moved toward [[Chaotic Good]] and even [[Neutral Good]] in ''[[Return of the Jedi]]''.

** The Hutts, an entire race of space gangsters. In the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe|EU]] they switch sides to anyone that benefits their ends, or to the one who's winning.

* Tyler Durden, the [[The Unfettered|unfettered]] [[The Ubermensch|Ubermensch]] anarchist of ''[[Fight Club]]''. Looking for a better world by destroying society as we know it. But not actually [[Chaotic Evil]], considering that he constantly avoids actually killing anyone. It takes a fair bit of planning for him to destroy several skyscrapers without putting any lives at risk.

* Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford), the unpredictable and erratic young con man in ''[[The Sting]]'', especially in the first part of the movie.

* Flip from ''[[Little Nemo]]'' was definitely Chaotic Neutral in the movie ''Little Nemo Adventures in Slumberland''. He did screw things up for Slumberland by convincing Nemo to open the forbidden door, thus releasing the Nightmare King, but he was just having some fun.

* Ash, from ''[[Evil Dead]]'', sums up his personal alignment with this famous line:

{{quote|With these powers I could be... a superhero! I'd fight crime, protect the innocent, work for world peace. But first... (goes to the mechanics [[Disproportionate Retribution|who price gouged Stanley's car]] for [[Ass Shove|revenge]])}}

* Si and Am from ''[[Lady and the Tramp]]''. Though many people view them [[Neutral Evil]] or even [[Chaotic Evil]] (due to the fact that they're viewed as the villains in the movie), in reality, they're more mischievous and curious than evil. So, this basically fits for them.

* Snake Plissken, protagonist of ''[[Escape from New York]]'' and ''[[Escape From L.A.]]''. He's a career criminal who doesn't care about the rest of the world, and only goes to rescue the President because he's coerced. An example: at one point he comes across two punks passing an obviously drugged girl between them... and doesn't step in to rescue her or defend her, but just keeps on walking.

** The [[Novelization]] goes further into Snake's psyche and past, and reveals he isn't as cold and unfeeling as he appears to be. However, considering what happened to him in his backstory, one can hardly blame him for acting the way he does.

* "Driver" from the movie Faster (played by [[Dwayne Johnson|The Rock]]) is most certainly this but bounces on Chaotic Good. He's a former driver for bank robbers, but is on a mission to avenge his murdered brother (also a bank robber). He spends most of the movie going around shooting the killers, but when confronts "Killer", an assassin, he moves a little girl out of the way before they have a shootout. Also, he even allows killer to live once he hears about him wanting to stop being an assassin so he can marry his girlfriend.

 

* ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'' could be the poster child for this trope. He's a thief, a reaver, a slayer... and pretty much everything else you can think of where there's an opportunity for violence, wenches and loot. Including piracy, assassination, mercenary work and becoming warrior-king of the richest country on the continent, the only thing that separates him of being [[Chaotic Evil]] is that he never kills anyone who does not deserve it or not trying to kill him.

* Despite all animals being [[True Neutral]], rampaging animals in fiction, such as the dinosaurs in ''[[Jurassic Park]]'', often behave in a Chaotic Neutral manner—they probably aren't aware and don't intend the damage that they're doing, but they sure as Hell manage to cause a lot of it.

** Thomas Raith.

* The quirkiest characters in [[Forgotten Realms]] novels:

** Liriel Baenre, before she turned [[Neutral Good]], though some of the attitude stuck well. Never appreciated typical drow vicious side, but is every bit as competitive and scheming as her peers. Has a lot of fun with social engagements anyway, using high social status, arcane talents inherited from the city's Archmage and penchant for pranks. Found side-adventures for fun and profit even in the [[Death World|Underdark]]. Was quite happy in such an environment, then had to leave in hurry, tasted the surface life and decided it's more fun. Then managed to "adopt" as temporary father figure a pirate considered wild (if fair and sort of keen) even in his barbaric company. She was trained as a priestess to Lolth, whom she abandoned when had to choose between goddess and lover, then tried Eilistraee for a while (she's really into dance, after all) and when this didn't work out well, converted again to serve Mystra - with her inclinations the goddess of magic was the natural choice - "with a focus and fervor that would have had her grandmother, the dreaded Matron Baenre, nodding in approval". While hanging out with former loners of two even more "exotic" elven subraces.

