Triggerpigkings Top 10 Villains.

Intended to get this out in the actual month of the bloggers wanted but well... I'm lazy and Gravity Rush and Nioh came out and besides it's 6000 odd words this took ages!.

 

Ah Villains, who doesn't love them? Well the good guys of course! I'm wanted in 200 countries for Pug trafficking though so I can't really consider myself one of them.

Villains are my favorite part of most stories, whether they be filled with depth, sympathetic and grey to the point of being hard to define as villains or just plain silly and fun to watch or anywhere in between.

 

So in no specific order here's my top 10 favorite villains....man did this fucking blog take ages to write..

 

Good old Grunty, I'm fairly sure Banjo Kazooie was the first game I ever played so she may very well have been my first video game villain and she's still one of my favorites.

Grunty inhabits a castle(Egotistically shaped like her own head) at the top of spiral mountain, one day her cauldron  tells her of how much prettier Banjo's sister Tootie is then her, Grunty...takes this about as well as anyone would and kidnaps her with the intent of throwing her into a machine and stealing her beauty leading Banjo & Kazooie to adventure through Grunty's castle to save her and defeat the old hag, this leads to one of the funniest(and most conflicting) game over screens I've seen, rather then trying to save some sexy damsel in distress the main villain instead becomes this sexy goth chick when you lose.

 

 

B&K is known for it's silly and often 4th dimensional breaking humour and I think Grunty encapsulates that in every way, throughout the first game she speaks soley in rhyme a gimmick you'd think would get old but stays creative and funny throughout the entire game. 

"My oily water, in you plunge, you'll lose air  while in that gunge!" " Grunty admits she's a hog, I really need a big hot dog!"...WHY DO SO MANY OF THESE SOUND LIKE INNUENDOS?!

 

This is made even better by the presence Grunty has throughout the game, as you roam around the hub world of her castle, she will constantly insult you with her rhymes, her castle is also littered with statues and paintings in her image, this all leads up to one of the most satisfying boss battles I've played, with awesome music, some of the funniest rhymes in the game and an epic fight that was actually pretty challenging.

 

Sadly her appearance in 2 was less satisfying, while still entertaining she no longer rhymed nor did her voice follow you around the map, though she was still funny when she did appear and her final boss was great.

Grunty will forever remain one of my favorite Videogame villains, I just hope Microsoft can bring back the series to it's true roots someday so we can have more of Grunty's awesome rhymes. 

 

 

When I first started Kill la kill I enjoyed it but it was by no means amazing...then during episode 11 suddenly Nui happened! Literally..just out of nowhere pops up in the middle of a battle between the protagonist Ryuko and some green fucker voiced by Link, she derails the fight, admits to murdering Ryuko's father and proceeds to give her the beat-down of a lifetime all with a childish smirk on her face....That is one hell of an awesome intro for a character.

 

Nui's introduction made for a massive shift in the shows plot and took it in a more interesting direction, it completely turned everything we'd known so far on it's head and the series which had so far felt a bit episodic began to have longer plot arcs as well.

Like Grunty Nui also personifies a lot of the show itself, Kill La Kill has a lot of fast paced humour which Nui delivers in spades she may also be able to break the fourth wall given her actions in some episodes,  she approaches everything with a chidlike happiness murdering everything in her path. Her theme song also kicks ass!.

I found it impossible to not be giggling whenever she's on screen and her smugness over her power and childlike lack of care over her murderous actions make her a great nemesis for the easily angered and usually serious Ryuko.

I also have to give props to her adorable design which is a fantastic contrast to her role as a murderous psychopath and to her Japanese VA who managed to pull her off amazingly.

The one sad thing about Nui though is that she doesn't get the epic end she deserves, while it's by no means bad she's glossed over for the big bad of the series someone who while entertaining is by no means as awesome as Nui, even so I loved every minute she was on screen and I hope she'll return if we ever get a season 2.

