YMMV / Fu Manchu

• Americans Hate Tingle: Fu Manchu has very few fans, if any, in the Asian American community. This is due to the fact he had been played by non-Asian actors, as well as the fact he's a racist stereotype of East Asians.
• Audience-Coloring Adaptation: Believe it or not, Fu Manchu never had his iconic mustache in the original novels. That was a creation of the 1929 film serial The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu. However, it's become so associated with the character that one would be hard-pressed to picture him without it.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Much of this is due to Values Dissonance. Even with the original books basically being racist screeds — or perhaps even because of it — Fu Manchu really comes off as cooler, more honorable, and more interesting than the "heroes," especially considering most of his plans aren't that much worse than what real-life white imperialists got up to at the time.
• Evil Is Cool: There's a reason the name Fu Manchu is better known than Nayland Smith.
• Fair for Its Day: As racist as the original books are, the character is notable for being depicted as a brilliant, sophisticated, and even at times honorable Magnificent Bastard who could easily outwit the "good guys". Given that most propaganda at the time depicted other ethnic groups as brain dead savages and lunatics who would rape and pillage the lands if given the chance, Fu Manchu was, if not necessarily progressive, certainly ahead of the competition. The brilliant but conniving Asian villain is these days its own offensive stereotype, but this doesn't entirely delete the significance of one of the first intelligent Asian characters written by a Western author, despite said author's intent to be racist.
• Magnificent Bastard: Fu Manchu himself is the single most compelling character in the Sax Rohmer novels. Despite his villainy, Fu is charismatic, bold, educated and with a vision for the future to see his nation restored to greatness. Ruler of the Si-Fan syndicate, Fu returns time and again with brilliant schemes that are only ever matched by his enemy Sir Denis Nayland Smith through sheer tenacity, as even Nayland Smith admits Fu is his intellectual superior by far. Fu schemes to conquer the world and subvert entire nations, but he is not without a code of honor. At times, Fu has even arranged for the downfall of fascist and communist leaders, and will always keep his word, as well as sending Shan Greville (who was working with Nayland Smith) a gift for his wedding. A brilliant archcriminal and one of the first supervillains of literature, Fu Manchu repeatedly demonstrates his superiority, with little being able to do anything but delay him in his schemes.
• Values Dissonance:
  • Fu Manchu's aims appear to be anti-colonialist in nature. He may want to take over the world but first he wants the British out of China. Which is EVIL, PURE EVIL.
  • Fu Manchu wants to kill Hitler and Mussolini in The Drums of Fu Manchu (or at least their Captain Ersatz doppelgangers). He's wrong to do this. Apparently.

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