My Hero Academia offers the classic heroes versus villains experience, but with a little twist. One doesn’t have to be a billionaire with a dark backstory to make it into herohood, even though it does help. Similarly, one doesn’t need to be mentally unstable to embrace the dark side. Everyone has (near) equal chances of joining either side; motivation and purpose are the main factors in this equation.
That aside, common sense dictates that heroes should be loved, while villains shouldn’t. But oftentimes, a villain comes along who is so bad, it is difficult to fully dislike them. The League of Villains, for example, committed all capital vices and more, but they somehow still manage to get the fans’ support at times. Obviously, not everyone single one of them is likable, but some are more likable than the others.
11 Moonfish
Let’s kick this off with an easy one. A viewer needs to know someone before deciding whether they deserve their favor or not. It’s as simple as that.
Moonfish didn’t exactly leave the best impression neither does he have a remotely approachable personality, if he had a personality at all. Sure thing, Moonfish had plenty of potential as a villain, but not necessarily as a likable villain.
10 Muscular
In Moonfish’s defense, he received no chance to express himself, nor the means to express himself for that matter. He couldn’t speak after all. Muscular, on the other hand, has no excuse whatsoever.
Besides his catchy character design, Muscular is just a horrible guy all around. He has no moral code and wouldn’t shy away from targeting children. Again, he is a very good villain, but there’s really nothing notable to like about him.
9 Mustard
Mustard joined the League’s ranks following Stain's actions. He wasn’t moved by Stain’s endeavor nor was he inspired by him. His only reason for joining the gang was for the heck of it. While an understandable reason to join, it doesn’t warrant any plus points.
Furthermore, Mustard’s personality is downright repulsive. Even for a middle schooler, he comes out as unimaginably obnoxious and spoiled. Envy and narrow-mindedness appear to be his only driving factors. To sum it up, he is a bad villain as well as a bad character.
8 Tomura Shigaraki
Tomura is easily the worst of them all. If it was not for his tragic and sad backstory, he would have scored much worse. Then again, the main antagonist of the series doesn’t need to be likable either. In fact, the more hated they are, the better it is for the narrative.
Moreso, despite being literally one of the worst humans in the world of My Hero Academia, Shigaraki still hasn’t acted out of limits.
7 Dabi
Dabi’s entire existence screams cool and badass. He is what everyone pictures when the perfect villain is brought to the conversation. While it’s true that he committed crimes just as horrible as his colleagues, if not more so, the fact of the matter is Dabi commits said crimes with style.
Dabi’s air of mystery doesn’t help in painting him as the most unlikeable villain either. He is cool, so he will naturally get the benefit of the doubt.
6 Magne
Magne was quite a brutal villain with very little redeeming qualities. Her only reason for joining the League was to attain complete freedom. Not the noblest of reasons, but a viable one nonetheless.
Magne’s only redeeming quality is her amicable relationship with her colleagues (who all happen to be equally horrible people). In conclusion, Magne didn’t do that much to garner hate from the community.
5 Kurogiri
Kurogiri is synonymous with loyalty. Most of his crimes and villainous deeds were committed as a result of his underlying loyalty.
Does that make him a better person? Not really. But does it make him a bit more likable than his selfish counterparts? Undoubtedly. The greatest villains in entertainment history were the ones with grey morality.
4 Mr. Compress
Mr. Compress is unquestionably the sanest of the bunch, it’s just that it isn’t much of an achievement when the bar is set so low. Yes, he did commit a few crimes here and there, but his main role in the League was to be its voice of reason.
Moreso, Mr. Compress deeply cares for his comrades. As seen when he impulsively attacked Overhaul in an attempt to avenge Magne.
3 Himiko Toga
Coming up is Himiko Toga, the twisted yet surprisingly cute member of the League. How is she cute? No one knows. The lass sucks blood for sport, nothing cute about that.
From the get-go, Himiko took the fandom by storm. She might not be the strongest of the bunch, but she sure is a fan-favorite. Himiko is an unsettling but likable character who has struck a chord with viewers, making her one of My Hero Academia's most memorable antagonists.
2 Twice
Very few League of Villains affiliates have redeeming qualities and Twice was at the forefront of said few villains. He cherished his colleagues the most; to an extent that most anime watchers would find shocking once the full manga events get unveiled.
Furthermore, Twice’s backstory is easily among the most tragic in the series. It was his tragic past that drove him to find peace among the misfits of society.
1 Spinner
Spinner always gets the short end of the stick. He joined the League fully inspired by Stain’s cause, only to be met with Shigaraki and his lunatic plans. On top of that, he looks like a bootleg mutant ninja turtle with a not-so-functional quirk. This makes it easier to sympathize with Spinner.
The point is: when everyone else in the team is a murderous villain, a guy like Spinner is bound to stand out as being extra likable.