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Don't worry little one, he's "A Monster that eats Monsters".

Dark Is Not Evil in Anime & Manga.


  • Frau from 07-Ghost 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 eats the souls of those he deems too wicked to return to heaven.
  • In +Anima, 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.
  • Yakko from Akazukin Chacha has dark blue hair, wears black and purple and relies on dark alchemy, and she is one of the silliest characters in the show.
  • Angel Sanctuary 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.
  • Bakugan: Alice and Ace use Darkus-attributed bakugans and they're both heroes. Though, Alice only started to use bakugans after her alter-ego Masquerade (who is evil) vanished from existence and his Hydranoid was passed to her. And while not exactly a nice person, Ace is the only major character with this attribute who was never a villain.
  • Battle Angel Alita:
  • In the Battle Spirits franchise, many heroic characters use purple, which is a hellish archetype emphasizing demons and the undead. This includes Suiren and Mai.
    • Battle Spirits Sword Eyes 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.
  • Berserk:
    • Guts (pictured above), also known as the Black Swordsman isn't exactly by-the-book good and especially looks like a villain compared to Griffith (though Griffith is 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 Jerk with a Heart of Gold who protects the innocent. Also given the Crapsack World that Guts has to live in, he comes out looking like Sir frickin' Gawain.
    • Skull Knight, a demonic looking skeleton warrior with Glowing Eyes of Doom is frequently confused with Death itself, but is probably the most by-the-book Knight in Shining Armor in the whole universe of Berserk.
    • Casca is actually a case of this post-Conviction Arc, looking like a druid witch with messy hair and hooded robe. Like her lover Guts, Casca even gets the feral white eyes of fury herself after slaying some rapists. Despite this she's still a compassionate person and upon getting her mental state restored gets nicer clothes.
    • There's also the Demon Child, a baby conceived by Guts and Casca who was tainted by evil when 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 Child by Rape. 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 Ascended Demon.
  • The protagonists of The Big O. 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.
    • When the series aired on Toonami, one commercial has the narrator state, "Good guys... still wear black."
  • Black Clover:
    • 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.
    • Asta. His Anti-Magic 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. 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.
    • 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.
  • Black Jack, 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 eerie white hair.
  • 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 white-clad Arrancar, the villainous Shinigami, and the mostly villainous Quincies due to Tite Kubo wanting the contrast of black and white to be a big thing of the manganote*  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.
  • Saya Otonashi of Blood+ is a dark-haired, red-eyed Chiropteran who started wearing a long-sleeved black coat and matching boots after her Despair Event Horizon. She is also a hero who selfishly slays her fellow Chiropterans to protect humanity and originally planned to die after defeating her Evil Twin to end the Chiropteran race once and for all. Her look also contrasts her with her Evil Twin Diva, who is blue-eyed and prefers elegant, Victorian-style white dresses.
  • Rin, the protagonist of Blue Exorcist, is definitely an example of this - he's the son of Satan, but he's really nice and just wants to protect people (If only some of the other characters would believe that...). There are many other examples throughout the series as well; indeed, while dark is definitely evil in regards to many demons, there are also many who are good or at least neutral.
  • In Brave10, Isanami's Defence Mechanism Superpower is basically holy darkness ...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.
  • Cardcaptor Sakura has both a "Shadow" card and a "The Dark" card, neither of which are evil.
  • In Castle in the Sky, 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.
  • The manga version of Chrono Crusade toys with this. Chrono is always known as a Noble Demon, and he's actually a very sweet person with good intentions, despite being a demon, whose kin are actually a race of space aliens. The rest of the demons seem very evil at first, but Aion is actually a Well-Intentioned Extremist that has simply come to believe the only way to "fix" the world 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 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.
    • Note that Aion's character design is 'light' themed and he generally wears white, and that YMMV on his character, since friend and brother and Well-Intentioned Extremist and what have you he is absolutely a sadist on top of everything else, even in the manga. In the anime he's 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 smirk after the Downer Ending.
  • Ogami of Code:Breaker 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 Light Is Not Good, 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.
  • The Black Knights of Code Geass.
