The Best Anime Villains
Good character traits, a certain level of charm, and, of course, a sense of threat can transform a forgettable, mediocre villain into a great villain and a great character overall. A great villain is almost essential in a great anime. Of course, there are exceptions to the qualities I presented.
Here goes the list:
The 25 Most Powerful Villains In Anime, Officially Ranked
Antagonists Abound: 20 of the Greatest Villains in AnimeJohan Liebert. Series: Monster (2004 – 2012)Griffith. Series: Berserk (2016) ... Gendo Ikari. Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) ... Shou Tucker. Series: Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009) ... Shinobu Sensui. ... The Major. ... Sibyl System. ... Kyubey. ... More items...•
The 10 Most Powerful Villains In Anime, Ranked1 Beerus — Dragon Ball Super.2 Yhwach — Bleach. ... 3 Kaguya Otsutsuki — Naruto. ... 4 Boros — One-Punch Man. ... 5 Meruem — Hunter X Hunter. ... 6 Father — Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. ... 7 Eren Yeager — Attack On Titan. ... 8 Shinobu Sensui — Yu Yu Hakusho. ... More items...•
The 12 Strongest Anime Characters of All Time1 Saitama (One Punch Man)2 Son Goku (Dragon Ball) ... 3 Giorno Giovanna (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) ... 4 Anos Voldigoad (The Misfit of Demon King Academy) ... 5 Tetsuo Shima (Akira) ... 6 Muzan Kibutsuji (Demon Slayer) ... 7 Kaguya Otsutsuki (Naruto) ... 8 Yhwach (Bleach) ... More items...•
The 15 Best Anime Villains Of All Time1 Vicious. Vicious is the antagonist of Cowboy Bebop, one of the best anime from the 90s.2 Aizen. Sosuke Aizen is one of the most recognizable faces in the anime community. ... 3 Meruem. ... 4 Askeladd. ... 5 Donquixote Doflamingo. ... 6 DIO. ... 7 Yohan Liebert. ... 8 Griffith. ... More items...•
10 Totally Terrifying Anime VillainsTitans - Attack on Titans. ... Kyubey - Madoka Magica. ... Father - Fullmetal Alchemist. ... Frieza - Dragon Ball Z. ... Lucy - Elfen Lied. ... Shou Tucker - Fullmetal Alchemist. ... Light Yagami - Death Note. ... Johan Liebert - Monster. There is no scarier man in anime than Johan Liebert.More items...•
Anime Top 10Top 10 Best Rated (bayesian estimate) (Top 50)#titlerating1Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (TV)9.082Steins;Gate (TV)9.043Clannad After Story (TV)9.028 more rows
1) Jiren. As seen in Dragon Ball Super's Tournament of Power arc, Goku was unable to defeat Jiren in a 1v1 even after achieving Mastered Ultra Instinct. While Goku has honed his Ultra Instinct since the Tournament of Power in the manga, Jiren and Goku have yet to rematch as Goku is now.
He is often not in complete control of his body movements when using Godspeed. It is still quite effective during combat. Killua can move at speeds of over 550 mph, which is much higher than the speed of sound. He is also the fastest character in the anime.
22 Shishio Makoto (Rurouni Kenshin) One of the creepiest villains in anime, Shishio's iconic look is something fans will never forget, even after his relevance dwindled. He served as the major antagonist during the Kyoto arc of Rurouni Kenshin, but his overbearing presence remained throughout the series.
The diabolical leader of The Millenium with little to no regard for human life, The Major is perhaps one of the sickest villains featured on this list simply due to the sheer ruthlessness of his actions. He also controls an entire horde of vampires, which definitely doesn't hurt his placement on the list either.
One of the most engrossing tales ever told, the fact of the matter is that Code Geass wouldn't have been half as enthralling had it not been for its scintillating antagonist, Lelouch Lamperouge, who was actually known as Lelouch vi Britannia.
