History AntiVillain / AnimeAndManga

* Mello & Near from ''Manga/DeathNote'' puts aside their rivalries to play a pivotal role in ending the greatest ever reign of terror by a mass murderer playing God. It just so happens that he plays this role by kidnapping, shooting people down (or having others do it for him), and blowing some stuff up, all while working with the Mafia. But it's for the greater good, really! ...And, you know, that raging inferiority complex. As for Near, he serves as a [[ManipulativeBastard]].

** Jobin Higashikata from ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureJoJolion JoJolion]]'' wants to save his family from the Stone Disease, but is also a SocialDarwinist who wants to rise above everyone else in the process. Have it not be for him and [[TheHero Josuke]]'s opposing goals, they'd probably be able to work together.

* Most villains in ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' are {{Sympathetic Murderer}}s, but the case of the person born Seiji Asou is worth some special mention. After narrowly escaping being killed with his family because [[IllBoy he was hospitalized in Tokyo]], he was adopted by his father's friend, Asai, and [[spoiler:grew up into a [[HospitalHottie handsome]], [[DudeLooksLikeALady if girly looking]], [[HospitalHottie doctor]]. He went back to this fishing island as a...''female'' doctor, assuming the feminine name of [[AlternateCharacterReading Narumi]], to investigate and take {{revenge}}. [[MagnificentBastard In 2 years, he killed nearly every one of his targets and nobody even suspected]]. He was caught by Conan -- and despite Conan's pleas for him to live, he chose to [[FaceDeathWithDignity set himself alight with his pianist father's piano]].]]

** While all the Titan Shifters who infiltrated the walls have issues developing from how long they spent among the inhabitants, the Armored Titan, [[spoiler:Reiner Braun]], has it the worst. He was a tried and true patriot who wanted [[spoiler:to earn citizenship]] so he and his mother could be reunited with his long lost father. He endures a TraumaCongaLine in which [[spoiler:his Marleyan father wants nothing to do with his mixed-blood son, he learns he wasn't the originally intended recipient of the Armored Titan, and the one who caused to be him gets eaten before he can explain anything else]]. He's driven to continue the mission, no matter what, by a mix of patriotism, family, and a desire to not see the effort thus far go to waste, and it breaks him. In adulthood, when he's confronted by someone who has every reason to hate him, the other party explains that he's actually come to understand what drove him, that he was, in his own way, trying to save humanity.

** [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Type II]]: Juvia before her HeelFaceTurn, Jellal (who is also a Type III), The Oracion Seis(Except Brain), [[spoiler:Ultear and Merudy]].

* In the anime ''Anime/BlueSeed'', nature God, Lord Susano-oh, is immediately described as the BigBad that wants to destroy the human race, so that his plants the Aragami can rule and dominate. [[spoiler:Turns out that's not true at all. Susano-oh doesn't hate nor want to destroy the human race. He doesn't even control the Aragami. Their controlled the by series true BigBad, Murakumo. He just wants to return the planet back to its rich natural origins, before the dangers of technology and industry destroy the planet for good. Which is why Kaede agrees to side with him and help him achieve his goals.]]

** Dracule Mihawk. After his duel with Zoro, he spares him so that Zoro will become stronger and challenge him. As of Chapter 597, [[spoiler: he's actually become Zoro's master!]]

* ''[[Anime/Pokemon3 Pokemon: Spell Of The Unown]]'': Nobody in this movie can honestly be called a ''villain''. Molly Hale/Me Snowdon is just a little girl who lost her parents and accidentally summons the Unown, who use their RealityWarper abilities to grant her wishes. She has no idea that the dream world they've created is slowly crushing the town around her as it expands, and genuinely believes that the dream-Entei they created is her father, and Ash's captured and hypnotized mother is her mother, remaining completely oblivious to the harm her wishes are causing. The Unown are the actual driving force behind everything, but they seem to be an AlmightIdiot even more oblivious to what's going on than Molly is. Entei is the direct antagonist, but he's just fulfilling Molly's wishes, which he badly misinterprets.