  • Spike, Jet and Faye of Cowboy Bebop fame. All three of them with their smoking and wardrobe look like criminals compared to Genki Girl Ed, and they even have the attitude of criminals too, Faye especially seems like the archetypal Femme Fatale 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 Dark Is Evil.
  • Hei, a contractor with the nickname "The Black Shinigami" in Darker than Black, is probably the most humane of all the contractors despite his morbid reputation and a love for black clothing. Bonus points: "Hei" means "black".
  • The shinigami in Death Note look grotesque and kill humans to prolong their own lives. Despite this, they're a far cry from 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 For the Evulz.
  • In Death Parade, The Black Haired Woman is the only main character whose palette is dark, with black hair, red eyes, and a mostly black outfit. Yet she's easily the most innocent character, as well as one of the most emphatic and pleasant. The arbiters, by contrast, mostly lack empathy and complex emotions, yet have bright, bubbly palettes.
  • Yuko of The Demon Girl Next Door is the titular demon girl empowered by chaos and darkness, but she's also a good and honest girl.
    Yuko: Cheating is something we must never do!
  • Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has a ton of this going on.
    • Nezuko Kamado, being a demon for most of the series, can grow claws, fangs, veins, have her eyes turn red and gets a Slasher Smile 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.
    • 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 Jerkass with a Heart of Gold who geuinely cares for Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Nezuko even if he loathes to admit it, being Hot-Blooded.
    • 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 Nice Guy who vouches for and protects Tanjiro and Nezuko whenever he can.
    • Gyomei Himejima, the strongest Demon Slayer, has the Face of a Thug, creepy Blank White Eyes and veiney arms which, along with his black Demon Slayer uniform, makes him look postively intimating. Except that Gyomei is a textbox Gentle Giant and Friend to All Living Things, being very caring and protective to his friends and often sheds Tender Tears.
    • 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 Bruiser with a Soft Center who protects his allies and cares for his loved ones (like all three of his wives).
    • Demon Slayer brothers Sanemi and Genya Shinazugawa. Scarred, creepy-eyed, abrasive and dickish and callously cold to others due to their Dark and Troubled Past. 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 Affectionate Gesture to the Head and a warm smile. Genya takes this further as, when eating the live flesh of a Demon, he gets Demonic characteristics like Black Eyes of Evil and fangs — but still helps Tanjiro defeat Arc Villain Hantengu.
    • Big Good 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 Facial Horror with his 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.
    • 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 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 Hidden Heart of Gold which comes out while protecting fellow Demon Slayers like Tanjiro (whom he whom he initally belittled and hurt) from Big Bad Muzan.
  • The Devil is a Part-Timer! has this as part of its main premise. The title character and main protagonist is a demonic Evil Overlord 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. 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 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.
  • 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 Dark Is Evil villains. By contrast, Ryo as Satan takes the appearance of a beautiful Angel, which makes sense given that Satan is the Fallen Angel of light.
  • Digimon Frontier 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 Kouichi's Heel–Face Turn and his status as perhaps the kindest and gentlest of the Chosen, and the Man Behind the Man turning out to be a vaccine-type angel Digimon with the appearance of a child (named after Lucifer, a prime example of Light Is Not Good).
    • In Digimon Tamers, this was the case post-Heel–Face Turn 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 Digimon Fusion, who was an outright noble heroic figure with an unfortunate history.
    • 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 Digimon Adventure.
    • Agunimon and his line also belong to the Nightmare Soldiers family, as does Sakuyamon.
    • Craniummon in Digimon Data Squad post-Heel–Face Turn.
    • Dobermon and Alice in Digimon Tamers, 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.
    • Surprisingly, Guilmon, one of the nicest and friendliest Digimon in existence, is a Virus type.
      • 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.
    • 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 More Teeth than the Osmond Family. Despite the terrifying multi-storey digivolutions, though, Tentomon is a Nice Guy and remains kind and friendly, albeit certainly willing to use some aggressive tactics.
    • Ken and Wormmon of Digimon Adventure 02. Like Impmon and Kouichi, Ken starts out as a villain and has a black Digivice. After his Heel–Face Turn, 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.
