In anime, a villain’s depravity is usually intended to make the hero look better in comparison. Though sometimes given sympathetic qualities, they’re meant to represent forces fundamentally opposed to the beliefs of the audience. In this regard, a villain is almost as responsible for making a protagonist likable as the hero themselves.
However, only a few antagonists can claim their place among the most sinister and unapologetically violent characters of all time. Many anime villains have demonstrated the depths of their evil and what they would have accomplished without the hero’s epic intervention.
Updated on June 5, 2023 by George Voutiritsas: More and more people have fallen in love with anime, which is understandable since it covers literally every genre imaginable. Whether an anime is a dark tale for adults or a shonen geared toward teens, it needs to have a decent villain. Some of these villains are just evil for the sake of being evil, but there are villains who are far more complex. There are hundreds of anime villains, but some are far more manipulative, sadistic, and horrific than others.
15 Sosuke Aizen (Bleach)
Aizen was not Bleach‘s final villain, but he is still one of the series’ strongest characters. When he debuted, Aizen looked like the nicest and most loyal Captain in Soul Society, but it was all an act. He wanted to become the new Soul King, and he was willing to do terrible things to accomplish this goal.
Thanks to his Zanpakuto, Aizen had the power of complete hypnosis. This skill allowed him to manipulate everyone—especially Momo Hinamori, who loved him, and who he left for dead twice. He killed the entirety of Central 46 to orchestrate Rukia’s execution, and he killed countless innocent souls for the sake of his research.
14 Junko Enoshima (Danganronpa)
Junko Enoshima is the overarching villain of Danganronpa, a murder mystery series in which over a dozen students are caught in a survival game. Junko orchestrated the entire ordeal, and she did so because she is a malicious and selfish individual who feeds on misery and despair.
Junko organizes survival games because she wants to see innocent people turn into monsters. She is so sadistic that she told her sister and love interest that she never cared for either of them. She did this just before their deaths in order to get the maximum amount of misery from them.
13 Griffith (Berserk)
Unlike other Nobles in Berserk, Griffith was well-mannered, and he fought in many battles as the commander of the Midland Regular Army. Thanks to his leadership, he was viewed as the savior of the entire continent. The Band of the Hawk were a band of mercenaries, and they held Griffith in high regard as a comrade.
Unfortunately, Griffith craved power, and when given the opportunity, he sacrificed his comrades to become Femto, a powerful demon. His comrades trusted him, and he killed them so he could obtain a kingdom of his own. Worst of all, he assaulted the honorable Casca right in front of Guts.
12 Tamaki Tsunenaga (Deadman Wonderland)
In Deadman Wonderland, a massive earthquake struck Japan, and Tamaki Tsunenaga was more interested in saving his video games than helping his injured mother. He helped to create the Deadman Wonderland Prison, where he set up death games for his own amusement.
He made inmates fight each other in horrific matches, and he would get very upset whenever someone ruined his fun or threatened his ownership of the games. For example, he made an inmate fight his pregnant wife, and when the inmate threw the match, he ripped the baby out and turned it into a research subject.
11 The Major (Hellsing Ultimate)
Between being a nazi and a self-absorbed narcissist, there isn’t much to like about the Major from Hellsing Ultimate. He spearheaded a contingent of vampires as they attacked London to satisfy a grudge that’s over half a century old.
The Major was directly responsible for a bloodbath that claimed thousands, and he enjoyed war for its own sake. Though reprehensible, he cannot be ranked any higher since his villainy was contained to a single country and failed shortly after debuting.
10 The Demon King (Seven Deadly Sins)
As his name suggests, the Demon King from Seven Deadly Sins ruled over the underworld, his minions, and the Ten Commandments. He sent hordes of monsters to Britannia and eventually even arrived himself by using Zeldris’ body as his vessel.
Willing to kill henchmen in order to increase his power, the Demon King is completely apathetic to all lives but his own, but he was still confined to a single continent. Nonetheless, his betrayal of his family and his ability to expand render him a capable and malevolent threat.
9 DIO (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Consumed by his own hubris, DIO has wrought misery wherever he went. For example, he obliterated the Joestar manor, killed his adoptive father, and took over his brother’s body to use like a puppet—and that was just the beginning.
