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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 7 | [[quoteright:350:[[Manga/{{Berserk}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gutsdine.png]]]][[caption-width-right:350:Don't worry little one, he's "A Monster that ''''''''eats'''''''' Monsters".]] |
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| 9 | DarkIsNotEvil in Anime & Manga. |
| 10 | ---- |
| 11 | * Frau from ''Manga/ZeroSevenGhost'' is probably one of the most literal forms of this trope. As he and all the other ghosts for that matter are worshiped as the protectors of the church, even though they all take the form of their enemy, the feared death god Verloren. Frau even wields Verlorens Syth as a weapon and [[spoiler:eats the souls of those he deems too wicked to return to heaven.]] |
| 12 | * In ''Manga/PlusAnima'', [[CheerfulChild Cooro]] can't help the fact that he has crow's wings, nor that everyone therefore assumes he's the angel of death. It just...happened. |
| 13 | * Yakko from ''Manga/AkazukinChacha'' has dark blue hair, wears black and purple and relies on dark alchemy, and she is one of the silliest characters in the show. |
| 14 | * ''Manga/AngelSanctuary'' has about all the main cast dressed in black robes and the like. And a lot of the good guys are demons or at least arguably non-holy creatures. |
| 15 | * ''{{Anime/Bakugan}}'': Alice and Ace use Darkus-attributed bakugans and they're both heroes. Though, Alice only started to use bakugans after [[spoiler:her alter-ego Masquerade (who ''is'' evil) vanished from existence]] and his Hydranoid was passed to her. And while [[{{Jerkass}} not exactly a nice person]], Ace is the only major character with this attribute who was never a villain. |
| 16 | * ''Manga/BattleAngelAlita'': |
| 17 | ** Alita herself wears black, has blades coming out of her arms, [[ThisMeansWarpaint puts blood on her cheeks]] and in the [=OVA=] has [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]]. She's also TheHero, a romantic and generally a friendly RobotGirl when not being a MookHorrorShow. |
| 18 | ** Dr Ido has a sinister black {{Undertaker}} outfit, wields a massive sledge hammer and sometimes has ScaryShinyGlasses while fighting. Indeed the first chapter has a BaitAndSwitch making you think he's a SerialKiller but he's actually a good natured man and ScienceHero. |
| 19 | * In the ''TabletopGame/BattleSpirits'' franchise, many heroic characters use purple, which is a hellish archetype emphasizing demons and the undead. This includes [[Anime/BattleSpiritsShonenToppaBashin Suiren]] and [[Anime/BattleSpiritsShonenGekihaDan Mai]]. |
| 20 | ** ''Anime/BattleSpiritsSwordEyes'' makes this into a major plot point, with all of the Sword Eyes of Darkness revealed to have complex reasons behind what they do, none of them being truly evil people. |
| 21 | * ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'': |
| 22 | ** Guts (pictured above), also known as the [[BlackKnight Black Swordsman]] isn't [[TheBerserker exactly]] [[AntiHero by-the-book good]] and especially looks like a villain [[NobleMaleRoguishMale compared to Griffith]] (though Griffith is [[LightIsNotGood far more villainous than Guts is]], especially when you take the Eclipse into consideration), but he's willing to constantly fight the real evil until the final consequences (to himself) must be worth something, not counting the fact he's actually a JerkWithAHeartOfGold [[BruiserWithASoftCenter who protects the innocent]]. Also given the CrapsackWorld that Guts has to live in, he comes out looking like Sir frickin' Gawain. |
| 23 | ** Skull Knight, a demonic looking [[DemBones skeleton]] warrior with GlowingEyesOfDoom is frequently confused with Death itself, but is probably the most by-the-book KnightInShiningArmor in the whole universe of ''Berserk''. |
| 24 | ** Casca is actually a case of this post-Conviction Arc, looking like a druid witch with messy hair and [[InTheHood hooded robe]]. Like her lover Guts, Casca even gets the feral [[BlankWhiteEyes white eyes]] of fury herself after slaying some rapists. Despite this she's still a compassionate person [[spoiler: and upon getting her mental state restored gets nicer clothes.]] |
| 25 | ** There's also the Demon Child, [[spoiler: a baby conceived by Guts and Casca who was tainted by evil when [[RapeAsDrama Griffith transformed into Femto and had his way with Casca]]. Not only was their child born prematurely and hideously deformed, he has the added bonus of demonic powers and only appears in darkness. Guts even had to stopped from killing it, believing it to be Griffith's ChildByRape. Despite all of this, the Child clearly loves and regularly uses his powers to save his parents, from protecting Casca from evil spirits to guiding Guts through the sinking body of the Sea God, and reminding them what they mean to each other. And even after Griffith is reborn using the Child's body as a vessel, the Child takes over every full moon and continues to protect them. Furthermore, while he used to make his parents' bleed just like all things demonic and malicious, his new form doesn't, meaning he's now something of an AscendedDemon.]] |
| 26 | * The protagonists of ''Anime/TheBigO''. Roger has a black suit and black shades, his assistant Dorothy wears a black dress, and Norman the Butler also wears a black butler suit. The main antagonist, Gordon Rosewater, wears an all white suit. In fact, when Dorothy moves in, Roger explictly states that all who live with him must wear black. |
| 27 | ** When the series aired on Toonami, one commercial has the narrator state, "Good guys... still wear black." |
| 28 | * ''Manga/BlackClover'': |
| 29 | ** The Black Bulls. They are associated with black and are composed at large by people who are badly seen by the society. Despite this, they're still heroes. |
| 30 | ** Asta. His AntiMagic Grimoire casts dark energy, and he wears a black bandana and black upper robe. Despite this, he's a noble guy who'll help anyone in need. [[spoiler:He eventually draws out the power of the demon inside his swords and enshrouds his body with anti-magic energy, giving him a shadow over his right arm and half of his body, a black horn, and wing.]] Despite this, he still uses it for nothing but helping and protecting others. |
| 31 | ** Yami is called the "Magic Knight Heretic" and wields Dark Magic in combat, but for all his rough exterior he is firmly on the side of the heroes. |
| 32 | * ''Manga/BlackJack'', while morally ambiguous, is nonetheless a life-saving hero who dresses in a black suit and black opera cape and has mostly black hair. His archenemy Kiriko is an overenthusiastic euthanasia doctor and has [[WhiteHairBlackHeart eerie white hair]]. |
| 33 | * ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Soul Reapers/Shinigami are dressed in black uniforms, off-set by a white obi and a white undergarment which can only just be seen at the edges of the collar and sleeves. Although many are morally ambiguous, or downright evil in a couple of cases, most are decent people who tend to default to the protagonist's side. They are deliberately contrasted by the [[LightIsNotGood white-clad]] [[TheHeartless Arrancar]], the [[BigBad villainous]] Shinigami, and the mostly villainous Quincies due to Creator/TiteKubo wanting the contrast of black and white to be a big thing of the manga[[labelnote:note*]]One of the early ideas for the story's name was 'White' but Kubo felt 'Bleach' was cooler.[[/labelnote]] As the main character, Ichigo is so heavily black-themed that his weapon releases into a solid-black form that fires a solid-black attack. |
| 34 | * Saya Otonashi of ''Anime/BloodPlus'' is a dark-haired, red-eyed [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Chiropteran]] who started wearing a long-sleeved black coat and matching boots after her DespairEventHorizon. She is also a hero who selfishly slays her fellow Chiropterans to protect humanity [[spoiler: and originally planned to die after defeating her EvilTwin to end the Chiropteran race once and for all]]. Her look also contrasts her with her EvilTwin Diva, who is blue-eyed and prefers [[LightIsNotGood elegant, Victorian-style white dresses]]. |
| 35 | * Rin, the protagonist of ''Manga/BlueExorcist'', is definitely an example of this - [[AntiAntiChrist he's the son of Satan]], but he's really nice and just wants to protect people ([[FantasticRacism If only]] [[KnightTemplar some of the other characters]] [[FantasticRacism would believe that...]]). There are many other examples throughout the series as well; indeed, while [[DarkIsEvil dark is definitely evil]] in regards to many demons, there are also many who are good or at least neutral. |
| 36 | * In ''Manga/Brave10'', Isanami's DefenceMechanismSuperpower is basically holy darkness [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope ...until Izanami takes over]], at which point it's only holy in the sense of being related to a god, not one that is nice or good by any strain of the imagination.]] |
| 37 | * ''Manga/CardCaptorSakura'' has both a "Shadow" card and a "The Dark" card, neither of which are evil. The Dark is particular is portrayed as a sweet lady who gently guides Sakura along with her sister, The Light to the point they have to be converted at the same time. |
| 38 | * In ''Anime/CastleInTheSky'', [[spoiler:the Spell of Destruction, considered a dark spell by the heroine Sheeta's grandmother, is what saves the heroes by destroying the bad guy's base]]. |
| 39 | %%* The CleverCrows from ''Anime/TheCatReturns.'' |
| 40 | * The manga version of ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' toys with this. Chrono is always known as a NobleDemon, and he's actually a very sweet person with good intentions, despite being a demon, [[spoiler:whose kin are actually a race of space aliens]]. The rest of the demons seem very evil at first, but Aion is actually a WellIntentionedExtremist that has simply come to believe the ''only'' way to "fix" the world [[spoiler:is to destroy it]]. He's actually a very nice guy...besides the whole evil plan thing. In fact, all the Sinners have far too complicated motivations to be called "evil". And even the rest of the demons are [[spoiler:simply space aliens left without a home and lead astray because of truths hidden from them by leaders long dead.]] The anime version, however, plays most demons as far less complex. |
| 41 | ** Note that [[TheChessmaster A]][[WhiteHairBlackHeart i]][[TheAntiChrist o]][[BigBad n]]'s character design is 'light' themed and he generally wears white, and that YMMV on his character, since friend and brother and WellIntentionedExtremist and what have you he is absolutely a sadist on top of everything else, even in the manga. [[CardCarryingVillain In the anime]] he's [[spoiler:like the most powerful force in the universe or something. And he rips off Jesus' dying words and then comes back from the dead with a [[PsychoticSmirk smirk]] after the DownerEnding.]] |
| 42 | * Ogami of ''Manga/CodeBreaker'' has dark hair, dark clothes, a dark glove, and uses his powers to burn people to death on a regular basis. He's also very much a good guy, going to great lengths to protect his friends and allies. Mixing this up a bit with LightIsNotGood, Ogami's ''sempai'' is very sinister and is usually seen reading bondage H-manga, but he can control light (in the form of a ''shibari'' rope, naturally) and is also on the side of good. |
| 43 | * The Black Knights of ''Anime/CodeGeass''. |
| 44 | ** And then there's C.C., a rather creepy MysteriousWaif who is also a powerful witch. She isn't an especially nice person, but she's never intentionally harmful. |
| 45 | ** Lelouch himself, despite his [[ByronicHero numerous faults]], is still considered the "Hero" when compared to the machinations of [[LightIsNotGood many of his opponents]]. |
| 46 | *** Just look at him! An EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette, who leads a double life, [[DealWithTheDevil made a contract with a witch]] to give him a power to [[CompellingVoice make everyone do his bidding]] that gives him a [[MagicalEye Red Eye]], while his clothes are either an all-black uniform or a MalevolentMaskedMan(with SpikesOfVillainy) and an OminousOperaCape (HighCollarOfDoom included)and a suit that is reminiscent of a royal. Meanwhile, his [[EvilCounterpart Evil Counterparts]], [[LightIsNotGood Mao And Schneizel]] are albino and blond. |