  • The heroic Exorcists of D.Gray-Man 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. Just don't ask about the Second Exorcist Project.
    • However, the standard "dark = evil" is played straight in that the Akuma are made of "dark matter" and the Innocence is "white". Also, the evil Noah mostly have Dark Skin. And the only exorcist to go bad so far was Suman DARK.
  • D.N.Angel actually has a character named Dark—who, you guessed it, isn't evil, despite being a Phantom Thief with black wings.
  • Dragon Ball:
    • Eighter/Hacchan a.k.a. Android 8 from Dragon Ball looks like Frankenstein's Monster, but is a Gentle Giant who turns againist his evil creators and forms a long lasting friendship with Goku.
    • 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 Cool Old Lady 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.
    • Piccolo becomes this in Dragon Ball Z and onward. He's still a green skinned, sharp toothed, purple blooded, red-eyed in his Super Mode 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 Big Damn Heroes.
    • 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 The Lancer to Goku and willingly to protect the innocent and pull a Heroic Sacrifice. Played even straighter with Ultra Ego Vegeta, who looks straight up demonic and acts like it, but is still on the side on good.
    • Porunga, one of the wish-granting dragons, is a demonic, frightening-looking beast, but he's far 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 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.)
    • 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).
    • Android 16, very similarly to Eighter, looks like The Brute with bulky armour, grim features and a mohawk. 16 is a Friend to All Living Things, 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 Dragon Ball Super. Trunks' Bad Future 17 and Super 17, however, are Dark Is Evil.
    • Super Saiyan 4 Goku in Dragon Ball GT. 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.
    • Beerus, introduced in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and during Dragon Ball Super, 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 laziness.
    • 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 Professional Killer. 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.
    • Broly in Dragon Ball Super: Broly (unlike his original characterisation). Despite looking a barbarian with messy hair, having scars all over, wearing a dark shirt and being incredibly violent as The Berserker, he is Not Evil, Just Misunderstood and a protective Gentle Giant to Cheelai and Lemo his companions.
  • Celty from Durarara!! is a Dullahan; a headless, Unseelie fae which is heavily associated with death, who rides a possessed black motorcycle, has black mist flowing from her neck and can do 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 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.
  • Nana from Elfen Lied is a diclonius, wears black, yet she is the most moral and pure out of all the characters, especially given the morality of the series.
  • Fairy Tail:
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Rogue, the Shadow Dragon Slayer, is the probably the nicest member of Sabertooth. And he refuses to become an evil guy like his future self.
    • The God Slayers have black-colored magic attacks. Neither Sherria nor Orga are evil, especially the former who has even Healing Hands. Zancrow on the other hand...
    • 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 eating Rogue's Shadow magic, becoming an Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer just like Natsu who became a Lightning Flame Dragon Slayer.
      • However, his most powerful Iron Dragon Slayer spells, the Metsuryu Ougi spells contain the Japanese word ''Gouma" which means Karma Demon.
    • 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.
    • 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.
  • Fist of the North Star of course has Kenshiro a scarred man dressed in dark bandit gear, who is also a master assassin of the make Your Head A-Splode-vareity giving many, many men in the post apocalypse a Cruel and Unusual Death. Yet he's also the page image for Ideal Hero, being protectively cuddly with innocent children and a passionate defender of the helpless. Ken is only Good Is Not Soft when it comes to the raider scum he meets on a daily basis.
  • Fran Madaraki of Franken Fran is a Cute Frankenstein's Monster. She has almost No Social Skills, 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...
    • 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, they did have it coming).
    • 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.
  • Some of the chimeras of Fullmetal Alchemist, 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, Dark Is Evil is played fairly straight, and so is Light Is Not Good. Van Hohenheim is quick to remind us that he's a monster; he still bends all his efforts toward saving people and acts jolly and clueless most of the time. His "son" Homunculus's original form, aped by his eldest "son" Pride, is the strongest Dark Is Evil 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).
  • Gangsta.:
    • 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 Vice City and Nic spends so much of his time protecting Nina, Worick and his Love Interest Alex from harm, he's pretty much The Hero. Especially given Worick (the friendlier one) has a Face–Heel Turn later in the manga. He also likes cats.
