Indeed, sometimes an anime villain isn’t fighting “for” something; rather, they’re just in the business of spreading evil and wreaking havoc, causing senseless death and chaos. But that doesn’t mean they’re flat or boring! Here are some of the most evil anime characters who became villains for entertainment, greed, corruption, or apparently no reason at all.
13. Koran Mori (Flame of Recca)
The adoptive father of Kurei, Koran Mori is a wealthy and rude character in the series Flame of Recca. Because of his greed, he abducted Sakoshita Yanagi to make use of her healing ability to become immortal. He’ll do anything to achieve a never-ending life, even sacrificing a stadium full of people that he plans to destroy, along with Kurei and Recca. Another anime villain who wants immortality is Orochimaru from the Naruto series, one of the legendary Sannin of the Leaf. He just takes over his vessel’s body and changes to another one if his current body deteriorates or takes too much damage beyond repair.
12. Junko Enoshima (Danganronpa)
A mere student who calls herself Ultimate Fashionista, Junko Enoshima is a founder of the terrorist organization called Ultimate Despair, an organization that brings despair to mankind. Like any other villain, Junko causes a lot of trouble not only to other people, but also to those who are close to her. She does horrible things, including killings and bombings, and even created the so-called The Tragedy. She did all this just to satisfy her own obsession with despair, enjoying the masterpiece of inflicting misery to the world.
11. Toichiro Suzuki (Mob Psycho 100)
Well-known for being the most powerful esper, Toichiro Suzuki founded Claw, an organization that consists of all kinds of esper all around the world. As he traveled around the world and realized no one can beat him, the idea of world domination came to mind. He believed he was granted such power for one ultimate purpose, and his over-positive thinking led him to obsession with power, spending 20 years reserving his strength so that he can rule over the world. But in the end, his selfishness led him to his own downfall.
10. Fumito Nanahara (Blood C)
Fumito Nanahara was introduced as the cheerful and kind owner of a coffee shop who cares for others, but later showed his true colors and motives behind his actions at the end of the series Blood C. Fumito was driven by the idea of how Saya Kisaragi—an Aged One who devours her own kind—would deal with a change in environment. He created an experiment specially made for Saya that turns into a disaster, killing hundreds of people trapped on an isolated island.
9. Bondrewd (Made in Abyss)
Bondrewd, who is known as “Lord of Dawn,” has the ill intent of using humans for his research. He’s a man that shows sincerity and care for children, but only sees them as material for his experiments. He purposely raises children to be used in his research and tests so he can learn about the effects of the abyss on the human body. He doesn’t care whether the children go back alive, crumpled, or disfigured, as long as he gains information for his research about the abyss.
8. Deus Ex Machina (The Future Diary)
Deus Ex Machina is the God of Time and Space. He has the ability to manipulate cause and effect. As he was waiting for his forthcoming death, he created a Survival Game to find his successor. To keep himself entertained, he chose “interesting” participants for the Survival Game that would make the game fun for him to watch. Though he showed fondness and kindness toward them, the game is designed so that the participants must kill each other. Without any sympathy, as the participants die one by one, he watched the game to the very end until he got himself the successor he wanted.
7. Cain Withers (To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts)
Cain Withers (or Cain Madhouse) is a Vampire Incarnate who’s also known as “The Undead King of Blood and Night.” He was once a member of a military force of Incarnates. Having an immortal body, he grew bored with the world and developed a nihilistic view. He once agreed with his friends that all Incarnates should be eliminated to make the world safe, but later killed those friends and instead let all the Incarnates be released all over the world. Cain showed his sadistic side and even a darker nature, stating that this world has no fun and should be gone.
6. Shaiapouf (Hunter X Hunter)
Shaiapouf is one of Meruem’s loyal Royal Guards and a Chimera Ant having human features and huge butterfly wings. While his king changed his mind about the hierarchy of humans and Ants, Shaiapouf disagreed always believed that Ants should be at the top of the food chain. When Meruem lost some of his memory (especially that of Komugi), Shaiapouf tricks and betrays his own king. He hides the truth about Komugi and the king’s change of heart upon meeting Komugi.
5. Hidan (Naruto Shippuden)
Hidan is an immortal member of the mercenary group Akatsuki in the Naruto Shippuden series. His main objective of killing is based upon his religion called Jashinism, which involves bringing death and destruction. He accepts Konan’s offer to join the group just to satisfy his beliefs and continue his killings, intending to spread the terrors of Jashinism.
4. Mahito (Jujutsu Kaisen)
A special grade Cursed Spirit that was spawned out of humans’ hatred of one another, Mahito is a being with supernatural strength and power. He has the ability to manipulate souls and cursed energy, regenerate his detached body parts, and even perform metamorphosis. He causes a lot of damage in the human world for his own experiments and beliefs, such as killing innocent people without hesitation to manipulate their souls. He then wants to make Itadori Yuji into Sukuna’s vessel, to submit and make a Bonding Vow with Sukuna.
3. Majin Buu (Dragon Ball Z)
We’re not talking about the cute and chubby Majin Buu, but his original form before he absorbed some of the Kais that resulted in his change of personality. The original form of Majin Buu is a short, pink humanoid with a purely evil mind. He has no qualms about destroying every planet and wants to run wild with destruction everywhere he goes. Unlike his other versions—who patiently waited for his opponents or even made friends with humans—the original Buu just wants to destroy for no reason at all.
2. Peter Ratri (The Promised Neverland)
Peter Ratri is the current head of his clan and is in charge of the inhumane business of the Grace Field House and other plantations. These plantations produce meat for the demons—meat sourced from orphaned children who are raised only to be sent out for consumption. He’s so evil in that he doesn’t want to stop his business with the demons because the money he earns is too good, and he’ll do anything to eliminate threats to his income-generating plantations.
1. Shou Tucker (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Shou Tucker is one of the most hated characters in anime history. He turned his own family into subjects for his experiments, all to save his own position. Though human transmutation is already strictly forbidden in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the fact he experiments on his own wife and daughter is downright unacceptable. The beating he gets from Edward is nowhere near enough to pay for the wickedness he enacted on his daughter and wife. Read next: The most hated anime characters