 

 

 

Bill is the primary villain of Gravity falls and first appears in episode 19 he's a master manipulator and takes pleasure in scaring people with his powers.

 

 

One of the most interesting thing about Bill to me is his origin in theoretical physics specifically the idea of multiple dimensions which the show introduced me to.

The basic theory being that there are more dimensions then our own 3rd dimension and if a creature from another dimension was to interact with ours it would not need to abide by our laws of physics therefore giving it the appearance of having godlike abilities.

I'm someone who's always believed in the supernatural such as the potential existence of ghosts and gods but believe that any such creatures would have to be explained via science one which would probably be much higher then our current understanding of it, so multi-dimensional theory fascinates me(I'd recommend the book flatlanders if you're interested in learning more about the idea).

 

 This gives Bill bizarre powers such as the ability to bend reality and form, possession, the ability to enter and manipulate dreams and an ability to know all. He gives off the impression of an almost lovecraftian being but mixed with the personality of a sadistic conman, I also love his design being based on the illuminati and eye of providence which fits nicely with his all knowing powers.

Aside from being the most powerful he's also possibly one of the scariest Disney villains, the Gravity Falls team really pushed the limits of what they could get away with in a kids show leading to Bill pulling off some legitimately creepy shit especially in the finale.

 

 

 

Not really sure if I can count Walter on this list, after all he is the protagonist, but I feel he still counts as the villain of his own series. 

Shit so what hasn't already been said about Walter, for the few of you who've lived under a rock and are unfamiliar with the series Breaking Bad is about Walter White a timid 50 year old chemistry teacher who after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer thought hey drug dealers make fat stacks yo and decides to enter the meth making business, a business he turns out to be incredible at due to him being a genius at chemistry.

 

The show is a character study turning him from his former self into a completely monstrous drug lord throughout the series and one of the things that makes Breaking Bad work so well is how scarily believable the transformation is.

 Even with his former self there's still signs of the route he'll take once he works up the courage, he's a character with a lot of pent up rage and frustration with the world, Walter is a genius who feels duped out of living a better life in the past now working in a shitty car washing job and as a chemistry teacher where no one pays attention to him and now he's been handed lung cancer.

We feel sympathy for him and his primary goals are at first to make money for his family when he's dead, but as the series goes along he begins to alienate both the people around him, his family and the audience, the power of finally being in control of his life and others and at having a monopoly on something he's good at gets to his head, that being said he never does lose sight of caring for his family a compassionate side of him kept throughout the entire series.

 

I also really have to praise Bryan Cranston's acting without him the character wouldn't have worked half as well, he plays Walt's evolution perfectly apparently even taking part in the writing process of the show, I've only seen Cranston in this and Godzilla but that alone has made him one of my favorite actors.

 

 

Ok this is an obvious one considering my love of insane villains.

The joker is hard to talk about in singularity since he's had many different interpretations, my first proper exposure to the character was the Heath Ledger(R.I.P) version.

I was blown away by him, he'd perfected everything, the way he moved spoke and even the way he licked the inside of his mouth due to his scars, and of course his laugh was great it all added to the immersion of the character.

I also really liked the point of his character, showing just how a person or society can be completely driven to anarchy in a matter of minutes given the right fuel, another detail I loved was how he came up with multiple back stories throughout the movie, given we never learn Jokers origins in the Nolan series, it added a lot of mystery to him.

 

After this I watched some of the other adaptations over time, while I haven't seen a lot of them given that i'm not a comic fan I'm familiar with how twisted he can become, such as when he cut off his own face leading to what I think is the most physically disturbing Joker.

 

I also watched some of Mark Hamills version, while I never fully got around to watching much of the batman animated series I've gone out of my way to watch a lot of Hamill's scenes, Hamill has basically made the character his own he perfected the Joker laugh early on and continued to evolve the insanity and comedy of the character.

