Some villains are evil because they are simply rotten or because they hunger for power and status. Others have no regard for anyone but themselves as they blaze forth toward their goals. However, some villains are only villainous because they care about others, such as their loved ones, rather than only about themselves.
For some villains, it is their love that leads them to commit heinous acts 0f violence. Whether it is to bring back a loved one, get revenge for their loss, or keep their friends and family safe.
10 Gendo Ikari Started The Apolocypse Because Of His Love For His Wife In The Evangelion Series
Gendo Ikari's loss of his wife, Yui, lead to many lapses in judgment, such as abandoning his child, his weird relationship with Rei, and his help in bringing about the apocalypse. In The End of Evangelion, he reveals that he wanted to bring about the Third Impact reunite with Yui.
Of course, Yui does not see things this way, and Gendo's efforts are rewarded with death. It would seem much of Gendo Ikari's aspirations were selfish and one-sided.
9 Itachi Uchiha Massacred His Clan To Protect Konoha And Sasuke In Naruto
Itachi Uchiha loved Konoha, and when he was put in the middle of a dispute between the Uchiha clan and the office of the Hokage, he had to make an impossible choice. He massacred the Uchiha clan to not only save the Hidden Leaf Village but to also ensure his brother, Sasuke, remained safe.
Itachi did not want Sasuke to end up in one of the village's shadowy, secretive organizations. He also did not want to see the rest of the village destroyed. So, he became the villain and carried that burden for the rest of his days.
8 Pain Wanted To Rebuild The World In A Peaceful Image In Naruto: Shippuden
Pain, an avatar controlled by Nagato Uzumaki, wanted to rid the world of its flaws and make it anew in a more peaceful image. He truly loved the world, and he loved his fellow orphans of the Hidden Rain village, with whom he created the first iteration of the Akatsuki.
Unfortunately, Pain lost sight of the original reason he and his former comrades pursued peace, and though he had a great love for them, he was blinded by it and did not realize how wrong his methods were.
7 Dracula Wanted Revenge On The World For The Loss Of His Wife In Castlevania
Dracula loved his wife more than anything in the world, and his relationship with her greatly changed him for the better. However, when she was killed by the church, Dracula gave up any aspirations of being good and instead set his sights on revenge against the entire human race.
While there had been hope for Dracula, his wife would certainly not approve of how he had fallen. Dracula became a villain revered and feared by humans and vampires alike, and only his son could snap him out of it.
6 Shigure Was An Antagonist To Get Akito To Himself In Fruits Basket
Shigure and Akito Sohma were locked in a battle of toxicity and manipulation throughout the Fruits Basket series. They did not care who became collateral damage in their wake, many of whom were in their own family. Akito abused the members of the Sohma family, and Shigure abused Akito.
Shigure himself used Tohru Honda, the series protagonist, to get what he wanted and manipulated her often. This put Tohru into positions that pitted her against Akito, and many of Shigure's schemes were both harmful and cruel.
5 Isabella Became A Mama To Keep Leslie's Memory Alive In The Promised Neverland
Isabella, also known as Mama throughout The Promised Neverland, was the caretaker of the orphanage that housed Emma, Norman, and Ray. However, the three children soon find out that the orphanage is a cover and that they produce children to be sold as food.
Isabella was once a child in one of these houses, and her best friend, Leslie, died. She became a Mama as a way to remember Leslie, and she wanted to raise the children in a loving household before their deaths.
4 Keicho Nijimura Created Stand Users To End His Father's Misery In Diamond Is Unbreakable
The Nijimura brothers' father was turned into a nearly unkillable monster by DIO, and since DIO's death, they had been on a journey to find someone with a Stand strong enough to kill their father and help him finally reach peace. However, in doing so, they created a lot of villains.
When Josuke and Koichi confronted Keicho Nijimura, the eldest of the two brothers who assumed the leadership role, the younger brother, Okuyasu, finally realized his brother's villainy and helped Josuke and Koichi stop him.
3 Rui Became Evil Because Of The Loss Of A Familial Bond In Demon Slayer
Rui was an incredibly strong demon who had created a pseudo-family of other spider-like demons. The creation of this mock family was largely inspired by Rui's past trauma regarding his biological parents, who tried to kill him after he, as a newly transformed demon, ate a human.
In the end, much of Rui's villainy came from his efforts to regain the love of his late parents. He missed the familial bond that he had in his former life. Though he became a demon to get a stronger body, he became evil because he missed his family's love.
2 Yukako Went Too Far In The Name Of Her Love For Koichi In Diamond Is Unbreakable
Yukako fell in love with Koichi Hirose after sensing some sort of nobility in him, but she expected way more from him than he was able to give. Koichi was a nice character, but he was not atop of his class, nor was he super strong. However, Yukako became obsessed with putting Koichi through horrible trials to try and better him.
Unfortunately, Yukako only succeeded in making herself a villain, as she kidnapped, abused, and antagonized the unassuming Koichi. Though her love, or rather obsession, made her an antagonist, she soon saw the error of her ways and became a powerful ally.
1 Cowboy Bebop's Vicious Would Always Be A Criminal, But Maybe Not An Antagonist If It Weren't For His Relationship With Julia
While no one in the beloved anime series Cowboy Bebop can truly be considered a heroic figure, there are many villainous characters. It is understandable why Vicious would be angry with the series protagonist, Spike Spiegel, seeing as Spike stole his girlfriend. Vicious' love for Julia, paired with hers and Spike's betrayal, made Vicious even more of a villain than he already was as a simple crime boss.
Though it cannot be said that Vicious was only a villain because of his love for Julia, he was only the antagonist because of it, and his love for her certainly did not help matters.