Lack of antiheros/evil protag

[spademan]

Hi, i am just making this thread to try to get some input from jp natives or anyone that knows a lot about vns, but why is there such a lack of antiheroes or evil protags? I look up antihero tag on vndb and only end up with 30 titles, am i just not searching for the right tag or is there really this much of a lack of antihero/ villain protag. I know there are many more anime/manga that have darker or evil protag so why do vns lack this, especially when they are not as bound by  ratings like anime and manga? 

edit: if someone could also reccomend me a (action) vn with a  protag who doesn't hesitate to kill someone that gets in their way or attacks their friends/fam etc. (doesn't necessarily need to be evil though) that would be great.

[BookwormOtaku]

Well, MinDead Blood and its fandisk kind of have what you want, though it features more in the FD than the main game.

If you want something in english there's the Rance games.

Suzukuri Dragon could have what you want, but I haven't played it only heard of it.

[Duyy]

Give G-senjou no Maou a shot. The main character is a guy that is adopted into a yakuza family, however its not like he directly gets his hands dirty if thats still okay with you. 

[Soulless Watcher]

I second the Rance recommendation, specifically Sengoku Rance.

[Nerathim]

6 hours ago, spademan said:

Hi, i am just making this thread to try to get some input from jp natives or anyone that knows a lot about vns, but why is there such a lack of antiheroes or evil protags? I look up antihero tag on vndb and only end up with 30 titles, am i just not searching for the right tag or is there really this much of a lack of antihero/ villain protag. I know there are many more anime/manga that have darker or evil protag so why do vns lack this, especially when they are not as bound by  ratings like anime and manga? 

edit: if someone could also reccomend me a (action) vn with a  protag who doesn't hesitate to kill someone that gets in their way or attacks their friends/fam etc. (doesn't necessarily need to be evil though) that would be great.

 

Go for Hanachirasu, you can hardly find a better antihero in any translated VN atm

[spademan]

thanks for the replies so far, will probably check out min dead pretty soon. Already read g senjou, hanachirasu and pretty much most of the antihero tag on vndb so if anyone can rec some titles that aren't on it would be super helpful 

[XReaper]

you might want tro try out devils devel concept. though the mc isnt really evil in a classical manner, he behaves pretty much like that at times, mostly due to beeing abit different from humans as we know them.

[Funyarinpa]

Saya no Uta counts. Also Hypnotraining My Mother And Sister if rape nukige are your thing. Mamankyoushitsu, in a couple routes.

[Dergonu]

2 hours ago, Funyarinpa said:

Also Hypnotraining My Mother And Sister if rape nukige are your thing.

If you want something with an even more "evil" protag in this setting, Clock up just released a trial for their new game. 

 

For action VN with a protag like that, I think G-senjou no maou is a good fit, like someone mentioned above. Reading it at the moment, its basically exactly what you asked for  

(Shouldnt this thread be moved to recommendations?  )

[VirginSmasher]

Saya no Uta is a great one when it comes to evil protagonists. Also, there are a lot of evil protagonists in nukige. I haven't played any Japanese VNs currently but I imagine there are a good selection in the untranslated category.

[Tyr]

17 hours ago, spademan said:

why is there such a lack of antiheroes or evil protags?

There is no lack of antiheroes or evil protagonists. I would even say they are far more common than good guys.

[Decay]

They're far more common in Nukige, sure.

Japan tends to dislike anti-heroes, in American fiction they're pretty much everywhere, in Japanese fiction the heroes are much more pure and earnest. They still show up from time to time, and it's no surprise that they tend to be the most popular shows/manga/VNs in the west, even if they aren't in Japan. 

[overkill373]

Akatsuki no Goei because Kaito is awesome

 

Izuna Zanshiken assassin protagonist

 

 

Kikokugai Cyber Slayer

 

Phantom of Inferno

 

 

[Tyr]

34 minutes ago, Decay said:

They're far more common in Nukige, sure.

Japan tends to dislike anti-heroes, in American fiction they're pretty much everywhere, in Japanese fiction the heroes are much more pure and earnest. They still show up from time to time, and it's no surprise that they tend to be the most popular shows/manga/VNs in the west, even if they aren't in Japan. 

That's not even close to being true. There is more to Japanese fiction than Shounen and Moe. Just like there is more to eroge than Charage and Moege.
Just because you only care about what's popular here in the West doesn't mean that everything you don't know about is the same. Don't generalize.

Eroge are historically rooted in anti-heroes and shady characters. If anything, there is a lack of truly good and earnest characters, lol.

[Decay]

Naturally there's more to Japanese fiction than shounen or moe, but in manga that's most of what's out there. Just going by the raw percentages, there's simply more of that stuff. Same with VNs and charage/moege when you discard nukige.

