Last updated on October 8th, 2021 at 03:45 pm
The Best Anime Villains of All Time is a bit of a new list for me to create. We’ve done a The Greatest Anime Mentors Of All Time list and a Most Powerful Female Anime Characters of All Time but we’ve never really delved into the bad guy territory for an “of all time” category. So, this should be interesting.
We’ve already done a Most Powerful Anime Characters of All Time and a The Fastest Anime Characters of All Timelist, so we decided to do a 180-degree turn and tackle the villains this time around.
Anime has been around for decades and with each year, more shows just keep popping up, making choosing the best villains a bit hard. Obviously, we’ll be including a few classic villains like Frieza from Dragon Ball. However, we’ll also be looking into the nefariousness of the characters, and the extent to which they’re willing to dive further into depravity. Okay, that was a mouthful.
So, yeah – we have the pick of the litter as there are hundreds of anime shows to choose from.
Anime has a lot of villains to choose from because in many cases, the shows have multiple baddies that threaten society or threaten the heroes in general. Because of this, we’ll be looking into the behavior of these villains and their dastardly deeds to place them on the list.
If you like listicles like this one, here are a few more I think you might like:
- The Most Powerful Female Anime Characters of All Time
- Top Ten Anime-Inspired Calisthenics Workouts
- The Most Powerful Hashira from Demon Slayer
Of course we’ve also done a handful of “Most Powerful” and “Most Popular” for other anime and comics so if you’d like to check those out you can visit our other listicles here.
For this one, I scoured the internet for help and almost every single listicle has a different take on who The Best Anime Villains are so what I decided to do was compile ALL of them together and place each character in the slot they averaged most and then increasing the length of the normal runner-up slots I normally do in no specific order.
As always, leave your comments below if you were expecting other characters!
THE BEST ANIME VILLAINS OF ALL TIME
Number Twenty: Gendo Ikari
Show: Evangelion
Starting our list of the best anime villains of all time is Gendo Ikari of Evangelion.
Labeled as the “Worst Anime Dad of All Time”, his moniker is well-deserved. Leaving your kid after your wife dies and only searching for him when it suits your needs – that’s just darn cold-hearted.
Gendo Ikari at SHJ:
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Number Nineteen: Walter C. Dornez
Show: Hellsing
At number nineteen among our top anime villains is Walter C. Dornez from Hellsing!
The butler of Alucard the immortal vampire, Walter was a favorite character of many fans before his jealousy possessed him and he went from being a hero to a villain. One such instance of his shift in personality is when he foresaw the coup and assassination attempt on Alucard’s life but did nothing to stop it.
Walter Dornez at SHJ:
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Number Eighteen: All for One
Show: My Hero Academia
Coming in at number eighteen in our list of the best anime villains of all time is the polar opposite of All Might’s quirk One for All – the evil mastermind and villain All for One!
In a world where most people get superpowers, wanting to have all the superpowers is just greedy and downright unsettling. All for One symbolizes all the greed and corruption that plagues the superpowered society. He is unrelenting in his pursuit for power and is set on destabilizing the relatively peaceful society that has arisen from the genetic event of quirk manifestation.
All For One also makes our list among The Most Powerful My Hero Academia Characters of All Time!
All for One at SHJ:
Number Seventeen: Mahito
Show: Jujustsu Kaisen
Coming in at number seventeen in our list of the best anime villains of all time is the cursed spirit from Jujutsu Kaisen – Mahito!
While wanting to live a full life is a noble endeavor, doing so at the expense of others’ lives is just plain wrong. Mahito seems to show no remorse for his actions despite how devastating they are for the loved ones of those he kills. He seems to take great pleasure in toying with people’s lives and giving them a good scare before finally ending their lives – sometimes in front of their loved ones.
Mahito comes in as one of our Most Powerful Jujutsu Kaisen Characters of All Time!
Mahito at SHJ:
Number Sixteen: Johan Liebert
Show: Monster
Coming in at number sixteen in our best villains of all time list is Johan Liebart, the psychopath from the anime Monster!
Johan may look like a regular human, but he harbors the cruel ability to influence others and convince them to commit heinous acts of murder for him. He is a psychopath raised as a secret agent but escapes and uses his skills in secret. He plays with people’s weaknesses and drives them insane to the point the person kills themselves. After the deed is done, Johan slips into the panicking crowd and melts into them never to be seen again – until his next urge to go on a murderous killing spree.
Johan Liebart at SHJ:
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Number Fifteen: Frieza
Show: Dragon Ball Z
At number fifteen in our best anime villains list is the space tyrant and bad guy from Dragon Ball Z: Frieza!
