Line #26 NinetiesAntiHero/AnimeAndManga


1	* The titular ''Anime/AngelCop'' is this to the extreme. It helps that it was made at the tail end of the 80's.
2	* Guts from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', who debuted with the publication of the manga in 1989, has almost all the characteristics of a nineties anti-hero. He has a [[DarkAgeOfSupernames gritty but simple name]], is [[AnArmAndALeg missing an arm]] and [[EyeScream an eye]], [[HeroicBuild has ridiculous muscles]] but [[CombatPragmatist relies on his lethal equipment instead of superpowers]], wears a black costume with lots of [[BadassBandolier bags and bandoliers]], is a badass with a DarkAndTroubledPast and [[DeadpanSnarker sarcasm]] to boot, and uses a ludicrous {{BFS}} as his main weapon. During the early Black Swordsman Arc he tells Puck that he doesn't care about anything except {{Revenge}}, considering any bystanders who get caught up in his vengeance as [[TheSocialDarwinist weaklings who didn't deserve to live]], and he [[ColdBloodedTorture brutally tortures]] any villains he defeats. Miura has even said that he based Guts' ImplacableMan vibe during the Black Swordsman Arc on 80s Hollywood action movie characters like [[Film/RoboCop1987 [=RoboCop=]]] and Film/TheTerminator--the same ones who had such an influence on the form the trope would take in TheNineties. In spite of all this Guts turns out to be something of an UnbuiltTrope example, or at least a more subtle one, as the state we first see him in is when he's at his very worst and using an act pretending to be a jerk to hide from his pain, and because his supernatural strength (that he needs to fight the demons) is fueled in part by hatred. He goes through several shades of AntiHero through his CharacterDevelopment, but always has some redeeming qualities such as loyalty to his friends and sympathy for those who have suffered like he has.
3	* Claire Stanfield from ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'' is considered to be one due to his twisted sense of justice and his love of toying with his enemies in a cruel and sadistic manner something in contrast to that of Shizuo Heiwajima.
4	* Revy from ''Manga/BlackLagoon''. Rough but cool name, nihilistic outlook, stripperiffic outfit, sizable... tracts of land and a gun in every hand. To top it all off, the story is set in the mid-nineties. However, she's a full-on VillainProtagonist rather than an antihero, especially at the beginning, while later on she becomes more of a particularly violent ChaoticNeutral, with a softer side buried deep down.
5	* ''Franchise/BlackRockShooter'': The eponymous heroine has the idiosyncratic name spelling, skimpy clothing, BadassLongcoat, fights without uttering a word with her humongous, morphing cannon and black katana and fights to ''kill''. Add the ability to shrug off lethal wounds without blinking and a blue flame around her left eye. She's only missing one thing: The MostCommonSuperpower.
6	* Killy from ''Manga/{{Blame}}'' ''is'' this trope -- minus the "hip" clothing and ridiculous muscle mass. The series was even created in the mid-'90s.
7	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' has Kenpachi Zaraki, the captain of Gotei 13's Squad 11. With his wild, unkempt hair, scars, love of battle, being pretty much indestructible, a horrific past of growing up in poverty and violence and abilities that basically come down to "slash it til it stops moving", His bloodthirsty nature is often played for laughs in the anime and some times in the manga.
8	** Ikkaku Madarame, Kenpachi's subordinate, would also qualify, sharing Kenpachi's BloodKnight tendencies and his bankai being a ridiculously large weapon.
9	** Shuhei Hisagi of Squad 9 looks like he fits this trope but is a subversion. He has three scars on his face, a tattoo on his left cheek, [[SleevesAreForWimps wears an outfit that shows off his arms]] and his shikai is a SinisterScythe. However, Hisagu is a kind and disciplined man who strives to live up to the standards of being a good and noble member of the Gotei 13. He's basically an IdealHero who has the aesthetics of a 90s anti-hero but not the personality.
