Across all forms of media and entertainment, fanbases seem to have a special place for psychopaths and manipulators. Many fan-favorite characters are known to possess such tendencies, but there are also times when certain characters are totally built around them. Two of the most infamous psychopaths in anime are Johan Liebert and Junko Enoshima. Out of these two, Who is the better manipulator? Let’s find out.
The Monster
On the surface, Johan Liebert is your typical good-looking, aloof, and introverted young man who seems to be an unassuming university student. But beneath that peaceful facade lies his true form. In reality, Johan is a nihilistic, cold-blooded psychopath who shows neither care nor respect for human life. His entire existence is marked by a diabolical shroud of darkness.
Although his personality and character are convoluted, Johan’s motivations are pretty straightforward. He strives for pure, unadulterated chaos and has both a God complex and a superiority complex. According to him. “Most of this universe is ‘death‘ anyway,” Not only does he kill, but he also enjoys the act of manipulating his victims and playing them like a game.
The Ultimate Despair
Junko Enoshima’s entire life, practices, beliefs, and actions are centered around one single ideology. Despair. She finds great amounts of joy and satisfaction through inducing despair in other people. Unlike Johan, who keeps a rather stoic and natural disposition for the most part, masking his true self, Junko masquerades as multiple different personas, making it impossible to pin down her true nature.
- She tends to be far more expressive and dramatic when compared to Johan but is just as dangerous and devilish. She has little to no sense of empathy and is fiercely competitive.
- She also hates when things don’t go as per her plan as shown when she expresses her disdain for Makoto Naegi’s luck. Unlike Johan who chooses to pull strings from the shadows, Junko doesn’t always shy away from the limelight.
Johan Liebert Vs Junko Enoshima
Johan and Junko are very similar in many different ways but also have their fair share of differences. Both of them are extremely charismatic and attractive and often have an irresistible allure that serves as the basic trap against their victims.
- Neither of them usually goes out of their way to employ seduction, but it plays a vital role in their overall attractiveness and charm.
- While both are quite detached from human lives and care nothing for the bonds they forge, they do have certain traits that distinguish one from the other.
- Johan chooses to cause pain, suffering, and misery but never reacts to it in any way or form. Junko however, actively enjoys spreading despair and goes to great extremes to do so.
- Johan’s manipulation is usually on an individual scale where he tries to locate one key piece to create a grand game of manipulation whereas Junko tries to amass followers by manipulating multiple people through an idealogy.
Conclusion
Both Junko’s and Johan’s styles of manipulation are effective under the right circumstances. It isn’t simple to determine a clear winner in a battle of wits between them, however, there is a clear distinction in effectiveness.
Johan Liebert taps into the emotions and humanity of others and uses them as a conduit to manipulate, whereas Junko Enoshima focuses on her own personal charms a lot more. Regardless, they both are extremely dangerous individuals who can topple an entire country if they feel like it.