EDIT: apparently i managed to mess up video editing so badly that the layer with all of my visual references wasn't visible in the final render, so the examples given of the hazbin hotel/helluva boss characters that were formerly in the thumbnail ended up not being in the video. as a result, the thumbnail has been changed to only include what are apparently the only characters that actually made it into the video as visual examples. apologies for the confusion!

also, @ the 100000 people commenting that the red and blue thing is basic colour theory and symbolism based on legitimate reasons: YES I KNOW LMAO the art trope top tens are satire exaggerations of my opinions for comedy’s sake and in this case, that opinion is that even if there’s a reasonable basis for it, i find it to be overdone. that doesn’t mean i think it’s objectively bad, that it shouldn’t be used anymore, or that there’s no reason for it to exist or examples of it done well, it is literally just me making jokes about being sick of seeing it so much omg. this is why these videos used to start with an eighty year intro of “these aren’t legitimate criticisms they’re minor nitpicks that i like to ramble about and doodle for fun and shouldn’t be taken remotely seriously”, but people got annoyed that i kept saying it so i stopped - and that was apparently a massive mistake lmao

This all made me think of how Bruno from Encanto is such a fun red herring character. His colour is green(historically the villain colour of disney) he wears a hooded poncho and his "ugly traits"(baggy eyes, grayish skin, unkempt scruff) is super enhanced in flashbacks. He has rats for pets etc. But then you meet him and he is the most sympathetic, selfless and kind character in the film.

5:20 this is a running joke in my family. Even when a villain ISNT bald, we place bets on when their wig will inevitably be snatched and they’ll be revealed to the world in their full bald, evil glory.

Though i don't like that cats are always associated with evil, I do like it when villains are shown to be good pet parents. Like awww, gargameth the destroyer is so good at taking care of his kitty. That only really works in humorous works tho

5:27 "She's bald! She's bald and she's torturing people who have hair!"

5:45 as someone who is going bald WAY too young (genetics are a bitch) i appreciate that, and yes, going bald is precisely the reason as to why so many bald man are villains.
"A man who has lost his hair has nothing more to lose" - An extremely wise, unknown person.

The dog & cat thing drives me bananas, in no small part because it's SO SO much easier to befriend a dog.
Seeing someone with a happy cat tells me they're someone who is relatively emotionally stable, has a baseline level of empathy, and is willing to put in some effort for their relationships.
Seeing someone with a happy dog just tells me 1: they feed them, and 2: they (probably) don't physically abuse them.

Give me a villain who scares their dog with their presence. Now that is characterful.

About beauty equals goodness: "Megamind" twisted this trope quite nicely. Although he and the later Metroman are both of alien origin, only he is treated coldly by most people, because unlike Metroman, who is basically a good looking person with superpowers, Megamind is bald, has blue skin and his only superpower is his intellect. He 's not a bad person but still garners alot of resentment, so he decides to go down the villain route because that is the only way he will get recognition. But all he does is, well, goofy villain stuff and he knows, that Metroman will swoop in and save the day if things get to wild. When Metroman is gone and the city is threatened by a real villain, it is socialy awkward, blue, bald Megamind, who defends the citizens with his life and shows them, that he is more than the annoying trouble maker they all made him out to be.

"Villains are colored red"

Elmo, Knuckles, the Flash, Lighting McQueen and Deadpool:

Protagonists wearing red jackets was actually a popular Japanese trend in the 90s and 00s. Alucard from Hellsing, Vash from Trigun, Edward Elric from FMA, Ragna from Blazblue, Dante from Devil May Cry

6:40  here’s the explanation for this. we humans associate red with danger: blood and fire which posed a major threat to early humans and now in modern day red is used for thing as warning signs and stop lights. Of course different cultures have different meanings to the color red but this is from what I understand

About 7:57 "pink is for girls, blue for boys", that actually became a thing in the last century, when newborn children were either wrapped up in pink blankets or blue blankets in hospitals to better identifying them.
Which is ironic, because in the 19th century, blue was actually more associated with feminity/women, because women were associated with coldness and distance, because MANLY MEN were hot-heated and passionate.
Funny how trends and stereotypes work over time, don't they?

For the first one for heroes, there's only one piece of media I've seen where I really enjoyed the explanation for why the hero looked exactly like the hero in the prophecy. They were made to be that hero. Like literally they were made in a lab and had their appearance shaped specifically to look like the image of the chosen one. It's one of my favorite reasonings I've seen, especially because the hero's relative "fakeness" is an important plot point in the story.

Great characters that Destroy these Tropes:

- Kratos is Bald
- Harry Potter is red, Voldemort is Green
- The Hunchback of Notre Dames existence.
- The fellowships of the ring has Llothlorian coats with hoods.
- Oliver and Company has Evil Dobermans and the hero is a Tabby (and a dog too... But still)

The whole “red=evil” thing now makes me want to make a red herring-type character who looks like they want everyone around them to just drop dead and seem to have ulterior motives, but actually turns out be a big softie, just stoic and tired all the time. And yes, they’re going to have red-colored eyes.

The red and blue thing definitely has a lot to do with the different associations with those colours. Red is linked to “danger” whereas blue is linked to “peace”. Magical girl anime half avoids this trope with red magical girls being a staple, but a lot of times there’s at least one red-themed villain, if not the entire villain team being associated with the colour red…


I actually agree with the villain makeover and cats/dogs things! One of my favourite characters falls into that exact redemption trope where she just puts on the same outfit in lighter clothing. I think it’s much more fun when a villain gets a whole new outfit that still would suit their tastes.

Not to make it "too serious", but I wouldnt be surprised if the whole "dog good cat bad" thing is because women are associated with cats, and cats are also associated with witches and stuff.

5:26 This theory is similar to medieval times and even other cultures. In medieval times, criminals would shave their heads boldly. In medieval times, heads of the nobility would shave since having long hair was a status symbol.

My best guess for why villains are often bald is because there was a trope of "really smart villain is bald so you can see their brain muscles flexing" There were also a lot of villains who have a head that looks like a brain or sometimes just straight up is a brain. There is also the trope of the villain being ugly, and while there are plenty of people who can pull of being bald, there are also a lot of people that just can't pull it off or don't quite look right (bumpy head).

Imagine the “chosen one” trope where someone accidentally looks more like the tapestry than the ACTUAL chosen one. Everyone mistakes them for the hero, while the real chosen one is lead down a different path due to not knowing what their fate was supposed to be. This fake “chosen one” steps up to save the realm and it’s eventually revealed they aren’t the one prophesied at all. They are now tasked with a fight against fate itself and going against the doubt of others.

Edit: I realized I just described spiderverse