----- ADS-----
It isn’t hard to write a good anime villain—there are countless examples of brilliantly bone-chilling anime villains—but it’s hard to write one of the best. The simple truth is that there are a lot of amazing anime villains, and trimming down the selection to just a handful of highlights is a task much easier said than done. A wonderful villain transcends a simple judgment of their actions, power, or ideology.
Nonetheless, we’ve tried! These villains are the best anime has to offer. They aren’t necessarily the strongest, scariest, or most hated; these are the icons of anime villainy who stand out within the industry. Whether it’s because of their impact, cultural relevance, or just being incredibly well-written, every single villain on this list earned their place.
1) Johan Liebert (Monster)
Monster is required viewing for pretty much everybody who takes anime seriously. Monster‘s entire cast is profoundly strong, but there are two obvious faces who stand out from the rest. On one side, there’s protagonist Kenzo Tenma, the surgeon falsely accused of murder who finds himself on the run needing to clear his name; on the other, there’s Johan Liebert, the mysterious and enigmatic serial killer whose crimes fall on Tenma’s head.
As a villain, Johan is simply chilling: manipulative, charming, and chameleon-like. His backstory itself is horrifying, and it really brings a brand new depth to his character—but it’s also not totally necessary for him to be as overpowering as he is. As one watches Monsterone realizes that Johan independently isn’t nearly as responsible for the series’ events as those swept up in the cult of personality that surrounds him. His smart writing, horrifying disposition, and uncanny ability to make others act out terror is the factor that has made Monster one of the most acclaimed and unforgettable anime ever.
2) Meruem (Hunter x Hunter)
When you start watching Hunter x Hunterit’s a little slow. As you investigate online during the series’ early slog—the hype around it must exist for a reason, after all—you’ll see some confirmation that it hits its stride especially with the “Yorknew City” arc. The other thing you’ll inevitably see during your research is Hunter x Hunter being worth it because of the “Chimera Ant” arc especially, cited endlessly by fans as one of anime’s best ever. Meruem is the reason for that.
Overpowered, ruthless, and commanding an army of evolved humanoid ants, Meruem leaves no room for doubt that he’s the best—and that humans fall well below his own species. As his arc develops, he gains even more depth, and his eventual death comes with a soul-crushing set of revelations. It’s hard to say what the best anime villains possess, but one quality is critical: being able to get into their head and understand them, even if empathy is hard. Meruem exemplifies that as he elevates Hunter x Hunter‘s stakes to a feverish new high.
3) Yoshikage Kira (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
On the other side of things would be JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure‘s Kira, the central antagonist of Part 4, Diamond is Unbreakable. When you think of JoJothere are definitely more identifiable villains: DIO, Kars, and Steel Ball Run‘s main antagonist who we’re opting not to spoil. Beyond that, though, are its most bone-chilling villains: people like Santana and Diavolo, say. Kira stands apart from all of those villains.
Kira is incredible because unlike essentially every other JoJo villain, he lacks any big aim; he wants to have a quiet life and commit his murders in the background, for his own sake. For that reason, he becomes so deeply terrifying and overpowering. On one hand, because his bloodlust is so intense and in your face; on the other, because he’ll go to such lengths to see it through. The final battle against Kira is the most unbeatable any animated JoJo villain has ever felt (at the time of writing)—and all for the sake of one man’s quietly twisted desires.
4) Sousuke Aizen (Bleach)
The Soul Society arc is renowned as one of Bleach‘s best. The beauty and impact of the arc both come down to one key plot twist: Aizen’s betrayal of Soul Society. The twist’s ripples were seismic, and while the story arguably lost steam not long after, the build-up and reveal were sufficient to catapult Bleach into anime’s Big Three. The reason for that is simple: Aizen is an amazing, iconic villain, with straightforward ambitions that arguably put him well in the territory of moral ambiguity.
He’s not just ridiculously strong, though he certainly is (his ability to manipulate senses with Kanzen Saimin is formidable and terrifying). His ideals aren’t necessarily the problem: the problem is how he goes about them, utterly stuck within a god complex and unable to interact regularly with people. He’s manipulative and endlessly charismatic, taking viewers captive as readily as his victims on-screen. Today, Bleach is regaining prestige among anime fans with the beloved Thousand-Year Blood War arc, where Aizen still makes a handful of pivotal contributions to Bleach‘s narrative.
5) Madara (Naruto Shippuden)
In Naruto Shippudenthere are plenty of amazing villains: honorable mentions here would be the likes of Pain and Orochimaru. But Madara is just unbelievable. His resurrection scene is one of Naruto‘s most iconic ever, when he comes out the gate to slaughter uncountable shinobi without breaking a sweat, taunting the whole time. After more or less establishing him as the final villain for the entire series, Madara’s big reveal (and consequent wartime rampage) is one of anime’s greatest payoffs ever.
