History CardCarryingVillain / AnimeAndManga

* Team Rocket (the whole organisation, not the TerribleTrio) in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries''. According to Cassidy and [[AccidentalMisnaming Billy]], rivals to the trio, the motto they use is the real Team Rocket motto (where there are phrases like "To infect the world with devastation!" and "To blight all people in every nation!") and the motto Jessie and James use is, instead, a corrupted version (this version has phrases that imply that they see themselves as {{Knight Templar}}s). Ironically, when Jessie and James updated their motto to become Card-Carrying Villains (from Battle Frontier up to the end of Sinnoh), the motto Cassidy and Paunch[[note]][[RunningGag IT'S BUTCH!!!]][[/note]] use was also updated, and the phrases were KnightTemplar-ish themselves.

* Lelouch from ''Anime/CodeGeass'' [[spoiler:''pretends'' to be a heartless supervillain in order to unite the world through common hatred of him, then allows himself to be killed so everyone can move on and work together towards peace.]] Yeah, Lulu [[GambitRoulette can be a little weird.]]

** Frieza, who openly gloats about his cruelty, relishes bringing immense pain onto others, freely admits all the horrible stories told about him are true, and wants immortality to forever stay in control of the universe. And it's played very darkly straight. His own minions call him the Emperor of Evil. Even after [[EnemyMine fighting alongside his sworn enemies for the sake of the universe]], he openly admits he won't stop being evil [[spoiler:after being fully resurrected]].
** Like Frieza, Cell openly gloats about his cruelty and relishes causing pain and mass destruction, to the extent that he freely admits that his greatest joy is [[LovesTheSoundOfScreaming seeing his victims die in terror and despair]]. When he has an epiphany that Dr. Gero created him to destroy all living things in the universe, Cell wholeheartedly and joyfully embraces the role of an OmnicidalManiac.

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', people who use their Quirks as authorized by the government to protect the innocent take up the Hero profession. Likewise, those that use their Quirks for evil and commit crimes are labelled "Villains". It's played straight with the main antagonist group, who call themselves the "League of Villains" and seek to tear down Hero society mostly because they can. Their founder All For One admits as much when All Might visits him in prison; while All Might went out of his way to be TheParagon, All For One always wanted to be an all powerful demon king ruling from the shadows and went out of his way to make that a reality. His backstory reveals he got this mentality after he read comic books with his brother Yoichi and identified himself with the Demon Lord villain from the stories, deciding to form his philosophy around that. Unfortunately for him, he ended up being so immersed in this mindset [[VillainBall he literally falls victim to many villain cliches]] as noted by the heroes, such as dismissing everyone who's not All Might or Midoriya as "jobber characters" who only exist for the villain to kill and showcase his power, allowing many of the secondary characters to hit him in completely unexpected ways.

** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' has the freaking incarnation of the third sphere, Ali Al-Saachez. The world of Gundam generally (pretends to) have multidimensional villains with some understandable motivations. Or, at least, villains that are good at self-justification and excuses. Ali is probably the only villain in the entire existence of ''Gundam'' to readily admit that he loves war for war's sake, that he commits his (numerous) crimes ForTheEvulz, and that this makes him the worst sort of person in the world. He has absolutely no problem with it.

** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' has the freaking incarnation of the third sphere, Ali Al-Saachez. The world of Gundam generally (pretends to) have multidimensional villains with some understandable motivations. Or, at least, villains that are good at self-justification and excuses. Ali is probably the only villain in the entire existence with Gundams to readily admit that he loves war for war's sake, that he commits his (numerous) crimes ForTheEvulz, and that this makes him the worst sort of person in the world. He has absolutely no problem with it.

** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' has the freaking incarnation of the third sphere, Ali Al-Saachez. The world of Gundam generally (pretend to) have multidimensional villains with some understandable motivations. Or, at least, villains that are good at self-justification and excuses. Ali is probably the only villain in the entire existence with Gundams to readily admit that he loves war for war's sake, that he commits his (numerous) crimes ForTheEvulz, and that this makes him the worst sort of person in the world. He has absolutely no problem with it.