* The Meddler of the ''[[Firekeeper]]'' novels is generally in this area. Besides he does with the main characters, the stories that exist of him, as told in the fifth book, describe how he earns his name by getting involved in situations with seemingly good intentions but without ever considering the consequences. Most telling is a tale in which he persuaded a boy to run away with a girl his father was loudly opposed to his marrying, only to learn after the fact that the two were in fact half-siblings. While she was ignorant of the fact, the boy [[Brother-Sister Incest|fully understood who she was to him.]]

** Littlefinger might also fall under this trope, but YMMV.

 

** Q is a straighter example; he's chaotic in order to amuse himself, but neutral in that he honestly doesn't care about mortal politics or morality.

** Quark fits here as well - his only real motivation is profit, and though occasionally he does something good it's not his primary M.O.

* The Nietzscheans from ''[[Andromeda]]'' - they work on the principle of "enlightened self-interest", which basically means they can do anything the writers want.

** Lampshaded at one point in an Alternate Timeline episode where one of the Nietzcheans responsible for the uprising that destroyed the original Commonwealth finds himself completely disgusted by the current conduct of his people. They were supposed to be a race of [[Warrior Poets]] but forgot about the poetry and the "enlightened" aspect of enlightened self-interest.

** Ethan Rayne is a chaos magician who basically spends his time messing with people for no better reason than that he can.

** Anya exemplified this trope, particularly in her early appearances.

** Elle Bishop and Sylar develop into this in season 3.

* [[God Mode Sue|Merritt Rook]] from ''[[Law and Order Special Victims Unit]]'', episode "Authority." He convinces people to do utterly vile things that never ''quite'' cross the [[Moral Event Horizon]] (although his first act, strip-searching a teenage girl, came close), his only concern being to subvert the power structures [[Dead Little Sister|he blames for the death of his wife]].

* The titular Sherlock Holmes of BBC's ''[[Sherlock]]'' falls to this alignment, solving the numerous cases that the London Police Department brings before him as an excuse to satisfy his intellectual vanity, and repeatedly stepping over regulations and normal practices in order to achieve what he desires, and proves to be an insufferable pillock towards those around him.. That said, his few friends are very dear to him, to the extent where {{spoiler|he is willing to fake his death to ensure their safety.}}

 

 

* [[Calvin and Hobbes|Calvin]] is a definite example, being extremely unpredictable, as well as hating all kinds of rules and limitations. He's frequently at odds with authority figures, especially school and his parents, makes up his own rules to games - or makes up [[Calvin Ball|new games altogether]] - and has the kind of imagination that'd almost suggest he has a problem with ''reality itself''. He's selfish and egoistic, and usually doesn't help other people unless he might profit out of it. His general thoughts about the state of the world and mankind, as well as his fondness for animals, would suggest an alignment change to [[Chaotic Good]] later in his life, though.

* The [[Pointy-Haired Boss]] from ''[[Dilbert]]'' isn't so much evil as he is straight-out insane (and stupid). After all, what other alignment would give someone a bonus for something they did, then refuse to tell them ''what'' they did because then they might do it again and expect another bonus.

* Snoopy from "[[Peanuts]]" and (on a Good Day) Lucy van Pelt.

 

* Loki in [[Norse Mythology]]. Leads the monster army against Odin and Valhalla during Ragnarok.

** Fenrir's only reason for killing Odin during Ragnarok was that he was pissed that [[Jerkass|Odin]] [[Too Dumb to Live|chained him up and kept him by his throne]], [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy|because the Allfather had a vision that Fenrir would kill him during Ragnarok]].

* Likewise, [[Trickster Hero|Coyote]] in many native American myths is this.

 

* A modern example of this trope would be [[CM Punk]]. His character absolutely despises authority, and will go out of his way to mock or provoke anybody who attempts to get him to change his mind. Punk will also take every opportunity he can to get ahead, even if it means cashing in on a weakened opponent, be they [[The Hero|a babyface]] or [[Jerkass|a heel]]. Punk is straight-edge (both in [[Kayfabe]] and [[Real Life]]), and that means he's "better than you" and not afraid to tell you so.

* [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]] lives by the motto "Don't Trust Anybody" and is concerned with nothing so much as drinking beer and kicking ass. He can occasionally be convinced to do the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing, but is just as likely to turn on the convincer and beat him up for shits and giggles once the good deed is done. About the only thing he's ever been consistent on is that he absolutely ''hates'' being told what to do.

