Every anime is significantly shaped by its villains and the shows from 2023 aren’t an exception. The motivation and actions of these characters impact the entire world and, along the way, the heroes and protagonists of the anime. Some villains are sinister while others aren’t so straightforward and have a more complex role.
The growth of a protagonist depends on the depth and strength of the counterpart, the villain. Enemies have different characteristics that make them unique such as Kaido’s strength, Eren’s moral dilemma, and Garou’s determination. The villains present mental, physical, and psychological challenges to the heroes, but also provide a mirror-like experience of perils that could push the heroes into the wrong path. These often misunderstood characters are a great way for any reader to understand anime storytelling and come to a deeper understanding of iconic characters.
10 Kaido Beat Luffy Three Times
One Piece
Kaido is the main villain of the Wano Country Arc in One Piece. The series, created by Eiichiro Oda, has been going on since 1999 and has more than 1000 chapters and episodes. The Wano Country arc is the culmination of the Four Yonko saga that started when the Straw Hats entered the New World in episode #523. Kaido, the main villain of the arc and one of the Emperors of the Seas, was Luffy’s main opponent who defeated him three times.
This was unprecedented for a shonen hero, but it led to Luffy unlocking his most iconic power-up, Gear 5. Despite his loss, Kaido will always be remembered as one of the most intimidating and powerful villains in the genre, which is a testament to how well he was built up by the author.
Watch On Crunchyroll
9 Orochi Sold Out His Own People For Revenge
One Piece
Orochi Kurozmi was the shogun of the Wano Country. He schemed his way to the top and ended by poisoning the country’s former shogun and inviting Kaido to Wano. Orochi turned a once flourishing country into a cesspool that was slowly poisoning the inhabitants. The countless weapons factories made the water undrinkable and the people of the country didn’t have enough food to eat. The starving population was fed with failed SMILE fruits that didn’t allow people who ate them to express any emotion besides laughter.
Even worse, the sinister shogun did this only to enact a twisted revenge against the Kozuki clan, which had actually always treated him with kindness. Orochi functions as the perfect complement to Kaido in the Wano Arc, showing that evil can take different forms and motivations, some more twisted and subtle than others.
Watch On Crunchyroll
8 The Desire to Be the Strongest Corrupted Garou
One-Punch Man
Garou is a villain from the manga One Punch Man, created by ONE as a webcomic and later illustrated by Yusuke Murata starting from 2009. Garou wanted to become the strongest, and he despised heroes from his early childhood, instead developing a fascination for villains and monsters. His reckless pursuit of strength ended up turning Garou himself slowly into a monster.
His teacher, Bang, couldn’t help him and the Hero Hunter turned into one of the most interesting villains in the show. Garou defeated many A-level and S-level heroes, but his strength couldn’t help him defeat Saitama, the main character of One Punch Man. Still, after receiving a power-up from the mysterious God, Garou became the strongest opponent Saitama ever faced, and forced him to get a little serious, which is a momumental achievement.
Watch On Crunchyroll
7 Hantengu Was Five Villains Packed in One
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Hantengu is one of the main demons in the service of Muzan, called Upper-Rank Demons. The lower the number, the stronger the demon and Hantengu was ranked number four. All the demons of the Upper Rank were so strong that none of them were defeated in 113 years.
Rank | Demon name |
6. | Gyutaro and Daki |
5. | Gyokko |
4. | Hantengu |
3. | Akaza |
2. | Doma |
1. | Kokushibo |
Hantengu was a powerful demon who could divide himself into four separate monsters that did all the fighting, summoning a wide range of powers that went from electric discharges to wind blasts. Meanwhile, the main body turned tiny and kept on running away so it couldn’t be found, showcasing the cowardice of the creature.
Watch On Crunchyroll
6 King Canute Believes that the End Justifies the Means
Vinland Saga: Farmland Arc
Canute started as a timid prince in Vinland Saga before finding his true calling as a leader. After Askeladd killed his father, Canute took the mantle of the king and started ruling over England. Soon enough, he started poisoning his brother Harald to become the undisputed ruler of both England and Denmark, the biggest Empire in the region.
