Maniacal Monday: Frieza, from Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball Z is one of the more well-known manga/anime to come out of Japan, and certainly the most well known of its creator, Akir Toriyama. The sequel of the manga/anime Dragon Ball, it follows the chronicles of Goku as he defends the universe from all things evil with his fists, and massively unnecessary explosions. While the series has its ups and downs, one cannot deny that it has some of the most entertaining and terrifying villains ever created, even if they can sometimes look ridiculous (See Majin Buu). This week is none other than the tyrannical overlord known as Frieza.

Maniacal Monday: Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast

Disney is full of the most wonderful stories of our generation. But “The Happiest Place On Earth” certainly has some of the most frightening villains as well. From the insane Cruella de Vil to the pious Minister Frollo, Disney certainly knows how to play to the fears of all people. However, not all Disney villains are quite as obvious as the audience is led to believe at the beginning of their films, at least not until they show their true colors near the climax of the movie. Many times, they seem like a genuinely good guy, or just an annoying character that serves to set the events in motion. “Beauty and the Beast” illustrates this perfectly with Gaston.

Maniacal Monday: Darth Maul, from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Star Wars is highly regarded as the Holy Grail of the entire Science Fiction genre. George Lucas created a highly diverse universe, populated with countless worlds, species, and technologies, while also managing to throw a healthy dose of fantasy in the mix. It has even become self-sustaining, as the Star Wars series has expanded far beyond the 6 movies that Lucas created as numerous writers have written novels from millennia before the story to millennia after. And out of these stories, many evil villains have arisen. From the original movies, however, the villain that stood out most to me was the evil Zabrak Sith, Darth Maul.

Maniacal Monday

If there is one thing upon which we can all agree, it’s that bad guys are evil. They do evil things for evil reasons, (and sometimes no reason at all) and it’s up to the protagonist of the story to stop them. And though we cheer when good inevitably triumphs, we’d all be lying to ourselves if we didn’t admit that there were times when we were rooting for the bad guy. Let’s face it; villains are usually much more interesting characters than heroes. Villains have motives, they have selfish desires, and we can relate to them in a way, whereas heroes seem to exist for the sole purpose of defeating the bad guy and restoring peace and balance to the world. So, in honor of these baddies, I am proud to announce a new weekly segment: Maniacal Monday! Where we will honor the best of the worst, and find out just what makes them tick. 

This Monday: The Shadow, from Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Order of the Phoenix Review

Harry Potter is a series that has defined an entire generation, and it is a generation of which I am quite proud to be a part.