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', people who use their Quirks as authorized by the government to protect the innocent take up the Hero profession. Likewise, those that use their Quirks for evil and commit crimes are labelled "Villains". It's played straight with the main antagonist group, who call themselves the "League of Villains" and seek to tear down Hero society mostly because they can. Their founder All For One admits as much when All Might visits him in prison; while All Might went out of his way to be TheParagon, All For One always wanted to be an all powerful demon king ruling from the shadows and went out of his way to make that a reality.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox, declares himself to be a "[[MadeOfEvil living mass of malevolence]]."

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion'' has one in none other than [[spoiler: the protagonist, Homura Akemi, after she stabs Madoka in the back, steals her powers and becomes a self-proclaimed demon to counter her godlike status. From there, she [[EvilIsHammy chews the scenery to dust]], [[SlouchOfVillainy slouches in her chair]] as she drinks fruity beverages and freely calls herself a force of chaos and "an existence called 'evil'" when confronted by Sayaka, before engaging in [[BlatantLies some truly gut-churning atrocities]]: she [[PokeThePoodle breaks one of Mami's teacups and makes Kyoko waste an apple,]] [[SarcasmMode the fiend,]] then gives Sayaka and Madoka new chances to live happy lives, brings Nagisa back to be a friend for the lonely Mami, and delivers unto [[BigBad Kyubey]] a long-deserved dose of MindRape for his actions in the movie. And that's pretty much it. To be perfectly honest, Homura's declarations of 'demonhood' and claims of being evil do nothing but underscore how pathetic and self-loathing Homura really is, and even at this point she just doesn't have it in her to be truly wicked.]]

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion'' has one in none other than [[spoiler: the protagonist, Homura Akemi, after she stabs Madoka in the back, steals her powers and becomes a self-proclaimed demon to counter her godlike status. From there, she [[EvilIsHammy chews the scenery to dust]], [[SlouchOfVillainy slouches in her chair]] as she drinks fruity beverages and freely calls herself a force of chaos and "an existence called 'evil'" when confronted by Sayaka, before engaging in [[BlatantLies some truly gut-churning atrocities]]: she [[PokeThePoodle breaks one of Mami's teacups and makes Kyoko waste an apple,]] [[SarcasmMode the fiend,]] then gives Sayaka and Madoka new chances to live happy lives, brings Nagisa back to be a friend for the lonely Mami, and delivers unto [[BigBad Kyubey]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch a long-deserved dose]] of MindRape for his actions in the movie. And that's pretty much it. To be perfectly honest, Homura's declarations of 'demonhood' and claims of being evil do nothing but underscore how pathetic and self-loathing Homura really is, and even at this point she just doesn't have it in her to be truly wicked.]]

** The most dead-straight example is Devimon, the franchise's first BigBad. Upon his death, his last words are to tell the heroes that they've wasted their time because evil is everywhere and cannot be defeated. He ''laughs'' with his final breath, knowing evil will go on.

* Dante from ''Manga/BlackClover'' calls evil a vital part of human nature and gloats over his malicious intentions, even saying his malice will never be satisfied no matter how many atrocities he has committed. He's even complimented when Asta calls him evil.

* Ladd Russo from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' is a [[LargeHam hammy ]]PsychoForHire who freely admits that all he loves is killing, killing, and more killing. When his uncle tells him "Homicidal lunatics think you're a nutcase!" He informs him that his "[[InsultBackfire attempts at flattery are so ham handed]]."

* [[BigBad Sir Isaac]] [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Ray Peram Westcott]] from ''LightNovel/DateALive''. He wants to cause chaos, annihilation, destruction, and the deaths of men, women, and children, and he'd do anything to plunge the whole world into endless chaos, destruction and suffering as possible and makes no secret of it. He's only subtle if he needs to manipulate someone.

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'': Kasane Kujiragi openly says that she identifies herself as a villain and expects a day to come when some sort of hero will kill her. For her deeds, most are only mentioned but she is [[spoiler:indirectly responsible for both Celty's head being severed and Anri obtaining Saika. She also has kidnapped and possessed Shinra to purposely cause Celty to transform into a monster so Kasane could capture and sell her. However, Kasane is not intentionally malicious and has aided Shinra and Vorona with apparently no ulterior motive]].