Being the founder and emperor of the Alvarez Empire, you'd expect Zeref Dragneel to have the power to back his claim... and you'd be right. Known to be one of the most powerful mages in the world of Fairy Tail, no one can debate the fact that Zeref is definitely a towering force to be reckoned with.
While his appearances across the series might've been wildly sporadic, his character was so strong that the finale of Cowboy Bebop has become the stuff of legends. Even now, watching the ending scene brings a tear to the eye of even the manliest of men.
However, none of them even come close to the sheer power wielded by Marshall D. Teach, more popularly known in the world of One Piece as Blackbeard. He's the only person in the world to have the power of not one, but two Devil Fruits!
Another case of a bad guy turning good after some much-needed reflection , Accelerator is definitely one of the most powerful temporary antagonists of all time. He was just so powerful that, even with his calculation abilities halved due to his brain being fried, he's still able to pose a significant challenge to his enemies.
Summoned in the Archer class during the fourth and fifth Holy Grail War of the Fate/Stay Night series, Gilgamesh is one of the strongest villains in the Fate franchise. His only weakest is that he’s a servant. Trumping the powers of Hercules, Gilgamesh is like a god.
Not only is one of the strongest characters on the show, Madara Uchiha is a master manipulator too. Faking his own passing, Madara drove the plot of Naruto for most of the series.
He thinks he is the smartest man in the room due to his inside information, leading often to mistakes and oversights. Leskinen employs others to do his dirty work, and when forced to make instant choices, he chooses incorrectly.
Ramen Kenpo is a great example of a trope anime comic relief character in the series One Piece. Using Ramen noodles as his weapon of choice, his trademark style is blowing them out of his nose. Other moves include the Ramen Gyoza Set, where Kenpo “claps” the arms of his ramen armor suit to trap his victims.
A mastermind villain is strong due to their tactical and manipulation skills, controlling others and the environment around them. In anime, these characters often receive equal screen time with the protagonist and heroes. Receiving deep character development, a villain’s story goes beyond stereotypical generalizations.
Featured as the MC in the anime series Overlord, Ainz Ooal Gown is a super OP villain. Formally known by the name Momonga , an expert gamer, he finds himself trapped in his favorite video game as the character Ainz Ooal Gown. Momonga created Ainz, specializing his class as an Overlord.
But at his core, will always remain somewhat of a villain.
Best known for its huge swords and larger-than-life characters, Berserk features plenty of great antagonists, though perhaps none more so than Griffith. Having started out as a friend and ally to Guts, jealousy eventually gets the better of him and his morality gradually fades away as he struggles to get the upper hand.
A recurring villain throughout the Fate series, Gilgamesh is one of the most self-assured villains in all of anime, and for good reason. He's every bit as powerful as he is cocky and has caused the franchise's heroes a ridiculous amount of trouble over the years.
There are plenty of fearsome pirates in One Piece, but none more so than Blackbeard.
Though he can certainly be an incredibly likable character at times, it's difficult to argue against Light Yagami being the true villain of Death Note.
Given that it was he who created the Ten Commandments in the first place, it should come as little surprise to learn that the Demon King is far stronger than all of them combined. Just how powerful he really is has never been fully explored in the anime, but, from what viewers have seen of him so far, "very" seems like a fair assessment.
In many ways, All For One is the exact opposite of All Might and serves as the hero's main nemesis. This is a title that he more than lives up to, as evidenced by the ease with which he swats away a number of powerful Pro Heroes when first introduced to the series.
Father starts life as a fairly underwhelming villain, but through his cunning and intellect, is able to trick Van Hohenheim into sacrificing the people of Xerxes to create a Philosopher's Stone. With this great power, he transforms into a God-like entity and is once again able to perform powerful alchemy.
As the main villain in the JoJo franchise, it stands to reason that Dio Brando would also be among the most powerful. His Stand, The World, allows him to stop time for everyone except himself, giving him the opportunity to destroy opponents before they even realize what happened.