    • Galahad Woehor, a Big Scary Black Man with dreadlocks who is short tempered and lecherous. He's really a Boisterous Bruiser though who cares deeply for Young and in Charge Loretta and also cares for young twilight Doug whom he tries desperately to save after Doug takes a mortal wound and dies in Galahad's arms.
    • Marco Adriano, a former member of the Ax-Crazy Destoyer gang who has a massive ghastly scar on his face and fights with Razor Floss. 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 Heel–Face Turn.
    • Gina Paulklee, an austere and grim Iron Lady in dark miltary military fatigues who is perfectly okay with non-lethally shooting her allies. Nevertheless she's the Big Good who helps maintain Ergastulum's balance of power.
  • The Gantz team is always dressed in black, but are mostly the good ones (or at least better than the bad guys). As for the aliens who are supposedly Dark Is Evil we don't know for sure whether they are all bad. 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.
  • 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 A God Am I 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 combine into TenRyuJin (that's Heaven Dragon God in kanji).
    • Genesic GaoGaiGar, the main mecha of the 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'.
  • Major Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell. In almost every iteration is an Aloof Dark-Haired Girl who similar to Alita wears dark clothing, shades and is incredibly brutal and deadly in combat as well as creepy in a Robot Girl 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 Nice Guy and loyal partner to the Major.
  • Victorique de Blois from Gosick is an 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 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.
  • In Hakoiri Devil Princess, 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. 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.
  • Hellsing: While it is questionable as to how closely Alucard holds up to this trope, given that he's not exactly heroic, which some of his actions verge into Dark Is Evil 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 butchering Nazi vampires and then GRINDING ZORIN BLITZ'S FACE TO A WALL! But she is against killing people. Except the Major.
    • And as said before, Alucard isn't particularly a good guy, but he is 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.
  • Out of the three supreme Oni siblings in Hell Teacher Nube, 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.)
  • Daryun in The Heroic Legend of Arslan 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.
  • Howl's Moving Castle: Howl's 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.
  • In Infinite Dendrogram, 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 grudges, yet he's a genuinely heroic character.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
  • Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple 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.
    • 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.
  • Ryuko from Kill la Kill, who wears a black-and-red outfit and has dark blue hair, but is The Hero of the story.
    • The Elite Four in the 3-Star Mk. III-IV uniforms and Satsuki when wearing Senketsu. Also counts as a Good Costume Switch, though Satsuki switches back to Junketsu later on while still keeping a heroic attitude.
  • Lapis Re:LiGHTs has two examples:
    • IV Klore is an idol/witch unit composed entirely of demi-human 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.
    • Camilla is a vampire, a Large Ham, 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.
  • Kukuri in Magical Circle Guru-Guru 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 Black Magician Girl, Kukuri's personality is closer to that of the White Magician Girl. There is also a Dark Society of black magic practitioners who are allies of the heroes against the demon lord Giri.
  • Hayate Yagami of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's. 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 Sphere of Destruction 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.
    • Chrono Harlaown wears black armor (complete with Spikes of Villainy), 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-Dark Magical Girl 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.
    • Fate's original outfit was primarily black back when she was an antagonist. She continued wearing it after her Heel–Face Turn.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • From the video game continuity, there's System U-D a.k.a. Unbreakable Dark a.k.a. Yuri Eberwein, a Humanoid Abomination 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 Power Incontinence leading her to destroy everything even when she doesn't want to. At least, until Dearche manages to overwrite her Examia.
    • Dearche herself counts as this after her Heel–Face Turn, although she is pretty much quick to insist that she's still evil.
  • Ilulu from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid normally wears black clothing, and her true form is a massive dragon composed of hellfire. Despite this, she is one of the sweetest characters in the series with a soft spot for children and cats (post-Heel–Face Turn, anyways).
  • Duo Maxwell from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing wears black (including a leather jacket in The Movie) and uses the nickname "Shinigami" to refer to both himself and his Gundam, Deathscythe, which is also black, wields a beam scythe, and even gets shield-like bat wings in its Mid-Season Upgrade. Personality-wise, however, he's the goofy, cheerful, flirtatious Lancer of the group (though not without his Hidden Depths).
