How To Create The PERFECT ANTAGONIST For Your Comics, Manga, And Webtoons

[@MonitorComics]

The First 1,000 People To Use This Link Will Get A 1 Month Free Trial Of Skillshare: skl.sh/monitorcomics09221

[@Darknightlight-nz5nq]

I'm planning on making my own Manga and I wanted to know which app is suitable to use for drawing on my pen tablet?

[@MonitorComics]

@@Darknightlight-nz5nq Pen tablets can be used with ANY drawing program, so it all comes down to personal preference The two most popular are Clip Studio Paint (what I use) and Photoshop For free options, I believe Krita has the most features, but it's mainly for drawing. For a free program DESIGNED for making comics and manga, JUMP Paint by Medibang is a great option!

[@mariom3077]

Hm, I've never heard about that jump paint, got to give it a try

[@MonitorComics]

@@mariom3077 It's pretty good compared to other drawing programs because it has built in manga tools. Stuff like manga effects, panels, etc It isn't the BEST drawing software though, that's why I also recommend Krita. So if you do your comics on Jump Paint and your cover art, promotional art, etc on Krita, you'll be all set for free!

[@Darknightlight-nz5nq]

@@MonitorComics Thank you very much. The information was very helpful. I'll try out all three to see which I prefer the most.

[@葉Zetnitsu]

"As always! keep creating" Get me drawing everyday

[@MonitorComics]

Let's GOO! That's the motto! Super glad to hear that!

[@OniBoiXD]

I think the best antagonist are the ones that actively want to change the world. where the protagonist is usually the one reacting to the world.

[@MonitorComics]

TRUE!

[@vainqueurhero8823]

my same thoughts

[@Cosmik60]

Would Arthur Pendragon from SDS fit this? He literally wants a world that is inhuman free

[@abylaiashken2611]

I disagree, some of the best antagonists can be personal and/or have smaller goals without giving damn about the world. Take Yoshikage Kira for example, man wants his peace uninterrupted, yet he has a serious temptation to sever hands of his victims and keep them in his pocket. There are also many many examples of great antagonists in personal stories that torment the protagonist mentally. Johan Liebert's goal for example is simple: to watch the world burn. He also tests Tenma's mentality and directly contrasts him in their moralities. Not to say that world changing antagonists can't be good, it is essentially a common template for making them memorable. But it is also easy to undermine their threat or satisfaction of their defeat so it depends on execution.

[@rikershigiki610]

Such as Nagato from Naruto shippuden

[@SkyJuiceChannel]

dio from jjba is one of my favourite villains because you just cant run away from him. in almost every part of the series theres always a mention of dio somewhere

[@MonitorComics]

TRUE LOL

[@peachenelle]

Antagonists might be my favorite kind of characters to explore. They have the potential to be written in seriously clever ways (as you mentioned in the video) through villains, opposing characters, or the protagonist themself! If done right, their opposing ideals and motives can power the story and its characters, and even lead it to places you'd never see coming. Another awesome character archetype video! Also, congrats on reading 50k subs Monitor!

[@MonitorComics]

Thank you Peach I really appreciate it!!

[@Watermelon6424]

Im working on an infection game like resident evil but with a simple Mickey mouse inspired style. Since my style is simple to make the characters stand out i gotta make sure they are good as characters not just appearance. This video really helped me thanks

[@mateusgoncalvesdasilva8381]

Angel Sanctuary is my favourite manga of all time and my favourite antagonist comes from it: Rosiel. He is so pretty and crazy, but he is not just evil like he seems to be in the beginning. We can hate him sometimes for the things he does, but we can also love him for his personality. After getting to know his story little by little, we are able to fully understand him in the end, all his pain and his madness. I really love him! This manga is so good!

[@MonitorComics]

Thank you for taking the time to share! I personally haven't read that manga, but I'll definitely check it out!

[@Eternal_Sufferring]

Makima from CSM is one of the greatest antagonist I've ever read.

[@MonitorComics]

Makima is a great pick!

