Love to Hate Him

Some bad guys do their thing so well you can't help but hope they'd win sometimes. Some villains are so good at it you sort of root for them the whole time, and when they lose (as they eventually must) you tend to feel for them. Let's just say that some antagonists are so bad they're good, and that they're sometimes better than the good guys.

For the purposes of this category, we define "villain" as anyone who goes up against the main characters, regardless of motivation. That way I can include some guys that wouldn't actually fit the classic "bad guy" definition.

If you came in through the Anime Evil Webring below, please take the time to browse the rest of The Leading Men of Anime to see some of the more fantastic *male* characters anime has to offer...

Not Quite Standard Disclaimer:
The images here were gleaned from many different sites--wherever I happened to see a good picture of the Leading Man in question...In some cases I had to chop him out of a bigger picture, brighten the image itself--anything to get HIS solo mug up there. If I'm using your image and you don't like what I've done to it, tell me about it and I'll take it out. Remember: all images here belong solely to their creators.

All guys are plugged in ALPHABETICALLY per page, and in the order I received the suggestions, to avoid the reams of hate-mail I can imagine for inadvertently maligning *your* Leading Man.

Tim Nolan says:
          He's got all the makings of the classical hero... his father murdered for political reasons, forcing him to go into disguise in order to get his revenge. He spent many long years among his enemies, earning the chance for that vengenace, and to try and fulfill his father's dream.

In a day of black and white characters, Char's painted in glorious shades of gray that can't help but to captivate the viewer. He's the prototypical cool villain, inspiring all the more recent ones we've come to love to hate, yet admire so much.

Dawn says:
          He's studly! He's a great dresser, he's tall, dark, handsome...evil, sure, but cool! =O).

I've never seen either of these anime, but I will. Lillith found this image for me. Thanks a lot!

Schala says:
          He's my favorite character on Voltron... He is so cool!!! I love him and it is crazy to have a crush on Prince Lotor *drool* but...

Frankly, I didn't realize anyone still remembered Voltron, much less thought anything of them! That anime was a standby of my childhood and I'm glad such a potent memory made its way here.

Kuroshi Shinmasu says:
          Sephiroth is the ice-cold superevil bad guy of Final Fantasy 7. He was the first guy to PERMANENTLY kill a main storyline good guy (namely that annoying Aerith). Butt-length silver hair and emerald green eyes, dressed in a black trench coat, he is the coolest character of all time!

Debra adds:
          He is one evil guy and he is FINE! He burned down a town, slaughtered tons of people and he summoned a meteor to destroy the remaining population of the planet. Last but not least, he cut off his *mother's* head. Wow.

(I know this game character is off the theme of Mre-Mre Land, but around four people have already nominated (uncreditable because I don't know who/where they are) him, so when 2 more did so again, I had to add him. Hey--the customer is always right!)

Noin says:
          Zechs is a super kewl bishounen! I mean, how many guys you see in anime with LONG platnium blond hair and azure blue eyes that actually look GOOD on them? Zechs maybe the baddie of Gundam Wing but he sure got what it takes to be just as popular as the G boys! ^_^

This guy was originally nominated for the Men of Power category, but I figured the bad guys should stick together...