Villains often have generic stories in anime, if at all. Most are uninteresting copies of each other, who are powerful just so that they can end up losing to the hero in the final battle.
Then there are characters who have some very interesting stories and motivations, but are simply wasted in the anime as good guys or side characters. So, how would it be if those characters were better utilized as villains instead? Would they make for better villains?
10 Mephistopheles (Blue Exorcist)
Very little is known about him and his motivations. He’s the one who got Rin enrolled in his own academy, and can often be seen protecting Rin from poor consequences.
However, he himself is a demon who’s in touch with the other demons from his past life, including the destructive Amaimon. It would have been excellent to see him gain Rin’s trust only to betray it for his own demon-kind, but sadly that never happens in the anime.
9 Ferid Bathory (Seraph Of The End)
A truly whimsical creature, this vampire serves no master but himself. He is cunning, manipulative, and sadistic (as seen when he slaughtered a few orphans just for the heck of it).
He toys with Mika, doesn’t hesitate from insulting the much more powerful Krul Tepes, and seldom pays for his actions. His entire character arc propped him to be the perfect villain of the series, but the mangaka chose to make him an anti-villain instead.
8 Shino (Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East)
Shino is an 18-year-old trapped inside the body of a 13-year-old. He was resurrected from near-death in exchange for being the bearer of a cursed sword. He’s rebellious, impetuous, and impulsive – and he would go to great lengths for his family (which isn’t dead, unlike most shonen characters).
His backstory is already a lot more interesting than most villains out there, and his attitude’s a perfect fit as well.
7 Grell (Black Butler)
Grell was introduced as one half of the murderous duo that constituted Jack the Ripper. As cold as his partner, Grell assisted her for the heck of it. He later on became a side character used mostly for laugh (as well as normalizing an extremely problematic portrayal of gay men in anime).
His sudden change in nature and attitude made zero sense, and he would have been far better off as a heartless serial killer.
6 Lucifer (The Devil Is A Part-Timer)
After Satan left Ente Isla, Lucifer decided to partner up with the Church’s priest Olba in order to defeat Satan and become the ruler of all demons himself. He was immediately trashed by Satan, of course, and like Grell, he became a comic relief.
He would have been better off as a villain who was introduced early on in the series (and with whom Satan fought) as opposed to the primary antagonist whose arc was introduced and ended in the last two episodes.
5 KK (Kekkai Sensen)
As one of the two superpower beings who are part of the Libra organization, very little is known about her. She’s smart and tough and loves doting on her only son.
Having her as a villain, especially as one who discharges electricity from her blood, could have been exceptional. Not only does anime have a serious paucity of female villains, but none come to mind who are mothers!
4 Yato (Noragami)
As the God of Calamity and Depression, Yato used to be a merciless killer. His friend Rabou brought out the worst in him and together, they slaughtered countless supernatural beings.
It would have been more interesting to see Yato continue down this path of death and destruction, where he could have eventually (maybe) chosen to kill bad people, as opposed to killing people indiscriminately.
3 Lucy M (Bungou Stray Dogs)
Lucy is wasted as a minor antagonist in a passing episode of BSD. She possessed an exceptional power -- Anne of Abyssal Red, making her one of the strongest characters in the series, ever. She had the ability to lock people in a bubble universe, where only she could let them out.
Having heroes fight such a might would have been an interesting take, especially visually. Sadly, she was just regaled to having one-sided feelings for Atsushi instead.
2 Bakugo (My Hero Academia)
This one’s a no-brainer. Bakugo has very few qualities that a hero possesses (if at all). He’s been propped to have some sort of phenomenal character development, but even after several anime seasons, fans have yet to witness it.
For someone as rude, arrogant, and self-absorbed as Bakugo, the title of “villain” is certainly more apt. Especially seeing how he gets away with everything he does, with zero consequences – just like a shonen villain!
1 Sweet Mask (One-Punch Man)
Despite his gorgeous looks and sweet appearance, Mask hides a merciless side. He has no qualms killing off innocent people (like the escaped caveman or the victims of Narinki's Private Squad) if he believes them to be evil.
It is ironic that he’s considered a hero in the One-Punch universe because, in any other universe, he would have made for an excellent villain.