Line #7 AntiHero/AnimeAndManga


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7	* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': Eren Yeager is an idealist in a cynical world, he wants the best for humanity, and his gift is stated to be his HeroicResolve. What muddies up his status as a straight-up hero is that he's fueled by [[ThePowerOfHate his hatred for all Titans]] and his UnstoppableRage can be absolutely ''terrifying'' to behold. Post-TimeSkip he escalates to KnightTemplar after he becomes much more cold, calculating, and willing to commit morally reprehensible actions for the sake of Paradis' survival, effectively dropping the "hero" part by the end.
8	* [[NinetiesAntiHero Guts]] from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has one goal in life: making his former ally Griffith pay in blood for what's happened to him. A childhood spent as a mercenary and an adult life spent being attacked by demons has left him with few moral precepts. He thinks nothing of cutting people in half, although he ''does'' prefer not to take out bystanders (still a bad idea to stand in his way, though). On the other hand, he cares deeply for Casca and has given some thought to what he really wants to do with his life once he's gotten his revenge; he doesn't have an answer for that one yet. Pre-Eclipse Guts is more of a ByronicHero.
9	%%* Ciel and Sebastian of ''Manga/BlackButler''.
10	* Rock from ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' becomes the anti-hero later in the series, as in ''El Baile de la Muerte'', he uses ruthless tactics to achieve a noble goal.
11	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
12	** [[GoodIsNotNice Ichigo Kurosaki]] starts off as someone who acts like a jerk and rejects his duties as a Substitute Soul Reaper. However, it's because he rejects the premise on which the Soul Reapers function, his motivations for helping people are completely different to Rukia's. Once that understanding becomes clear, he becomes openly proud of using his Soul Reaper powers to protect others and he drops the jerk act.
13	** [[StoicSpectacles Uryu Ishida]] starts off arrogant and aloof with a [[FantasticRacism deep hatred of Soul Reapers]] and overwhelming confidence in his superiority as a Quincy. Following his EnemyMine with Ichigo, he mellows significantly, but is still aloof.
14	** [[ScienceHero Kisuke Urahara]] is an anti-hero of the PragmaticHero variety. He manipulated Rukia into slowly losing her powers in an attempt to destroy the Hogyoku, risked Ichigo's life to use him as a weapon against Aizen, often fails to give his allies crucial information, and [[OmniscientMoralityLicense breaks the laws of Soul Society and the human world with impunity]]. To his credit, Kisuke shows legitimate remorse when his deceptions are discovered, even apologizing to Ichigo, once he and his friends returned from Soul Society.
15	** [[BloodKnight Kenpachi Zaraki]] is an anti-hero of the SociopathicHero variety. Though he is more than capable of empathy, and he clearly cares about his subordinates, if anybody except Yachiru gets in the way of one of his fights he goes right through them at best, or straight up kills them at worst. Even if the people getting in his way are protagonists, he won't hesitate to turn on them if they're in his way.
16	** [[NominalHero Mayuri Kurotsuchi]] starts out as a full-on antagonist, but even after the ConspiracyRedemption he still remains as a TokenEvilTeammate MadScientist.
17	** [[MysteriousBacker Kugo Ginjo]]. Though he helps Ichigo, he's especially [[TrainingFromHell brutal]] towards him. His excuse is that Fullbring is extremely taxing on the physical body and the first release of power can potentially kill the Fullbringer. However, he does seem to enjoy the darker role. It is later revealed that he's actually an AntiVillain.
18	* In ''Manga/Brave10'', the Braves are a RagtagBunchOfMisfits composed almost entirely of anti-heroes. Kamanosuke is the TokenEvilTeammate [[spoiler:and in the sequel even the BigBad Hanzo joins the heroes' side as a second one]]. Anastasia is [[spoiler:TheMole who then does a HeelFaceTurn but feels unbearably guilty and wants to be condemned by the team.]] Kakei, Rokuro and Sasuke all follow the MyMasterRightOrWrong school of heroism. Even the protagonist, Saizo, who is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, is still firmly enough on the merciless jerk with a substantial bodycount side to be counted here.
19	* ''Manga/BusoRenkin'': Due to her [[FantasticRacism hatred of homunculi]] and anyone who works with them,[[ActionGirl Tokiko]] is the most ruthless of the main characters, being more than willing to ShootTheDog in order to complete her mission. She does, however, [[DefrostingIceQueen soften somewhat]] as the series, and her relationship with [[IdiotHero Kazuki]], progresses.
