While anime is full of aliens endeavoring to invade earth, demons trying to kill and eat humans, and monsters on rampages throughout major cities, there are also plenty of monstrous villains that are just human. These characters are known for their lack of reverence for other human lives, their willingness to commit terrible acts of violence, and their perceived ownership over the bodies of other characters.
Many of these characters once began as heroes, but their god complexes or desperation turned them into villains. Despite how their journeys may have begun, they are infamous for becoming the monsters of their stories, even if they are still technically humans.
10 Light Yagami Was A Mass Murderer With A God Complex In Death Note
Death Note's Light Yagami is the poster boy for anime characters with a god complex. When he got the death note, he took that as a chance to decide who was worthy of living and who was better off dead. The power eventually went to his head (though taking that power into one's hands in the first place is already letting power go to one's head) and Light began killing less discriminately.
Light Yagami would kill anyone he perceived as being in his way or as being close to finding out who his real identity was. However, in the end, he paid for his crimes.
9 Naruto's Orochimaru Did Genetic Tests On Children
Naruto's Orochimaru was a creepy, snake-like rogue shinobi who left the Hidden Leaf Village after he was scrutinized for his human experiments. When he left, he continued those experiments and was infamous for kidnapping or manipulating kids and experimenting on them. One of those kids was Sasuke Uchiha.
The only reason Orochimaru wanted Sasuke was to use his body for his next incarnation, thus allowing him youth, health, and the power of the Sharingan. He was also guilty of using a child to control a tailed beast (continuously hurting the child in the process), bringing back dead shinobi as semi-zombies, and trying to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village on multiple occasions.
8 Overhaul Kept A Child Locked Away & Used Her For Her Blood In My Hero Academia
Like Orochimaru, My Hero Academia's Overhaul had a plan that relied on the power of a child to achieve. This child was Eri, whose quirk could rewind life. It could also be used to make a quirk-eliminating serum. Overhaul's master plan was to eliminate quirks from existence using this and he kept Eri locked away in the process.
Izuku Midoriya (Deku) and Mirio Togata (Lemillion) found this out and were determined not to let this happen, especially at the expense of a child. Deku and Lemillion endeavored to save Eri — but it led to tragedy.
7 Fullmetal Alchemist's Shou Tucker Experimented On His Daughter & Her Dog
Shou Tucker is notorious for being one of the most hated villains in anime even though the effects of his efforts were not far-reaching and he was not a main antagonist in Fullmetal Alchemist. Still, his crimes were cruel and horrific.
Shou Tucker was guilty of merging his young daughter, Nina, with her dog. As a result, they became a chimera. They were an aberration in constant pain and were eventually killed to put them out of their misery. Shou Tucker committed this atrocity to meet a deadline, making him an extreme example of monstrousness as a result of selfishness.
6 Gendo Ikari Was Obsessive, Creepy, & A Terrible Father Who Brought About The Apocolypse In Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion's Gendo Ikari was so obsessed with his late wife, Yui, that he left his relationship with his son, Shinji fall to the wayside while he orchestrated a plan to create and use the Evas and bring about the apocalypse.
On top of that, Ikari was extremely creepy and manipulative with women and using them constantly. He had toxic and inappropriate relationships with his subordinates. This trait passed on to Shinji who was also creepy toward women throughout Neon Genesis Evangelion, even sexually assaulting them.
5 Monster's Johan Liebert Was A Serial Killer
Monster's Johan was the extreme version of what can occur when someone subscribes to nihilism. He was a sadistic serial killer who led the authorities on a goose chase for a long time. Johan takes great joy in manipulating others and leading them to destroy their lives.
Johan's love for making others suffer is what makes him a monster and the series is called Monster thanks to Johan's monstrousness.
4 Angelo Was A Serial Killer & Rapist In Diamond Is Unbreakable
Angelo was an extremely dark and disgusting individual who committed a large number of unforgivable crimes in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable. He killed, raped, and tortured other people — and he felt no remorse for any of it. When he was able to escape his imprisonment thanks to the advent of his Stand, he terrorized the Higashikata family.
Angelo killed Josuke Higashikata's grandfather and he threatened to kill his mother, too. Luckily, Jotaro Kujo found Josuke in time to advise him on what Stands are and how to use them and to help in the fight.
3 Lelouch Lamperouge Became The Monster He Fought In Code Geass
There is a saying that claims many who live too long live long enough to see themselves become the monster, and that is what happened to Code Geass's Lelouch Lamperouge. While his goals were noble (he wanted to liberate Japan from the Britannians, of which he was a member), he eventually became just as manipulative as the family he rejected.
Lelouch Lamperouge used others as pawns and did not care what became of them. He killed even those that were innocent — or relatively innocent). He even used the geass to take away people's free will.
2 Vicious Was A Narcissistic Crime Boss In Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop's Vicious is another character who is so twisted and loves violence and death so much that there is no other word to describe him but monstrous. As the leader of the Syndicate, Vicious was sadistic and cruel, and he indiscriminately killed friend and foe alike. It was no wonder Spike Spiegel did not trust him.
Vicious ruled the Syndicate with an iron fist, and he was the reason for a lot of the trouble the Bebop went through. In the end, Spike confronted Vicious, but it did not end without tragedy.
1 Griffith Became The Villain In Berserk
Though beginning Berserk as a heroic figure, Griffith did plenty of horrible things, both before and after becoming Femto. He was imprisoned for his relationship with Princess Charlotte and tortured, and after that experience, he became a broken person. Still, there is no excuse for what was to happen next.
Griffith blamed all of his failures and trauma on Guts, and because of this, he tried to get revenge on Guts by allowing his comrades' deaths, becoming Femto, and raping Guts' love interest, Casca.