There are countless reasons to love anime and it’s a medium of entertainment that’s endlessly approachable due to its wide range of content. Plenty of anime tell smaller stories that are grounded and pull from real life, but some of the more popular series are action-based anime that feature extravagant battles between villains and heroes.
The effectiveness of a villain or an anime’s major obstacle can often come down to how intimidating they are and the level of terror that they generate. Granted, there are other approaches that work well for antagonists and sometimes the very best villains are the ones that don’t look frightening at all and mask their true malevolence.
10 My Hero Academia’s La Brava And Gentle Criminal Are Unlikely Criminal Masterminds
My Hero Academia consistently does an excellent job with its deconstruction of the superhero genre. Five seasons in, Midoriya and company have shown tremendous growth and faced some progressively dangerous villains. The anime’s fourth season is largely dominated by Overhaul, but the final episodes introduce La Brava and Gentle Criminal, two budding criminals. A young girl and a fanciful mature gentleman, the two are endlessly devoted to each other and La Brava’s Quirk actively amplifies Gentle Criminal’s power. They’re not the first type of individuals that come to mind when discussing criminals, but they are still legitimately dangerous.
9 Saga Of Tanya The Evil Treats Tanya’s Weak Body As The Ultimate Karmic Punishment
The Saga of Tanya the Evil plays with a lot of familiar ideas but contextualizes them into a very inventive spin on the increasingly popular isekai genre. The anime is set in an alternate version of history where magic mixes with warfare and adds a thrilling spin on classic combat. The male protagonist passes away, only to reawaken in the body of a young girl, Tanya, in this impossibly complex new universe. This new fate is meant to defer the character in their pursuit against God, but in the end, it inspires Tanya to take advantage of her unassuming appearance.
8 Majin Buu Is Feared By The Entire Galaxy And Yet He Looks Like A Joke
Dragon Ball Z remains one of the biggest anime of its kind and the series features some iconic villains throughout its hundreds of episodes. Part of Dragon Ball’s charm is that villains often transform and shift through multiple appearances, some of which intentionally subvert expectations.
This is perhaps sloppiest with Majin Buu, who has many different forms, but only a select few that actually make the tyrant look intimidating. Even his final form, Kid Buu, is miniature in size. Majin Buu’s primary form has a robust body and a child-like demeanor that doesn’t make him seem dangerous at all.
7 Kyubey Turns The Magical Girl Genre Into A Horror Story In Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Magical girl style shojo anime is one of the medium’s most popular genres. It’s not hard to understand why these anime that empower women are a major success. Puella Magi Madoka Magica functions as a magical girl series, but it’s also a brilliant meta take on the material. Kyubey is an immensely cute, little creature that feels exactly like the sort of sidekick that’s prevalent in magical girl content. However, Kyubey tricks individuals to become magical girls so that he can acquire energy from them as an offering to his higher-ups. Kyubey looks cute so that this scam can succeed.
6 Kill La Kill’s Nui Looks Like Cuddly Moral Support And Not A Cutthroat Villain
Kill la Kill is a ridiculous action spectacle that involves living clothing and complicated family dynamics that are practically Shakespearean in nature. Kill la Kill looks gorgeous and is frequently unpredictable, even when it comes to some of the anime's villains. The Honnoji Academy is full of threats, but Nui sports innocent lolita garb and looks as if she's never even thrown a punch. In reality, Nui is one of the most deranged and determined enemies in Kill la Kill and her killer instinct hits even harder because of how she looks. She’s the perfect enemy for Ryuko.
5 Danganronpa’s Monokuma Is Proof To Not Judge A Book By Its Cover
Anime series that pull from popular video game franchises aren’t always successful, but Danganronpa has used its anime to expand on the games and dig even deeper into their central mysteries. Danganronpa takes an innocent school setting and mixes it with vicious murder games and a gripping whodunnit.
Monokuma, the cuddly bear, has largely become Danganronpa’s mascot, but the manipulative puppet master houses some of the anime’s darkest secrets. The appearance is all subterfuge. Danganronpa creates very real suspense and tension. The audience begins to question what they can trust.
4 Isabella’s Sweet Demeanor Is All Part Of A Drastic Act Of Deception In Promised Neverland
The Promised Neverland is a testament to long-form mysteries in serialized storytelling and how the right sequence of events can completely change a story’s impact. The Promised Neverland introduces Isabella as the trusted matronly figure that looks after Norma, Emma, and the rest of the children in the orphanage. These kids ultimately learn that this orphanage is not a sanctuary, but actually a buffet to cultivate these children to become food for monsters. Isabella’s compliant nature in this really messes up the children in terms of who they can trust. Isabella proves that the most dangerous threats aren’t all monsters.
3 Erased’s Gaku Yashiro Is The Ultimate Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing
It’s not easy to craft a satisfying mystery, especially when that story incorporates complex science fiction elements like time travel. Erased is a fascinating anime that details a man’s attempts to prevent a serial killer’s actions from happening after he’s sent back in time into his childhood self. Erased is full of red herrings over the killer’s identity, but the most chilling conclusion is that the culprit is the trusted teacher, Gaku Yashiro. Yashiro abuses his position of authority and his kind looks as a way to gain the trust of his young victims.
2 Berserk’s Griffith Is A Beauty That Isn’t Afraid To Act Like A Beast
Berserk finds the perfect balance with its extreme violence and it allows stoic archetypes to swing gigantic swords and cleave through demons and have blood rain down on the land. Berserk is one of the better dark fantasy anime and one of its most fascinating components is the schism that forms between Guts and Griffith. Griffith leads his own rebellious army and doesn’t care who gets hurt as long as he’s the one that ultimately benefits. This level of masochism is expected from someone grizzled like Guts, but Griffith is known for his delicate features and pretty appearance.
1 L’il Slugger Makes Rollerblades And Baseball Nightmare Fuel In Paranoia Agent
Satoshi Kon was one of the most groundbreaking names in anime who passed away far too early. Kon’s cinematic efforts like Perfect Blue, Paprika, and Millennium Actress are psychological triumphs and Paranoia Agent captures that same energy in television. The anime centers around a community that becomes increasingly afraid of attacks by a boy on rollerblades named L’il Slugger.
This boy and his baseball bat weapon aren’t inherently frightening, but Paranoia Agent is about the power of group consciousness and social phenomena. The community’s fear gives L’il Slugger so much power that it doesn’t matter what he looks like.