 

My favorite Hamill Joker has to be in the Arkham games though particularly Arkham Knight, they really seemed to understand the character and his relationship with Batman, now I have problems with Rocksteady in that while they make an amazing Joker they always did so at the expense of all the other villains, so I had an issue with Joker appearing yet again, but despite my gigantic list of issues with Knight(Seriously could write a damn novel on them) Joker did not end up being one of them nor did he detract from the other villains, in fact I think this is the best Joker out of all of them.

 

For one Joker stayed dead after 2, the one we see here being a hallucination caused by events in the previous games, this works amazingly well.

The best part of the Joker has always been his relationship with Batman order vs  anarchy, an immovable object vs an unstoppable force, Joker doesn't want to kill Batman and Batman can't kill the Joker due to his moral code, made even worse when you consider that in a lot of interpretations its Batman who made the Joker what he is.

The Joker also fully believes they are more similar then they think, that one push is all he needs to become like him, so actually having Batman mentally combat this Joker inside of his mind is fantastic, the primary physical villain of the game is actually Scarecrow(one of the rare batman villains rocksteady did very well) which complemented the mental villain of the Joker well due to scarecrows focus on fear toxins and causing hallucinations, the game also gave us this golden scene. 

 

I also couldn't end this without mentioning John DiMaggio's Joker from the red hood movie, he's actually one of my favorites and I consider him better then some of the Hamill Joker material, his Joker had a real brutality to him and felt a lot more like an insane mob boss or gangster.

His Joker had a lot more gruffness to his voice and personality while still retaining how funny the Joker can be, I think the best way to describe him is Mark Hamill's Joker mixed with Bryan Massey's Ladd Russo from Baccano, it was a really unique version of the character and it's a shame he seems to be overlooked, also the movie is awesome! highly recommend it with a much better interpretation of the Red hood story  then Arkham Knight's.

 

Albert Wesker is an egotistical power hungry bastard with a god complex that was created when someone took Arnold Schwarzenegger and threw him into a blender with Johnny Bravo , his entire goal being to convert human race into a new species and make himself a god.

 

While he has an interesting back story being part of a project to create advanced human being Wesker himself has no depth to his character, what makes him special though is just how god damn entertaining he is.

The resident evil series has been known for it's over the top cheesiness since game 1 and Wesker is the perfect personification of the series writing, he's over the top and most of his lines are extremely quotable one liners made even better by how well his later actors DC Douglas and Peter Jessop played him making him extremely enjoyable to listen to, there was also a lot of mystery surrounding his character for the longest time which was interesting despite the cheesiness I find it a lot of fun to keep up with the plot of the games.

 

 Up until his death Wesker was always involved in these events either as a major villain or working behind the scenes, he was responsible for most of the events in the series either directly or indirectly.

This is actually something I feel was really important about the character and why his death in 5 caused a big issue for me, as it went along the series got more and more convoluted in plot Wesker however acted as a way to keep it grounded giving us an overarching threat through all the different events, hell a good argument can be made for him being the true protagonist of the series as he has more of a presence then anyone else in the series which is why his death is still causing such a big issue for me since all the events since have felt mostly like side stories with no real momentum being built up.

Luckily though they've been hinting at a return recently giving us small hints in re7 and in umbrella corps...you know that game that existed...I think..not sure if it was a fever dream.

Also yes I know Wesker was boiled in a volcano and shot with two rockets in re5, yes I know his return from that would be implausible..I don't give a fuck it's Resident Evil and he's Wesker he can do whatever the fuck he wants.

 

 

 

 Unlike the rest of the Zelda cast Ganondorf is the one character who is a constant, while we've had many Links and Zelda's but we've only ever had one Ganondorf/Ganon. The Zelda time-line is a bit confusing to say the least splitting into 3 timelines a few games in which has allowed Ganondorf to change into 3 very different villains.

