Every anime hero or heroine needs a strong villain. Whether it's the Big Bad or the Monster of the Week, great adversaries make the good guys look even better and the story much more exciting. The mark of an iconic villain is their impact on the show as a whole. Dragon Ball is defined by its protagonists -- Goku, Vegeta, etc. -- but the franchise just wouldn't be the same without the likes of Frieza, Cell and Majin Buu. Frieza's status was enhanced when his resurrection became the entire premise of the 2015 spin-off movie, and he even posthumously stuck around for Dragon Ball Super. The same can be said for Naruto's Itachi Uchiha, Pain and Orochimaru, and Bleach's Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, who all present seemingly insurmountable roadblocks on our protagonist's journey to the top.
Sometimes a villain can be so compelling, we can't help rooting for them even after they've committed the worst acts. Fullmetal Alchemist and Brotherhood presented us with a mixture of truly evil and morally ambiguous antagonists. The white-haired assassin, Scar, for instance, became more villainous or more heroic depending on which perspective you examined him from. Similarly, classic mecha series, Neon Genesis Evangelion never gave any easy answers; making us continually assess who was worse: the extraterrestrial "Angels" threatening to destroy Tokyo-3, or the emotionally abusive father forcing his son to risk his life to stop them. Either way, the villains that tend to stick with us are those who represent everything our hero fights against, while the weaker ones -- though fun -- are forgettable diversions.
20 OP: BEERUS
On the surface, Lord Beerus' slim feline form doesn't make it look like he's capable of much, but -- like all cats -- this kitty can be extremely destructive if he wants. In fact, Beerus is the God of Destruction in Universe 7. With barely a twitch of his whiskers he can eradicate entire worlds, which is why even Earth's wish-granter, Shenron is scared of him.
He also once used the fearsome King Vegeta as a footrest, literally demonstrating how far some of the franchise's other top villains are beneath him. In Dragon Ball Super, Goku had to power up to Super Saiyan God to even match the deity in combat, after which Beerus' trainer, Whis, claimed Beerus had only used 70% of his full power.
19 USELESS: TEAM ROCKET
Every kid who grew up in the '90s knows Jessie, James and Meowth's rhyming intro off by heart. But, the fact that this dramatic entrance is so awesome makes the team themselves even more disappointing. These three Rocket grunts are perhaps the definitive bumbling antagonists in all of anime, with their failure rate vastly outweighing their success one.
They've been chasing around the same 10-year-old Pokemon trainer and his Pikachu since 1998, and, to be honest, we can't really picture the show without them. Though they do get a little mean-spirited at times, Team Rocket are generally harmless and totally loveable as the series' constant comic relief.
18 OP: MADARA UCHIHA
Gloominess runs in the Uchiha clan, best demonstrated by the spectre of their strongest leader, Madara Uchiha. Not only was this Naruto Shippuden villain's ghostly in demeanour but his complicated non-death caused him to haunt his enemies for years. From early childhood he was marked as a genius, potential that he used to test Hashirama "God of Shinobi" Senju to breaking point.
Madara owed this partly to his huge chakra reserves; he could read others' chakra to ascertain their powers, preempt and copy an opponent's moves and shrugged off losing an arm to Sasuke. Though he could weaponize all five elements, he was particularly fond of fire -- to deadly effect. In fact, fear of his abilities ushered in an entire world war.
17 USELESS: EMPEROR PILAF
Dragon Ball is home to some of anime's best-loved baddies, but that doesn't mean it isn't without its duds. Emperor Pilaf was one of the franchise's earliest villains, an impish ruler with a childish personality who wanted the Dragon Balls all for himself. He was sometimes called "Pilaf the Great," a title that could only be ironic.
Sure, his skills as a robotics engineer were enough to impress even Bulma, but compared to the other gods and aliens who would threaten an adult Goku and his family later down the line, Pilaf is short on power as well as in stature. Though he's gotten the drop on Goku a few times, Pilaf's plots are usually foiled by incompetence.
16 OP: FATHER
A lot of characters have daddy issues, but imagine if that father was also God? Not a god, the God. (Or at least, God as a striking father lookalike, anyway.) After battling seven sinful homunculi children, Edward and Alphonse Elric finally came face to face with their creator, the most powerful being in the world, in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
The big daddy homunculus achieved godhood through the philosopher's stone, allowing him to create whatever he wanted using alchemy, but with none of the drawbacks -- i.e. equivalent exchange. His all-encompassing knowledge -- and instant acquirement of knowledge from merely being around something -- also makes him practically omniscient.
15 USELESS: GATO
Naruto and its spin-off shows have featured some stellar antagonists. Gato is not one of them. As owner of the Gato shipping company, this character is your standard corrupt businessman, using his job as a cover for smuggling contraband and feeding crime to sustain his illicit lifestyle. He also doesn't take well to criticism, as poor Kaiza found out.