20	* ''Manga/CatsEye'': [[ClassyCatBurglar The Kisugi sisters]] often go out of their way to take down worse criminals, but they still find themselves at odds with the cops, and sometimes victimize innocent people (usually by [[BoundAndGagged gagging]] / [[KnockOutgas drugging]] and [[MuggedForDisguise impersonating them]]).
21	%%* Lelouch and (to a lesser extent) the [[LaResistance Black Knights]] of ''Anime/CodeGeass''.
22	* ''Manga/DeathNote''
23	** Mello is solely dedicated to being the one to stop Kira and is more than willing to become a mob boss, kidnap innocent girls, and in the manga, even threaten the President to sabotage his rival so said rival can't catch Kira.
24	** Light's [[TheRival rival]], [[GreatDetective L]], is an Anti Hero and The Anti-{{Bishonen}}. He dresses like a bum (he doesn't even wear shoes!), his [[MessyHair black hair is shaggy and unkempt]], he [[LooksLikeCesare looks permanently hungover]], he strongly detests physical contact with anyone and is close to emotionally dead. As far as his morality is concerned, he is willing to achieve the good goal of capturing Kira (Light) with evil means, such as kidnapping, not preventing murder, invasion of privacy and torture.
25	* Hei from ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack''. A hitman for TheSyndicate who doesn't really bother to question the morality (or, more often, lack thereof) of his assignments, with no compunctions about [[CombatPragmatist cheating]], killing, or [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique torture]] if he feels it's necessary.
26	* ''Franchise/DragonBall''
27	** According to Creator/AkiraToriyama, Goku in the [[Manga/DragonBall early series]] was originally supposed to be a selfish hero to the point that one wondered if he was actually a good person since he only grew stronger to fight strong people, not to protect anyone. Some of Goku's more heroic qualities were [[AdaptationalHeroism heightened]] in the ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' anime adaptation. This is {{Downplayed}} since, even in the original manga, Goku experienced a subtle MessiahCreep where he showed more concern for the world, a willingness to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice himself]], and worried about people [[CrutchCharacter depending on him too much]] to the point that he borders on being an IdealHero and is treated like a [[HopeBringer messiah]] among those who knows him. It's only his BloodKnight tendencies that can override his common sense that makes him remotely close to being an anti-hero.
28	** Vegeta. In his first appearance, he's the BigBad, but in the ongoing series, in his effort to beat Goku, he keeps saving the day. He also often unnecessarily endangers the situation by letting his enemies reach their full potential, so he can have a honorable fight.
29	** To a lesser extent, Piccolo could also be seen to possess some Anti-Hero qualities. Though he essentially became one of the good guys after his sacrifice for Gohan, Piccolo was still somewhat aloof, anti-social, and soft-spoken (save for when he launched himself into battle). And though he became one of the Z Fighters, there were still a few instances where Piccolo didn't really view the human members of the team including [[HardWorkHardlyWorks Yamcha]], Chiaotzu, and occasionally [[OverShadowedByAwesome Krillin]] (mostly for his cowardly behavior in some situations) as being in his league (though not to the same extent as Vegeta viewed them). He would regularly come into conflict with Vegeta, both of them talking down to each other. The only ones that he generally showed respect to among the big 8 were Goku (Although he gave him one [[WhatTheHellHero talking to]]), [[MoralityPet Gohan]], [[KidFromTheFuture Trunks]], and, to a lesser extent [[AwesomenessByAnalysis Tienshinhan]]. In ''Anime/TheTreeOfMight'' movie, Oolong compared Gohan's new pet dragon to Piccolo, saying neither of them let their guard down around anyone except Gohan.
30	* ''Manga/FairyTail'':
31	** Phantom Lord, being a legal guild that more or less acts like a dark one, is a NominalHero before their attack on Fairy Tail, after which their legal status is revoked and Phantom Lord is forced to disband.
32	** [[spoiler:Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy are {{Unscrupulous Hero}}es who PayEvilUntoEvil after their HeelFaceTurn, having formed an independent guild during the TimeSkip (that is, Crime Sorcière is not a legal guild, but the Magic Council doesn't actively hunt them down because [[LoopholeAbuse they only target dark guilds]]).]]
33	%%* Scar from ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' starts out as a villain and gradually transforms into one of these. Second Greed as well. Also Olivier Mira Armstrong.
34	* Yukiteru from ''Manga/FutureDiary'', after [[spoiler:his parents are killed]] and he [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]]. Later in the series he [[spoiler:massacres orphans]] in the name of becoming God. However, his goal is to [[spoiler:bring everyone who died back to life once he becomes god]] (keeping him from outright villainy).