I initially tried to write out my reasons for enjoying every single one of his developments but it's too long, if you want some good video's and blogs on his development I'd recommend these, the first one being his development in the third timeline and the second being a good general analysis of his development. 

 

For the sake of the blog I'll only cover my favorite interpretation and his backstory leading up to it.

 

Canonically Ganondorf's start is in Skyward Sword, while not making an appearance in the game it does explain his origins, the main villain of Skyward Sword is Akuma.. I MEAN Demise a demon who is basically evil incarnate, at the end of the game he is defeated by the combined efforts of Link, Zelda and Groose

 

While technically not named as being cursed, Groose is heavily implied to be the progenitor of the Gerudo race(which would later produce Ganondorf) and given how instrumental he is in taking down Demise it makes perfect sense for him to be the person Demise's hatred latched onto. This brought a whole new level of tragedy to Ganondorf's story, he was doomed since birth to become the villain and knowing how his ancestor was friends with Link and Zelda makes it sting even more.

 

Skipping forward to Ganondorf's true birth in Ocarina, here he is cunning, power hungry and manipulative he wishes to rule Hyrule and rather then doing his own work he arrogantly relies on others using Links successes to gain entrance to the sacred real where the triforce is hidden, a sacred relic which will grant the wish of whoever obtains it.

While Link is put into stasis for 7 years he attempts to steal the triforce which rejects him, he then destroys hyrule castle and the surrounding town and rules the country for 7 years until Link awakens to defeat  him, at the end of the game he is sealed away in the sacred realm vowing revenge.

 

Now we get to the events of Wind Waker the game that gave Ganondorf the most depth and made him one of my favorite villains, at the beginning of the game we learn he escaped and waged war on Hyrule again, with no hero appearing the gods flooded Hyrule leading to the events of Wind Waker 100's-1000's of years afterwards.

 

Ganondorf throughout this game is more calm and somber he's been humbled by his former defeats but more importantly he's been given the time to ask why?. Why did he attempt to destroy Hyrule and why did the triforce and goddesses deny him after all the triforce doesn't differentiate between good and evil and Ganondorf had won fair and square, and as he meets Link and begins to realize that events are repeating, having no knowledge of the curse he begins to think of this as a sick joke by the goddesses that they are doomed to repeat this cycle. "Don't you understand...all of you, your gods destroyed you!"

 

At the end of the game he tells Link the tale of his country about how the winds of his land carried nothing but death for him and his people and how he coveted Hyrule's peacefullness, Ganondorf here is completely different then he was in OOT

Throughout the game he shows restraint and respect for his opponents, he spares Link and Zelda's lives numerous times and never takes advantage of his unatural ability to become his pig form Ganon.

 

Furthermore he has no reason to lie, it shows that at least at some point  he was fighting for a future for his land and people becoming power hungry and destructive later on most likely due to Demise's curse awakening, this would also explain why the triforce denied him, his evil wishes being unnatural and being a part of Demise's plan.

 

A big theme throughout Wind Waker is nostalgia, regret and living for the future, Ganondorf and the king of Hyrule represent both first points, Ganondorf  wants to bring back Hyrule to atone for his previous actions, given his dialogue it's even possible that later on he wishes to do so simply to try and end what ties them together or that he sees no other way to break the curse then to fulfill it.

 

This is why I adore Ganondorf as a villain here, in the context of the game itself he's a brilliant example of basing a villain around the themes of the story, however in the larger scale story of the series he adds so much depth to the character and shows us a side to him we never see again showing someone who if not for Demises curse might've actually been a good man, he comes so close to redemption throughout Wind Waker but simply cannot let go of the past or maybe can't even see any other way out of his fate then to fulfill it a fact that ultimately dooms him. 

 

 

 

 Gungrave is by far my most favorite anime of all time, which is bizarre once you remember it's based on a game of all things, the show has so much emotion to it the relationship between the two main characters Harry Mcdowell and Brandon Heat being a big reason why I love it so much.

