Anti-Hero: Difference between revisions

** Kagura was created by Naraku out of one of the youkai that had been trapped inside himself for at least fifty years. In return for the hope of freedom in the future, she was forced to work as a slave for him, her life bound due to the fact he, quite literally, held her beating heart captive in his position and could therefore destroy at any moment. Despite her position, her [[Implied Love Interest|growing feelings]] for [[Noble Demon|Sesshoumaru]], coupled with her growing [[Protectorate|protective instinct]] for [[Designated Victim|Kohaku]] all combined to make her increasingly helpful of both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's causes. In the end, she was feeding information to both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's groups to help them fight Naraku and ended up dying in an [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to save Kohaku's life from Mouryoumaru and Naraku's machinations.

** Koga, leader of the southern wolf-demon tribe. Seeking vengeance against Naraku, he becomes a reluctant ally (while maintaining rivalry) to [[The Hero|Inuyasha]]. Thanks to his romantic interest in Kagome, he and his men give up eating human. Koga, Kikyo, Sesshomaru and his followers are described as "Those who, at times will fight, and other times have the same intentions." in Inuyasha Zusetsutaizen Ougikaiden.

** Likewise, Minene Uryu is one of the craftiest and most resourceful diary owners, and she is not above blowng up an entire middle school full of kids in order to win the survival game and become God. However, unlike some diary owners, she's wants to become god in order to make the world a better place and it's heavily implied that she will revive everyone she kills. {{spoiler|Unfortunately for her, in the world of Mirai Nikki, not even God can do that.}} One has trouble not sympathizing with her when you find out {{spoiler|that she's a refugee from an unnamed wartorn country}} and that she's fighting against serial killers, [[Omnicidal Maniac|people that want to become God in order to destroy the world]] as well as people that want the position just so that they can [[Take Over the World|rule the world.]] {{spoiler|she also works with Yuki to [[Save the World]] in the end, too.}}

* Shinji Ikari of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' is a deeply neurotic protagonist who is withdrawn, socially awkward, and completely lacking in self-confidence, but is shown to be a good person under his many psychological problems, all of which stem from him being the series' resident [[Butt Monkey]]. Asuka, too, fits the role of Anti-Hero, as her only reason for piloting her Evangelion isn't to protect mankind, but to show everyone how talented she is. Somewhat mitigated by the fact that when she was around 4 her mother lost her mind and thought that a doll was Asuka. And her father started to have an affair with the head nurse in charge of Asuka's mother. So at age four, who cares about Asuka? That's right, nobody. So she works around her abandonment issues by trying to get everyone to need her. Because she doesn't want to be alone. Shinji has the same kind of childhood, but works around it by trying not to have to make any decisions, because he thinks ''he'' is in the wrong about most things. This show messes up the background history of every character.

{{quote|'''Eggman''': Shadow? What do you want?

'''Shadow''': Your death, Eggman. I'm going to snap you like a twig, then use you for kindling.

'''Shadow''': Sonic holds such beliefs. Then again, he's a hero, I'm not. }}

* {{spoiler|The protagonist Joshua Carver}} of ''[[No Hero]]'' is one of the darkest antiheroes ever. He is by his own admission a monster that is sent out to kill other monsters and locked up in a cage the rest of the time. It's also heavily implied that he was a [[Serial Killer]] before the government found him. The only reason he isn't an outright [[Villain Protagonist]] is because the only people the readers get to see him kill {{spoiler|are a bunch of supervillains masquerading as superheroes who rule the world with good PR, a chain of deals, and lots of money.}}

* Shugo Kino from ''[[Pretty Cure Heavy Metal]]'' is usually this, but ever since episode 45, she'll become a [[Villain Protagonist|psychotic]] yet [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] when confronted by dangerous criminals such as [[Complete Monster|Kuroimetaru]].

* Beren from Russian Tolkien fic [[Beyond the Dawn]]. In Tolkien's [[The Silmarillion]] and ''Lay of Leithian'' he was so good that he even got vegetarian. In [[Beyond the Dawn]] he looks much more like a man who fought six years guerrilla alone.

* [[A Hero]], a crossover between [[Doctor Who]] and ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'', gives us a post-Evolution of the Daleks, non-hybrid Dalek Sec. [[It Makes Sense in Context|No, really.]]

* ''[[Secret War (fanfic)|Secret War]]'', a Warhammer40k fan fic, that follows Attelus Kaltos, a mercenary apprentice assassin, who is so morally grey in his actions, he could even be interpreted as a [[Villain Protagonist]].