| 47 | *** The Black Knights as a whole take this up a notch, especially if the viewer has seen Gundam prior to watching the show. Let's see, they wear black uniforms with [[FacelessGoons Face Concealing visors]], pilot [[CyberCyclops Cyber Cyclopses]] which are also colored black, have a leader who plays about half of the villain fashion tropes and not intrinsically evil though generally reserved for villain mannerism tropes in the book, have an AcePilot in a fast moving red mecha who is TheRival to a 17 year old kid who [[FallingIntoTheCockpit Fell into the Cockpit]] of a SuperPrototype... |
| 48 | * Spike, Jet and Faye of ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' fame. All three of them with their smoking and wardrobe look like criminals compared to GenkiGirl Ed, and they even have the attitude of criminals too, Faye especially seems like the archetypal FemmeFatale on the surface. In actuality they are good people beneath their cynicism and spend their lives hunting down actual criminals and often fighting people like Vicious, Mad Pierrot and Vincent Volaju who are DarkIsEvil. |
| 49 | * Hei, a contractor with the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast nickname]] "The Black {{Shinigami}}" in ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', is probably the most humane of all the contractors despite his morbid reputation and a love for [[BadassLongcoat black clothing]]. Bonus points: "Hei" ''means'' [[ColorfulThemeNaming "black"]]. |
| 50 | * The shinigami in ''Manga/DeathNote'' look grotesque and kill humans to prolong their own lives. Despite this, they're a far cry from [[CardCarryingVillain card-carrying villains]]. Most of them are morally neutral and easy to get along with. A few shinigami even fall in love with a human and risk their lives to protect her. On the other hand, they still kill humans (and gain the most if a human had a long life ahead of them) and Ryuk is arguably the evilest character in ''Death Note'' since he sets off all the terrible things that happen in the series ForTheEvulz. |
| 51 | ** Of course, in ''Death Note'' the protagonist is a KnightTemplar who's ironically named [[LightIsNotGood Light]]. |
| 52 | * In ''Anime/DeathParade'', [[NameAmnesia The Black Haired Woman]] is the only main character whose palette is dark, with [[EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette black hair]], [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]], and a mostly black outfit. Yet she's easily the most [[NaiveNewcomer innocent]] character, as well as one of the most emphatic and pleasant. The [[{{Psychopomp}} arbiters]], by contrast, [[LackOfEmpathy mostly lack empathy and complex emotions]], yet have [[LightIsNotGood bright, bubbly palettes]]. |
| 53 | * Yuko of ''Manga/TheDemonGirlNextDoor'' is the titular demon girl [[BadPowersGoodPeople empowered by chaos and darkness]], but she's also [[SheepInSheepsClothing a good and honest girl.]] |
| 54 | --> '''Yuko:''' Cheating is something we must never do! |
| 55 | --> '''Lilith:''' [[ItsWhatIDo You haven't forgotten that we're demons, right?]] |
| 56 | * ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'' has '''a ton''' of this going on. |
| 57 | ** Nezuko Kamado, being a demon for most of the series, can grow claws, fangs, veins, have her eyes turn red and gets a SlasherSmile in her adult form. But beneath it all, she's still the kindly little sister of Tanjiro, having retained her humanity, unlike a lot of other demons. |
| 58 | ** Inosuke Hashibira wears a skinned boar's head as a mask, wields nasty saw-like katanas, and when not fighting demons is near constantly antagonising his allies being the most unruly and violent of the heroes. He's really a JerkassWithAHeartOfGold who geuinely cares for Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Nezuko even if he loathes to admit it, being HotBlooded. |
| 59 | ** Giyu Tomioka, a dark haired and cold blue-eyed Demon Slayer who makes his first appearance trying to kill Nezuko and hurting Tanjiro when he tries to get in his way, and yet he takes mercy on them and reveals himself as a genuinely compassionate NiceGuy who vouches for and protects Tanjiro and Nezuko whenever he can. |
| 60 | ** Gyomei Himejima, the strongest Demon Slayer, has the FaceOfAThug, creepy BlankWhiteEyes and veiney arms which, along with his black Demon Slayer uniform, makes him look postively intimating. Except that Gyomei is a textbox GentleGiant and FriendToAllLivingThings, being very caring and protective to his friends and often sheds TenderTears. |
| 61 | ** Tengen Uzui looks and sounds like a typical anime villain with his dark outfit, red eyes, red face markings, white hair, ostentious jewelry, and proclaiming to be a god and calling the heroes trash when first journeying with them. Deep down though, Tengen is a BruiserWithASoftCenter who protects his allies and cares for his loved ones (like all [[{{Polyamory}} three of his wives]]). |
| 62 | ** Demon Slayer brothers Sanemi and Genya Shinazugawa. Scarred, creepy-eyed, abrasive and dickish and callously cold to others due to their DarkAndTroubledPast. Sanemi in particular, initally attacks and hurls abuse and hatred towards Tanjiro and Nezuko (whom he hates due her being a demon), yet when he finally sees he is wrong about her, Sanemi actually apologises to them and even gives Nezuko a AffectionateGestureToTheHead and a warm smile. [[spoiler:Genya takes this further as, when eating the live flesh of a Demon, he gets Demonic characteristics like BlackEyesOfEvil and fangs -- but still helps Tanjiro defeat ArcVillain Hantengu.]] |
| 63 | ** BigGood Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps definitely is this. Android 17-esque hair, blank white eyes (he's blind) and quite the case of FacialHorror with his [[TheWorseningCurseMark cursed]] mark that is rotting down his face. At first glance, you'd think he was the archetypal anime villain; personailty-wise, however, he's as warm as summer and the one who commands Nezuko to be spared from the Harisha who kill Demons with impunity. |
| 64 | ** Obanai Iguro might be the biggest example of this, with his banadged mouth, mismatched eyes, a twisted Kris-like katana and has a red-eyed [[SnakesAreSinister serpent]] Kaburamaru around his neck. He even acts evil being unreasonbly cruel to everyone except Mitsuri Kanroji -- his crush. It is revealed, however, he has deep seated self-loathing due his past and does have a HiddenHeartOfGold which comes out while protecting fellow Demon Slayers like Tanjiro (whom he whom he initally belittled and hurt) from BigBad Muzan. |
| 65 | * ''Literature/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'' has this as part of its main premise. The title character and main protagonist is a demonic EvilOverlord from a fantasy world who gets stranded in modern-day Japan, loses most of his powers, and ends up becoming assistant manager at a fast food burger joint, because he's a hard worker, an excellent leader, and cares about the customers and his co-workers. [[TheChosenOne The holy warrior sworn to bring him down]] can't fathom the idea that a demon king could ever be a good-hearted person, in part because [[YouKilledMyFather his armies killed her father]]; when she reveals this to him, he actually apologizes, saying that he ordered his men not to harm civilians but admitting that he couldn't watch them [=24/7=]. It turns out the rules of magic in this world allow demons to fuel their powers with negative emotions, like human suffering or terror. The few times when Maou gets his magic back (usually from chaos caused by antagonists) reverts to his true form, which is muscular and has both horns and goat legs, he ends up using it to protect innocent people and defeat the villains rather than simply opening a portal to home. |
| 66 | * ''Franchise/{{Devilman}}'' generally has Akira Fudo in his Devilman Amon form take the appearance of the typical dark demon, but he's a force for good and is sometimes shown serving God's will indirectly by fighting the actual DarkIsEvil villains. By contrast, [[spoiler:Ryo as Satan]] takes the appearance of a beautiful Angel, which makes sense given that [[spoiler:Satan]] is the FallenAngel of [[LightIsNotGood light]]. |
| 67 | ** The Devil Getter which is a fusion between Devilman and [[Manga/GetterRobo the Getter Robo]] in ''Devilman VS Getter Robo'' is a cross between an EldritchAbomination and an EvilIsCool EvilOverlord that is demonic but is firmly on the side of good. Its intimidating and daunting appearance can easily mistake it as a villain in another work if it weren't for the fact that the ''Devilman'' franchise has equally, if not, more evil looking demons. |
| 68 | * ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'': |
| 69 | ** ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' once has a lecture about how dark and light are opposite, but neither is inherently evil, resulting from the heroes encountering some strange but harmless creatures on the Dark Continent. This foreshadows [[spoiler:[[CastingAShadow Kouichi's]] HeelFaceTurn and his status as perhaps the kindest and gentlest of the Chosen, and the ManBehindTheMan turning out to be a vaccine-type angel Digimon with the appearance of a child (named after [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]], [[FridgeBrilliance a prime example of]] LightIsNotGood).]] |
| 70 | ** In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', this was the case post-HeelFaceTurn with Beelzebumon. Even though he was still a demon and had the element of darkness, the fact that he wasn't actually evil was part of what triggered his transformation into Blast Mode. This was backed up by a conversation between him as Impmon and Jianliang's sensei, who said he didn't sense an evil heart within him. The same applies to the Beelzebumon of ''Anime/DigimonFusion'', who was an outright noble heroic figure with an unfortunate history. |
| 71 | ** [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent WereGarurumon]] can be counted simply by being a werewolf with a skull on his pants. He first debuted in the Nightmare Soldiers Pendulum virtual pet, which consisted of darkness and/or zombie-themed Digimon, but is of the Vaccine-types and is one of the main characters of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure''. |
| 72 | ** Agunimon and his line also belong to the Nightmare Soldiers family, as does Sakuyamon. |
| 73 | ** [[spoiler:Craniummon]] in ''Anime/DigimonDataSquad'' post-HeelFaceTurn. |
| 74 | ** [[HellHound Dobermon]] and [[ElegantGothicLolita Alice]] in ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', who are a large Doberman-like Digimon wearing spike-studded bands and a pale girl wearing black gothic clothing respectively, are actually emissaries of the Sacred Beasts. |
| 75 | ** Surprisingly, Guilmon, one of the nicest and friendliest Digimon in existence, is a ''Virus'' type. |
| 76 | *** In general, it's clear that Virus-attribute Digimon aren't necessarily evil. Many are simply disgusting, predatory, or even just mischievous. This can be seen in Ogremon, who proves to be an ally of the heroes, but decides to part ways on the grounds that hanging out with a bunch of Data and Vaccine types would be bad for his health. |
| 77 | ** Tentomon's line is pretty creepy. For example, the Adult stage is Kabuterimon - a giant, eyeless xenomorph-creature with a slavering red triple-jawed maw and MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily. Despite the terrifying multi-storey digivolutions, though, Tentomon is a NiceGuy and remains kind and friendly, albeit [[GoodIsNotSoft certainly willing to use some aggressive tactics]]. |
| 78 | ** Ken and Wormmon of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. Like Impmon and Kouichi, Ken starts out as a villain and has a black Digivice. After his HeelFaceTurn, he retains his black digivice (though it is a lighter shade than before). Likewise, Wormmon is a Virus-attribute, but even before joining the team wasn't actively malicious and was simply helpless to stop Ken for the most part. Wormmon is the first partner Digimon in the anime series to be a Virus-attribute and paved the way for the likes of Guilmon and Impmon. |