 

The show starts with a flash forward showing Brandon fighting an army of monsters which serve his former best frie-HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE WE'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE. GRIFFIIIIITH!!!

 

Yes Gungrave actually takes a lot of it's plot setup from Berserk except with an actual ending this time and a severe lack of water based transport, in fact in a way the show itself is a bit like a Bioshock infinite style retelling of the tale while berserk was a medieval world that goes fantasy Gungrave is a modern day gangster story that gets twisted into sci-fi later on.

However Gungrave is by no means a ripoff, while it takes some story events from Berserk it uses them very differently.

 

When we first see Harry in the flashforward he is the boss of the mafia group Millennium and rules the entire city with an iron fist, this is due to the creation of  necrolyzation, a bioweapon which can bring the dead back to life as powerful inhuman monsters immune to normal forms of damage, we also learn about Harry's killing of Brandon 15 years before with him reappearing now after secretly being kept in stasis necrolyzed.

The show starts off leading us to believe this will be a silly shoot everything up revenge anime, Harry appears one dimensional cackling and obsessed with destroying Brandon for betraying him 15 years prior, the only reason I kept watching is because it was fun, we then skip back many years before back when Harry and Brandon were mere street urchins trying to make a living and from there see their relationship as best friends, their ascent through the ranks of Millenium and how differing views and power tears them apart.

 

One of the things that makes Gungrave so special is how none of the characters are truly evil instead being shades of grey.

Harry is a character who with Brandon has lived through harsh conditions such as how horribly they were treated in the orphanage they grew up in and he wishes to have power in order to take and more importantly give what he wants to people, Brandon likewise wants nothing more then to protect Harry and the friends he has no matter what.

Early on in the series the two lose everything, this warps Harry's mind setting him down the warpath and influences his later actions while Brandon's resolve to protect gets to a point where he's willing to kill to do so no matter how much he hates himself for it, he wishes only for Harry to reach his dream of becoming the top of Millenium and making the world a better place.

 

As they join Millennium and quickly rise through the ranks, Brandon befriends the current Boss Big Daddy who created the organization in order to protect those he cares about but has to use the code of iron to do so, this code being that if one betrays the family they have to die no matter how close he is to them, this code being what tears Brandon and Harry apart.

 

One of the most interesting parts about Harry though is how his insanity affects him, he feels pure guilt for the actions that got him to the top but unlike Big daddy cannot accept them, he begins to warp his mind into thinking of Brandon as the traitor and tries to destroy every last shred of his existence simply because he cannot cope with his guilt.

Harry also doesn't lose his compassion, he takes over the city and rules it with an iron fist but he still cares for it, we see him giving gifts out to the children of the orphanage he used to be in and he has a wife he loves deeply, this is what I love so much about the series it never forgets the human side of the characters no matter what and the parts that later take place in the future are painful to watch because of it with Brandon having to go up against his former friends  and against Harry.

 

 

I won't spoil the ending but it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen and I highly reccomend the anime to anyone who loves character drama, I've never had an anime that's completely ruined me emotionally like Gungrave(in a good way of course XD).

 

Also I have to fully recommend the English dub not only is the show very American feeling but barring a few minor voice actors they all play their parts to perfection. It also has great performances from Steve Blum and Jet Blacks VA.

 

 

 

Devil may cry is a series that I hold very dearly, the combat system blew me away when I first played it and i still feel it's better then most action games on the market(yes that includes Bayonetta's).

However another reason I love the series is actually it's world and characters, while the series hasn't had an amazing track record with storytelling the rare moments it has have been brilliant, DMC3 being an example of one of the best action game stories I've seen, the relationship between Vergil and Dante being a big part of my love of it.

 

Vergil & Dante are twin half demon brothers, being the children of the great demon lord Sparda and the human Eva,  when they were young Sparda disappeared and Eva was murdered by demons this setting both of the children down very different paths.

