I like villains.
 
It’s often been said that a hero is nothing without a good villain and I agree with that notion. Remember Superman Returns, the biggest amount of time and money dedicated to showing a hero do nothing but brood for 2 hours? That’s what happens without a good villain.
 
Indeed, in many ways, the villain HAS to be better than the hero, better written, better acted, better conceived. You can get away with a generic hero, but if your villain is boring or played out, the tale starts losing steam fast. So the villain HAS to be quotable, badass, tragic, funny, or memorable. In order for a story to work, we have to - be it natural sympathy or loving to hate - care about and like the villain on some level.
 
And why do we like the villain? BECAUSE he or she is a villain. Because we love seeing Kyubey trick girls into tragic contracts and getting blown up. Because we love seeing Vegeta stomp the fuck out of Goku and show real bravery in doing so. Because we love watching Bester rip apart a pharmaceutical company with one man and a psychic suggestion. Because we love watching Chrysalis sing about how she has Shining Armor by the balls and will rule Canterlot. This is why we love villains: they give the hero something truly dangerous to oppose, and entertain us all the way.
 
So when I see the Draco in Leather Pants phenomenon, I shake my head in frustration. It misses the point of the villain completely! We’re not supposed to hug Light Yagami and tell him the mean monster L won’t get him, we’re not supposed to think true love’s kiss will save Hans’s soul. Hell, the only way this does work is if the villain is already sympathetic or earns redemption, and if anything this makes the Draco effect worse! It takes genuine tragedy and endearing struggle and turns it into fucking My Immortal! It kills any possible sympathy we might have had!
 
So remember, kids, love your villains, redeem your villains, make us sympathize with your villains, but don’t pretend they’re a Linkin Park montage away from being a shounen-ai protagonist.
 
/rant