Every anime fan knows that there are some villains of the medium that are much eviler than others. Where some villains are hellbent on simply defeating their greatest heroic rival, others are craving the complete and utter destruction of the planet, if not the entire universe.
Of course, there are some villains from both sides of the conversation that go by their own set of honorable rules called their "Code of Honor." Though some of these villains throw away their code at the first sight of an easy loophole, they will still at least come off as honorable for a moment or two.
10 Cell Adopted One During The Cell Games (Though He Broke It)
Fans of the Dragon Ball series know that Cell was one of the villains that weren't necessarily evil. He was more so a dangerous being that would stop at nothing to get his way and test his might against the world's strongest.
During the Cell Games arc of the Android Saga, Cell adopted a code of not attacking until the actual tournament and keeping things strictly one-on-one. Cell being Cell led to him breaking this ruleset through a loophole when he was nearly defeated. His way around it was unleashing his monstrous Cell Jrs.
9 Nosferatu Zodd Lives By The Warrior's Code
The Berserk series is full of many fearsome foes but none are on the level of horror as Nosferatu Zodd, the knight that lives to fight and kill. However, even this demon has a code of honor.
Nosferatu Zodd has never been shown enacting the series of evil events that other Apostles do. He doesn't fight non-fighters or torture those he kills. He even treats his rival, Guts, with respect.
8 Grimmjow Will Only Fight Those He Sees Fit
Grimmjow of the Bleach series is another rival-villain character that loves nothing but ruthless combat. He believes he lives in a world of dog-eat-dog but is honorable about it.
Grimmjow will not avoid killing non-combatants and he doesn't care if he kills anyone obviously weaker than him. However, he will only go out of his way to fight those at his level and at their best. He's even made others heal his opponents to get a fair fight.
7 Viral Shows His Code Throughout Gurren Lagann
Viral lost himself after losing to Kamina in Gurren Lagann. He felt that his pride and reputation were completely diminished after this defeat, seeking blind revenge on his rival.
He goes by a code of an honorable warrior despite this. Not only does he allow his opponents to arm themselves before a fight but he also agrees to a one-on-one battle with Simon when the two become rivals.
6 Reiko Is Borderline Neutral Due To Her Code
Reiko from Parasyte may be a villainous parasite that eats humans but unlike the others of her alien race, she isn't a fan of violence and killing.
Reiko has a sense of honor that keeps her from going to the darker side and even would rather live in-between the world of both parasites and humans.
5 Smoker Is A Villain To All Pirates But His Code Changes That At Times
Smoker is a villain that is simply a villain to the heroes of the One Piece series, being an actual hero in-universe. This makes it easy to know he follows a code of honor, though his is separate from other marines.
This character wants nothing more than pirates to pay but at times when the situation calls for it, he will let them off the hook in order to take on greater threats and protect innocent lives.
4 An Actual One Piece Villain, Lucci, Has A Fighter's Code
One of the actual villains of One Piece, Rob Lucci, has a code of honor himself despite being one of the most bloodthirsty and ruthless enemies the heroes of the series have encountered.
This member of CP9 not only promised to spare the Straw Hat pirates, (not breaking this promise until he found an easy loophole) but he also didn't try any dirty tricks when the Straw Hats were trying to save Nico Robin from Spandam.
3 Wamuu Is The Most Honorable JoJo Villain
When it comes to underhanded villains, the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series is no stranger to danger. However, the villain of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 2: Battle Tendency, Wammu, isn't one of these sneaky enemies.
Wammu constantly shows his code throughout his time in the series. Not only does he keep his promises but he doesn't fight those that are defenseless, rather taking a fair battle instead. Many believe if he wasn't stuck with Kars he would be an ally to humanity or a neutral force simply looking for an honorable battle.
2 Ginyu Showed His Code Until He Nearly Lost
Captain Ginyu of the Dragon Ball series is the leader of one of the most underrated power teams in anime. The Ginyu Force as a whole always relies on gimmicks and tricks, as they stop at nothing to win any battle, but Ginyu actually showed honor in battle once.
During the battle against Goku, Ginyu yelled at his partner, Jeice, for stepping in and showed he wanted to keep it one-on-one. However, like many villains, Ginyu immediately broke his code once he saw his defeat on the way.
1 Seto Kaiba Would Never Cheat
Seto Kaiba is another series villain that would stop at nothing in order to defeat his heroic rival, Yugi Moto, or more specifically his alter-ego, Yami Yugi.
While Seto has endless money and so many ways to get better, he never cheats and would never accept defeating his rival unless it was a truly fair battle.