| 79 | * The heroic Exorcists of ''Manga/DGrayMan'' are part of the Black Order. Despite the name and generally ominous, gloomy labyrinths that make up its headquarters, it's a good organization full of generally friendly people. [[spoiler:Just [[WellIntentionedExtremist don't ask about]] [[MoralEventHorizon the Second Exorcist]] Project.]] |
| 80 | ** However, the standard "dark = evil" is played straight in that the [[TheHeartless Akuma]] are made of "dark matter" and the [[AppliedPhlebotinum Innocence]] is "white". Also, the evil Noah mostly have Dark Skin. And the only exorcist to go bad so far was Suman DARK. |
| 81 | * ''Manga/DNAngel'' actually has a character named Dark--who, you guessed it, isn't evil, despite being a PhantomThief with black wings. |
| 82 | ** On the other hand, his light-looking counterpart Krad is [[LightIsNotGood really quite evil.]] |
| 83 | * ''Franchise/DragonBall'': |
| 84 | ** Eighter/Hacchan a.k.a. Android 8 from ''Manga/DragonBall'' looks like FrankensteinsMonster, but is a GentleGiant who turns againist his evil creators and forms a long lasting friendship with Goku. |
| 85 | ** Baba, Master Roshi's sister, is a creepy and ugly old fortune telling witch, who was incredibly arrogant in her first appearance. She's really a CoolOldLady who aids the heroes in mystical affairs. Her fighters, Bandages the Mummy and Spike the Devil Man, despite their evil apperances aren't evil either, giving Goku their energy in the Buu Saga finale. |
| 86 | ** Piccolo becomes this in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' and onward. He's still a green skinned, sharp toothed, purple blooded, red-eyed in his SuperMode demon-like (actually alien) fighter who wears darker gi, brutalises his foes (especially in the movies) and has demonic-themed attack names like "Hell Zone Grenade". But he's also one of the Z-Fighters, as close as an uncle or second father to Son Family and is very capable of pulling a BigDamnHeroes. |
| 87 | ** Vegeta in the later series. He's still a short tempered and arrogant {{Jerkass}} who is ridiculously violent to a lot of his opponents and often wears dark clothing, but he's also TheLancer to Goku and willingly to protect the innocent and pull a HeroicSacrifice. Played even straighter with Ultra Ego Vegeta, who looks straight up demonic and acts like it, but is still on the side on good. |
| 88 | ** Porunga, one of the wish-granting dragons, is a demonic, frightening-looking beast, but he's far [[GentleGiant nicer than even most regular dragons.]] When the heroes wished for everyone on Earth to be resurrected after Buu killed them, he went the extra mile [[BenevolentGenie and rebuilt all their cities and buildings free of charge.]] (He has been known to be a little sarcastic at times, however. When faced with someone who can't decide what to wish for, he once said, "wish for nothing three times so I can go". Most dragons would have threatened a mortal in that situation.) |
| 89 | ** Shenron, the Earth's dragon, isn't necessarily evil himself, but is nonetheless very impatient, and has at least once threatened to kill his summoner if they don't hurry up and make a wish (though he has never actually done so). |
| 90 | ** Android 16, very similarly to Eighter, looks like TheBrute with bulky armour, grim features and a mohawk. 16 is a FriendToAllLivingThings, however, and abandons his programmed mission to kill Goku. To a lesser extent, there's Android 17, who is dark haired, wears a gun on his hip and seems like a psychotic killer; but is actually a chill guy who sees fighting as a game and becomes a park ranger and hero in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''. Trunks' BadFuture 17 and [[Anime/DragonBallGT Super 17]], however, are DarkIsEvil. |
| 91 | ** Super Saiyan 4 Goku in ''Anime/DragonBallGT''. Longer, even blacker hair, a deadly serious voice and personality, covered in dark red fur, dark red eyeliner, and downright frightening to be against. However, it's still Goku. Lampshaded when Pan first walks up to the scowling [=SS4=] Goku, frightened her grandfather has become evil, but Goku stops scowling and gives her a smile and chuckle at which she exclaims in happiness. |
| 92 | ** Beerus, introduced in ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'' and during ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', is one of the Gods of Destruction, feared across the universe by anyone and everyone who knows of his existence. However, while he can be very petty and selfish, Beerus isn't evil so much as neutral: the destruction he causes is stated to be necessary for cosmic balance. Destroying evil mortals is also part of their job; however, Beerus allowed monsters like Frieza and Majin Buu to terrorize the universe not out of malice but [[TheGodsMustBeLazy laziness]]. |
| 93 | ** Hit (also from ''Super'') is a example of this too, a purple skinned alien humanoid with red eyes and dark armoured trenchcoat. He's also a ProfessionalKiller. Except, when required to kill he often shows mercy, offering his opponents a chance to surrender, and uses no more strength than absolutely necessary. When his entire universe is in danger of getting erased, he is more willingly to fight to save it. |
| 94 | ** Broly in ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' (unlike his [[Anime/DragonBallZBrolyTheLegendarySuperSaiyan original characterisation]]). Despite looking a barbarian with messy hair, having scars all over, wearing a dark shirt and being incredibly violent as TheBerserker, he is NotEvilJustMisunderstood and a protective GentleGiant to Cheelai and Lemo his companions. |
| 95 | * Celty from ''{{Literature/Durarara}}'' is a Dullahan; a [[HeadlessHorseman headless]], [[TheFairFolk Unseelie fae]] which is heavily associated with death, who rides a possessed black motorcycle, has black mist flowing from her neck and can do [[CastingAShadow all sorts of interesting things with shadows]]. She's also one of the nicest, friendliest and most kind hearted people you could ever wish to meet. Her roommate [[spoiler:[[RelationshipUpgrade and eventual boyfriend]]]], Shinra, even lampshades it, pointing out the forces of darkness don't appear to be evil so much as they're just {{Tsundere}}. |
| 96 | * Nana from ''Manga/ElfenLied'' is a diclonius, wears black, yet she is the most moral and [[IncorruptiblePurePureness pure]] out of all the characters, especially given the [[EvilVersusEvil morality]] of the series. |
| 97 | * ''Manga/FairyTail'': |
| 98 | ** Kageyama is proof that, just because you are in a Dark Guild does not mean you are completely evil. Even though he uses magic that lets him manipulate his own shadow (most notably turning it into a bunch of snakes), he's misguided, but not totally evil. |
| 99 | ** Darkness magic is not automatically evil magic. Simon, one of the nicest characters, has Darkness magic as his primary magic. Mirajane and Jellal have Darkness power as their secondary ones. |
| 100 | ** Speaking of Mirajane, her Take Over magic allows her to transform into demons. She used to be a bad (but not evil!) girl, but after the incident with Lisanna, she became one of the nicest girls of the series. |
| 101 | ** Rogue, the Shadow Dragon Slayer, is the probably the nicest member of Sabertooth. [[spoiler:And he refuses to become an evil guy like his future self.]] |
| 102 | ** The God Slayers have black-colored magic attacks. Neither Sherria nor Orga are evil, especially the former who has even HealingHands. Zancrow on the other hand... |
| 103 | ** Gajeel, a guy with long black hair, was the most ruthless member of Phantom Lord, but he eventually finds the right path by joining Fairy Tail. With his magic he doesn't fit the trope, until [[spoiler:eating Rogue's Shadow magic, becoming an Iron ''Shadow'' Dragon Slayer just like Natsu who became a Lightning Flame Dragon Slayer]]. |
| 104 | *** However, his most powerful Iron Dragon Slayer spells, the Metsuryu Ougi spells contain the Japanese word ''Gouma" which means Karma Demon. |
| 105 | ** Let's not forget Mystogan, who at first did seem rather untrustworthy, but overtime his drop-in drop-out appearances became more respected than feared to the point were even Laxus began to like him. |
| 106 | ** Fairy Tail ''itself'' could be considered this, at least in Edolas - even though Edo!Fairy Tail was acting outside the law and therefore technically a 'dark' guild, it was still just as focused on helping people in need as its (legal) Earthland counterpart. |
| 107 | * ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' of course has Kenshiro a scarred man dressed in dark bandit gear, who is also a master assassin of the make YourHeadASplode-vareity giving many, many men in the post apocalypse a CruelAndUnusualDeath. Yet he's also the page image for IdealHero, being protectively cuddly with innocent children and a passionate defender of the helpless. Ken is only GoodIsNotSoft when it comes to the raider scum he meets on a daily basis. |
| 108 | * Fran Madaraki of ''Manga/FrankenFran'' is a [[CuteMonsterGirl Cute]] FrankensteinsMonster. She has almost NoSocialSkills, and her day-to-day life can be best described as "macabre". But she's a brilliant surgeon (if unorthodox) whose entire ''existence'' is defined by helping people as best she can. Her servants also count - they look like the cast of a Universal Studios horror movie, but given they all recoil in terror from an ''actual'' horror movie... |
| 109 | ** Unfortunately, while Fran does mean well, the results of her experiments tend to end very badly for the people she is "helping" (although, in many cases, [[LaserGuidedKarma they did have it coming]]). |
| 110 | ** Her sister Veronica could also count. Sure, she loves to kill, but she does it as quickly as possible so they don't suffer. Of course, when she first see the outcome of a "Fran-periment", she does what any sane person would do: scream. |
| 111 | * Some of the chimeras of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', especially Zanpano and Jelso, whose "beast modes" are pretty ugly; the same probably applies to Alphonse Elric when his soul was attached to the armour as it is presently. Of course, this is a world where the bad guys are homunculi, DarkIsEvil is played fairly straight, and so is LightIsNotGood. Van Hohenheim is [[CatchPhrase quick to remind us]] that he's [[IAmAMonster a monster]]; he still bends all his efforts toward saving people and acts jolly and clueless most of the time. [[spoiler:His "son" Homunculus's original form, aped by ''his'' eldest "son" Pride, is the strongest DarkIsEvil in the series -- but it is in turn just a piece of the darkness that exists beyond the Gate (which appears to be pretty much Hell).]] |
| 112 | ** With the exceptions of [[CoDragons Envy and Pride]], the Homunculi in the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 2003 anime]] play this trope much straighter than their manga/''Brotherhood'' counterparts, by virtue of [[AntiVillain being played]] [[TragicVillain more sympathetically]]. The ''biggest'' example of this is [[spoiler:Lust]], who eventually turns her back on [[BigBad her master]] [[HeelFaceTurn to help the Elric brothers]]. |
| 113 | * ''Manga/{{Gangsta}}'': |
| 114 | ** Nicholas Brown, very similar to Guts above looks a bloodthristy, black haired, grim-faced thug with a sword and often is exactly that. Though since Ergastulum is a ViceCity and Nic spends so much of his time protecting Nina, Worick and his LoveInterest Alex from harm, he's pretty much TheHero. [[spoiler:Especially given Worick (the friendlier one) has a FaceHeelTurn later in the manga.]] He also likes cats. |
| 115 | ** Galahad Woehor, a BigScaryBlackMan with dreadlocks who is short tempered and lecherous. He's really a BoisterousBruiser though who cares deeply for YoungAndInCharge Loretta and also cares for young twilight Doug [[spoiler: whom he tries desperately to save after Doug takes a mortal wound and dies in Galahad's arms.]] |
