Legendary Anime Villains:
All our lives, we thought super villains were only something seen in the comic books. That is not true. Back in the Land of the Rising Sun, Super-Villains thrived under a different industry – the World of anime. Throughout the years, the anime industry has given us so many different supervillains that are incredibly powerful and the best of the best in their own rights. It is time to see the ones that are truly remarkable.
1. Cell
The cell was the lead antagonist of the Android Saga. He is also one of the most legendary anime super villains to ever exist in human history. The cell was created with only one objective in mind – become perfect. Cell wanted to become the greatest fighter in the Dragonball Universe.
He had powers that rivaled that of the rest of the good guys combined. Cell’s abilities included the power to absorb other’s abilities by literally consuming them through his tail. While villains have come and gone in the Dragonball Universe, only a select few are strong enough to make a mark that is as strong and profound as Cells. He has the respect of the entire Dragonball fan base and is still revered by them.
2. Griffith
Griffith is a villain blessed with angelic beauty. And at first glance, he looks like a being that descended directly from the heavens. Soft-spoken and highly charismatic, Griffith knows how to woo the crowd and gather allies and followers. But make no mistake, this is a list of villains and Griffith is one of the greatest of the, Griffith was the result of the eugenics program done by the God Hand, a race of demonic beings that rule the world.
Griffith’s sole purpose in life is to amass power. As the leader of the Band of the Hawk, he had friends and allies that loved him and would die for him but Griffith only saw them as stepping stones. When push came to shove, Griffith agreed to sacrifice his entire army to demons so that he could become the Head of the God Hand.
3. Hisoka
There are villains who want to destroy the world. There are villains who want to conquer it. There are villains who want to turn it into something else. Hisoka is none of those. He is a supervillain by choice. He does not want to get into the petty squabbles of men. The only thrill in Hisoka’s life is the thrill. The more engaged he feels, the better he considers his life to be. And to do that, he is ready to get down to any extent. Hisoka is one of the few villains in the world of anime you can count on to have your back if need be and also expect him to be your greatest nightmare if the tables turned the next second. He is a villain that lets him-self sail according to the winds of fate.
4. Wrath
Wrath is the most powerful of the Humonculi, powerful servants that serve the Father in the Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood series. To the ordinary people of Amestris, he was their King and Ruler and was called the Fuhrer King Bradley. Wrath was not made like the rest of the Humonculi were. He was once a normal human being that was used as a test subject by Father and turned into an ultimate killing machine. He is tougher than most humans and has superhuman physical attributes. His ability called the Ultimate Eye grants him 360 degrees of perfect vision and allows him to pinpoint weak points in anything. He is unstoppable and extremely tough to defeat.
5. Frieza
One of the two Dragonball villains to be featured on this list, Frieze is definitely the one that every anime fan worth his or her salt remembers better. Frieza was born into a species that were known for their legendary strength and power. Even so, he was still considered to have an unusual amount of strength within their people, which is saying something. Frieza had a very creepy, alien-like look and was the first Dragonball villain to have perfected the Planet Killer technique. Frieza also has several levels of bodily transformations that amplify his powers every time he decides to go through it.
6. Meruem
Meruem was the primary antagonist of the Chimera Ants Arc in the Hunter x Hunter series. The Chimera Ants were a species that were claimed to be of another world. Meruem was their king, who is the most powerful user of Nen in the known world. Meruem’s generals them-selves could give the strongest warriors of the Hunter association a run for their money. Meruem proved him-self strong enough to fight Netero, the Leader of the Hunter Association. Apart from his innate abilities, Meruem also learns pretty quickly despite the fact he was only a few weeks old when he met his eventual demise. Meruem was a tribute to another legendary anime villain – Cell of Dragonball.
7. Madara Uchiha
Madara Uchiha was a legend even within Naruto. He was the most powerful member of the Uchiha Clan and was said to have inherited the Chakra of Indra, one of the two sons of the Sage of Six Paths, the Ninja God that created the Earth, Moon and the tailed beasts. Madara was so strong that his enemies literally thought him to be invincible and indestructible. Madara Uchiha could go for days without tiring and had the power to literally summon a meteor strike. It took the might of another God to take down Madara Uchiha. He is not only powerful but also one of the most memorable anime villains of all time.
8. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez is the 6th Espada in the powerful Arrancar army. Arrancars are enemies of the Soul Society and were the ones who almost brought down the organization of Shinigamis with brute force tactics alone. Grimmjow is a highly arrogant and brash member of the Arrancar squadron. Grimmjow is probably the greatest hand to hand fighter in the history of bleach.
He defeated Ichigo Kurosaki using nothing but his bare hands. Grimmjow’s Zanpakuto allows him to turn into an armor-clad feline warrior that can solidify energy to form huge claws that can slash through anything. Grimmjow only respects people whom he considers truly stronger than him and the only one who had managed to get that honor is Aizen.
9. Shishio Makoto
Shishio Makoto is one of the many antagonists of the Rurouni Kenshin series, an acclaimed series set in Medieval Japan. Shishio Makoto was the main villain of the Kyoto Arc of the series. The Kyoto arc is considered one of the greatest in Rurouni Kenshin, it could be safely said that SAhishio Makoto had a huge role to play in that. His appearance it-self looks extremely scary.
As one of the most recognizable villains from the golden era of anime, Shishio Makoto was a sword-wielding Samurai just like Kenshin. Just like Kenshin’s sword, Shishio’s Katana was also made out of Arai Shakku – an alloy that could harness the oil and blood drawn from enemies to utilize fire-based attacks. He also knew a flurry of martial arts abilities that he could use without his sword. In terms of raw fighting skills, Shishio was second only to Kenshin and that too barely.
10. Johan Liebert
Johan Liebert was the creation of a secret eugenics program in the heart of Germany. He is the epitome of human evolution. Ever since he was a child, Johan was subjected to inhuman torture, both mentally and physically. As a result, a child that was gifted with incredible intellect developed a split personality to cope up with the trauma. Johan is probably the greatest villain on the list because he has no powers.
The ability he does possess is the power to identify latent psychopaths, whom he turns into serial killers using nothing but the power of persuasion and suggestion. Johan once made fifty people kill each other just by suggesting each person something that would make him or her turn against the others. The fact that he has no superpowers and still making it into this loss makes him even more terrifying.
