Both of these characters are villains from ‘One Piece’.  Specifically, the Dressrosa Arc, which probably means nothing to all of you.  Donquixote Doflamingo is the main villain who took over a kingdom, was a weapons dealer, had an illegal drug industry, killed people, framed the previous king for crimes, and simply wants to plunge the world into chaos.  Senor Pink is one of his subordinates who follows orders to stop or kill anyone in his leader’s way.  It’s heavily implied he’s done the same types of crimes as the other pirates in the group such as stealing and killing.  Yet, their backstory has altered the way some fans look at them.  (Spoilers ahead!)

Donquixote Doflamingo

Now, he does have the longer list of crimes since he’s the main villain.  So, he’s already in a bad spot for sympathy.  Then, you learn he came from the class of nobles who see all other people as worthless.  His father felt that was wrong, took the family away from their protected home, and they were all promptly attacked by people.  Doflamingo would go on to kill his father in the hopes of getting back into the nobility.  He was rejected and set off to become a pirate who would tear down the entire world.  This would also result in him having his own brother killed.  By the end of the backstory, you can see he’s always been evil and his villainy comes off as even worse.  The events of his life just gave him fuel to become worse, which is why he’s considered one of (if not THE) greatest ‘One Piece’ villain.

Senor Pink

One of Doflamingo’s lower enforcers, his big thing is fighting one of the good guys to defend the drug manufacturing plant.  Senor Pink does show a high level of honor, but his strange clothing makes him hard to take seriously.  Pretty much a joke character who is dressed like a baby.  Until you see his backstory where it shows he was once married to a woman who didn’t know he was a pirate.  She thought he was a banker, which is why he had to go away so often.  Senor Pink loved her and their newborn son more than anything, but the baby died of a fever when he was away.  An accident soon after left his wife unresponsive unless he wore the bonnet, diaper, and pacifier they got for his son.  She eventually passed and he continued wearing the clothes because it reminded him of his lost family.  Senor Pink even blames himself for the loss on some level, so the silly costume becomes a sign of pain and loss.  This is why fans of ‘One Piece’ will show his picture and mention that you won’t be laughing about him once you find out why he looks that way.  He went from a weird villain to having his own fan-base, but not one that sees him as a full villain like Doflamingo

And?

My point here is that a backstory can change a villain’s reputation if done correctly.  It can raise them to a more noble level or make them appear as more of a demon.  You can’t depend solely on this aspect either.  They need to have some positive qualities to make you have them be sympathetic.  Senor Pink is always shown to be honorable, which is why a sad history enhances his personality.  Doflamingo was always sinister and evil, so a past that shows he was always like that pushes him in the other direction.  If one tried to go the opposite way with either of them, it probably wouldn’t work.  There is a limit to how much evil can be excused due to a poor history.