The 10 Best Anime Villains, Ranked

For decades, anime villains have been debated back and forth as to who is the most despicable. But a question comes to mind when such a debate occurs: What exactly makes a good anime villain? There is no right or wrong answer, as most anime villains are well-thought-out and developed characters with more nuance to them than expected.

There are many qualities of a good villain. Some of the best villains aren’t necessarily the strongest nor the most evil. Rather, their characters are more than just violent purveyors of genocide, murder, and crime. They are instead intelligent lifeforms with charismatic personalities, charming appearances, and manipulative behavior. Yes, of course, they do commit some of the worst crimes known to humanity, but it’s not always for baseless reasons. However, some of their reasoning—either due to inner emotional turmoil, wanting an ideal world, or even just for vengeance—also lead to the wrong actions. Here’s to the best villains, who aren’t necessarily the strongest, but instead, are the most memorable villains to exist in anime thus far.

10 Kisaki Tetta

‘Tokyo Revengers’ (2021-Present)

Kisaki Tetta is the main antagonist in the popular gang drama,Tokyo Revengers. Tokyo Revengers follows Takemichi Hanagaki as he travels between the past and present to save his ex-girlfriend, Hinata, from being killed by the Tokyo Manji Gang in his present timeline. To do so, however, he has to prevent Kisaki from winning over Mikey and creating Tokyo’s deadliest gang in history.

Kisaki is an intelligent antagonist. Although he is not physically strong, he relies on his intelligence to get others to do his bidding. Some such examples include his orchestrating the Bloody Halloween, the repeated murder of Hinata, and the untimely death of Emma – Mikey’s sister – right before a huge gang war. In Takemichi’s present timeline, Kisaki solely runs Toman, and he is presumably the main reason that Mikey embraced his own darkness. This makes Kisaki a challenging foe, as no matter how hard Takemichi works to change the present timeline, Kisaki seems to be one step ahead.

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9 Naraku

‘InuYasha’ (2000-2004)

Naraku is the main villain of InuYasha. Formerly known as Onigumo, he allowed a mass of demons to feed off his body, ultimately transforming him into Naraku, a half-demon. As Onigumo, he fell in love with his caretaker, Kikyo, who attempted to nurse him after suffering severe burns throughout the entirety of his body. After his transformation, Naraku sought the Shikon Jewel, which was a magical jewel that could grant any wish. In an attempt to get it, he turned InuYasha and Kikyo against one another; however, after Kikyo was fatally injured by him, in order to protect the jewel from evil, she had it burned with her body after death so that no one could have possession of it again. That is until modern-day Japan, where Kagome is in possession of the Shikon jewel and is transported back to feudal Japan.

Ultimately, Naraku is a powerful half-demon who orchestrated many of the tragic events in InuYasha. For example, in Season 1, Episode 24, “Enter Sango the Demon Slayer,” Naraku deceives a clan of demon slayers. This includes supporting character Sango, who loses her brother, father, and clan in a matter of minutes due to the demons doing Naraku’s bidding. Furthermore, he is the reason behind Kikyo’s death and InuYasha’s long, confused anguish, which further strains Kagome’s and InuYasha’s relationship. Not to mention, Naraku never truly fights battles himself; he uses other demons and creatures to do his bidding for him. Throughout the entirety of the series, Naraku collects the Shikon Jewel shards, even through unfair means, such as stealing them from InuYasha’s team and harming others in the process. He is a deadly opponent who works InuYasha and his friends to the bone up until the very end.

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8 Askeladd

‘Vinland Saga’ (2019-2023)

Askeladd is the first major antagonist of Vinland Saga. He is the pirate bandit captain who killed Thorfinn’s father, Thors, in exchange for a higher bounty. Throughout the beginning of the series, Thorfinn vows to kill Askeladd and avenge his deceased father, but due to his inexperience with battle and young age, he finds this to be a challenging task, as Askeladd has many years on young Thorfinn.

As captain of the pirate bandits, Askeladd is not foreign to cheap tactics and cruelty. This much is clear when Askeladd has Thors murdered. Thors was a well-known Viking warrior; many sought his advice and kindness, even when he couldn’t afford to offer it. Still, despite his generous and gentle nature, Askeladd takes advantage of his selfless nature and forces his hand in a combat between the two. As a result, Thorfinn is left fatherless and in dire need of vengeance.

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7 Pain

‘Naruto’ (2002-2007)

Although not the main villain of Naruto, Pain is one of many formidable foes and the most memorable. As a former student of the infamous Jiraiya, previously known as Nagato, Pain became the leader of the Akatsuki in an effort to find and acquire the tailed beasts. In Naruto, the Akatsuki are known as a criminal organization, though originally, Pain formed the Akatsuki with two of his close friends, Konan and Yahiko. However, after Yahiko’s demise, caused by the villages, Nagato adopted the alias Pain and created the powerful Six Paths of Pain, where he controls various corpses to do his bidding due to his weakened body.