[@forgettableotaku]

Great video. I like that you've addressed the difference between antagonists and villains because it's a pet peeve of mine when people equate the two terms. Some of my favourite antagonists from manga/ anime include: Seto Kaiba from YuGiOh! He's extremely entertaining and over the top, that one seen where he gets a bully to create the perfect deck to then absolutely destroy him is hillarious and shows his duelling prowess and arrogance. He also serves as a genuine threat when needed as well as sympathetic. He could easily serve as the protagonist of his own spin off series but is also well suited to his rival position. Plus his design is cool, I want his coat and maybe his dragon jet because screw aerodynamics I have money. I also like Team Rocket from the pokemon anime as they are goofy and have their own charm and I honestly tend to route for them more than Ash and whichever group of friends he has. They are a great form of minor antagonist because they aren't too big bad and don't create the issue of power creep. I know most series that aren't episodic or gags wouldn't suit a group like Team Rocket but I like them regardless. Some others include Teru from Mob Psycho, Isabella from The Promised Neverland, Nagito Komaeda from Danganronpa 2 (I also like Togami and Kokichi, but Nagito is my favourite) and John Doe from UnOrdinary as he fits into the internal conflict category and most protagonists I've come across having read mostly shonen are too optimistic and naive to ever really have internal struggles. Usually itll last a chapter and theyll be like lol time to train ever harder to become the very best like no one ever was king.

[@goblinslayer1115]

I see your a fellow blue eyes enjoyer too

[@forgettableotaku]

@@goblinslayer1115 yep. I like most of the classic monster designs, but blue eyes is extra cool because it's a dragon which is always a win for me

[@viyusavery248]

One other things I've seen savage books mention aangs avatar state itself was an antagonist because it goes against the protagonist goal i.e not to kill That's an ultra rare type of antagonism especially seeing the avatar state isn't evil per say as the likes of the demon inside trope

[@MonitorComics]

That's very true now that you mention it! The Avatar State was also meant to give him guidance by connecting him with past avatars, but even the previous air nomad avatar told him to forget about his morals to kill.

[@firegaltw.steller4717]

hm, i have great antagonists but almost everyone of them only lasts two chapters before dying and changing the whole world permanently… they almost all have a great impact on the story and builds up into one big menace as the ultimate consequence. i still have four long lasting antagonists… two of them are just ironically bad villains to balance the story with humor (in these cases they’re not the point of the story 😅), one of them is really good but there’s a funny thing about him : he’s the antagonist of two whole parts of the story, and also the protagonist of two huge parts of the story by staying the same guy with the same goals. another funny thing about this one is that in the part when he’s the protagonist, the main character of a part where he’s a side antagonist also becomes a side antagonist in this antagonist. (yeah it’s complicated 😅) and the last one is quite good but he only really shows himself in the final part where everything is complete chaos. in the other parts he’s also the « true antagonist that planned everything » but he actually never planned to go against the protagonists. the mistakes of every protagonists in addition to the few mistakes he made, turned him into the biggest antagonist… but yeah when he shows himself he’s already got completely insane 😅 (just like my frenchy english 😅😂)

[@lizzog4553]

Really good video very professional well made and thought out. Tbh I have no interest in writing but I was very interested and kept entertained by this video. Definitely earned a sub ❤

[@MonitorComics]

Thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciate it!

[@TheHydroHawk]

I'm glad you made a video with the distinction of a villain and antagonist since this sort of topic of often used as in general from what I've seen. Tbh I had never seen Bakugo as an antagonist so was interesting to think about the various types. Good shit Monitor👍 Oh btw have you watched any of the seasonal animes?🤔

[@MonitorComics]

For sure! I see that a lot too which is why I wanted to cover this video. I already made a video on Protagonists and Villains so I figured I should make this one eventually With Bakugou, I agree with what you're saying. I'd consider characters like him "antagonistic" and not so much "A Antagonist." Like in early episodes, where Deku was being bullied or had to verse him in training, you could argue he was the antagonist of those episodes or moments. But looking at the entire series, not so much As for your question! YES! I try to keep up with seasonal anime, but I'm usually a season behind. This current Summer season, I did watch Devil Is A Part Timer season 2, Overlord Season 4, Classroom of The Elite Season 2, Rent A Girlfriend Season 2, Shadows House Season 2, and Made In Abyss Season 2!

[@MonitorComics]

[50,000 Subscriber Celebration] To celebrate hitting 50,000 Subscribers, I will be doing my FIRST Official Q&A If you have any burning questions. please comment them as REPLIES to this! Your question can be COMIC RELATED or NOT Comic Related! I will be choosing a few to answer in an upcoming video! Thank you all so much for your support these past few years! -Monitor

[@liv3159]

Whats your favorite anime?? Why?? Love ur videos btw :)

[@jackietheartist]

saw on the artcast podcast livestream

[@MonitorComics]

Hey! Thanks for checking out my channel!

