History IneffectualSympatheticVillain / AnimeAndManga

* [[Manga/ShinryakuIkaMusume Ika Musume]] is a [[CuteMonsterGirl superhuman being]] with CombatTentacles and a strong desire to conquer the human race. She has a bit of trouble getting to the conquering part.

* Feliciano/Italy in ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'', an odd example of an ineffectual sympathetic villain title character semi-protagonist. He really only gets the title of villain because the manga is set predominantly in the WWII era. [[YouFailHistoryForever If further explanation of that is needed...]]

* Dr. Gel in ''Anime/SpaceDandy'' is shown to be the devoted and apparently quite intelligent general of the Gogol Empire, under the equally competent Admiral Perry. However, the poor ape's contuinued attempts to capture Dandy often end up with him being outmaneuvered (and on more than one occasion [[DeathIsCheap killed]]) often without Dandy [[KarmaHoudini even realizing he was being hunted in the first place]].

** Insector Haga and "Dinosaur" Ryuzaki were probably the most well known examples. [[ButtMonkey You kind of felt sorry for them after awhile]]. Their worst humilation came during the KC Grand Prix when they dueled Zigfried two against one, and he beat them both... On his first turn. (Granted, Zigfried is a guy who gave ''Kaiba'' one of the most epic duels of his career, but still...)

* Kurotowa in the ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'' anime comes across as this despite his ruthless character. In the manga, he only briefly ''appears'' to be one of these, before [[NotSoHarmlessVillain proving to actually be dangerously competent.]]

** Meowth as well. He is one of the weakest battling Pokemon in the series, thus spends the large majority of the time assisting with the duo's zany schemes and blabbing his mouth off rather than face an inevitable curbstomp.
*** Meowth had an excuse. He spent so much time when he was young learning how to talk that he let his natural skills and powers as a Pokémon degenerate. He may be a poor Pokémon in terms of battles, but being able to talk (and translate the language of other Pokémon for his two partners) does occasionally have advantages. (Disadvantages too. He was kidnapped by Hunter-J once because she felt a talking Pokémon was worth a bundle.)

* ''Anime/PrettyCure''
** Dorodoran in ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureSplashStar''. Unlike most ''Anime/PrettyCure'' villains, he's trying as hard as he can from the start, and is increasingly frustrated and upset by his repeated failures. When he finally comes close to victory, it all evaporates due to [[spoiler:sabotage by [[DarkMagicalGirl Michiru and Kaoru]]]]. It's hard not to feel sorry for him.

** There's also the Zabre Fangs; though they do prove to be worthy opponents a few times in the series, they're mostly comic relief, and, in fact, lose their final battle against the Blitz Team when their Zoids do a {{facefault}} and malfunction from the fall.

*** And succeeding. Even after his father's identity is revealed, it makes him no less {{Badass}}, managing to [[KilledOffForReal kill someone who wouldn't be coming back]] in a series known for [[DeathIsCheap at least half a dozen ways of reviving the dead.]]

* Emperor Pilaf and his assistants in the ''Franchise/DragonBall'' come close to getting Pilaf's wish for world domination twice but fail both times due to not his own errors. Back when he first appeared in ''Manga/DragonBall''. He managed to summon Shenron but took so long to make his wish to TakeOverTheWorld that Oolong, the transforming pig, managed to fly over to the dragon and [[ChivalrousPervert wish for girls panties]], which he then proceeded to wear on his head for a while. Much, much later, he manages to successfully get a wish from Shenron in the first episode of ''Anime/DragonBallGT''. However, instead of wishing for what he wanted he shouts in frustration at Goku, who showed up just as the dragon was summoned, "I wish you were a kid again!" It was not intended as an actual wish, but because Goku was so much easier to defeat as a child. Shenron, however, took it as an actual wish and granted it, kicking off GT's plot.

* Emperor Pilaf and his assistants from ''Manga/DragonBall''. Only once does Pilaf (almost) get what he wants...he [[spoiler: manages to successfully get a wish from Shen Long in the first episode of Dragonball GT. However, instead of wishing for what he wanted, he shouts in frustration at Goku (who showed up just as the dragon was summoned) "I wish you were a kid again!" - not as an actual intended wish, but because Goku was so much easier to defeat as a child.]]
** Except that he has come close to getting his wish twice (or once, depending on your opinion of [[FanonDiscontinuity DBGT in general]]. The other time was back when he first appeared in Dragonball. He managed to summon Shenron but took so long to make his wish to [[TakeOverTheWorld]] that Oolong, the transforming pig, managed to fly over to the dragon and [[ChivalrousPervert wish for girls panties]], which he then proceeded to wear on his head for a while.

