I don't feel that there really is such a thing as a "Hero" and a "Villain" rather two opposed opinions of how things are and should be. What makes people believe one is a “hero” and the other a “villain” is how the story is biased to one of the opinions and thus people become sympathetic to that opinion. This is very evident in the case of Saito Hajime and Kenshin Himura in Rurouni Kenshin. Kenshin fought to bring down a corrupt Tokugawa shogunate while Saito tried to protect it. Since the story is told from the side of Kenshin, Saito is made the apparent villain but since the leaders of the Mejia Era were equally as corrupt as that of the former shogunate exactly what was the “right” or “wrong” side? To take the example of Saito Hajime to the other side there is the series “Peacemaker” where he also is found but now is fighting on the side of “right?”
Personally I feel that I enjoy more the “villains” of most series, as they are the most interesting of characters and usually exhibit an unusual but thought provoking philosophy. Though there are a few “heroes’ I can’t help but be fascinated with as well.
As a added bonus see the below link about the real Saito Hajime
http://www.answers.com/topic/saito-hajime
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