Anime villains come in a wide variety of guises and motivations. Some can be fickle and silly, like Speed-o’-Sound Sonic in One-punch manwhile others, like Yagami Light of Death Mind you, they would rather incinerate the world than accept the metaphorical olive branch.
Oddly enough, most antagonists fall into one of these two categories, meaning there are very few exceptions. Then again, these tropes continue to permeate anime simply because they’re popular. Many fans expect the villains to be overwhelming forces of negativity, each with a uniquely sinister outlook that makes them iconic characters.
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10 Muzan Kibutsuji Is Nothing Short Of A World-Eating Monster
Demon Hunter
Muzan Kibutsuji is Demon Slayer’s strongest demon and thus the greatest scourge the world has ever seen. The Demon Hunter Corps was formed only to defeat this malevolent demon, but almost all of their attempts ended in failure. Muzan’s origin doesn’t even matter at this point in the story.
He would rather turn all humans into demonic minions than tolerate their existence. Muzan is ruthless, ruthless, and completely self-centered, a volatile combination for someone with his level of power. He won’t give up without a fight.
9 antispirals want to annihilate all spiral life forms in the universe
gurren lagann
The mysterious Lordgenome was originally introduced as the main antagonist of gurren lagann, but is defeated long before the end of the story. Simon and his friends begin to rebuild human civilization, but find themselves beset and threatened by a cosmic race known as the Anti-Spirals.
These dimensionless beings possess god-like abilities and intend to use their power to eradicate all spiraling life forms in the universe. Team Dai-Gurren manages to defeat the Anti-Spirals with tremendous difficulty, saving countless lives in the process.
8 Yomi And Mukuro Plan To Invade, Conquer And Enslave The Human Dimension
Yu Yu Hakusho
Team Urameshi faces increasingly stronger opponents in each YuYu Hakusho Saga, starting with Rando and ending with the Three Kings of Makai. Yusuke eventually comes into contact with his ancestor in the Three Kings Saga, where he is shocked to discover Raizen on his deathbed. Unfortunately, the other two rulers of the demonic world do not share Raizen’s ideas of nonviolence.
Yomi and Mukuro enjoy feasting on human flesh, so they plan to invade, conquer, and enslave the human dimension. Raizen’s death leaves a power vacuum that Yomi and Mukuro desperately try to take advantage of, but Yusuke’s tournament plan helps restore the Makai’s balance.
7 Makima’s Lack Of Ambition Makes Her A Dangerously Unpredictable Villain
chainsaw man
Makima keeps his true identity a secret for a long time. The truth, however, is that he is Devilbending and one of the weirdest manifestations of fear in Chainsaw Man. Unlike his counterparts, Makima looks, sounds, and acts exactly like a human.
That being said, his Machiavellian tendencies sometimes come to the surface of his placid exterior. Makima’s ultimate goals remain unclear, even after Denji kills her and consumes her remains. In a way, this disturbing lack of ambition is probably what makes the Control Devil so dangerously unpredictable.
6 Yhwach wishes to break down the barriers between the human, spiritual and hollow worlds
Bleach
Aizen Sousuke is the first main villain of Bleach. His story spans hundreds of chapters, and the fandom just can’t get enough of it. However, Aizen’s ultimate goals aren’t a fraction of the nightmare Yhwach foresees after deposing the Soul King.
The so-called Emperor of the Wandenreich wishes to unseal the barriers between the spiritual, human, and hollow dimensions, thus making everyone immortal. Yhwach is clearly guided by his fear of death, but even he should have realized that immortality is infinitely worse.
5 Ragyo Kiryuin Wants Vital Fibers To Wrap The Earth And Its Inhabitants
kill her kill her
Ragyo Kiryuin is an interesting villain. Although he is clearly among the most vain anime antagonists of all time, he declares his allegiance to the alien Life Fibers. Shonen villains rarely minimize their authority, let alone willingly sacrifice their personal desires for no reason.
Ragyo inexplicably wishes for the Vital Fibers to engulf Earth with its inhabitants, seemingly unaware of her own fate. Although the Life Fibers are unlikely to spare his soul, Ragyo may have already accepted the status quo. He even commits suicide, promising Ryuko that the Life Fibers will return for revenge.
4 Griffith Continues Her Quest For World Domination After Becoming A Femto
Berserk
Griffith of Berserk was once an important leader, a true warrior with many legendary victories to his credit. However, Guts’ misguided decision to leave the gang leads Griffith to commit a hideous travesty, for which the King imprisons and tortures him for an entire year.
Guts, Casca and a few other groupies rescue Griffith from his miserable state, but he decides to betray them by accepting the Hand of God’s offer. As a result, Griffith’s reliance on power becomes much stronger, which is why he continues his quest for world domination.
3 The Father Intends To Harvest Fifty Million Amatean Souls In Exchange For Power
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Fullmetal Alchemist: The father ofBrotherhood he’s an iconic villain, much more so than Dante in Fullmetal Alchemist. The father has been around for at least five centuries, first materializing in Van Hohenheim’s Xerxesian laboratory as Dwarf in the Flask. He creates seven “children” from the Philosopher’s Stone he carries in his body, but cares very little for any of them.
In fact, the Father creates the land of Amestris for no other reason than to harvest human souls for food. Fifty million people would have perished if the heroes had not won this final battle. Also, Father would have inevitably consumed the entire world after destroying Amestris.
2 Boros intends to gut all planetary civilizations in its path
One-punch man
One-punch man is filled with all kinds of hilarious shonen cartoons. Saitama has inordinate strength: his mere existence is a subversion of classic heroes like Goku or Meruem, of Hunter X Hunter. The villains are equally powerful, but not enough to defeat Saitama, as that would be unrealistic by anime standards.
An alien individual named Boros suddenly appears on Earth, demanding to fight the greatest warrior. He claims to have eviscerated several civilizations across the galaxy and calls himself the “master of the universeGiven his uncompromising attitude towards compromise, Boros is fully determined to clear every planet in his path.
1 Eren Yeager unleashes the rumble to destroy the world
The attack of the Titans
Eren Yeager was likeable, a hero with truly noble intentions. That’s why his disturbing metamorphosis was so shocking. Fans couldn’t believe what they saw and heard when Eren sparked the rumor mill, a global apocalypse that would eventually extinguish the human race.
Crop fields, towns and forests were devastated, along with the vast majority of living beings. Paradis might have been exempt from annihilation, but a relatively small group of people will not survive the literal end of the world. There is no going back.