** The Logia Devil Fruits are the rarest and give their users the most powerful abilities; Smoker, Ace, and Crocodile are among known Logia users. However, [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl Honey Queen]] from the second movie (whether it was canon or not) was a Logia user who was pretty incompetent, trying to flee when her own siblings were losing, lacking the courage most Lugia users have. She didn't get far either, captured by Nami who simply bottled her up in a jar after she had assumed fluid form.

* Keroro from ''Manga/KeroroGunsou'' probably counts. His schemes to conquer Earth always seem to end in disasters of some kind, when he's not being sidetracked saving the world from ''other'' alien invaders or something.

* Japoli, Katejin, and Enge, the [[PunchClockVillain Punch Clock Villains]] of ''Anime/OvermanKingGainer'' who are completely incompetent in their jobs, and are only a threat if they have Overman. They are the main source of comic relief with the Siberian Railroad.

** Carta Issue of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' zig-zags between this and NotSoHarmlessVillain. She is a valorous LargeHam Gjallarhorn officer who overly relies on team formation and frequently [[TalkingIsAFreeAction talk mid-fight]]. The ineffectual part comes from [[BornInTheWrongCentury her belief in honor]] when her opponents have none and has no qualms about killing her off guard. While her knowledge of formation is actually put to use when she [[spoiler: went after Orga's mobile worker to disrupt his command, only to be halted by Biscuit's HeroicSacrifice]] and her combat skill is decent for a person who enters the field for the first time with a ''[[ImprobableWeaponUser ceremonial weapon]]'', her urge for CombatByChampion frequently backfires. [[spoiler: The sympathetic part comes from her tragic death, both delivered by Mikazuki and [[UriahGambit staged]] by none other than her treachous love interest, [=McGillis=]. In the end, Carta is just an honourable soldier who wants to honor her family, not only it doesn't earn any respect, it nets a DisproportionateRetribution from her enemy because of her unintentional killing.]]

** Carta Issue of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' zig-zags between this and NotSoHarmlessVillain. She is a valorous LargeHam Gjallarhorn officer who overly relies on team formation and frequently [[TalkingIsAFreeAction talk mid-fight]]. The ineffectual part comes from [[BornInTheWrongCentury her belief in honor]] when her opponents have none and has no qualms about killing her off guard. While her knowledge of formation is actually put in use and her combat skill is decent for a person who enters the field for the first time with a ''[[ImprobableWeaponUser ceremonial weapon]]'', her urge for CombatByChampion frequently backfires. [[spoiler: The sympathetic comes from her tragic death, both delivered by Mikazuki and [[UriahGambit staged]] by none other than her treachous love interest, [=McGillis=]. In the end, Carta is just an honourable soldier who wants to honor her family, not only it doesn't earn any respect, it nets a DisproportionateRetribution from her enemy because of her unintentional killing.]]

** Carta Issue of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' zig-zags between this and NotSoHarmlessVillain. She is a valorous LargeHam Gjallarhorn officer who overly relies on team formation and frequently [[TalkingIsAFreeAction talk mid-fight]]. The ineffectual part comes from [[BornInTheWrongCentury her belief in honor]] when her opponents have none and has no qualms about killing her off guard. While her knowledge of formation is actually put in use and her combat skill is decent for a person who enters the field for the first time with a ''[[ImprobableWeaponUser ceremonial weapon]]'', her urge for CombatByChampion frequently backfires. [[spoiler: The sympathetic comes from her tragic death, both delivered by Mikazuki and [[UriahGambit staged]] by none other than her treachous love interest, [=McGillis=]. In the end, Carta is just an honourable soldier who wants to honor her family, not only it doesn't earn any respect, it nets a DisproportionateRetribution from her enemy because of her intentionally killing.]]

** Carta Issue of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' zig-zags between this and NotSoHarmlessVillain. She is a valorous LargeHam Gjallarhorn officer who overly relies on team formation and frequently [[TalkingIsAFreeAction talk mid-fight]]. The ineffectual part comes from [[BornInTheWrongCentury her belief in honor]] when her opponents have none and has no qualms about killing her off guard. While her knowledge of formation is actually put in use and her combat skill is decent for a person who enters the field for the first time with a ''[[ImprobableWeaponUser ceremonial weapon]]'', her urge for CombatByChampion frequently backfires. [[spoiler: The sympathetic comes from her tragic death, both delivered by Mikazuki and [[UriahGambit staged]] by none other than her treachous love interest, [=McGillis=]. In the end, Carta is just an honourable soldier who wants to honor her family, not only it didn't earn any respect, it nets a DisproportionateRetribution from her enemy because of her intentionally killing.]]

