Sawyer

Happy Valentine’s Day~!

malik has a huge importance plot-wise and can actually play the damn card game. the decks he uses, first slifer and then ra, are cleverly managed and both give the good guys quite the scare. the typical revenge-oriented villain trope does determine much of his motivation, but the interesting twist is how he actually strives for groundless payback after putting all the blame on the pharaoh — he needs revenge for revenge’s sake, something to give him purpose and keep him going, until he’s so into it that he can no longer tell the difference. his gravekeeper background and the trauma he suffered at young age both make a lot of sense, as does the way he acquired the rod. his family, ishizu and rishid, do a great job in complementing and completing his character. besides, he’s one of the few (only?) ygo villains that act fucked up (real evil, i give him that) and get plausible retribution arcs afterwards — a good wrap-up with realistic, justified pacing is what most of them lack (ekhem yuri, ekhem quattro).

bakura is the major villain of the whole dm (it would appear) — and i love the way he’s absent through a good half of the whole plot anyway. his character is introduced in pegasus’s island, then he plays his part at battle city and returns only for the final arc, showing some very nice long-term pacing (just the way the millennium eye shows up after a long time to serve its purpose). the ryo-dark bakura-zorc-thief king set up makes a surprising lot of sense and explains a good part of the plot. the “evil non-human destruction entity” part is a bit cheap, but i can let it slide because it’s rather congruous. bakura’s motivations are really my favorite — his issue with the pharaoh is a tragic conflict, making his drive both understandable and condemnable. his personality and emotions adds a lot to the mix (as does being near-immortal): he’s not very goal-oriented and likes to do what he pleases, which is perfectly reflected in the battle city duel against yugi. it’s a shame that he gets annihilated without at least a proper death scene, but i guess it is rather deserved. either way, he’s the only major villain in ygo that is so well-developed (or at all) and has so much in common with a human being, especially if we count ryo in. the fact that he sucks at the card game makes it even better for the chaotic-evil “do i look like i have a plan” character he is, though they could have let him play more than, like, three duels in total.

Anime & Manga

“How to save the world with the power of friendship.”

Boku no Hero Academia

Jujutsu Kaisen

Haikyuu!! -1

SK8 the Infinity

Attack on Titan +8

Naruto -1

One Piece +1

Mo Dao Zu Shi -2

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure -6

Tokyo Revengers

19 Days -1

Hetalia +5

Sailor Moon -2

Tian Guan Ci Fu +24

Fruits Basket -6

Death Note +2

Fullmetal Alchemist -3

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -3

Inuyasha -7

Yuri!!! on Ice +9

Mob Psycho 100 -5

Bungou Stray Dogs -7

Hanyō no Yashahime

Chainsaw Man

Yu-Gi-Oh! +5

Hunter X Hunter -6

Wonder Egg Priority

Beastars -24

Bleach -6

Fairy Tail -11

Osomatsu San +18

Black Clover -4

Neon Genesis Evangelion +14

Vanitas No Carte

The Promised Neverland +11

Banana Fish +3

Horimiya

Soul Eater +5

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations -15

Digimon Adventure -15

Berserk

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Dorohedoro -21

Diabolik Lovers -8

Given -13

Kuroshitsuji -11

Noragami -20

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun

Higurashi

Painter of the Night