What is an Anti-Villain
Being an author or writer, a thought must have come to your mind, ‘What is an Anti-Villain’. A widespread question, yet it is important to understand before writing such a character in your story. With this, we have today covered a detailed guide that decodes the Anti-Villain.
In a story, different characters fit into a variety of forms, some playing a good character and others playing a bad character. But some characters do not easily fit into a hero or a villain category; they are called anti-villain or anti-hero. Having a complex character, they always remain an interesting part of the story. Using such characters helps to build a ripping story, having a special fusion of evil and good in the same character.
With this, here we will be finding what is an anti-villain, and how to write an anti-villain character for your story. This can be done through understanding characteristics and types of anti-villain characters, which we have shared in the post below.
Understanding an Anti-Villain
A character that has good intentions or noble goals, but to achieve them, he uses questionable methods, can be said to be an anti-villain. Compared to the traditional villains, anti-villains have moral complexity, which makes them more relatable to the readers.
Anti-Villains Types
The type of anti-villain depends upon the requirements of the story. It is also very difficult to categorise a character as an anti-villain. Here are some common types of anti-villains:
Noble Demon
Where a character is holding moral principles or noble attributes despite his terrible deeds, it is a Noble Demon Anti-Villain. Unlike the conventional villains, noble demon anti-villains are more motivated by loyalty, personal morality, or duty. The technique they use is doubtful, despite their clear and noble intentions. These characters become intresting and multifaceted because of their complex nature.
Pragmatic Villain
When a character feels that whatever horrible things he does are required for a bigger cause, it is said to be a Pragmatic Villain, in the category of anti-villains. They give practical justifications for their deeds, in contrast to classic villains. Such things lead to relatability to their motivations and greater complexity.
Reluctant Villain
The next type of Anti-Villain we will be looking at is the Reluctant Villain. These type of villains acts against their own wishes or moral convictions. The play of an evil character goes beyond their control when they go through multiple events. The emotion of regret and internal anguish is reflected in these characters, who are also responsible for their deeds. Throughout their journey, readers can easily relate to such characters because of their human nature.
Well-Intentioned Extremist
A well-intentioned extremist anti-villain is a character who makes the readers feel his act serves the greater good, despite employing dangerous measures. They can go against morality to establish the just cause they want to. They are well written, interesting character that helps the readers to feel the depth of the story. There is a very thin line separating good and evil in their acts.
Anti-Villains Characteristics
Those who are writing an anti-villain character for their story must add some of the characteristics from the following. These will make the character sound more anti-villain.
Moral Ambiguity
For developing a character as an anti-villain in the story, an important quality it must possess is moral uncertainty. It means the methods that are being used must be doubtful and do not easily justify the good intentions behind them. Some anti-villains are multidimensional compared to the classic villains. It makes it difficult to understand whether they are on the good or the evil side.
Complex Motivations
To understand what is an Anti-Villain, you should look for complex motivations in their characteristics. It is a key trait in an anti-villain to have complex motivations; their actions do not completely sound good or evil but show complexity. Their methods are harmful and questionable, even if they are fighting for good deeds.
Sympathetic Traits
To make the character relevant to the readers, the quality of sympathy must be present in the anti-villain. For justifying the deeds, they may have a tragic past or heroic motivations. Their tactics might be poor, but the element of sensitivity and kindness must be strong. This characteristic gives depth to the story and a strong character to an anti-villain.
Comparison to Anti-Heros
There is a lot of confusion between the two. Well, talking from the side of the hero, he is the protagonist of the story who lacks any heroic quality, for example, morality or bravery. But a villain is a more complicated character whose techniques are questionable and contradict the good intentions or goals behind them. Readers may arouse empathy for anti-villains despite their evil deeds; anti-heroes are meant to be imperfect. Being a reader, you may get confused between them because of some common qualities of both, overlapping.
It gets difficult to fully categorise an anti-hero or anti-villain on the side of good or evil. The techniques of both characters are doubtful or questionable, but the objective or goal they want to achieve is justifiable. The typical stereotypes of any story are always broken by these characters.
Writing an Anti-Villain Character
Now we would like to share some tips to use and highlight common mistakes to avoid while writing an anti-villain character. Let’s get to know some tips for writing an anti-villain:
- Avoiding cliches
- Making their goals clear
- Giving them a strong personal code
- Ensuring they challenge the protagonist
Here are some common mistakes you must avoid as a writer while writing an anti-villain character:
- Making them too sympathetic
- Overcomplicating their motivations
- Neglecting their villainous actions
Also, check – Top 10 Best Creative Magazine Ideas
Conclusion
This was our detailed guide answering, What is an Anti-Villain.
We hope you have found this guide informative and an answer to your question. Above, we tried to explain all the traits of an anti-villain and how you can write one for your story. Now, it’s your time to share your views on this topic, and let us know in the comments section. We recommend checking similar blogs on the website as well.
