Anime villains are beloved by the anime community, and have become important figures in pop culture. Villains come in all different forms, and since their characterization varies by series, it is nearly impossible for fans not to find a villain they like. From tragic villains such as Dabi Todoroki and Ulquiorra and anti-heroes like Itachi Uchiha and Light Yagami, to those classified as pure evil such as Griffith and Ryomen Sukuna, there’s a villain to match everyone’s preferences.
Sukuna is the main antagonist in Jujutsu Kaisen, and he is widely regarded as one of the most evil anime villains ever. In universe, Sukuna is known as the King of Curses and he certainly lived up to the title by committing some of the most cruel acts in Jujutsu Kaisen. Sukuna’s ruthlessness and sadism are reasons he is widely considered as one of the most evil anime villains. However, there are anime villains that far surpass his level of evil.
Related
10 Powerful Anime Gods Who Could Beat Ultra Instinct Goku
Ultra Instinct may be Goku’s most powerful form yet, it still pales in comparison to the power of other powerful anime gods.
All For One Represents the Dangers of Unchecked Ambition
My Hero Academia
All For One is one of the main antagonists in My Hero Academia, which is a dynamic anime that takes place in a superhuman society. All For One is one of the most powerful villains in MHA and has manipulated many of the series’ tragic events, such as giving the world’s Symbol of Peace, All Might, the fight that forced him to retire and led to war.
Related
Would Armored All Might (Hercules) Defeat Prime All Might in My Hero Academia?
A fight between All Might decked out in his Hercules armor and All Might with One for All would be one for the ages.
All For One is the symbol of evil and committed many atrocities on and off-screen, such as forced labor, manipulating people into being his puppets and blowing up Lady Nagant. There’s no doubt that All For One deserves a spot on this list, but he’s at the bottom because the other villains are more evil than he is.
My Hero Academia
- Release Date
-
April 3, 2016
Light Yagami is One of Anime’s Evilest Protagonists
Death Note
Light Yagami is the protagonist in Death Note, which is considered as one of the darkest shōnen series. Light is one of the few shōnen anime protagonists to progress into darkness throughout the series.
Light becoming more unhinged was directly proportionate to the murders he got away with. The power of the death note led to Light viewing himself as a God, and spending his time killing criminals and innocent people. On top of that, he reveled in the suffering he caused.
Shou Tucker Lives Up to His Reputation as Anime’s Evilest Villain
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Shou Tucker is an antagonist in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which is an anime classic. Shou is regarded as the evilest anime villain, despite only appearing in a single episode. Shou worked as State Alchemist and had to present a yearly report of his research or else his license would be revoked.
Since Shou didn’t have enough time to conduct research for his job, so he used his daughter, Nina and their family dog as test subjects out of desperation. This resulted in a haunting fusion between them but Shou didn’t stop there, unfortunately. He went on to perform a similar experiment on his wife, sacrificing his entire family for wealth.
Dio Brando Is a Sadistic Vampire
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
Dio Brando is a legendary villain in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and is one of the most memorable characters in the series. Dio was the embodiment of evil from a young age, taking the life of his own father and plotting against the Joestar family after they took him in.
Dio has done a number of vile things, including murdering people, killing Jojo’s dog and turning a mother into a vampire and consequently putting her in a situation where she was forced to eat her baby.
Bondrewd is a Twisted Scientist
Made in Abyss
Bondrewd is one of the main antagonists in Made in Abyss, which is a dark fantasy seinen with a gripping storyline. Bondrewd is a character who is known to be exceptionally cruel, and readily sets aside his morality in the name of science.
Related
On the surface, Made in Abyss certainly looks like a kid-friendly series. But there’s something much darker that lurks within its depths.
Bondrewd is one of the scariest anime villains of all time, making the actions of villains like Shou Tucker seem less evil in comparison and securing his spot at the midpoint of the list. Bondrewd’s idea of scientific research includes genocide, torture and mutilation.
Johan Liebert’s Remorseless Approach to Crime Is Uncontested
Monster
Johan Liebert is the main antagonist in Monster, which is a mystery thriller seinen series that is commonly regarded as being in a lane of its own. Johan is possibly one of the most evil anime villains ever and is widely recognized as such.
