Light Is Not Good/Anime and Manga: Difference between revisions

* In ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion (Anime)|Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'':

** The first angel, [[Adam and Oror Eve|Adam]], is referred to as "The Giant of Light" occasionally. His form lived up to that name.

** First, we have the priestess Kikyo, the [[Anti -Hero|antiheroine]] of the story. [[Came Back Wrong|Her resurrection is clearly ungodly.]] She comes back to life [[Yandere|with a mind full of hatred and vengeance]] and does both good (helping people in need, feeding the hungry, taking care of kids) and not-so-good deeds (antagonizing Inuyasha and Kagome, stealing the souls of girls to keep herself alive). Yet obviously, she retains her old holy powers. To her credit, she soon starts losing the hatred that poisoned her, and eventually gets better and becomes the local [[Dark Magical Girl]], sealed by her {{spoiler|helping an embittered holy man to go to Heaven and stop working for Naraku}}. And in the end, {{spoiler|her definitive death is one full of peace, in which she finally can go to Heaven herself}}

* The [[Path of Inspiration|Society of Light]] from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'',

** The original ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' had Seto Kaiba dressed in white with his Light-type [[Mons]], the Blue Eyes White Dragon, pitted against a leather-clad spirit named Dark Yugi and his Dark Magician (with the rest of their decks tending to match the Light and Dark themes of their signature monsters). However, Kaiba was the [[Jerkass]] and Yami Yugi barely hit [[Anti -Hero]].

** In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5 Ds5D's]]'', we have Rex Godwin, our heroic mentor to the [[The Chosen One]](s), but also has some sort of counter-agenda planned. And then there's Divine, resident [[Jerkass]] (and a downright bastard).

* ''[[D .Gray Man-man]]'': Despite being demons, {{spoiler|Level 4 Akuma}} most closely resemble angels, complete with glowing white halos and wings. The Noah themselves avert this trope by gaining white skin when not in "horrifying evil" mode.

* Lucemon from ''[[Digimon Frontier (Anime)|Digimon Frontier]]'' was most definitely a version of this; it also had Darkness-based powers, but started out pure Light. He uses both together in his second form. They combine to form Playstation, apparently (at the very least, circles, triangles x's and squares). [[Narm|Yeah.]]

* The ''[[Bleach]]'' [[Filler Villain]] Maki Ichinose is a [[Well -Intentioned Extremist]] whose ''[[Empathic Weapon|zanpakuto]]'' has the ability to manipulate light. He allies himself with [[Card -Carrying Villain]] Jin Kariya in an attempt to eliminate Soul Society, which he views as becoming increasingly corrupt. Unfortunately for him, neither his arch nemesis [[Blood Knight|Zaraki]] nor Kariya himself care for such noble goals or even take him seriously. He does a [[Heel Face Turn]] after losing to Kenpachi and getting [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]], {{spoiler|but gets killed by Kariya.}}

* Light Yagami from ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]''. All of his symbolism in the opening credits, his speeches, and his ideals (his given name, for crying out loud) state that he is firmly Light-aligned. Yet his [[Utopia Justifies the Means|method for purifying society]], and [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|the way he deals with those around him]], peg him clearly as the series' villain. His powers aren't directly Light-inspired -- though everything else about him is. For added melodrama, "Yagami" means "night god".

* Johan Liebert of ''[[Monster (Animemanga)|Monster]]'' is so bright and beautiful looking that he could almost be mistaken for an angel, and indeed, the aura he gives off is one of almost unmistakable lightness. He's also the [[Complete Monster|title character]].

* From ''[[Trigun]]'' Knives, a [[Bishonen]] decked out in white, who created the "Angel Arms" -- super-guns of highly destructive light-beams. The manga takes this to an extreme, when Knives starts {{spoiler|absorbing the Plants}}, he is the center of a writhing mass of angel wings and limbs.

* [[Bishounen|Kalutika Maybus]], The God of Light in the ''[[Manhwa]]'' "Rebirth" wants to destroy the human race because his life as a human in the 1600s was [[Break the Cutie|very unpleasant]]. Prior to attaining (or growing into) godhood, he was {{spoiler|the main character, [[Anti -Hero|half-vampire Deshiwitat's]] close friend}}. After {{spoiler|Desh failed to save Kal's beloved sister, Kal had a [[Heroic BSOD]] and became a god. He then vaporized Desh's girlfriend Lilith right before his eyes and sealed Desh in stone for 300 years.}} Currently, he has {{spoiler|somehow revived Lilith and made her his wife/consort. They apparently have a son, a powerful vampire called [[Meaningful Name|Gray]]. In spite of their connections with the vampire race, they're planning on killing them all before moving on to humans (Kal has already destroyed the <s>Galactic Senate</s> Council of Gods which govern his actions).}}

* ''[[Trinity Blood]]'' is another classic example of this: The "Enemy of the World" is a blond [[Bishonen]] with six white wings, who dresses all in long white robes and is first seen standing atop the enormous cross which hovers over the Vatican. The hero, in contrast, is a [[White -Haired Pretty Boy]] with black wings who dresses all in black and wields a scythe made of his own blood.

* ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'' has Marine Admiral Kizaru, whose abilities via the Pika-Pika Devil Fruit give him power over light. He can move/attack at the speed of light, focus light into lasers, and also use blinding flashes. This isn't also including the basic advantages of his type of Devil Fruit, which cause solid objects to pass right through him. Though whether this is an aversion, playing straight, or subversion depends on your point of view as ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'' has pirates as the protagonists, making Kizaru the enemy, even though he's on the side of "Good" as far as the OP-verse is concerned.

** I don't think it's a question at all, it's definitely played straight, the [[The Government|World Government]] has [[Moral Event Horizon|committed more horrific acts]] than anyone else in the series. Also Kizaru himself while laid back, is pretty [[General Ripper|sadistic and aggressive]] unlike the more [[Anti -Villain|Antivillainesque]] Marines like Aokiji, Garp and Smoker. Actually a lot about the Marines and World Government play with this trope, from the white uniforms of the Marines themselves, to {{spoiler|the nobles of the government thinking they're gods}}.

** Kizaru at least appears to take his job somewhat seriously, and shows the best leadership qualities out of all the Admirals.

** {{spoiler|And through Griffith's recent fusing of the planes of existence together with the mortal world using the Skull Knight's dimension-warping attack in the most recent installment, [[Hell Onon Earth|the "age of darkness" is now here]]}}.

** And then there's Mao, a [[White -Haired Pretty Boy]] whose power is [[Telepathy]] which enables him to "see through" the "shadowy personality" of Lelouch (and most of the other characters). Oh, and he's also one of the [[Pure Is Not Good|purest-hearted]] and [[Psychopathic Manchild|most innocent]] characters in the entire show, who prides himself on using his mind-reading skills to [[Mind Rape]] and ultimately kill people he sees as "bad." He may not be the only other one, either, since most antagonists in ''[[Code Geass]]'' (including Mao and Schneizel) are [[Knight Templar|Knights Templar]], and thus in theory light-aligned by default.

** Suzaku Kururugi has shades of this, as well. Known as the White Knight, and later as the "White Grim Reaper" in the places he helps conquer, he actually started out with noble morals and an honest belief in reforming the system. A few [[It Got Worse|traumas]] later, and he was willing to do '''[[Utopia Justifies the Means|anything]]''' to [[Big Brother Is Employing You|maintain what he saw as peace and reform]] over violent revolution. This trope is played deliberately in his case, much like Scheizel and Mao, since he's an antagonist of Lelouch. Meanwhile, Lelouch's mother and father are both portrayed as Light in their own ways (his father is the Emperor, and while not overly white in the same vein as Schneizel, [[Well -Intentioned Extremist|still has shades of it]], his mother was treated by all who knew her as a saint, and nicknamed "The Flash"). In the end, {{spoiler|both were sympathetic in their very ultimate goals, but were veritable antagonists who wished to destroy the Gods as part of an [[Assimilation Plot]], and their twisted love for their kids was their main motivator}}.

* In the prologue of one of the ''[[Baccano (Light Novel)|Baccano!]]'' [[Light Novels|books]], a twelve-year-old runaway is found by a man. Said man is [[Bishonen|androgynously beautiful]], dressed almost entirely in white and (thanks to a trick of the light) appears to even be glowing. Is it an angel? Nah, it's Huey Laforet -- terrorist and [[Mad Scientist]] who just so happened to be looking for "raw materials" for some [[For Science!|very morally questionable experiments]].

* The true villain of ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' in the manga? {{spoiler|King Enma, the lord of the Spirit World, who was catching weak and innocent demons and brainwashing them to be evil so that he could justify the Spirit World's more questionable actions as being for the sake of protecting the Human World. In fact, the last battle in the manga was against the more fanatical members of the Spirit World, who was appalled at the thought of humans and [[Dark Is Not Evil|demons]] [[The Unmasqued World|living in harmony]] and was planning to do some cleansing by causing [[The End of the World Asas We Know It|Armageddon]]. Ultimately, Enma is overthrown by his son Koenma.}}

* You can't mention corrupt angels without pointing out ''[[Bludgeoning Angel Dokurochan (Light Novel)Dokuro-chan|Bludgeoning Angel Dokurochan]]''.

* ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro Ni (Visual Novel)|Umineko no Naku Koro Nini]]'': Ooh, look, pretty shiny gold [[Butterfly of Death and Rebirth|butterflies]]! That lady in the portrait can't be all ba... [[Kill 'Em All|D]][[Gorn|e]][[Family -Unfriendly Death|a]][[Fate Worse Than Death|r]] ''God''.

** This trope is also present in the form of certain religion related characters. For instance, the first villain faced is a [[Corrupt Church|priest]], Father Cornello, who maintains the guise of a kind old man when his real intentions are quite megalomaniac. [[Knight Templar|Scar]] probably fits as well, though he becomes an [[Anti -Hero]].

* Solomon from ''[[Blood Plus+]]'' is an angelic blonde bishounen that more often than not wears a white suit. Needless to say that he's also one of [[Big Bad|Diva]]'s [[Our Vampires Are Different|chevaliers]].

* [[Mobile Suit Gundam 00|Team Trinity]] are a group of Gundam meisters with [[Religious and Mythological Theme Naming|biblical surnames]] and they wear white clothes. [[Sixth Ranger Traitor|Guess what]]?

** The Major fits this trope along with [[Complete Monster]]; he wears [[Man in White|White]] and has [[Blond Guys Are Evil|Blond Hair]]. This could be attributed to [[Phenotype Stereotype]] however. He ''is'' still [[Gratuitous German|ein Sturmbannfürer des dritten Reichs]] <ref>an SS major of the Third Reich</ref>, despite having become one of the most solid examples of [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] and [[Blood Knight]] existing in [[Anime]].

* [[Kurohime|Yashahime]] is a [[White -Haired Pretty Girl|beautiful young woman]] who frequently wears [[Costume Porn|long, stylized kimonos]] [[Hair Decorations|and flowers in her hair,]] is [[Lady of War|rather graceful]] with her White God Tree [[Katanas Are Just Better|katana]] and is the [[Green Thumb|High Goddess of Earth.]] She also has a rather [[Yandere|obsessive crush]] on the Grim Reaper ([[Dark Is Evil|who's not so nice himself]]) and is [[Omnicidal Maniac|batshit crazy.]] Oh, and she's really a {{spoiler|[[When Trees Attack|tree monster.]]}}

* In ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia (Manga)|Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' Russia manages to curse Japan using the power of the Orthodox Church. Apparently even [[White Magic]] is evil if Russia is involved on it. Somewhat subverted with England's "Brittania Angel" mode, which is merely creepy when he's not being hilarious.

* In ''[[Ghost in Thethe Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]'', Kuze has a cybernetic body with white skin and hair, and usually dresses completely in white. His followers see him as a [[The Messiah|savior]], but he's also Japans most dangerous top terrorist. {{spoiler|Slightly subverted, as it later turns out that he's actually the most noble and kind character in the entire franchise, even though he has turned to extreme measures to bring an end to injustice.}}

** Probably emphasized further by the fact that he becomes a lot more sympathetic character after he gets rid of his white getup permanently, and switches to brown leather jacket and blue jeans.

* In ''[[Bastard!!]]'', the only Angel willing to fight to protect humanity instead of wiping it out is the fallen angel Lucifer, {{spoiler|AKA Lucien Renlen}}.

* This even exists in ''[[DragonballDragon Ball]]''. Case and point: FREEZA. His main colors? Pink, purple, and white. Especially in his final form; he's like a bastion of whiteness. In regular demeanor he's completely regal. And he is indeed the lord. {{spoiler|Of an intergalactic organization of planet pirates responsible for multiple genocides, ''including at least one of a race that worked for him at the time.''}}

* Raijin in ''[[Yaiba]]'' is the God of Thunder, but hinted to be quite evil. Kaguya is the Moon Princess, but is at least a [[Well -Intentioned Extremist]] and a [[Complete Monster]] at worst. {{spoiler|Also Plasma the Light Demon.}}

* In ''[[Saint Seiya]]'', [[Mind Rape|Virgo]] [[Eyes Wide Shut|Shaka]] fits. Whilst he's more of an [[Anti -Hero]], he's very deceptive-he's an incarnation of Buddha, but in the first series has aligned himself with the very evil Pope and is only too willing to [[Mind Rape]] and maim the main characters. He also happens to be an angelic-looking blonde with bright blue eyes and very long hair. Who glows. In the dark. His Expy from [[Saint Seiya: theThe Lost Canvas]] does a similar thing.

* [[Big Bad|Aion]] of ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' dresses in all white, and comes with [[White -Haired Pretty Boy]]. Underneath his disguise however is a total bastard. Prone of [[Large Ham|long winded speeches]] and making your life a total misery.

* The Guild in ''[[Last Exile (Anime)|Last Exile]]''. Aside from the customary white clothing, Guild ships are very bright and full of sunlight, particularly in contrast to the ''Silvana''.

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