Cider
The Final ECW Champion
from Not New York
Since: May, 2009
Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
KJMackley
Since: Jan, 2001
#3: May 13th 2011 at 2:26:53 PM
Few villains believe themselves to be the villains but that doesn't mean they are suddenly sympathetic or an anti-villain. The basic idea is "Are they good or bad?" and "Do they behave as though they are good or bad?" Basically a bad guy who acts good is an Anti-Villain and a good guy who acts bad is an Anti-Hero. It is more complicated than that, but that's basically how to view it. On the Anti-Villain side they may behave as a villain but their intentions and backstory illustrate something far more complicated than evil for evils sake, ie Mr. Freeze.
Total posts: 3

They both deal with moral ambiguity, (Anti-Hero being on the side of good despite having evil traits, Anti-Villain being on the side of evil despite having good traits, from my understanding) and morality is technically subjective anyway, so I would be inclined to think they are subjective tropes.
Now, the intent of the author in writing a character is a matter of assumption, not opinion, but in practice said intent will not always be made clear. At the very least, how people interpret a character, and the intent of the writer, will vary, so should these tropes be considered subjective in light of this?