Anime series cover every conceivable genre of fiction, from horror to romance and sci-fi, and many fantasy and horror series include monsters who wish to appear human. Often, monsters in anime and real-world mythology don human disguises so they can take their human prey by surprise, or live in society without being hunted. Vampires and werewolves are classic examples.
In anime, meanwhile, some disguised monsters really are brutal killers, but others are more neutral and disguise themselves so they can live peacefully in human society. Or, they actually want to help humanity, and they'll make more progress if they appear human themselves. For one reason or another, these ten anime monsters wish to pass as human in everyday life.
10 Pride The Homunculus Calls Himself Selim Bradley (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Most of the homunculi in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood appear human to some degree, and Pride, in particular, wishes to keep his human disguise for as long as he can. His real body is a mass of shadows covered in eyes and mouths, but outsiders see him as a young boy named Selim Bradley.
The public of Amestris is generally aware of who Selim Bradley is supposed to be, and no one questions him or probes any deeper. He is simply King Bradley's son, period. At least, Pride wants people to think that.
9 Wrath Wishes To Seem Like The Human He Once Was (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Wrath the homunculus is on Pride's team, but his true nature is a bit different. He was born human, unlike the ancient Pride, and as a young man, he had a tiny Philosopher's Stone implanted into his body. He thus became a sort of human-homunculus, and his dialogue makes it clear that he considers human beings to be quite different from him.
Wrath, like Pride, wishes to appear as an ordinary human, and no one in Amestris was wise about his true nature until much later. Edward Elric soon learned it, as did Colonel Roy Mustang, but they couldn't do much about it.
8 Yuki Tried To Reject Her Werewolf Status (Wolf Children)
Yuki may be a werewolf, but she's in no mood to terrorize medieval villagers. In fact, she resents her monster status, and wants very badly to integrate into Wolf Children's human society and be a perfectly ordinary girl. Her mother is sympathetic, but that doesn't make it any easier.
By contrast, Yuki's little brother, Ame, loves being a wolf child, and he and his sister used to play together as beasts at their remote home. Ultimately, though, Yuki would rather attend school than run free in the wild forever. She has no future among the wolves, or so she believes.
7 Naraku Has A Human Disguise (InuYasha)
Naraku is a demon whose body is made up of countless demons who coalesced, and he desires the priestess archer Kikyo more than anything. He views InuYasha as a love rival of sorts, and he has been the antagonist of InuYasha since the beginning.
Naraku's body is a truly strange one, but he often attempts to appear as a human man wearing fancy Japanese robes. He often has this disguise when he approaches potential recruits, too. InuYasha, however, is not fooled.
6 Muzan Kibutsuji Is Another Demon Overlord In Human Disguise (Demon Slayer)
The wicked Muzan Kibutsuji of Demon Slayer is the Naraku for a new generation of fantasy anime fans, and the two characters have a lot in common. Like Naraku, Muzan usually has a human disguise, and he can easily spy on humanity from the inside, even while wandering the early modern streets of Tokyo.
During that time, Muzan had a near-perfect human disguise, and he even had a false wife and daughter to complete the illusion, which shocked Tanjiro Kamado when they crossed paths. Later, Muzan assumed a new human disguise, appearing as a woman wearing a dark kimono.
5 Tohru Is An Enthusiastic Dragon Maid (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid)
Tohru the dragon maid is an anime monster who appears human so she can help people, rather than hurt them. Despite having conspicuous horns on her head, her human disguise is effective, and something similar can be said about Lucoa and the other monsters.
Tohru wants nothing more than to repay Ms. Kobayashi for helping her one night, and she will gladly take care of all domestic duties and even fight off other monsters who seek to harass or annoy Kobayashi (though Tohru annoys her too). Only once in a while will Tohru show off her true dragon form.
4 Rimuru Tempest Is A Slime Who Likes To Appear Human (That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime)
Rimuru Tempest the slime is an odd case. He is an isekai hero, meaning he has the mind of a human man, but when he reincarnated into another world, he gained the jiggly body of a blue slime critter. He later ate Shizue Izawa when she asked him to, and Rimuru could then assume a human form that loosely resembled the late Shizue.
Rimuru now has a human form to match his human mind, though he is ultimately still a monster. While negotiating with other kings and leaders, such as the dwarf king or Elalude, he tends to use his human form so he can speak with them as equals.
3 Lucy/Nyu Tried To Appear Human & Find Acceptance (Elfen Lied)
Elfen Lied's Lucy, who has the alternate ego Nyu, is a Diclonius, or a humanoid with short horns and the supernatural ability to control invisible vector arms. Unfortunately, the near-extinct Diclonius race cannot find a place to live on Earth, or so Lucy believes. She is certain that humanity will always reject her.
That didn't stop her from trying, though. Lucy made repeated efforts to appear human, including wearing hats to hide her horns, and she once befriended the human boy Kouta. In the end, though, Lucy/Nyu couldn't deny her true nature.
2 Touka Kirishima The Ghoul Attended High School (Tokyo Ghoul)
Touka Kirishima is an aloof and smart ghoul, a rogue who lives in the ghoul world but strives to have a place in the human world, too. Touka isn't afraid of her ghoulish nature, but she is also determined to feel like a normal human girl, and she balances the two halves of her life with remarkable skill.
Touka is a senior at a local high school, and her classmates are totally unaware of her true nature, as Touka intended. She even planned to attend college while maintaining this human exterior. Her younger brother Ayato, though, feels differently about ghouls and humans.
1 Nosferatu Zodd Usually Appeared Human In Battle (Berserk)
Nosferatu Zodd was a massive winged monster with horns, but for years on end, he kept his true nature hidden. Instead, Zodd wandered from one battlefield to another in a brutish human form, gaining infamy as a seemingly unkillable warrior.
During the Golden Age arc, Guts and Griffith crossed paths with Zodd, and they witnessed his true form not long after that. Ever since then, Zodd has largely remained in his true form, and he became Griffith's ally after a point.