Photo: Group TAC. Sometimes, what makes a villain truly powerful isn't fancy powers - it's muscles. Yujiro Hanma is the strongest fighter in his world, and his son Baki longs to defeat him but starts off miles away from that goal. He's a freelance mercenary who does the dirty work of various governments.
One well-known example is Madara Uchiha of Naruto, a legendary ninja who took on the Shinobi Alliance like it was nothing moments after being revived. There's also Gilgamesh from Fate, who wields a sword so powerful it could easily destroy the planet - and in fact, it created the planet in the first place.
Madara Uchiha - 'Naruto'. Photo: Studio Pierrot. Madara Uchiha is the ultimate BAMF, which he proves by not just fighting off the entire Shinobi Alliance, but actually pulling off his Infinite Tsukuyomi plan... temporarily, anyway.
Yujiro Hanma from Baki The Grappler is a tough contender too: the man has mastered every form of combat that doesn't involve weapons, and he's trusted by governments worldwide to take on assassination missions.
Zeref once claimed that Acnologia had enough power to take over the world with - and he's probably right. He's one of the first-ever users of Dragon Slayer Magic, which he uses to literally reap the souls of Dragons. He also has healing abilities, flight, super-strength, and more magic than should be able to fit in his body.
As the creator of the Ten Commandments and the one who gave them their power to begin with, you can imagine that The Demon King is a great deal more powerful than any of them. His signature ability, The Ruler, lets him transform any attacks directed at him into healing - including Meliodas' Full Counter.
He somehow convinces Ymir Fritz to unleash the complete power hidden within the Founding Titan, which converts him into the largest entity ever seen in Attack on Titan. Eren's size notwithstanding, he also has the authority to temporarily "reincarnate" all the past users of the Nine Titans to do battle for him.
9 Ragyo Kiryuin — Kill La Kill. Ragyo Kiryuin reveals the protagonist, Ryuko Matoi, to be her long-lost daughter, but this just makes the latter more eager to take the villain out. Unfortunately, the combined efforts of Ryuko and Satsuki Kiryuin pale in comparison to their mother's utterly captivating martial artistry.
Eren Yeager starts his journey as a traumatized child, swearing what sounds like an empty oath of vengeance against the Titans (mainly on behalf of his dead mother, Carla.) Grisha, his dad, secretly imbues him with two of the Nine Titans — the Attack Titan and the Founding Titan, but Eren only uses the first until the end of the manga, which is when he transforms from protagonist to potential antagonist.
Bleach 's Yhwach is more powerful than every character in the series, long before he even reaches Soul King level. He doesn't need more than a single reishi sword-arrow to kill Yamamoto Genryusai, a man whose bankai is so dangerous that it could vaporize Soul Society.
In real life, Ajay disguises himself as an academic, mainly writing textbooks for children — who all hate him for making their lives more miserable. He also writes about TV and film, strewing his opinions across the internet to see if people care (they don't).
Given that Kill la Kill is a parody of the shonen genre, it's not surprising that Ragyo's final outfit, Shinra Koketsu, literally transforms her into a gigantic being floating in outer space.
The Chimera Ant King is born with incalculable reserves of life aura because his mother consumes thousands of Nen-aura during his gestation. He is immediately able to display his talents at Gyo, Ko, and Ren, which take most proficient Hunters months or years to master.
Baki Hanma is a ridiculously muscular teenage boy with the sole goal of defeating his father, and the world’s strongest living creature, Yujiro Hanma. Baki constantly trains his body by placing himself in dangerous situations.
Akira Fudo, the protagonist of numerous Devilman anime and other works by Go Nagai, gains the power to transform into the powerful Devilman after conquering a demon spirit that tries to possess his body.
Tatsumaki is one of the few anime characters here who doesn't actually need to have great hand-to-hand combat skills. Her power comes from her psychic abilities. She's called the Tornado of Terror as a result of what she can do.
