How To Create An Anti Hero Character

Date Published: August, 24 2025

How To Create An Anti-Hero Character

In today's video, we're looking at how to create an anti-hero character in your manga, comic, or light novel! An anti-hero is a character with morally good goals, who does not match the usual heroic archetype. This means that while they might take heroic actions, they will not be the type of character who is shown to be a hero on the surface. Some examples of this character type include Homura Akemi (Madoka Magica), Guts (Berserk), and Itachi Uchiha (Naruto.)

What is an Anti-Hero?

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An anti-hero is a character with morally good goals, who does not match the usual heroic archetype.
This means that while they might take heroic actions, they will not be the type of character who is shown to be a hero on the surface.
They are someone who will do what is right, what needs to be done, even if it means getting their hands dirty.

The Difference Between An Anti-Hero And A Villain

While an anti-hero and a villain may seem similar, they are quite different.

Anti-Hero:

Villain: A villain will have morally bad goals, and will typically have evil intentions for the other characters around them. While an anti-hero and a villain may look similar on the surface, their intentions and purpose is different.

Antagonist?: Can an anti-hero be the antagonist? The antagonist is the main obstacle in the story preventing the protagonist from reaching their goal, and they don’t necessarily need to be a bad character. So yes, an anti-hero can be an antagonist, but they will typically be a deuteragonist (secondary main character) instead.

Create A Strong Backstory

An anti-hero is an emotionally driven character, therefore their backstory is especially important.
Know the experiences they went through in their past, to help understand how these events shaped them into who they are today.
Their backstory does not need to be difficult, but the backstory directly affects their motivation. Let’s talk about this next…

What Is The Motivation?

The backstory shows why the anti-hero thinks the way they do. This can help you to find the motivation behind their choices.

The motivation is their drive towards achieving their goal. This motivation is typically formed from the backstory.

Eg.

Know Their Goal

The anti-hero’s goal will be one of the main driving points in their story.
If they are the protagonist, this goal will be the main goal of the story. If not, their goal will typically align with the main story goal.

For eg.

Both of these goals align with each other, but the anti-hero has a more direct approach (and not quite as compassionate as the hero.)

Create A Foil

A foil is a character that reflects and highlights the attributes that the other character lacks.
Typically, the protagonist and the anti-hero (usually the deuteragonist), will be foils of each other.

For eg.

Take a look at your favourite anti-hero characters, and see if you can see how this character acts as the foil for a different character in the story!

Know Their Internal & External Conflict

Almost every character has a strong external conflict, but anti-hero characters in particular also have a strong internal conflict.
The external conflicts are the obstacles outside of your character. (Fights, enemies, external obstacles.)
The internal conflicts are the battles within your character’s mind. (Fears, doubts, or paranoia.)

Show Their Will

How far would your anti-hero go to achieve their goal?
This is why their motivation is so important to consider. Their goal is a matter of life or death to them, and failure is not an option.
Throughout the story, show this determination through their actions.

Reveal to the audience just how far your anti-hero would go to achieve what they want; no matter what difficult things they need to do, or who may hate them for it.

Reveal Their True Nature Through Foreshadowing

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An anti-hero can be deceptive as a character. When they are first revealed, they can sometimes appear to be the villain of the story, only to later be shown to actually be the hero who has been helping from the shadows all along.
While the anti-hero doesn’t need to appear like a villain, they will typically seem untrustworthy at first. Slowly reveal their true personality through foreshadowing, until you present their true nature on the surface for the audience and characters to see.

Build Suspense Through Design

An anti-hero can help to build suspense through the story. Therefore, their design should be used to deceive the audience, to make them think that they may be a villain, rather than a hidden ally.
An anti-hero is someone who works in the shadows, and their design will typically reflect this. This doesn’t necessarily mean that their outfit needs to be dark, but it does need to be practical. They are driven characters with a purpose, so their outfit needs to help them achieve their goals.

Reveal The "Snap"

The anti-hero typically works alone, determined to achieve their goals no matter what. However, this eventually leads to a ‘snap,’ where your character has failed too many times, and is unable to continue.
First of all, consider what events need to occur for your anti-hero to reach the breaking point. Then, show how they act once they have snapped. Do they lash out at the others around them, or retreat within themselves?

Show Their Character Development

An anti-hero is a complex character, and their journey is told through various stages of character development.
The Beginning: They usually start off as being kind and trusting, only for this trust to be betrayed.
The Betrayed: Once betrayed, they lose their trust in others, beginning to focus solely on their goal. Their goal gives them purpose, and forces them to keep going.
The Driven: The anti-hero does whatever it takes to achieve this goal, no matter how many times they may fail in the process.
The Despair: The anti-hero reaches a breaking point, and are unsure of how to continue after they have tried (and failed) too many times.
The Revival: The anti-hero’s true personality is revealed (that they have been trying to hide all along), and the hero/friend helps them find the way through. The anti-hero learns that they do not have to do everything on their own.

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