Okay, so imagine that both are equally well-characterized. Even then, as a rule, which would you prefer? The flawed hero or the sympathetic villain?

Feel free to give examples of your favorites from either category, or discuss manga titles, or just explain why you prefer one to the other!

Oh, and I haven't provided a "Don't care/Indifferent" option in the poll, because I really would like you to choose, or, at least, to think about what you would choose if you were presented with both characterization tropes at an equally high standard. 'Cause I just love making people choose between the greater of two weevils. 😀

I always like the nice bad guy over the cruel hero. Even when the nice bad guy is doing something really horrible

Same here! Idk why, but there's nothing that gets to me more than a sympathetic villain... I feel I can really RELATE, you know? (Even though I'm not a villain. Lol.)

Example... Askeladd from Vinland Saga... My favorite character in the manga, even though for the protagonist, he was the 'villain'. Same goes for the crazy psychopath, Cesare Borgia, from Kakan no Madonna, and the other crazy psychopath, Sakujun, from Saiunkoku Monogatari. And let's not forget GRIFFITH from Berserk... <3

flawed hero..........is best

i loved lelouch and suzaku
light (deathnote)
revy (black lagoon)

best shonen manga couples :

shinichi X ran
natsu X erza
ippo X kumi
naruto X gaara

Flawed hero..

I voted Sympathetic villain because that would mean that there is a redeeming quality/feature to him/her. For a villain to have known and/or done only "evil" things to (suddenly) show sympathy towards something/someone, it is something worthy and rare. There's a saying like, you can try to teach a person good things for years but it only takes a moment for the person to learn and do something bad. So, for a villain to have something good, I find it touching and profound, and won't be able to completely hate the character for all the evil things he or she has done.

Whether or not I like the flawed hero, it would depend on what type of flaw it is, the situation the hero is in when the flaw is shown, and the genre of the story. For me, I have high expectations of the hero -- the hero should represent or embody what is good or mostly good. However, the story might show the hero with a few flaws so as to say that the hero is a normal person who can make mistakes, etc. However, if a hero is greatly flawed in that he or she commit a really horrible deed, then I most probably won't like him/her.

Sorry, I can't recall any good example. I can only think of Kandata in "The Spider's Thread" from Aoi Bungaku Series, for the sympathetic villain (even if it can be considered for a brief moment -_-).

Flawed hero. Some of my favorite characters are flawed heroes. I play lots of Jrpgs and I am just so sick of the sympathetic villain thing. It just happens so often in those games. I love insane and vicious villains but unfortunately they are usually side villains. I hate when the author/writer/creator tries to make me pity someone who was a complete monster. It rarely ever works for me. Especially not if said character raped or murdered innocent people. There's just no going back from that.

Mmm...if the "sympathetic villain" really does elicit feelings of sympathy then maybe. But for the most part I prefer the flawed hero.

As a sidenote, I have no sympathy for Griffith >:-(

"It is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science."

I think I'd like the sympathetic villain more...

I can't really explain it but I just wanna go against the "he is teh bad guy of evul" thing

GTO is a sympathetic villain LOL

i love sympathetic villains!!
well maybe thats just the part of me who always root for the underdog.. because of course the protagonist is so going to finish him or her in the end.. sigh and if Light is the hero then L must be the villain right?? so that just really concludes my vote!! and can i include Nakago? from fushigi yuugi.. i just think that hes cool and hot that way... such a tragic past.. 😢 totally second Sakujun!!! >_<

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GUESS WHO??

a sympathetic villain is so much more interesting for me. They are usually the more sorrowful ones, who realize they're doing something wrong but have a personal reason for it. Sometimes they change sides and join the hero, which I LOVE!!!

but a flawed hero is really cool too. I love seeing their evil sides and how they use other people for their own goals, sometimes. Death Note is one of my all time favorite animes because of that, second only to Code Geass. Freaking AwEsOmE!!!!! 😀

If by 'sympathetic villain' you mean 'villain who the author tries to humanize or evoke empathy for', I'd go with 'flawed hero'. My favorite example is Munsu from Shin Angyo Onshi. With a tragic past, his brutal tactics and seeming indifference of others bely his true nature and ultimately endear himself to the reader. Or not. It worked for me in this manga, but few others. Itachi is another standout. I cannot think of many people who not only thought he was cooler than Sasuke, but also that he was ultimately going to be a good guy in some bullshit twist; the author just gave too many hints to disagree.

As for ones I don't like? I simply could not stand 'Light' in Death Note (his name alone irritated me) >:-( . And as another poster mentioned, Lelouch was a douche. All his maladies were self-caused, and he destroyed everything and everyone around him. But I never pitied him, only those around him who still loved him. His ineptitude was massive; he managed to make a royal mess of anything he tried to do, much like Harry Potter, but with (can you believe it?) more angst. It was an epic tale for sure, in both telling and scale, and ultimately I loved the series, but Lelouch was both evil and a hero; he defines both these criteria you have set forth. What a jerk.

And Griffith.....there is no greater jerk in any story I have ever read. His tragedy was established and is ongoing, but the author makes him very easy to hate. And Berserk is the greatest tragedy I've ever read outside of textbooks in scale, telling, and depth. But yeah, here's to the hope he dies a royally painful death and Guts doesn't just kiss and make up with him in the end. Which may happen, since the author is a jerk too. Off topic: I for one am glad Berserk departed from the 'oh btw rape in this chapter too lol' formula, who's with me?

As you can see, I like to write run-on sentences. My title is spelled correctly.

Good grief, flawed hero all the way!

Think about it: who gets more page time, the hero or the villain? The hero of course! Villains usually come and go (or they make friends with the hero and become lame afterward), but you're usually stuck with the hero for the entire series.

I always find sympathetic villains and flawed heroes to be more interesting than perfect heroes and perfectly evil villains (no matter how well-characterized the perfect character might be), but if I have to choose one or the other, I'd rather the hero be the more interesting character since I have to spend more time with him than the villain.

Flawed hero cuz nobody is perfect. And also I like the villains to be genuinely evil. 😎

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"Sympathetic villain"

While I don't mind a flawed hero, in fact a hero must have some flaws to overcome, I absolutely hate the one-note chortling villain of unremitting evil and unexplained motivation. One of my favorite villains has to be Dr. Jezebel Disraeli of Godchild. He did horrific things, and yet at least one redeemingly awesome thing.