The Six Paths of Pain led to a dramatic and all-out war against Konoha and Naruto. Each of Pain’s Paths have their own abilities and strengths. More importantly, Pain was able to control all of them in hand-to-hand combat and meet the pace of any skilled shinobi. Although Pain’s villainy subsided after having a heart-to-heart with Naruto, his time as the Akatsuki leader proved him to be a valuable and challenging foe due to his ninjitsu and Six Paths techniques.

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6 Johan Liebert

‘Monster’ (2004)

From the popular and well-known manga and anime known as Monster, Johan Liebert is the primary antagonist. He first met the protagonist Kenzo Temna as a child when his parents were murdered, and Temna was the one who saved his life during a life-threatening surgery. However, it is only later that Temna learns that Johan is a psychopath.

Johan is an antagonist with a high IQ. Not to mention, with his charismatic personality, Johan faces zero difficulties in swaying a person’s perception of himself. As such, Johan is able to dissuade any suspicion, and his charismatic nature also leads to others doing his bidding for him. As a result, Johan does not necessarily have to commit any crimes with his own hands, as he has the ability to manipulate and control others through word of mouth.

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5 Light

‘Death Note’ (2006-2007)

Light Yagami is another anime villain with a high IQ. However, in the case of Death Note, Light is also the protagonist of the show. The audience gets to watch how a once-clear-minded and intelligent protagonist transforms into a villain of manipulation and conceit.

For several years, Light is able to evade suspicion by working closely with his father, the chief of police, and top detective L. This is an impressive feat, considering L seems to have suspicion that Light is in fact Kira, the murderer behind the deaths of inmates and other innocent individuals who get in the way. However, Light works by means of manipulation, controlling others, like Misa Amane and Teru Mikami, so that he isn’t in the limelight. Light is so successful that he manages to kill L without so much as touching him; rather, he manipulates a shinigami into sacrificing herself to protect a human. Had it not been for the mistake of others, perhaps Light Yagami would have succeeded in his ideal world.

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4 Eren Jaegar

‘Attack on Titan’ (2013-2023)

Eren Jaegar is another protagonist who falls into the path of a villain. However, unlike Light Yagami from Death Note, throughout the entirety of Attack on Titan, Eren is an ally to the island of Paradis and works to protect his friends and humanity from the era of titans. Eren, himself a Titan, uses his mysterious powers to aid humanity and do the impossible.

However, come Season 4, Eren turns his back on Paradis and aims to destroy humanity after learning that Paradis was abandoned and forced to suffer under the torment of Titans while everyone else in the world was able to live a prosperous and oftentimes peaceful life. Though viewers can understand Eren’s changing ideals, there is still no mistaking Eren’s newfound, violent – and meticulous – nature that has led to a skyrocketing body count that no other Attack on Titan antagonist or villain can achieve.

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3 Crocodile

‘One Piece’ (1999-Present)

As the first major and high-stakes enemy and villain of One Piece, Crocodile is one of the most memorable antagonists of One Piece and in the media. The protagonist of One Piece, Luffy, is often seen as an indestructible force, being able to fight his way through hordes of enemies. However, in the Alabasta arc of One Piece, approximately a hundred episodes, Crocodile faces Luffy in what appears to be a hopeless and unwinnable battle.

Although Crocodile isn’t the toughest villain in One Piece, he leaves a mark on the audience’s memory through his introduction. A corrupted individual, Crocodile was a former warlord, some of the most powerful beings in the One Piece universe. However, he was also the leader of a crime syndicate, which Luffy aided Princess Vivi in defeating. But Crocodile’s most memorable feat was defeating Luffy, forcing Luffy to adapt and overcome him. He proved to be an adversary foe, one that remains even now throughout One Piece despite his own defeat.

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2 Griffith

‘Berserk’ (1997-1998)

Griffith from Berserk is one of the most despicable villains to come to anime. Berserk is a dark and often violent manga depicting brutal moments that often characterize Griffith as the essence of evil. While Griffith’s actions in the anime – and manga, for that matter – are unforgivable, there is a reason for his actions, as despicable as they may be.

Griffith’s loses his aspirations and dreams after meeting (and losing) Guts. This results in Griffith acting without truly thinking, ultimately leaving him a shell of his former self. When all is lost, then everything is to be gained – even at the expense of others. This combination makes Griffith one of the greatest anime villains, as he has committed the unforgivable, but there is a history to his character that emphasizes his cruelty, thus making it all the more impactful.

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1 Frieza

‘Dragon Ball Z’ (1989-1996) and ‘Dragon Ball Super’ (2015-2023)

Freiza is most definitely the most iconic villain in all of anime. Unlike other villains on this list, Frieza successfully hunted down groups of species and completed full-on genocide against several species, including that of Goku’s race, the Saiyans. Similar to other villains on this list, Frieza was one of Goku’s first and foremost foe in the Dragon Ball Z series, pushing Goku to great lengths that he was able to trigger his Saiyan powers.

Although Frieza was defeated early on in Dragon Ball Z, in the Super series, Frieza returned in both manga and anime, proving to be the same genocidal character with the same killer instincts as before, even appearing in the latest Broly film, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, as he manipulates Broly to fight against Vegeta and Goku.

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