10	* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' and its spinoffs has Accelerator, who is an anime version of this type of Anti-Hero, despite being lanky and thin instead of overly muscled. He's snarky, edgy, and very much 'did what I had to do' in attitude. He sees other Villainous characters as pathetic and tries to teach them how a ''"Real"'' villain should act, usually by toying with them and all but torturing them.
11	%% * ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has Lelouch who wages a war against Britannia by sacrificing innocent and non innocent live for the sake of his blind and crippled sister. Another is Suzaku who later on becomes as his view upon the world from the beginning of the series gets worse.
12	* ''Manga/DeathNote'' is at heart about a ruthless [[VigilanteMan vigilante]] who wants to change the world by using the title notebook to kill criminals, which many Nineties Anti Heroes like to do. Unfortunately, [[Characters/DeathNoteLightYagami Light Yagami]] is far from being actually heroic -- his first two kills in the anime were the closest he actually got to being heroic with the book until his decision to become Kira led to him JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and becoming a KnightTemplar VillainProtagonist, as the police opposition to his actions and [[BerserkButton people calling his actions evil]] was an affront to his overweening {{Pride}}.
13	** Near. Possibly more ruthless and cold than L, he doesn't hesitate to employ morally questionable tactics to stop Light. Even if you set that aside, he has a rather creepy, serious, stoic, and robotic demeanor, complete with his KubrickStare. But make no mistake, compared to Light, he is quite decent and heroic.
14	* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' is full of ''non-human'' examples (though many look humanoid), especially the early generations created during the nineties, reaching from Badass Furries to HollywoodCyborg dinosaurs.
15	** However, the characterization seen in ''Manga/CMonDigimon'' and ''Manga/DigimonVTamer01'', the earliest works in the series, didn't reflect this trope and the ''designs'' of Digimon as originally shown in "C'mon" didn't even reflect it, though [[ArtShift this was quickly corrected]] and [[MythologyGag referenced]] in "V-tamer".
16	** A special mention should be should be made for Impmon from ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' while he is roaming across the Digital World as his Mega-digivolved form Beelzemon. As Beelzemon, he is a psychotic, shotgun wielding, demonic looking BadassBiker who seeks nothing less than to gain as much power as possible by way of [[TheSocialDarwinist destroying and absorbing the data of other Digimon he has killed]], even one of whom, [[spoiler: Leomon]], is a friend of his associates and then gloat about this act of murder to their faces. Though he is also a deconstruction in that Impmon [[DealWithTheDevil chose to become this]] after having been a [[FreudianExcuse powerless loner his whole life who badly wanted to fulfill his desire for self worth]] especially [[DespairEventHorizon after almost being killed in one fight]]. [[spoiler: He also gets to subvert this trope when after Gallantmon, who, by the logic Beelzemon was going by at the time, had a right to kill him for being beaten, spares him at the request of Jeri, whose partner, Leomon, he had killed prior and goes on a HeelRealization. Impmon returns to the Human world, meets his Tamers Ai and Mako, and eventually manages to gain "this thing called a conscience". Impmon [[LoveRedeems by way of the love of his tamers]] thus learns that [[RousseauWasRight all humans aren't the monstrous beings he first believed]]. He gets to even earn a RedemptionPromotion when he achieves Beelzemon Blast Mode. This subversion of the Nineties Anti-Hero trope even gets lampshaded in the dub when he states "Havin' someone to fight for feels pretty good; who knew?"]]
17	* Vegeta of ''Manga/DragonBall'' started off as just another psychotic villain, but evolves into this trope during the Frieza and Cell sagas. Even after becoming a full-on good guy in the fight against Buu, he still retains a shred of his former badassery, such as punching out his opponent for mouthing off to him at the World Martial Art Tournament. ''Dragon Ball'' as a whole is a very Iron Age-ish anime, except it still doesn't take itself very seriously in that spot.