35	** Likewise, Minene Uryu is one of the craftiest and most resourceful diary owners, and she is not above blowing up a middle school full of kids in order to win the survival game and become God. However, unlike some diary owners, she wants to become god in order to make the world a better place and it's heavily implied that she will revive everyone she kills. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for her, in the world of ''Future Diary'', not even God can do that.]] One has trouble not sympathizing with her when you find out [[spoiler:that she's a refugee from an unnamed war-torn country]] and that she's fighting against serial killers, [[OmnicidalManiac people that want to become God in order to destroy the world]] as well as people that want the position just so that they can [[TakeOverTheWorld rule the world.]] [[spoiler:She also works with Yuki to SaveTheWorld in the end, too.]]
36	* ''Manga/GetterRobo'' combines the old {{Super Robot\|Genre}} ideals like {{Hot Blooded}}ness with anti-hero main characters. Ryoma is rowdy and an asshole, Hayato's pragmatism in decision making borders on (and sometimes [[CrossesTheLineTwice goes beyond]]) cruelty and so on.
37	%%* Agito and Aptom in ''Manga/{{Guyver}}''.
38	* {{Manga/Gon}} is an intensely unlikable protagonist in the original manga. Early escapades include destroying a forest to make a tree mound for himself, and beaching a shark that has swallowed him and feeding it a small piece of banana as it suffocates to death.
39	* Mashiba from ''Manga/HajimeNoIppo'' is this on his good days. Otherwise he's just a SociopathicHero. He protects his sister, but overall is a very scary and sadistic boxer. You get to see his ''[[http://media.onemanga.com/mangas/00000016/00000693/04.jpg really]]'' [[http://media.onemanga.com/mangas/00000016/00000697/03.jpg bad side]]. However, he [[CharacterDevelopment gets better]] later and refrains from cheating.
40	* The only good guys in ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' are anti-heroes or vampire fodder. And then there's Alucard. The only thing that keeps him from being a villain is the fact he is fighting vampire Nazis, although the first anime adaptation definitely plays up the anti-hero side.
41	** Well, Alucard does have his UndyingLoyalty to Integra and hates traitors. Plus, he hates vampires that kill needlessly, though not so much because they're killing innocent humans, but more because of the perceived lack of honor involved.
42	%%* ''Anime/{{Hyouka}}'': [[GoodIsNotSoft Houtarou Oreki]]. He's a MagnificentBastard, after all.
43	* ''Manga/InuYasha''
44	** Kikyo was originally a very kind and giving {{miko}}. She and Inuyasha had a pact for her to give up her miko duties and for him to become fully human so that they could get married. However, Naraku disguised himself as Inuyasha and killed her. She was later resurrected against her will by dark magic that left her suffering from the hatred and betrayal for Inuyasha that she had felt at the moment of her death. This changed over time from trying to kill Inuyasha to trying to kill them both so they could be together in death then to surviving long enough to destroy Naraku for what he had done to her. Despite her rivalry with Kagome for Inuyasha's affections, she was eventually able to live long enough achieve a redemptive death at peace with herself, Inuyasha and Kagome.
45	** Sesshomaru fights against [[BigBad the Big Bad Naraku]], occasionally helps people who're not related to him, helps [[TheHero his half-brother]] [[SiblingRivalry whom he officially hates]] and his brother's friends many times, displays protective attitude towards [[{{Protectorate}} his followers]] and great [[WellDoneSonGuy filial respect towards his father]]. He has a high sense of honor and principle (obviously values honor and principles [[HonorBeforeReason above his own life]]). On the other hand, he has many extremely ruthless moments, has willingly joined up with Naraku on two occasions (the first contributed to his decision to hunt Naraku as an enemy, the second he was actually using Naraku as a DieOrFly test for Inuyasha to prove his worth once and for all) and used questionable methods, also went through a period of trying to [[CainAndAbel kill his brother]] who had obtained the heirloom sword he'd been after for years which [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou eventually]] [[IWasJustPassingThrough softened]] into AloofBigBrother as he worked out his [[TheUnfavourite issues]]. In the [[GrandFinale final battle against Naraku]], his status as an anti hero is highlighted by this [[ShutUpHannibal antiheroes signature move]].
46	** Kagura was created by Naraku out of one of the youkai that had been trapped inside himself for at least 50 years. In return for the hope of freedom in the future, she was forced to work as a slave for him, her life bound because he held her beating heart captive in his position and could therefore destroy at any moment. Despite her position, her [[ImpliedLoveInterest growing feelings]] for [[NobleDemon Sesshoumaru]], coupled with her growing [[{{Protectorate}} protective instinct]] for [[DesignatedVictim Kohaku]] all combined to make her increasingly helpful of both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's causes. In the end, she was feeding information to both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's groups to help them fight Naraku and ended up dying in an HeroicSacrifice to save Kohaku's life from Mouryoumaru and Naraku's machinations.