 

Now to briefly skip ahead past the prequel DMC3 and talk about his appearance in 1 it's underwhelming to say the least, Vergil is considered dead by Dante but in actuality is under the control of the god of demons Mundus, Vergil in his new form(named Nelo Angelo) follows Dante around the game and challenges him, this all ends in a final showdown where he finally shows his face to Dante and after his death Dante realizes who he is... now this could have been a powerful scene..except there had been literally no indication the entire game that Dante had ever even had a brother nor any development for Angelo Vergil, he had amazing boss fights but his story was practically nonexistant.

 

This is why Dmc3 is so important it heavily expanded on the brothers relationship and Dante's development into the demon slayer we see in 1.

 

One of the major themes that Dante has in the series is his believe that humans have something Demons lack  that makes them better then them, this puts the brothers at odds because while Dante vehemently hates his demon origins Vergil is the opposite casting off all humanity after his mothers death in the pursuit of power, during their youth both were given halves of an amulet that'd unlock the true power of Sparda's sword force edge their fight over these halves being the crux of the games story.

 

Personality wise Vergil initially appears as a samurai like cold blooded fighter a stark contrast to Dante's loud and obnoxious attitude, but I'd argue the two aren't so different, Vergil frequently shows himself to lose his calm demeanor and become childish and impatient.

 

As game design Vergil is excellent showing how far the player has come in game experience and how Dante has evolved as a character, we fight him 3 times once where he beats the inexperienced and extremely cocky Dante, the second time where the two brothers are on equal footing and a third time where we finally beat him, he adds a real sense of progression to the game especially since his boss fights are some of the best bosses in the industry beating out even souls for me. He even has a great moment where he steals a boss weapon from us after the boss had ran away flaunting it as he uses it in the second fight this is the kind of storytelling I feel is important in game design.

 

During the ending of the game both the brothers team up to fight another villain of the game Arkham a human who through using the two brothers fighting against each other steals the power of Sparda and begins to make a mockery of it, it's sad because here we get to see just how good partners they could be if they weren't so conflicted over their pasts and Vergil's lust for power.

The brothers don't truly want to fight but they feel they need to due to their morality's directly clashing, this all leads up to the final battle with Dante coming out victorious after learning some humility, growing up and coming to terms with his demonic side during the course of the game while Vergil simply cannot let go of his pursuit of power, this final battle is amazing, the buildup atmosphere and design of it, the moveset of Vergil and the music OH GOD THE MUSIC!!.

It is imo the best boss battle of all time if not close to best.(skip to 5:30)

 

A lot of people want Vergil to return and I'm not sure if i want that, part of me feels it'd be cool but i also feel he's left a permanent mark on the series and Dante's character and doesn't need to return, whatever they do I just hope DMC5 ends up having writing as good as 3's.

 

 

 

And here he is my all time favorite villain, The villainous Major from Hellsing.

 

For a brief backstory 50 years before Hellsing the Major was a lieutenant working for Hitler on a secret project involving vampirism, the plan was destroyed by the vampire Alucard of the Hellsing organization, and during the battle of Berlin the Major is overrun barely surviving despite his injuries being near fatal, 50 years later the Major has survived somehow and with an army of 1000 artificial vampires prepares to march over London in a campaign against Alucard.

 

 A big reason for my love of this character is his design, personality and voice, the major is completely different then the usual villain design, by all means there should be nothing scary about him, he's pudgy and weak and he has the aim of a stormtrooper having never once hit anything despite being a soldier, however despite all this the Major commands respect and fear due to his voice, expressions, writing and most of all his scary obsession with war.

 

The Major loves war more then anything else, it's his passion and he doesn't care what kind of battle he's in, he even adores being on the losing side with his soldiers being slaughtered or even having his own life on the line, he's not even really a Nazi since he holds none of Hitler's ideals only partaking in the project so that he can continue war endlessly for the rest of his life, he doesn't hide his evilness even proclaiming himself an irredeemable lump and mocks those he believes pretend their blood-lust to be righteous such as Enrico maxwell of the Vatican's supernatural special forces.