| 116 | ** Marco Adriano, a former member of the AxCrazy Destoyer gang who has a massive ghastly scar on his face and fights with RazorFloss. Like Nic however, he's protective and caring to his allies and loved ones such Loretta and Connie his fiancée, who was a major factor in his HeelFaceTurn. |
| 117 | ** Gina Paulklee, an austere and grim IronLady in dark miltary military fatigues who is perfectly okay with non-lethally shooting her allies. Nevertheless she's the BigGood who helps maintain Ergastulum's balance of power. |
| 118 | * The ''Manga/{{Gantz}}'' team is always dressed in black, but are mostly the good ones (or at least [[BlackAndGrayMorality better than the bad guys]]). As for the aliens who are supposedly DarkIsEvil we don't know for sure whether they are all bad. [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman Most of them are just trying to go about their everyday lives]] when they run afoul of the Gantz Team. Hell, the Oni aliens were fully functioning members of society. |
| 119 | * ''[[Anime/GaoGaiGar GaoGaiGar FINAL]]'' takes this trope home and cuddles it. [=GaoGaiGar=] was always black, so the OVA pits it against the clinical-white Palparepa, who has an AGodAmI complex the size of the sun. Then, just to drive the point home, it depicts freeze-frames in the battle as between a white angel and a black demon. ''FINAL'' also created the final pair of Dragon Twins, [=KouRyu and AnRyu=], who represent light and dark respectively, and [[FusionDance combine]] [[CombiningMecha into]] [=TenRyuJin=] (that's Heaven Dragon God in kanji). |
| 120 | ** Genesic [=GaoGaiGar=], the main mecha of the ''Anime/GaoGaiGar FINAL'' OVA and the true form of [=GaoGaiGar=] itself, is the literal God of Destruction, whose purpose to 'bring hope of a new start from zero'. |
| 121 | * Major Motoko Kusanagi from ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell''. In almost every iteration is an AloofDarkHairedGirl[[labelnote:*]] The most glaring exception being the orignal manga version, who's a goofy GenkiGirl.[[/labelnote]] who similar to Alita wears dark clothing, shades and is incredibly brutal and deadly in combat as well as creepy in a RobotGirl way... yet is still the heroine of the franchise. Batou (who doesn't change nearly as as much as Motoko does) is a case of this himself with his creepy cybernetic eyes, but is still a NiceGuy and loyal partner to the Major. |
| 122 | %%* The Japanese superhero ''Anime/GoldenBat'' [[http://www.minhainfancia.com.br/imagens/desenhos/fantomas.jpg pretty much personifies the trope]]. |
| 123 | * Victorique de Blois from ''Literature/{{Gosick}}'' is an [[ElegantGothicLolita Elegant Gothic Lolita]] with detective skills worthy of Sherlock Holmes himself. However, she hardly takes credit for her genius, seeing the challenge itself as more of a [[VictoryIsBoring way to avoid boredom]], than anything materialistically rewarding. She's mostly calm, analytical and even innocently curious of the outside world. Just try not to act too weird around her, she can be quite snarky at times. |
| 124 | * In ''Manga/HakoiriDevilPrincess'', Maki is a prime example. She might be a powerful devil. However, due to her inexperience being a devil because of her being sheltered, she doesn't know how to become evil and as a result, she ends up becoming oblivious to the outside world. As the series progresses, she ends up being a kind devil thanks to Keita's intervention. Even then, not all devils are actually bad people. The Queen of the Demons, despite being strict, wants the best for her dominion in hell and Maki herself. [[spoiler: Near the end of the series, there is even a devil who tries to help Keita to save Maki after Keita saves her from being a sacrifice.]] |
| 125 | * ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'': While it is questionable as to how closely Alucard holds up to this trope, given that [[AntiHero he's]] [[BloodKnight not]] [[VillainProtagonist exactly]] [[SociopathicHero heroic]], which some of his actions verge into DarkIsEvil territory, this is definitely played straight with Seras Victoria. Sure, she dresses in bright colors, but she's a vampire, and yet she values virtue and morality more than most other Hellsing operatives, even Integra Hellsing. Not that it stopped her from [[spoiler: butchering Nazi vampires and then GRINDING ZORIN BLITZ'S FACE TO A WALL!]] But she is against killing ''people.'' Except [[BigBad the Major]]. |
| 126 | ** And as said before, Alucard isn't particularly a good guy, but he is [[UndyingLoyalty loyal to the organization that he works for]], and has no tolerance for traitors. It also helps the main foes that Alucard butchers are literal Nazis. |
| 127 | * Out of the three supreme Oni siblings in ''Manga/HellTeacherNube'', only middle brother Sekki is irredeemably evil. Baki and Minki start out this way, but are quickly brought to the side of good by Nube and remain heroic characters throughout. Similarly, a Western-style devil summoned by a witch (and fellow teacher at Nube's school) is actually a very nice guy, and Yukime's schoolmates at the Youkai High are great people, except for being, you know, horrible demons. (Ironically, at least one ''god'' is demonstrably evil.) |
| 128 | * Daryun in ''Literature/TheHeroicLegendOfArslan'' dresses entirely in black and he is known in-universe as "the Black Knight" but he is one of the most honourable characters who dedicates his sword and life to protect Prince Arslan. |
| 129 | * ''Anime/HowlsMovingCastle'': Howl's [[SuperMode transformations]] zigzag this trope. When he's commiting acts of violence such as attacking the Ingaryamry army, he becomes a truly horrifying bird creature. When he is under control and protecting Sophie and Markl rather than attacking, his transformed state (having wings, talons and covered in raven feathers except for his face) is much more pleasant while still being dark and intimdaiting. |
| 130 | * In ''Literature/InfiniteDendrogram'', the main protagonist Ray dresses in armor that is often cursed or ominious looking enough that he gets repeatedly mistaken for a villain. In addition, he uses Hellfire, poison gas, and feeds off the [[ThePowerOfHate grudges]], yet he's a genuinely heroic character. |
| 131 | * ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': |
| 132 | ** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood Phantom Blood]]'': Robert E. O. Speedwagon, a scarred-face ruffian in a dark suit from the streets, who makes his first appearance trying to mug the AllLovingHero Jonathan. It soon turns out Speedwagon is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who helps Jonathan stop Dio, and by the time of later parts he's become the GreaterScopeParagon of the series. |
| 133 | ** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'': |
| 134 | *** Joseph Joestar, besides his signature green scarf which he loses, he tends to wear darker colors and is an irrating trolling delinquent to almost everyone he meets, in contrast to his NiceGuy grandfather Jonathan. Even the vampified Straizo is ''almost'' convinced that Joseph isn't a hero, yet when he tests him by holding a girl hostage and rips out one of her teeth and the immediate reaction is an UnstoppableRage, Straizo's estimation (before getting beaten) that Joseph is actually good as Jonathan deep down - is proven correct. He saves the entire world not too long after. |
| 135 | *** Lisa Lisa is a AloofDarkHairedGirl who puts Joseph and Caesar through TrainingFromHell and is largely a callous and impatient BadassTeacher. On the inside however, she's very warm, loving and very heroic [[spoiler:being Joseph's MissingMom. She definitely passed down her ActionGirl traits to her great, great granddaughter Jolyne.]] |
| 136 | ** During the events of ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'', Jotaro Kujo wears a black outfit and is a JapaneseDelinquent, and while he gives off the attitude of a [[TheStoic stoic]] loner, he's a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold genuinely caring person]] deep down and is an overall heroic character. |
| 137 | ** Giorno Giovanna from ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Golden Wind]]'' is the son of series BigBad, DIO, wears a dark blue suit in the manga ([[AdaptationDyeJob though it's changed to pink in the anime]]), and in the anime, [[spoiler:upon becoming the new [[TheDon Don]] of Passione, starts wearing a black suit]]; however, he's an AntiHero at worst and [[NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters joins Passione with the heroic goal of ending the drug trade]]. |
| 138 | ** Like her previously mentioned father, Jolyne Cujoh from ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'' is this, being a {{delinquent}} in dark clothing with a [[ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire spider]] [[AnimalMotifs motif]], yet is still an overall heroic character. |
| 139 | * ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' has "Dou"-type martial arts, which are powered by rage and aggression (in contrast to "Sei"-type, which are more about skill and precision). It is stated that many practitioners of Dou martial arts are most likely to walk the path of destruction. However, Dou-type fighting in itself isn't regarded as evil, and Dou users who are gentle by nature (including two of Kenichi's masters and his love interest) don't usually fall to that path. |
| 140 | ** A more literal example would be in the opening of season 2, where Kenichi's uniform is dark gray, almost black, and Odin's apparel is pure white. |
| 141 | * Ryuko from ''Anime/KillLaKill'', who wears a black-and-red outfit and has dark blue hair, but is TheHero of the story. |
| 142 | ** [[spoiler:The Elite Four in the 3-Star Mk. III-IV uniforms]] and [[spoiler:Satsuki when wearing Senketsu]]. Also counts as [[spoiler:a GoodCostumeSwitch]], though [[spoiler:Satsuki switches back to [[LightIsNotGood Junketsu]] later on while still keeping a heroic attitude]]. |
| 143 | * ''VideoGame/LapisReLights'' has two examples: |
| 144 | ** IV Klore is an idol/witch unit composed entirely of demi-human [[CuteMonsterGirl Cute Monster Girls]]. Its members are Emilia (a succubus), Salsa (a werewolf), α (Alpha) (an enchanted doll), and Garnet (a ghost), who for various reasons are incredibly dangerous or unnerving to most people, with or without actively trying. Despite this, they are unquestionably good like the rest of the cast, working and studying to defeat Magical Monsters and perform Operas to protect and power their civilization, and don't hesitate to help the other characters. |
| 145 | ** Camilla is a vampire, a LargeHam, a narcissist, and incredibly rude, dismissive, and demeaning on a good day. She was still a member of Ray, a legendary and beloved international witch/idol unit, is hailed as a hero of Ryuuto, and in the present has mentored new witches and engages in magical research to improve the world. |
| 146 | * Kukuri in ''Manga/MagicalCircleGuruGuru'' dresses in black robes, carries a staff with an eye on it, and is described as a "Dark Elemental." Her magic involves demon-summoning and is considered dark magic. However, while possessing many traits of the BlackMagicianGirl, Kukuri's personality is closer to that of the WhiteMagicianGirl. There is also a Dark Society of black magic practitioners who are allies of the heroes against the demon lord Giri. |
| 147 | * Hayate Yagami of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs''. The Queen of the Night Sky and mistress of the Book of Darkness, she has six black wings, a mostly black motif, and her signature spell is a SphereOfDestruction made of pure darkness called Diabolic Emission. She is also the boss of the heroes and one of the nicest people you could ever meet. |
| 148 | ** Chrono Harlaown wears black armor (complete with SpikesOfVillainy), as an legacy outfit he kept since his tenure as the antagonist of ''Lyrical Toy Box'', precursor to the ''Nanoha'' series. He's one of the good guys (and Hayate's commanding officer). In fact, the Bureau seems to invoke this trope with the uniforms worn by the Enforcers (the branch Chrono and, later, the ex-DarkMagicalGirl Fate belong to): it is almost all-black, but every Enforcer is a elite Bureau agent who had undergone a rigorous selection and magical training and is sworn to uphold the law across the multiverse. In short, seeing a black uniform is ''always'' good news for the good guys. |