47	** Koga, leader of the eastern wolf-demon tribe. Seeking vengeance against Naraku, he becomes a reluctant ally (while maintaining rivalry) to [[TheHero Inuyasha]]. Thanks to his romantic interest in Kagome, he and his men give up eating human. Koga, Kikyo, Sesshomaru and his followers are described as "Those who, at times will fight, and other times have the same intentions." in Inuyasha Zusetsutaizen Ougikaiden.
48	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
49	** [[ContrastingSequelProtagonist In a major contrast to his grandfather]], Joseph Joestar may be a hero, but he is most definitely ''not'' a gentleman, as he's a major CombatPragmatist who's willing to use [[GuileHero every dirty trick in the book of it means he'll win]].
50	** [[TokenEvilTeammate Rudolf von Stroheim]] from ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'' may be a [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]], but he's willing to put his campaign on hold and side with Joseph when he realize that stopping the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Pillar Men]] is the bigger priority.
51	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'':
52	*** During the events of the Part, Jotaro Kujo is this. He's a JapaneseDelinquent and a JerkWithAHeartOfGold at best, and even openly admits that he's not a nice guy. Despite this, [[EveryoneHasStandards he still recognizes when someone does something truly evil]]. Though by the events of the later Parts, he's [[TookALevelInKindness Taken a Level in Kindness]], [[AvertedTrope averting]] this trope.
53	*** In a rather rare case for a TeamPet, Iggy is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, [[ItsAllAboutMe extremely selfish]], and would rather [[BrilliantButLazy take a nap while the rest of the Crusaders are fighting for their lives]]. It isn't until his fight against Pet Shop that he finally decides to help in the battle against DIO.
54	** Rohan Kishibe from ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Diamond is Unbreakable]]'' is [[ItsAllAboutMe narcissistic]], [[{{Jerkass}} rude]], and WouldHurtAChild, but he's the most active in the hunt for [[SerialKiller Kira]], and is even willing to sacrifice himself when the situation is dire enough.
55	** Given that they're NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters, [[AntiHeroTeam the entirety of Team Bucciarati]] from ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Golden Wind]]'' is this. The most notable being Giorno, who, despite having heroic goals, is probably the most ruthless and pragmatic of the [=JoJos=].
56	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureJoJolion JoJolion]]'':
57	*** Josuke Higashikata may be a NiceGuy, but everything he does is out of his own self-interest, and he even rivals Giorno in just how ruthless he can be to his enemies.
58	*** Yoshikage Kira may be a {{narcissist}} and a JerkWithAHeartOfGold at best, but he's willing to take on a dangerous secret organization [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas to protect his mother]], and will go out of his way to protect people despite not having much enthusiasm for it.
59	* ''Characters/LupinIII'' and his gang go to great lengths to stop evil people from taking over the world, help capture or kill criminals, and even [[PetTheDog save little kittens]]. But they're still ''not'' heroes. They are usually motivated out of self-interest, and are always criminals.
60	* ''Manga/MariaNoDanzai'': Maria Akeboshi [[ZigZaggingTrope zig-zags]] the trope in regards to what her goals are and what she's willing to do in order to accomplish them. Above all else, she wants to [[BullyHunter murder the five bullies]] responsible for the death of her son, and [[TheUnfettered will do whatever it takes to kill them]], but [[EveryoneHasStandards draws the line]] at killing ''only'' those five people. While she's driven by revenge instead of justice, the fact of the matter is that she ''does'' make the world a better place by removing Okaya's gang from it because of how [[AssholeVictim indisputably despicable]] her targets are. That being said, Maria does not believe that her actions make her a good person even if ultimately she helps more people than she hurts, and feels guilty when people compliment her or thank her for her kindness, [[GoodSamaritan however genuine it is]].
61	* Setsuna F. Seiei and the Celestial Being start as this type of characters in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'', of {{byronic\|Hero}} variant. Later, however, Setsuna would develop into an [[AllLovingHero entirely good hero]].
