Anime has been around for decades now, with the first TV series, Astro Boy coming out in 1963. The characters were depicted in a cute manner, as the target audiences were mostly children. When the genre's popularity skyrocketed in the 1980s, the physical appearances of the characters began to change as well.

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Now, there exists an unimaginable number of anime shows, but the one thing most of them have in common is the presence of (mostly) attractive protagonists. Some of them, however, have their antagonists portrayed in a far more glamorous manner than the heroes — whether it's for charm, chemistry, or just to show how much power they wield.

10 Ragyō Kiryūin - Kill La Kill

Matoi Ryūko from Kill la Kill is basically a ruffian: she has no sense of style, nor does she care what people think about her appearance. In fact, she only wears one kind of underwear (either blue or pink stripes.)

On the other hand, her mother, Ragyō, is all about fashion, to the extent that she openly claims that beauty has no right to be in the world without her express permission. She looks spectacular, with her rainbow-lit hair creating a halo around her majestic face and her flawless, perfectly fitting evening gowns.

9 Vicious - Cowboy Bebop

In Cowboy Bebop, Spike Spiegel might play the main role, but it's his ex-best friend turned mortal enemy, Vicious, who steals the show. Spike is generally considered to be one of the sexiest anime men of all time, and he is, given his lean, athletic body, sculpted face, and all fans know and love that titled smile.

Nevertheless, Vicious rocks the daddy-look, having long gray hair even though he's only 27 — his glowering eyes, eternal crown, and the pet cormorant on his shoulder only make him look more desirable.

8 Light Yagami - Death Note

light and l

Although it seems the opposite at first, Light Yagami quickly shows why he's the real antagonist of Death Note. He is rather handsome, especially when he begins wearing his tan-blazered suit. His beauty is even commented on by people like Kiyomi and Misa.

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L looks like a computer nerd living in a basement somewhere. His hair is a total disaster, and his eyes have developed deep bags (mostly because he rarely ever sleeps.) He never changes his outfit, a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and rarely puts on footwear even.

7 Dio Brando - Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

For a show in which every single man has a divine jawline, a muscular rippling body and impeccably coiffed hair, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure's villain, Dio Brando, still succeeds in making everyone around him look mediocre.

His vest + jacket combination, along with an emerald-green tiara and gold-hoop earrings, only adds to his bad-boy charm. Compare this to JoJo (from any generation), who thinks that pouting makes him look prettier.

6 Takasugi Shinsuke - Gintama

This is a close match — Gintama's Sakata Gintoki and Takasugi Shinsuke are both good-looking (in completely different ways.) However, the victory goes to Takasugi, with his gorgeous, two-toned hair and a strip covering his left eye. He looks especially alluring when he is seen smoking the kiseru, a medieval Japanese tobacco pipe.

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Gintoki would have won the round, however, if it only weren't for his mop of hair existing in a perennial mode of rebellion. It looks even worse during periods of humidity, turning into a terrifying frizz-bomb.

5 Raizen - Yu Yu Hakusho

raizen of yu yu hakusho

In Yu Yu Hakusho Raizen's mazoku genes clearly didn't transfer his ultra-masculine beauty to Yusuke. Raizen is tall, extremely muscular (a total stud) with a lion's mane of coarse white hair.

His stare is powerful enough to stop anyone dead in their tracks, and without using even an ounce of his limitless power. Yusuke, though, is an average teenager who tries to look cool with his slicked-back hairstyle and the occasional costume change.

4 Hisoka Morow - Hunter X Hunter

There are quite a few characters in Hunter x Hunter, but none of them express Hisoka's casual elegance — although it might seem unfair to compare Gon with a grown-up, his adult version is patently weird-looking.

Aside from Hisoka's general appearance, the scene in the lake where Biscuit gets a nosebleed on seeing his naked, ripped body is enough to prove that the game is clearly rigged in Hisoka's favor. Killua might grow up to be hotter, but until then, Hisoka wins by a landslide.

3 Esdeath - Akame Ga Kill!

Esdeath is unquestionably the most beautiful woman (character) in Akame ga Kill!. She is lithe and top-heavy, a tiresome trope, but her General's uniform, replete with a hat and a pair of high-heeled jackboots, bring out the sense of power she wishes to portray.

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The mark of the Teigu on her upper chest is another reason she outclasses the likes of Tatsumi, with whom she is inexplicably infatuated. On the contrary, Tatsumi is a vacant-faced little boy with an uncontrollable tuft of hair that refuses to be styled (not that his hair is much to talk about.)

2 Greed/Ling Yao - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

In a twist of fate, the sexiest character in FMA: Brotherhood ends up being the fusion of two disparate characters, the homunculus Greed and Prince Ling Yao. While the latter rarely plays up his appearance, preferring to lurk in the shadows, Greed loves to show off his style (and then there are his fanged grins.)

Edward (or Al) are no competition to his suave demeanor, one being a short kid with hair like insect-antennae, and the other being a suit of armor.

1 Grimmjow Jaggerjaquez - Bleach

Ichigo's orange hair resulted in some bullying when he was younger, but he seems to have grown into the look (all thanks to puberty.) He's muscular, or as muscular as a 16-year-old can be, given his arduous training to become a Shinigami. Ichigo's FGT form, the one with flowing, black hair and cloth wrappings around his body and face, has obtained favorable responses from fans.

Still, the hottest character in Bleach happens to be Grimmjow, who is so attractive that even his Hollow mask serves to enhance his jawline. The sheer perfection of his electric blue hair, his open-front coat and his suave million-dollar smile are nigh undeniable.

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