* [[Kane (wrestling)|Kane]] is another good example. He's been a face for a good portion of his career, but he's clearly not a case of [[Dark Is Not Evil]]. I think what makes him so popular with the crowds is simply because he's such an effective [[Badass]] - that, and also the fact that he has often been bullied and tormented by even more evil wrestlers (not to speak of his near-death by burning at the hands of his "brother," [[The Undertaker]]), resulting in him becoming a most unusual version of [[The Woobie]]. (Most notably, it was hard not to sympathize with Kane during his feud with Evolution in 2003, during which [[Triple H]] dressed up as him and....well, if you've been to the wrestling section of the horrible thread, you know the rest). While Kane is undeniably a sadist and a monster, he has tended to shy away from being a [[Complete Monster]] by only attacking people who actually deserve to have their ass kicked. He finally turned heel again in the summer of 2008 when he tortured [[Rey Mysterio, Jr.]] and stole his mask, although he seems to get cheered by the fans even now.

 

 

* The [[Random Number God]], appropriately. He'll give you great rolls or horrible ones, depending on what he finds most amusing that day.

** While [[Our Elves Are Better|the Eldar]] commonly fight against threats to Order and Good like the [[Robot War|Necrons]], [[Horde of Alien Locusts|Tyranids]] and [[The Corruption|Chaos]], above all they are concerned only with their survival, the deaths of innumerous members of the "lesser races" insignificant in comparison. Members of the Imperium describe them as a capricious, fickle force of the universe like the aforementioned Orks and Tyranids, yet realise that allying with them is often the difference between victory and defeat.

** In the earliest fluff, all of the Chaos Gods ''were'' Chaotic Neutral, being neither good nor evil, but simply embodiments of a particular set of emotions and related concepts. Though many Chaos worshippers did end up sliding into extremism and becoming evil, it was perfectly valid to have a relatively "good" Chaos worshipper, who applied the teachings of their patron in a manner that was at least not actively dangerous to most, and maybe even sometimes beneficial—a Khorne Champion who would never harm the weak, instead seeking to fight and kill only the strong and deadly in order to prove themselves worthy of Khorne's ideals, for example. Subsequent editions have played up the [[Chaotic Evil]] aspect of the Dark Gods, however.

*** The Chaos Gods are still Chaotic Neutral. They aren't really concerned about anything but themselves, and rarely even pay attention to the mortals, unless they perceive something as a treath to them (infact, most of the horribly evil things champions of Chaos do is to attract the attention of the Gods for even a split second so that they could be elevated to daemonhood). The Gods themselves don't really actively strive to do evil things, they just want to increase their own power. The Daemons and mortal followers of Chaos tend to be [[Chaotic Evil]], however.

*** Indeed, because of this, the Chaos gods are treated as evil in the same way as [[Cthulhu Mythos|Cthulhu]] is treated as evil, since they technically have a [[Blue and Orange Morality|moral system that is beyond human comprehension]]. As to this, they technically ''are'' Chaotic Neutral, but due to human lack of understanding to the morals of the chaos gods, they appear [[Chaotic Evil]] in human moral terms.

** Ogres and Orcs seem to fit in Fantasy. Orcs fit like they do in 40K, being bad but not really that much worse than the "good" armies, and Ogres will work for anyone for a good meal and some more gunpowder for their leadbelcher cannons.

** A prominent Chaotic Neutral race in ''D&D'' are the grugach, also known as [[Our Elves Are Better|wild elves]]. Unlike the more noble high elves, they're a [[Hidden Elf Village|violently xenophobic]] culture of forest-dwelling nomads.

** In ''[[Pathfinder]]'', the slaadi are replaced as Chaotic Neutral's exemplars by the serpentine proteans, the living embodiments of raw creative and destructive potential (as opposed to the slaadi, who represented rampant self-indulgence, another aspect of Chaotic Neutral). [[Fridge Brilliance|Perhaps not incidentally]], the primordial gods of Egyptian myth, the Ogdoad, were depicted as frogs and snakes.

** The Blue/Red colour combination (exemplified by the Izzet guild) is probably a good example of "smart" chaotic neutral. Their thought processes are generally non-linear, they leap from idea to seemingly (often actually) unrelated ideas for the sole purpose of learning new things, regardless of what those new things are and often without even questioning why they need to know them.