** Carta Issue of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' zig-zags between this and NotSoHarmlessVillain. She is a valorous LargeHam Gjallarhorn officer who overly relies on team formation and frequently [[TalkingIsAFreeAction talk mid-fight]]. The ineffectual part comes from [[BornInTheWrongCentury her belief in honor]] when her opponents have none and has no qualms about killing her off guard. While her knowledge of formation is actually put in use and her combat skill is decent for a person who enters the field for the first time with a ''[[ImprobableWeaponUser ceremonial weapon]]'', her urge for CombatByChampion frequently backfires. [[spoiler: The sympathetic comes from her tragic death, both delivered by Mikazuki and staged by none other than her treachous love interest, [=McGillis=]. In the end, Carta is just an honourable soldier who wants to honor her family, not only it didn't earn any respect, it nets a DisproportionateRetribution from her enemy because of her intentionally killing.]]

** Carta Issue of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' zig-zags between this and NotSoHarmlessVillain. She is a valorous LargeHam Gjallarhorn officer who overly relies on team formation and frequently [[TalkingIsAFreeAction talk mid-fight]]. The ineffectual part comes from [[BornInTheWrongCentury her belief in honor]] when her opponents have none and has no qualms about killing her off guard. While her knowledge of formation is actually put in use. Her urge for CombatByChampion frequently backfires. [[spoiler: The sympathetic comes from her tragic death, both delivered by Mikazuki and staged by none other than her treachous love interest, [=McGillis=]. In the end, Carta is just an honourable soldier who wants to honor her family, not only it didn't earn any respect, it nets a DisproportionateRetribution from her enemy because of her intentionally killing.]]

** Carta Issue of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' zig-zags between this and NotSoHarmlessVillain. She is a valorous LargeHam Gjallarhorn officer who overly relies on team formation and frequently [[TalkingIsAFreeAction talk mid-fight]]. The ineffectual part comes from [[BornInTheWrongCentury her belief in honor]] when her opponents have none and has no qualms about killing her off guard. While her knowledge of formation is actually put in use. Her urge for CombatByChampion frequently backfires. [[spoiler: The sympathetic comes from her tragic death, both delivered by Mikazuki and staged by none other than her treachous love interest, [=McGillis=]. In the end, Carta is just an honourable soldier who wants to honor her family, not only it didn't earn any respect, it nets a DisportionateRetribution from her enemy because of her intentionally killing.]]

** Kodo may have lost the duel, but it did do his intended job, which was to wake up Aki's signer powers.

* Mousse from ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' is a loser whose plots against Ranma go only so far before backfiring spectacularly. He's usually played as an unrepentant jerk, although maybe once a season, he'd get a moment of quiet reflection for the audience to sympathize with him -- right before going back to his old ways, naturally. Both the ineffectual and sympathetic aspects are ironic, because Mousse is the most ruthlessly homicidal of Ranma's regular rivals. By contrast, Mousse spends most of the series willing to do just about anything to kill Ranma, routinely using bladed and impaling weapons and attacking with ambushes. He even comments once on being willing to slip poisonous mushrooms into Ranma's food.

* Jessie and James of Team Rocket, especially in the FourthWall-breaking 4Kids version of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. They are so pathetic, you can't help but feel sorry for them. [[EnemyMine They even occasionally team up with the heroes when the fate of the world is at stake]], showing that they're not really evil -- just misguided and incompetent. Ironically, [[EvilIsDumb they usually stop being ineffectual whenever they stop being villains.]]
** Meowth as well. He is one of the weakest battling Pokemon in the series, thus spends the large majority of the time assisting with the duo's zany schemes and blabbing his mouth off rather than face an inevitable curbstomp.
*** Meowth had an excuse. He spent so much time when he was young learning how to talk that he let his natural skills and powers as a Pokémon degenerate. He may be a poor Pokémon in terms of battles, but being able to talk (and translate the language of other Pokémon for his two partners) does occasionally have advantages. (Disadvantages too. He was kidnapped by Hunter-J once because she felt a talking Pokémon was worth a bundle.)
** They briefly TookALevelInBadass in BW, but reset back to incompetence once Team Rocket's plot arc ended.
* Martina, the anime-exclusive GuestStarPartyMember and [[PrincessInRags fallen princess]] from the second season of the ''Anime/{{Slayers}}'' anime, who only knows how to perform minor curses and can't defend herself at all. She spends the first half of the season trying to get revenge on Lina and her friends for destroying her home, and fails every time; after that, she decides to tag along with them. She ''does'' [[spoiler:decide to help Lina out morally during the final battle]], though.
* Dorodoran in ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureSplashStar''. Unlike most ''Anime/PrettyCure'' villains, he's trying as hard as he can from the start, and is increasingly frustrated and upset by his repeated failures. When he finally comes close to victory, it all evaporates due to [[spoiler:sabotage by [[DarkMagicalGirl Michiru and Kaoru]]]]. It's hard not to feel sorry for him.
** Later, in ''Anime/YesPrettyCure5'', Bunbee almost exactly duplicated [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Waspinator's]] history: while introduced as a serious threat, he quickly fell into this, which had the side effect of [[EnsembleDarkhorse making him popular with the fans]], which saved him from being killed off at the end of the season and led to him getting a happy ending in the final episode. Fortunately for Bunbee, ''[=YPC5=]'' has no equivalent to ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines.''
** And then there's Westar in ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure'', who quickly becomes the ButtMonkey of the QuirkyMinibossSquad. There's also an emphasis on the sympathetic part since he [[spoiler: still thinks of [[DarkMagicalGirl Setsuna/Eas]] as his comrade after she joins the heroes. Eventually he pulls a HeelFaceTurn and becomes an EleventhHourRanger.]]