Canute believed that he was responsible for creating a prosperous and peaceful country for his people, but the only way to do that was to mercilessly crush anyone and anything that stood in his path. A second encounter with the main character of the show, Thorfinn, finally inspired a change so Canutefinally saw that things could be done without resorting to violence and that’s why he left Ketil’s farm.
Watch On Crunchyroll
5 Eren Yeager’s Downfall to Villain Will Remain in History
Attack on Titan
Eren Yeager is the protagonist of Attack on Titan, a manga created by Hajime Isayama. The story starts by showing Eren as a kid whose childhood was destroyed by Titans that invaded his home city and killed Eren’s mother. That incident motivated him to join the Scouts, before learning he could actually transform into a Titan too.
After using his powers to protect the people of Paradis Island, as Eren learned the tragic truths of his world and of the persecution of the Eldians, he slowly succumbed to the dark side and became the series’ main villain. The sinister transformation of the main character who promised to kill all the Titans, only to use those same Titans to commit mass genocide, was unsettling for many viewers of the show but will also remain iconic for a long time.
Watch On Crunchyroll
4 Jack the Ripper Is a Monster who Fights for Humanity
Record of Ragnarok
Jack the Ripper is a character from Record of Ragnarok, a manga created by Shinya Umemura and Takumi Fukui back in 2017. The show is centered around the duel of Gods and Humans, where each side needs to get seven wins out of 13 fights to pronounce victory. If the Gods win, they can destroy humanity, but if the Humans win, they can keep on living.
Jack the Ripper was fighting against Hercules in the fourth round of Ragnarok. Even though Jack won, he represented the worst of humanity due to his morbid fascination for death, and the entire audience was rooting for Hercules, a noble and heroic God. Still, Jack’s tragic past gave him some measure of redemption in the end.
WATCH ON Netflix
3 Momoshiki Destroyed Naruto’s Family
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Momoshiki Otsusuki is a major villain in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. The entire Otsusuki family uses Karma, a power that helps them implant their genes in other people and start controlling them. Naruto and Sasuke defeated both Momoshiki and Isshiki Otsutsuki, but the former actually survived by invading the body of Boruto.
This became a major turning point in the series, because the heroes had to find ways to contain Momoshiki’s takeover of Boruto’s body, but every solution proved to be only temporary. Momoshiki even used Boruto’s body to destroy Sasuke’s Rinnegan, and after that tensions only kept building. Readers of the manga know that Momoshiki’s presence will also lead to a tragic development involving Kawaki, Boruto, and Naruto.
Watch On Crunchyroll
2 Yhwach Brought Disaster to the Soul Society
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
Yhwach is the main antagonist of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. After the Quincy lost their first war against the Soul Society, it took Yhwach 900 years to regenerate his heart, 90 years to recover his intellect, and 9 years to recover his strength and restart the conflict. The invasion of the Soul Society decimated the Gotei 13 and brought with it a lot of casualties, including the supposedly undefeatable Head Captain Genryusai Yamamoto.
Yhwach was a little underdeveloped in the manga, because this final arc of Bleach was rushed to its conclusion due to the author’s poor health conditions. However, the anime does a much better job of fleshing out Yhwach and his motivations, making him a villain worthy of concluding one of the most popular manga and anime series of all time.
Watch On Hulu
1 Giselle Gewele Is One of the Most Disturbing Villains in Anime
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
Giselle Gewele is a villain from Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War and one of the Sternritters marked “Z,” meaning the Zombie. She belongs to Yhwach’s army, the Wandenreich, which invaded Soul Society and caused a lot of damage and death. Giselle’s powers and twisted personality make her truly stand out as one of the most disturbing villains seen in anime in 2023.
Anyone who has Giselle’s blood splattered on them falls under her control, effectively becoming a “zombie” and doing whatever Giselle orders them to do, including committing suicide. Her ability does not work on fellow Quincy, unless they have already died, which brings Giselle to even try to kill her own comrades. The morbid aspect of her manipulation powers along with Giselle’s outright monstruous behavior make her stand out among the best anime villains of 2023.
Watch On Hulu