** Black in its most benevolent form is generally this or [[True Neutral]].

* The Destroyers factions in ''[[Monsterpocalypse]]'' who go on destructive rampages out of pure instinct alone. The [[Big Eater|Planet Eaters]] mostly consume anything they can get their claws on. While the [[Big Creepy-Crawlies|Savage Swarm]] smash anything that has bright and shiny lights.

 

* Lilica Felchenerow from ''[[Arcana Heart]]'' Her main goal is to just have fun and play harmless pranks, ''actively'' tries to break the rules, and doesn't care much for the dimensional disturbance.

** [[Insufferable Genius]] Kira Daidohji probably fancies herself to be a [[Lawful Evil]] [[Evil Overlord|Overlord]], but despite her intelligence and overblown ego, her plans are too simplistic and random to make her really dangerous.

* In ''[[Mass Effect]]'' Renegade Shepard's goal is fundamentally sound (stop Saren in the first game, {{spoiler|stop Harbinger and the Reapers in the second and presumably third games}}), and, if all Loyalty missions are completed {{spoiler|and if s/he saves everyone from the Collectors}}, [[A Father to His Men|s/he does seem to genuinely care]] about his/her crewmembers, willing to risk his/her own life many times over in the name of helping them. But it seems that those are honestly the only two things s/he cares about, as his/her methods can be a little... [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|extreme]]. S/he seems perfectly fine with punching out reporters, workers, scared survivors, and generally anyone who pisses him/her off, s/he will also happily {{spoiler|allow a factory full of workers to burn alive in Zaeed's loyalty mission}}, will force Jack to {{spoiler|kill someone else so as to embrace her killer's instinct}}, and generally just acts like a total [[Jerkass|jerk]] to everyone around him/her. Not to mention that during [[Warrior Monk|Samara's]] loyalty mission, {{spoiler|he/she can choose to kill and replace her with her [[Complete Monster]] of a daughter.}}

** As for Shepard's companions, [[Ensemble Darkhorse|Wrex]] fits this trope fairly well for most of the first game, but evolves into [[Chaotic Good]] in the second {{spoiler|if he survived and subsequently became the Krogan Warlord.}} You can also nudge [[Memetic Badass|Garrus]] down this path in [[Mass Effect]] 1 and 2 if you encourage him to embrace the Jack Bauer approach to handling crime, and [[Heroic Sociopath|Jack]] slowly starts to become this if you {{spoiler|explore her romance path and convince her not to kill Aresh on Pragia.}} Grunt also typifies this in Mass Effect 2, seeking to determine who is the strongest by fighting everyone, regardless of clan or alignment. It could be argued he turned more toward [[Chaotic Good]] after his loyalty mission, though.

** It's more like some of them do deeds that are disagreeable to the inhabitants of Tameriel that earn them the "evil" status.

** Sheogorath, as the Daedric Prince of Madness in the Elder Scrolls series embodies Chaotic Neutral in his particular universe. Since he is the embodiment of madness, he could be compared to pendulum that swings between Chaotic Evil, Chaotic Neutral and Chaotic Good, but tends to stick with Chaotic Neutral. On one hand, he can be psychopathic, (Killing a person for having a beard) and "[[Ax Crazy]]", while on the other hand, he helped the Chimer (who later became the dark elves) move from Summerset Isle and form their pre-tribunal culture, and is the source of creativity. He's also very keen on punishing those that deserve it, or teaching lessons to people, usually in the oddest way possible. So, in short, he IS the very definition of Chaotic Neutral. He does what he wants, and says fuck the consequences. Well, when his madness doesn't run in "take consequences into account a little bit too much"-ways (he ''is'' the God of Madness... including paranoia and compulsive behaviours).

* Atton Rand from ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]] II'' is mildly insane, largely out for himself, and it's rather tricky to predict exactly how he'll respond to anything. More specifically, Atton ''starts out'' neutral. How the [[Player Character|Exile]] behaves toward him can guide his [[Character Development]] to either good or evil - but he remains chaotic regardless, and the fact that the Exile can gain influence with Atton through either kindness or ''total gore-spattered psychopathy'' says a great deal.

* Depending on [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|how forgiving you're willing to be]], [[Kirby]] is either Chaotic Neutral or [[Chaotic Good]]. He mostly seems to follow his instincts while saving the world almost on accident. King Dedede probably also qualifies.