[@sageart4771]

Hey man I think you make awesome videos. Just kinda wish they would be a little longer or more in depth tho but aside from that great vids 👍🏾

[@MonitorComics]

Thank you for taking the time to check this video out and leaving some feedback! I do plan to make longer form content in the future, possibly a podcast, where I just talk for an hour or so about a topic. At the moment though, KZbin is like a game, and the average viewer has the attention span of a squirrel. KZbinrs try to keep their videos between 5-10 minutes because that's about the amount of time the average viewer is most likely to stick through one video. According to my analytics, most people click off around the 4 minute mark, so I'm still trying to work on how much information to put into these videos haha. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@greensaintjester6392]

@@MonitorComics Good luck man

[@MonitorComics]

@@greensaintjester6392 Thank you!!

[@bread_bear7878]

you never miss Monitor, not one bad video from you :)

[@MonitorComics]

I appreciate that!! Thank you for taking the time to watch and leaving a nice comment!!

[@abylaiashken2611]

From what I know, what separates good and great antagonists in manga is charisma. Essentially, if the antagonist can't carry the audience's focus then by default it is a weak antagonist. But really it can be said for any character. To be charismatic they don't have to possess positive qualities. Take main villains in JoJo , whether it be Dio, Kira, or Funny Valentine. They don't necessarily need to have big goals or be physically powerful, in fact many examples of such fail to deliver satisfying conflict and/or resolution. What they need to be is to be a threat on mental/emotional level that take a huge presence in reader's mind. I personally feel more intimidated by Johan than Madara thanks to how Monster treats its antagonist. Not to say Naruto's writing is bad, I absolutely love the Pain arc. It's just Madara was done dirty in the war arc and he as an antagonist possesses physical might and a few cool scenes but as a character I feel nothing. Garou was done dirty in recent chapters of OPM too, really Murata baffles me with his decision to throw away all character build-up for the power fantasy. Webcomic's story was much better, but now it feels like a DBS knock-off.

[@MonitorComics]

Great points! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!

[@commiemeth]

I gotta disagree about the villain who is evil for the sake of evil. In fiction as well as real life we have witnessed people commit evil acts without knowing their reasoning in whole. Pol Pot for example understood what he created in the Killing fields was evil as fuck, just because he "thought" it was necessary is irrelevant. Joffrey Baratheon yes is a product of his upbringing, but he is literally a piece of trash and a violent maniac, the one bit of "tragedy" is he is literally a kid. Fire Lord Ozai is often cited as bland but i disagree heavily, Ozai himself is a narcissistic abuser, a murderous, unjust asshole and most importantly ruthless. This is a great contrast for Aang, the influence of Ozai gave us Azula, Zhao, and Zuko, antagonists and villains that not only were infleuenced by Ozai, but influenced his final confrontation with Aang, serving a sweet bit of catharis and suspense as no one really knew how Aang would beat a skilled firebender who is not only genocidal, but will kill a child, avatar or not without second thought. The fact he is evil for being evil worked wonderfully. I believe the issue stems from this archetype not being supported by 3 Dimension supporting henchmen/characters where we have those that follow the main villain or are inspired by their actions for whatever reason of their own. But i think its just wrong to say it makes a bad villain

[@IneffetablePerson]

Why is Muzan in the thumbnail, he doesn’t belong in that category 😂

[@MonitorComics]

Clickbait

[@starfishthrower486]

Especially not next to Griffith, jesus

[@blacklistgamer8138]

I named Protagonist of my manga Kai Tokiyomi, I haven't released it yet, names for some other characters are Akiyo Takamune, Shinji Kuroha, Tsui wagner, etc. Guys do u like them?

[@Mr.OJ17]

Cool video! Also a question, when can you read the series you are making?

[@MonitorComics]

As soon as it's finished! My branch in Saturday AM is planning on doing something in October so I'm trying my best to have it completed by then!

[@Mr.OJ17]

@@MonitorComics ok cool

[@landop3320]

This is exactly what i needed rn lol

[@MonitorComics]

Super glad to hear that! I hope the video was able to help! Thanks for taking the time to watch!

[@ainzu4062]

Greatest and best antagonist to me in anime and manga is Johana liebert from Monster

[@MonitorComics]

Great choice!

[@3esa2003]

You can't compare Griffith with Dio or Muzan is like comparing Tom from Tom and Jerry to Zuko hahaha but anyway great video :D

[@MonitorComics]

LOL I had to create a clickbait thumbnail to get people to check out the video haha. The Demon Slayer and JJBA fanbase is massive

[@3esa2003]

@@MonitorComics no problem man just saying, also can u make a video about how to make a good ending alot mangas are lacking that

[@MonitorComics]

@@3esa2003 I can definitely add it to my list of upcoming topics! Thank you for the video suggestion!

[@milkdimension28]

Congrats!

[@MonitorComics]

Thank you!