Think of Frieza like the Kang the Conqueror of the Dragon Ball universe. He’s a space tyrant who revels in showing his strength and decimating entire planets and civilizations for leisure. He has unparalleled potential for increasing his strength and power. For this reason, many planets and civilizations simply surrender when they see him and his armada because they fear the extent of the destruction to come if they even try to fight back.
Even the Saiyans surrendered immediately when Frieza came to their planet, in the hopes he would show them mercy and spare their lives. Frieza killed them all mercilessly, on the off chance that one of their kind would grow strong enough to challenge his might.
Frieza also made our list of The Most Powerful Dragon Ball Characters of All Time!
Frieza at SHJ:
Number Fourteen: Sosuke Aizen
Show: Bleach
Coming in at number fourteen of our best anime villains list is Sosuke Aizen from Bleach!
The ultimate wolf in sheep’s clothing, Sosuke shows a facade of being a pacifist but hides his true ambition of overthrowing the order of the Soul Society and taking power for himself. While he is eventually defeated, his power was merely diminished and wasn’t completely extinguished, and was left in a prison cell – biding his time until he sees another opportunity to take over the power structure.
Sosuke Aizen at SHJ:
Number Thirteen: Char Aznable
Show: Gundam
At number thirteen among the best anime villains is the main antagonist in the original Gundam series: Char Aznable!
Char is the epitome of what an anime villain should aspire to. He is a master pilot with near-superhuman abilities. He commands his forces with confidence and is able to win nearly all battles that he engages in because he has the foresight to anticipate all aspects of the battle, and prepare contingencies for every possible eventuality and enemy attack.
Char Aznable at SHJ:
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Number Twelve: Younger Toguro
Show: Yu Yu Hakushu
At number twelve in our list of best anime villains is the Younger Toguro from Yu Yu Hakushu!
A powerful demon hunter in his youth, he grew fearful of growing old and feeble as he aged. this paved the way to his decision to join the ranks of the demons, the same creatures he swore to protect humanity from. While he doesn’t have world-conquering ambitions, Toguro is a formidable foe because he has a clear goal- to fight those worthy of his time and defeat them to continously prove he is the strongest there is. He even spares those he deems worthy so they can get stronger and offer a more decent challenge for him.
Younger Toguro at SHJ:
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Number Eleven: Muzan Kibutsuji
Show: Demon Slayer
Just missing the top ten and coming in at number eleven in our list of best anime villains is the primary antagonist in the Demon Slayer series – Muzan Kibutsuji!
The only human who became a demon willingly, Muzan is a ruthless leader of the demons and cares little about what happens to his ranks. When Tanjiro
meets him, he turns a man into a demon just so that Tanjiro would be preoccupied enough for him to escape. He sees people as inferior and wants to create a new society where only demons exist and humankind is wiped out. His cruelty and malice aren’t only against humans, however. In a meeting with the Lower Demon Moons, he casually kills all of them save one because he felt they weren’t bloodthirsty enough.
Muzan Kibutsuji comes in among The Most Powerful Demon Slayer Characters of All Time, and if not obvious enough, one of The Most Powerful Demon Slayer Demons as well.
Muzan Kibutsuji at SHJ:
Muzan Kibutsuji Inspired Workout
Number Ten: Zeke Yeager
Show: Attack on Titan
Coming in at number ten in our list of best anime villains of all time is Eren Yeager’s half-brother and the current wielder of the Beast Titan – Zeke Yeager!
Zeke Yeager is the wielder of the power of the Beast Titan, one of the nine titans controlled by the Marleyan Kingdom. He invades Paradis in order to rid the island of its populace and allow Marley to take over. He doesn’t care who he tramples or who he kills or turns into titans, so long as he takes steps to reach his goal.
Zeke even came in as one of the Most Powerful Attack On Titan Characters of All Time.
Zeke Yeager at SHJ:
Number Nine: Dio Brando
Show: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
At number nine among the best anime villains of all time is the main antagonist and rival of Joe Joestar- Dio Brando!
Dio Brando was raised by a shameless criminal and taught to live by the belief that you must do what you must to survive. Following this belief, Dio does what he must to live only for himself stealing, killing, and doing what it takes to get ahead in life – no matter who he has to trample over to get what he wants.
Dio made it to our lists of the Most Powerful JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Characters of All Time AND our list of The Most Popular JoJo Characters as well.
Dio Brando at SHJ:
Number Eight: King Bradley
Show: Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Coming into in eighth place on our list of the best anime villains of all time is King Bradley from Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood!
With the injection from the Philosopher’s Stone, King Bradley gained the all-seeing eye, allowing him to see every detail of his surroundings in any situation – be it negotiating with political opponents or dodging bullets on the battlefield. The only issue: this made him devoid of any other emotion besides wrath.
