Similar to how sports teams have their own mascot, in Japan, many brands or companies like to use mascots to represent their businesses or events. They even use mascots in anime, and these help to define a show in a certain way, whether it’s by being the cute sidekick, the comic relief character, or the wise and sagely supporter.
However, when a mascot is used, they’re usually the sweet, kind, caring, and cuddly type. But this isn’t always the case. There are some mascots who look evil and are evil, and then there are others who look cute and adorable but are rotten to their very core.
10 Kyubey Is Part Of A Vicious Cycle Involving Magic Girls And Witches (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
Kyubey is one of the most well-known mascots in anime. Kyubey is a Messenger of Magic in the series Puella Magi Madoka Magica. His role was to appear to girls and grant their wishes, and in return, they were to sign a contract and become a Magic Girl.
Magic Girls help stop Witches - people who feed on the hopes and dreams of ordinary people. What Kyubey failed to mention was that these Witches were once Magic Girls whose souls were corrupted, and the creation of these Witches was, in fact, his true goal all along.
9 Dung Beetle Is A Cruel And Demeaning Mascot That Loves To Be Sarcastic And Superior (Bokurano)
Dung Beetle, or Koemushi, is a strange yet cute-looking mascot from the show, Bokurano—which is a psychological and science fiction seinen anime about students at a summer camp. These students meet a man who is developing a game using mecha robots, and they sign a contract to play it with unsuspecting consequences.
Dung Beetle often treats these children terribly with sarcastic and superior comments. He’s cruel, demeaning, and mocking, and takes pleasure in openly being savage to the children and manipulating them to get what he wants.
8 Fav Is A Sadistic And Manipulative Cyber Fairy (Magical Girl Raising Project)
Fav is an adorable antagonist in the series Magical Girl Raising Project. Fav is a cyber fairy that was created in the land of magic to be a moderator for the magic girl tests. But that’s not all that’s happening at these tests.
He and Cranberry are using these girls to satiate their sadistic side by using them in a death game. Behind that adorable face is an A.I who finds pleasure in torturing and tormenting people. He does nothing but lie and enjoys manipulating others.
7 The Puchuu Are A Race Of Teddy Bears That Plan On Conquering The World (Excel Saga)
Excel Saga follows the story of a secret organization that believes the world is corrupt, so they plan on conquering it one city at a time. In this anime, there’s an alien race known as the Puchuu: adorable, mascot-like aliens that resemble teddy bears.
They appear to be sweet and cuddly but they’re actually hellbent on conquering the world and are evil little beings. However, their appearance drastically changes when they’re grievously hurt, as they become humanoid and bloody.
6 Kokoro-Chan Is A Yakuza-Looking Mascot Who Hides Facts About Magic Girls (Magical Girl Ore)
Magic Girl Ore is an anime that revolves around Saki Uno who is working as a Magical Twin. She wants to do anything for the boy that she likes, and those feelings brought about a miracle that turned her into a magical girl with unexpected results.
Kokoro-chan is a mascot-like character with a rough-looking Yakuza's head on an adorable fairy-like body. He’s not sadistic, but he’s not a good person, often omitting important details and hiding facts about being a magical girl.
5 Monokuma Is A Sadistic And Sinister Principal Of An Elite High School (Danganronpa: The Animation)
Danganronpa: The Animation is an anime that follows the story of an elite high school that’s filled with bright and talented students. These students, however, don’t realize that being in this academy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Monokuma is the principal of this elite school and resembles an adorable teddy bear. But underneath this cute appearance is a sinister and evil being that loves playing and manipulating people, and thrives on despair, violence, and chaos.
4 Muru Muru Went From A Comic Relief Character To Downright Cruel And Sadistic (Future Diary)
Muru Muru is an antagonist in Future Diary who is a servant of Deus Ex Machina. She is even a judge in the Survival Games. In the beginning, she is introduced for comic relief, but as the series progresses, it’s revealed just how sadistic and cruel she can be.
Muru Muru isn’t a fluffy pet-like mascot, but she certainly goes from cute to evil. She goes to great lengths to manipulate the Survival Games behind Deus’ back so that she can have more fun.
3 Neko Sensei Is A Ballet Teacher Who Abuses His Power Of Authority (Princess Tutu)
Neko Sensei, or Mr. Cat, is a ballet teacher at Gold Crown Academy in Princess Tutu. Despite his cute cat appearance, he is not an acceptable authority figure at this school of the arts or a decent person. He has a very creepy and odd obsession with being married.
Not only does he flirt with the older characters, but he also threatens his students with marriage as punishment. This is an incredibly manipulative and immoral tactic and a complete abuse of his power as an authority figure.
2 Migi Is Using Izumi's Body To Survive And Enjoys Killing (Parasyte)
Migi is a cute (in a monster-like way) parasite who tried to take over Shinichi Izumi’s body in the anime, Parasyte. Even though he didn’t take over his entire body, Migi did take over Izumi’s hand. His main purpose is to keep Izumi alive seeing as he wasn’t able to take over his body completely.
This means that Migi has no problem with killing his own kind. This isn’t done out of love or care, but more out of self-preservation. He’s threatening and manipulative and has no problem with putting his host in danger.
1 Quitela Has A Mouse-Like Appearance And Is One Of The Gods Of Destruction (Dragon Ball Super)
Quitela is an adorable mouse and the God of Destruction in Universe 4. Despite his adorable and mouse-like appearance, Quitela is actually the most sadistic and evil of all of the Gods of Destruction. Not only that, but he’s lazy and self-centered, and only cares about his own needs and wants
This God of Destruction likes to play video games and manipulate people to get his way. He will even cheat and do very questionable things to come out on top in any competition and he is amused by death and destruction.