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Smug Snake/Anime and Manga: Difference between revisions
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* Arguably, Orochimaru from ''[[Naruto]]''. Sure, he's evil and fairly skilled, but he leaves a lot of the planning to his [[Enigmatic Minion]]. Also a literal example, what with his theme being snakes.
** Gato of the Land of Waves arc loudly complains when Zabuza and his followers fail to kill Tazuna, despite them being stronger than him or any of the other men he has in his employ, and tries to kill both Zabuza and Team 7 after their battle in order to save money, showing considerable arrogance, overconfidence and disdain for his allies. Unfortunately, he doesn't count on the injured and [[Heel Face Turn|Heel Face Turned]] Zabuza having enough strength and skill to kill him.
* [[Axis Powers Hetalia (Manga)|Pru]][[Small Name, Big Ego|ssia]] is a more humourous version of this trope. He dreams of conquering and enslaving the entire world, but if he comes close he's often cut back down to size. [[Draco in Leather Pants|The fans tend to love him for it, though.]]
* In the manga of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', [[Pride]] takes this trope and runs with it. He's a condescending [[Enfante Terrible|little prick]] with all the ego you'd expect from the living embodiment of arrogance, and almost no redeeming qualities.
** There's also [[Corrupt Church|Father Cornello]]. Quite arrogant despite being a mere puppet of the homunculi, and not impressive psychically compared to the rest of the cast, it's quite satisfying watching his scam fall apart right before his death.
** Frank Archer from the first anime is the epitome of a Smug Snake; a ruthless sociopath who orchestrates heinous catastrophes for the sake of [[Glory Hound|bettering his own image and publicity]].
*** {{spoiler|Dante}} is no better, being an egotistical, [[Body Surf|bodysnatching]] bitch who while quite intelligent, fails to earn the audience's respect or admiration, due to her [[
* Half the ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]'' fandom sees [[Villain Protagonist|Light]] [[Dark Messiah|Yagami]] as a [[Magnificent Bastard]]. The other half sees him as just a high-functioning Smug Snake. Unlike many on this list, Light ''is'' very bright, but his [[A God Am I]] complex, infantile [[Freak Out|Freak Outs]] ("he got me!"), borderline [[Lack of Empathy|sociopathy]] and tendency towards kicking dogs, can and do cost him the sympathy of many, while his sheer ego, and tendency towards underestimating his opponents can sometimes derail his plans {{spoiler|and ultimately do get him killed}}. As in the [[Pirates of the Caribbean|Beckett]] example below, Light is incredibly smart, but not nearly as smart as he thinks he is.
** {{spoiler|Kyousuke Higuchi}} the Third Kira, is a more traditional example, being arrogant without reason, none-too bright, unsympathetic and fully convinced that he is [[The Big Bad]], despite being Light's puppet.
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** Leonard Testarossa also qualifies. While his smarts and charisma should, theoretically, allow him to avoid this trope, he's got too much of a [[Pride|superiority complex]] and [[Kick the Dog|kicks a few dogs too many]] for his own good. (Specially poor Kaname, considering [[Would Hit a Girl|how he beat her up]] when she and Sosuke aknowledged their feelings for each other)
*** Lampshaded in the later novels by Kaname herself (despite her [[Damsel in Distress]] status), who points out that sad and tragic past experiences do ''not'' give you an excuse to "play with the fates of other people, and flaunt a smile while you do it."
* Yuri Killian became one of these toward the end of the first season of ''[[Kaleido Star]]'', enacting a complicated revenge plot against Kalos Eido, his former boss, for {{spoiler|the death of his father Aaron several years ago}}. While he succeeds in buying out Kaleido Stage and forcing most of its stars out (all the while taunting them about how they'll never make it big without him), attendance under Yuri's management dwindles rapidly because of people complaining [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|the shows aren't as fun as they used to be]]. As a final insult, his ex-partner Layla Hamilton sees what he's done, attempts to fight back and finally gives him a hard slap to the face for assuming everything was Kalos' fault even after he learned that {{spoiler|Aaron's death was genuinely accidental, and Kalos had been trying to make up for it ever since.}}
** Yuri actually is {{spoiler|one of the few Snakes who actually has a [[Heel Face Turn]] ''and'' works hard to become [[The Atoner]]. Even if he goes ''too'' far in Leon's case...}}
* Kazamatsuri Hayato from ''[[Gilgamesh]]'', perhaps portrayed as a complete asshole in an attempt to make [[Evil Matriarch]] Kageyama Hiroko look more sympathetic in comparison.
