The recent success of anime series like Spy X Family has made it clear how many genres that various series' now cover and how mainstream they've become. While there's certainly diversity in style and tone, many classic, beloved anime are more traditional battles of good and evil.
By necessity, these anime are no stranger to villains. Sometimes these characters are sympathetic and complex, with deeper motivations and plans. Sometimes they’re classic irredeemable monsters with some panache. Regardless of their backgrounds, motivations, or character, anime fans have taken to Ranker to share their top ten favorites.
Cell (Dragon Ball Z)
Dragon Ball had countless villains and fights even before the Z saga. Plenty of magical and impressive techniques had been shown. The story was moving toward more science-fiction elements in Z but still found a place to bring these techniques back. Cell was a biological android created by using the DNA of friends and foes.
This meant Cell used the techniques of others. He also had an additional horrifying gimmick. He could devour his Android siblings to attain upgraded forms. His full Perfect Form gave fans some of the show’s best moments. Unfortunately, his reliance on other characters’ DNA means he doesn’t have many unique traits.
Donquixote Doflamingo (One Piece)
One Piece's main villain, but he’s one of the most dangerous in the series. He was introduced as one of the seven warlords of the sea. He has multiple names, also known as the Heavenly Yaksha and Joker.
He’s an extremely powerful character with a plan to create artificial devil fruits. He has the String String Fruit, which allows him to manipulate environments with strings. This ability is extremely powerful, but it helps that his outfit is so eye-catching. While his fights and plans are great, what makes him memorable is how long he was built up, appearing many chapters before his spotlight arc.
King Bradley (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Despite being the kindly ruler of Amestris, it’s not hard to realize that the guy called “Fuhrer” is bad. What surprised fans of Fullmetal Alchemist was how hateful he was under his kind facade. He’s a human modified into a homunculus, or artificial being, and seems to have nothing but contempt for human life. Despite that, he’s a less magical fighter, only using his sword.
All of the homunculus in Fullmetal Alchemist are modeled after the deadly sins, and Bradley is no exception. In the 2003 show, he represented Pride. In the manga and Brotherhood, he was Wrath. Wrath perhaps fits him better due to his relentless attacks with his Ultimate Eye, which gives him clairvoyance that results in some of the show’s best scenes.
Freeza (Dragon Ball Z)
Alternatively spelled Frieza, this short alien is a galactic tyrant. He’s a vicious conqueror who enslaves planets and then sells them. Despite calling himself a conqueror, he has a very polite facade. The best part of Dragon Ball’s Namek saga is watching it gradually crack.
Unlike other villains that simply appear for a single arc, Freeza is tied into the franchise’s backstory. Afraid that his enslaved Saiyan warriors would one day rebel against him, he destroyed their planet. He’s also one of the few villains who returned to stay villainous. He does team up with Goku in Dragon Ball Super but remains firmly opposed to the Saiyan.
Hisoka (Hunter X Hunter)
Plenty of shonen anime have rivals, a villain who makes frequent appearances to motivate the hero to get stronger and loves fighting. Hunter X Hunter’s Hisoka is a somewhat perverse corruption of this. His fights with Gon seem to give him genuine pleasure, and he builds Gon up throughout the series so he can fight him more.
Hisoka is also unique as he’s an independent antagonist. While he does associate with other villains, his sole goal is to fight strong opponents. One would expect this character to be very strong to accommodate. However, Hisoka is a magician at heart and all of his complex powers are the result of the mundane sticky gum and texture-changing abilities he has.
Dio Brando (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Dio Brando from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is a classic villain through and through. He’s an invader to the Joestar family and throws away his humanity to get power. He’s thoroughly petty and completely emasculates Jonathan. He even succeeds in his goal of killing Jonathan by the end of Part 1. That alone would earn him notoriety as a villain
Dio’s actions end up rippling into all future parts, though. He’s responsible for character deaths in Part 2, and returns as the main villain of Part 3. In this new form, he’s called DIO and has one of the most powerful stand abilities in the series. His minions and children would go on to be major players in future parts of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, but none achieve his gravitas.
Sosuke Aizen (Bleach)
Every good anime villain needs an extremely complicated plan. The villains of Bleach all generally have pretty lofty goals, being ghosts and all. None of them come even close to the depths of deception masterminded by Sosuke Aizen, though. He betrays the Soul Society and seeks to conquer it.
Despite frequently espousing the virtue of strength, his skill at deception is unmatched. His plan required him to fake his death, for instance. His powers of hypnosis are where his biggest deceptions come from, as it instantly traps people in illusions as soon as his sword is drawn. This ability allowed Aizen to manipulate almost everyone even after he was displaced as Bleach’s main villain.
Light Yagami (Death Note)
They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The greatest villains can become monsters through the single-minded pursuit of noble goals. The slippery slope comes fast when it comes to Death Note protagonist Light Yagami. Light is a villain protagonist who gains a magic notebook that lets him kill anyone he wants and uses it to punish criminals.
While the goal is lofty, Light quickly devolves into seeing himself as a God casting judgment. Luckily, Light is a genius and constantly evades authorities. The back and forth between Light and the detective L are some of Death Note’s best scenes and quotes. While he may be the lead, Light is a devious and contemptible villain the entire way through.
Madara Uchiha (Naruto)
Naruto is full of nefarious villains, particularly in the Uchiha clan. With Madara we learn that villainy goes back to the very beginning. Madara was one of the founding fathers of Konoha, but was ostracized almost immediately. He then launched a plan to receive vengeance and eliminate conflict and deceit forever. Ironically, he would do this with illusions.
Much like Aizen, Madara faked his death and set up events to lead to his return. He sets up agents in the form of other villains like Obito and Nagato. This eventually leads up to his return at the end of the series where he becomes all powerful. He actually succeeds in his goal, temporarily trapping the entire world, showing his merit as a successful villain.
Pain (Naruto)
Madara is a supervillain, but his minion, Nagato Uzumaki, is a far more grounded character. Nagato is a war orphan who has been thoroughly traumatized and displaced by world conflicts. He goes on to become the leader of the terrorist group Akatsuki, representing something darker than the series’ usual villains. Nagato takes the name Pain and embarks on a campaign of destruction across Naruto’s world.
Pain was a real tone shift for the series. He killed the beloved mentor character Jiraiya and had one of the biggest and most brutal battles with the series protagonist. His aesthetic also helped him stand out, as he actually used six corpses as proxies without ever revealing his true self. These factors all combined together to make Pain really stand out against every other evil ninja and become Ranker’s best rated anime villain.