AVAC: Antagonist/ Villain Appreciation Club

 Annette:

A club where we talk about the anti heros that stole the show?? count me in!!

Welcome ? 

Hello fellow enjoyers of evil!! I would love to join the club! 

Hope it's okay for me to answer these questions ;-;

If You could think back, who was the first antagonistic character that took Your interest more than any hero character and why? Was it because You could somehow relate to them?

I think the first villain who truly captivated me in dramaland would have to be Fairy Shunde from The Blue Whisper. Sure, she had her shortcomings and definitely isn't the best of the villains out there, but she was the first one that caught my eye. Not only was she wickedly evil and effortlessly stunningly elegant, but she was also a flavour of unhinged that I really enjoyed. Especially in the later half after she's corrupted and fully commits.

As for villains in general, there are two that live rent-free in my mind. The first would be Lord Shen from Kung Fu Panda 2. His character was effortlessly elegant, mature, traumatic, and twisted. I loved the depth of his character, his arc, and the poetry of it all... How he met his fate in the path he took to avoid it. Easily my favourite villain out there. Second would be Sander Cohen from the Bioshock franchise. I honestly just love the over-the-top tragic artist that has completely lost the plot thing he has going on. Artist villains just hit hard like that. 

Until now, was there any certain character You have in mind when observing other villains/ antagonists that you un/consciously compare them to? Or do You not pay much attention to similarities?

Ig I do kinda fit some into the archetypes and compare them to other villains that are similar to see how they compare and what was done differently but I'm not really sure there is a single fixed one. 

Would You also just enjoy an extremely good-looking, beautiful, and smart villain/antagonist whose background or character consistency is faulty?

Enjoy? Yes. Would I think it's a particularly well-written/compelling villain? No. T-T having a weak villain is just such a shame, and it really makes the story and characters suffer (and NOT in the good way xD)

Do You think female and non-binary villains/antagonists are underrepresented?  

Yes!!! Both underrepresented and misrepresented. Female villains are already hard to come by (especially in non-romance dramas), and good ones even harder. Not-cis villains basically don't exist, and when they do, there's a 99% chance that the rep is offensive. I don't think there's anything I can say that wasn't already said here before. Everyone made very good points about both female & LGBTQ+ antagonists and I agree. Hoping that we'll get better rep going forward. 

But while on the topic... I'm kinda curious to see if anyone has any good drama/movie reccs with female/nonbinary villains. Maybe a list could be made, and if there already is, liiiink pls?

@arclei 

Im not aware of this kind of list but I'm definitly going to make one! >:D will let you know when I'm done 

 Arclei:

OMG It's so nice to see a fellow Shen enthusiast!!! That's honestly such a valid take. They really went above and beyond with his animation. His fighting style is so unique and fluid with so much attention to detail!!  

OMG YESSSSS!!!!!! I'm looking forward to seeing it! Your lists are always a 10/10

Aww thank you very much! Here's what I have at the moment. Will try to add more as they come up. I don't think it ended up having any nonbinary antagonists though. Some have some wiggle room for interpretation (like A Chinese Ghost Story), but for the most part everyone is a woman be that trans or cis. 

 fiflydramalover:

Aww thank you very much! Here's what I have at the moment. Will try to add more as they come up. I don't think it ended up having any nonbinary antagonists though. Some have some wiggle room for interpretation (like A Chinese Ghost Story), but for the most part everyone is a woman be that trans or cis. 

Yeah, not surprising. Enby rep is very hard to come by as is but regardless, dope list!! Thanks for making it!