Japanese animation, or anime, is beloved for many reasons, from colorful character designs and great humor to exciting shonen protagonists and powerful, terrifying villains for those heroes to fight. Anime villains often overshadow the heroes themselves, and it's not easy to intimidate or scare an anime villain.
Like villains in most works of fiction, anime villains tend to be powerful, influential, confident, and smart, and they tend to have a cool composure and don't easily get upset or frightened unless pushed to their absolute limits. Even the most stoic and cold anime villains might become angry or agitated under the right circumstances, and their icy facade might finally be shattered. When has this happened?
10 Sosuke Aizen Threw A Tantrum When He Lost (Bleach)
Captain Sosuke Aizen ranks among the most powerful and notorious anime villains of all time, and he cast a long shadow over the story of Bleach. For a long time, it seemed that nothing could faze Aizen, and he seemed downright untouchable. But that didn't last forever.
Aizen could shrug off any bankai, advanced kido spell, or psychological warfare during the final fight for Karakura Town, until at last, Ichigo and his ally Kisuke Urahara had him on the ropes. Aizen finally had an emotional outburst, venting his frustration at getting this close to ruling the heavens, only to face defeat.
9 Orochimaru Cursed Sarutobi For Sealing His Arms (Naruto)
Right after the chunin exam arc ended, the battle for the Hidden Leaf Village began, where Sound and Sand ninjas attacked Leaf forces all over the village. Orochimaru personally took on his old mentor, the aging Hiruzen Sarutobi, and even revived the first two Hokage to fight him.
In the end, Sarutobi couldn't kill Orochimaru, but he could summon a ghostly reaper to destroy the soul in Orochimaru's arms, thus sealing all of Orochimaru's jutsu. The formerly calm and confident Orochimaru panicked and cursed his old mentor for doing such a thing. He was absolutely enraged.
8 Stain Ranted When He Was Arrested (My Hero Academia)
Stain the hero killer was determined to weed out what he considered "unworthy" heroes, making exceptions for the likes of All Might and even Izuku Midoriya. Stain is a stone-cold assassin who can stealthily track a hero, then ambush him or her to lethal effect. Stain is cool and confident the entire time.
Stain was still cold and confident when fighting Izuku, Shoto, and Tenya in the alley, but after he was captured, he went wild. He shouted his manifesto to anyone who would listen, and he looked like a maniac. Now he is securely imprisoned within Tartarus.
7 Ulquiorra Schiffer Lost His Patience (Bleach)
Sosuke Aizen isn't the only Bleach villain who finally lost their composure later on. For a long time, the mighty Arrancar known as Ulquiorra Schiffer was an ice-cold nihilist, and he rarely showed any emotions aside from mild surprise or slight sarcasm. He can kill people while not changing his facial expression at all.
Ichigo soundly lost to Ulquiorra once, and then they had a rematch, where Ichigo stubbornly refused to give up despite Ulquiorra's overwhelming advantage. Ulquiorra finally lost his patience and shouted at Ichigo, trying to tell the stubborn hero that hope was impossible at this point.
6 Yoshikage Kira Went Wild Near The End (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
Yoshikage Kira is a stone-cold serial killer living in Morioh Town, and he also has an explosive Stand called Killer Queen. Despite Killer Queen's ferocious power, though, Yoshikage likes to be subtle and not draw attention to himself. During his first fight against the heroes, he was a typical calm and aloof anime villain.
All that changed when Yoshikage gained a new face and a new ability, Bites the Dust, and he lost his cool when he fought Josuke once again. He was laughing and boasting like a maniac, confident in his invincibility. Then, he was run over by an ambulance, and his soul panicked as it was dragged away to who knows where.
5 Princess Azula Cracked Under The Strain (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an anime-style show featuring plenty of classic anime tropes and conventions, and that applies to the villains, too. Princess Azula was raised to be perfect, since she had incredible natural talent, and she was smugly arrogant about it all for years.
Eventually, though, this firebending prodigy got burnt out in all the wrong ways. Azula cracked under the constant mental strain and started seeing hallucinations of her mother, Ursa. This gave Zuko and Katara an edge when they fought her during the climactic final battle.
4 Azami Nakiri Didn't Want To Admit The Truth About Erina's Cooking (Food Wars!)
Azami Nakiri is Erina Nakiri's tyrannical father, and he is an arrogant chef who wants to force his own vision of elite cuisine on everyone else, starting at the Totsuki academy. Erina was terrified of him until Soma and her other friends encouraged her to fight back.
In the end, Erina and Soma had to impress Azami during the Regiment de Cuisine challenge, and Azami didn't want to admit how much Erina's unconventional dish impressed him. But he couldn't deny the truth for long, and with his words and the "gifting" alike, his stern facade cracked at last.
3 Jacob Lessio Couldn't Stand X-Rated Shenanigans (Fairy Tail)
Several heroes and villains alike in Fairy Tail have unusual or amusing weaknesses or vulnerabilities, and that includes Jacob Lessio, a member of the dreaded Spriggan 12 organization. He is a powerful wizard, though he's not on par with the likes of God Serna, Irene Belserion, or August.
Most of all, though, Jacob gets squeamish about X-rated bedroom antics, and he will actually panic and look away if people get undressed in front of him or get to second base. So, Lucy and Natsu took advantage of that, forcing Jacob to keep looking away and thus leaving him vulnerable to attack.
2 Father Lost His Temper With Greed (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
"Father" is the ultimate villain of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and he had purged himself of the seven deadly sins so he could focus on his long-term plans and not get distracted or corrupted. He temporarily achieved his goal, and smugly declared himself a new god.
Father lost control of his new powers, though, and he couldn't stand up to the hundreds of soldiers and alchemists who all attacked him after that. At one point, Father tried to absorb the homunculus Greed to shore up his defenses, only for Greed to sabotage him. Father was furious, and he destroyed Greed in retaliation.
1 Demon Lord Clayman Panicked When He Lost To Rimuru (That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime)
The colorful Demon Lord Clayman had a few outbursts during this story, but he did that out of glee and confidence, not anger or fear. He hated the hero Rimuru and wanted him dead, and Clayamn even recruited Demon Lords Milim Nava and Frey to back him up. They didn't actually do much for him, though.
Clayman fought his final battle against Rimuru during Walpurgis, and Clayman's confidence was shattered in the face of Rimuru's and Shion's power. He panicked and called out for Yuuki Kagurazaka to help him, but it was too late. Clayman perished in agony.