** The PowerTrio is told that High Priest Zagato kidnapped [[SaveThePrincess Princess Emeraude]], causing [[FisherKing untold damage to the magical world of Cephiro]], so the Knights must defeat him. It turns out, [[spoiler: Emeraude imprisoned herself in an attempt to forget about her love for Zagato, since it was making her unable to pray only and completely for Cephiro, which was the thing causing destruction. Since she can't forget him, she summons the Magic Knights to kill her, so Zagato decided he had to kill ''them'' since he'd rather have Emeraude alive than Cephiro]]. Zagato's minions, apart from Alcyone, are Anti Villains themselves; Ascot and Caldina even promise to leave the girls alone after being defeated.

** Androids #17 and #18 from the main timeline of are not only stronger than their other counterparts from the {{Alternate Timeline}}s, they are also not nearly as malicious as them. The only reason why they chase Goku they think it's like a game and they don't actually try to kill the Z-Fighters, they even spare their lives. It's also shown (in the manga and in filler scenes) that they don't seriously harm other people.

** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo VentoAureo]]'':

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' has tons of them. Actually, there's only really been one evil bad guy, the infamous PsychoLesbian [[StalkerWithACrush stalker]] Tsukuyomi.
** Chao Lingshen will not hurt anyone except TheHero himself. Her motive is to end TheMasquerade, which Negi and the rest of the protagonists can't really find any problem with. Negi's only really fighting her because he'll get turned into an ermine otherwise. He actually angsts quite a bit about this, but eventually realizes that if she had a reason for revealing TheMasquerade that would justify his being turned into an ermine, she'd have told him already.
** Also, Evangeline, who started out as a full villain, but {{Heel Face Turn}}ed early on and is now more of an AntiHero than anything. It's later revealed that, even in her depowered form, Eva is still extremely dangerous and could have kicked Negi's ass easily if she had been serious, so she may have been an AntiVillain from the beginning. Later on, it's implied that a lot of Eva's Uber-Evil reputation is greatly exaggerated, and that what evil she ''did'' do was in response to being an outcast in society.
** Even Fate is pushed into this corner. One of his past heinous acts? A hobby of rescuing war orphans and giving them free educations. He even sarcastically lampshades it. 'No, I'm a VILLAIN!' read: Because I couldn't have done it because I'm not a total asshole, right? There are also a number of hints that he's an ArtificialHuman that may have limited autonomy, being programmed to follow the orders of his master. Even his "evil plan" turns out to be somewhat sympathetic. [[spoiler: The magical world is going to evaporate soon, taking most of its inhabitants with it and killing the rest. His "evil plan" is to save them by sending them all to a (suspiciously afterlife-like) pocket dimension before that can happen, since most of them can't exist on Earth, and the remaining ones are still too numerous for Earth to handle]].

* Mello from ''Manga/DeathNote'' puts aside his rivalries to play a pivotal role in ending the greatest ever reign of terror by a mass murderer playing God. It just so happens that he plays this role by kidnapping, shooting people down (or having others do it for him), and blowing some stuff up, all while working with the Mafia. But it's for the greater good, really! ...And, you know, that raging inferiority complex.

** Wamuu from ''Manga/BattleTendency'' may be a BloodKnight loyal to [[BigBad Kars]], but he's still a NobleDemon who believes in a fair fight.
** In ''Manga/StardustCrusaders'', both Noriaki Kakyoin and Jean-Pierre Polnareff turn out to be this when it's revealed the two are being [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed]] by [[BigBad DIO]].
** Toyohiro Kanedaichi from ''Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable'' is trapped by Super Fly, an autonomous [[FightingSpirit Stand]] bound to an abandoned transmission tower that requires one person to be inside of it at all times. The only reason he fights with [[TheHero Josuke]] at all is because he desperately wants to escape by trapping him inside it instead, and even when he thinks he's about to get away he offers advice to Josuke so he can get out later. [[spoiler:After enough fighting, Toyohiro realizes that he's been trapped for so long that the outside world is actually kind of scary to him, and since he's already made a comfortable living inside the tower he decides to stay]].
** ''Manga/VentoAureo'':

** ''Manga/StoneOcean'':

** ''Manga/SteelBallRun'':

** Jobin Higashikata from ''Manga/{{JoJolion}}'' wants to save his family from the Stone Disease, but is also a SocialDarwinist who wants to rise above everyone else in the process. Have it not be for him and [[TheHero Josuke]]'s opposing goals, they'd probably be able to work together.