62	* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'': [[TheChessmaster McGillis Fareed]] is such a morally grey character that he may even be an AntiVillain at certain points depending on how you view him. On one hand, he's out to reform Gjallarhorn and lacks the prejudices most other members of the organization hold. He's affable to just about everyone he meets, even giving candy to two young girls as an apology after his comrade-in-arms nearly runs them over. And he genuinely respects Tekkadan and provides valuable help to them and their allies. On the other hand, [=McGillis=] pulls off some incredibly ruthless tactics to advance his standing in Gjallarhorn, including backstabbing other [[PunchClockVillain good-hearted members]] of Gjallarhorn and even arranging for the deaths of his closest friends. While he respects Tekkadan and provides help to them, he also admits privately he seeks to manipulate them into becoming more reliant on him so he can use them for the uprising he's planning. And his method of reforming Gjallarhorn involves setting himself up as its autocratic leader and restructuring it into [[TheSocialDarwinist an extreme meritocracy]]. The result is a character who doesn't fit neatly on either side of the morality spectrum.
63	* Katsuki Bakugo from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' is one:
64	** An UnscrupulousHero leaning towards NominalHero. This is the reason why the League of Villains kidnapped him. After the event, his violent attitude is even lampshaded by the media. It's often mentioned by others that his behavior is very un-heroic and more befitting of a villain. Though he is firmly on the side of good, rejecting the League's offer to join them straight to their face while held hostage in their base all alone.
65	** Later deconstructed. His jerkish, irreverent behavior is exactly what everyone considers to be the only thing hampering him from becoming an amazing hero. To his peers, he has the skill, intelligence, and drive, but they can't find in themselves to respect him as a hero due to acting like a villain. He fails the provisional hero license exam exactly because he couldn't show a more caring (or at least, less abrasive) side and despite winning the U.A. Sports Festival, heroes seem to be wary of working with such a temperamental person, though it didn't stop him from getting a lot of internship opportunities. In fact, Best Jeanist compared Bakugo to a wild animal that needed to be tamed and thus the emphasis was on that for Bakugo during his internship. He failed utterly.
66	* Nao Yuuki from ''Anime/MyHime'' is an arguable case; bent on vengeance for her mother, who was severely wounded in a robbery, she uses herself as bait to trap paedophiles, who she proceeds to rob. It's never made clear if her victims receive punishment under a proper judicial system. In fact, she seems to enjoy going after her victims a bit too much.
67	* The eponymous Nadia from ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'' is an anti hero. Due to an unhappy childhood and ParentalAbandonment, she's grown to be gloomy and depressed, somewhat self-centered and very judgmental. She has an empathic connection to animals and is thus a vegetarian, but can't stand the idea of anyone else eating meat either and constantly berates them for it. Her negative persona is lampshaded in one of the omakes, a character profile, where the narrator just keeps rattling off various flaws ("There has probably never been such a selfish heroine.") and expresses incredulity at how anyone can stand her. However, she is still a fundamentally good, caring person, capable of great self-sacrifice and aware of her flaws. (She even feels bad for occasionally taking her rage out on Jean, to the point where she does something apologetic e.g. begging forgiveness, going on a walk, playing a game of cards, cooking for him, etc.) By the time of the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, she seems to have matured into a more sympathetic individual.
68	** Her personality flaws are ridiculously exacerbated in episodes 23-34, turning her character from an asocial sort of character to an unlikable, obnoxious JerkAss. Then again, those episodes were hardly meant to be part of the story in the first place, as [[ExecutiveMeddling they were added on after the show proved more popular than expected.]]
69	* Shinji Ikari of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is a deeply neurotic protagonist who is withdrawn, socially awkward, and completely lacking in self-confidence, but is shown to be a good person under his many psychological problems, all of which stem from him being the series' resident ButtMonkey. Asuka, too, fits the role of Anti-Hero, as her only reason for piloting her Evangelion isn't to protect mankind, but to show everyone how talented she is. Somewhat mitigated by the fact that when she was around 4 her mother lost her mind and thought that a doll was Asuka. And her father started to have an affair with the head nurse in charge of Asuka's mother. So at age four, who cares about Asuka? That's right, nobody. So she works around her abandonment issues by trying to get everyone to need her. Because she doesn't want to be alone. Shinji has the same kind of childhood, but works around it by trying not to have to make any decisions, because he thinks ''he'' is in the wrong about most things. This show messes up the background history of every character.
70	* ''Manga/NoLongerAllowedInAnotherWorld'': Sensei is a suicidal weirdo who found himself summoned in a StandardFantasySetting, his only goal in life being to find his lover so that they could attempt their SuicidePact again. That said, he won't let innocent people die with him if he could help it, his lack of a verbal filter is often mistaken for BrutalHonesty and his weird luck makes him come across as someone who's blasé attitude toward danger comes across as confidence. Annette decides to leave her post at her chapel and become his traveling companion both to protect him (since his stats are garbage and he has no self-preservation) and because he isn't like any other otherworlder she's ever met.
