How To Create The PERFECT VILLAIN Character For Your Manga | Ft @GummKid
Summary
TLDRIn this insightful video, the focus is on crafting compelling villain characters for comic, manga, or webtoon narratives. The presenter, Gum Kid, an independent comic artist, emphasizes the importance of villains as they highlight the hero's journey and introduce conflict. Villains are not just evil; they have their own motivations and goals, often seen as the heroes of their own stories. The video differentiates between villains and antagonists, noting that while all villains are antagonists, not all antagonists are villains. It also touches on the concept of anti-heroes and provides examples of well-written and poorly written villains. The key takeaway is to give villains depth, making them more than one-dimensional adversaries. The presenter suggests using character interview sheets to flesh out their backgrounds, motivations, and goals, and stresses that a villain's motive and goal are crucial for creating conflict and driving the story forward. The video concludes with the idea that villains and heroes are often a matter of perspective, and encourages creators to view their villains as complex individuals with their own stories to tell.
Takeaways
- 🎭 **Villains are Essential**: A great villain character is crucial for showcasing the hero's heroism and understanding the conflicts and dangers they face.
- 🧐 **Defining Villains**: Villains are characters who oppose the protagonist and are often seen as evil, but they can also be complex individuals with their own motivations.
- 🤔 **Antagonists vs. Villains**: Not all antagonists are villains; villains are a subset of antagonists who are more significant and typically embody evil.
- 👶 **Origins of Villains**: Villains are not born evil; their character development and life experiences shape their goals and motives.
- 🔥 **Conflict and Tension**: Villains add conflict and depth to a story, making their goals and motives as important as the forces that drive the heroes.
- 🌟 **Villains as Heroes in Their Own Story**: A villain is the hero of their own story, and their opposition to the protagonist is often due to conflicting goals.
- 🏆 **Noble Villains**: Villains whose goals may be more noble than the hero's can create compelling storytelling and moral dilemmas.
- 🤓 **Everyday Villains**: Some villains are not evil by nature but are forced into evil actions due to circumstances, making them relatable and complex.
- 🚫 **Poorly Written Villains**: Lack of depth, reasoning, and purpose can lead to poorly written villains who are one-dimensional and fail to engage the audience.
- 🔄 **Villain to Hero Transformation**: Villains can become heroes under certain conditions, such as a greater threat or a change of heart, which can be a controversial but interesting plot device.
- 📝 **Character Development**: A well-written villain should have a backstory, clear motives, and goals that make their actions coherent and understandable to the audience.
Q & A
What is the primary role of a villain character in a story?
-The primary role of a villain character is to serve as the antagonist who opposes the main character, creating conflict and tension, which in turn highlights the heroism of the protagonist and the dangers and challenges they face.
How does a villain character differ from an antagonist in general?
-While all villains are antagonists, not all antagonists are villains. A villain is typically a more significant evil force in the plot, whereas an antagonist could also play the role of an anti-hero, someone who opposes the protagonist but may not necessarily be evil.
What are the four main types of antagonists mentioned in the script?
-The four main types of antagonists are villains, conflict creators, inanimate forces, and internal conflict characters.
What is a common trait between villains and heroes according to the script?
-Both villains and heroes believe in the rightness of their actions and are the heroes of their own stories. Their perspectives and the way they perceive their goals and motives are what differentiate them.
Why are villains' goals and motives important in storytelling?
-Villains' goals and motives are important because they add depth to their characters, create conflict necessary for the story, and allow the audience to understand the reasons behind their actions, making the story more engaging and believable.
What are some examples of well-written villains with noble goals?
-Examples of well-written villains with noble goals include Funny Valentine from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Yoshikage Kira from the manga/anime series Death Note.
How can a poorly written villain be identified?
-A poorly written villain can be identified by the lack of depth in their reasoning, clear motives, or purpose behind their actions. They may be evil for the sake of being evil without a compelling backstory or rationale.
What are the three ways to justify a villain character becoming a hero?
-The three ways to justify a villain character becoming a hero are: introducing a greater threat that requires the villain to work with the protagonist, creating a situation where working with the protagonist will benefit the villain, and having the villain come to a realization that their side is wrong.
