Villains in anime tend to be overpowered gods or unimpeachable dictators whose defeat at the hands of the underdog heroes provides the necessary catharsis. That said, not all anime villains wear their evil on their sleeves.

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In a good number of cases, an anime villain hides their connection to the dark side for a variety of reasons. While some are masterminds playing a long game that relies on deception, others are literally unaware of the fact that they were the bad guys this whole time.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead!

10 Naruto - Kabuto Yakushi Was Orochimaru’s Sleeper Agent

Kabuto Shows Hints Of His Evil

He may not look like it, but Kabuto is actually one of the strongest and deadliest characters in all of Naruto. As a loyal disciple of Orochimaru, Kabuto infiltrated both Konoha and the Akatsuki to get vital information for his master. To get peoples’ trust, Kabuto deliberately had some of his memories altered or blocked out.

As a result, Kabuto never revealed his true powers until later, when his mind was finally free. Originally, Kabuto was a spy and sadistic medical ninja who reverse-engineered healing techniques into torture methods. Later in Naruto: Shippuden, Kabuto surpassed Orochimaru and even gained the power to resurrect every dead ninja in the anime.

9 Death Note - Light Yagami Exacted Justice From The Shadows

Light Acts Normal death note

With the Death Note, Light Yagami was basically a god. Without exaggeration, he could kill anyone he wanted in whatever way he desired with a few pen strokes. Problem was, Light was a regular high school student. To exact his unforgiving brand of justice and evade capture, Light hid behind the persona of Kira and maintained this secret identity no matter what.

As a result, Light had to readjust many of his plans while also consciously restraining his methods and reach of execution. For example, it would’ve been easy to kill the pursuing investigators after he infiltrated the Task Force, but Light would’ve immediately broken his cover by doing so. Even after besting L, Light tempered his godhood to keep ruling from the shadows.

8 Kill La Kill - Satsuki & The Student Council Were Secretly Mounting An Anti-Life Fiber Revolt

Satsuki Leads The Council

Throughout Kill La Kill’s first half, Ryuko Matoi fought Honnoji Academy’s echelons to get to the Student Council, led by Satsuki Kiryuin. Ryuko’s goal was to get information about her father’s assassination from the dismissive Satsuki, even if it meant beating her up for it. Not only was Satsuki innocent of the crime and not evil, but everything she did was for a reason.

Because she was preparing a rebellion against her mother’s Life Fiber forces, Satsuki acted the villain and hid her full strength even when she donned the powerful Kamui, Junketsu. Additionally, she threw Ryuko in the Academy’s gauntlet to toughen her and the school populace for the coming war. In the long run, Satsuki’s ploys and her secrecy paid off.

7 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - DIO Just Likes Messing With His Opponents

Dio Summons The World

Near the end of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s first arc, Dio Brando became a nigh-immortal vampire, but the true extent of his powers wasn’t revealed. The most obvious reason for this is because he was trapped in the ocean’s depths for nearly a century. However, by Stardust Crusaders, he kept his power hidden because he enjoyed instilling fear in whoever got in his way.

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For most of the third JoJo storyline, Jotaro and the Stardust Crusaders trekked across Egypt in fear of DIO's true power. All they knew was that it was a Stand that somehow gave DIO godlike omnipotence. DIO's time-stopping The World was only revealed at the last second after Jonathan put the pieces together, and he almost died getting the answer to Jotaro.

6 Devilman Crybaby - Ryo Asuka Forgot That He Was Satan

Ryo Reveals His True Self

The final twist of Devilman Crybaby wasn’t just that Ryo was the bad guy all along, but that he’s literally Satan. Thing is, he only realized this halfway through the anime because he’s an amnesiac devil. After the Biblical fall and his exile as punishment for rebelling against God, Satan is reborn as a human with no memories of his ethereal life.

With Akira, a gun-wielding Ryo spends his time on Earth fighting demons despite his growing contempt for humanity. Turns out, he was acting on his original goals and prejudices subconsciously. When he regained his memories, Ryo switched sides and dropped the guns in favor of his supernatural abilities, which were previously unknown to him.

5 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Father Was Biding His Time

Father Waits For His Time Fullmetal Alchemist

In both the manga and the reboot Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, everybody assumed that the rampaging Homunculi were following the orders of Fuhrer King Bradley because he was actually the homunculus Wrath. But even if he was the Homunculi’s de facto leader, Bradley still answered to Father, the story’s covert overall villain.

Father was manipulating Amestris since its founding, as he was preparing the nation’s population as sacrifice for the transmutation of his second Philosopher’s Stone. To keep people oblivious to his quest for godhood, he manipulated the military’s high command and had his Homunculi do his bidding. He only stepped out of the shadows when victory was imminent.

4 Bleach - Sosuke Aizen Felt Too Superior To Interact With Others

Aizen Hovers Over Karakura Town

Befitting of someone who became infamous for being two steps ahead of everyone to a ridiculous degree, Aizen’s reasons for hiding his powers are twofold, with the most obvious being born of necessity and practicality - his conspiracies and Hollowfication experiments that used Soul Society’s resources (including fellow Shinigami) could only be done under the table.

RELATED: Bleach: 10 Ways Aizen Is Overpowered

The second is a more personal one. Because of his naturally godlike spiritual powers, Aizen viewed himself as superior to everyone. He saw no need to acknowledge his inferiors’ existence by revealing his powers or even being mildly honest with them. It’s only in the battle in the fake Karakura Town that Ichigo and the Gotei 13 see just how frighteningly close to godhood Aizen is.

3 One Piece - Imu Has To Maintain The Illusion Of Truth & Freedom

Imu Hides In The Shadows

One of the biggest lies in One Piece is the World Government, and it isn’t only their corruption and moral bankruptcy. On the surface, it’s ruled by the Five Elders, who divided governance amongst themselves. However, they answer to Imu, despite the World Government being founded under the belief that no individual should rule the world.

Almost nothing is known about Imu, though they’re powerful enough to lord over nations and super-powered Marines. Imu basically rules the world and exerts as little effort as possible to do so. They did this not because of laziness, but to keep themselves secret because public knowledge of them would break peoples’ faith in the Government and spark global revolt.

2 Inuyasha - The Jewel Of Four Souls Was Using Naraku To Enact Its Will

The Jewel Tempts Kagome Inuyasha

For most of its run, Inuyasha centered on the heroes’ mission to retrieve the shards of the shattered Jewel of the Four Souls before Naraku does. However, the long-running anime’s closing arcs turn everything upside down when it’s revealed that Naraku was just a lackey. The real evil was the jewel itself, which was sentient this whole time.

The jewel is comprised of the priestess Midoriko’s soul and countless demons, who wage an eternal duel in it. However, the demons had the upper hand and conspired to break free. To do so, they require both people and demons to first reform the jewel so they could properly trick someone (i.e. Kagome and Naraku) into replacing Midoriko and themselves in the jewel’s war.

1 Berserk - The God Hand Has No Time For Mortal Troubles

Void Summons The Brand Berserk

All of the death and suffering in Berserk can be blamed on the God Hand, four otherworldly beings that make sure human history and desires align with the laws of causality as dictated by the Idea of Evil. Thing is, none of this is hinted at in any iteration of Berserk. The God Hand only reveals itself and its reach during the Eclipse, right at the Golden Age arc’s end.

Because they weave destiny and fate, the God Hand had no interest in whatever the Band of the Hawk or Guts were up to. At most, they turned people into monstrous Apostles and helped Griffith become their fifth member, Femto. Guts may have a vendetta against them for orchestrating the Eclipse, but he’s barely an ant from the God Hand’s view.

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