King Bradley at SHJ:
Number Seven: Madara Uchiha
Show: Naruto Shippuden
Coming in at number seven among the best anime villains of all time is the legendary ninja, Madara Uchiha!
The epitome of the shinobi, Madara embodies the beliefs of his time and possesses the ability to use god-like ninjustsu, able to crush any opponent he comes across.
Madara has also made it onto our Most Popular Naruto Characters of All Time, Most Powerful Naruto Characters of All Time, Most Powerful Naruto Villains AND The Most Powerful Uchiha Characters.
Apparently he just loves working his way onto all of our lists – which isn’t hard considering how popular and powerful he is.
Madara Uchiha at SHJ:
Madara Uchiha Inspired Workout
Number Six: Hisoka
Show: Hunter x Hunter
Coming in at number six of the best anime villains of all time is one of the antagonists in Hunter x Hunter: Hisoka!
A devious killer and master Nen user, Hisoka is driven by his desire to find and kill strong opponents. He will do anything to search for and battle strong opponents – and decimate them regardless of the number of casualties or collateral damage. Wherever he goes, he leaves a path of destruction and chaos.
He’s also one of The Most Powerful Hunter X Hunter Characters of All Time!
Hisoka at SHJ:
Number Five: Gilgamesh
Show: Fate Series
Making it to the top five among the best anime villains of all time is the legendary king Gilgamesh!
Like the history he’s based on, Gilgamesh is a warrior king who desired to own everything he could get his hands on. When he was recruited to join in the Holy Grail War, he was barely interested and fazed by his opponents due to the fact that he could summon any weapon from his arsenal to destroy his enemies.
Gilgamesh at SHJ:
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Number Four: Bondrewd
Show: Made in Abyss
At number four among the best anime villains of all time, we have the depraved and mad scientist of The Pit, Bondrewd!
As one of the most renowned explorers of the Abyss, Bondrewd embodies the deepest depths of depravity a person can reach. He is relentless in his pursuit of survival. He even went so far as to use humans as test subjects to uncover the Pit’s secrets. He has killed hundreds of humans, and will likely continue to do so, in the pursuit of survival.
Bondrewd at SHJ:
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Number Three: Shogo Makishima
Show: Psycho Pass
Coming in and making the top three among the best anime villains of all time is the antagonist of Psycho Pass: Shogo Makishima!
In a world where any crime can be predicted and the perpetrators apprehended before they commit the crime (kinda like Minority Report),
Makishima is able to commit crimes without detection. What’s scary is the fact that his aim- to free society from constant surveillance and to give them back the ability to make their own decisions without fear of punishment – is a logical and worthwhile goal for all society however, twisted his method of achieving it turns out to be.
Shogo Makishima at SHJ:
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Number Two: Light Yagami
Show: Death Note
Coming in at number two among the best anime villains of all time is Light Yagami – the original owner of the Death Note!
A young man with a genius intellect, Light stumbles upon the Death Note at a young age and immediately sees its power. He hatches a plan to kill all criminals in the world and rebuild society with him as its new leader. He is villainous because of the extent to which he is willing to go to achieve his goal. He has killed many innocent people, including families, police, lawyers, and anyone he deems an obstacle to make his vision a reality.
Light Yagami at SHJ:
Number One: Griffith
Show: Berserk
Coming in at number one among the best anime villains of all time is Griffith, the leader of a mercenary group in the show Berserk.
Griffith was a leader of a mercenary band and pursued his goals with utmost efficiency. No matter the obstacle, he was able to overcome each situation and always came out on top. Despite the loyal following, he threw all their loyalty away when he accepted the offer to become a demon to continue the pursuit of his dreams – and got all his friends and followers killed as a result.
Would you place Kaguya at number one or does Naruto give her a run for her money?
Who else would you pull from the honorable mentions to bring up to this list?
Griffith at SHJ:
But I’d also love to hear who YOU think should be on this list!
The Best Anime Villains of All Time (Runner Ups):
- Touishiro Suzuki (Mob Psycho II)
- Garou (One Punch Man)
- En (Dorohedoro)
- Crocodile (One Piece)
- Ryo Asuka (Devilman Crybaby)
Don’t forget to comment your thoughts below.
As always, remember that all these routines should be paired with our Nutrition Pillars; and you can even check out our article on The Top Diets Used Among Celebrities as well.
If you want to step it up a notch on top of these workouts then you can also check out our Superhero Academy and Superhuman System as well.
Now get out there and begin unleashing your inner superhuman!
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Until next time,
Timmy
SHJ’s Impulse
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