18	** Goku is also this, albeit to a much lesser degree than Vegeta. Goku isn't so much a good guy as he is a guy who does good things. This aspect of him was not adapted very well in the ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' anime, where every dub, including the original Japanese, basically [[AdaptationalHeroism projects heroic qualities onto him]] but ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' emphasizes Goku's {{pure\|IsNotGood}}st motivation is to be stronger than he was before. Things like theft and murder do bother him, but if he is not around when it happens Goku can't be counted on to do anything about it. And ''then'' there are the primal instincts all saiyans such as Goku have that, among other things, [[BloodKnight push them to challenge strong opponents]]. To wit: he's ecstatic to be able to fight his doppelganger Black just because he seemed like a pretty strong guy, even though future Trunks has made it clear that Black is an OmnicidalManiac just like Frieza, whom Goku despised for this exact reason. What's the difference? Goku ''saw'' Frieza kill Vegeta and Krillin. "Black is a bad guy" just didn't register with him until [[KickTheDog it was hammered in.]]
19	* Kiritsugu Emiya from ''Literature/FateZero'' qualifies this trope due to sacrificing minority over the majority and is shown bombing buildings that involve civilians and performs crueler methods to achieve whatever costs to gain the Holy Grail. Though admittedly, the anime does have a shot of ritzy-looking civilians outside a hotel he bombed, so it’s assumed that he at least puts some effort into saving innocents.
20	* The general characterization of Kurei from ''Manga/FlameOfRecca'' after the TournamentArc. Despite separating himself and his loyal followers from the Uruha, and pursuing the same quarry as Recca and his allies, his vicious and ruthless nature remains unchanged, even until the end of the series.
21	* Depending on continuity, the protagonists from ''[[Manga/GetterRobo Getter Robo]]'' may be portrayed as such. The early cartoons tried to [[LighterAndSofter remove this aspect]], but it's back in newer adaptations.
22	* Alucard from ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' - minus the ridiculous muscle mass. Not to mention, he was born in the nineties.
23	* Following in the footsteps of Kouta Hirano's above mentioned Hellsing. His new series, ''Manga/{{Drifters}}'' gives us an entire ''[[AntiHeroTeam team of these]]''. They include one of the most feared Samurai of all time, a bloodthirsty maniac with a penchant for collecting the heads of fallen foes, and an archer who gives both of them a run for their money in terms of bloodlust and body count.
24	* This is a common criticism of [[Characters/JoJosBizarreAdventureJotaroKujo Jotaro Kujo]], the protagonist of ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'', although he ends up being more of a subversion. He's a [[TheStoic stoic]], aloof, badass [[JapaneseDelinquents delinquent]] who delivers one-liners and punches his enemies senseless, who is as [[WorldOfMuscleMen ripped as anyone]] at the time and wears a modified uniform with a giant, pointless chain hanging off of it. This is all in [[ContrastingSequelMainCharacter stark contrast]] to his [[NiceGuy gentleman]] of a great-great-grandfather and his goofy GuileHero grandfather. However, his EstablishingCharacterMoment is him putting himself in jail to protect others from [[FightingSpirit a power he doesn't understand]] while he researches it, proving him as a BadassBookworm as well. He doesn't kill every villain he encounters, and explains that he ''is'' going to kill [[BigBad DIO]] specifically because of what an utter monster he is. Further, the edgier traits he ''does'' have are toned down in later parts of ''[=JoJo=]'', coming off as more of a BigBrotherMentor in ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Diamond is Unbreakable]]'' and being given a DeconReconSwitch as a flawed but well-meaning father in ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]''.
25	* Ryougi Shiki from ''Literature/TheGardenOfSinners'' is a example of this. She's definitely got the rough outlook and personality, the overpowered abilities, and borderline psychopathy. Plus the book was written in the 90s and takes place in the 90s. What makes her stand out though is her rather conservative attire.
26	* ''Manga/KillerKiller'' has Takumi Hijirihara, a one-man murder machine that doesn't kill serial killers because it's right, but because [[DoWrongRight they don't do it right enough]]. He has the grim but simple codename, the one-liners, the morally unscrupulous background, and the [[NightmareFetishist love of killing]] all down. Quite notably, he's the only ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'' protagonist to kill the culprits himself rather than have a separate party like Monokuma do it for him.