* The protagonist of pretty much every [[Film Noir]], ever.

** Some salient examples being the protagonists of many [[Jean-Pierre Melville]] movies, including [[Le Samourai]], [[Boble Flambeur]], and [[Le Cercle Rouge]].

 

 

* [[The Mole|Edmund Pevensie]] from ''[[Chronicles of Narnia]]'', in the first book, ''[[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'', betrays his siblings to the [[Big Bad]], acts like a downright [[Jerk with a Heart of Jerk]], is a complete [[Kids Are Cruel|bully]] to his younger sister, Lucy, and alternates between [[Bad Liar]] and [[Consummate Liar]], but [[Heel Face Turn|he redeems himself later]] and becomes a total [[Badass]] in the second book, although he keeps some of his old tendencies, remaining a [[Deadpan Snarker]] (especially in the movie adaptation), and he still appears as the [[The Dark Side|darkest]] Pevensie kid.

** The movie version of the book apparently likes to portray Edmund as this, since, in the third movie, while Caspian is supposed to act evil for a short period of time, the role is actually given to Edmund again, making him look like the Anti-Hero of the story for the second time.

 

All the Ghosts are anti-heroes to some extent. These are not nice people, they are trained killers, and damn good at it. The few exceptions include Dorden, Curth (before Gereon anyway) and Kolea, to some extent.

* In [[George R. R. Martin]]'s ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', Arya Stark and Sandor Clegane are probably the best examples, in terms of their personalities. Their actual roles as protagonists or antagonists are debatable. Jaime might fall in this category too, at least once you progress to the passages written from his point of view.

* ''Enemy Glory'': The main character, Llewelyn.

** Vaanes returns in The Chapter's Due... {{spoiler|As one of the Iron Warrior Honsou's chief Lieutenants. He takes part in the battle against the Ultramarines and Ultramar but is continuously shown to be uncomfortable with the traitors he is with and what he is doing. Later he is captured by the Ultramarines, though he claims he let them take him, and agrees to take them to Honsou if they promise to kill him before he can ruin himself, he has learned that [[Being Evil Sucks|he does not like being a Chaos Marine]] and he feels he isn't strong enough to walk the path of righteousness but he doesn't want to embrace damnation either. He saves the protagonist's life from another of Honsou's lieutenants, but dies in the next battle when he attempts to kill Honsou who bests him then turns his attention to Uriel Ventris, Vaanes again saves Ventris's life by attacking Honsou again, Honsou then tears off Vaanes' arm and crushes his chest by stomping on it. After he is dead the protagonists notice his restored Raven Guard chapter tattoo, that he gouged out with a knife years ago, causing the them to wonder if he [[Redemption Equals Death|redeemed himself through dying for them]] and note that they do not feel hatred towards him anymore. At the novel's end Uriel sees a memory of the Newborn that prophesied that the Newborn would be present at a great hero's death, both Honsou and the Newborn believed this to be Uriel. Uriel realises that the great hero was actually Vaanes.}}

* The nonhuman sorcerer-king Elric of Melnibone from the works of [[Michael Moorcock]]. Elric kills human beings regularly to stay healthy—their souls are fed to him by his sword Stormbringer. Elric kicks the stolen soul energy habit twice but events forced him take up the demonic rune-blade again afterwards. If Stormbringer isn't "fed" sufficiently, the sadistic blade is entirely capable of jumping from Elric's hand and piercing the heart of one of Elric's allies, lovers or friends in front of his eyes.

* Det. Crewes from ''[[Life]]''. On the surface he practices Tao and is into self help materials. Underneath, he has a vengeful Count of Monte Cristo thing going on as he tracks down who was responsible for setting him up when he went to prison for 10 years. Moreover, despite all of his wisecracks during each episode, he always looks like he is going to snap (and sometimes he does).

* In ''[[Life On Mars]]'', DCI Gene Hunt is a racist, sexist, homophobic, crude, lazy and borderline corrupt [[Old-Fashioned Copper]] who has no problems with taking the odd kickback, [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique|beating up a suspect to get a confession]] or to frame someone 'who has it coming' for a crime they didn't commit. Yet he's still one of the good guys, mainly because even in the grey area where he keeps his ethics, there's still a line - and once it's crossed, he won't rest until the person who crossed it is brought to justice.

