Whether an anime villainess’ attractiveness comes from her stellar sense of personal style or her quick-witted comebacks, there’s no denying the appeal. Falling in love with a villainess may mean the end of one’s life, but sometimes the risk is worth it.
The best villains inspire devotion from their followers. Sometimes, that magnetism pulls in heroes and anime fans alike, tempting them to the dark side. Even if their actions place them beyond the pale of redemption, their style and flair earn them a place in the waifu pantheon. If a villain has a hint of a redemption arc, though, their appeal increases tenfold.
10 Yana (Record Of Grancrest War)
Yana of Record of Grancrest War serves Queen of Darkness looks with her needle-thin eyebrows, long flowing hair, stately evening gown, and spiderweb choker. This is fitting as her alias is The Black Witch.
True to form, Yana rides through the air on a broom — all the better to stare down her regal nose at her enemies. Yana is an agent of evil and chaos; her long list of victims keeps her far from redemption. Ridiculing all that’s good, she seizes every opportunity she can to be unapologetically evil.
9 Odelia (Sleeping Beauty)
Sleeping Beauty is a vintage mid-’90s anime inspired by the Grimms’ Fairy Tale of the same name. It’s often overlooked because of age and obscurity, but it has one of the prettiest villains, Odelia. Also called The Evil One, she’s like the anime version of the Evil Queen in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
Odelia’s forest green hair matches her yellow and black geometric-patterned gown and denotes her jealous nature. The fairy witch hates the young princess Felicity, but her jealousy is ill-founded, as she’s just as beautiful.
8 Lady Eboshi (Princess 70zl6d8″ title=”mononoke”>Mononoke)
The people of Irontown love Lady Eboshi, the central antagonist of Princess 70zl6d8″ title=”mononoke”>Mononoke. The sentiment of the town is understandable, as Lady Eboshi has done much to improve the lives of people who are often dismissed and hurt by society, like women and people who are disabled.
Lady Eboshi’s heroine counterpart, San, is seen as wild and unrelatable. It goes to show that appearances are not always what they seem. Though Eboshi can be kind, it’s always for her own ulterior motives. However, it’s plain to see why she’s so adored.
7 Arachne Gorgon (Soul Eater)
Soul Eater‘s Arachne Gorgon is a gothic beauty who doesn’t need a web to capture the hearts of fanboys and fangirls. She lulls people in with her genteel manner, demure expression, and delicate, aristocratic looks.
Arachne is by no means delicate in her abilities, though. The spider witch is highly intelligent, and she has the power to drive a person to insanity, sussing out her victims’ weaknesses with skillful precision. Her spiderwebs are more than a beautiful part of her wardrobe; they’re conduits for her destructive magic.
6 Raynare (High School DxD)
The fallen angel Raynare is the first antagonist of High School DxD. Unlike most unabashed evil villains, Raynare has a charming, cute personality. But beneath her pleasant facade lies a cruel and violent tyrant. When she reveals her true nature, she transforms from a benign schoolgirl into a being with cold violet eyes and majestic black wings.
As a fallen angel, Raynare can manipulate humans, entering their minds and steering their will with malice. Though she was banished from paradise, she still has the beauty of a heavenly being.
5 Petz (Sailor Moon)
Petz, the eldest of the Spectre Sisters, enters the scene in the Black Moon Arc of Sailor Moon. She keeps her long emerald hair twisted up in an elegant chignon and wears minimal makeup apart from mascara and a red lip.
Petz prefers a more avante-garde style of dress, which is in keeping with most Sailor Moon villains. She has abilities similar to Sailor Jupiter; she can summon thunder and lightning. She also runs a makeup store, which makes sense. Anyone would want to buy makeup from a beauty like her.
4 Lust (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Most beautiful anime villains are vain about their looks, but Lust doesn’t care about that much in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. At best, she sees her looks and seductive charm as a means to an end. Her sin lies more in her lust for violence and domination than in her wish to seduce.
Lust has a distaste for humanity, and her personality is dominated by her cold calculation. She would sooner eat a person’s heart than fall in love, but that doesn’t stop her from being a classic fan-favorite villain.
3 Yura (InuYasha)
Yura is a minor antagonist introduced early on in InuYasha. She’s as gorgeous as she is creepy. Her spirit resides in a cursed comb, and she uses the hair of the dead like a web, drawing in her victims and incorporating their bodies into her gross weaponry.
Yura’s hair magic allows her to manipulate people, using them as pawns against Inuyasha. She balances on her strands like an evil ballerina. Her outfit even has a sort of leotard-like look to it. The bits of scarlet in her costume (her hair ribbon and red eyeshadow) hint at the place where she houses her power — a red skull.
2 Striga (Castlevania)
Striga makes her first appearance, along with the rest of Carmilla’s vampire council, in Season 3 of Castlevania. Striga is the whole package; she embodies brawn, brains, and beauty. She has strong, androgynous facial features and towers over most men with her height and muscle.
Striga’s accented voice and beauty aren’t the only aspects of her attractiveness. Striga loves so deeply that she will forgo winning a war, despite her talents as a general, to keep the woman she loves safe. Evil she may be, but many admire a dark knight in shining armor.
1 The Witch Queen (Black Clover)
The Witch Queen of Black Clover has a style that fans of Resident Evil’s Lady Dimitrescu would adore. She wears her pink hair tied up under a huge conical witch’s hat, the brim of which slants cheekily over her teal eyes.
The Witch Queen’s dress skirt pattern mimics a peacock’s plumage, which is fitting as she is as gorgeous as she is awful. Her dress also foreshadows her bird magic, where she uses blackbirds as her minions. Like many beautiful villains, the Witch Queen is incredibly vain. She covers herself in jewels and worships perfection.