| 149 | ** Fate's original outfit was primarily black back when she was an antagonist. She continued wearing it after her HeelFaceTurn. |
| 150 | ** Tohma Avenir from ''FORCE'' wears black and silver armor when Reacted and is infected with the Eclipse virus, which is responsible for empowering the current antagonists and making many people massive jerkasses. In spite of the infection, he is still a nice person who is trying to avoid letting the Eclipse take over. |
| 151 | ** Voltaire is a massive black and red dragon god that looks like the final boss for an RPG, but is actually the guardian deity of Caro's home planet. |
| 152 | ** From the video game continuity, there's System U-D a.k.a. [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Unbreakable Dark]] a.k.a. [[spoiler:Yuri Eberwein]], a HumanoidAbomination who possesses dark-based magic that takes the form of a pair of shadowy red shape-shifting wings. She's actually a very kind young girl; it's just bad luck on her part that she's suffering from PowerIncontinence leading her to destroy everything even when she doesn't want to. [[spoiler:At least, until Dearche manages to overwrite her Examia.]] |
| 153 | ** Dearche herself counts as this after her HeelFaceTurn, [[NobleDemon although she is pretty much quick to insist that she's still evil]]. |
| 154 | * Ilulu from ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' normally wears black clothing, and her true form is a massive dragon composed of hellfire. Despite this, [[RoseHairedSweetie she is one of the sweetest characters in the series]] [[FriendToAllChildren with a soft spot for children]] [[KindheartedCatLover and cats]] (post-HeelFaceTurn, anyways). |
| 155 | * Duo Maxwell from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' wears black (including a leather jacket in TheMovie) and uses the nickname "{{Shinigami}}" to refer to both himself and his [[HumongousMecha Gundam]], Deathscythe, which is also black, wields a [[EnergyWeapons beam]] [[SinisterScythe scythe]], and even gets shield-like bat wings in its MidSeasonUpgrade. Personality-wise, however, he's the goofy, cheerful, flirtatious [[TheLancer Lancer]] of the group (though not without his HiddenDepths). |
| 156 | * Rachnera Arachnera from ''Anime/MonsterMusume'' is a [[GiantSpider giant black Arachne]]. She's part spider and as such naturally looks scary and intimidating. However, Rachnera herself is merely misunderstood this way. She's really a charming and flirtatious young creature, who's at worst only mischievous...and kinky. Kimihito accepted her, looking past her arachnid physique. Hell he even likes her multiple legs, admitting he had a leg fetish. |
| 157 | ** [[HeadlessHorseman Lala]] as well is in the same boat as Rachnera. Being just as sinister (though not as morbid) as Rachnera, Lala doesn't actually mean harm to Kimihito and cast. Poor Lala is even less appreciated by humans, due to her deathly appearance. Still, among the other monster girls, she's just your resident [[{{Goth}} Goth girl]]. |
| 158 | * Fumikage Tokoyami from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' wears a black cloak, has the head of a black bird, and his Quirk is a LivingShadow, but he's proven himself to be heroic nonetheless, and he even scored a 5/5 in the "Cooperativeness" stat according to the Official Character Book. |
| 159 | ** Eraser Head, the BadassTeacher of Class 1-A, is always seen wearing black in some way, shape, or form, and his eyes turn [[RedEyesTakeWarning luminous red]] when he uses his Quirk. But he's still a hero regardless. |
| 160 | ** Shihai Kuroiro of Class 1-B is a [[TheTrickster trickster who openly calls himself the Scheming Hero Vantablack]], has pitch-black skin, and [[CastingAShadow blends into shadows]]. However, he's just like Tokoyami in that they're both [[LargeHam Large Hams]] with good hearts, and the two [[TheRival see each other as rivals]]. |
| 161 | ** Pro hero Gang Orca is an enormous man who looks like a humanoid orca whale. People tend to be afraid of him when they see him and granted, he can also intimidate trainees he’s working with. But he’s still a hero |
| 162 | ** Ectoplasm. A nearly six foot humanoid with a bald, jet black head and grinning white teeth that give him a skeletal look. You’d be forgiven for thinking he’s a villain but he’s one of the hero teachers. |
| 163 | * The Aswad from ''Anime/MyOtome'' are considered enemies of the Otomes because they dress in dark colors and are able to control Slaves, just like the Schwarz. However, when Arika and Mashiro take refuge in one of their settlements out in the Black Valley, they learn by observing the Aswad's leader, Midori, that they aren't quite as evil or scary as she first believes. |
| 164 | * In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', the Tailed Beasts were very feared and hated by humans due to their freakish appearance and immense size and power. The villages have tried many times to [[SealedInAPersonShapedCan obtain them]] as a display of military power and to prevent them from roaming free and presumably destroying human-occupied land. Legend says that they are born from malevolence and feed off of it, but recent chapters say otherwise. [[spoiler: When the [[PhysicalGod Sage of the Six Paths]] divided the Juubi's chakra into the tailed beasts, the newly-formed beasts inherited no hatred. They developed it when [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters the humans]], especially Madara Uchiha and Tobi, abused their power to suit their interests.]] |
| 165 | ** Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi dresses in a black suit, and is capable of summoning an Enma, a monkey king named for the Hell judge from Buddhist mythology. He's one of the most heroic characters in the series' history. |
| 166 | ** [[AloofBigBrother Itachi Uchiha]] is one of the most complex and [[MasterOfIllusion strategically intricate]] characters in the series. Often he gives ominous forewarnings and [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech pointing out the flaws in his opponents]]. But deep down, he has had a very difficult past and cares deeply for those closest to him. |
| 167 | ** [[AntiAntiChrist Naruto himself]], as he's an ApocalypseMaiden, a host of a Tailed Beast mentioned above, and as revealed later in the manga has a lot of [[EnemyWithin Darkness]] in his heart. He's TheHero, [[spoiler:even his dark side isn't ''that'' evil so much as having a '''very''' justified grudge on Konoha for their DarkAndTroubledPast.]] His inner darkness is even the reason for his intense empathy and gives him his memetic [[InfinityPlusOneSword Ultimate technique]] [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath Talk No Jutsu]]. |
| 168 | ** [[DarkMagicalGirl Gaara]] is also a Jinchuriki like Naruto and, while a villain at first, after being befriended [[DefeatMeansFriendship Nanoha style]], he becomes one of the most heroic characters in the series without quite losing his original creepy vibe. |
| 169 | ** The Nara clan, notably unique for their CastingAShadow abilities are an heroic part of Konoha. |
| 170 | ** By the end of the series, [[spoiler: Sasuke Uchiha still wears dark clothing but he is now free from the Curse of Hatred, and travels the world to atone for his sins]]. |
| 171 | * Evangeline of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' uses Dark magic, but she's more of a NobleDemon. Also two of the team members are [[HalfHumanHybrid part]] [[{{Obake}} Demon]], but are perfectly trustworthy (and probably some of the more honest of characters). |
| 172 | ** Later on, Negi [[spoiler:learns and incorporates a BlackMagic DeadlyUpgrade,]] but he's still the same fussy and [[HonorBeforeReason sweet-natured]] boy. |
| 173 | *** Not that choosing dark magic is without moral dilemmas. While dark is not inherently evil, it tends to intensify and magnify negative emotions (hate, anger) which can lead to evil. Negi very nearly succumbed in a recent chapter, and Rakan, the man who presented him with the choice between choosing dark or light magic, worries that Negi's inherent darkness (anger, thirst for revenge for his village, guilt), supplemented by the dark technique Negi learned, may lead him to be lost in darkness. |
| 174 | *** Also, turns out that because he's been using the technique, now he's [[spoiler: turning into a demon]]. Of course, in ''Negima'', [[spoiler: Demons are {{Punch Clock Villain}}s at worst, so it's not like he's actually becoming evil or anything]]. |
| 175 | ** Before that, you've got Takane D. Goodman, a Mahora mage who uses shadow spears in combat...[[ClothingDamage when she gets a chance to]]. |
| 176 | * In the ''Manga/{{Nightschool}}'', there are demons, vampires, witches, and people with horns spikes and wings...and then you meet GenkiGirl Rochelle, the cheerful Night keeper Sara, and Madam Chen, who just wants her coffee. In fact, most vampires are harmless pretty boys (until they become Rippers). |
| 177 | * Karasu in ''Anime/{{Noein}}'' looks kind of creepy -- long white hair, black robes, a perpetually snarly face, always angry, and he's played by Crispin Freeman...but he's [[spoiler: just Yu all grown up]], wanting to protect Haruka. His counterpart Noein is a WellIntentionedExtremist however, [[spoiler: who wants some kind of utopia or [[AssimilationPlot instrummentality]].]] |
| 178 | * ''Literature/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'' stars a number of characters who outright call themselves Malign Deities (in Japanese 邪神, ''jashin''), bear the names of figures from the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, and may in fact '''be''' the [[ATrueStoryInMyUniverse direct inspiration]] for said figures[[note]]It remains vague as to whether it was these characters, their relatives/ancestors, or completely unrelated members of their species who inspired Lovecraft[[/note]]. But looking at the specifics: |
| 179 | ** Nyarko, AKA Nyarlathotep the Crawling Chaos...Who Creeps Up on You With a Smile. She's generally very bubbly, vivacious, friendly, and outgoing; to her love interest Mahiro Yasaka she's a ManicPixieDreamGirl and LovableSexManiac. To her enemies, she's [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill a merciless bloodthirsty nightmare]]. For extra points, Nyarlathotep's traditional color is black, and most of Nyarko's outfits have at least one black element to them (not counting her BlackBraAndPanties). |
| 180 | ** Cuuko, AKA Cthugua the Living Flame, is mostly an EmotionlessGirl video game {{Otaku}}, but she's willing to live and let live...[[PsychoLesbian unless you get between her and Nyarko]]. Even then, she gradually warms up to her LoveTriangle "opponent" Mahiro enough that she's perfectly fine with starting an {{OT3}}. |
| 181 | ** Hasta, AKA Hastur the Unspeakable One, is an AdorablyPrecociousChild in a yellow hoodie who acts like the helpless little brother you never had. He's also a BadassBookworm with an OlderAlterEgo SuperMode. |
| 182 | ** Finally we have Luhy Distone, a recurring character who's the closest fit the series has to Cthulhu himself. Though initially as an antagonist, she attributes this to her job with the Cthulhu Corporation, and after being fired opens up a takoyaki stand and [[DefeatMeansFriendship befriends Mahiro, Nyarko, and their group]]. She even goes out of her way to bury the hatchet with Hasta, to whom she was rather harsh while playing the villain[[note]]A MythologyGag nod to the traditional enmity between Cthulhu and Hastur[[/note]], and pulls off a BigDamnHeroes moment during the final battle of the 2012 series. |
| 183 | * The main character of ''Manga/OPartsHunter'' is part demon, has a black and white motif with more emphasis, and constantly says that his goal is to rule the world. However, throughout the story he ends up doing more good than evil, accomplishing his goals more by gaining allies and saving people. |