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* Jonathan Glenn from ''[[Brain Powerd]]'' probably thinks himself a [[Magnificent Bastard]]... and that's just his first failing! A combination of overconfidence, [[Kick the Dog]] moments, and the fact his manipulations never really go anywhere (plus, he later allows himself to become Baron Maximillian's pawn) gets him a place in this trope and makes him one of the most unsympathetic characters in the series.
* Katsuhiko Jinnai from ''[[El Hazard]]'' certainly counts. Being a brilliant strategist and successful conqueror isn't enough to make up for [[Ted Baxter|his monumental ego]] and [[Annoying Laugh]]; traits that make him [[Love to Hate|both hateable and/or hilarious to the audience.]]
** To be fair though, this is much less true in the ''Magnificent World'' [[OV As]]. In that continuity, he may have [[Small Name, Big Ego|a big ego]], but he can easily back it up with [[Marty Tzu|tactical genius]] and [[Determinator|sheer will power]]. While still not as magnificent as he sees himself, it makes him seem less like this trope than he does in the ''Wanderers'' anime series, which takes his ego [[Up to Eleven]] and severely downgrades his strategic abilities so that he looks more like an [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]] [[Joke Character]].
* Haruo from ''[[Historys Strongest Disciple Kenichi]]'', a fair weather friend with an ever-present [[Giggling Villain|arrogant smirk]] on his face who enjoys getting Kenichi into trouble ({{spoiler|for example, by spreading the news of his victory over Tsukuba, which made Kenichi a target for Ragnarok}}). A lot of readers would like nothing better than crossing the pages of the manga and punch his teeth in...
** And he actually has ''snake tongue''!
** He really ''is'' a [[Manipulative Bastard]], and Kenichi's masters admit that he has genuine strategic talent, and ''eventually'' he does become an asset to the team (kind of). He still has no fighting skill and an ego the size of a zeppelin, but still...
** As the series progresses, Haruo ''does'' start to demonstrate some honest dedication to his "minions" -- even going so far as refusing to abandon them even in desperate situations and making decisions with the welfare of his group as a whole, leading even many of the masters of the series to observe that he has some very real leadership qualities. To top it off, he is slowly but surely sliding into [[Magnificent Bastard]] territory, even if his sense of style is...unique.
* Mikoto from ''[[Flame of Recca]]''. While her first credentials show her to be a [[Complete Monster]], her fight with Fuuko cements her as a true Smug Snake, starting from the usage of crocodile tears, slow poisoning (while gloating on how she likes seeing life fading away), and finally, scoring a default victory through silencing the referee (who was about to declare KO), knocking Fuuko out and won over a ten count. As Raiha coined, it's not her physical strength that makes her a Jyuushinshu, it's her ''slyness''. Even Joker noted that he is ''really'' doubtful about how Mikoto ends up in the Jyuushinshu ranks. While still smuggy, she starts softening up when she got into a relationship with [[Complete Monster|Mokuren]]. {{spoiler|But that ends [[Alas, Poor Villain|very pitifully]] for her.}}
* Goryo of ''[[Muhyo and Roji]]'' prides himself on his tactics, even though his grasp of magical law is inferior to Muhyo's. Despite {{spoiler|(technically) winning the contest against Muhyo}}, Goryo's plan to corner Ark fails miserably, forcing Muhyo to come to his aid. Goryo is also largely unlikable because his business model frequently involves [[Kick the Dog]] moments.
* Kashmir from ''[[Overman King Gainer]]'' is a pompous ass who uses underhanded tricks to try to defeat the Yapan Exodus. He succeeds once making it so that a Dome that the Exodus stopped at is damaged forcing them to join the Exodus which causes distrust and hatred which is the main source of Kashmir's plans (it also backfires when several of them form a second squad under former Siberian Railroad member Adette). All other plans fails at which point Kashmir who is the worst recurring mecha pilot in the series than gets his ass kicked.