The most brilliant thing about Madara is that he changed how anime villains work on a fundamental level. While he certainly wasn’t the first villain to have an empathetic backstory, Kishimoto’s special focus on empathetic villainy made it pretty much mandatory for any anime worth its salt to give its villain a Joker-style origin story. He makes all of the peripheral conflicts fall into place by showing how, fundamentally, Akatsuki has a point about Naruto‘s world. Madara is a masterful foil few other anime villains can match.
6) Suguru Geto (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Jujutsu Kaisen is loaded with fantastic villains and, inevitably, some people will think Sukuna, Mahito, or whoever else deserved a mention instead. However, this list isn’t about the strongest villains (a list where Sukuna would definitely earn a place) or the most terrifying villains (a list where Mahito might stand a chance), it’s about the best, most identifiable, and most iconic villains. For Jujutsu Kaisen‘s part, nobody fits that description better than Suguru Geto.
Suguru Geto illuminates the role of chance and willpower in the series through his backstory with Gojo, and he’s so deeply embedded into the underlying themes of the series that it’s hard to call him a villain, properly speaking. Nonetheless, in Jujutsu Kaisenhe represents a eugenicist idea of order that sorcerers stand in defiance of: he is, regardless of circumstances, a villain—and a very good one. He’s impressive powerful, of course, but let’s be honest: Geto isn’t an iconic Jujutsu Kaisen character because of his strength, his ideology, nor the havoc he wreaks. He’s iconic because, like the best villains, he’s unforgettably compelling.
7) Light Yagami (Death Note)
In terms of their explanation through backstory, Geto finds a polar opposite in Death Note‘s iconic Light Yagami. Light Yagami’s story takes place essentially entirely in the here and now; the show makes few excursions into the past. For Light, what matters isn’t how he developed his ideals, but that he has them at all—and that he’ll do anything to see them through. Feeling chosen by the Death Note, he takes the opportunity to enact his own model of justice.
The interplay of his meticulousness and his seeming inability to err make him an attention-arresting, unstoppable protagonist. Death Note is ingeniously paced so as to saturate all of Light’s movements with meaning, even if that meaning is only apparent after the fact. Once you realize it, you realize that you’d rather do anything than hold ideals opposite of the twisted, charming young man on the screen. Light rarely ever lays a hand on anybody directly, and all his power is invested in two things: his little notebook and his evasive, intelligent, and charismatic personality. That’s all he needs, too.
8) Char Aznable (Mobile Suit Gundam)
Brilliant, manipulative, and marked by his stunning evolution—starting with absolute revenge against the Zabis for the death of his father, but growing well beyond it—Char Aznable is one of the most identifiable villains in anime history. Before there was Lelouch Lamperouge, there was Char, who represented a new depth for villains in both the mecha genre and anime writ large.
Beyond providing some of the best lines in Gundam history, his journey is deeply engaging to watch. His relationships are thorough and considered, adding extra layers to his sporadically shifting allegiances. Regardless of which of his many personas he’s donning, Char is definitively one of anime’s earliest and greatest examples of psychologically deep antagonists, playing a pivotal role in the UC timeline.
9) Shogo Makishima (Psycho-Pass)
Psycho-Pass is a ridiculously good series, and it’s one of the best thriller anime of all time. One of the greatest arcs in the series is centered around Shogo Makishima, a Joker-Gete Enemy Om Psycho-Pass‘s dystopian world where people are examined and suppressed for their stress and potential for rebellion. Well-read and articulate, Shogo Makishima elegantly lays out his philosophy to Psycho-Pass star detective-in-the-dumps Shinya Kogami, also disillusioned with the Sybil System. And the truth is: he makes a lot of sense.
He yearns for past societies where there was a greater degree of free will, and he’ll do anything to get there. Not only are his crimes masterfully executed and the chase around him a true nail-biter, but the fact that the societies he yearns for draw closer to our own means that he’s built from the ground up to draw out viewers’ identification with him. Makishima is a brilliant villain because, while many villains allow their ideals to supersede morality, those ideals rarely match our own.
10) Friene (Dragon Ball Z)
Within the anime milieu, Frieza is the perfect foil to Madara and his deep, emotional backstory: a villain whose intentions are, frankly, pretty straightforward. Frieza, the Emperor of Universe 7, simply wants to maintain his power. He pushed for the Saiyan genocide on Planet Vegeta for no other reason than snubbing out any potential threat the Saiyans might have posed.
On a list chock-full of options that make you think, he’s also a perfect foil to Char Aznable: Frieza is a welcome throwback to an era in shonen where things were simpler. An icon of one of the most popular anime of all time, Frieza’s villainy remains formidable throughout Dragon Ball. Notably, his lengthy battle with Goku is arguably the best fight in all of Dragon Ball Zbut he remains a primary antagonist across Dragon Ball Z and Super.
In the end, it’s hard to say exactly what makes a top-notch anime villain, and inevitably, there might be some huge picks we missed or couldn’t fit in. We can practically already feel the inbound “what about Griffith?” comments! Good thing is, we encourage that kind of engagement: drop a comment below with your thoughts.
Can’t get enough of a good villain? There’s overlap between this list and our selections for the best anime thrillers out there! Click the link below to give it a look.
