Hello guys I'm back with another candidate although this time I am a little unsure whether he qualifies. So I thought I'd bring him to the table, once again he is from the Super Sentai franchise.
This ninja achieved a crime very unique, he turned a ranger to the DARK SIDE!!
What's the work?[]
The franchise we will be discussing today is Super Sentai but in specific it is one of its installments called GoGo Sentai Boukenger. In this installment there is a private organization called SGS that searches for dangerous objects called Precious'. Sometimes they can be sentient and are dangerous to society but other times they are weapons to be used by evil forces. These forces are grouped into the Negative Syndicates that include the Gordom Civilization, Jaryuu Clan, Dark Shadow, and later the Ashu Tribe. SGS formed the Boukengers who were all recruited by the adventurous leader Akashi team up to defeat all these incoming threats while safekeeping Precious'.
Who is he?[]
Our candidate today is from the Ninja mercenary organization Dark Shadow and his name is Yaiba of Darkness. He is an enigmatic second in command of the mercenary group who observes daily plots that include obtaining Precious' and selling them to various clients. Their goal essentially is to gain the most profit from as many precious objects they gather but Yaiba is more complex. Truly he thirsts to understand darkness and makes it his overall mission in life.
What has he done?[]
Yaiba of Darkness is first shown near an excavation site where he comes across a bunch of workers and a young boy that is with them. Yaiba decided on killing them all but when approaching the boy faster and faster, the boy used the workers as meat shields that were easily wiped out by Yaiba of Darkness. At that moment he was obsessed with this boy revealed later to be Masumi (Bouken Black) who has just killed these workers who have in fact been abusive towards him. These dark tendencies captivated Yaiba for years to come and he never forgot the incident.
Many years later Yaiba of Darkness and Dark Shadow revealed themselves to SGS and this time they wanted to obtain two dolls for a client. Gekkou of Illusions their leader sent Yaiba and another enforcer named Shizuka to obtain these objects that in fact lead to a precious. Initially Yaiba wasn't aware that the Boukengers he was fighting had anyone he recognized before but then he noticed Masumi who since that incident had become the Black Boukenger. Instantly he sensed the darkness and conflict within his heart. Therefore when the opportunity arose he told whoever won between him and Masumi would take the dolls. Through this fight Yaiba taunted Masumi telling him that the darkness within him was potent and that Masumi was never forgotten in Yaiba's head. With the moment of Masumi using the workers as meat shields being ever so vivid. Ultimately Yaiba lost but still managed to take one doll but this would be only the start of their conflicts.
Over the many next battles having to do with the Dark Shadow Yaiba aided them but wasn't involved completely with many plots like sacrificing children and turning the Boukengers into animals. Whenever Masumi was there though he often tried to goad him into embracing the darkness. The next time Yaiba became greatly involved in a scheme was to find the Steel of the Heavenly Mine and a Tsukogami monster was used to impersonate a girl telling the amnesiac Natsuki (Bouken Yellow) she is her sister. With this lie the Boukengers could be manipulated into finding the precious but it ultimately fails. Although Natsuki is turned on her friends who for a time she is meant to believe are lying to her plus being Natsuki's true enemies.
The Ashu mirror soon became a precious on Dark Shadow's list to which Yaiba and Shizuka hunted for and soon fought the Boukengers over. Through the fight Yaiba was only getting closer and closer with his manipulations to Masumi, trying to make him realize the evil within him. At the end the Questers ambushed both factions and took the mirror. Later when the Hyde Gene appeared Yaiba also heard its call and fought with the other Syndicates and the Boukengers. In one plot Yaiba showed his intolerance for traitors when he stabbed Akutagami with his sword as punishment.
Before talking about the final arc of Yaiba of Darkness relating to his endgame there are two more major plots he is involved in. The first is where he sets up an adventure school so he can get students with high adventure potential to be slaves to raise a ship precious. The Boukengers infiltrate the school and are there when Yaiba notices an adventure wannabe who soon is threatened with death if the Boukengers don't surrender. They do for some time and are used as slaves to obtain the precious but not before the other Boukengers arrive and stop this plan. The second plan is to obtain the God Head and sell it to a client. Yaiba had split the Boukengers efforts in half but still they managed to figure out that he and the Karths were decoys along with Shizuka and some scientists. Since the client was Akashi (Bouken Red) whom defeated the ninja soon after.
