Rorschach from Watchmen. To me, a good anti-hero is a character I feel sympathy for half the time, and then the other half of the time I think he's flippin insane. Having twisted morals, lots of imperfections, and representing the faults of society are all good anti-hero qualities, too.
Godzilla; a destructive force of nature that acts as a walking reminder of the consequences of nuclear warfare. His motivations are beyond human understanding, sometimes being our nemesis, sometimes being our protector; but always acting for himself and not for others. He is equal parts symbol and character. This varies of course, but it applies to Godzilla as a whole.
I've always admired Blondie from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly for being an anti hero who comes off as a hero. Most people see him as the good guy of the story, but he's really just as much a self-serving bastard as the rest.
Anti-heroes don't need to be evil, do they? They just need to be un-heroic. I think Rincewind from the Discworld series is a good anti-hero. He's not very smart, not very competent, and has to deal with bizarre situations that are way over his head.
To me, a good anti-villian. Is someone you can understand their motives and understand why they are doing it. And it better be a good reason. Not just, oh, they killed my brother.
Yep. I agree, and that's a good pick. For Fantasy, I consider Elric to be a good anti-hero. Conan perhaps as well, in some of the stories (the REH originals). Monza Murcatto in Joe Abercrombies "Best Served Cold."
Saruman is one of my favorite anti-hero. Sure, he raised an army of raging hell, and he sometimes appears to be a twisted, corrupted and evil wizard, but then, he was just trying to avoid getting disembered by Sauron.
Conan the Cimmerian is a very good example of an anti-hero, especially in the books. He does a lot of things to help others, but that is mainly for the benefit of himself. In some of the stories he is even a thief or worse. But ultimately, he is a likeable and honorable character.
