One of the greatest things to watch on screen (or even read in books) is the anti-hero of any story. As there are so many great anti-heroes that I would include in an “anti-hero” list (such as Snake Plisken, Gaius Baltar, and Porter), I have decided to make a separate list for animated characters. By “animation” I am referring to cartoons and anime. So here’s the list:
NOTE: This post is not complete… the descriptions will be updated before my next post.
#5. Afro Samurai – Afro Samurai
Afro is the main character in the anime and game series Afro Samruai. In this world, there are two headbands which denote rank. The number One can only be challenged by number Two so the number Two is constantly fighting and killing off people who challenge him. Afro’s dad was the old number One until he was killed when Afro was a child. After aquiring the number Two headband, he sets out to revenge his father all while holding off others who would like a chance at the crown. Afro slaughters and kills everyone, even his mentors, because of this system. While he is the protagonist of the series, he is also an anti-hero because of his violent and somewhat immoral nature. The American dub stars the voices of Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Perlman with music by The RZA.
#4. Zaraki Kenpachi – Bleach
Zaraki Kenpachi is the captain of the 11th division in Soul Society which is the most powerful squad and he is the most powerful captain. Other captains get their status and rank by performing tests showing their skills. Zaraki is the only captain to gain his rank the other way… by killing the former strongest captain of the 11th squad. He lives for fights and has no equal. He is the only ranked member in Soul Society who doesn’t know the name of his Zanpaktou nor can he release it. He even uses an eye patch to conceal half of his energy to make the fights more even. He fights with brute force and strength alone and does not care about anything else besides the fight at hand. His love for fighting brings him to where the action is but it is never his intention to help. He just wants to fight the most powerful person he can.
#3. TIE: Homer Simpson and Bender Bending Rodriguez – The Simpsons and Futurama
Both of the characters of Homer Simpson and Bender, created by Matt Groening, are pretty much the anti-heroes of their respective series (The Simpsons and Futurama respectively). While Bender is a much more immoral being with his love of stealing, drinking, and smoking; Homer is a non-intentional anti-hero. Homer doesn’t do anything on purpose, but his character just seems to put him in the position of causing conflict in the show. Throughout his 20+ years on TV, Homer has gotten more stupid and become a cornerstone of conflict for the Simpsons series. Bender, on the other hand, does everything on purpose. He knows who he’s hurting and has no remorse unless it affects him directly. In a fight of anti-heroes, Bender would definitely beat out Homer but Homer has the experience that Bender just doesn’t have yet.
NOTE: I would have attached videos here but every real Simpsons or Futurama video gets pulled for copyright infringement.
#2. Eric Cartman – South Park
Eric Cartman is the anti-hero of South Park created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. This kid has done it all, from murder, to kidnapping, to arson, to lying in front of congress, to feeding a kid his parents, to starting a cult to rid South Park of the Jews. Cartman is the main point of conflict in the entire series and pretty much every extreme thing that happens is because of him. No video or image that I post will do him justice, you just have to watch him for yourself. You can watch full episodes of South Park for free online from South Park Studios.
#1. Vegeta – Dragonball Z
Vegeta from the series Dragonball Z (he also appears in GT but Z is the best) is the greatest anti-hero in any live-action or animated series. He is a prince of the Saiyans and comes to earth seeking immortality. He has the power in one finger to destroy planets and enslave entire civilizations. While he does grow and mature as the series progresses, he still retains the dark side within and is really a true anti-hero. While Goku ends up being the strongest and best hope for Earth in the end, Vegeta is still my hero. With the exception of Gaius Baltar, no character that is actually evil has had a better run than Vegeta.
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NOTE: I will be updating my descriptions in this post soon, I just wanted to get a base draft posted before I figured how I wanted to praise each character listed above. I hope to have this updated before I do the top 5 live-action anti-heroes.
Tags: afro samurai, anti-hero, anti-heroes, bender, bleach, dbz, dragonball z, eric cartman, futurama, homer, homer simpson, south park, the simpsons, top 5, vegeta, zaraki kenpachi
Thank you… I actually have quite a few more top 5 posts that i’ve made rough drafts of. I hope to have at least 3 of them up by Sunday. But i ain’t doin it today cause it’s a drinking day