18. Pai Mei- Kill Bill Vol. 2
Pai Mei is the teacher of Elle, Beatrix a.k.a The Bride, and even Bill himself, so therefore one of the most bad ass characters that Tarantino has ever created, and he has created many. With Mei, Tarantino creates a kung-fu master who has unlimited skill and seems untouchable. From balancing perfectly on a sword in mid air, to snatching Elles eye out for an insulting comment, to not being effected by a swift kick to the balls, the guy just seems unstoppable. On top of Mei being totally bad ass, he is also a rather funny and eccentric character, and because of his giant white eyebrows and long thin beard that he continually strokes, he comes across as quite likable, even with his blatant hatred of women, Americans and the Japanese. It is a bit disappointing that even with all his skills, Mei meets his demise not through an epic battle to the death or by being attacked by hundreds of enemies, but rather through simply being poisoned by Elle. Though thanks to this plot point, Elle becomes a much more dislikeable character, which then helps add a bit more drama to her and Beatrix's sword fight. Though Meis presence in Kill Bill Vol. 2 is short lived, the character seems to have a wealth of history and back stories, as can be seen with Bills retelling of how Mei killed a monk for not showing him respect. I therefore hope that one day, this, as well as many other of Meis stories, will be explored further by Tarantino.