* ''[[Disgaea]]'' and the rest of the [[Nippon Ichi]] games tend to have this as their default alignment for virtually all demons. Mao, Rozalin, Zetta, Pram, even Laharl and Etna, plus virtually every NPC demon all can fall in this category. (For the main characters, that is assuming you get the good endings, at least.) While they loudly ''[[Card-Carrying Villain|proclaim]]'' their villainy, it generally comes down to [[Poke the Poodle|a few childish pranks]], and picking fights with each other in a world where [[Non-Lethal KO|coming back from the dead]] is a [[Death Is Cheap|quick stop at the nurse's office and some chump change]]. They really just want to live their lives goofing off, and hanging out with the buddies that they may or may not willingly admit they have, and in any time of trouble, always [[Power of Friendship|come to the aid of their fellows]].

* Ultimately, almost the entire cast of ''[[Touhou]]'' can be classified in this alignment. Effectively a giant band of [[Little Miss Badass|superpowered little girls]] who [[Earthshattering Kaboom|unleash their world-breaking]], [[Reality Warper|space-time continuum-shredding]] superpowers upon one another [[Blood Knight|largely for shits and giggles]], possibly because [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|at their extreme age]], they just want [[For the Evulz|a little excitement every now and then]]. Of course, [[Non-Lethal KO|nobody dies in Gensokyo]], and [[Defeat Means Friendship]], so it's really difficult to definitively say ''anyone'' [[Good All Along|is evil in Touhou]]. Well ... other than that one demonic cherry tree. And let's not get into the [[Fantastic Racism]] that shows up now and then ...

* Very definitely ''[[Knights in The Nightmare]]'''s [[Heroic Sociopath|Meria]]. Some of her actions (rescuing you, her [[Taking the Bullet]] scene) lean a little towards [[Chaotic Good]] and others (her power fixation) towards [[Chaotic Evil]], but she defiantly (and repeatedly) states that she's really only fighting for her own freedom.

** Arakune, who is simply too insane to form any coherent thought beyond how to survive in his current state.

** Kokonoe, whose singleminded devotion to bringing down Yuuki Terumi causes her to use any means whatsoever towards destroying him, up to and including {{spoiler|nuclear warheads.}}. That said, despite being a [[Jerkass|bitch]], she isn't an actively malicious or evil person, and is shown to have genuine care towards her subordinates, particularly Tager.

** There is also [[Anti-Hero|Ragna]] [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|The Bloodedge]], but he is only part-time Chaotic Neutral. Most of the time he is [[Chaotic Good]] on account of the [[Good Is Not Nice]] trope... The occasional Neutrality is due to him waging a [[One-Man Army|one-man war]] against [[The Empire|the opressive NOL]], indiscriminately slaughtering every [[Mook]] and [[Punch Clock Villain]] he is able to find in its branch institutions. He isn't waging this war for altruistic purposes, like wanting to free the people from opression or bringing peace and stability, either. No, he simply wants revenge on the NOL and Terumi for fucking up his life.

* [[Anti-Hero|Raziel]] from ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'' fits as chaotic neutral. He's billigerent, defiant, and rebellous against most everyone he meets. He expresses no remorse at cutting down the mooks that get in his way, even though they are completely incapable of killing him, nor does he bat an eye at draining the souls of helpless victims chained to walls, though he's not as sadistic about it as Kain is. He rarely thinks his actions through, making choices that cause great harm only because they benifit, or could potentially benifit him in the short term. Though he claims to be trying to restore balance to the world, his true motivation is selfish revenge and later, escaping a [[Fate Worse Than Death]], regardless of the consequences. {{spoiler|Up until his [[Heroic Sacrifice]], that is.}}

* Black Whirlwind from ''[[Jade Empire]]'', an [[Ax Crazy]] mercenary whose chaotic and impulsive actions (Sleeping with his employers wife, cutting in two a girl two rivals were fighting over) normally end in him having to kill everyone in self defence. The only thing that stops him being [[Chaotic Evil]] is that he seems to regret this outcome, if only because he doesn't get paid.

* [[Super Mario Bros.|Wario]] did a brief stint with Chaotic Evil in his premiere game, Super Mario Land 2, but quickly and permanently settled here afterward. He has little interest in fighting for (or against) good or evil, only treasure.

* Kimmy Eckman of ''[[Backyard Sports]]''. [[Trademark Favorite Food|She likes candy]] and hurts pinatas and dolls just to see if candy is in them (or for batting practice).

