I have a LOTTTT of opinions about this an its too late and I'm not articulate enough to give the essay that this subject deserves (cause truly we could talk about this for daaaaaayyyyyssssss) so imma just go with my favorite answer
BDSM
Villains are... very seductive if I do say so myself :'D They're usually there to influence/test your good morals? Plus their confidence really boosts their aura (okay I'm getting into it too much)
Sometimes I'd like to see a story involving a "villain" as the main character for once. They being bad, not because of whatever negative backstory, but because they are just really like that and want to do what they do, and then succeed in their goal.
Hehehe! Reading your response made me chuckle, Mangocado. I sometimes wish Nintendo and associated holders of these properties would run with elaborating the villain's side of the story. I still remember the goosebumps I felt when I entered the final stage against Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time, and the awesomeness that was his more sympathetic characterization in Windwaker. Nintendo only flirted with what it could do with Ganondorf in those games, though... my adult heart years for a darker, more sophisticated story from them, lol. xD
@DokiDokiTsuna , as far as liking villains goes, I don't know. In real life, I suppose there are plenty of girls that are attracted to the excitement that a "bad boy" can bring, though only to a certain extent. With a fictional villain, it's easier to imagine that your romance with the bad guy would never actually bring actual harm to "you", and in that respect, you can still feel safe yet also get the benefits of the excitement that they bring. I don't know for sure, though, and this is a completely wild guess on my part, lol. Cheers!
I like the Disgaea series of video games, which often plays with this concept. The main characters are typically demons with the setting in the netherworld, so they just romp around doing demon-y, morally gray things like stealing and killing indiscriminately, because that's simply how they are.
However they seem to always veer off into redemption arcs and learning to respect and understand others and whatnot. Disgaea 1 probably plays with the idea of a truly evil MC the most though, he's just straight up a "might is right" selfish ruler for like the majority of the game xD
Probably cause they are everything the protagonist isn't. A protagonist is suppose to be the one whose got their shit together while villains don't, villains are usually bizarrely eccentric and over the top when protagonists are humble and down to earth so they stick out like a sore thumb. Villains make it about themselves, me, me, ME! so you gotta stare at them all the time and it becomes endearing seeing this trainwreck run around and destroy stuff all while flaunting themselves.
Or Hybristophilia for some people... see a doctor about that...
Hahaha I just remembered in Super Paper Mario, Luigi gets brainwashed by Nastasia and turns into Mr. L. Apparently some fans got twice as attracted to him (a little too many fanarts on deviantArt for that). I'm also a Mario fan so this makes me giddy
Ah, don't worry it's relatable shipping oneself to characters lol I do that myself
I think some of it comes down to the fact that a lot of villains become such because of them being wronged, or they feel like they've gotten the short end of the stick. Many times I think we feel that way - like life has dealt an unfair hand, and sometimes it feels good to get revenge. So we relate more to the villain. Watching some of the DC TV shows, I've had a hard time with some of heroes because they're so good at being the bigger person when it comes to giving the bad guy what he deserves. I think that's what makes heroes hard to relate to sometimes. True, we all want to be good, but in many ways it is easier to be bad, or teach someone a lesson. In many ways I get jealous of the good guys who can come up top over their faults - not because that makes them unrealistic, but because I want to be that way, and feel like a failure because I haven't reached it. I don't normally like siding with villains, but I do see so many of their qualities that are normal for anyone to feel, whether that be betrayed, hurt, lonely, incompetent, looked down on, discredited. They're all feelings that are worth overcoming. Villains just do it the wrong way, which again, outlashing and hurting others to justify your hurt, and not all villains do this, is something that's easiest to do.
Ah, I just realized what connotation the words "attractive" and "fall in love" actually carry...6_6
For me it's not so much a romantic attraction as it is an intense enjoyment of the character. ^^ I usually find it bizarre when people express a desire to hook up with villain characters...like, why in the hell would anyone want to date Starscream?? At least go for Megatron; he seems more stable...
Now when it comes to other characters being paired with the villains, I'm a little more open minded. At least then I know it's possible for them to be "redeemed through love" if the author wills it. The good old Beauty and the Beast narrative is one of those cliches I never get tired of~
Evil characters usually hold an undercurrent of self confidence that in otherwise morally upright characters people love to read as conceited and as a flaw, but in villains, it's hella appealing. Why the double standard? I have no idea. Maybe we're so obsessed with "good" people being morally perfect and milquetoast that any slight indication of a defect makes people turn away from them.
I make it a purpose to have well-written villains in my own stories. I feel like the reason we as readers enjoy the bad guys so much is the attraction to the forbidden. Villains have far more freedom than heroes and in most ways, are far more important than the heroes are. Villains act, heroes react.
Typically it's nice when you can relate to a villain. Maybe they just had a bad day, or a cause they're fighting for that "they" believe is just. After all, every villain is the hero of their own story.
I know what you mean, for me villains are just more relatable, they're a person that may have followed the wrong path, tragic hero, their backstory is what pulls people in as to how they became the person that is in the "wrong" in their story.
people in real life have different points of view and they at times believes that they are doing the right thing but the end up the having questionable motivations. i feel that villains are wonderfully complex like real humans, they have layers that make them so interesting.
Villains are free in their actions and can do everything they want, because they are not bounded with moral, as heroes are. That's why they can be more interesting.
I have no interest in really evil or really good characters. They are not realistic and utterly unrelatable.
Well written good guys are rare. Well written villains are still rare, but not as much as well written good guys. Villains are easier because they are PERCEIVED to have more narrative freedom, and, as has been mentioned, we project all of our doubts and misgivings with acting proper upon them. They fascinate us because we are constantly imagining having the freedom/audacity of being them. We do this with heroes, too, but, like I said, genuinely interesting ones are hard to come by, and even well written good guys are generally familiar.
That's some narrative reasons. The underlying reason is original sin, which is pride/vanity. I'll spare you the religious explanation, so here's the more secular conceit: human beings tend toward selfishness and vanity without outside forces like universal standards of morality and structure to guide/coerce/force them into more cooperative states of mind. Villains buck the system. They are almost always confident, put together, comfortable with themselves, and otherwise perfectly satisfied with their flavor of evil. But regardless of whether or not they are well intentioned or truly malicious, ALL villains act the same--they are convinced that they know better than anyone else, from you to God to anything else you wish to add. Their pride gives them licence to do as they wish. They know better, their moral compass is right, they have the answers, they have the knowledge to make the right decisions.
We love that. Many people have brought up this point: villains allow us to live the fantasy. We hunger for that complete freedom--from social constructs, from expectations, from accountability, from moral standards, from law, from virtue, from God. The story of Lucifer is the quintessential heart of all villains: I know better, so I will do as I wish.
Do you not find aspirational characters (really good guys) and archetypal boogeymen (really bad guys) to be entertaining/instructive/inspiring/thought provoking? It's true that they are often unrelatable, but I'd argue they are by NO means unrealistic. We have our saints and monsters in spades.
I enjoy finding out the story behind them tbh.
Like these two, god.
As in what motivates them, and how they'll manage to try and get in the protagonist's way.
Then there's the charisma.
That's always fun. (ﾉ´∀｀*)
They are not for me, no.
I've never encountered, or heard of, anyone completely evil or completely good, so characters like that just feel ridiculous and forced to me. I also have a strong dislike for Manichean stories following groups of characters in a good/bad opposition. It feels flat and empty.
I do like, however, in non-realistic universe, characters who are fully amoral, or have a moral system completely different than ours.
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