27	* Ogami Itto from ''Manga/LoneWolfAndCub'' might be oldest example, being first published in 1970. If you think about it he has all the tropes of the typical dark age anti-hero. His katana is heavier and more ungainly than others since it was designed for cutting the heads of people who committed Seppuku, thus qualifying it as a {{BFS}}. He pushes around a baby cart bristling with weaponry, including but not limited to: a naginata, ''Film/JamesBond'' style wheel-blades, and (at least in the movies) a freaking makeshift cannon! Framed for a crime he didn't commit and sentenced to commit Seppuku, he is rebelling against authority by his mere existence. He's constantly brooding and frowning and he will kill anyone who gets in his way without a moments notice. In fact, since he makes a living as an Assassin he will kill anyone who DOESN'T get in his way also, if the money is right.
28	* ''Anime/MDGeist'', [[OlderThanTheyThink despite being from the 80's]].
29	* Fon Spaak from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' manga side story and Sven Cal Bayang from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDCE73Stargazer'' have a very strong Nineties Anti-Hero vibe to them. They are both savage and brutal Gundam pilots with a sadistic streak. They are a contrast to characters like Setsuna F Seiei and Kira Yamato.
30	* Being a series about American-style superheroes, ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' has a couple of characters based on this archetype:
31	** Bakugo plays most of the tropes completely straight. While Midoriya aspires to become a hero to help people in need and to inspire hope and put smiles on people's faces, Bakugo is a total jerk to everyone (even his own family) and couldn't care less about making people's lives better, he just want to defeat villains and be hailed as the strongest of all. He's always in a bad mood and disrespects everyone around him, even those who are nice to him. Although he does slowly get better as the series goes on.
32	** Endeavor is a man who became a hero solely for the prestige and attention. Otherwise, he has absolutely no regard for anyone else, is always moody and surly, uses a lot of force when in battle, and is emotionally consumed by rage. He is particularly furious that [[TheCape All Might]], an idealistic Silver Age-style hero, always seems to one-up him in the public eye. He has since become a father, [[AbusiveParents bringing his anti-hero morality into parenthood]]. His son, Shoto, absolutely ''hates'' him with every ounce of his being, and refuses to use the powers he inherited from him to spite him before it finally gets through to him that [[JerkassHasAPoint he's not going to get far as a Hero if he intentionally limits himself to half of his available moves and that his father is the best person to learn how to use them properly from]].
33	** Stain is a HeroKiller who, ironically, is doing so because he believes so strongly in what a hero should be that very few live up to his standards besides All Might. Stain also not only has a name that would fit in with other 90's Anti-Heroes, but a [[BloodMagic power activated by consuming someone else's blood]] (which complements his sadistic joy in seeing others in pain) and an arsenal of knives he keeps on his person via a lot of belts and bandoliers.
34	** Subverted and parodied with Gang Orca. He is a hero with a thuggish, brutal appearance and uses large amounts of angry force when in battle, but he is actually a nice guy and a good sport. Parodied in that he's said to be 4th on the official list of "Top Heroes Who Look Like Villains," indicating that there are enough people like him for there to be a sub-category of heroes.
35	** Aizawa Shouta, Class 1-A’s homeroom teacher, has traits of this. He’s broody, gritty, sometimes cynical and works as an underground hero. He hates the spotlight and thinks heroes like All Might are irritating and too flashy for their own good. It would be easy to mistake him for a villain with his stubbled face, black jumpsuit and stringy hair. Normally he restricts himself to whatever force is needed to nullify a threat, but he can be brutal and forceful if it’s needed. Especially if you hurt his students or friends. His Erasure doesn’t give any physical boosts but he’s shown to be a formidable fighter.
36	** The ''Manga/MyHeroAcademiaVigilantes'' spin-off has Knuckle Duster, a [[BadassNormal non-powered]] vigilante who looks like Marv from Sin City and prowls the alleyways beating up criminals.
