The most interesting thing about the medium of anime is that it is not bound by the normal rules of live-action and cinema. A writer can be as creative as they want with the plot of the story or the characters involved. The goofy character design of One Piece and the unreal violence of Berserk are the perfect examples of this.
Anti-heroes are prevalent in anime. They do not follow the normal formulas of a just and moral hero that viewers can expect from most shows. From a martyr, like Lelouch, to a bloodthirsty vampire, like Alucard, here are the top 10 anti-heroes in all of anime.
RELATED: Write for us! Do you have proven online publishing experience? Click HERE and Join our Team!
10 HEI
Hei is an assassin for hire and has the powers of a Contractor. He is the main protagonist of the series Darker Than Black and although seemingly emotionless, he deeply cares for his close friends and family.
Hei as a contractor controls electricity and is an expert in hand-to-hand combat. He uses various knives, blades, etc to bring down his foes and has very high athletic ability. Although Hei hated killing, he plunged into the world of assassins and has killed hundreds if not thousands for his employers. Hei is also known as a Shinigami—God of Death and is said to be an extremely efficient killer.
9 ALUCARD
The 500-year-old Vampire, Alucard is dubbed as the most powerful vampire alive. He is the main protagonist of the Hellsing series, does not have any misgivings about killing humans and fiends alike.
He is the main fighting force of the Hellsing company and is a true monster. He kills his enemies with raging ferocity and cruelty. The only thing that makes Alucard seem less evil is that most of his victims are even worse than him. As most of his victims are Nazis and beings that are enemies of humanity, Alucard does seem more like a real hero and cares deeply for his charge Seras Victoria.
8 GUTS
Guts is a child born from a corpse and plunged into deadly war and experiencing the worst of human nature at an early age, the protagonist from Berserk lacks the basic traits of a hero. Although he cares deeply for his comrades, Guts has never seen a day where he hasn’t killed someone or wasn’t on a trail to a battlefield.
Guts is a master swordsman who carries an enormous sword and has towering stature, he has slain countless humans and demons alike. Although, once a barbarian in every meaning, Guts has mellowed down a lot due to his companions' compassion.
7 TANYA VON DEGURECHAFF
Tanya Von Degurechaffor just Tanya is a normal salaryman from modern Japan, reborn as a little girl in another world in Youjo Senki: Saga of Tanya the Evil. While being gifted with magic and joining the Empires mage regiment at just age 9 and then later on commanding a military regiment herself, Tanya dreads at her incompetence when compared to real geniuses.
She has an extremely convoluted outlook on life and is very sociopathic, Tanya is willing to kill anyone and everyone for her own sake. Tanya has an extremely self-conceited personality lacks any moral ambiguity concerning another human's life.
6 KIRITSUGU EMIYA
Kiritsug Emiya is the main protagonist of Fate/Zero and is famous for his nickname as the Magus Killer. Although being born in a magician family himself, Emiya killed his father after finding out about his experiments and although he had a deep desire to become a Hero of Justice, he turned annihilistic because in his view, to save one, you had to sacrifice another.
Emiya is an expert fire-arm user and uses a variety of weapons to defeat his enemies. He is also very compassionate but is willing to sacrifice anything to fulfill his goals.
5 LELOUCH V BRITTANIA
Lelouch is a devil in disguise main-protagonist character from Code Geass. Born as the Eleventh Prince and then having his mother assassinated and then disinherited by his father, Emperor Charles ZI Brittania, Lelouch has a deep-rooted hatred for his family.
Lelouch, although seems very likable to his peers, he hides his true nature and is willing to sacrifice his comrades and even use them as bait to get his desired result. Despite that, Lelouch cares deeply for his loved ones. He is a very cool character and despite his villainy nature, has some compassion for his friends.
4 REVY
Rebecca Lee or better known as Revy is a Chinese-American gunslinger and is the main female protagonist of the Black Lagoon series. Revy is a ruthless killer and unlike the previous entry who wanted to be a god, Revy does not believe in any God.
She does not have any moral qualms about killing anyone and is willing to even target unarmed civilians given the slightest hint of provocation. She is extremely competitive and has a sadistic nature. She has a nihilistic outlook on life and, although trusts her friends, does not care about other people.
3 LIGHT YAGAMI
Yagami Light is the main character of the Death Note series. He is a born genius and is known to be a very hardworking and talented individual. Yagami is a perfect son to his parents and an admirable person to his peers.
But, despite all the praise, Light is, in reality, a very conceited and has a very twisted morality standpoint. That became very apparent when he obtained the Death Note, thinking that he was doing something for the greater good, killed many people without any remorse. Light is a man willing to extremes to protect his idea of justice.
2 SPIKE SPIEGEL
The bounty hunter in space, Spike Spiegel is one of the main characters from the classic Cowboy Bebop. Spike is a lazy, apathetic, confident and an extremely cool character. His modern cowboy like demeanor makes him an extremely likable, but he treats his life like he is living in a dream.
Spike has exceptional eyesight, complemented by his fake right eye, he is a great shot. Spike is normally sarcastic and lacks any qualms about killing people and when bounty hunting, Spike would jump head-first without paying any mind to his surroundings and would often cause more damage to the environment than the bounty is worth.
1 MUGEN
Mugen is our erratic free-spirited vagabond from the Samurai Champloo series. He is one of the three main characters and is the most conceited, vulgar and rude member of the trio. Mugen is extremely competitive and would often pick fights with others for petty reasons.
Mugen has a very unique fighting style. He incorporates hip-hop breakdancing moves, taking inspiration from traditional martial arts and developing his original form called Champloo Kendo. Combining this with his unpredictable nature and two Tanto like swords on his back, Mugen is a deadly foe. He has a very cool demeanor, staying true to his hip-hop based style.