71	* Mirielle and Kirika in ''Anime/{{Noir}}'' are assassins, more or less, ruthless, cold-blooded killers. Kirika is saddened, not by killing, but by the fact she isn't saddened by killing, and Mirielle, not even that much, sometimes joking about their kills off-handedly. In this anime, they are the protagonists. There are no traditional heroes in ''Anime/{{Noir}}''. Except maybe [[spoiler: [[DeceasedParentsAreTheBest Mirielle's parents]]]].
72	** Who were key figures in the Corsican mob, so their hands weren't exactly clean, either. They set the events of the story (And get themselves killed) by declaring that EvenEvilHasStandards.
73	* ''Manga/OnePiece'' has a ton of examples, given the [[CrapsaccharineWorld world it takes place in]]:
74	** [[TheHero Luffy]] himself is a huge example out of everyone else:
75	*** At the beginning of the series, he is [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything a criminal in name only]]. He's sometimes [[InnocentlyInsensitive a bit rude]], and beat up [[VillainWithGoodPublicity "good]] [[TheSocialDarwinist guys"]] who really deserves it, but that is all.
76	*** Luffy has admitted that he ''doesn't want'' to be a hero. He'll help people if he deems that he "likes them", would rather die than leave a comrade behind, and [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything doesn't do typical pirate things like rape and pillage]], but he doesn't necessarily care what people think of him, and if the situation calls for it, he [[CombatPragmatist fights dirty]] and uses his enemies as human shields or even human weapons (on one occasion) and destroys public property freely in his many battles.
77	*** However, he does admire heroes enormously. His reasons for not wanting to be one is among the lines of him viewing heroes as ''completely'' selfless. In which case, his refusal stems from the expectations he, as a hero, would have to do that would bother him, i.e. sharing meat. He immediately agrees to be one after [[spoiler:Jimbei promises he would get his meat rather than having to divide among the people. Seriously, ItMakesSenseInContext.]]
78	*** During ''Anime/OnePieceFilmZ'', all the Straw Hats are determined to stop Z from blowing up the Grand Line (and everything and everyone on it) with his bombs. Except Luffy, who just wants his hat back.
79	*** Veers more into TheHero status in recent chapters, as his reasons to stop Doflamingo go from being pragmatic to genuinely sincere, and there's the time in Wano where he secured a ship of food just for the starving citizens, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness not for himself.]]
80	** His swordsman, Roronoa Zoro, can be particularly murderous, as he's a BloodKnight. He is even described by other pirates as being capable of exuding a massive killing intent. Zoro has also stated several times of his willingness to kill, and said he's not a friend to pirates or marines.
81	** The Straw Hat Pirates' navigator, [[FieryRedhead Nami]], starts off as a thief not willing to kill, but fine with putting pirates in situations where they are certain to die due to her past with the Arlong Pirates. After joining officially the Straw Hats, she still has the habits to steal and has remained quite greedy.
82	** Sanji the TeamChef can be just as violent and ruthless as Zoro, his first appearance was him beating a man half to death [[DisproportionateRetribution for wasting soup]] and 80% of the time he states that he doesn’t give a crap about anyone [[HandsomeLech except for beautiful women]]. He does have a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold compassionate side]] but usually is too HotBlooded to show it.
83	** The Straw Hats' archaeologist, Nico Robin, is the only Straw Hat who is initially introduced as a full-on villain, only to become a Straw Hat. At first, she only joins to have somewhere to go and her morality is still ambiguous, but becomes fully good after being saved in Enies Lobby. She still remain one of the most ruthless members of the crew, with arguably the cruelest method of defeating the enemies.
84	** Following Robin, there’s Franky the {{Cyborg}}, who is even more antagonistic: he steals money from the crew, beats the shit out of Usopp and tries to kill Luffy after the latter avenges Usopp by destroying his home base. He does reveal himself to be much nicer later on (as well as an EmotionalBruiser) and joins the Straw Hats after Enies Lobby. Like his aforementioned crewmates, Franky has no qualms with being brutal with his opponents and [[CombatPragmatist winning by any means possible]].
85	** Koza of the Alabasta arc leads the Alabasta rebellion movement, supposedly for bettering the country. Unbeknownst to Koza the entire rebellion was manipulated into being by [[ManipulativeBastard Crocodile]], who is using Koza as an UnwittingPawn.
86	** Wyper "The Berserker" of the Skypiea Saga acts rather cold and hostile, especially towards strangers, but there's no denying he wants what's best for his people.