* In ''LightNovel/SoImASpiderSoWhat'' "D" openly refers to herself as the world's most evil god. Background shows that this isn't an exaggeration as even other gods consider her ''the'' evil god.

* The demon Demiurge from ''LightNovel/{{Overlord}}'' was created to be the absolute embodiment of evil by his creator Ulbert, who also roleplayed a CardCarryingVillain with a dramatic flair. This causes problems when he's transported to the New World and becomes an ''actual demon'' instead of a game NPC. Demiurge demonstrates just how ''terrifying'' a CardCarryingVillain truly is if played deadly serious.

* Xellos from ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' is this whenever he isn't siding with the protagonists. Being a powerful demon in the service of powers that want to destroy the world and feeding off from negative human emotions does that to a person. He makes an effort to avoid killing the good guys because they're such fun, though.
* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'': In contrast to [[BlueAndOrangeMorality Akihiko Kayaba]], Sugou Nobuyuki is depicted as unambiguously, unconditionally evil, and openly revels in [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential being able to do all the horrible things in ALO that would see him ostracized outside in real life.]]

* ''LightNovel/UndefeatedBahamutChronicle'':

** Envy in the 2003 anime is somehow even worse and frequently [[KickTheDog kicks the dog]]. He tells Al that unlike the other homunculi, he is very much aware that Dante has no intention of helping him and he doesn't care. The only reason he has for working for Dante is so he can kill as many people as possible.

* The EvilOverlord Moo in ''Anime/MonsterRancher'' is one of these who isn't played for laughs. He revels in his hatred and villainy because negative emotions empower him, thus it benefits him to be evil as much as possible.

* Garou in ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'' seems to be this at first, identifying himself as 'the villain' and 'the human monster', with his catchphrase being 'time to commit evil'. He even manages to convince many of the S-class heroes like Zombieman that he is this. However it turns out to be a subversion, as he is actually an [[AntiVillain Anti-Villain]] with the goal of uniting humankind, and most of his threats are bluffs as he goes out of his way to never actually kill any human beings.

* The demon Demiurge from ''LightNovel/{{Overlord}}'' was created to be the absolute embodiment of evil by his creator Ulbert, who also roleplayed a CardCarryingVillain with a dramatic flair. This causes problems when he's transported to the New World and becomes an ''actual demon'' instead of a game NPC. Demiurge demonstrates just how ''terrifying'' a CardCarryingVillain truly is if played deadly serious.
* Parodied in ''Manga/TheRiseOfTheUnemployedWiseMan'' where the protagonist Karna happily shouts that he's "an enemy of humanity" as ''he's openly rescuing humans'' and many of the actually evil demons go ultra-hammy about how evil they are and what atrocities they're going to commit, especially smashing Karna flat, until he blasts them with a OneHitKill without even trying, thinking they got away because there's NoBodyLeftBehind.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': The [[DemonLordsandArchDevils God Hand]] are sinister beings of god-like power who manipulate causality in order to serve their agenda, which involves driving certain humans to despair and offering them the chance to cast away their human vulnerability by sacrificing the person who’s most important to them. They frame this choice as a deliberate crossing of the MoralEventHorizon, which allows "evil" to take over one’s heart. It seems like the ultimate goal of everything they do is to increase human suffering. [[MissingEpisode The Lost Episode]], which [[Creator/KentaroMiura Miura]] removed from the canon because it gave away too much and set a limit on the scope of the story, originally revealed another layer to this: [[spoiler:The God Hand is subservient to an even more powerful creature calling itself the Idea of Evil, which came into being when the collective unconscious of humankind wanted a reason to explain the meaningless pain and suffering of the world. In other words, humanity subconsciously wished the Idea of Evil into existence because the alternative of bad things happening to them for no reason seemed even worse.]]

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', people who use their [[StockSuperpowers Quirks]] as authorized by the government to protect the innocent take up the [[{{Superhero}} Hero]] profession. Likewise, those that use their Quirks for evil and commit crimes are labelled "[[{{Supervillain}} Villains]]". It's played straight with the main antagonist group, who call themselves the "League of Villains" and seek to tear down Hero society mostly because they can. Their founder All For One admits as much when All Might visits him in prison; while All Might went out of his way to be TheParagon, All For One always wanted to be an all powerful demon king ruling from the shadows and went out of his way to make that a reality.