  • Rachnera Arachnera from Monster Musume is a 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.
    • 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 girl.
  • Fumikage Tokoyami from My Hero Academia wears a black cloak, has the head of a black bird, and his Quirk is a Living Shadow, 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.
    • Eraser Head, the Badass Teacher of Class 1-A, is always seen wearing black in some way, shape, or form, and his eyes turn luminous red when he uses his Quirk. But he's still a hero regardless.
    • Shihai Kuroiro of Class 1-B is a trickster who openly calls himself the Scheming Hero Vantablack, has pitch-black skin, and blends into shadows. However, he's just like Tokoyami in that they're both Large Hams with good hearts, and the two see each other as rivals.
    • 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
    • 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.
  • The Aswad from My-Otome 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.
  • In 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 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. When the 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 the humans, especially Madara Uchiha and Tobi, abused their power to suit their interests.
    • 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.
    • Itachi Uchiha is one of the most complex and strategically intricate characters in the series. Often he gives ominous forewarnings and 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.
    • Naruto himself, as he's an Apocalypse Maiden, a host of a Tailed Beast mentioned above, and as revealed later in the manga has a lot of Darkness in his heart. He's The Hero, even his dark side isn't that evil so much as having a very justified grudge on Konoha for their Dark and Troubled Past. His inner darkness is even the reason for his intense empathy and gives him his memetic Ultimate technique Talk No Jutsu.
    • Gaara is also a Jinchuriki like Naruto and, while a villain at first, after being befriended Nanoha style, he becomes one of the most heroic characters in the series without quite losing his original creepy vibe.
    • The Nara clan, notably unique for their Casting a Shadow abilities are an heroic part of Konoha.
    • By the end of the series, 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.
  • Evangeline of Negima! Magister Negi Magi uses Dark magic, but she's more of a Noble Demon. Also two of the team members are part Demon, but are perfectly trustworthy (and probably some of the more honest of characters).
    • Later on, Negi learns and incorporates a Black Magic Deadly Upgrade, but he's still the same fussy and sweet-natured boy.
      • 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.
      • Also, turns out that because he's been using the technique, now he's turning into a demon. Of course, in Negima, Demons are Punch Clock Villains at worst, so it's not like he's actually becoming evil or anything.
    • Before that, you've got Takane D. Goodman, a Mahora mage who uses shadow spears in combat...when she gets a chance to.
  • In the Nightschool, there are demons, vampires, witches, and people with horns spikes and wings...and then you meet Genki Girl 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).
  • Karasu in 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 just Yu all grown up, wanting to protect Haruka. His counterpart Noein is a Well-Intentioned Extremist however, who wants some kind of utopia or instrummentality.
  • Nyaruko: Crawling with Love! stars a number of characters who outright call themselves Malign Deities (in Japanese 邪神, jashin), bear the names of figures from the Cthulhu Mythos, and may in fact be the direct inspiration for said figuresnote . But looking at the specifics:
    • 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 Manic Pixie Dream Girl and Lovable Sex Maniac. To her enemies, she's 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 Black Bra and Panties).
    • Cuuko, AKA Cthugua the Living Flame, is mostly an Emotionless Girl video game Otaku, but she's willing to live and let live...unless you get between her and Nyarko. Even then, she gradually warms up to her Love Triangle "opponent" Mahiro enough that she's perfectly fine with starting an OT3.
    • Hasta, AKA Hastur the Unspeakable One, is an Adorably Precocious Child in a yellow hoodie who acts like the helpless little brother you never had. He's also a Badass Bookworm with an Older Alter Ego Super Mode.
    • 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 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 villainnote , and pulls off a Big Damn Heroes moment during the final battle of the 2012 series.
  • The main character of O-Parts Hunter 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.
  • The Witches in Ojamajo Doremi 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.
    • Onpu Segawa is the resident Dark Magical Girl and has a purple motif. At first, she played around with Dark Is Evil and this trope since her reasons for using magic were selfish compared to the Ojamajos. Post-Heel–Face Turn, she is one of the nicest people you would ever meet.
