In the world of fiction, writers love to play with the mantra "power corrupts." Mangaka are no exception to this rule and prove this by writing stories around heroes who are given incredible power only to have it break down their moral compass and corrupt their soul.
While there is reason to question the validity of this mantra, the anime genre has its fair share of incorruptible best boys to satisfy readers who refuse to accept that power is what changes people. On the other hand, it has become increasingly popular to test a hero's conviction by granting them unlimited power and letting them run rampant through their respective anime worlds.
10 Light Yagami Lost All Redeeming Qualities After Using The Death Note (Death Note)
While there is some debate over whether Light Yagami was truly corrupted by the Death Note, it is safe to assume that his evil tendencies were at least enhanced by the presence of Ryuk and his super powered notebook.
After finding the mysterious notebook at his school and unveiling its supernatural power, Light leaned completely into his god complex and cast himself as judge, jury, and executioner of the world. While his mission may have seemed altruistic when it began, when he started writing down his family members names it became clear that the Death Note's power had gone to his head.
9 Eren Yeager Let A Vision Of The Future Corrupt His Heart (Attack On Titan)
The protagonist of Attack on Titan is the best example in anime of the way power corrupts. Since joining the Survey Corps in the first season of the anime, Eren has let his moral compass continue to degrade with every new revelation of power that he experiences.
Prior to unveiling the combined strength of the Attack Titan and Founding Titan, Eren was a loyal recruit. After he touched Historia's hand, Eren refused to carry his moral compass into battle, making him more of a villain than a hero.
8 Lelouch Vi Britannia Was Corrupted By His Geass (Code Geass)
The power of absolute obedience is a power that could corrupt even the purest of hearts. This is especially true if the power is unleashed on the world through something as simple as eye contact.
Lelouch Vi Britannia experiences this corruption the moment he receives his Geass. When approached by a group of armored soldiers, Lelouch orders them to kill themselves without hesitating. One would think that a character as smart as Lelouch would be able to get out of this situation without murdering a handful of loyal soldiers.
7 Izuku Midoriya Refused To Listen To His Peers After Taking To The Streets As A Vigilante (My Hero Academia)
Fans have yet to see what an unhinged Deku looks like in the anime world of My Hero Academia. Up to this point in the anime, Deku still holds tight to the unwritten rules of heroism put in place by All Might.
It isn't until Tomura Shigaraki and the Paranormal Liberation Front unleash chaos on the country of Japan that Deku takes to the streets as a vigilante and starts making his own rules. While Deku's actions are still heroic, he refused to acknowledge the strength of his allies and even tried to fight them when they called him out for it.
6 Ken Kaneki Was Forced To Break Down His Moral Code (Tokyo Ghoul)
Prior to his run in with Rize, Ken Kaneki was nothing more than a kind young student and an avid reader. After Rize was murdered and her Kagune was transplanted into Kaneki, his normal life as a book nerd was flipped on its head.
In order to cope with his new life as a ghoul, Kaneki had to rewrite his moral code to include the consumption of human flesh. In doing so, Kaneki's morality cracked and shattered into a million pieces as he continued to explore what it meant to lead both human and ghoul into a better future.
5 Suguru Geto Once Served As Gojo's Moral Backbone (Jujutsu Kaisen)
The most recent addition to the Jujutsu Kaisen anime canon introduced Suguru Geto as an antagonistic sorcerer with incredible power, but Geto was not always an agent of chaos. In fact when he was a student at Tokyou Jujutsu High, Suguru was the foundation that kept Satoru Gojo from slipping into darkness.
With the power of his Cursed Spirit Manipulation Technique, Suguru Geto was forced to express his power by inviting cursed spirits into his body. This spine-chilling experience and the misdeeds of the leaders of the jujutsu world pushed Geto toward a superiority complex that corrupted his heart and put him at odds with the pure hearted Yuta Okkotsu.
4 Prince Ling Corrupted His Soul In Order To Make Space For Greed (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Allowing the personification of Greed into your body is bound to corrupt your soul. Ling proved this when he let Greed take over his body and go to war with the series' protagonist and his little brother.
Eventually, Ling would form a bond with Greed and negotiate a peace between their two souls. Still, the bond between them made it impossible for Ling Yao to eradicate Greed from his life, effectively corrupting the prince until the end of time.
3 Sasuke Embraced Orochimaru's Power & Became A Villain (Naruto Shippuden)
Though Sasuke has always made questionable moral decisions, his descent into villainy wasn't fully realized until he was corrupted by the promise of Orochimaru's power. Prior to this, the worst things Sasuke had done included verbally abusing Sakura and challenging Naruto to a fight.
Once he embraced the power of Orochimaru, Sasuke threw his moral compass out the window and acted as a villain until Naruto grew strong enough to beat some sense into him. His corrpution allowed for an epic battle between best friends and rivals.
2 Amon Was Once An Affectionate Older Brother (The Legend Of Korra)
The first season of The Legend of Korra introduced fans to a villain of immense power. Amon's ability to redirect the masses and take down the Avatar in a battle of bending supremacy is undeniably impressive. Of course, every maniacal terrorist has a tragic backstory and Amon's is a classic "power corrupts" plot line.
Prior to discovering his bloodbending abilities, Amon was just an affectionate older brother who cared deeply for his family. After training under his sociopathic father, the affectionate side of Amon died out, leaving nothing but a boy working tirelessly to earn his father's approval by taking control of Republic City.
1 After Choosing The Path Of A Hero, Vegeta Was Corrupted By Babadi's Power (Dragon Ball Z)
Despite always being blessed with power, there is a goodness in Vegeta that comes to light when faced with the overwhelming goodness found in Goku. Of course, when one becomes addicted to power, newfound strengths and abilities are just as likely to corrupt as old habits and titles.
Throughout Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta experienced an identity crisis that forced him to acknowledge that his obsession with strength had corrupted his heart. This was made abundantly clear when he gave in to Babadi's power and nearly ruined his newfound relationships with Goku and Bulma.