Shonen Villain Traits
Basic Traits
A character must at least meet 6 of the basic traits to be classified as a Shonen Villain:
- Villainous/Anti-Villainous: A Shonen Villain commits a horrible atrocity, even if for noble reasons.
- Powerful/Skillful: A Shonen Villain is skilled and resolute at his field.
- Power-Hungry: A Shonen Villain is obsessed with power and ready to do anything to get it.
- Pursues a Big-End Goal: A Shonen Villain pursues a goal, most likely clashing with the hero’s
- Arrogant: A Shonen Villain is very arrogant and prideful of their skills and abilities.
- Intelligent: A Shonen Villain is highly intelligent.
- Cold-Hearted/Ruthless: A Shonen Villain is cold-hearted or highly ruthless.
- Short-Tempered: A Shonen Villain is prone to getting angry quickly.
- Laughably Evil: A Shonen Villain has moments where they show their sense of humor.
- Psychopathic: A Shonen Villain doesn't care about right and wrong or the feelings of others.
- Narcissistic: A Shonen Villain has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves.
- Has a Sinister Laugh: A Shonen Villain often laughs in a way that presents their villainy.
Bonus Traits
- Sadistic: A Shonen Villain finds joy in the pain of others.
- Tragic Past: A Shonen Villain has experienced events that traumatized them and damage their psyche.
- (NOTE: This only applies to Shonen Villains who are truly Tragic, as their tragedies outweigh their heinousness.)
- Freudian Excuse: A Shonen Villain's behavior is a result of a troubling experience in their past, even though their actions don't justify it.
- (NOTE: This only applies to those who are Fake Tragic, as their tragedies are too small to be excused for the heinousness of their misdeeds.)
- Has Incompetent Minions: A Shonen Villain has followers who fail to help them succeed with their plans due to their stupidity/incompetence.
- Serves as a Foil to the Hero/Protagonist: A Shonen Villain acts as a darker foil to the main protagonist/hero of the story.
- Bloodthirsty: A Shonen Villain relishes on violence to the point of having no issue with hurting innocent people for their own amusement.
- Is a Game Changer: A Shonen Villain mostly if not always darkens the mood in the story, being taken very seriously by other characters.
- Is a Secondary-Color Nemesis: A Shonen Villain's appearance/outfit is composed of at least one of the three secondary colors: Green, Orange and Purple (and sometimes Black).
- Is a Dark Lord: A Shonen Villain is a type of villain who not only dwells on destroying anything and anyone around them, but influences others to do the same.
- Calls Out Attacks: A Shonen Villain calls out their attacking moves before using them against their opponents.
- (NOTE: Bold and italicize the attacks the characters shout out.)
- Has Black Air Force Energy: A Shonen Villain is wild, aggressive, and has a flagrant disregard for others and established rules.
- Immature: A Shonen Villain often behaves in a childish way.
Categories
Special Categories That Can Fit
- Hate Sinks: Shonen Villains can be written to be hated.
- Non-Villains: As long as they performed a villainous deed out of bad intentions rather than pragmatism despite being considered heroes, they can qualify as long as they are inconsistent in their heroism.
- Redeemed Villains: While there are a lot of completely inhumane Shonen Villains, there are still some characters who do redeem themselves at the end of the story as long as they never become PG or NPG.
- Shojo Villains: If the character exhibits traits associated with the Shojo Villain archetype, they may qualify.
Caution Categories
- On & Off: A Shonen Villain can be an On & Off character as long as their villainy are more consistent than their good deeds.
- Seinen Heroes: If the character is not NPE or PE or isn't too vile, has done a lot of good in the past and/or shows redeemable qualities, they may fit.
Categories That Never Fit
- All Other Heroic Archetypes: This is very obvious.
- Near Pure Good: Shonen Villains obviously cannot be NPG.
- Pure Good: Same as NPG.