* Jeremiah Gottwald from ''Anime/CodeGeass'', who began the show as the military equivalent of a JerkJock, but made the mistake of crossing [[MagnificentBastard Lelouch]], which left him disgraced, hated, and saddled with the ignoble nickname "Orange". His [[EnsembleDarkhorse enormous popularity]] spared him from a planned quick death, resulting in his returning later [[spoiler:as an AxCrazy cyborg]]. Just to crank up the sympathy another few notches, [[AllThereInTheManual the side materials]] revealed that Jeremiah was a palace guard on the day Empress Marianne was killed, and based his entire career on an attempt to atone for failing not only Marianne, but her children, who disappeared in Japan, leading him to think that they were killed by the Japanese, which prompted his racism against Elevens, which resulted in Lelouch (Marianne's supposedly-dead son) publicly humiliating him. Whoops...In the second season, Jeremiah was [[spoiler: sent by the Geass Order to assassinate Lelouch, revealed that he was still loyal to Marianne, and when Lelouch admitted that avenging his mother was one of his main reasons for becoming Zero, "Orange-Boy" [[HeelFaceTurn immediately dropped his thirst for vengeance and became Lelouch's retainer]].]]
* Excel in ''Manga/ExcelSaga'' at times. She really wants to help her Lord Il Palazzo's plans to take over the world, but she fails so badly at every mission given to her. Often subverted though by following a sympathetic moment with doing or saying something disturbing.
* Viral from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', who does not have Spiral Power like the protagonists and thus can only watch as they reach ever increasing heights of power. By the time the heroes [[spoiler:reach the Spiral King himself]], Viral, even given immortality and a four-armed upgrade to his HumongousMecha, is swatted aside by Simon as if he is a humorous interlude.
* Harry Champ from ''Anime/ZoidsNewCentury'', though he's more of a rival than a villain per se. Major Polta is certainly ineffectual, but does very little to garner sympathy aside from [[PityTheKidnapper kidnapping Leena]].
** There's also the Zabre Fangs; though they do prove to be worthy opponents a few times in the series, they're mostly comic relief, and, in fact, lose their final battle against the Blitz Team when their Zoids do a {{facefault}} and malfunction from the fall.
* Doctor West from ''VisualNovel/{{Demonbane}}'' is basically just an anime [[WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown Jack Spicer]].

* Emperor Pilaf and his assistants from ''Manga/DragonBall''.
** Only once does Pilaf (almost) get what he wants...he [[spoiler: manages to successfully get a wish from Shen Long in the first episode of Dragonball GT. However, instead of wishing for what he wanted, he shouts in frustration at Goku (who showed up just as the dragon was summoned) "I wish you were a kid again!" - not as an actual intended wish, but because Goku was so much easier to defeat as a child.]]