This oranged-haired Shinigami has a broad, and sometimes confusing, set of powers that allow him to defeat even the most overpowered of foes. His strength and swordsmanship allow him to take down all-powerful deities and reality-bending gods while he gains new powers from each set of foes he defeats.
A young man who gained a natural command over alchemy after tragically losing his right arm and left leg while trying to bring his mother back to life, Edward Elric is extremely powerful. He can alter the terrain of any battlefield with his alchemy skills, and transform nearly any substance into a weapon to complement his versatile fighting style.
In fact, in the sequel Clear Card series, Sakura's own magic is so great that she rewrites the cards over the course of the series. She can use the magic inside of her to augment the cards, make them stronger, or create her own. The use of the cards allow her the power of flight, super strength, speed, and more. She is, however, still one of the youngest Magical Girls in anime, ensuring that she lacks the same ruthlessness of some of her older counterparts.
With the increasing popularity of western anime series and the development of new fictional mythologies, there are always more heroes and villains coming to the screen. While some anime characters get their start on the pages of a manga, others come to the screen without audiences knowing anything about their journey.
Though Eren is far from useless while in his human form, it's not until he transforms that he really becomes deadly. The ability to mutate into an unstoppable fifteen-foot Titan is an incredibly useful one to have up one's sleeve, and it's one that comes to his rescue time and time again throughout Attack on Titan.
Naruto may not be as strong as some of the other popular anime protagonists that are out there, but what he lacks in raw strength, he more than makes up for with technique and confidence. The once narcissistic ninja's control over the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox makes him a real force to be reckoned with, as too does Sage Mode.
Thanks to his impressive collection of souls, Alucard is more or less invincible at the beginning of Hellsing. By the series' conclusion, however, he exists both everywhere and nowhere, making it downright impossible to kill him.
Being the Son of the Soul King, Yhwach was blessed with a number of unique powers; most notably the ability to distribute parts of his soul to other living beings simply by touching them. By doing so, he was able to have people cultivate new powers and abilities for him, which he was then able to reclaim and use against his enemies.
Naruto has come up against some powerful villains over the years, but none quite as deadly as the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya. After consuming the fruit of the God Tree and then later merging with the God Tree itself, she became the Ten-Tails, granting her a wide array of powers that make her nigh-on unstoppable in battle.
Tetsuo serves as the main antagonist in Akira, despite having once been the hero's best friend. His psychic power, once fully awakened, proves to be far too much for him to be able to control, leading to a series of psychic explosions that threaten to destroy the entire universe.
The Misfit of Demon King Academy anime may be fairly new when compared to some of the other popular anime series that have made their way west, but its main protagonist Anos has existed for more than 2,000 years.
He is the main character of the story. Childhood “friend” of Katsuki Bakugo, whom he nicknames Katchan, he was born without Quirk. He wants to become the best superhero of his time, like his idol, the famous All Might: “To be able to save lives with a smile on your face”.
Series: The Legend of Korra Created By: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Series: Avatar: The Last Airbender Created By: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Byakuya is a member of the Kuchiki clan and grew up in the villa of the same name in Seireitei. He spent countless hours training, preparing to take over the leadership of the Kuchiki family. Yoruichi Shihōin often visited Kuchiki Manor to play tag with Byakuya.
The big brother of Alphonse, their father left them when they were children, and as a result, he has few memories of him. The death of their mother a few years later will lead Edward to hate him above all else, seeing him as the cause of this death.
Meliodas is the Dragon of Wrath and Leader of the Seven Deadly Sins. He is the main protagonist of the series and was the owner of the Boar Hat Tavern. Her Sacred Treasure is the Lostvayne Demon Slicer and her Magical Ability is Full Counter.
Koro-sensei is the Head Teacher of Class 3-E at Kunugigaoka Middle School. His past is unclear, but we later learn that he was once a great assassin who had been given the title of Shinigami, which indicated his function as a powerful and formidable hitman in the whole world.