Anime is full of somewhat one-dimensional villains, a problem that is exacerbated when these villains exist for the sole purpose of the hero defeating him in an epic fight just to reinforce the idea that the heroes, in fact, are the good guys of the show.

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The biggest problem in such scenarios is when villains are propped up as evil guys, with little to no background information about them, or even foreshadowing about their existence. Most of their background is covered (if at all) in convenient, but completely unnecessary, flashbacks and information dumps. This is the case in many series, with such villains ending up being underwhelming and poorly-formed.

10 The Undertakers Who Slaughtered The Inmates Of Their Prison (Deadman Wonderland)

(Deadman Wonderland) undertaker Azuma Genkaku

The first Undertaker, Azuma Genkaku, is initially portrayed as one of the many minor antagonists from the anime Deadman Wonderland. With the arrival of Hibana Daida, and the inclusion of the two Undertakers’ flashbacks, it’s made clear that these characters will play a larger part in the anime.

However, by the time the anime reaches its last quarter, the Undertakers barely have a few minutes worth of on-screen presence. Barring their fights with Nagi and the Scar Chain gang, they had nothing to boast of. This was an odd creative decision, seeing how other antagonists (like Yo) managed not only score more screen time, but had better motivations that also ended up hurting Ganta and Shiro more.

9 The Perfect Solider Who Conveniently Turned Out To Be A Sadistic Killer (Kabaneri Of The Iron Fortress)

biba from kabaneri of the iron fortress 5

For half the time that Biba is on screen, he is shown to be an ambivalent guy, whose true intentions are never revealed. It is only later when he captures his father’s kingdom and slaughters his own people, that fans come to know that he’s a villain.

However, his villainous antics end within two episodes, and out of an anime that’s 12 episodes long, its villain does not even manage to be evil for longer than 1/6th of the show’s run time.

8 Sosuke’s Evil Twin Who Just Appears With No Foreshadowing (Hakkenden: Eight Dogs Of The East)

Ao sosuke evil twin

When Shino’s flashbacks were shown to fans, they got a clearer picture of what happened to him and Sousuke, and how Murasame came to reside within Shino's arm. However, none of those flashbacks show Ao, who was split and created from Sousuke’s soul.

So when Ao finally appeared, not only was his revelation a shock to fans, but it was a massive disappointment as well, seeing how he usually worked in the shadows and he did not garner more than a few minutes worth of appearance time in the two episodes the show showed him in.

7 The Angel Sariel Who Was Sent Out To Kill Satan (The Devil Is A Part-Timer)

angel sariel (2)

Sariel is introduced in episode seven of The Devil Is A Part-Timer as a minor character who fans don’t take much notice of, since he’s portrayed as just a business rival to Satan’s MgRonald’s outlet.

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His true identity and intentions are revealed in episode 12, and even then, not until halfway through the episode After that, he and Satan engage in a duel which ends in 10 minutes flat, where Sariel is completely decimated by the Demon Lord.

6 The Convenient Last Minute Entry Of An All-Powerful Being (Noragami)

father from noragami

The character initially only known as "Father" is shown in Noragami via a few seconds worth of flashbacks from Nora and Yato, but his face is never revealed. A new character is introduced as Hiyori’s love interest, but he acts like any normal teenage boy, allaying the fears of fans.

Yet, at the very end of the last episode of season two (after the end credits have finished playing), that boy’s true nature is revealed– he is actually Father! Since the anime does not have a third season, fans are still wondering what Father’s intentions could be.

5 Kureto Hiiragi & His Obsession With Killing Vampires, Come What May (Seraph Of The End)

kureto hiiragi 2

In a world where vampires kill humans for food, it’s obvious these creatures would be the major antagonists of the series— which was true for Seraph Of The End up until episode five of the show’s second season.

Kureto is introduced as a minor antagonist, but the impact of his cruelty is put on display only in the second half of episode 11, and the first half of episode 12— during which fans learn of the Seraph, the trumpets, angels, and demons being scared of angels - all within a matter of minutes. As for Kureto, he was a villain for only one episode of the entire series.

4 Neil’s Inner Demon Who Raged & Then Calmed Down Within 3 Episodes (All Saints Street)

the demon king (All Saints Street)

In a series with 24 episodes, Neil’s Demon King spirit is conveniently asleep throughout the series— except from episodes 22 to 24, when he wakes up to fight with all of his enemies, simultaneously.

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Miraculously, Neil is able to calm down the spirit within two episodes, something that he had not able to do for his entire lifetime. After this impossible feat is accomplished, Neil goes back to being his normal self, the spirit is never mentioned again, and fans find out nobody got truly hurt in the aftermath of the battle.

3 Naoe Hagiura’s Mysterious Need To Steal People’s Superpowers (When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace)

Naoe Hagiura

She makes her first appearance in episode 11 of this all too short 12 episode anime, where she indiscriminately begins stealing the Literature Club members’ powers— talking disdainfully about them being unaware of a huge battle going on between power users.

Just a few minutes later, Hajime Kiryu appears and uses his ability of Pinpoint Abyss on her. She ends up losing all of her stolen powers, as well as her memories, and just goes on living her life as a regular human being.

2 Lin’s Long Lost “Dead” Friend Who Came Back To Haunt Him (Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens)

Feilang 2

Lin’s flashbacks of killing his friend Feilang in order to survive, was assumed by fans to be the reason he became an assassin. In a morbid twist of events, the dead friend is shown to alive and is introduced in episode nine.

Despite being the primary antagonist, he mostly functions in the background and appears for barely a few minutes in each episode, exactly like the side characters from the show. This why the final knife fight between him and Lin was surprising, but also underwhelming— seeing how the fight ends in two minutes flat, and Feilang dies at the end of it.

1 Boros Was Introduced Just To Prove Saitama Is His Universe’s Strongest Superhero (One-Punch Man)

Anime Boros (One Punch Man)

As the universe’s strongest creature, Boros deserved a lot more than just being introduced in episode 10 of One-Punch Man, with Saitama defeating him after an epic battle by episode 12. There was no foreshadowing at all; he simply appeared because he had to for plot purposes.

Basically, the only reason Boros was even considered the primary antagonist was because he was introduced when the anime was was about to end, implying that he was the show’s “final boss.” As a point of reference as to how poorly thought out this move was, the Deep Sea King appeared in as many episodes, and ended up defeating more superheroes than Boros— including Genos.

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