87	** Chief Guard Sadi of the Impel Down arc is rare antagonistic example. While she's guarding a prison full of evil pirates, she enjoys whipping the prisoners a bit too much.
88	** Trafalgar [[spoiler:D. Water]] Law is considered as one. Despite the fact that Law has some similarities with ''a lot'' of the Straw Hats' enemies -- in the sense that he's a cold, cruel, and sadistic man who finds pleasure in torturing others and sowing chaos in the world -- he nonetheless has a neutral alignment (relative to the Straw Hats) at worst and, as their ally, has been on the side of "good" since the timeskip, has standards and morals, is pretty decent towards his allies, and deeply loves his crew, his biological family, and [[MoralityPet Corazon.]] Furthermore, while Law certainly has a noble goal in wanting to avenge Corazon, the methods he uses -- and is willing to use -- to achieve it are pretty reprehensible: being willing to [[spoiler:leave behind sick children who were poisoned [[LackOfEmpathy despite the fact that he suffered the exact same fate as a child]] and only saving them as a favor to the Straw Hats; sending 100 still-beating pirate hearts to the World Government, allowing the government to kill them or hold their lives in their literal hands (though, admittedly, it is possible that these pirates were AssholeVictims, but it's still pretty disturbing); being prepared to possibly sacrifice the lives of thousands of innocent Dressrosan civilians by having a plan in which Kaido would rampage through the island to kill Doflamingo; and stating that he was willing to destroy the whole world if it meant he could achieve Corazon's wish]].
89	** Hyogoro "The Flower" introduced in the Wano arc. He's a good elderly man who was beloved by everyone when he was in charge, but is still [[spoiler:a Yakuza boss]]. Therefore, his methods can be extreme sometimes, like [[spoiler:ordering a simple thug to be flayed alive]].
90	* In ''Manga/OnePunchMan'', Saitama fights villains simply because he's looking for a WorthyOpponent -- that is, someone who won't go down with simply one punch. He chooses to fight villains specifically because of the added bonus of saving the day (which he genuinely enjoys), and he's a pretty decent guy when not fighting.
91	** Another one is Tatsumaki. Although refusing to cooperate with others, she does have the power to back it up. And naturally she acts like a jerk even if she has good goals.
92	* Madoka and Mami are the only characters in ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Madoka Magica]]'' who don't have antiheroic qualities (and Mami gets her creepy moments). Homura is a straight up Anti-Hero, [[spoiler:who just wants to protect Madoka at any cost]]. Kyouko is trying to ignore morality entirely, but is having difficulty doing so and actually reveals to have this behaviour because of her past. She [[spoiler:makes her HeroicSacrifice to protect Madoka and Homura from Sayaka who turned into a witch and generates an explosion]]. Sayaka wants to be an ally of justice, but is bad at it [[spoiler:and eventually goes off the deep end and ends up a witch]].
93	* ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'':
94	** PlayerCharacter [[VideoGame/PokemonFireRedAndLeafGreen Leaf]]'s [[AdaptationalVillainy manga counterpart]] Green was a ClassyCatBurglar and LittleMissConArtist who started out as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold but had a HeelFaceTurn after befriending the rest of the main cast.
95	** PlayerCharacter [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite2 Nate]]'s counterpart Blake was a SociopathicHero who outright admits that concepts like "fear" and "pity" are unknown to him and prioritizes completing his missions as an InterpolSpecialAgent above all else.
96	* ''Manga/QueenMillennia'': The [[spoiler:Millenium Thieves]] are technically on Hajime and Yayoi's side, but aren't above holding them at gunpoint or attacking other people they know to get things done faster.
97	%%* Inner Moka from ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'', until she starts {{defrosting\|IceQueen}}.
98	* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin''
99	** Shinomori Aoshi counts if anyone else does. [[spoiler:After he became more of a villain; he started off as an AntiVillain.]] Most of the male characters can be: Kenshin himself lapses into this and Sanosuke, who is not afraid to fight against his nation's government. It seems Saitou has an effect on everyone, so it could be said this quality rubbed off nearly as well as anything from Kenshin (Sano in particular).
100	* Haruka and Michiru/Sailor Uranus and Neptune in ''Anime/SailorMoon S'' become this due to AdaptationalJerkass. While also [[AloofAlly aloof allies]], the girls have two important missions -- to find the three Talismen to bring about the Holy Grail and to find and stop the so-called "Messiah of Silence". Unfortunately, the Talismen can only be found via Pure Hearts and if the Pure Hearts aren't returned to their holders, their holders die. This is what causes the the two to clash with the other Sailor Guardians, due to the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism.
