Top 15 Anime Villains of All Time

A good anime always comes up with a bad villain. They are the people who are born to do evil deeds in the series in order to make the life of the protagonist even more difficult. There are many anime series that feature good villains or antagonists, but to be the greatest of them all, the characters need a good logical reason to choose their path. However, sometimes the morales are of no value for villains and they are just born evil.

So, if you’re also wondering who are the greatest anime villains, just don’t worry because we got you covered. Here is the list of the Top 15 Anime Villains of all time. 

15. Fuhrer King Bradley(FullMetal Alchemist)

Fuhrer King Bradley is one of the most twisted characters of the Fullmetal Alchemist series. He was born as Homunculi and took the form of Wrath. Bradley’s character has to be the biggest revelation of the FMA series. Initially, he appeared as a good and gentle person. However, then he is revealed to be a furious villain who doesn’t have any other goal but to fulfill the dream his creator, the Father had.

Bradley does have an honest goofy side of him & he does have his own ideals in fights. Though his ruthless nature as a warrior doesn’t stop him from killing anybody he wants. He thinks the human race is quite weak and holds no value for their life.

But, he genuinely praises strong warriors and never bears ill will towards them. He also likes to explore the perks of human luxury and enjoys it. Fuhrer King Bradley is blessed with excellent swordsmanship, and the traits he got as a Homunculus made him the deserving and fearsome villain of the series. 

14. Hisoka(Hunter x Hunter)

Hunter x Hunter is one of those shows which started normally but then suddenly turned very dark. Here, people kill others just for fun, and that’s what Hisoka Marrow does. Lying, decimating, killing, and fighting the strongest is just his hobbies.

Also, his pride is something no one wants to hurt. He killed an examiner in Hunter exams just because he bumped into him, then proceeded to kill many examinees later. He works for himself, and trusting Hisoka can be the biggest mistake anyone can make in HxH. He even betrayed a group like Phantom Troupe so that he could fight his leader.

All of this aside, Hisoka does admire a strong opponent but only to kill them later. He helped Gon & Killua many times so that they could get stronger and he could enjoy a good fight before killing them. Hisoka cares about nobody and if he likes it, he even kills people just as a pastime.

Hisoka has played a big role in many arcs like the chairman election arc, Hunter Examination, and many more, and his character is definitely among the best in the series.

13. Askeladd(Vinland Saga)

Lucius Artorius Castus aka Askeladd is the villain of the Vinland Saga’s first season. Despite being a great warrior, he doesn’t have an ounce of kinsmanship. His blind desire for the Brittania throne was intense, and for that, he did everything & used anyone he needed.

Although, his childhood wasn’t easy as he was born from a Viking Olaf and Welsh noblewoman as an illegitimate son. His mother was enslaved and they were forced to work in the stable. After his mother died because of ailment, he was taken as a legitimate son by Olaf after proofing his sportsmanship, but soon after he killed his father in a grudge and framed his half-brother. 

He inherited his wealth, he loathed Norsemen’s and never saw them as his brother in arms. He was the one who managed to kill a warrior like Thorfinn’s father. However, Askeladd was also the one who taught most of the things to Thorfinn. He is one of the best-written anime characters and also one of the greatest villains of all time. 

12. All for One(My Hero Academia)

All for One is a supervillain who has been an invincible enemy of all mankind for many generations. Moreover, he has so many powers and quirks that a hero would never want to face him alone. That sums up how powerful All for One is.

From the beginning of quirk’s manifestation in the MHA universe, All for One had been there, he has taken, manipulated, and massacred many people and heroes throughout his life. For many generations, One for All struggled with All for One but never had a striking win over him. So far, only All Might is the one who was able to stand equal to All for One.

What makes All for One most dangerous is his manipulative nature. He has taken advantage of many and used them as he likes. He never felt any hint of empathy toward them no matter how miserable their life was. He planned the rise of the League of Villains and calculated many tragedies which can benefit him. No villain in the MHA series has more impact than All for One which makes a formidable enemy in the whole series.

11. Muzan Kibutsuji(Kimetsu no Yaiba / Demon Slayer)

Muzan Kibutsuji is truly a demon by all means. He doesn’t have any faint sympathy for anyone, and he never thinks twice before doing something evil. His desire to become a perfect being led to the deaths of many innocent people. 

Muzan is over thousands of years old and his story isn’t that deep to justify his deeds. He even killed a doctor who was treating him with an experimental medicine which later turned him into a demon. 

Kibutsuju also murdered Tanjiro Kamado’s family in order to become a perfect demon who can survive in broad daylight. Muzan has no use for the weak and hence he kills them. He also enjoys the fear others have for him. Muzan never ceases to take advantage of the weak and miserable and use them for his own goals. Muzan’s character is written as nothing less than pure evil.