37	* The Anarchy Sisters of ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'' are crude and [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] {{Fallen Angel}}s who spend most of their time lazing around, indulging in their own vices, or acting as the sex symbols of Daten City. They have simple yet cool names, with their first names representing where their hyper-destructive weapons come from, and their surname pretty much summing up [[DestructiveSavior what they cause]]. They don't care about what lengths they go to in order to achieve their goals, and to top it off, their designs are heavily inspired by nineties cartoons.
38	* ''Manga/RoosterFighter'': Keiji is a superpowered rooster who brutally murders demons, tries to mate with every chicken he meets, and acts as a {{Jerkass}} to everyone unless they impress him.
39	* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'': Saito Hajime [[{{Expy}} is basically what]] ComicBook/ThePunisher would be if he were a late Nineteenth century Japanese Sword wielding policeman. While he does not have the physical appearance of this archetype, his brutal nature and lack of regard for [[AssholeVictim those that he believed to be scum]] certainly fit it.
40	* ''Manga/SkullMan'', prototype of the LighterAndSofter, but still rather edgy ''Franchise/KamenRider'', is another good example from the 1970's.
41	* ''Anime/{{Texhnolyze}}'': Ichise is a coolheaded prize fighter who becomes one of these, granted a more subdued example along the lines of the aforementioned Killy, through the course of the show's twenty-two episodes. He becomes increasingly violent and psychotic after acquiring his [[ArtificialLimbs cybernetic limbs]], the eponymous Texhnolyze, both as he becomes more [[NewAbilityAddiction corrupted by the power he has]] to [[CatharsisFactor take out his pent up rage]] and also in response the [[CrapsackWorld increasingly dire circumstances]] as he and others become apathetic.
42	* In ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'', the inhabitants of Sternbild City are introduced to the concept of the Nineties Anti-Hero with Lunatic, a menacing vigilante who unhesitatingly kills criminals, racks up the property damage like nobody's business, and mocks the established superheroes for their idealistic 'weakness'. Given what end of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism the show occupies, he serves as both a villain and a KnightOfCerebus during his introduction. Though later episodes in the series put him in a more sympathetic light.
43	* ''Manga/ViolenceJack'': Jack is possibly one of the oldest examples having been created in 1973. The setting of the story is already a nightmarish, [[{{Gorn}} gory]] Post-apocalyptic wasteland, but the moment the titular character appears on the scene, it goes FromBadToWorse after that. Jack is a VillainProtagonist whose only motivation for engaging in the bloody battles he gets involved in is out of mere curiosity or boredom.
44	* The main character of the ''Anime/{{Witchblade}}'' anime is more of a subversion than in the comic book. She may be an extremely scantily-clad woman whose fight scenes are the epitome of OrgasmicCombat, but out of costume she's a very amiable single mom.
45	* Shun Kurosaki of ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'' is something of a minor deconstruction. While he's badass on his own, [[IneffectualLoner his inability to work well with others gets him in trouble once or twice]], and he creates or escalates conflict in situations where he doesn't need to because of his attitude and attack-first mentality.
46	* Ryo Marufuji (from season 2 onwards) and Edo Phoenix of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' counts as well as both show no mercy to their victims and perform crueler methods upon them at the same time. Edo's deck, the ''Destiny HERO'' Archetype even invokes this (combined with the [[ByronicHero Byronic Heroes]] of Victorian literature) as opposed to Judai Yuki's ''[[TheCape Elemental HERO]]'' monsters.
47	* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': Hiei, originally a [[StarterVillain one-off villain]], is a demon with a jigon eye who doesn't just [[PlayingWithFire use any fire]] but Hellfire and couldn't care less what happened to humanity as long as it didn't involve him, and won't hesitate to cut anyone deep who was in the way of his goals. Though unlike most of the examples on this page, he prefers speed over bulky strength. He also has a soft spot for his younger sister [[MoralityPet Yukina]], but [[KnightTemplarBigBrother that is more of a reminder of why one shouldn't get on his bad side]].

Context NinetiesAntiHero / AnimeAndManga