 His obsession with war can be seen in his famous war speech from the 4th OVA just before his invasion starts, I've watched this so many times because it's such a creepy and and well written scene.

 

The Major is evil incarnate and my most despised villain, however depending on your views he could scarily be one of the most human villains as well.

 

A big theme throughout Hellsing is what is it that truly defines a monster or a human being, Alucard's belief being that only a human can kill a monster wishing for death after his 500 years of life, throughout the series we see several characters fight Alucard all failing due to their eventual decision to turn themselves into monsters a fact Alucard despises due to his own history, however despite his long life the Major never actually became a supernatural monster instead using other means to extend his life so that he could fight Alucard again.

 In fact the actual idea of becoming a vampire disgusts him and is his reason for his campaign against Alucard his relationship with him being that of utter disgust, respect and fascination all in one.

"to be a vampire to taste life eternal and wage throughout the centuries, what a perfect existence, but that is a bridge too far I cannot embrace undeath!" he despises Alucard and refuses to die until he's fulfilled his purpose of destroying him.

 

The Major believes that vampires lack the defining trait of humans which he believes to be willpower.

This is shown throughout the series in how both Alucard and Seras are chained to their master Integra's will, he believes that a human being be they evil or good can accomplish much while Alucard can only steal life and soul.

"He smiles at you in the form of a young girl or pulls at your heartstrings in the guise of a weary veteran, so many faces a monster has and all of them stolen all of them lies!".

This is a belief of many characters in the series, Alucard gained immortality but he lost everything.

 

 True to his claim the Major is defined by willpower, a common theme in media especially shonen anime is that of willpower, determination and reaching your dreams usually with a happy loveable protagonist like Goku or Luffy as they overcome impossible odds.

 However Hellsing spins this on it's head Alucard our protagonist is ridiculously powerful, lovecraftian in nature with the power to slaughter the planet if he wasn't leashed to Hellsing, our villain the Major's and his soldiers are slaughtered by him  yet through his cunning and determination the Major wins in destroying Alucard(somewhat) where so many others had failed. Both Goku and the major are defined by the same willpower but their goals are complete moral opposites.

 

And this is the entire point of the Major, are his claims of being human justified, just what defines a human being? after all the major is completely lacking in everything we'd call humanity but at the same time some of the greatest and most determined minds in history have sadly had completely evil intentions, is compassion something we're born with and can lose or is it a construct of society and our experiences.

 

Hellsing doesn't really give an opinion on it instead giving multiple, for example you could just as easily think of the Major as being just like Alucard his extended life being unnatural no matter his methods and him using Millenium and the slaughter of London to reach his goals in the same way Alucard uses human souls.

The vampire Seras also acts as a good counterpoint as despite being a vampire she is still morally a good person, though given she's a new vampire we have no idea whether or not that could change as hinted at through some of her more bloodthirsty actions.

Also while the Major does technically beat Alucard it can be argued he isn't truly killed as seen in the epilogue though given what the Major did to him to win I think there's a good argument that he still won as he cripples Alucard forever of his ability to be a true vampire and does even worse.

The Major also briefly touches upon the dehumanization that happens in war "My enemy is not human my enemy is less then a human, since the earliest dawn of mankind this is the battle cry, it's just more literal in my case", depending on your interpretation this can actually be seen a bit later on after Integra puts him down for good "This was merely, an exchange of bullets, the death rattle of a sad lunatic 50 years past his prime, your humanity is nothing but a pale facade, "foolish creature, Alucard can not be beaten by such imposters".

 

The Major really is everything I love in a villain, he can be funny and threatening, his voice actor is phenomenal, he perfectly encompasses the themes of the show and it's philosophy's and most of all he is completely and utterly despicable.

 

 

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