While not completely redundant in terms of his capabilities, Gato's inflated role as the key villain of the Land of Waves arc was underwhelming, earning him a reputation as one of the least liked villains in Naruto. Suitably, his Japanese name comes from French word for cake (gateau), which emphasizes his greedy nature, but doesn't exactly inspire terror.
14 OP: AIZEN SOSUKE
The former captain of Gotei 13's 5th Division has a well-earned reputation as one of the most two-faced villains in anime history. He hid his true insidious nature for years thanks to his charm and respected position in Soul Society. Like an evil Clark Kent, once the glasses came off, a whole new side to Aizen came out.
A hundred years before the start of Bleach, Aizen betrayed his captain, gained followers and began studying the dangerous Hollowfication process, demonstrating his supreme intelligence and cold-bloodedness. His mental powers are matched by his physical ones -- mastery of all mystic martial arts, teleportation, regeneration and the scary ability to manipulate a person's senses.
13 USELESS: WEEVIL UNDERWOOD
In the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! there's only one way to settle a fight: a children's card game. Knowing that, you can then understand how desperate you'd have to be to simply throw your biggest opponent's cards into the ocean. That was Weevil Underwood's big move to scupper Yugi Muto's chances of winning the Duelist Kingdom prize.
Quite frankly, the Insect-Type user has stiff competition for the title of "Most Useless" Yu-Gi-Oh! rival. Both he and his partner in crime, Rex Raptor embarrassingly lost to game novice, Joey Wheeler. Then there was Bandit Keith, who betrayed the gang he'd personally trained in order to rob Big Bad, Maximillon Pegasus, and failed miserably thanks to a well-placed trap door.
12 OP: GILGAMESH
Born to a king and a goddess, the Fate series' Gilgamesh got a pretty good head-start in life, which he more than capitalized on by earning the lofty title of "King of Heroes." But, this name doesn't mean Gilgamesh is a hero; rather, he claimed dominion over heroes and didn't used to think of humanity in kind terms.
His friendship with fellow demigod, Enkidu -- who was created as a response to Gilgamesh's evil-doing -- gradually made him want to turn a new leaf, though. In battle, Gilgamesh's offensive and defensive stats make him near impossible to defeat, though he rarely needs to prove this as his greatest assets are his diplomacy and wealth. Why dirty your own hands when you can charm an entire army?
11 USELESS: JADEITE
An anime with such iconic status as Sailor Moon deserved a stronger character than Jadeite as its first main villain. Jadeite wasn't without his plaudits; he was one of the Four Heavenly Kings and later revealed to also be Endymion's Prince. Yet, his prestigious heritage didn't help him when it came to scheming against the Sailor Senshi.
A master of disguise he may have been, but his elaborate deceptions repeatedly failed, to the point where he was eventually recalled by his mistress to answer for his incompetence. Most of the time, the arrogant prince's greatest weakness was underestimating the girls. Eventually, his underachieving got him banished forever by his impatient boss, Queen Beryl.
10 OP: AKIRA
As a metaphor for how absolute power corrupts absolutely, Tetsuo's transformation into the god-like, Akira could never be anything less than over-powered. Before Akira's teen hellraiser gained his incredible psychic powers, he already suffered from a quick temper and a downtrodden ego. Exposure to an escaped science experiment amplified and empowered all of this.
As Akira, Tetsuo was telekinetic and telepathic; could teleport himself and put up psionic walls to defend against everything the military threw at him. The only catch was that, as his powers grew, his body's stability diminished. After turning into a gross flesh monster, Akira's strength climaxed with a big bang -- creating a whole new universe at nearly the cost of our own.
9 USELESS: TOBIGERA
Outlaw Star was the other great space western of '90s anime. In the "Hot Springs Planet Tenrei" episode, the ragtag crew of the titular ship take a break from the plot to enjoy a space resort and pick up some bullets for Gene's unique weapon. They become so swept up in a world of Hawaiian shirts and scantily-clad holiday-makers, in fact, they don't even notice Tobigera.
Tobigera was the fourth assassin sent after the gang. His creepy mask and claws showed great potential as a deadly threat to the anti-heroes, but thanks to a series of slapstick, weather-based obstacles, Tobigera was quickly framed as being hopelessly unlucky. When the protagonists don't even know you're there... you're just not a good villain.
8 OP: BLACKBEARD
A pirate carrying the name of the most infamous swashbuckler ever has big boots to fill, and luckily, One Piece's Blackbeard does so comfortably. His real name, Marshall D. Teach, comes with a similar pressure, as the "D" name in Eiichiro Oda's nautical adventure series is the mark of greatness, shared by main protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy.
