Line #4 HarmlessVillain/AnimeAndManga


1	* ACROSS from ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' is probably an example (until the GainaxEnding), although that's because it would lapse into BlackComedy if they seemed genuinely villainous, as opposed to any censorship keeping them that way.
2	** In [[Manga/ExcelSaga the manga]], Il Palazzo is genuinely villainous and is actually really creepy at points, particularly when he's suffering from multiple personality disorder or laughing weirdly, [[TheMillstone but Excel, Hyatt, and Elgala remain utterly useless at their villainous tasks]].
3	** Similarly, depending on whether you think ACROSS is right or not (and given the CrapsackWorld that ''Excel Saga'' takes place in, it's hard to argue that they're wrong about the world being corrupt), Kabapu's group is very bad at what they do as well, especially Iwata who, ironically, is the one who takes his job the most seriously.
4	* The [[TerribleTrio Team Rocket]] trio from ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'', [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zag this with great infrequency.]] Typically they're much better at being ''good'' than they are at being ''bad''. But there are times when they can be quite dangerous as villains.
5	** They could be far more competent and dangerous [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness in the early episodes]]; actually quite intimidating in their first appearance. By the Johto arc, however, they had gone through complete VillainDecay and fully solidified themselves as comic relief. The original creator of the characters, Creator/TakeshiShudo, had by that point lost control of them, and [[CreatorBacklash stated his dissatisfaction with how the characters have devolved]] on his blog.
6	** By contrast, in ''Best Wishes'', they rose up to levels that make them seem more fearsome than even when they first appeared, making them {{Not So Harmless Villain}}s. Partway through they were booted down a bit to be more comedic and similar to their classic tone after the fanbase complained, but kept some of their more competent traits.
7	** By the "XY" series they hit a healthy balance of the competence gained in Best Wishes alongside their more affable comedic selves. For example in ''Sun and Moon'' they actually manage to defeat Ash in a battle. Of course, Bewear showed up and dragged them away, but still.
8	* ''Manga/HowIBecameAPokemonCard'', a manga full of one-shots, has a protagonist named Hiroshi in one story. He's a kid who wants to be a part of Team Rocket, but he's always accidentally doing good things. Team Rocket, in that manga, is also this, though they're depicted as being a menace for some reason.
9	* Florsheim from ''Manga/TentaiSenshiSunred'' has tried a few villainous schemes from time to time, but they always get caught up in helping Sunred with his love life, or saving a stray cat, or doing things that seem out of character for an evil organization. Kawasaki Branch BigBad General Vamp even goes out of his way to import a coconut oil-based cleaning product because it's biodegradable and he doesn't want to litter. However, this "harmlessness" only really applies to Sunred, made evident when rival and competent-appearing evil organization Devil Eye tries to make themselves the scourge of Kawasaki. After Sunred turns them away by mentioning that Florsheim is his arch-nemesis, Devil Eye tries to attack General Vamp, only to end up on the receiving end of a CurbStomp from Armor Tiger in civvies while General Vamp lectures at them about how their {{delinquent}} aesthetics are making his monsters look bad [[BackInMyDay and they don't respect their elders]].
10	* Emperor Pilaf and his two henchmen in ''Manga/DragonBall''. He was the series' first BigBad, but he later becomes an incompetent git whose plans are always easily foiled by Goku. [[spoiler:[[NotSoHarmlessVillain Of course]], he also freed King Piccolo and, much later in ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', accidentally made Goku young again at the cost of the Earth with the [[ArtifactOfDoom Black Star Dragon Balls]].]]
11	* The pirates in ''Anime/PorcoRosso'' are positively polite:
12	-->"Do you really want to take all fifteen of them hostage?"\
13	"Of course I do! It wouldn't be nice to separate them from their friends."
14	* [[GoldfishPoopGang Tom and Tab]] from ''Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion'' are too stupid to carry out orders and too weak to pose an actual threat to Kimba.
15	* Hayate Ayasaki starts [[Manga/HayateTheCombatButler his manga series]] like this: after having been left by his AbusiveParents with a debt he could only pay by unwillingly donating his organs, he thinks of kidnapping Nagi when he first sees her and ask for the debt value as ransom (over ''150 million yen'', by the way), but he does nothing but being kind to her, and never outright states his intentions...Only to turn into her savior when some thugs, well, beat him to it.
16	* In the pilot episode of ''Anime/SamuraiPizzaCats'', The BigBad threatens to not invite his henchmen to his birthday party if they don't follow his orders (at least in the German dub).
17	* He may be more malicious in the anime than in the games, but King Dedede is still pretty much as harmless in ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'' as he is in the game franchise. The only time he does threaten to hurt someone (other than Kirby or Whispy Woods) is when he orders the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Dedede Stone]] to stomp Tiff - which would've resulted in her death if it weren't for her knight in shining armor, [[MagnificentBastard Meta Knight]], coming to her rescue.
