Here we will be doing a wick check for Jerks Are Worse Than Villains.
Why? Multiple problems. Supposed to be (per Square Peg, Round Trope) "an Audience Reaction phenomenon where audiences tend to react more negatively to general Jerkass characters doing minor stuff to annoy the hero than to actual villains who commit heinous crimes". However, it attracts complaining and misuse for disallowed In-Universe examples.
Wicks checked: 10/50
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Correct use, neutrally written (4/50)
- YMMV.Black Clover: Although the series has devils, purely malevolent beings who revel in causing pain, and the Dark Triad, a group of irredeemably evil villains, the fandom despises King Augustus Kira Clover XIII for his extreme pettiness, incompetence, and representing everything wrong with the aristocracy and classism in the story, along with each of his appearances emphasizing what a terrible ruler he is.
- YMMV.Home Alone: The two Wet Bandits, Harry and Marv, are impossible to hate, even when they attempt to kill Kevin in the sequel, as their Butt-Monkey status and Marv's ditziness make them hilarious to watch. However, Kevin's family, especially Buzz and Frank, are just unlikable, as they constantly bully him and don't get much comeuppance.
- YMMV.The Craft: Chris and Laura Lizzie are hated far more than the actual antagonist of the film, Nancy. Chris mostly spreads nasty rumors about Sarah (although it's implied he's done the same to other girls) and Laura Lizzie is a racist bully to Rochelle and rude to Sarah. Nancy meanwhile murders two people, tries to commit sexual assault, intimidates her friends into siding with her, threatens to slit Rochelle's throat, and does her best to torture Sarah into killing herself. But because as the villain, she's allowed a tragic backstory with her sad home life (and one of her victims being Chris himself, while the other is her abusive stepfather), she's beloved by the fandom. Chris likely gets hated more because he tries to rape Sarah, with Nancy retaliating against him, and his only excuse is that he's an entitled asshole (albeit under a love spell), so Nancy's motives are more understandable to viewers even though they're not justified.
- YMMV.Yakuza 5: The Big Bad is a cutthroat Yakuza who is willing to cross every single line for the sake of his Evil Plan, including ordering for Haruka's assassination. Yet many players end up hating Mirei Park more for her manipulative tendencies and cruel treatment of her employees, not helped by how characters tend to romanticise her after her death.
Written in a complain-y or bashy way (1/50)
- YMMV.Cross Ange: Many detractors blame the show being full-on World of Jerkass and even DRAGONs exhibiting some Holier Than Thou attitude and forgot that eventually at least the protagonist side (Ange, the Norma and later DRAGONs) showcase positive attitudes and development, which has a nasty tendency of overshadowing the heinous things Embryo have in plans for the world. And if one gets past that, the straight example rears its head: Embryo is a raging narcissistic genocidal maniac, true, but he could merit off some values of Evil Is Cool because his plans are so 'out of there'. On the other hand, Julio, while also heinous on his own, exhibited much more relatable attitudes found in real life jerks: Parental favoritism jealousy, racism superiority, the single-minded desire to see just one person (Ange) suffer just because she's 'different'. This can also be seen to the whole Mana community, who are highly racist and extremely unreasonable, demanding free help while acting like jerks to anyone not meeting their standards. While they ARE the creation of Embryo, even fans would agree that Embryo had some sort of point that he saw them as his failures and wanting to restart the world, and saw the murder of Julio and severing of Mana leading to the community collapse as a Kick The Son Of A Bitch moment on his side. This has a generally complain-y tone, at least to me.
In-Universe examples (1/50)
- Characters.Chippy: In-Universe; it's extremely rude with no other characterization, and its description urges that itt should not exist. While this claims to be in-universe, I also think it's lacking context necessary to be a proper example, so it could've also gone in other folders.
Villains hated for being villains (0/50)
Other misuse (2/50)
- YMMV.Rent: While Benny is not necessarily a villain, he's still the show's main antagonist and is guilty of things like blackmailing his former friends over rent he knows they can't pay, helping to gentrify the neighborhood, and calling the cops on a tent city, which eventually escalates to a full-fledged riot. He's still far more sympathetic and likable than the pastor at Angel's funeral who, though he's onstage for about fifteen seconds and his worst crime is calling Collins a "queer", is universally despised by the entire fanbase for insulting a grieving lover like that just because he can't pay the undertaker. The trope isn't "lighter antagonist vs jerk". If Benny isn't a "necessarily" villain, can this really count?
- YMMV.Temeraire: The Big Bad, Napoléon Bonaparte, is portrayed as a Worthy Opponent verging occasionally on Friendly Enemy of the protagonist Laurence, and is genuinely interested in improving the lives of his citizens. In contrast, Laurence's fellow captain Rankin is a classist, racist, sexist, speciesist ass whose defining moment is abandoning his dragon companion to die alone, begging to see him, while he goes for drinks. This just implies that Napoleon isn't a villain in this story, or at least it doesn't explain the evil things he does. This is just "hating a jerk more than someone who isn't a jerk"
ZCEs, unclear, and other (2/50)
- YMMV.Saw: Given the moral ambiguity of various characters, it's no surprise that the franchise is no stranger to this trope. Neither of these examples actually go into detail on why Jigsaw and Hoffman are hated less than these characters.
- Saw 3D: Bobby is an obnoxious writer who pretends to be a past victim of a Jigsaw trap in order to get fame and money. While Hoffman is at his absolute worst in this film, he eventually received a direct comeuppance via an And I Must Scream fate. Bobby, on the other hand, only received punishment through proxy due to failing to rescue all of his loved ones and staff from the gruesome traps he should have been put into himself.
- Jigsaw: Most, if not all, of the victims in the Barn game are pretty despicable themselves, including the former first apprentice of the long-dead Jigsaw. However, the most dislikable of the bunch is Anna, who feigns innocence in spite of killing her baby and pinning the blame on her husband, who ended up killing himself out of guilt. Ultimately, her selfishness doomed her and another trapped victim, who was left to rot besides her.
- YMMV.The RWBY Loops: Compare Cinder or Neo and Roman's treatment in snips to Jacques Schnee's.
Unclassifiable (0/50)