  • One Piece:
    • Roronoa Zoro wears black pants and a black bandanna (albeit with green highlights in the anime), is a former bounter hunter and Blood Knight who radiates a murderous aura, and gets a Slasher Smile 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.
    • "Black Leg" Sanji, although fair-haired, wears a black suit and smokes; all of which, compared to a Primary-Color Champion like Luffy, makes him look like a mobster. There's also Sanji's Hot-Blooded 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 "Ifrit Jambe". Yet Sanji is deeply protective and supporting of his True Companions and is the White Sheep compared to his brothers, who are a case of Bright Is Not Good.
    • Nico Robin, Aloof Dark-Haired Girl 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 Team Mom to her crew, a Friend to All Children and would rather die herself than let her friends get killed by the Government (they vetoe this however). Robin's Super Mode 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.
    • Brook is the eptiome of this: he's a 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 The Nightmare Before Christmas, safe to say Brook was a big Shout-Out to Jack Skellington.
    • Jinbe, who resembles an oni (traditional Japanese ogre) with a whale shark motif, but is far from a bad guy. He even offically joins the heroes by the time of the Wano arc.
    • Luffy's 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.
    • 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 Good Is Not Nice and the foes he's bringing down are generally much, much worse than him.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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 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.
    • Played With concerning Capone Bege. Unlike Sanji who just looks like a gangsta, Bege is a 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 Hidden Heart of Gold, being a Family Man and Father to His Men 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.
    • 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 Scary Teeth, not to mention being menacingly tall. However, unlike most of his family he is honorable, protective, and even silly, being a goofy Big Eater in private. In his fight with Luffy, he not only got furious at the spectators for mocking Luffy for continally getting up, but went as far injuring himself when he discovered outside forces had prevented Luffy from dodging his impaling spear attack.
    • In general 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 Main Characters 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 Dark Is Evil.
  • Umehito Nekozawa from Ouran High School Host Club is a fairly nice person who just happens to be allergic to any light that's not candlelight.
  • Stocking from Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. She dresses up like an Elegant Gothic Lolita and has a fetish for bondage, and while it's hard to call her "Good", she's a nicer person than her sister. This trope ges thrown out the window, cut up, burnt, and blown up in the last 20 seconds.
  • Pokémon: The Series:
    • 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.
    • 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).
    • Ash's Muk is a Walking Wasteland that basically loves everybody and loves giving hugs.
    • And then there's the tenth movie, Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai. The title Pokémon, whose special abilities involve being able to create nightmares (and 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...usually.
    • 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.
    • This trope is probably felt even stronger in Japan, where the Dark type is instead named the Evil type.
    • While not "dark" in the traditional sense, Giratina is a demonic-looking Ghost-type Pokémon designed around the Number of the Beast (six spikes, legs, and ribs) and resides in the ominous, Alien Geometries-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.
    • 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).
    • A lot of adaptations make the Psychic gym leader Sabrina to be a villain, or at least a Jerkass, but Pokémon Zensho and The Electric Tale of Pikachu 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.
    • Despite how nasty Tobias looks, and even though he did have a Darkrai, he's actually a pretty good guy.
    • 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...don't mess with their family.
    • Ryouga and his Zekrom Burst from Pokémon RéBURST In Contrast with Fraud and his Reshiram Burst Form.
    • 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/doberman based Pokemon that, 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 death itself. The anime shows villainous characters using it, but the species as a whole are portrayed in a much Lighter and Softer manner than the Pokedex entries suggest.
  • The Pretty Cure franchise has aside from many Dark Is Evil villains a few heroic examples.
    • Most obviously is Nagisa Misumi as Cure Black from Futari wa Pretty Cure, 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".
    • Hikaru from Futari wa Pretty Cure MaX Heart is the "life" of Jaaku King, the dark king of evil and destruction, but he's an innocent child who wouldn't harm anyone or anything.
    • Michiru and Kaoru of Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash★Star, who continue to use their powers as warriors of the Dark Fall, even after their Heel–Face Turn.
