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Just because we are cheering them on doesn't mean they're good people! Join Ashley as we look over the main characters in anime who lean towards the evil alignment,
Transcript
00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top anime protagonists
00:11 who are more infamous than the villains they face.
00:20 Number 20.
00:21 Isaac Foster, aka Zack – Angels of Death
00:25 Sometimes the best way to survive a house of horrors filled with deadly criminals is
00:30 to ally yourself with an even more dangerous criminal.
00:41 Growing up, Zack endured the worst that humanity had to offer, suffering through all manner
00:46 of abuse.
00:48 This horrific upbringing eventually moulded him into a ruthless killer who derives pleasure
00:53 from plunging his victims into despair.
00:56 After encountering a young girl named Rachel, who no longer has the will to live, Zack strikes
01:01 a Faustian bargain with her.
01:05 In exchange for helping him to escape the facility he's locked up in, Zack promises
01:10 to take her life.
01:11 While Zack does go above and beyond to keep Rachel safe, in the end, his only goal is
01:17 to satisfy his murderous urges.
01:24 Number 19.
01:26 Sun Red – Astro Fighter, Sun Red
01:29 This ally of justice makes his villains look tame by comparison.
01:33 As the polar opposite of the traditional superhero archetype, Sun Red is infamous for his fruitness
01:39 and violent behaviour, which does not make things easy for his rogues gallery, who are
01:44 notorious for their politeness and easygoing personalities.
01:56 While Sun Red and his enemies, led by General Vamp, often come to blows, the one most likely
02:02 to be threatening and violent is Sun Red, as he consistently beats the stuffing out
02:07 of Vamp and his goons.
02:14 With a hair-trigger temper that goes off at the slightest provocation, it's odd not
02:18 to feel bad for the villains whenever Sun Red unleashes his fury upon them.
02:30 Number 18.
02:31 Lucy – Elfen Lied
02:33 This poor girl's treatment at the hands of humans turned her into one of the most
02:37 dangerous beings alive.
02:44 After so many years of being bullied and tortured by humans, the dichotomyous Lucy harbours
02:50 a grudge so deep that she firmly believes coexistence between humanity and her species
02:56 is impossible.
03:02 That said, Lucy's experienced moments of genuine happiness with humans, both as herself
03:07 and her kind-hearted alter ego, knew.
03:10 However, the moments in which she felt truly happy were those involving her love interest,
03:15 Kota.
03:16 Unfortunately for Lucy, her dichotomyous instincts always seem to find a way to unleash her inner
03:21 demon and inflict hell on those who wronged her.
03:28 Number 17.
03:29 Nine and Twelve – Terra in Resonance
03:31 With their prodigious intellect, this infamous duo created the pseudo-Terra group, Sphinx,
03:38 and took extreme measures to expose the truth behind their dark past.
03:46 As survivors of a secret government project designed to develop gifted children by artificially
03:51 creating the Savant Syndrome, Nine and Twelve underwent treatment far south of normal.
03:57 The fact that they were willing to burn it all down just to escape speaks for everything.
04:24 Although Sphinx did not cause any fatalities during their quest to expose government corruption,
04:29 their actions were far from harmless, resulting in many casualties and endangering innocent
04:35 lives.
04:36 The fact that they stole an atomic bomb also doesn't do them any favours.
05:01 Number 16.
05:02 Kearu – Redo of Healer
05:04 Considering what his tormentors put him through, it's no wonder this healer went above and
05:09 beyond to get his revenge.
05:16 Originally an optimistic young man with hopes and dreams, Kearu experienced unimaginable
05:22 abuse at the hands of Princess Flair and her associates.
05:25 Fortunately, he discovers his true potential along the way, allowing him to use his newfound
05:30 healing abilities, along with a Philosopher's Stone, to turn back time.
05:41 Armed with new skills and knowledge from the previous timeline, Kearu sadistically unleashes
05:46 his wrath onto his former abusers, paying them back a hundredfold for what they inflicted
05:52 on him, and then some.
05:58 Number 15.
06:00 Yukio Tonegawa – Kaiji Series
06:03 Formerly the right-hand man of the eccentrically evil socialite, Kasutaka Hyodo, Tonegawa helped
06:09 organise and sponsor several of the high-stakes gambles that put so many people through intense
06:14 physical and psychological torment.