* Team Rocket (the whole organisation, not the TerribleTrio) in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. According to Cassidy and [[AccidentalMisnaming Billy]], rivals to the trio, the motto they use is the real Team Rocket motto (where there are phrases like "To infect the world with devastation!" and "To blight all people in every nation!") and the motto Jessie and James use is, instead, a corrupted version (this version has phrases that imply that they see themselves as {{Knight Templar}}s). Ironically, when Jessie and James updated their motto to become Card-Carrying Villains (from Battle Frontier up to the end of Sinnoh), the motto Cassidy and Paunch[[note]][[RunningGag IT'S BUTCH!!!]][[/note]] use was also updated, and the phrases were KnightTemplar-ish themselves.

** In terms of the Pokémon themselves, Ekans/Arbok and Koffing/Weezing insist to be {{Punch Clock Villain}}s that follow the orders of Jessie and James, but otherwise are amiable to the twerps' Pokémon. (see: "Island of the Giant Pokémon") ''Meowth'', however, is a ''technically'' wild Pokémon who seems to engage in Team Rocket's villainy for kicks. While he also has his "nice" moments (especially in the Pikachu shorts), he more often than not has an ulterior motive for such cooperative behavior (for example, his HeelFaceMole mini-arc in Best Wishes).

* She may have mellowed out since, but Kokoa Shuzen from ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'' definitely started out as one, even going so far as to claim to have been "born into a family of villains" in an early chapter of the second serialization, shortly after her debut. Within minutes of that declaration, though, [[HeelFaceTurn she finds herself with humble pie in her face]] when Tsukune, who she thought had severely watered down her older sister Moka, saves her from the MonsterOfTheWeek.

* ''Franchise/{{Mazinger}}'':

* ''Franchise/Mazinger'':

** BigBad Sicks, in the other hand, take the concept of a villain who is evil for [[ForTheEvulz the sake of being evil]] and takes it to the LogicalExtreme while playing it for pure, hyper-concentrated NightmareFuel. His right hand man Zenjiro gets a very nice speech, one that be found on the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Quotes/CardCarryingVillain quote page of this trope]], where he accurately described Sicks as [[TheSociopath "Absolute Evil"]] using him as an example as to why the [[RousseauWasRight "generally accepted opinion that nobody in this world is pure 'evil'"]] is wrong. Neuro himself, a demon who consider mankind as a whole his personal playthings, stated that Sicks is not longer human but something "infinitely worse". Neuro's first meting with Sicks ends up with the first time in the manga that we see him genuinely angry.

** The Digimon Emperor from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' openly refers to himself as evil and performs over-the-top feats of [[KickTheDog dog-kicking]] at every turn. [[spoiler:However, he [[AndYouThoughtItWasAGame thinks the Digital World isn't real, more like a very interactive video game]], so his constant acts of evil are simply him indulging in VideoGameCrueltyPotential. When [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he finds out it's actually real]], a HeelFaceTurn soon follows, and [[TheAtoner he never really forgives himself]] afterward.]]

** The Digimon Emperor from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' openly refers to himself as evil and performs over-the-top feats of [[KickTheDog dog-kicking]] at every turn. It makes sense when you discover that [[spoiler:he [[AndYouThoughtItWasAGame thinks the Digital World isn't real, more like a very interactive video game]], and his constant acts of evil are simply him indulging in VideoGameCrueltyPotential. When [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he finds out it's actually real]], a HeelFaceTurn soon follows, and [[TheAtoner he never really forgives himself]] afterward.]]

* ''Franchise/Digimon'':

* The Digimon Emperor from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' referred to himself as evil...[[spoiler:before he [[SixthRanger became a good guy]].]]
** However, his entire over-the-top villainous persona makes sense when you discover that [[spoiler:he thinks the Digital World isn't real, more like a very interactive [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential video game]]. His constant KickTheDog-ery is similar to any ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' fan who shoots [=BOBs=]. His HeelFaceTurn was immediate when [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he found out it was real]] and [[TheAtoner he never really forgave himself]].]]