* Depending on who you ask, Morrigan in ''[[Dragon Age]]'' may be of this alignment. She is consistent about the fact that she ''will not'' be controlled or restrained by laws and rules, but what pushes ''slightly'' closer to this then outright [[Chaotic Evil|pure bitch evil]] is that several times in her backstory she mentions avoiding fights rather then just killing people that get in her way, though she is easily capable of doing so. However her vanity and blatant statements that power is the best method of personal freedom, not to mention at ''least'' one VERY morally questionable action causes her to skirt Evil quite frequently.

* Alex Mercer of ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]''. He holds very little concern for individual human lives and kills often, out of necessity (unless you decide [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|otherwise]]), or when bystanders get in his way (which is sadly [[Person of Mass Destruction|very easy for them to do]]). On the other hand, he genuinely cares for his sister and his ultimate goals are downright heroic. In the war between [[The Virus]] and the [[Armies Are Evil|Black]][[State Sec|watch]], Alex is a side all by himself and such a pure force of destruction that it's impossible to classify him as good, but his alien and fragmentary mind and good intentions, even fueled by rage, exclude him from evil. Either way, funny little things like ''laws'' don't even slow him down.

{{quote|''"He owes allegiance to no one, and will do anything for money. He comes and goes like the wind..."''}}

** About halfway through the game he starts leaning towards [[Chaotic Good]] or possibly even [[Neutral Good]], but when {{spoiler|the World of Balance is destroyed}} his character development stops, basically hits the [[Reset Button]], and when you recruit him again, all of his character development from then on is flashbacks ending with {{spoiler|[[Redemption Equals Death]].}}

* Rance, the euphonious protagonist of the whole ''[[Rance]]} Series''. This guy has one prime motivation, to have sex with as many beautiful women as possible, no matter what it takes. If he has to rape them, he will. If he has to conquer an entire country to save a distressed damsel, he will do that too. He does have some restraints, though, since he is pretty explicitly ''not'' a pedophile, and prefers his women to be adults. He also doesn't have much patience with actual governing, tending to let other people take care of that kind of stuff for him while he is out on the field hunting for women.

* Dryst from ''[[Brigandine]]''. He's got a Kingdom, but didn't bother to rule it and instead uses his authority just to party all day and have fun with fighting and wars. Anyone who wanna join in the fun is allowed to the party, people in Iscalio suffers but he didn't care. What separated him from [[Chaotic Evil]] is that aside of some [[Pet the Dog]], his fun doesn't exactly refer to 'directly making others suffer' like Bulnoil. There's a reason why he's called ''[[Red Baron|The Mad Monarch]]''

 

* Rocky Rickaby of ''[[Lackadaisy]]''. He isn't a [[Wild Card]]; he has a strong loyalty to the Lackadaisy crew. But in a series with [[Grey and Gray Morality|no "good guys" or "bad guys"]], where all the protagonists are criminals, Rocky falls squarely into [[Lovable Rogue|Neutral]] territory. As for the Chaotic...

** After [[Crazy Awesome|burning down]] the house and barn of some guys [[Pay Evil Unto Evil|who tried to kill him]]: "I know it wasn't lawful, per se. But I find the scope of the law can be rather limiting. What's lawful doesn't always coincide with what's right, Freckle. And ''[http://tracyjb.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=96#/djl7ha that]'' was very right."

* [[Ctrl+Alt+Del|Ethan MacManus]].

* [[Sinfest|Fuschia]] has gone from [[Chaotic Evil]] to Chaotic Neutral over the past two years.

* King Steve from ''[[8-Bit Theater]]''. Sarda may also be this or [[Chaotic Evil]].

* [[Physical God|Coyote]] of ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'', in keeping with his nature as [[The Trickster]]. He is quite mischievous, and seems to have an agenda that is opposed to the Court, but he is not actively malicious, shows a great fondness for [[The Dragon|Ysengrim]] and Reynardine (the latter of which he regards as a cousin), as well as towards Antimony and her dead mother (even going so far as to hug Antimony after seeing her sadness while he reminisces about Surma). [[Cunning Like a Fox|Reynardine]] himself probably fell into this category before the time of the comic, although his current alignment is more ambiguous.

* Sam Starfall of ''[[Freefall]]'' would qualify. Laws mean nothing to him, and he enjoys breaking them, stealing things and blackmailing people far more than he should, but there's no actual ''malice'' behind his actions - he seems to steal for the fun of it rather than the profit, and cheerfully helps [[Neutral Good]] Florence save the robots of the world because screwing with Ecosystems Unlimited and the mayor is more fun than his usual petty crime.