DIO‘s early atrocities in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure pale in comparison to his later ones. Alongside Pucci, he planned to rewrite reality itself and make his Stand utterly unstoppable. Considering that Jotaro and company defeated him before he could follow through, it’s fortunate that DIO never realized any of his grandiose ambitions.
8 All For One (My Hero Academia)
All For One leaned into his mantle as My Hero Academia‘s “Symbol of Evil,” illustrating his twisted tendencies and desire to inflict suffering. Having defeated his brother and Nana Shimura in the past, Japan suffered dearly under his reign.
What makes All For One especially formidable is his ability to understand symbolic victories. He knows that by defeating essential heroes like All Might, Endeavor, and Deku, others around the world will become demoralized and more easily subjugated. Though initially contained to Japan, he’s recognized as a worldwide threat if not dealt with promptly.
7 Frieza (Dragonball Z)
Frieza was Goku’s greatest enemy in Dragon Ball Z and a villain with aggressively imperialistic goals. He was responsible for multiple invasions of Earth, only being narrowly thwarted and causing great calamity in the process.
Frieza feels that his self-proclaimed supremacy absolves him from any accountability he should have for taking lives. Unfortunately for his underlings, Frieza is almost as quick to kill them as he is his official enemies. Considering how frequently he’s appeared in the series, Frieza has had many opportunities to commit more atrocities than his antagonistic peers.
6 Kaguya Otsutsuki (Naruto)
Kaguya was responsible for the entire Naruto series. Through Black Zetsu, she engineered Madara’s attacks by editing the Uchiha tablets. Her ultimate goal was to cast the infinite Tsukuyomi, enslave the entire world, and reclaim the chakra she had once passed down to her descendants.
Kaguya is particularly evil when considering that she did not hesitate to attack and attempt to murder her own children. Though hardly a black sheep when compared to other Otsutsuki clan members, she has been directly behind much of the infighting between shinobi.
5 Imu (One Piece)
Im is the true leader of the World Government in One Piece. Shadowy and clandestine, the only thing truly known about him is that he’s responsible for the Void Century and lords over the Gorosei themselves.
Considering that the World Government enables a hierarchy of oppression where everyone suffers, Im may be directly blamed for their actions. Instead of attempting to amend his mistakes, Im hopes to extinguish the last flickers of hope that might rise to stand against his new global order.
4 Ragyo Kiryuin (Kill La Kill)
Ragyo succeeded in ways that other anime villains did not. In Kill La Kill, she spread life fibers throughout the world, had her husband killed for attempting to stop her, and experimented with Ryuko in order to make her the perfect weapon.
Additionally, Ragyo’s grand plan was to destroy the world and lap up its final bursts of energy. She was willing to end billions of lives all for her personal ambition to become stronger. Considering that she never even explained why she needed such power, Ragyo’s obsession with herself was a detriment to everyone she knew.
3 Father (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Father was the creator of the homunculus. Having sacrificed an entire country in order to increase his strength, he nearly challenged God and conquered the heavens themselves in one of the most horrific scenes of anime history.
Fortunately, Edward Elric and his allies managed to weaken Father enough to bring him back to Earth while he was still transforming. Should they have failed, he would have reigned over all of humanity and arguably even beyond it. Father’s intimate understanding of the universe itself makes him a threat beyond what other world-ending antagonists are capable of.
2 Ryo (Devilman Crybaby)
Otherwise known as Satan himself, Ryo from Devilman Crybaby pulled the strings from the background until his demonic hordes were ready to attack. His annihilation of Earth was bloody and gruesome, with heavy casualties on both sides.
Ryo’s former friend 706z87″ title=”akira”>Akira rose to challenge his gory genocide in a final bid to preserve the human race. However, Ryo ultimately killed him and ripped the world in half. As the dust settled, he wept since there was no one left for him to torment and abuse, and he’d just lost the one he considered his only friend.
1 Johan Leibert (Monster)
Monster is one of the darkest anime ever, as it centers around Dr. Kenzo Tenma, who saved a young patient who goes on to become a serial killer. Johan Leibert is that killer, and although he had a troubled childhood, he is by no means a sympathetic villain.
Johan is a skilled manipulator who killed his adoptive parents and Dr. Tenma’s co-workers. He even had other serial killers working for him, but he would dispose of them if they were no longer useful. At one point he was even asked to become the new leader of the Nazi Party and killed the entire organization just so that they would stop bothering him.