10. Frieza(Dragon Ball)

Frieza is the longest appearing antagonist in the DragonBall series, and also the cruelest character. His existence is the very reason for many great sagas of Goku and Vegeta in the series.

Frieza is the one who destroyed and enslaved the race of Saiyans and also destroyed many races like Namekian for his own selfish desires. Also like many other villains, he doesn’t have any pride & won’t mind playing dirty and using any method to win.

Though his ego is far greater than anyone, Frieza has a passion to torture his enemies and playing with them until they die. He had obliterated entire planets and the races just to test his strength. Frieza’s character has a big impact on the series. Whether it’s about Paragus & Broly, Goku & Vegeta, Frieza’s presence has given big scorch to the series. So, he certainly deserves to be on this list of top anime villains.

9. Esdeath(Akame Ga Kill)

Beauty with a cruel heart never disappoints anime fans, and Esdeath is like a queen of the villain world. She never planned to become evil. However, when her tribe was massacred and her father died in her arms, she decided to turn her heart cold.

Esdeath took the strongest Relic Demon extract which gave her power to manipulate and create ice which made her indestructible. She later joined the empire where she earned the title of  General Esdeath thanks to her cruelty and strength.

She was a sadist who enjoyed and rejoiced in the misery of her prey. Esdeath once used her powers to bury 400,000 people alive just for her pleasure despite the easy victory. However, her eyes opened after meeting Tatsumi. Esdeath’s charisma and leadership gained her the title of the Empire’s strongest woman, so we can’t argue about her name in the list.

8. Meruem(Hunter x Hunter)

Meruem is also one of the best-written anime antagonists who had gone through major character development. He was born due to the Queen’s desire to give birth to a perfect king as a half-human & half Chimera ant. Meruem stood upon her expectations and became a perfect king of monsters. His curiosity is as of a child, and his strength surpassed any monster which made him the most frightening character of Hunter x Hunter.

Mass genocide, cannibalism, eating other species are some of the things Meruem did just because he pleased. His egotistical tyranny made him feared by every human and among his kin also. He was extremely intelligent and beat the champion of all the board games, and then after the game, he killed them. However, he failed to beat one named Komugi, and this character entirely changed him.

Komugi helped Meruem to find the human inside him & emotions he never knew he had, which made him more honorable and charismatic as a king. Meruem’s character development after that was astonishing but disappointing for fans who wanted to see a cruel emperor. However, he still ended up as one of the best anime villains of all time. 

7. Doflamingo(One Piece)

When you talk about the best villains of all time, you can’t make a list without Don Quixote DoFlamingo, a Shichibukai, a Celestial Dragon, and a king. There’s so much that Doflamingo has achieved in his life. He has performed all these deeds only because of his evilness. 

Doflamingo may seem like an anti-hero who cares about his crew(which he calls family), but if needed, he wouldn’t think twice before killing them. He had killed his father and brother ruthlessly just to achieve his goals. Not only that, but he is also famous as his alias Joker which he used for all his underground crimes like slave trading, unethical experiments on the children, turning people into toys then slaves, and making them work the whole night just for the price of meeting their families who have forgotten about them because of Doflamingo schemes.

He massacred people just to get the Dressrosa and was the main reason behind the miserable situation of the people in the Wano kingdom because of his SMILEs. He never ignores any chance to become more and more powerful and for that, he doesn’t care what price he has to pay.

His influence over the government makes him even more formidable as an opponent. More or less, Doflamingo is just a down on a bad guy who doesn’t care about anything and just likes to do bad things in order to become the strongest guy in the world.

6. Big Mom(One Piece)

We all love our parents, don’t we? But in One Piece, good parenting is something very rare to see, and Charlotte Linlin aka Big Mom is one of the worst parents in the series. After knowing her past, everyone started to feel bad for her. 

Moreover, she is a Yonko with a bounty of more than 4.3 billion berri. She is feared by everyone in the One Piece world for her terrifying strength. She killed peoples’ dear ones just because they refused to join her tea party. Big Mom even destroyed entire nations because they weren’t able or refused to give the fixed quota of the sweets she demands. She uses her children as hybrid pawns, proving that she is tyrannical in every aspect.

Big mom is definitely not a good mom and for her only two things matter-  power and sweets. For these things, she didn’t even flinch to kill her own children. Big Mom often abused them for their appearance and incompetence and doesn’t care what happens to them. So if being evil is a job, Big mom certainly deserves a promotion.

5. Madara Uchiha(Naruto Shippuden)

“Weakness disgusts me.” Probably the best quote of Madara that describes his personality. Madara Uchiha is one of the prominent and strongest characters of the Naruto series and had a great impact on fans.