Johan is a serial killer with an extensive list of victims, and his tactics include manipulating, corrupting and killing his victims. Johan is very strategic about the psychological and physical torture he envokes on his victims, which no sane human could have done. Johan lived and died a psychopathic monster, and is arguably more of a monster than the King of Curses himself.
Griffith’s Inhumane Deeds Are Unjustifiable
Berserk
Griffith is a villain in Berserk, which is one of the most well-known seinen series. Griffith’s existence is a crime against humanity and his list of offences is particularly appalling, even for a villain.
People often defend Griffith due to the morally ambiguous nature of Berserk, but the acts he committed such as murder, sexual assault, as well as kidnapping and experimenting on children are inexcusable and highlight Griffith as one of the evilest villains in anime.
Berserk
Guts, a wandering mercenary, joins the Band of the Hawk after being defeated in a duel by Griffith, the group’s leader and founder. Together, they dominate every battle, but something menacing lurks in the shadows.
- Created by
-
Kentaro Miura
- First Film
-
Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 1: The Egg of the King
- First TV Show
-
Berserk
- Where to watch
-
Crunchyroll
Doflamingo Is a Notorious Criminal
One Piece
Doflamingo is a villain in One Piece, which is one of the most iconic and lengthy shōnen in history. Doflamingo is a fan-favorite villain and is commonly regarded as one of the best villains in anime. Such high praise from the anime community for a villain often entails being well-written and exceptionally wicked.
Doflamingo is good at being bad, and some of his worst deeds include turning people into toys and erasing their existence, causelessly executing large amounts of people and human trafficking. Doflamingo has violated human rights and killed so often that it could be argued he is more evil than Sukuna.
One Piece
Created by Eiichiro Oda, the One Piece franchise explores the adventures of pirate Luffy D. Monkey and his crew, the Straw Hats. Since the manga first debuted in 1997, One Piece has been adapted into an ongoing anime that has seen multiple movies. Most recently it was adapted into a live-action series by Netflix.
- Created by
-
Eiichiro Oda
- First TV Show
-
One Piece
- Latest TV Show
-
Netflix’s One Piece
- First Episode Air Date
-
October 20, 1999
- Cast
-
Mayumi Tanaka, Kazuya Nakai, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Christopher Sabat, Kerry Williams, Kappei Yamaguchi, Sonny Strait, Hiroaki Hirata, Eric Valette, Ikue Ootani
Frieza Is the Destroyer of Worlds and Hope
Dragon Ball Z
Frieza is the main villain in Dragon Ball Z, which has been referred to as the “godfather” of shōnen. Frieza is one of the most iconic villains in pop culture and in-universe. He was so formidable that his name alone struck fear into the hearts of Dragon Ball’s most fierce combatants.
A discussion about the most evil anime character can’t be held without mentioning Frieza. He has committed a plethora of wicked deeds, such as destroying entire planets, torturing countless people and executing children. In addition to being a mass murderer, Frieza enjoys the suffering he causes. All things considered, Frieza has Sukuna outclassed when it comes to being evil.
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball tells the tale of a young warrior by the name of Son Goku, a young peculiar boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once all 7 are gathered, grant any wish of choice.
- Created by
-
Akira Toriyama
- First Film
-
Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
- Latest Film
-
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
- First TV Show
-
Dragon Ball
- Latest TV Show
-
Dragon Ball DAIMA
- First Episode Air Date
-
April 26, 1989
Cioccolata’s Level of Evil Is in a Class of Its Own
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders
Cioccolata is an antagonist in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, which is one of the most iconic and influential anime franchises. Cioccolata is widely disliked among fans, and it is not without reason. Cioccolata is easily one of the most sadistic and vile villains to grace the anime medium.
Ciccolata’s favorite thing to do is observe people’s deaths and the list of diabolical acts he has committed includes misdiagnosing healthy patients so he could operate on them, giving patients incorrect doses of anesthesia so that they would wake up in the middle of surgery and witness their deaths and pushing elderly people to commit suicide while filming it. Cioccolata is arguably the villain on this list who is substantially more evil than Sukuna.