Why is it important to write a villain's backstory and experiences?
-Writing a villain's backstory and experiences is important to shape their motives and make their actions coherent and understandable to the audience. It adds depth to the character and helps to humanize them, making the story more relatable and engaging.
What is the advice given for not treating villains like villains?
-The advice is to treat villains as people too, with their own quirks, issues, and perspectives. This approach helps to create more complex and relatable characters that go beyond one-dimensional stereotypes.
How can a character interview sheet template be useful for developing a villain character?
-A character interview sheet template can be useful for keeping track of a villain character's goals, motivations, and other important traits. It helps to organize and clarify the character's background, making it easier to ensure consistency and depth in their portrayal.
Outlines
🎭 Understanding Villains in Storytelling
The first paragraph discusses the importance of villains in storytelling, emphasizing their role as the opposition to the main character, which highlights the heroism of the protagonist. It differentiates between villains and antagonists, noting that all villains are antagonists but not all antagonists are villains. The paragraph also touches on the concept of anti-heroes and the idea that villains are characters with their own goals, often seen as the hero of their own story. It provides examples of villains with noble goals and those who are not inherently evil but are driven to their actions by circumstances. The discussion also points out poorly written villains, who lack depth, reasoning, and purpose.
🛡 Justifying Villain Redemption and Character Development
The second paragraph explores the possibility of villains becoming heroes, suggesting that it can be a controversial yet interesting plot point if handled correctly. It offers three ways to justify a villain's transformation: introducing a greater threat, creating a situation where the villain benefits from working with the protagonist, and having the villain realize their wrongdoings. The paragraph stresses the importance of giving villains depth and backstories to make their actions coherent and understandable. It also advises against treating villains as mere one-dimensional characters, advocating for a more nuanced portrayal that includes their personal quirks and societal issues. The summary concludes with the advice to make villains matter in the story, with clear motives and goals that drive the conflict and the narrative.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Villain Characters
💡Antagonist
💡Conflict Creators
💡Inanimate Forces
💡Internal Conflict
💡Motivation
💡Character Backstory
💡Villain's Goals
💡Character Arc
💡Anti-Hero
💡Florida Villain Tier Template
Highlights
Villain characters are crucial for showcasing the heroism of the protagonist and understanding the conflicts they face.
A villain is defined as a character who opposes the protagonist in any way, with examples like Vicious from Cowboy Bebop and Doflamingo from One Piece.
The distinction between villains and antagonists is made clear, with villains being a subset of antagonists.
Anti-heroes are characters with villain traits who ultimately align with the goals of a hero.
There are four main types of antagonists: villains, conflict creators, inanimate forces, and internal conflict characters.
Villains do not have to be inherently evil; they often have their own goals and ideas that conflict with the protagonist's.
Conflict is essential for storytelling, and villains add tension and depth to a narrative.
A villain's goals and motives are as important as the forces that drive the heroes.
Valentine and Kira are given as examples of villains whose goals can be seen as nobler than the heroes'.
Poorly written villains lack depth, reasoning, and a clear purpose.
Villains with no clear purpose can be seen as one-dimensional and uninspired.
Villain characters may change sides under certain conditions, such as a greater threat or a realization of their wrongdoings.
When creating a villain, their backstory and experiences should be well-developed to make their motives coherent.
Villains should be treated as complex characters with their own quirks, issues, and perspectives.
A villain's motive and goal are key to creating conflict and driving the story forward.
Villains should complement the story's themes, either contrasting with or enhancing them.
The importance of giving villains depth and making them sensible from a character perspective is emphasized.
The concept that all characters, whether heroes or villains, are viewed based on the perspective of the main character.