[@oddiunapologetic]

Comic: The joker, brainiac, ra'shal'ghul and magneto Anime: Sensui, Doffy, Myostismon, Yuki Terumi

[@firegaltw.steller4717]

oh i have a « conflict maker antagonist », i haven’t realized it since now 😅 but it’s literally it. Gartha from my story is a villain paid to kill the protagonist but she somehow fall in love… not with the protagonist himself but with the idea of trying to defeat him over and over until success, she literally join the protagonist’s crew just to do so, and she literally tells why to the protagonist. it scares the protagonist and always put him in worse situations than the ones he’s actually in but always results in the protagonist finding a better way to win 😅 so she always looses to him in a stupid manner. but it keeps the story funny and she’s also a powerful and important character in the story. without her the protagonist would have been defeated in chapter two because he wouldn’t have been pushed to his limits enough times. (sorry for my « angliche » 😅)

[@jacobburns7742]

Hey, love the channel! I was wondering if you had any videos, or intentions of making one, around giving writers advice on finding like minded artists for making a Manga/webtoon come to life? And on how to have a amicable partnership? It's not as though I struggle, I simply haven't searched yet. Focussing on outlining everything about my story right down to a good pitch before contacting anyone or putting out a request. I also intend on making any profits, as a broke boy myself who can not outright pay them for their work, a 30 to 70 or 40 60 split in their favor, ie the artist gets more of a percent of the profits. As I believe it is inherently more fair for any given artist to receive more from a deal. Let me know your thoughts! I could always learn to draw myself, but as a 28 year old I'd rather not spend ten years so to speak, perfecting art after all the time I've already put into being a proficient and professional story teller.

[@MonitorComics]

Hello! I did cover that topic a bit in this video about becoming a published writer kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4SUnnqApbyBrKM . The guest in that video is the author of 3 comics sold in stores and he worked with 3 seperate artists for each of them The short answer is, money talks. Most artists would be down to work under contract or commission. Finding someone who would take the deal you mentioned is a lot harder, because success isn't guaranteed. The best bet would be to ask around on fb groups, reddit threats, twitter, Instagram etc for artists who are interested in your story. Most duos are friends or people who know each other and are happy to work together for free On the business side of things, big publishers like Marvel and DC are well established so they have artists they pair with writers. A lot of smaller publications will not bother with that though

[@Jack-kx5rf]

Eren doesn't think his choice is the best one, it's the only one. Not a single character in the story comes up with an alternative plan for survival. The only two plans they do come up with is 1) essentially bury their heads in the sand and hope Marley doesn't wipe them all out or 2) do a temporary/small Rumbling and hope their children think of something. Even outside of the story I've not seen anyone give a single legitimate way that Paradis Island doesn't get wiped off the planet without the Rumbling.

[@timetogosuperduper9635]

I wouldn't really say Madara getting defeated by Black Zetsu was random chance because Black Zetsu was manipulating Madara.

[@MonitorComics]

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! In my opinion, it felt like a quick way to write off a character who was overpowered. I honestly don't think Kishimoto knew how to deal with him without introducing the entire Otsutsuki Clan nonsense that eventually gave Naruto and Sasuke a new power up

[@michaelpfeiffer2787]

At around 9:19 you said that every great antagonist is the protag of their own story. I disagree. I've seen this practice get used a lot recently and I' kind of sick of it. Some people know full well that their the bad guy and are okay with it. Take Darth Vader for a sec. In revenge of the sith he fully believes he's in the right. He has this mindset for an extreamly long time. But ain between a new hope and empire strikes back (displayed in the Vader comics) he discovers that he has a son. This allows him to realize that he didn't kill padme in his anger, rather palpatine did. Yet, he still carries on. He's done so much, committed so much hate, that he doesn't believe himself redeemable. Not until the return jedi that is. But during the time between the end of episode 6 and the end of episode 8 he knows he's the antagonist. He's completely aware, and he's a better character for it. Not saying villains can't see what their doing as right, but it's not a character trait of all great antags.

[@Among-Us.]

"Your main antagonist should be your final boss" kaguya: yeah about tha- Madara Uchiha: FUCK YOU

[@Seiichi118]

A video idea “how to make story arcs”

[@MonitorComics]

Thank you for the video suggestion! It is definitely on my list!