 

* The titular character of ''[[Interviewing Leather]]''.

* Nutty from [[Happy Tree Friends]].

* Yahtzee of ''[[Zero Punctuation]]'' calls himself the "free-spirited, Chaotic Neutral rebel of video game journalism".

** This assertion actually fits into his personality in reviewing. He chose to be good while playing ''[[Infamous (video game series)|In Famous]]'' mainly to spite the game's seeming default assumption that you'd be a villain. And in his [[Overlord]] 2 review, he discusses at length how "Being a dick in a dickishness simulator is just as boring as being good in any other game." Yahtzee's gameplaying persona seems to derive sadistic glee not from morally questionable behavior, but from defying the preset expectations. Of course, he does sarcastically mention in [[The Stinger]] "debate whether I am actually Chaotic Neutral or not" so, [[Heads I Win, Tails You Lose|even if this analysis is right, it's still wrong]].

 

* [[Bugs Bunny/Characters|Bugs Bunny]], the all-time heavyweight champion of [[Karmic Trickster|self-interested]] screwball mayhem, and pop culture's ultimate [[Trickster Archetype]].

** Though in "The Looney Tunes Show", he starts to slide towards [[True Neutral]].

* Yakko, Wakko and Dot from ''[[Animaniacs]]''. Similar to Bugs in that they only strike back when provoked. However, their definition of "provoked", in this case, is ''far'' looser.

* Duncan, Eva, and Ezekiel from [[Total Drama Island|the Total Drama series]].

** Zuko goes through pretty much every neutral alignment. Most of season 2 has him in Chaotic Neutral, however.

** As do the pirates. Pay 'em, and they don't care what country you're working for.

** Jet would fall under the usual Robin Hood-type [[Chaotic Good]], if it weren't for the fact that he became a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] who didn't care who he hurt trying to take down the Fire Nation.

* ''[[Futurama]]'' has [[Absent-Minded Professor|Professor Farnsworth]], who apparently does whatever he likes, inventing things like the Smelloscope (thus saving the world) and incredibly destructive weapons that can blow up planets like the Sphereoboom (also saving the world, ironically). Despite this, he has never actually done anything bad with them - many of these weapons appear to be mainly for show.

{{quote|"I suppose I could part with ''one'' and still be feared..."}}

** It is notable that his superhero persona, Mysterion is [[Chaotic Good]] of the vigilante variant.

* Roger on ''[[American Dad]]'', mostly due to his [[Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny|short attention span]]. He probably leans [[Chaotic Evil|evil]], though, or at least [[Selfish Good, Selfish Evil|selfish]].

* All five members of Dethklok from ''[[Metalocalypse]]''. While they rarely cause intentional harm to anyone around them, they are usually either amused by or indifferent to the constant carnage that happens in their wake. Their presence in general also tends to make the world more chaotic.

* Satan from ''[[Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil]].'' Sure, he tries to be [[Lawful Evil]], but he usually loses interest before his evil plans have the chance to do any real damage.

* Chaotic Neutral is the best way to describe Marceline from ''[[Adventure Time]]''. When Finn and Jake first meet her, she forcibly evicts them from what used to be ''her'' treehouse. The second time, Finn spares an old man's life to become her henchman, but {{spoiler|all along, Marceline wanted Finn to kill a dangerous plant.}} Every appearance since indicates that Marceline is one of Finn's friends, and he's recently stated in song that she's one of [[True Companions|"(his) best friends in the world"]].

** Add The Flame Princess to the list, now.

* Oberon from ''[[Gargoyles]]'' isn't really malicious, but neither is he governed by any sort of morality more complex than his immediate whims. As he's also a [[Physical God]], this amorality makes more dangerous than most of the show's straightforward villains—but only, of course, if he ''cares'' to be for some reason.

* Kaos, the god/personification of Chaos from the ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' series. He's not evil, he just sees order as stagnation and boredom so he sees it his duty to stir up people.

* GIR from ''[[Invader Zim]]'' takes this to the extreme - his only motivation is his own amusement, and what amuses him is completely incomprehensible to sane minds.

* ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' has the Dinobots, as they only possess primeval animal instincts. They simply prefer to be left alone, but they tend to cause trouble to the Autobots for one reason or another. They were once threatened to by Prometheus Black, and were seduced by Blackarachnia.

* Riley, Ed, and Rummy from ''[[The Boondocks]]''.

 

{{reflist}}