He is renowned as a God among shinobis and his strength knows no bounds. He was feared among the nations for his brutal strength. Madara even fought the Nine tails and used him to fight against Hashirama. His strength was so fearsome that even the Nine-tailed fox was scared of him.

In the fourth great ninja war, only two ninjas faced the entire nation’s shinobi alliance. They were Madara and Obito. Not to mention, it was Madara who turned Obito into Tobi and made him a Kage-level warrior.

Further, after Edo Tensei, he fought the nations on his own and defeated them single-handedly. He even defeated all the 5 Kages alone without breaking any sweat.  After absorbing the world tree he became almost unstoppable, Guy nearly died fighting him as he opened all the eight inner gates. Though he did make some strong damages to him, Madara’s regeneration was key to his triumph over Guy. 

Madara Uchiha has only lost to one person in a battle and he is none other than Hashirama. However, other than him no one was powerful enough to kill this monster. 

4. Aizen(Bleach)

Sōsuke Aizen is the main antagonist of the Bleach series, and one of the most amazing characters fans have ever seen. Aizen served as the captain of the 5th division before he declared himself as the traitor and was banished. His main goal behind every action was just to kill the Soul King and recreate the world as he sees ideal.

His calm nature is the most dangerous of his quirks, Aizen is incredibly selfish and very cruel. He manipulates his subordinates and enjoys seeing them in pain & if he finds it necessary, he kills them without any hesitation.

Furthermore, his strategic skill is no joke. Till the Arrancar arc, literally, everything happened as per his plan. He uses mind games and fears to use people. Immortality and enormous spiritual pressure made him the strongest enemy Ichigo faced before Ywach, which both Ichigo and Aizen defeated working together.

3. Dio Brando(Jojo Bizarre Adventure)

You know the person is evil who never regrets doing anything & that’s what Dio Brando is. Dio slaughtered many people without even a shred of empathy. He first killed his biological father who abused him and his mother. His hunger for power and riches is bottomless, and he can’t withstand anyone who stands equal or tries to oppose him.

He destroyed the Joestar family and even incinerated their dog, harassed Erina, enjoyed a mother killing her baby. The list of his sins is quite long. Dio wasn’t evil from the start but her mother’s death led him to realize the importance of wealth and power. He had 5 children with different women and he was never around for them.

Dio’s character was written for the pure purpose of being a villain. But still, his fandom is all over the world. So, Dio has not just influenced people in the series but his charisma has conquered the real world too.

2. Griffith(Berserk)

Thirst for power can turn a man blind. Griffith is a perfect example of this. He was the leader of the Band of the Hawk, a bandit troupe. Griffith was undeniably the strongest, best warrior, and a great tactician.

He led his troop to many victories and earned his name in the royalties of Midland. But, all of this was for his long dream to get the throne of Midland. Griffith never viewed his allies as his equal from the start, and to him, they were just his pawn to achieve his goal. But, when Guts came and became his strongest piece, his goal seemed to be close to succeeding. However, when Guts left him, his senses left him too. His bold step to get Charlotte led to the end of his humanity and began his evil ascension, which later turned out to be the plan of Godhand.

Sacrificing his allies who rescued him wasn’t enough in the Eclipse. He raped Casca in front of Guts and traumatized both of them. His betrayal is known by every anime watcher and counts as the biggest betrayal in history. Griffith’s evil has no limit, and hence he was the perfect enemy for Guts. 

1. Johan Leibert(Monster)

We have counted many of the greatest villains of all time in anime, who are cruel, ruthless, evil, and somewhat insane. But, all of these were like that for some goal. However, Johan Leibert exceeded every one of them in being evil.

His superhuman level of intellect does seem to prove that he is completely sane, but his actions do not. He only desired one thing and that is to commit a perfect suicide after the world ends in chaos and there is nobody but him left alive.

His manipulative skill is astonishing which can lead anybody to their own death. He holds no value for human life. No one knows about his actual existence, which makes him more frightening and a true Monster. 

Johan’s greatest skill is his unpredictability, he isn’t a sadist or had any mental illness, but his sins say otherwise. By the end of the anime, he had killed hundreds of people without getting his hand dirty and didn’t even spare his twin sister and her foster family. 

Johan doesn’t really have an existence, even his name used in the series is the identity that he stole from his foster family after he killed them. He seems to be fascinated by human nature and how they work, but they were nothing but mere tools for him.

The list of his crimes is unbelievable and one article isn’t enough for that. Johan is number one on the villain’s list because of the human nature he has shown in the series. How terrifying a human mind can become can be deduced after watching this Monster in the series.