After the Questers had fallen with their super precious at the hands of the Boukengers, Yaiba of Darkness knew that it was time to initiate his final scheme that all tied back to where it started, Masumi. First though he plans to get rid of Gekkou of Illusions and Shizuka when he decides to release Gekkou's true form, the Demon Bird. Shizuka gets suspicious as Yaiba seems to be meditating and plotting but it is confirmed when he uses a forbidden precious used on his master long ago to turn him into a mindless beast. Therefore he ties Gekkou up along with Shizuka and with no remorse lets Gekkou's true form out that the Boukengers soon take care off. After that Yaiba is now a traitor and approaches Masumi. The Boukengers had just secured a new precious from the Jaryuu Tribe called the Headed Dragon of Darkness when he pressures Masumi from behind. He tells him that without him he can't access the precious and bring darkness around the world. He reveals that from the time he used shields it was his destiny to embrace evil and now the doubts truly begin. Masumi thinks what to do and joins Yaiba of Darkness. Yaiba now plans to bring an asteroid to Earth in order to destroy most of the city and even the Boukengers. The vile ninja even plans on Masumi witnessing his friends die while they are shielded during this cataclysm. Ultimately though Masumi remembers what his friends mean to him and proves Yaiba wrong by destroying him and proving the light has triumphed. Beyond the grave though Masumi for a time leaves the Boukengers that leaves the city open to attacks.
Heinous Standards[]
Before going into the series heinous standard we need to examine how Yaiba may seem to be standard but truly brings unique crimes to the Super Sentai franchise. Not many villains have succeeded in corrupting the hero and Yaiba stands out when doing this. As Masumi is fully consumed by the darkness as he abandons his old friends and life fully embracing his dark side. All because Yaiba pushed him to ignoring the righteous path which Masumi always walked the thin line across. A similar villain called Resentful Knight Endolf in Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger attempted to invoke dark emotions in the rangers but even he failed.
Now it is time for the in series heinous standard:
Arch Priest Gajah- He fails the general heinous standards despite being the main villain since he does standard crimes for the massive standard like terrorism, destruction, brainwashing, etc. Not to mention how he helps other villains making him stand out less.
Jaryuu King Ryuwon- He is also standard as he does crimes like terrorism and theft and nothing is notable of what he ever does in the show, as it has all been done in other shows.
Gekkou of Illusions - Despite being his master, Gekkou just sits around and commands his forces to do evil that is it.
The Questers- These two cats are very evil as they too toy around and abuse their opponents in cruel way like making Akashi see a vision of a friend he failed to save just so he would fall into agony. They also did attempt to destroy and kill many people, with Gai from the Questers killing one person on screen. Although Yaiba does have his own unique acts that can make him stand out despite that like mass murdering on screen. As well as the fact he too attempted to use an asteroid to spread darkness and kill many people as a result.
Essentially the only other villains that stand out are the Questers and although they are very evil, Yaiba is very depraved in his acts in his own right. Like systematically killing the abusive crew which for the franchise and the show stands out. In addition, no one in the show except Yaiba psychologically broke a person to a point of betraying their friends only to use them as a tool to destroy said friends. So I'm a little unsure but it's about your thoughts.
Mitigating Factors[]
While at first he seems to have a basic code of honor and to serve the Gekkou of Illusions it is all far from the truth. Yaiba of Darkness is an obsessed psychopath who joins Dark Shadow to inflict pain on others and Gekkou is just another opportunity and we can say outlet for him to commit his crimes. Not to mention how he easily turns him into a savage monster when he has no need for him and endangers Shizuka too. They weren't abused by him but at the same time both comrades were of no concern to him. As well as that when fighting over the dolls it is shown at the end of the "fair fight" that despite losing Yaiba doesn't honor this and still tries to steal both dolls, getting one. When it comes to Masumi he makes him think that he understands but truly is using him as a tool. Not caring about what happens to his friends and even encouraging him openly to forget about them. Essentially convincing him that his friends are his enemies and he is his trusted ally all to later try to kill Masumi's friends along with many others using the asteroid. He had no remorse at all for corrupting Masumi using a dangerous precious and his words. Lives to this ninja could mean nothing more than trash as he attempts to kill many innocents over the show and enslaves innocents when it benefits him. Feelings and how easy they can be used are his strength and it can't be said he has any. Yaiba knows completely what he is doing and his only excuse his the petty one of pursuing darkness.
Final Verdict[]
Easy yes. This psychopathic corrupting influence definitely deserves the death he got.