| 184 | ** Actually [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]] later on. By nature, DarkIsEvil and LightIsGood; [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demonic Recipes]] are evil while [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Angelic Recipes]] are [[IncorruptiblePurePureness good]] (or [[AmbiguousInnocence innocent]]). However, bringing all the angels OR demons together will result in the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. What's more, human morality [[GoodPowersBadPeople doesn't affect]] [[BadPowersGoodPeople Recipe compatibility]]. |
| 185 | * The Witches in ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'' almost always wear dark clothing and their world is (usually) only accessible at night. They're actually nice people (with some exceptions) who have their flaws. |
| 186 | ** Onpu Segawa is the resident DarkMagicalGirl and has a purple motif. At first, she played around with DarkIsEvil and this trope since her reasons for using magic were selfish compared to the Ojamajos. Post-HeelFaceTurn, she is one of the nicest people you would ever meet. |
| 187 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': |
| 188 | ** Roronoa Zoro wears black pants and a black bandanna (albeit with green highlights in the anime), is a former bounter hunter and BloodKnight who radiates a murderous aura, and gets a SlasherSmile in fights. Despite that, he's a deeply loyal and caring teammate who is often digusted at the cruelty of the actual villains. Even some of Zoro's attacks like "Enbima Yonezu Oni Giri" have the aura of a cloaked demon. |
| 189 | ** "Black Leg" Sanji, although fair-haired, wears a black suit and smokes; all of which, compared to a PrimaryColorChampion like Luffy, makes him look like a mobster. There's also Sanji's HotBlooded violence (he beat a man almost to death in his first appearance) and his special kick techniques have demonic-themed names such as "Diable Jambe" and [[spoiler:"Ifrit Jambe"]]. Yet Sanji is deeply protective and supporting of his TrueCompanions and is the WhiteSheep compared to his brothers, who are a case of BrightIsNotGood. |
| 190 | ** Nico Robin, AloofDarkHairedGirl who is proficent in assassinations, causally breaks necks and spines, and whose epithet for the longest time was "Devil Child". Yet Robin is really a compassionate person, a TeamMom to her crew, a FriendToAllChildren and would rather die herself than let her friends get killed by the Government (they vetoe this however). [[spoiler:Robin's SuperMode seen in Onigashima, "Demonio Fleur", is another case of this: it's literally a massive black devil with sharp teeth, wings and horns; but since the opponent she used the technique on (Black Maria) ''really had it coming'' Robin comes out smelling like roses.]] |
| 191 | ** Brook is the eptiome of this: he's a [[DemBones living skeleton]] who can freeze things over with a deadly chill and project his soul out his body and through walls. He freaked the Straw Hats out when they first meet him and other people generally are scared of him. This is all at odds with Brook's personality, which is silly and goofy, being one of the most lighthearted and compassionate members of the crew. Given Oda is a fan of ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'', safe to say Brook was a big ShoutOut to Jack Skellington. |
| 192 | ** Jinbe, who resembles an oni (traditional Japanese ogre) with a whale shark motif, but is far from a bad guy. [[spoiler:He even offically joins the heroes by the time of the Wano arc]]. |
| 193 | ** Luffy's [[SuperMode Gear 4 and Snake Man]], similar to Super Saiyan 4 look truly menacing with red and black arms and chest and black spiral markings on his body and face, not mention a very un-Luffy like frown on his face. He's still Luffy though and more often than not, the people he's using Gear 4 against really deserve it. |
| 194 | ** Trafalgar Law, especially post-timeskip. He's covered in tattos and wears a big black coat that he often buttons up and often has a scowl on his face. Law, while callous, is a case of GoodIsNotNice and the foes he's bringing down are generally much, much worse than him. |
| 195 | ** Smoker on the surface doesn't seem too different from the rest of the callous hard cases in the Marines being a scowling, scarred and brutal meathead. Yet when a little girl bumps into him getting her ice cream on his pant leg, he bends down, pats her head, apologises that his pants ate her cone and gives her money to get another one. |
| 196 | ** Wyper from Skypiea with his mowhawk, constant scowling and smoking, looks cruel and acts like it. His presence is so intense, Aisa is so scared of him just being near him makes her tremble. Yet when Aisa is in danger, Wyper goes out of his way to save her and he's ultimately fighting to reclaim his stolen homeland. |
| 197 | ** Captain T-Bone is an espeically notable case. He looks undead with a zombie-like face that creeps out his fellow Marines and Government Agents, but personality-wise has a heart of gold, ripping off a strip of his cape just to bandage [[AFatherToHisMen one of his men]] who had a small wound on his arm. Even Zoro, who has had nothing but bad run ins with the Marines, shows T-Bone respect after their brief duel. |
| 198 | ** PlayedWith concerning Capone Bege. Unlike Sanji who just looks like a gangsta, Bege is a [[TheMafia real one]] having commited horrible acts, and was first introduced in Sabaody Archipelago as a real scummy mafioso. By time of Totto Land arc however, we see he's got a HiddenHeartOfGold, being a FamilyMan and FatherToHisMen who saves his wife from a mile away clutching his baby son in his arms, making a supposedly cruel pirate mobster look pretty damn heroic. |
| 199 | ** Charlotte Katakuri looks like a Mad Max bandit crossed with a [=JoJo=] villain, with a dark red leather vest and pants, spikey hair, red eyes and a mouth covering which hides his ScaryTeeth, not to mention being menacingly tall. However, unlike most of his family he is honorable, protective, and even silly, being a goofy BigEater in private. [[spoiler:In his fight with Luffy, he not only got furious at the spectators for mocking Luffy for [[{{Determinator}} continally getting up]], but went as far injuring himself when he discovered outside forces had prevented Luffy from dodging his impaling spear attack.]] |
| 200 | ** In general [[KiManipulation Armament Haki]], when used by the heroes like Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Law and Jinbe is a case of this. It makes the fighter's arm or leg go black and metalic looking, and in the anime even has a demonic looking purple haze around it when activated; but when used by the MainCharacters it's a force for good. Averted when the villains use it, especially Vergo and Pica, who have full body Armament Haki and are cases of DarkIsEvil. |
| 201 | * Umehito Nekozawa from ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' is a fairly nice person who just happens to be allergic to any light that's not candlelight. |
| 202 | * Stocking from ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt''. She dresses up like an ElegantGothicLolita and has a fetish for {{bondage|is bad}}, and while it's hard to call her [[AntiHero "Good"]], she's a nicer person than her sister. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope This trope ges thrown out the window, cut up, burnt, and blown up]] [[GainaxEnding in the last 20 seconds]]]]. |
| 203 | * ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': |
| 204 | ** As in the video game, the Pokemon that look scary or "evil", like Houndoom, Shuppet, Duskull, and others, are just as capable of forming friendships with their trainers as any "cute" Pokémon, and frequently appear in perfectly normal settings. On more than one occasion, in fact, Ash and his friends were in fact helped out by a pack of Houndour against Team Rocket. |
| 205 | ** A shining example is Ash's Gliscor; despite becoming more confident in its abilities since evolving, it retains signs of the hyper crybaby it was as a Gligar. However, it isn't a Dark type at all (its fierce design likely fooled everyone into thinking otherwise). |
| 206 | ** Ash's Muk is a WalkingWasteland that basically loves ''everybody'' and loves giving hugs. |
| 207 | ** And then there's the tenth movie, ''Anime/PokemonTheRiseOfDarkrai''. The title Pokémon, whose special abilities involve being able to create nightmares (and [[GameplayAndStorySegregation in the story]], cause eternal nightmares that can only be cured with a Lunar Wing), turns out to be one of the good guys here. Actually ends up saving everyone. The lord of nightmares. Darkrai Is Not Evil! Well...[[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers usually.]] |
| 208 | ** The episode ''Ghoul Daze'' involves a Dusknoir that actively tries to save people from an actual evil ghost that was trying to take people to a spirit realm, including Ash. It gets attacked for its trouble. |
| 209 | ** This trope is probably felt even stronger in Japan, where the Dark type is instead named the Evil type. |
| 210 | ** While not "dark" in the traditional sense, Giratina is a demonic-looking Ghost-type Pokémon designed around the NumberOfTheBeast (six spikes, legs, and ribs) and resides in the ominous, AlienGeometries-heavy Reverse World. Despite that, it never acts out of malice; aside from its aggressiveness, Giratina is depicted as benignly as Dialga and Palkia, neutrally representing antimatter the way they respectively embody time and space. |
| 211 | ** Zekrom is a completely black and angularly-designed legendary Pokémon that contrasts the mostly white and sagelike design of Reshiram. However, Zekrom's Dragon/Electric typing lacks any malevolent connotations, and its representation of ideals is just as benevolent as Reshiram's representation of truth (if not more so). |
| 212 | ** A lot of adaptations make the Psychic gym leader Sabrina to be a villain, or at least a {{Jerkass}}, but ''Manga/PokemonZensho'' and ''Manga/TheElectricTaleOfPikachu'' keep her game personalities, or actually they keep her "Good" character alignment and amplify it; she's borderline Moe in both, and extremely kind in the latter. |
| 213 | ** Despite how nasty Tobias looks, and even though he did have a Darkrai, he's actually a pretty good guy. |
| 214 | ** Zorua and Zoroark, both Dark-types, look ''incredibly'' evil, with moves themed around "night". However, being based on ''kitsune'', their actual personalities are more reclusive, protective and prone to pranks. Just...[[MamaBear don't mess with their family.]] |
| 215 | ** Ryouga and his Zekrom Burst from ''Manga/PokemonReBURST'' [[spoiler:In Contrast with [[LightIsNotGood Fraud and his Reshiram Burst Form]]]]. |
| 216 | ** One of the most notable examples is the gentle Houndoom that befriended Misty's Togepi in one episode. It spent the entire episode protecting it, and even plays with it with its arrow-pointed tail at one point, and they share a tearful goodby. If you're not familiar with Pokemon, this is a Dark/Fire type demonic {{Hellhound}}/[[DogStereotype doberman]] based Pokemon that, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation according to the Pokedex breathes flames that cause permanent pain]], is frequently used by the Evil Teams, and it known for a Howl so terrifying people thought it was the call of [[TheGrimReaper death itself.]] The anime shows villainous characters using it, but the species as a whole are portrayed in a much LighterAndSofter manner than the Pokedex entries suggest. |
| 217 | * The ''Anime/PrettyCure franchise'' has aside from many DarkIsEvil villains a few heroic examples. |
| 218 | ** Most obviously is Nagisa Misumi as Cure '''Black''' from ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure'', the only good Cure who wears a black costume. She summons the Black Thunder whenever she and Cure White uses any version of Marble Screw. Interestingly, both refer themselves as "Emissaries of Light". |
| 219 | ** Hikaru from ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureMaxHeart'' is the "life" of [[BigBad Jaaku King]], the dark king of evil and destruction, but he's an innocent child who wouldn't harm anyone or anything. |
