Being an Anti-Hero (or a Anti-Heroine) doesn't exactly mean being evil.

[Loghorn]

I'm curious as to why people think that way. A person can be good & still be a anti-hero (or a anti-heroine). They don't have to exactly do evil stuff. They literally don't have to help anyone out if they don't want to.

Happens in real life as well.

[Kenori]

Yeah, thats the whole point of the "Hero" part of that.

Classic and best case is Marv from Sin City. Not exactly what you would call a "Hero" in the classic sense, but he has his own code, and in the context of that world he's one of the closest ways you'll get to a hero.

[musashi03]

Hmmm... It's a bit of a gray area if we talk about antiheroes in real life. While it would be great to have people bring justice to criminals specially if the government can't do anything about it, but if you're a bystander caught in the crossfire or if you or anybody related to you is wrongfully killed by a vigilante who decided to bring justice through their own hands, then I'm sure you'd prefer the old fashioned due-process approach.

As usual, there's no ABSOLUTE RIGHT choice in this matter, it would be great, yeah, but what are laws for?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of one of the most iconic antiheroes in the comic book world to the point of cosplaying him, Frank Castle / The Punisher...

[FreedomR8G6B1]

In the reverse case...Anti-Villain...best example...

Go watch Hokuto no Ken.

[ryuuseipro]

Let's not forget many antiheroes are essentially reluctant heroes. Godzilla, a villain, became an antihero since Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster (Toho; 1964), where he and Rodan were convinced by Mothra to fight against King Ghidorah, a greater evil, to protect the Earth and all humankind. Of course, Godzilla became a neutral good guy, protecting his home territory that was the Earth, but he was still destructive, and still didn't exactly care for humans. At least until Godzilla Vs. Gigan (Toho; 1972)!

Even Edward Scissorhands has been called, by Tim Burton, "The ultimate antihero. He can't touch."

[Sentaifan'07 Xman]

Yeah, the "anti-hero" is just someone who has his/her own code of ethics because they believe that the so-called "Heroes" are too afraid to take matters into their own hands and they would not waist their time on letting someone decide on what punishment they should bring on the criminals.

In other words....."If you feel that their was true injustice from the law, then it's time to take matters into your own hands and let the politicians and law enforcement set this one out."

[Bolt]

I think of an anti-hero as a character that performs heroic deeds or serves a noble cause, but only because they have no other choice. Whereas a classic hero will take up the mantle of justice simply because it's right, an anti-hero only acts when he or she is forced to do so in order to protect their own, often much narrower, interests and aims. Vegeta from Dragonball Z is one of the most picture-perfect archetypal anti-heroes I can call to mind.

[Bolt]

Originally Posted by Sentaifan'07 Xman

Yeah, the "anti-hero" is just someone who has his/her own code of ethics because they believe that the so-called "Heroes" are too afraid to take matters into their own hands and they would not waist their time on letting someone decide on what punishment they should bring on the criminals.

This definition seems more accurately suited to describe a vigilante or renegade type, which is a prominent subset of anti-hero but is even more specific.

I think of an anti-hero as a character that performs heroic deeds or serves a noble cause, but only because they have no other choice. Whereas a classic hero will take up the mantle of justice simply because it's right, an anti-hero only acts when he or she is forced to do so in order to protect their own, often much narrower, interests and aims. Vegeta from Dragonball Z is one of the most picture-perfect archetypal anti-heroes I can call to mind.