| I don't think it is the case tbh. There can be villains who can be interesting even without a sad backstory. Villains like Light Yagami. Isabella from Promised neverland was already interesting even before a backstory came about her. As long as the execution is great, I don't think a sad backstory is needed to make a villain interesting. |
 Scordolo's Recent Reviews To your eternity Vanitas no Karte |
| absolutely not. the best villains are the ones who are evil for the hell of it |
| A character doesn't even need a backstory to be entertaining |
| If you're a fanboy, please don't waste my time. Watch more movies, please. Perhaps, this is hell. |
| As long as they're entertaining to watch I'm fine with any kind of villain |
| No, they just need to be well-written and serve the narrative in some way, either thematically or adding more to the MC's personality/development. |
| Who are you and why do you show your hostility towards a complete stranger whom you've not once spoken with before. Are you seriously asking to get blocked? Well, if that's what your intent is; to tempt me into throwing hands with someone as lowly and insignificant as you, then i may grant your wish provided you articulate yourself a bit better when trying to spite a person of my wavelength. |
| Nah, it's the other way around, a sad backstory is just a mandatory accessory at this point, that ONLY matters, if the character is already interesting. |
| Nope. Zodd has no backstory but got me really invested in my first viewing of Berserk from the few episodes he was in. Mystique can be just as useful as a backstory. |
Teach a man to cook, and he can’t fish. But teach a man to fish, and he feeds himself and cooks. -👧 ( ° ω ˣ ) |
| Hunter x Hunter villains are some of my favorite villains of all time (except the Bomber) and practically none of them have sad backstories. Hisoka and the Phantom Troupe are really entertaining, to the point I'm content to just watch them and their shenanigans without wondering about their backstories. Meruem is an insanely well-written character with no backstory at all and I was thoroughly invested in his story. That being said, I always love a good villain backstory as long as it's well-integrated. But it's definitely not necessary in order to make an interesting villain. |
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| No, as long as they are interesting or entertaining to watch. |
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| A backstory can add a lot to a villain but they definitely do not need a backstory to make them an interesting antagonist. |
  ★・・・・・・★ If you wish to treat this incident as our nation’s scheme, that is fine by me. History is written by the victors. All of your false accusations will soon be erased. ★・・・・・・★ |
| It's not really about making them interesting, it's about making you sympathetic towards them. |
| If you reply back to me and I never respond, I lost interest and don't care. Sorry about that. |
| No, if anything it has gotten boring at this point with every single antagonist nowadays having some sort of tragic backstory. |
| Evidently no. The same goes for every other character. But that's one of the easiest methods to build a character so you can see how overused it is in anime. The lazy usage of it makes anime seems like a childish joke. |
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| A sad backstory, no. A good backstory, yes. |
"Nobody could laugh at someone who's trying their hardest" -Machio- |
| Not at all, especially if it seems forced or just off-putting in general. Like you stated, execution is key, so as long as it makes them a more interesting/compelling character, it's fine if it isn't sad or whatnot. |
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| You're confusing the interestingness of the villain with the so-called "Freudian excuse" where the villain is given a traumatic backstory as an explanation for his motivation. |
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| No, but it's always nice to have different personalities. Some are bad because they are just evil, others are bad because of a sad backstory. I don't want to see always the same kind of villain (same with protagonist/heroes). |
~ I have ashamed of you ~  |
| depends on how sad the villain's backstory is. |
| I don’t know. Does Frieza need? What do you think? |
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| Dio has nothing sad about him but I still found him to be very enjoyable |
 ManWild |
| They dont need a backstory, but they need a backround/motivation why they do the things they do. This can be a sad reason, but dont has to. Best example: Light Yagami. No sad backstory but an understandable motivation. |
| Not always. They simply need to have charisma and charm to interest us. |
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| No, I just need *something* to latch onto. Something that makes me feel a certain way towards them. Traits that distinguish them and make them feel believable and real. |
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| A backstory always adds to a character regardless of whether it's sad or not, watching villains that are bad for the sake of being bad are boring to watch. |
| Nope, sad and tragic backstory only has a sole purpose to make us viewers relate and feel sympathy. In my opinion, an interesting villain is someone who have a clear motivation, an unique personality and manner. They also need to be a worthy opponent and pose some threats towards the protagonists. Some example I could think of: Bondrewd, Makishima Shougo, Kira Yoshikage. |
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| Good villains make the good guys better. I'm okay with either villains being evil because evil is cool or because of reasons (so long as they are explained). I hate it when they shoehorn in a tragic backstory a second before the villain dies. It feels cheap. |
| as long as they have an interesting personality i think it should be enough. backstory doesn't matter much |
| Well, in my case, most of interesting villains are the one with sad backstories. But I really want to know a funny backstory one. Any recommendation? |
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| No, some villains can be interesting by engaging them with sad stories from side characters, there are also independent villains, so the sad background of a villain can be interesting or not. |
| no and i wish there were more villains that didn't have a sad backstory. more specifically a sad AND cliche backstory |
| good opinions on anything, block = I own you |
| No, they just need motives that make sense instead of just being evil to be evil. |
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| Good villains don't have to be driven by noble intentions or a sad backstory, they just have to be fun to watch and a good opposition to the heroes. |
| "Piccolo you have no sauce" |
| Not really tbh, I usually hate characters after knowing their backstory because they're either too-dramatic, doesn't make sense or simply predictable. |
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| A backstory is nice but it doesn't need to be sad |
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