Poll of the Day > Why is this a trope in anime?

(+) Yeah! (+)

In young boy fights aliens animes the commander usually turn outs to be a villain.

I don't even know what series you're talking about here, because this doesn't apply to everything I'm thinking of off the top of my head (Gridman, Zambot 3, Combattler V)

the only one I can think of that objectively fits is evangelion, but that's only one show

Cotton_Eye_Joe posted...

In young boy fights aliens animes the commander usually turn outs to be a villain.

it makes sense that the enemy commander would be the main enemy... whut

Because it plays into the universal trope of being betrayed by a trusted or idolized figure

More concerning is the anime trope of blatant pedophilia

Lokarin posted...

it makes sense that the enemy commander would be the main enemy... whut

They're referring to the human commander, I think.

It's a trope in a lot of "us vs. them" stories that "us" turn out to be the real villains in the conflict. It's a pretty easy twist to set up, since all you have to do is only show the viewer what the protagonist sees and limit the protagonist's perception to only see Us' point of view at the beginning of the story. Then the protagonist meets some Them in a non-combat setting, understands why Them is fighting and the lies Us told about how righteous Us' cause was, then conveniently the protagonist is also some kind of super-soldier who is able to single-handedly turn the tide in a dramatic final battle that secures a peaceful future for both Us and Them while deposing Us' corrupt leadership.

It's a very straightforward twist that's still effective because everybody loves a good betrayal and unmasking oppressive conspiracies, so it gets used a lot. Lies and betrayal are a very effective ways to build animosity toward a villain without being too heavy-handed in the exposition, especially if the victim is somebody the viewer is invested in.