The Fairy Tail anime is a lengthy one, with exciting action series, whole guilds of cool characters, and amusing filler arcs for fans who enjoy filler shenanigans. One of the most prominent members of the Fairy Tail guild is none other than Juvia Lockser, the water mage.
At first, Juvia and Gajeel both belonged to the Phantom Lord guild and clashed with Fairy Tail, until the two sides made peace. Now Juvia is a hero along with her friends Lucy, Natsu and Gray (especially the latter), but in some ways, she's actually more interesting as a villain. In what ways is Juvia a proper hero, and how might she be cooler if she returned to her villainous ways?
10 Hero: Pure Love
This is one of the core aspects of Juvia Lockser: her massive crush on Gray Fullbuster. She was smitten the moment they squared off during the Fairy Tail/Phantom Lord battle, and she decided to run off rather than harm the new apple of her eye.
Juvia gets carried away sometimes, but her love for Gray is genuine, and only a hero could care that much about someone else and put their safety above their own. Juvia never acts for herself; everything is for the exalted Gray Fullbuster.
9 Villain: Scary Love
Of course, Juvia's intense feelings sometimes get the better of her, and they can be used to recast her as a proper Fairy Tail villain. Juvia is highly protective of Gray, even at the expense of other people, and she could twist this to extreme ends.
She'd become a yandere, someone who becomes psychotic and destructive due to their intense passi0n for someone. Juvia is just one step away from becoming a yandere herself, and she'd be a scary villain for sure, showing the dark side of obsessive love.
8 Hero: Self-Sacrifice
Juvia's intense passion for Gray appears yet again, and this time, it manifests itself in a noble way. Juvia may be totally fixated on Gray, but in the events of Fairy Tail, she sacrifices herself to save him rather than become a yandere.
Invel of the Spriggan 12 turned Gray and Juvia against each other, but Juvia escaped that death trap by taking her own life first and thus sparing Gray. Better yet, she actually survived (just barely), and Wendy healed her later.
7 Villain: Bitter Loneliness
Up until now, before joining Fairy Tail, Juvia was rather lonely and often faced rejection from others. Even in her girlhood, she was scorned by others, and she kept making rainclouds as an expression of her sorrow and loneliness.
She's happy now, but suppose that personal salvation never came? This bitter loneliness would be the perfect springboard for Juvia's villainous career, and she'd seek out and destroy groups of friends and families to deny these people what she never had.
6 Hero: Goofy Personality
Juvia may not be exceptionally bright, but she knows one thing for sure: she'll do anything for Gray. This is usually more funny than serious, and her self-sacrifice for Gray's life was the exception. Usually, Juvia is goofing off.
Many times, Juvia breaks the tension with a silly line or an overreaction for Gray's sake, or she whips up a heart-shaped sleeping bag or tries to bake a cake. It's all fun and games, and it sets her apart from how villains usually act. Villains don't blow up their house trying to bake a birthday cake.
5 Villain: Perverting The Symbology Of Water
In many cultures and works of fiction, water is seen in a positive light. People, plants and animals need it to live, and water can be soothing and cleanse just about anything. It's often associated with washing away grief or imperfections, and nurturing the needy.
But if Juvia became a villain, she could corrupt the "life-giving water" idea and show just how cruel this element can be. Water can slake a person's thirst, but water can also drown them or wipe out a village or town in a great flood. Water can heal... or destroy.
4 Hero: She's A Good Sport
Some members of the Fairy Tail guild take themselves pretty seriously, such as Laxus, but others are more relaxed and aren't too high-strung. Juvia is among the more casual members of Fairy Tail and isn't terribly prideful.
Juvia happily took part in the beauty contest soon after joining, and felt comfortable the whole time. She also doesn't mind that much if people directly or indirectly call her out or talk her down. She will, though, mind if Gray thinks badly of her. Otherwise, she's not so easily bothered.
3 Villain: Element Team
Villains sometimes like to form symbolic or theme-based teams or squads, and that once included Phantom Lord. Juvia was the water member of the elemental squad, and of course, there was a fire member, one for earth and one for air.
Juvia would be pretty cool if she fought alongside these teammates to form a seamless strategy, villain-style. Together, they would be like avatar Aang or avatar Korra, just in four people. A villainous Juvia would be happy to destroy the heroes in a stylish squad like that.
2 Hero: Never Look Back
It's true that Juvia was once lonely and sad, and that could have led her to a life of villainy. But it didn't, and she gained a new circle of friends just in time. This was, well, a watershed moment for her.
This motivates Juvia to remain a hero and never fall for the temptation to become evil, since she wouldn't dare lose all these precious new friends by becoming a villain. Villains don't usually have friends; they just haw pawns and minions, whom they often abuse or betray. Juvia knows what it's like to be alone, and she won't ever go back there.
1 Villain: No Restraint
As mentioned earlier, Juvia will go pretty far for the sake of her beloved Gray, and she gets carried away more than once. She annoys or tramples on others for Gray's sake, and develops tunnel vision and loses sight of herself.
If Juvia were a villain, she would make good use of this lack of restraint and become a true yandere. Perhaps she'd kidnap Gray and destroy entire towns that resisted her, or show the viewers what twisted obsession can be. Juvia's emotions run hot, and if pointed in a villainous direction, they'd become terrifying.