It’s basically common knowledge that most people love to watch TV shows and movies, especially teenagers and adults, but whether they would like to admit it or not, they start to love at least one Anti-Hero over the typical hero or villain.
What exactly is an Anti-Hero, you may ask?
Well, to avoid boring you with all the history of what an Anti-Hero is, an Anti-Hero is basically the cherry on top of any story. They are like a singular dark cloud forming on a Sunny Day, emitting the feel of freshly cut pizza being pulled from the oven. Honestly, they’re probably the person with the most common sense in the group, but most importantly, they are not like the hero, who is often seen as the nice guy, who wants to help EVERYONE and make the world a better place. (They’re essentially the SpongeBob character to the story)
Don’t get me wrong, I know that sometimes Anti-Heros can pull off pretty terrible acts, but it’s what makes them such interesting characters. These types of characters are the perfect representation of how, just like in the real world, people are not perfect, and they are able to have flaws and grow to be better.
A perfect example of what an Anti-Hero loved by many comes from the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise, specifically, Shadow the Hedgehog, who, in my personal opinion, is one of the best characters in the franchise, which kind of has to do with how beautifully tragic his backstory is.
To sum it up for you, basically, the ultimate life-form, a.k.a. Shadow, was born and created in a lab by a man named Professor Gerald Robotnik about 50 years ago on the space colony ARK. There, he had met Gerald Robotnik’s granddaughter, Maria Robotnik, and they had gotten along well, eventually starting to do everything together and developing a sort of brother-sister dynamic. That was until one day, dangerous people had evaded the ARK, and in the brave attempt of Maria trying to get Shadow to safety, she had paid the ultimate price and ended up getting smoked by a soldier, and now all Shadow has is her memory and her last wish, “Bring hope to humanity.”
According to “Medium.com”, Shadow the Hedgehog is known as the second most beloved character in the entire franchise because, while he kind of has a complex, sometimes edgy personality, many fans appreciate his intentions and his dynamic with Maria, in particular showing fans that Shadow is only trying to do whatever is best for Maria.
Other honorable mentions of well-developed Anti-Heros that are loved are Snape from Harry Potter, Wanda (Scarlet Witch) from Wanda Vision, Flynn Rider from Tangled, Jason Todd (The Red Hood), and Klaus Mikaelson from The Originals.
Overall, Anti-Heros are loved by fans (and should be loved by you) because they are such relatable characters who like people, are capable of messing up in life and doing bad things, but due to them meeting nice people along the way, they are able to grow and become a decent and more lovable person than the main character ever was.