* Lincoln Burrows of ''[[Prison Break]]'' is probably the best example of that show. His past life was that of a normal thug. In the first 3 seasons, this was largely overshadowed by more important plot points. However, in season 4 he seems to gladly show that he's not a nice guy.

* ''[[Profit]]'''s titular character regularly engaged in blackmail, bribery, extortion and intimidation to achieve his nefarious goals. The company he's doing this to is practically just as bad and he only wants to reach the top to destroy what he sees as evil.

* Kratos from the ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]]'' series, despite being the hero of the story, is a sociopathic warrior who has little to no compunction over the numerous lives that he has taken. His only humanizing trait is his love for his wife and daughter. Later, Pandora's influence does help him to examine his actions. He actually seems genuinely regretful when he observes the damage he caused after his final battle. But the franchise must continue and Kratos must slip back to his basic character. In ''God of War 3'', he kills gods and titans {{spoiler|[[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|that he himself]] is responsible for making evil in the first place.}} Interestingly, Kratos is pretty close to [[Values Dissonance|what antique cultures would've considered "heroic".]]

* ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]''

** Niko Bellic, the star of ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]'' is a classic [[Punch Clock Villain]]. There's even an option to have him [[Pet the Dog]] in certain story events.

*** The stars of the 2 DLC games, Johnny Klebitz (The Lost and Damned) and Luis Lopez (The Ballad of Gay Tony) also fit this.

** Considering the [[Black and Grey Morality]] of this chaotic setting, it would be easier to list the characters who aren't Anti-Heroic in some way or another. Most of the cast consists of [[You Killed My Father|revenge seekers,]] [[The Atoner|atoners]], [[I Just Want to Be Badass|glory]] [[Blood Knight|seekers,]] and [[Knight Templar|renegade]] [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|extremists who would stop at nothing to see peace returned, no matter what the cost]]. It almost seems as a necessity, considering the [[Complete Monster|terrifying, heartless]] [[Eldritch Abomination|foes]] [[Ax Crazy|which they face]] .

* The Star Wolf team in ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star FOX]]'' started as a generic "[[Evil Counterpart|evil Star Fox]]" group, but in sequels, the team becomes more anti-heroic. The removal of the two "scum" characters Pigma (a traitor) and Andrew (nephew of the main villain in Star Fox 64) and the addition of a ladies' man named Panther (who falls in love with a character on the heroes team) gave them an opportunity to work with Star Fox.

* Considering the game is titled ''[[Thief]]'', it probably isn't too surprising that the protagonist, Garrett, is a vaguely amoral and deeply selfish burglar, motivated almost solely by profit, who seems to end up saving the world only [[Because Destiny Says So]] and all his stuff is there. In his defense, the people he steals from are frequently much worse, he has a sense of humour, and his world isn't one given to rewarding displays of ''nice''.

* Wario, although debuting as a villain, became an anti-hero in the ''[[Wario Land]]'' and ''[[Wario Ware]]'' series, even once agreeing to help free a hidden figure from a music box in exchange for getting to keep all the treasure he finds on the way. He also helped Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi rescue Princess Peach from Bowser in ''Super Mario 64 DS''.

* Yuri Volte Hyuga from ''[[Shadow Hearts]]'' is a quintessential antihero, even though he does incidentally [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|kill a surprising number of world-devouring evils along the way]].

* ''[[Destroy All Humans!]]'' - Crypto, Pox, Silhouette, and Ponsony from the series all qualify.

* The Bonnes from the ''[[Mega Man Legends]]'' series were at first seen as [[Harmless Villain]]s but every single time at the end they decide to aid Mega Man.

* ''[[Final Fantasy]]''

* If the player chooses so, Cole [[Mac Grath]] from Infamous can become an antihero, and in the second game's evil ending {{spoiler|can wipe out all non super humans}}

* Duke Nukem from the ''[[Duke Nukem]]'' videogame series is the prototype of a [[Badass]] anti-hero.

* Wes from ''[[Pokémon Colosseum]]'' is a good example. He steals Pokémon away from their thuggish owners so he can save them from being mindless killing machines. Oh, and he's an ex-criminal who's about seventeen years old and travels around with his redheaded Sidekick and his Espeon and Umbreon and has an awesome motorcycle. Although he's got a lot of street cred for that [[Heel Face Turn]] he does at the start, blowing up Team Snagem's base and riding off with their Snah Machine.

 

== [[Visual Novels]] ==