| 220 | ** Michiru and Kaoru of ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureSplashStar'', who continue to use their powers as warriors of the Dark Fall, even after their HeelFaceTurn. |
| 221 | ** The Mirage Pretty Cures from ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' are the darker versions of the originals and they are the reflections of the originals' inner conflicts. However, they are not evil. |
| 222 | ** The Masked Cure Muse from ''Anime/SuitePrettyCure'' wears a black costume to hide her identity from Mephisto and the other Cures, since her Cure form is just a PaperThinDisguise. And indeed, after Cure Muse unmasked herself and strips off her black costume - revealing her true, yellow costume by the way - Mephisto immediately recognizes her by her appearance which looks extremely similar to her younger self's appearance, since Cure Muse has long hair in her Cure form. |
| 223 | ** Averted with Siren. She is a black cat and she was Hummy's best friend before her FaceHeelTurn, though it was actually [[spoiler:brainwashing]]. However, after Siren pulls a HeelFaceTurn and becoming Cure Beat (a blue Cure), she loses her ability to de-transform into her cat form, being now stuck in her human form. |
| 224 | ** Regina from ''Anime/DokiDokiPrecure'' appears to invoke DarkIsEvil in her first appearances. [[BrainwashedAndCrazy The truth is somewhat more complicated]]. |
| 225 | %%* Hime from ''Manga/PrincessResurrection'' |
| 226 | * The magical girls in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' are [[spoiler: girls who made psuedo-Faustian bargains and [[OurLichesAreDifferent essentially became liches]] whose {{Soul Jar}}s eventually gestate into {{Eldritch Abomination}}s]]. However, while there are most certainly evil ones out there, the majority of them are just territorial or opportunistic, with many being outright heroic, and the series consistently plays even the worst ones as being victims of circumstance. Colors also seem to be no guarantee of morality; [[spoiler:[[DarkMagicalGirl Homura]]]] turns out to be an AntiHero who’s trying to protect Madoka and her friends, and [[Manga/PuellaMagiKazumiMagica Kazumi]] is one of the most unambiguously heroic girls while wearing a mainly black outfit, while [[spoiler:[[Manga/PuellaMagiOrikoMagica Oriko]]]], one of the most villainous girls, and [[spoiler:Kyubey]] [[LightIsNotGood favor white]]. |
| 227 | ** Rebellion gives us [[spoiler: Homura who becomes a demon in the end compelte with an all black outfit, crow wings, and mooks but despite calling herself evil, a demon, and the devil she has only displays affably evil or even anti-villain traits. She created a world in which all her friends are alive and happy and gave the middle finger to the series' previous big bad Kyubey. The creators themselves list Homura's action as being in the GreyAndGrayMorality zone]]. |
| 228 | * Sacrifar, the ninth form of ''Manga/RaveMaster'''s Ten Commandments sword is a Darkness-aligned blade that increases Haru's aggression. When Haru first tried to use it in a battle, its influence began taking over his body and mind. Later, however, it is revealed that this wasn't because the sword was evil, but was due to the fact that the Ten Commandments was forged specifically for Haru's predecessor, thus Haru could not wield it properly. Presumably Haru is able to use it safely after he gets a sword of his very own, but he never used it again after that incident. |
| 229 | * In order to save Deedlit (and, indeed, all of Lodoss) in ''Roleplay/RecordOfLodossWar'', Parn had to wield both the Holy Sword as well as the Soulcrusher, symbolizing the necessary balance between Light and Dark. |
| 230 | ** Even more so: The 'Dark Knight' [[TheRival Ashram]] may appear to be utterly evil but indeed only seeks for a place for his people to live in peace (other than a cursed island, if possible). And his lover Pirotess isn't that much more evil than Deedlit, just less pure. |
| 231 | * In ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' (which always plays DarkIsEvil straight with its [[BigBad Big Bads]]), Hotaru may be Sailor Saturn, the Soldier of Destruction, but she isn't evil. In fact, she's very shy and sweet, and even though she's possessed when we first meet her, it's not her fault at all. |
| 232 | ** Tuxedo Mask could also fit to some extent. Particularly well noted in his former life as a prince, in which he wore dark clothes that are more usually attributed to villains; contrasts quite nicely with the princess's white dress. |
| 233 | ** Pluto is also a decent example. Not many realize that being the Guardian of the Underworld is part of her duties, as it plays second fiddle to her dealings with Time. The personal color on her Sailor Fuku is also black and her skin is shown to be darker then the others. |
| 234 | * Subverted in ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' with Mayo Mitama. She really is as evil as she looks, but everyone else simply [[WrongGenreSavvy assumes that she's misunderstood]]. Basically, she takes full advantage of those savvy in this trope. |
| 235 | * ''Manga/SeraphOfTheEnd'': |
| 236 | ** The human heroic characters, the Japanese Imperial Army and the Moon Demon Company dress in black and green uniform. In contrast, the more evil vampires wear mostly white uniform. However, in the case of the vampires, [[LightIsGood Mikaela]] averts this as he was turn into a vampire against his will, and although he hates both human and vampires, he has never killed a human willingly, is civil to his [[ParentalSubstitute adoptive]] [[ILoveYouVampireSon mother]] Krul for saving him, and has an ''incredibly'' [[LivingEmotionalCrutch soft spot]] for his ChildhoodFriend Yuuichirou. |
| 237 | ** Arguably, this is how the creators [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadow]] Vampire Queen Krul's better nature comparing to the other vampires by having her wear a mostly black outfit in contrast to the others' lighter clothes. She could have left Mikaela to die but instead saved him by turning him to a vampire, kept the kids in her territory alive (albeit by keeping them as livestock, but hey, she has to save face) while the other progenitors just outright killed them, and there are hints that suggest [[spoiler: deep inside, she resents the one that turned her into a vampire.]] |
| 238 | ** [[spoiler: The Demons may be dark and demonic, but overall they help human by forming contract with them. The Angels, not so much. They were the one who destroyed the world with the Seraph Of The End back then, and [[DudeLooksLikeALady Asuramaru]] even warns Yuu that it's better if he borrows his power than from the angels.]] |
| 239 | * ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'': Meliodas is a demon but is also a nice guy (and a perv). Although you should not touch Elizabeth or his broken sword [[spoiler:that happen to be respectively his reincarnated goddess girlfriend and the last key to free the demon clan]]. |
| 240 | * The demons in ''VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}}'' are only demons in name. They're pretty much amiable people with [[UnusualEars long elven ears]]. Nerine and her father Forbessi exemplifies this well enough, these demons seems to be less rambunctious than the Gods' side (which consists a GenkiGirl and a BumblingDad). |
| 241 | * Despite the name, the Lord of Nightmares, from ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'', is not evil. She is, however, extremely powerful and dangerous, and the spells that draw on her power both count as {{Dangerous Forbidden Technique}}s. |
| 242 | ** {{Lampshaded}} in that a lot of characters ''do'' think that She is evil and the revelation that She is not is a pretty big reveal. |
| 243 | ** The Lord of Nightmares is more of a beyond morality kind of character. Her actions are thus not subject to being called good or evil. If one wants to look at it from the narrow-minded short-term mortal view, she chose not to unmake the world when she could have, which is rather nice of her. |
| 244 | ** A truer example would probably be the Overworlders in ''Try'' - despite the dark scary armour and orignally worrying goal of summoning the Dark Lord of their own world (Darkstar), they actually serve the gods of their world and want to summon Darkstar to destroy him after he's merged with their god, gone berserk, and ravaged their own world. |
| 245 | *** That said, they range in "goodness," from Almayce [[spoiler: and later Sirius]] who shows concern for the protagonists' world, to the more ruthless Erulogos, who's willing to let Darkstar wreak havoc on it if it means getting him out of their world. |
| 246 | * ''Manga/SoulEater'' has Tsubaki's Uncanny Sword form, which had previously been used only by [[EquippableAlly Weapons]] in her family who ended up turning into violent killers. |
| 247 | ** Lord Death and his son Death The Kid also fit this trope. Their [[AnthropomorphicPersonification nature]] could lead them to the same [[MadGod fate]] as many in their [[EldritchAbomination 'family']], but both end up making a conscious effort to avoid this by [[AGodIAmNot siding with humanity]]. |
| 248 | * Shoya Ishidha the protagionist of ''Anime/ASilentVoice''. In both the anime and [[Manga/ASilentVoice manga]], he doesn't look the traditional bishie drama romance hero, with his dark Tetsuo-esque spikey hairdo and lanky and unkempt appearance, worst still as a kid he was TheBully being feckless and vicious. He completely plays this straight later on after the TimeSkip being a very compassionate person as TheAtoner who cares deeply for his friends ''especially'' Shouko Nishimiya his love interest, whom he used to bully cruelly. [[spoiler: Making the moment where he personally saves her from committing suicide at the cost of falling himself incredibly powerful.]] |
| 249 | * ''Anime/SpiritedAway'' - Some spirits have shown companionship for Chihiro. |
| 250 | ** Kamaji, who's a [[TheMenInBlack spirit in black]]. |
| 251 | ** No Face, a white-masked creature who causes a few problems, but craves her friendship. |
| 252 | ** And Lin, who has a weasel motif. |
| 253 | * Kirito, the main protagonist of ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' has a preference for black clothes (especially [[BadassLongcoat longcoats]]) for his in-game avatars, and his signature weapon is [[BlackSwordsAreBetter usually a black sword]], which earns him the "[[RedBaron Black Swordsman]]" moniker. Nevertheless, he's a courageous and selfless soul who's always ready to risk his life and help anybody in trouble no matter the risk to himself. |
| 254 | * In ''Anime/TomicaHyperRescueDriveHeadKidouKyuukyuuKeisatsu'', Kuroeda is introduced as the driver of a black Drive Head. Even Team Drive Head assumes that he must be an enemy at first. He's actually a genuinely nice guy who would likely be insulted to be called evil. |
| 255 | * ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'': |
| 256 | ** Nicholas D. Wolfwood wears a dark suit and shades, is a former member of a sinister organisation and [[ThouShallNotKill unlike]] his best friend and partner Vash is totally willingly to kill bad guys. Other than that he's a NiceGuy who manages to charm even a ditzy cloudcuckoolander like Millie. |
| 257 | ** Livio Doublefang, looks like a badass and mean desperado with his black hat, black poncho and eye markings... which ''is his GoodCostumeSwitch by the way''. Personailty wise, he's a good and kind man who protects Meryl and Millie and proves to be as emotional as Vash. Averted with his SuperPoweredEvilSide Razlo, who's a case of DarkIsEvil. |
| 258 | ** Vash himself after his powers drain, he loses his signature blonde hair marking him as a HairOfGoldHeartOfGold as it turns black, while still keeping his blood red trenchcoat and dark bodysuit. He's still an AllLovingHero and BadassPacifist regardless. His brother Knives is a case of LightIsNotGood. |
| 259 | * Father Abel Nightroad of ''Literature/TrinityBlood'' may have white hair, but he wears black habitually, and in his Cruznik form he has dark skin and black wings. His homicidal, genocidal, brother Cain wears white, has blond hair, and in Cruznik form has white wings and light skin. |