    • The Mirage Pretty Cures from HeartCatch Pretty Cure! are the darker versions of the originals and they are the reflections of the originals' inner conflicts. However, they are not evil.
    • The Masked Cure Muse from Suite Pretty Cure ♪ wears a black costume to hide her identity from Mephisto and the other Cures, since her Cure form is just a Paper-Thin Disguise. 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.
    • Averted with Siren. She is a black cat and she was Hummy's best friend before her Face–Heel Turn, though it was actually brainwashing. However, after Siren pulls a Heel–Face Turn 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.
    • Regina from Doki Doki! PreCure appears to invoke Dark Is Evil in her first appearances. The truth is somewhat more complicated.
  • The magical girls in Puella Magi Madoka Magica are girls who made psuedo-Faustian bargains and essentially became liches whose Soul Jars eventually gestate into Eldritch Abominations. 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; Homura turns out to be an Anti-Hero who’s trying to protect Madoka and her friends, and Kazumi is one of the most unambiguously heroic girls while wearing a mainly black outfit, while Oriko, one of the most villainous girls, and Kyubey favor white.
    • Rebellion gives us 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 Grey-and-Gray Morality zone.
  • Sacrifar, the ninth form of Rave Master'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.
  • In order to save Deedlit (and, indeed, all of Lodoss) in Record of Lodoss War, Parn had to wield both the Holy Sword as well as the Soulcrusher, symbolizing the necessary balance between Light and Dark.
    • Even more so: The 'Dark Knight' 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.
  • In Sailor Moon (which always plays Dark Is Evil straight with its 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
  • Subverted in Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei with Mayo Mitama. She really is as evil as she looks, but everyone else simply assumes that she's misunderstood. Basically, she takes full advantage of those savvy in this trope.
  • Seraph of the End:
    • 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, 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 adoptive mother Krul for saving him, and has an incredibly soft spot for his Childhood Friend Yuuichirou.
    • Arguably, this is how the creators 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 deep inside, she resents the one that turned her into a vampire.
    • 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 Asuramaru even warns Yuu that it's better if he borrows his power than from the angels.
  • The Seven Deadly Sins: Meliodas is a demon but is also a nice guy (and a perv). Although you should not touch Elizabeth or his broken sword that happen to be respectively his reincarnated goddess girlfriend and the last key to free the demon clan.
  • The demons in SHUFFLE! are only demons in name. They're pretty much amiable people with 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 Genki Girl and a Bumbling Dad).
  • Despite the name, the Lord of Nightmares, from Slayers, is not evil. She is, however, extremely powerful and dangerous, and the spells that draw on her power both count as Dangerous Forbidden Techniques.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
      • That said, they range in "goodness," from Almayce 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.
  • Soul Eater has Tsubaki's Uncanny Sword form, which had previously been used only by Weapons in her family who ended up turning into violent killers.
    • Lord Death and his son Death The Kid also fit this trope. Their nature could lead them to the same fate as many in their 'family', but both end up making a conscious effort to avoid this by siding with humanity.
  • Shoya Ishidha the protagionist of A Silent Voice. In both the anime and 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 The Bully being feckless and vicious. He completely plays this straight later on after the Time Skip being a very compassionate person as The Atoner who cares deeply for his friends especially Shouko Nishimiya his love interest, whom he used to bully cruelly. Making the moment where he personally saves her from committing suicide at the cost of falling himself incredibly powerful.
  • Spirited Away - Some spirits have shown companionship for Chihiro.
    • Kamaji, who's a spirit in black.
    • No Face, a white-masked creature who causes a few problems, but craves her friendship.
    • And Lin, who has a weasel motif.
  • Kirito, the main protagonist of Sword Art Online has a preference for black clothes (especially longcoats) for his in-game avatars, and his signature weapon is usually a black sword, which earns him the "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.
  • In Tomica Hyper Rescue Drive Head Kidou Kyuukyuu Keisatsu, 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.
  • Trigun:
    • Nicholas D. Wolfwood wears a dark suit and shades, is a former member of a sinister organisation and unlike his best friend and partner Vash is totally willingly to kill bad guys. Other than that he's a Nice Guy who manages to charm even a ditzy cloudcuckoolander like Millie.