A former crew mate of the equally legendary pirate, Whitebeard, Blackbeard is the only person to have two Devil Fruit powers: creating earthquakes and blackholes. His goal is the same as Luffy's -- to become Pirate King -- and, even without his Devil Fruit powers, Blackbeard's immense physical and strategic know-how make him stiff competition. (He was the one who gave Shanks those scars, after all.)
7 USELESS: WANZE
After climbing to the very top of the One Piece villain rankings, let's jump down to the very bottom to talk about Wanze. This antagonist was so forgettable, you probably weren't even sure who he was until you saw the picture above. Most fans refer to him as just: "Noodle Guy." Why? Because this ship's chef uses a fighting style called "Ramen Kenpo."
Literally, this translates to "fighting noodle style." In combat, Wanze dons a ramen-themed mech suit and shoots noodle projectiles at his assailants. Fittingly, he gets on the wrong side of the Straw Hats' cook, Sanji, who beats him up so badly that he changes the shape of Wanze's face. Though endearingly silly, Wanze was ultimately a limp threat.
6 OP: ETO YOSHIMURA
Humans and human-eating ghouls co-exist uncomfortably closely in the world of Tokyo Ghoul. As a rare human/ghoul hybrid, main protagonist, Ken Keneki had a genetic advantage over most, but he met his match in the most unlikely place. It turned out that Keneki's favorite human horror author was secretly a crossbreed just like him.
Eto Yoshimura's childlike appearance belies her devastating power -- not only criminally as the creator of Aogiri Tree and (possibly) the mysterious One-Eyed King, but also in the form of her highly advanced Kagune. Her biological weapon can multiply, change form and act independently from her body. Eto's durability is perhaps her most impressive skill, though. She's even survived the loss of her own head.
5 USELESS: THE JIGGLE BUTT GANG
A name like this is never going to be arch nemesis material. This gang of would-be train robbers made their one and only appearance in Fairy Tail's 126th episode, where they attempted to relieve Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Wendy and Carla of a pile of gold they'd been entrusted to guard by a client. The gang managed to kidnap Wendy and evacuate the train with the power of stink.
They lucked out as Natsu's motion sickness incapacitated him through most of this, but once he woke up, the big-buttocked trio were swiftly blasted off Team Rocket-style without any loot. The one-time comedy villains were likely a callback to the Big Butt Gang in Fairy Tail creator, Hiro Mashima's previous series, Rave Master.
4 OP: LIGHT YAGAMI
Most shonen villains rely on their brawn to win. Death Note's Light Yagami is all about the brains. Light was just a normal high school student until he gained a Death Note -- a supernatural book with the power to end the life of anyone whose name was written in it. Light initially sought to enact final judgement on criminals who the law had failed to bring to justice.
However, his egomania quickly wrapped his noble intentions in a layer of tyranny, and he embraced his god-like alter ego, Kira. The only thing standing in Light's way was the world's greatest detective, L. The two played an incredible game of intellectual cat-and-mouse that put Sherlock and Moriarty to shame, but in this case, Moriarty triumphed.
3 USELESS: HODY JONES
One Piece's Hody Jones is an example of a character falling victim to their own hype. He served as the main villain of the Fisherman Island arc and came with a ton of great backstory: captaining the New Fisherman Pirates; serving with the Neptune Army and sharing the anti-human ideals of Arlong -- a previous enemy of Luffy's.
Though Usopp pointed out that Hody was superior to Arlong, his main strength was his sheer hatred, making him an evil enemy, but not a particularly exciting one to watch take on the Straw Hats. Considering that this was the crew's first arc after the two-year hiatus, Hody came across as little more than a punching bag to prove how much Luffy and co had improved.
2 OP: ANTI-SPIRALS
It doesn't get more over-powered in anime than Gurren Lagann's Anti-Spirals. This peculiar race of blank-faced beings share a hive mind, and are predominantly concerned with their own preservation. In Gurren Lagann, everyone draws energy from spiral power -- something that these mysterious human-like creatures decided to rid themselves of.
Anti-Spirals can do just about anything. They're omnipresent, omniscient and practically omnipotent; they can mimic any living being; instantly teleport wherever they want; form giant, battle-ready mechs; resurrect the departed; change memories; tinker with the laws of probability; break inter-dimensional barriers and create and destroy entire universes at will. Reality is essentially their plaything.
1 USELESS: GARLIC JR.
As a non-Akira Toriyama creation, Garlic Jr. isn't considered canonical to Dragon Ball, which isn't a great loss to the Z anime. Not that this little Makyan doesn't have the potential to be great, though. He's immortal, he has a second, beefier form and when he first showed up in Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone, he took down Kami, Goku and Piccolo.
But, after his foes took off the weights they were wearing, Garlic Jr. was swiftly beaten to a pulp... which is when that immortality really came in handy for him. This embarrassing defeat put the filler villain very low on the Dragon Ball antagonist rankings. Even worse, Garlic Jr. later fell victim to his own trap -- the eponymous Dead Zone.