Transcripts
in today's video we are going to be
talking about creating great villain
characters for your Comics manga or
webtoon projects villain characters are
the bad guys in a story they are the
ones who come up with diabolical schemes
that cause harm or ruin to those around
them they are also the characters who
oppose your main character without
villain characters we wouldn't be able
to see how heroic the protagonist of
your story is we also wouldn't
understand the dangers and conflicts
your main characters are facing every
great story needs a great villain
character and I'm going to show you how
to make yours joining me in today's
video is gum kid an independent comic
artist sup name's gum kid I am the
creator of the webtoon school for the
Sinners on webtoons and Tapas if you
want to support me I'm on Instagram
Twitter Youtube gumkid a villain can be
described as a character in a story who
constitutes an important evil agency in
the plot they are corrupt degenerate
nefarious and vicious antagonists who
will do whatever it takes to reach their
goals villains are defined by their evil
activities but to be honest the way I
would Define it is people that oppose
the protagonist in any way possible
think of characters like vicious from
Cowboy Bebop moves on from Demon Slayer
and Don Quixote doflamingo from One
Piece villain characters and antagonists
are not the same thing it is important
to remember that all villain characters
are antagonists but not all antagonists
are villains villains would be more on a
bigger level than whatever you would
Define as an antagonist a villain is a
villain by everyone else's standards but
I guess an antagonist could play the
role as like a anti-hero I would say it
all be prospective an anti-hero is a
hero who has some of the characteristics
and personality traits of a villain But
ultimately gives into the goals and
desires of a hero there are four main
types of antagonists villains conflict
creators inanimate forces and internal
conflict villains are just one type of
antagonist a villain does not have to
always be evil I mean when we are born
we're just simply kids you know we very
small idea on how the world works like
no villain is born but the role of
villains to me are just characters with
their own ideas and goals who cannot
proceed to do so well the protagonist
tries to stop them or make things worse
for them every story needs conflict
conflict can be internal such as a
character's inner demons or external
such as the introduction of a villain
character villains add tension and
dimension to a story their goals and
motives are as important as the forces
that drive the heroes to challenge their
opponents always remember that a villain
character is the hero of his or her own
story if they stand in your
protagonist's way it is because they are
preventing them from accomplishing their
goals the best two examples I can give
you are funny Valentine and yoshikage
KIRO I believe they both have two great
villain tropes that I hold in complete
high regard basically one of them is a
villain whose goals are arguably better
than the hero's desire Bonnie and
Valentine is a bad guy who'll do just
about anything to kill anyone that
threatens this country he persists on
finding a power that will protect his
country from invasions War anything else
that could happen to it his decisions
are solely based on making the country
great again while the main hero in that
story just wants to learn how to walk
stolen short who do you want to win a
boy whose goal is pretty selfish or a
man who just wants to help his country
no matter what it takes I I believe
villains whose goals are more noble than
the heroes are practically great in
storytelling as for yoshikagi Kira I
also adore villains who are not villains
at all KIRO loves hands he does not want
to take over the world he does not have
any evil plans in mind he only does evil
things when he is in a situation where
he has to so if you're a kid then it was
dirty little secret well of course
you're gonna die all he wants in life is
to be quiet or normal as possible I like
these two tropes where villains doing
something for the greater good or just
minding their own business other than
the classic dynamics of taking over the
world because they have to Griffith is
also a good example you know he starts
out as a good guy a protagonist if you
want travels along with guts and you
know eventually you know it starts to
deteriorate his mindset you know and
then he got the most infamous scene in
berserk where you know it's the eclipse
that's when everything just changes you
know he sacrifices all of his friends
just for a taste of that power Just to
be Prince that's kind of what I want to
talk about later on in this discussion
that heroes and villains like there's no
barrier between them it's just one wrong
move can really wrap everything up one
of the worst written villains I can
think of is to go nobuyuki or the fairy
King Oberon from Sword Art Online unlike
many of the other villains in the series
Oberon lacks any depth of reasoning
behind his actions he commits acts of
essay on Asana the love interest of the
main character and tortures hundreds of
people to satisfy his power Cravings we
are never told why he needs to do all of
this but we are forced to watch it
anyway to make things worse when he's
put into a situation of real danger he
reveals himself to be cowardly
unintelligent and evil just for the sake
of being evil poorly written villains to
me come in all shapes and sizes they all
have one thing in common they lack a