* Feliciano/Italy in ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'', an odd example of an ineffectual sympathetic villain title character semi-protagonist. He really only gets the title of villain because the manga is set predominantly in the WWII era. [[YouFailHistoryForever If further explanation of that is needed...]]
* Lilynette, Stark's TokenMiniMoe fraccion from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. She's currently fighting Ukitake, who is one of the 5 most powerful shinigami in existence. The fight so far has consisted of [[spoiler:Ukitake telling her that he doesn't want to fight a little girl and simply deflecting or dodging every attack she threw at him. Currently, he's playing keep-away with her Zanpaktou as she cries at him to give it back and threatens over and over again to kill him.]]
** And then [[spoiler: she merges with Stark and they descend into full out loner {{Woobie}} territory -- turns out, Lilynette is Stark's ImaginaryFriend turned real due to sheer loneliness.]]
** [[spoiler: Or Stark is her ImaginaryFriend. He states for both of them that they've been together so long that he can't even remember who is the real one anymore.]]
** Ukitake even lectures the girl on how her determination is admirable, but she simply lacks the ability to 'fight' him properly (i.e take the sword back). She fires a [[KiAttack cero]], he deflects it with his [[NonchalantDodge hand]]. No wonder she was pissed off.
* Hannyabal from ''Manga/OnePiece''. Initially presented as TheStarscream, but eventually shows that [[TheDeterminator he has it where it counts]] when the going gets tough.
** Also from ''Manga/OnePiece'' is the LaughablyEvil {{Gonk}}, Foxy the Silver Fox, particularly in the anime where he gets more screen time. He's relatively WeakButSkilled and has only built up such a large crew because he won them in games stacked in his favor, but they seem to genuinely enjoy serving under him because of the fun carnival atmosphere of the Davy Back Fights.
* Buaku from ''Anime/DominionTankPolice'' and his sidekicks, the Puma sisters. They've always been wannabe {{Magnificent Bastard}}s, but they were slightly more competent in the manga. Granted, their failures are rarely their own fault, discounting their lack of foresight.
* ''[[Anime/HeavyMetalLGaim Heavy Metal L-Gaim's]]'' Gavlet Gabre is a particularly jarring example. He's introduced as the primary rival, but never once defeats the protagonist, Daba Myroad. [[spoiler:During the final battle at Sveto, he fails to defeat the unimportant and generic villain Rockley Ron, which makes the later the sole villain who makes it out of the show without being captured or killed.]]
* In ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'', this spot is owned by Dallas Genoard, who isn't all that sympathetic, but is more than ineffectual enough to make up for it.

* Kurumi, Kurumi, ''[[Manga/KimiNiTodoke Kurumi]]''. As of the end of the anime's first season, she still hasn't caught a break despite [[spoiler:confessing to Kazehaya and tearing down what was left of her fake persona]] -- or if she has, [[OutOfFocus it was offscreen]].
* Keroro from ''Manga/KeroroGunsou'' probably counts. His schemes to conquer Earth always seem to end in disasters of some kind, when he's not being sidetracked saving the world from ''other'' alien invaders or something.

* King Dedede in ''Anime/KirbyOfTheStars'' is the kind of guy who wants respect from the Cappies, and just wants to beat up Kirby for the sake of it, which is why he buys Demon Beasts/monsters online from Holy Nightmare/Nightmare Enterprises. Of course, [[TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin Kirby always wins the day]], so Dedede never gets the respect he wants. To be fair, Dedede isn't really all that bad, he's just mean, misunderstood, and a completely incompetent half-wit.

* ''Anime/FightingFoodons'': You really can't help but feel sorry for Claw dia after all the times that she fails throughout the series, [[spoiler:especially when King Gorge attempts to kill her for failing him for the last time. Luckily, Chase and the gang were there to stop him and chase him off (as he would've completely killed her off if it weren't for them returning her to her old self and redeeming her through Chase's tasty cooking)]].

** In the original Manga, Mokuba (who was far nastier than the one American fans know) tried to get even with Yugi with a rigged Capsule Monster game. (The rules Mokuba set down were that they would take turns using a vending machine before they started to get game pieces so neither would have an advantage; Mokuba had the machine fixed, so that he got powerful pieces and Yugi only got {{Com Mon}}s. Unfortunately, Mokuba was a BadLiar ''and'' a bad ''bluffer'', and Yugi easily saw through this charade and defeated him with what he had. To make this worse, Mokuba forced him into another Capsule Monsters game during the Death-T arc with much bigger stakes, ''using the exact same trick''. A combination of overconfidence and foolish pride led to him playing sloppy - as opposed to Yugi, who had to do so carefully - and Yugi prevailed again.

** ''{{Gundam 00}}'' had Patrick Coulasour, an ace in 'simulated' combat, who quickly develops a one-sided rivalry with the Gundams after being publicly humiliated by them in the first episode, only to be dispatched in a similar fashion when he returns later. As with Jeremiah, fans latched onto him, giving him the nickname "Team Patrick". He eventually latches onto his commanding officer, Kati Mannequin, and goes on to be shot down another 5 or 6 times, even after switching sides. Unlike most, he actually does become a competent pilot by the end of the show, though nowhere near AcePilot status.