Antiheroes are popular for having unpredictable behavior and dramatic flair within the anime world. Given their questionable morals and blind ambition, these protagonists often live long enough to find themselves the villain of their story. Whether they seek world domination or want to protect those they love no matter the cost, morally corrupt antiheroes keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Here are the five best anime starring power-hungry antiheroes.
Death Note
As one of the most infamous antiheroes in anime, Light Yagami wages thrilling psychological warfare in Death Note. Light begins as an intelligent yet bored high school student who stumbles upon a Shinigami's lost Death Note. After writing the name of a criminal down in the book, he realizes he's been granted the power to kill. He later discovers that the Death Note comes with a specific and intricate set of rules to follow, which allow him to manipulate the time and manner of an individual's death.
While Light initially uses the Death Note to rid the world of dangerous criminals in hopes of making the world a better place, his morality falls in a steep downward spiral. After adopting his secret Kira identity, he claims to be a God who rules over life and death itself, developing an unhealthy God complex that warps Light's thinking and judgment. While gradually losing his humanity and his mind, Light continues to add to his sins while finding himself willing to kill any and everyone who gets in his way.
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
As an antihero who rivals Light Yagami in intelligence and could actually win, Lelouch vi Britannia is a mastermind rebel in Code Geass. With the power to inspire his comrades to liberate occupied Japan from the oppressive Britannian Empire, Lelouch leads a rebellion that brings the wealthy and powerful empire to its knees. Despite being a prince of the very Britannian Empire he swore to defeat, he continues to fight his own family and homeland in order to protect those he loves. More specifically, Lelouch wants to create a world in which his younger sister Nunnally can live happily and peacefully.
While Lelouch fights for a noble cause he believes in, he doesn't hesitate to kill in the name of his idea of justice. Not only is he forced to fight his own friends and family, but he both directly and indirectly causes several of their deaths. As a mastermind in warfare and strategy, Lelouch flaunts his intelligence while delivering awe-inspiring speeches. Although Lelouch is one of the most popular and beloved antiheroes in anime, his sense of love and righteousness prevents him from straying down a path quite as sinister as Light Yagami's.
A Certain Scientific Accelerator
Originally starting out as an antagonist, Accelerator becomes the antihero protagonist of A Certain Scientific Accelerator. In the technological and scientifically advanced Academy City, espers are people with superhuman capabilities that are developed to alter reality. While Level 5s are the most powerful espers, Accelerator finds himself the most powerful esper of all. However, as a child, Accelerator struggled to socialize with others because his overwhelming powers hurt those close to him.
Given his extraordinary abilities, the city uses him in their experiment to create their first Level 6 esper. Accelerator willingly joins the experiment because he fears his own powers and wants to prevent others from getting hurt because of them. However, the experiment and the twisted side of Academy City gradually warps his mind and alters his goals. As a morally complex and dynamic antihero, Accelerator goes through several unpredictable transformations. Initially a feared and powerful antagonist, Accelerator gradually morphs into an antihero and protagonist with redeeming qualities after he meets and saves Last Order, a girl he loves and vows to protect.
Cowboy Bebop
An ever-popular and classic anime, Cowboy Bebop stars Spike Spiegel, who used to be a member of the notorious Red Dragon Crime Syndicate. After faking his own death to be with the girl he loves, Spike becomes a bounty hunter who travels with his partner Jet Black on their interplanetary ship known as the Bebop. Together, they hunt down the world's most notorious criminals, causing Spike to have several run-ins with his former Syndicate comrades. Given his dangerous line of work and dark past, the lines between good and bad are intentionally blurred to create a morally complex protagonist.
Unlike most antiheroes, Spike is mostly lazy and indifferent to the world around him rather than working on a world-dominating masterplan. However, despite his laidback demeanor, Spike struggles with his own demons as the past continuously haunts him. He frequently has nightmares of his criminal past and finds it hard to let go, yet he hypocritically tells others that their pasts aren't important and they should move on. Even though he eventually becomes a cowboy, who certain people see as heroes, in classic antihero fashion, Spike usually acts out of his own self-interest rather than a desire to protect anyone.
Black Butler
Black Butler is an anime that's often as dark as its name suggests. Sebastian Michaelis is the antihero demon butler who's put in charge of overseeing the Phantomhive household. As head butler, Sebastian devotes himself entirely to the young Ciel Phantomhive and carries out all his wishes and demands. However, Sebastian doesn't hesitate to execute deadly orders that encourage the sadistic demon to kill. Not only will he kill for Ciel, but he often places the young lord in danger and finds it amusing.
Sebastian has no moral compass and often stoops to deceiving tactics like lying and cheating to further his own game. Despite his antihero flaws, Sebastian criticizes humans for their own behavior and willingness to inflict pain on one another. This demonic sentiment and bias against humans may be the reason he finds it easy to kill others without hesitation. With Sebastian's cold and menacing interior lurking below his polite butler façade, it's no wonder why he makes such a compelling antihero for viewers to enjoy.