motive or reasoning and a purpose and in
another example I'm going to be using
JoJo again cars from Jojo and maybe Dio
from JoJo Too part two and part one
basically one of them desires to be the
ultimate life form for what purpose we
never know one of them wants to be
immortal one of them wants to be the
most powerful being in the world you
know it brings me to that very point of
villains with no purpose it's just I
want to take over the world and Rule it
or I want to destroy the world because
you know writer told me to I mean in a
sense I feel like that would work for
comedy genres no proper structure and if
they do have a proper structure it
either doesn't make sense enough to the
audience for them just to behave the way
they are in some instances a villain
character may become a good guy
characters like Vegeta from Dragon Ball
hey from YuYu Hakusho and Gara from
Naruto are famous examples of this like
we said earlier villains believe that
what they are doing is right they are
the heroes of Their Own Story these main
characters generally have good
intentions but are unable to find a
morally correct solution a villain
character may have a change of heart if
the protagonist is able to convince them
that there is another way to achieve
their goals I kind of cringe at it like
whenever I see Dragon Ball Z I just
think damn is this dude going to be a
sidekick I don't know I kind of dislike
it because at some point these people
have their own goals and dreams they had
their own idea of destroying the
universe and the next thing you know
this guy kicks her ass and they're like
you know what I'm gonna join you it
doesn't make sense to me here are three
ways to justify a villain character
becoming a hero introduce a greater
threat that requires the villain to work
with the protagonist create a situation
where working with the protagonist will
benefit the villain and have your
villain come to a realization at their
side is wrong while this plot Trope can
be controversial to your audience it is
an interesting route to think about when
planning out your villain's character
arc when I make a villain I try to write
their whole back stories and experiences
you know that shape their motives their
lives so it is coherent and
understandable to the audience but I
always try to take into consideration
not to be too vague or complex with it
since being a little too simple or over
doing that can ruin the vibe you are
going for for that villain I keep in
mind that you know he's not exactly a
villain you know what makes him the
villain to the main character whether it
be a past relationship gone sour or he
took the last lollipop and that's why
I'm pissed at him just why him and the
main character can't get along best
advice I was ever given is don't treat
your villains like villains at all
they're people as well and just like
people you know they have their own
quirks and issues and other people they
despise you know they have issues with
Society some of them will drink Coke
some of them will drink Pepsi I know
that seems like very minimal but it
gives them a lot more depth building on
this it is important to remember that
your villain Character Matters they
should not just be a one-dimensional
character that your protagonist needs to
defeat like gum kids said they are
people too we all do things for a reason
our past experiences shape how we see
the world and become the source of
decisions that we make your villain
needs a motive and the goal the goal is
what the villain wants the motive is the
reason why he wants it without a motive
there is no conflict and without a
conflict there is no story I also
believe villains should complement your
stories you know their themes either
going against the theme or taking it to
a whole nother level in Death Note the
whole main theme is that Justice it will
prevail both protagonists and
antagonists have their own ideas of
justice and eventually one of them will
prevail and obviously it's you know the
right side of Justice if you want to
learn more about creating well-written
villain characters please check out some
of my other videos after you're finished
watching this one I also recommend
trying a character interview sheet
template to keep track of your villain
character's goals and motivations I do
have one thing but unironically it's
this funny meme template it's the
Florida villain tier template this tier
list actually was somewhat useful they
have the frontier villains who are just
villains who lost power the meteor
villains who are her motives are a
mystery and seem almost insane the
mid-tier who are just obeying their
nature and doing what they do to survive
the high tier who are just retaliating
against the misdeeds done to them trying
to change society as a whole you know
the great tier who are just villains
that are just villains because of the
situations you know the god to your
villain whose motives are better than
the heroes I say the biggest takeaway is
give your villain some depth and feeling
to them they don't have to be you know
the best but they should at least make
sense uh villains can be good people L
was a main antagonist of Death Note but
obviously he was doing the right thing
light was the truth killing everyone
anti-heroes cradle hold Dilemma to this
concept which is why I say this to you
all villains and heroes are just the
same it depends on the perspective of
your main character that's all it really
is it's all perspective hopefully you're
able to get some value out of this video
if you did make sure to like this video
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