The final villains in anime series are often epic ones. Some might reveal themselves as twist villains, while others finally take up the main spotlight of being a villain after lingering in the background as an overarching foe in the series.
However, some final villains just fall short of even being as good as the past villains presented in their respective series. From some villains like Yami Bakura and Alois Trancy taking forever to get any of their objectives fully completed to other villains like Kirihiko Karasuma and Dante just generally being underwhelming compared to other villains, these final villains make a rather disappointing final note to end the series on.
10 Yami Bakura Took Forever To Get Anything Done (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
Many fans knew that Yami Bakura from Yu-Gi-Oh! was a fairly villainous force, tormenting his host Ryou Bakura as well as Yugi and his friends throughout the series. He even one-upped other villains like Maximillion Pegasus by taking his Millennium Eye after using the Millennium Ring to win a shadow game between them.
However, by the time he became the main villain in the series' final arc, he took forever to really get anything done. Many fans who anticipated Yami Bakura becoming one of the toughest foes to beat in a battle, be it a Duel or otherwise, were very disappointed by this outcome.
9 Biba As The Final Boss Felt Random To Fans (Kabaneri Of The Iron Fortress)
Biba from Kabaneri Of The Iron Fortress was mainly known in the series as an ambivalent force. Initially, fans had little idea of what his true motivations were. However, after he slaughtered his own people and captured his father's kingdom, he became the final villain.
Unfortunately for fans, his villainous reign came to an end only two episodes after this. Fans wished that his buildup to being a villain came sooner, or that the anime had more episodes leading to this reveal.
8 Kirihiko Karasuma Somewhat Came Out Of Nowhere In The Finale (Kamichama Karin)
Kirihiko Karasuma is the father of the then-main antagonist Kirio Karasuma in Kamichama Karin. In the final episodes of the series, he took over Kirio's own body and tried to destroy Karin, Kazune, and Himeka to obtain the power of the gods. Fans were mildly disappointed by the execution of Kirihiko being the final villain overall.
This is mainly because there was little lead-up to Kirihiko even actually showing up the way he did until it was info-dumped on them in the finale. This was rectified in the manga, as more his backstory was revealed in the sequel series, Kamichama Karin Chu, but this never happened for the anime.
7 Meister Kirisaki Was Azuma's Final Opponent With Little Lead-Up (Yakitate!! Japan)
In Yakitate!! Japan, Meister Kirisaki, General Manager of Pantasia, was Azuma's final opponent in the anime. However, there was very little lead-up to him even considering joining St. Pierre's side for the anime series' finale before he did so. In the manga, it's explained that Meister joined St. Pierre for a chance to learn the personality-changing bread that could potentially bring his father Yuiichi Kirisaki, the owner of St. Pierre, back to normal.
However, this reasoning was entirely cut out of the anime. Fans enjoyed watching the final baking battle in the anime series but were disappointed that the lead-up to this wasn't executed better, especially since it could have led to an eventual battle against Yuiichi Kirisaki himself like it did in the manga.
6 Alois Trancy As The Final Villain Confused Some Fans (Black Butler)
Alois Trancy, though a fascinating choice for a final villain through his actions of literally hijacking Ciel's body partway through Black Butler's second season, was confusing for some fans to watch. Even though he had a somewhat sympathetic backstory and some good character motivations, some thought that Alois' plans were far too drawn-out throughout the second season for him to be an effective villain.
Like Yami Bakura, it just took forever for Alois to get what he wanted, and even when he did, it didn't take him too long to get defeated. Fans were fairly disappointed by this outcome and think that Alois could be a more effective villain if the pacing of his plans was a bit tighter throughout the episodes.
5 Dante Was An Underwhelming Villain Overall (Fullmetal Alchemist)
The 2003 anime adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist had Dante as the main and final villain instead of Father from the manga and the later anime adaptation Brotherhood.
Despite how powerful and manipulative she was, fans felt that she was underutilized throughout the entire series and barely did anything in the series finale since she made the Homunculi do most of the work for her. It additionally didn't help that her possible demise in the series ends with a confrontation between her and Gluttony, with no clear idea of whether both survived or died.
4 Sariel's Development As A Villain Was Worse In The Anime Than The Light Novels (The Devil Is A Part-Timer!)
In The Devil Is A Part-Timer!, Sariel took on the guise of the manager of the fast-food restaurant Sentucky Fried Chicken, basically being a supporting character and a business rival to MgRonalds where Maou works.
However, he eventually takes on the villain role by the finale, and fans were disappointed to see his villainous reign only last for a few episodes. Many fans felt that Sariel's development as a villain was executed worse in the anime compared to the light novels.
3 Chaos As A Villain Felt Last-Minute And Rushed (Sailor Moon)
Despite being the final villain in the '90s adaptation of Sailor Moon, Chaos was a villain that fell flat. Even after possessing Sailor Galaxia during the events of the anime's final arc, fans felt that Chaos as a villain felt rushed and underdeveloped for a final villain compared to the other villains in the series such as Mistress 9 and Queen Beryl.
Fans thought that Chaos would have been a better final villain, or even an overarching villain, in the series if he was developed more before the final arc.
2 Toue Was Underwhelming Overall And Made Little Sense To Fans (DRAMAtical Murder)
Toue was introduced in DRAMAtical Murder as the main antagonist of the series and was also in charge of Platinum Jail. He has powers similar to Aoba's own since he had his vocal cords altered to do so. He additionally is the man behind destroying Mink's tribe for the sake of using a medicinal flower that was important to them.
However, despite Toue being the overarching and final villain of the series, his motivations were never fully made clear with fans during the series. This frustrated fans who wanted to understand why Toue did the villainous things he did. Because of this, fans argue that Trip and Virus, who were revealed to be part of the mysterious Morphine group, would have been better villains.
1 Hades Was Not Well Explained To Fans (Mr. Love: Queen's Choice)
In the romance anime Mr. Love: Queen's Choice, Hades is part of the mysterious Black Swan group that was potentially behind the main heroine's death, and the group becomes an increasing threat to her and her love interests throughout the series. Hades himself eventually confronts the heroine and her other love interests in person by the time of the series finale.
Unfortunately, it's never fully explained in the anime adaptation why Hades does the things he does at all. Fans who had little knowledge of the game before watching the anime adaptation were baffled by Hades' actions and lack of clear motives.