101	* Ikki Phoenix from ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' starts out like this. It took some time before he stopped horribly killing every opponent.
102	** Princess Amelia is not as much of this as it warrants, but her [[BlackAndWhiteMorality naiveté about peoples' motives]] inadvertently make her this -- she often relies on stereotypes (such as outward appearances) to determine who is and isn't noble. Gourry the good-natured swordsman would wholly avert this trope if he weren't apathetic to certain worldly events, but that's possibly due to his [[TheDitz lack of intelligence]]. The only protagonist that joins Lina that isn't this trope completely is Sylphiel.
103	* Yuuichi Katagiri in ''Manga/TomodachiGame'' is a ByronicHero with TeenGenius-level {{Street Smart}}s and a {{sadist}}ic side, constantly [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold toeing the line]] between GuileHero and ManipulativeBastard which leaves both his allies and enemies absolutely terrified of him.
104	* Nicholas D. Wolfwood of ''Manga/TriGun'' is not amoral by any means, but his harsh "no matter the cost" martialism copied from [[DisproportionateRetribution Knives]] and [[CorruptChurch Chapel]] and his sense of fashion screams Anti-Hero, especially when compared with [[ThouShaltNotKill Vash]].
105	* ''Manga/VampireKnight'': Zero.
106	* Miyu from ''Manga/VampirePrincessMiyu''. She banishes the Shinma because it's her fate to do so, not because she cares about the human race. She even uses humans for her personal amusement, just like the Shinma, but arguably not with the same cruelty of the Shinma.
107	%%* ''Manga/VinlandSaga'''s. Thorfinn and Thorkel. Many of the other characters of the manga are villains in one way or another.
108	** Though after [[spoiler: being sold into slavery, Thorfinn eventually develops into a straight up hero.]]
109	* ''Franchise/YuGiOh''
110	** [[Characters/YuGiOhYamiYugi Yami Yugi]] from [[Manga/YuGiOh the early manga]]. Example: A guy steals a playing card from Yuugi. Yami Yuugi comes out to drive him permanently stark raving mad. Whenever he gets out, someone is gonna die or go nuts. He is ''smiling'' as he lights people on fire, condemns them to insanity, etc.
111	** [[Characters/YuGiOhSetoKaiba Seto Kaiba]] in [[Anime/YuGiOh the anime]], certainly. First he's a villain. Then Yami Yugi does some freaky shit to his mind and he becomes a sympathetic villain who's just trying to save his brother (and his company), and admits to respecting Yugi. Then he gets kidnapped and Yugi and his friends save him and they team up to beat the bad guys. Then he's a kind of antagonist again but he keeps helping Yugi beat the bad guys. Then they all have to team up to beat ''more'' bad guys. Then in the movie he seems to be a bad guy but he's actually a puppet for the BigBad and helps Yugi to defeat said Big Bad when he's freed from its control. Then he opens a school to help young people learn to duel. [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor Make up your mind, man]]! He's been on one side since day one. [[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries The side where he can screw the most rules.]]
112	---> ''He's more like an Anti-Hero, the worst kind of hero there is! They give us villains a good name!''
113	* ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'' has a couple.
114	** First there's the rival, who despite being a Kaiba expy is actually firmly planted on the protagonists side, but uses extremely dubious tactics. He's planning to wage war against a tyrant ([[AntagonisticOffspring who happens to be his father]]) who uses card games and ChildSoldiers to conquer dimensions, and in the process has willingly [[LaserGuidedAmnesia wiped the memories of his subordinates]], recruits child soldiers using war propaganda, lies and manipulates the protagonist in order to better understand his mysterious supernatural powers, apparently experiments on children ([[spoiler: although that one he only talks about doing so to Sora, and appears to genuinely care about Reira]]), lies and manipulates ''everybody'', and spies on everyone. He's mostly ALighterShadeOfGrey because a) he didn't start the war, he's just trying to end it, and b) unlike his father he's never tried to commit genocide.
115	** Then there's Kurosaki. A survivor of the aforementioned genocide, all he wants to do is rescue his captured sister and comrades. Like Reiji, he has very few limits when striving for this goal. He's killed not only enemy soldiers but also innocent people when he thought it might help him capture an extremely valuable hostage, once tried beating an enemy to death, and he's a general {{Jerkass}} loner.
116	* The core four in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', all to varying degrees -- [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Kuwabara]] being the least so, Hiei being the most.
117	* A classic example is Raven in ''Anime/ZoidsChaoticCentury'' Once you get to the last episode, he's screaming anti hero.

Context AntiHero / AnimeAndManga