[@DemonicAnims_]

My antagonist is a god, the government, and my main antagonist, leader of the government "Pilot" who has martial, the main power system for my story which is a power system where the stronger the power the more the weaknesses outweigh them, for example, someone controlling light like lasers but however they want, their weakness would be they are not immune to this, he has also has complete mastery over dark, my secondary power system that can weaken powers and take form of a weapon completely which could help the user in a moment of weakness for example the laser guy would get a yo-yo that has sharp blades on the balls of it so he can block and attack when he can't use his power at the moment, pilots martial is called "Demon" which can emit poisonous mist that can transport anyone anywhere in the mist or damage the unlike people in the mist, or gain knowledge about anyone in the mist, it's weakness is that he is more sensitive to dark than any other martial user, for example a normal martial user would just not be able to use their power when in contact with dark but pilot has this burning sensation in in contact with dark and loses his martial temporarily, to get martial you must either gain it from genetics, kill someone with martial, or read a black page which are only in the ocean. Erens dream rid the world of the god "Nothing" who has the martial "nothing" which is a better randomiser(100 powers at a time) but his weakness is anyone with no meaning to their life(actually no meaning, like nothing to accomplish, nothing to dream towards NOTHING) which cancels out anyone with no meaning fighting him because when they fight him, they get their meaning to life, defeating "nothing", basically making him invincible Pilots dream is to be "Nothings" right hand man which parallels erens dream and he has trained for years to be the leader of the government (so he can own the sun shard which can be crafted into a sword strong enough to break dark) but is the right hand man of king(basically an antagonist that is basically fujitora) with the martial pitch black which lets him control dark and has the weakness of when gold isn't on him, he becomes VERY tired as if he hasn't slept in millions of years

[@joetheschmoe1066]

Good video, but I disagree with the points about morally gray villains, or at least the way you phrase it as if its a necessity. The trope of the morally gray villain who sees themselves as a hero isnt bad but I would argue, especially in todays age of media, that it can be just as overused and cliche as the villain whos evil just for evils sake. Sometimes a villain whos just bad is fine. Some of the best villains in history like Sauron, Palpatine, and Darth Vader(at least before the series expanded) were dark forces of evil that weren't fleshed out with relatable complex or sympathetic backstories.

[@viyusavery248]

Not interested in isolated claims of perfect antagonist I need to know how certain antagonists work and how they influence the type of story your trying to tell People claim that perfect is a bad villain which is BS because black muahah villains like him are useful for pacifist protagonist as we see worked for Gohan as well as aaang Vs ozai

[@MonitorComics]

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts! Every KZbin video has to have a clickbaity title to get people to watch... LOL Of course nothing in the world is perfect. In this video I explain the different types of antagonists and common ways each one is used. I do also go into what effect each of them has on the story. At the end of the day though, you can write ANY kind of antagonist to have ANY kind of effect on your story. It isn't a black and white answer like X antagonists is good for Y story

[@viyusavery248]

@@MonitorComics ok thanks

[@xxkankala1671]

Wait I have an idea the antagonist isn’t a person but an world ending event and the characters you thought was the antagonist was hired to do anything that cause pain so it won’t happen. I thought of it when I read scp 001 the worlds gone beautiful

[@MrLeFilipfloppyvelarde]

You want good antagonists? Go read some Naoki Urusawa

[@drquem4279]

Well, and How Freeza, Green Goblin and The Joker Who does not see thenselfs "The Heroes of their on Story" are... You Know, One of The best Villans of all time?

[@doubleaxeman9896]

What is a Midoria

[@phredbookley183]

At 3:27 What manga is that?

[@MonitorComics]

Don't Toy With Me Miss Nagatoro

[@phredbookley183]

@@MonitorComics much appreciated brother. Thank you for that

[@Psychosocial_cracker]

“mIdARiya”

[@MonitorComics]

Manga only with MHA

[@sv8496]

Madara and Obito were the best antagonist and villain

[@GummKid]

Didn't even ask me how to make a true Antagonist 😔

[@MonitorComics]

I GOT YOU FOR PART 2 LOL

[@GummKid]

@@MonitorComics good because I've got a plot twist on what really makes them sparkle

[@FloralHaze]

The way you use examples of antagonists makes me think you know literally nothing about the characters you’re bringing up

[@gabby24780]

These words mean a lot to me❤️ God lovingly seeks to be our Heavenly Father that we rely on & live for. In my worst & even in my "best", He was there. looking back I can see how He has only ever worked for my good. God Himself had came down as a man,& He is Jesus. He lived, taught of a kingdom, healed, hurt, suffered persecution, died & rose again for us. animal sacrifices & 100s of laws was once the way, but His blood has become the perfect atonement for us. No fancy rules just relationship. Jesus loves you loads, I truly recommend giving Him a try

[@aguero.5]

I mu not im

[@nicoflight3982]

Baka

[@MonitorComics]

B-Baka!

[@nicoflight3982]

@@MonitorComics nani

[@jevgra1691]

in my respectful opinion i think frieza is by far the worst written villian.

[@SuperManlyHardboiledBadassGod]

Uhh... 3:57 AND 4:25