    • Livio Doublefang, looks like a badass and mean desperado with his black hat, black poncho and eye markings... which is his Good Costume Switch 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 Superpowered Evil Side Razlo, who's a case of Dark Is Evil.
    • Vash himself after his powers drain, he loses his signature blonde hair marking him as a Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold as it turns black, while still keeping his blood red trenchcoat and dark bodysuit. He's still an All-Loving Hero and Badass Pacifist regardless. His brother Knives is a case of Light Is Not Good.
  • Father Abel Nightroad of Trinity Blood 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.
  • Prince Shade/Eclipse from Twin Princess of Wonder Planet wears dark clothing and comes off as a very shady person. He's actually the resident Anti-Hero. Moon Malia, his mother and the Queen of the Moon Kingdom, is a very benign ruler despite her choice of clothing. Finally, there's Boomo post-Heel–Face Turn; he retains his dark color and imp-like appearance despite his turning.
  • This is a central theme of Umi Monogatari. 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.
  • Humorously lampshaded at the end of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, when D's hand-parasite quips to very grim, gothic D:
    Well, that was nice. You're not so bad after all. You just dress bad.
  • In Worrysome Girl, this occurs in a surprisingly cute H-Manga about a girl that's feared due to her resemblance to 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 with her eyes finally shown as she gives an Anguished Declaration of Love. 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.
  • In Yu-Gi-Oh!: Capsule Monsters, Dark Magician and the Magician of Black Chaos are some of the heroes' strongest monsters.
  • The title character of Yu-Gi-Oh! 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.
    • As for those magicians, the Dark Magician is actually the soul of a priest who gave his life to serve the Pharaoh. His apprentice, Dark Magician Girl, is dark in name only—she's actually a Genki Girl with Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold who dresses in pink and blue.
    • 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.
    • To make it even more ironic, there are at least three cases where The Rival uses LIGHT monsters. Yugi's rival Seto Kaiba uses Blue-Eyes White Dragon; in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, 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.
  • They go one further in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, where Judai Yuki's Superpowered Evil Side Haou the Supreme King is actually not that evil (nor, surprisingly, is the third season's antagonist, the demonic-looking Yubel). The former's power, known as the "gentle darkness" is meant to fight against the malicious Light of Destruction and he only became evil to fight evil after crossing the Despair Event Horizon. 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 Face–Heel Turn mode upon their debut.
    • 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 destroy the world via an Assimilation Plot, Darkness/Nightshroud itself twists the two 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 The Sacred Darkness specifically because humanity thinks that Dark Is Evil.
    • 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.
    • 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 Angels named after Biblical demons like Asmodeus and 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 Light Is Not Good.)
  • In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds, co-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.
    • 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.
    • Like all protagonists, Yusei has some DARK monsters, the most iconic being Junk Warrior, one of his signature cards.
  • Yuma in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL 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.
    • In the manga version of Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, there was Grandpa Demetto. It's not know what he was, but he was a hideous-looking creature, a horrible-looking parody of 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 Dr. Faker, he gave her his soul to save her, sacrificing himself in the process.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V 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.
    • 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 Ax-Crazy 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.
      • Although, it turns out much later that Odd-Eyes Dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon used to be evil.
    • 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 Well-Intentioned Extremist.
    • 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 Anti-Hero.
  • The demons of YuYu Hakusho go all over the morality spectrum. While we have demons like Suzaku and Yomi that want to take over the human world and 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 Nietzsche Wannabe. The other half was learning that Humans Are the Real Monsters.
    • It gets even better. At the end of the manga, it's revealed that most of the "trouble demons" were actually innocent Class D monsters that were brainwashed by the 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 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.
    • Even the ones who eat us 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...
  • Brago from Zatch Bell! dresses all in black, has pale/grey skin, and started as a Sociopathic Hero at best when introduced, but he eventually gets better. He becomes The Rival to Zach/Gash, his jerkass tendencies completely disappear by the end of the series, and promises his rival that if he were to win, he'd be a strict, but kind king of the demon world.

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