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* Tenzen in ''[[Basilisk]]'' sees himself as a [[Magnificent Bastard]] but doesn't live up to it, making a number of embarrassing mistakes as well as ''horrifying'' atrocities. {{spoiler|He gets himself killed several times over.}}
* Unsui of the Juppon Gatana from ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]''. During his time in the series, Usui always seemed to have the one-up on his fellow Juppon Gatana members, and most definitely fit the smug part of the Smug Snake, more than willing to mock and belittle his foes by pointing out how he could see through them with his "Mind's Eye". His apparent reason for joining the Juppon Gatana was to be able to kill Shishio if he ever had the chance. {{spoiler|But in his fight with Saito, he was faced with the fact that his true reason was to put up the appearance of still trying to defeat Shishio, and hiding his dishonour. Usui became even angrier when Saito pointed out that Shishio knew this and was playing him like an instrument. And then, when Usui tried to hold on to the shred of dignity he had left, Saito mopped the floor with him.}}
* Dorchenov from ''[[Metal Armor Dragonar]]'' is this, combined with [[The Starscream]]. A petty, arrogant and [[Dirty Coward|cowardly]] militaristic bully with an [[
* [[Braiger|Khamen Khamen]]
* Ren Sohma from [[Fruits Basket]]. She's [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo|beautiful]], [[Manipulative Bitch|sly, manipulative]]...and not just [[Complete Monster|despicable]], but in the end, very ''incompetent''. {{spoiler|She has to manipulate Rin to get her late husband Akira's box (and Rin then fails and is horrifyingly "punished" by its owner, Ren's much hated and abused daughter Akito), is humiliated by Shigure when he tells her he only had sex with her because she looks like an older Akito, and once her plans crumble, she's left as an [[Empty Shell]] of her former self.}}
* [[Revolutionary Girl Utena|Touga Kiryuu]] ''is'' very handsome, charming and manipulative -- but ultimately, he's a horrendous [[Jerkass]] even to his sister Nanami, and he can't hold a candle to {{spoiler|the ''real'' [[Magnificent Bastard]] of the series, Akio Ohtori.}}
* Gouda of ''[[Ghost in The Shell Stand Alone Complex]]'' is a quite intelligent man, but he has a massive inferiority complex which makes him quite a Smug Snake. He really likes to grate on people and put them down, and the protagonists get an idea of his plan fairly early on precisely because he's the kind of person that wants recognition of his cleverness.
* Agon of ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'', the living embodiment of [[Jerk Jock]] and a one-man [[Opposing Sports Team]]. [[Brilliant but Lazy]] meets [[
* The [[Tenchi Muyo]] franchise has several examples.
** Dr Clay from the OVA.
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** Yugi from ''[[Tenchi in Tokyo]]''.
** Tarant Shank from ''[[Tenchi Muyo GXP]]''.
* Jose Porla, the leader of rival guild Phantom Lord in ''[[Fairy Tail]]''. Sneeringly arrogant, condescending, [[
** From the same arc, we have [[French Jerk|Monsieur]] [[Dishing Out Dirt|Sol]] of Jose's [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|Element Four]], who was sure he could get the upper hand on [[Gentle Giant|Elfman]] by psychologically torturing him, first by reminding him of his [[Dead Little Sister]] Lisanna {{spoiler|(okay, she wasn't dead, but nobody knew that...)}} and then by forcing him to watch as Elfman's other sister Mirajane was getting the life squeezed out of her. [[Heroic Resolve|Oh]], [[Epiphany Therapy|how]] [[Oh Crap|wrong]] [[Curb Stomp Battle|he]] [[Limp and Livid|was]].
* Goose from ''[[Baccano (Light Novel)|Baccano]]''. He's so incredibly arrogant that he goes so far as to say that the ''police'' would be stupid to try and stop him from {{spoiler|murdering the senator's daughter and leaving her body on the side of the road just to scare him into releasing his boss from prison}}. Not only that, but he says all of this, ''[[Kick the Dog|right in front of the senator's wife and daughter]]''. Really this (paraphrased) exchange sums it right up.
{{quote| '''Goose''': (''To Mrs. Beriam'') Our plan is to get Master Huey out of jail. The police would be stupid to try and stop the train and arrest us. Once we reach the city border we're going to {{spoiler|kill your daughter and leave her body on the side of the tracks}}. Don't be stupid enough to {{spoiler|offer yourself as a sacrifice}}. This way, Senator Beriam will have no choice but to give in to our demands. [[Evil Is Petty|I know this isn't going to be much comfort]] but {{spoiler|[[Kick the Dog|I'll shoot her]] myself}}}}
** His "boss", Huey, isn't exactly innocent of this either.
* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh]]'': Seto Kaiba was a classic example during his time as the [[Big Bad]]. After his [[Heel Face Turn]] he becomes a better person, but his [[Jerkass]] behaviours and unbelievable arrogance keep him as an [[Anti
** Arguably the bigger Smug Snake during Kaiba's time as the [[Big Bad]] wasn't even himself--it was ''Mokuba.'' He challenges Yugi three times, each time ''extremely'' smug, despite him being nowhere near Yugi or Kaiba's skills, and prone to freaking out any time things seemed to go wrong for him. {{spoiler|Then again, considering it's implied that he acted like that so his brother would like him again, he might be considered a sympathetic [[Deconstruction]].}}
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