* ''Manga/CellsAtWorkBacteria'': The leader of the ''C. perfinigens'' bacteria repeatedly flirts with this territory, as he expresses concern over his human host's unbalanced diet (even though it's beneficial to his species) and even other bacteria whose best interests aren't in line with his, like the vitamin-producing ''E. coli''. See also IneffectualSympatheticVillain.

*** [[ProfessionalKiller La Squadra di Esecuzione]]. A great deal of them, especially [[AFatherToHisMen Nero]] and [[{{Adorkable}} Pesci]], have humanizing traits of TrueCompanions-ship despite being the enemies of the heroes, as well as their need for vengeance against the BigBad for killing their two friends. They still want the money of the drug trade, mind you.

* ''Manga/AkatsukiNoYona'' has Soo-won, who kills the protagonist Yona's father King Il and drives her out of the castle. However, he is shown mourning when he hears news that she died, covered for her when they accidentally meet from his subordinates, and is shown to love his country deeply, and improved and strengthened their country as king and is considered a "good king".

** La Squadra di Esecuzione from ''Manga/VentoAureo''. A great deal of them, especially [[AFatherToHisMen Nero]] and [[{{Adorkable}} Pesci]], have humanizing traits of TrueCompanions-ship despite being the enemies of the heroes, as well as their need for vengeance against the BigBad for killing their two friends. They still want the money of the drug trade, mind you.
** Also from Part 5 is Vinegar Doppio, a genuinely nice guy who just so happens to be the [[TheDragon second-in-command]]/[[spoiler:SplitPersonaility]] to the boss of Passione.
** Thunder [=McQueen=] from ''Manga/StoneOcean'' doesn't really seem like that bad of a guy, just a pawn in [[BigBad Pucci]]'s plans.
** Also from Part 6 is Rikiel, who [[GenerationXerox inherits]] DIO's more sympathetic traits, and proves to be a GracefulLoser after being defeated by [[TheHero Jolyne]].
** Sandman from ''Manga/SteelBallRun'' only joins the race to defend his tribe, [[spoiler:and is willing to align himself with the government to do so]].
** Also from Part 7 is Diego Brando, who, unlike his [[AlternateUniverse Original Universe Counterpart]], is much more sympathetic in his goals, and eventually sides with the heroes.
** Aslo from Part 7 is the Part's BigBad, Funny Valentine, a WellIntentionedExtremist who does everything he does to defend his country.

* ''Franchsie/DragonBall'':

* This trope is fairly common in ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear:
** Finé, from the first season, wanted to destroy the Moon...because that was the key to allowing everyone on Earth to speak the same language again.

* Darcia III from ''Manga/WolfsRain'' starts off as this. He tries to bring Cheza with him to heal his catatonic lover, Hamona, but he does so by attacking her friends and is willing to stop them from reaching Paradise with her. However, when he returns to find Hamona killed by her jealous twin sister, everything goes downhill and he transforms into a full villain.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'':
** Toyohiro Kanedaichi in Part 4 is a guy who's trapped by Superfly, an autonomous stand bound to an abandoned transmission tower that requires [[PossessiveParadise one person to be inside of it at all times]]. The only reason he fights with Josuke at all is because he desperately wants to escape by trapping him inside it instead, and even when he thinks he's about to get away he offers advice to Josuke so he can get out later. [[spoiler: After enough fighting, Toyohiro realizes that he's been trapped for so long that the outside world is actually kind of scary to him, and since he's already made a comfortable living inside the tower he decides to stay.]]
** La Squadra di Esecuzione in Part 5. A great deal of them, especially Nero and Pesche have humanizing traits of TrueCompanions-ship despite being the enemies of the heroes, as well as their need for vengeance against the BigBad for killing their two friends. They still want the money of the drug trade, mind you.

** Hero-Killer Stain is a vicious murderer that targets heroes that he feels are acting only in their self-interest because he idolizes "real" heroes (i.e. Those who act selflessly and for the sake of right as opposed to for fortune or fame) such as All Might. He ends up saving Izuku's life because he sees Izuku as following in All Might's footsteps.

** Suzaku Kururugi . Despite working for TheEmpire, he is, in some ways, more 'heroic' than the show's protagonist.