| 260 | * Prince Shade/Eclipse from ''Anime/TwinPrincessOfWonderPlanet'' wears dark clothing and comes off as a very [[{{Pun}} shady]] person. He's actually the resident AntiHero. Moon Malia, his mother and the Queen of the Moon Kingdom, is a very benign ruler despite her choice of clothing. [[spoiler:Finally, there's [[EvilCounterpart Boomo]] post-HeelFaceTurn; he retains his dark color and imp-like appearance despite his turning.]] |
| 261 | * This is a central theme of ''Anime/UmiMonogatari''. Kanon's evil aura doesn't make her evil; it grants her immunity to Sedna's evil, the point of the shrine maiden's song is that darkness and light must coexist, and in the end, Sedna fits this, as she was created out of accumulated sadness in people's hearts. |
| 262 | * Humorously {{lampshaded|Trope}} at the end of ''Literature/VampireHunterD: Bloodlust'', when D's hand-parasite quips to very grim, gothic D: |
| 263 | -->Well, that was nice. You're not so bad after all. You just dress bad. |
| 264 | %%* ''Manga/VampireKnight'': The whole premise. |
| 265 | * In ''Worrysome Girl'', this occurs in a surprisingly cute H-Manga about a girl that's feared due to her resemblance to [[Literature/TheRing Samara/Sadako,]] so much so that even her non-Slasher Smile creeps them out. When the male lead has to return to the lockerroom to get his clothes, he catches her rubbing one out while smelling said clothes [[BeautifulAllAlong with her eyes finally shown]] as [[IJustWantToBeLoved she]] gives an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove. He promises that he'll masturbate in kind to her before bed before going on to have sex with her in the courtyard to prove how much he loves her and isn't afraid of showing it though are surprised to not be caught. From then on, they become an open couple with her hair clipped back. |
| 266 | * In ''Anime/YuGiOhCapsuleMonsters'', Dark Magician and the Magician of Black Chaos are some of the heroes' strongest monsters. |
| 267 | * The title character of ''Manga/YuGiOh'' uses a Dark Magician deck. Also, the Pharaoh was known as "Yami" for most of the series (dub only), a name that literally means "darkness". There's also the Shadow Games; they often have a harsh penalty for the loser, but the one who initiates a Shadow Game must either make the rules completely fair or put himself at a disadvantage. Plus, they're generally only invoked against or by bad people anyway. |
| 268 | ** As for those magicians, the Dark Magician is actually the soul of a priest who [[UndyingLoyalty gave his life to serve the Pharaoh]]. His apprentice, Dark Magician Girl, is dark in name only--she's actually a GenkiGirl with HairOfGoldHeartOfGold who dresses in [[PinkIsFeminine pink]] and [[TrueBlueFemininity blue]]. |
| 269 | ** Two of Jonouchi's iconic monsters are Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Jinzo, both with DARK attributes. A minor monster of him is Panther Warrior, an EARTH monster. |
| 270 | ** To make it even more ironic, there are at least three cases where TheRival uses LIGHT monsters. Yugi's rival Seto Kaiba uses Blue-Eyes White Dragon; in ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', Jun Manjoume uses Ojamas (and on occassion, the VWXYZ Union Machines), while Yuma's rival Kaito uses the Photon and Galaxy monsters, which are ALL Light. |
| 271 | * They go one further in ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', where Judai Yuki's [[spoiler:SuperpoweredEvilSide Haou the Supreme King]] is actually not that evil (nor, surprisingly, is the third season's antagonist, [[spoiler:the demonic-looking Yubel). The former's power, known as the "gentle darkness" is meant to fight against the malicious [[EldritchAbomination Light of Destruction]] and he only became evil to fight evil after crossing the DespairEventHorizon. The latter chose to become a demon to ''protect'' Judai's past self until he grew up enough to fight the Light off, but was ultimately corrupted by the Light, hence why they're in full FaceHeelTurn mode upon their debut]]. |
| 272 | ** That said, however, while both of Darkness' hosts are relatively nice people when they aren't trying to either set fire to Judai's friends or [[spoiler:destroy the world via an AssimilationPlot]], Darkness/Nightshroud itself twists the [[DarkIsEvil two]] [[DarkIsNotEvil tropes]] for all they're worth. Since darknesss in the Yu-Gi-Oh universe is stated to be a form of raw potential that can be moulded by human hearts, Darkness/Nightshroud is implied to be created from TheSacredDarkness specifically ''because'' humanity thinks that DarkIsEvil. |
| 273 | ** In season 2, after Kaiser's downward spiral, he dons a black mantle and returns as Hell Kaiser in the Pro League, becoming a ruthless and cruel Duelist. He then wins the Cyberdark Deck and adds it to his own deck. His friends and brother believe he's controlled by some darkness, but it soon turns out he's not. There is no darkness that controls Kaiser. He has become Hell Kaiser on his own. He also never becomes a villain throughout the entire second season. Hell Kaiser later returns as an ally on his own in season 3. His forbidden cards, the Cyberdark cards, aren't evil either. They were forbidden and locked away because they are dangerous to their user, not because they are evil. This is made clear in season 4, where Sho receives the Cyberdark cards among others and is perfectly fine using them without any side effects. |
| 274 | ** In the manga version of ''GX'', the headmistress of the Osiris Dorm is Midori Hibiki, a sweet, kind, and helpful teacher; her deck as a duelist, however, uses sinister-looking Darklords, {{Fallen Angel}}s named after Biblical demons like [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Darklord_Asmodeus Asmodeus]] and [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Darklord_Superbia Superbia]]. (Ironically, the character who becomes her hated enemy is the villain who cursed her brother and put him in a coma, Reggie [=MacKenzie=], a clear example of LightIsNotGood.) |
| 275 | * In ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', co-[[TheLancer Lancers]] Jack and Crow run Archfiend and Blackwing decks respectively. The former has Red Dragon Archfiend (Red Daemon's Dragon) as an ace monster, while the latter is centred around the DARK-Attribute Blackwing monsters. Teammate Aki's ace monster is Black Rose Dragon, a FIRE monster that breathes black fire and creates Black Rose Gales. |
| 276 | ** Interestingly, the six Signer dragons are three bright and three dark dragons, with one of them being a LIGHT monster and two of them being DARK monsters. None of them are evil or less good. |
| 277 | ** Like all protagonists, Yusei has some DARK monsters, the most iconic being Junk Warrior, one of his signature cards. |
| 278 | * Yuma in ''Anime/YuGiOhZexal'' uses many DARK monsters too, like Gagaga Magician and Gagaga Girl. His Utopia Ray and Utopia Ray V are entirely clad in dark armor, the latter looking very demonic and is in fact the Barian version of Utopia's Chaos forms. However, both are LIGHT monsters and are no less good than any other form of Utopia. |
| 279 | ** In the manga version of ''Anime/YuGiOhZexal'', there was Grandpa Demetto. It's not know ''what'' he was, but he was [[BodyHorror a hideous-looking creature]], a horrible-looking parody of [[Literature/{{Pinocchio}} Gepetto]] with an eye dangling from its socket and two long pins through his head. Despite this, he was a kindhearted creature who loved his friend Princess Cologne dearly, and when she was in danger of losing her soul due to failing to fulfil her end of the bargain she made with [[BigBad Dr. Faker]], he [[HeroicSacrifice gave her his soul to save her]], sacrificing himself in the process. |
| 280 | * ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'' keeps the theme going; aside from Yuya's ace being DARK attribute, the series also introduces Yuto, Yuya's Xyz Dimension counterpart who dresses in all black, causes real pain to his opponent with his Duel Disk during duels, and uses ghostly monsters and a black dragon. As we later learn, he only duels out of self-defense and plays passively to avoid hurting others. His goal is also very benign; he's only looking for his comrade's sister, who has been kidnapped by the Fusion Dimension. |
| 281 | ** None of Yuya's Main Deck DARK monsters look evil nor do they have very dark-looking attacks. However, Yuya himself has a darkness dwelling inside him, which unleashes when he's enraged, but it usually comes out when he's fighting against evil. His Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon, which is a combination of his Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Yuto's Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, has most traits of Dark Rebellion, looks very evil and edgy and attacks in an AxCrazy way, but Yuya is able to summon it even when he's in his normal self. Also, Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon represents Yuya's bond with Yuto and their wrath against evil. |
| 282 | *** [[spoiler:Although, it turns out much later that Odd-Eyes Dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon used to be evil.]] |
| 283 | ** [[TheRival Reiji Akaba]] uses a D/D deck, which consists of only DARK Fiend-Type monsters in the Main Deck, and some of his Extra Deck cards are also DARK. However, he's definitively on the good side and leads the heroes, even though he's sort of a WellIntentionedExtremist. |
| 284 | ** Shun Kurosaki uses a Raidraptor deck, which consist DARK Winged-Beast-Type monsters. Kurosaki debuted as an antagonistic character who is on Yuto's side, but when they are revealed to be rebels who fight against Academia, the actual villains, he also fits this trope and is on the side of the heroes. Though, he's also an AntiHero. |
| 285 | * The demons of ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' go all over the morality spectrum. While we have demons like Suzaku and Yomi that want to take over the human world and [[ImAHumanitarian treat us as cattle]], we also have outright good demons like Kurama, Yukina, and Raizen. In fact, his learning that not all demons were evil was half the reason for Sensui turning into a NietzscheWannabe. The other half was learning that HumansAreTheRealMonsters. |
| 286 | ** It gets even better. At the end of the manga, [[spoiler:it's revealed that most of the "trouble demons" were actually innocent [[RandomPowerRanking Class D]] monsters that were brainwashed by the [[LightIsNotGood Spirit World]] so that they can make themselves look good by padding the amount of actual incidents that their detectives can solve, letting them get away with things like taking territories and putting up dimension barriers under the guise of doing it for the greater good. Actual demons with evil intent are extremely rare, with the majority of them doing the nasty stuff because [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters humans forced them to do it]]. When that gets revealed, the barrier between the human world and demon world gets removed, and it's shown that both worlds are slowly but surely intermingling with each other in peace.]] |
| 287 | ** Even the ones who eat us [[BlueAndOrangeMorality are spectrumed]]. Yomi is exquisitely civilized (in a brutal demon lord way) but just ''does not care'' about us and things like 'rights'; Mukuro is gruff and does exactly as she pleases, which happens to include eating the meat she likes best; Yusuke's bald monk buddies can't apparently live on anything else and if they'd starved themselves while Raizen was busy doing so then they wouldn't have been able to take care of him... |
| 288 | * Brago from ''Manga/ZatchBell'' dresses all in black, has pale/grey skin, and started as a SociopathicHero at best when introduced, but [[CharacterDevelopment he eventually gets better]]. He becomes TheRival to Zach/Gash, his jerkass tendencies completely disappear by the end of the series, and promises his rival that if he were to win, [[TheGoodKing he'd be a strict, but kind king of the demon world]]. |
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