[XReaper]

1 hour ago, Tyrosyn said:

There is no lack of antiheroes or evil protagonists. I would even say they are far more common than good guys.

sorry to dissappoint you, forwhy there is indeed alack of those for sure. those commonly called evil are nothing but fictionary characters behaving humanlike, instead of beeing created with borderline good personalaties in mind. out of all works i´ve read so far, not even ahandful has proven themselves worthy of representing true evilhood, which is adarn shame so to speak. most supposed to be antagonists regrettably tend to crack at one point behaviour-wise, means displaying an illogical change of heart in the "evil" agenda of theirs for no valid reason. maybee i´m simply an oldfashioned creep, still hoping for the ultimate devils incarnate to be born out of a broken authors mind, yet getting constantly my hopes crushed by the sudden appearance of utmost serenity. woe fellow readership, has malice really left this world of ours?
 

edit: from my own understanding evil defines itself non neccessarily through certain actions, or patterns, but more through spontanious raptures. a person thinking of evil as nothing but something trivial, or simply doing it whenever possible in a nonchalant manner, the better. for example i´d say the 2 enoshimas from danganronpa come pretty close, as they like to kill for kills sake, murder for murders sake & simply disire to turn the whole world into minced meet, because.. because apparently it must be ahell lot of fun XD

edit2: you know what´s the epitome of evil? those chinese cuties are for their love of mercilessly screwing with everyones happiness in browsergames.

[Decay]

Just to clear things up, "antihero" doesn't really mean "evil," an antihero is like a Renegade Mass Effect character, the Punisher, or Christopher Nolan's take on Batman. Or for some Japanese examples, Kyousuke from G-Senjou no Maou, or Lelouch from Code Geass.

[Darklord Rooke]

Anti-hero: Main character that doesn't act like a hero. Doesn't exhibit heroic traits.

Heroes are supposed to be brave and chivalrous, determined, fearless, kind, good-hearted. An example of an anti-hero would be someone who is pragmatic, rational, calculating, and emotionless. Vegeta from Dragon ball Z is a pretty good example of an anti-hero, and to be honest he's more interesting than Goku.

Evil antagonists can be dull for the same reasons virtuous heroes can be dull - people rarely think of themselves as a 'villain' or 'evil.' Sometimes they do, often they don't. Anti-heroes tend to be more realistic characters, more flawed, more complex, that doesn't necessarily mean they're more engaging though.

[Deep Blue]

17 minutes ago, Rooke said:

Anti-hero: Main character that doesn't act like a hero. Doesn't exhibit heroic traits.

Heroes are supposed to be brave and chivalrous, determined, fearless, kind, good-hearted. An example of an anti-hero would be someone who is pragmatic, rational, calculating, and emotionless. Vegeta from Dragon ball Z is a pretty good example of an anti-hero, and to be honest he's more interesting than Goku.

Evil antagonists can be dull for the same reasons virtuous heroes can be dull - people rarely think of themselves as a 'villain' or 'evil.' Sometimes they do, often they don't. Anti-heroes tend to be more realistic characters, more flawed, more complex, that doesn't necessarily mean they're more engaging though.

yeah no... I think vegeta is just a mass murderer aka villain or simple evil no matter how you look at him.

 

[Darklord Rooke]

He may have started off that way, but he’s evolved into anti-hero status. He does mostly good things for mainly not so cool reasons. He has a family, he cares for them in his own way, he helps protect people from many baddies.

Dragon ball Super (and the last couple of movies) softens his character still further. His character may have still had evil moments in the Buu saga, due to pent up frustrations, but wow has he softened a bit in Super. Not that I'm watching Dragon Ball Super... but the part where he was making a certain Deity's bed is flat out hilarious.

[XReaper]

to me griffith is pretty much the embodiment of an antihero, one who willingly sacrifices everything and everyone he once held dear, including the own child of his, all for the greater goal of obtaining enough power to ultimately create the kingdom he always desired/envisioned.

[Deep Blue]

33 minutes ago, Rooke said:

He may have started off that way, but he’s evolved into anti-hero status. He does mostly good things for mainly not so cool reasons. He has a family, he cares for them in his own way, he helps protect people from many baddies.

Dragon ball Super (and the last couple of movies) softens his character still further. His character may have had evil moments in the Buu saga, due to pent up frustrations, but wow has he changed a bit in Super. Not that I'm watching Dragon Ball Super... but the part where he was making a certain Deity's bed is flat out hilarious.

he evolved or turned into an "anti-hero" but you can't just erase his past, he is what he is, I think it doesn't fit on the story the way he is now... he is a grumpy man, a pure tsundere. You just can't go from killing for fun to save a puppy it's not logical, kyousuke or masaomi  on the other hand both of them made more sense because they were never actually "bad" they didnt enjoy the bad things they did, it was just a way to achieve their goals, kyousuke was more confused than anything else he actually say it at the end of the true route "I was slave to money" so you can't even call them anti-heroes. Like Xreaper said graffith is an antihero (from berserk)

24 minutes ago, XReaper said:

to me griffith is pretty much the embodiment of an antihero, one who willingly sacrifices everything and everyone he once held dear, including the own child of his, all for the greater goal of obtaining enough power to ultimately create the kingdom he always desired/envisioned.

Yes, he is a pure antihero, the perfect example of it.

[Funnerific]

4 hours ago, Tyrosyn said:

There is no lack of antiheroes or evil protagonists. I would even say they are far more common than good guys.

Anti-heroes are extremely rare in both VNs and anime and that's a fact. The Japanese are typically simply too idealistic and escapist to have them. Most of the protagonists presented as "anti-heroes" will almost certainly break their character soon enough, and not just once.

[BookwormOtaku]

Just remembered another that's available in english, if you don't mind yaoi there's No, Thank You!!

[Clephas]

@spademan Villainous protagonist is the tag you are looking for