18	** Speaking of Meta Knight, some of Dedede's Demon Beasts/monsters actually managed to hurt him - which was not what Dedede wanted.
19	* [[DirtyOldMan Happosai]] of Manga/RanmaOneHalf may be this. [[InvokedTrope Invoking]] {{Panty Shot}}s, [[PantyThief stealing underwear]], scaring girls, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and overeating]] hardly makes him [[InformedAttribute the demon-in-human-form Soun and Genma claim him to be]], although there's no denying he's a huge JerkAss. Happosai is also a very powerful martial artist, but Ranma can defeat him with ease through [[DistractedByTheSexy distraction]], with only a bucket of [[WeaksauceWeakness cold water]] and the [[BlessedWithSuck Jusenkyo curse]], or even just an item of ladies' underwear.
20	* ''Anime/MonColleKnights'' brings us another TerribleTrio: Prince Eccentro, Batch, and Gluko. Eccentro tries to be as evil as his father and Chuzaemon trained him to be, but he doesn't seem to go anywhere near even putting the slightest hurt on someone, and as a result, he and Batch often get punished by Chuzaemon with back-breaking exercises related to each episode's content. Gluko [[KarmaHoudini rarely gets punished]], however, considering how [[DissonantSerenity airheaded and cheerful]] she is all the time even when she, Prince Eccentro, and Batch are always losing to the heroes.
21	* Clawdia from ''Manga/FightingFoodons'' is another example, being incapable of even stealing a certain item such as Chef Crock Pop's scroll (which she ended up replacing with an empty fake scroll) or even the ultimate recipe held at Hamsterdam (in fact, what she got instead, to her embarrassment, was a pair of underpants), and can't even come anywhere near beating Chase and/or any of the other good chefs. One of the times she actually came close to winning for once was siccing a seemingly-indestructible [[MonsterOfTheWeek Bearafooda]] on the good guys in Episode 10 (who of course gained back the upper hand when they used a power topping). [[spoiler:She finally got one more chance to impress King Gorge in the third-to-last episode and she blew it, of course ([[YouHaveFailedMe which in turn leads to Gorge to attempt to kill her as punishment]] only for Chase to stop him, after which she later redeems when Chase and the others break Gorge's spell on her with their food).]]
22	* Cait Sith Cheshire, from ''Manga/SaintSeiyaTheLostCanvas'', who is mostly a PluckyComicRelief character who acts more like a servant than a combatant.
23	* In ''Literature/KyoKaraMaoh'', Stoffel is an interesting example, in that he was an EvilChancellor in the past, manipulating the previous Maoh (his sister!) to some pretty extreme ends and generally causing a lot of damage and sorrow to a lot of people. But his villainy is all about politics and manipulation: in the current timeline, the new Maoh's advisors keep a close eye on him, and Yuuri himself is TooDumbToFool into being politically manipulated, so after spending his first appearance trying and failing to win Yuuri's favor and nearly starting a civil war, Stoffel becomes a comically inept sycophantic toady in short order.
24	* Satania from ''Manga/GabrielDropout''. She thinks she's committing the most heinous acts imaginable, but in reality most of her "evil wrongdoings" amount to [[PokeThePoodle petty and minor inconveniences]], like putting a bottlecap in the wrong receptacle. The closest she's gotten to something actually illegal was pointing a gun at Gabriel's face and threatening to shoot her with bullets that would make her laugh uncontrollably for 10 minutes - and even then, Gab [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHwSHu_-2pI turned the tables back on Satania]] at the last moment.
25	* The Spacy Brothers from ''Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}'' are aliens from an unnamed planet who moved to Tamagotchi Planet and come up with all sorts of schemes to [[TakeOverTheWorld dominate it and become its rulers]]. However, any plans they make to take over Tamagotchi Planet [[EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion tend to crumble quite easily]], probably because of all three of them being [[EnfantTerrible school-going children]] who are hard to take seriously as villains. Nobody even suspects they want to rule the planet (except for Uwasatchi in one episode, but even then [[CassandraTruth nobody believes her]]).
26	* PlayedForLaughs in ''Anime/SailorMoon'' with Ms. [=TogeToge=], a MonsterOfTheWeek summoned by [=CereCere=] to eat a dream mirror and then battle the Sailor Scouts. The creature refuses, claiming the mirror is icky, leading to an argument between here and her master which culminates in [=CereCere=] ''trying to force-feed the mirror to the struggling monster''. Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon take advantage of the distraction to summon Pegasus and blow Ms. [=TogeToge=] away before she can even use an attack. The monster even {{lampshade\|hanging}}s that she didn't do anything threatening or villainous as she dies:
27	--> '''[=Ms. TogeToge=]:''' [[WhatTheHellHero But I didn't even DO anything! Stage out, Toge!]]

Context HarmlessVillain / AnimeAndManga