06:17 While more laid back in his spin-off series, Tonegawa's darker nature is on full display
06:30 in Kaiji Ultimate Survivor.
06:33 Constantly looking down on debtors, Tonegawa doesn't even flinch as he watches them fall
06:38 into despair due to the gambles he helped sponsor.
06:46 With unparalleled observation skills, mastery of psychology, and even the occasional cheating,
06:52 Tonegawa can dominate virtually every gamble he participates in.
06:56 Tonegawa is certainly a real piece of work, so it's not that surprising that karma would
07:01 find a way to pay him back for his actions.
07:08 Number 14.
07:09 Sadako Hojo – Hikarashi – When They Cry – SOTSU
07:13 This girl was so desperate to be with the ideal version of her best friend that she
07:17 went full-on psycho to make it happen.
07:20 During the events of SOTSU, Sadako takes on a far more villainous role as she sets her
07:25 sights on making Rika suffer.
07:38 While close as children, Sadako's transition into adolescence also introduced some resentment
07:44 towards her former close friend.
07:46 Eventually, said resentment spirals out of control, developing into an unhealthy obsession
07:51 that drives her to torment Rika across multiple timelines.
07:59 Desperate to be with a specific version of Rika, Sadako convinces herself to do whatever
08:04 it takes to make that happen, even if it means hurting her in the worst possible ways.
08:13 Number 13.
08:14 Coco – Yomungand – Even though she rarely uses weapons, arms dealer Coco probably has
08:21 more blood on her hands than the mercenaries who work for her.
08:30 Barely ever showing her true feelings, Coco is largely unpredictable when dealing with
08:35 other criminals and rival arms dealers.
08:38 Able to go from cheerful to ruthless in the blink of an eye, Coco is very intelligent
08:44 and will use whatever means necessary, including deadly force, to achieve her goals.
08:50 Especially if it means taking out those who make the unfortunate mistake of crossing her.
09:14 While she does have some morals and standards, the lengths she takes to ensure world peace
09:19 prove that she won't hesitate to make the necessary sacrifices for her goal, regardless
09:24 of how many innocent lives it takes to reach it.
09:30 Number 12.
09:31 Nana Hiragi – Talentless Nana – Underneath her cute and friendly facade lies the soul
09:38 of a ruthless assassin.
09:45 Due to her upbringing, Nana firmly believes that people with special abilities called
09:50 "talented" are the ultimate enemies of mankind and should be destroyed at all costs.
09:55 Motivated by the death of her parents, Nana carries her duties without hesitation and
10:01 infiltrates a school of talented, taking them out one by one.
10:08 Although lacking an ability herself, Nana's resourcefulness, intelligence and manipulative
10:13 nature more than make up for this, as she easily gets close to her targets and earns
10:19 their trust before terminating them with extreme prejudice.
10:26 Number 11.
10:27 Excel – Excel Saga Bubbly, enthusiastic and willing to do whatever
10:37 it takes to please her commanding officer, even if it means causing no end of death and
10:42 destruction.
10:43 Yes, Excel is primarily a comedic figure, but even as she's parodying all manner of
10:48 genres, her antics always end with everyone in the immediate vicinity meeting a sticky
10:53 end.
11:03 Doesn't stop us from loving her any less, even when she does make frequent assassination
11:07 attempts or whatever else her darling Il Palazzo demands of her.
11:20 Number 10.
11:21 Yuno Gasai – Future Diary She's the yandere face of the entire franchise,
11:35 tracking and slashing her way through anybody who gets in the way of her happiness.
11:39 While we will never know why she would be obsessed with someone as beta as Yuki, this
11:44 pink-haired killing machine is willing to do whatever it takes to guarantee their love.
11:54 This includes slaughtering her way through the survival game and decapitating anyone
11:59 who makes bedroom eyes at her wannabe hubby.
12:02 Not even Yuki is safe from her rage, though to her credit, he does kind of ask for it.
12:15 Number 9.
12:16 Geist – MD Geist They don't call this guy "most dangerous
12:20 soldier for nothing".
12:22 As an experimental warrior kept in suspended animation after the rest of his kind go berserk,
12:28 Geist finds himself enrolled into a new conflict when he crashes on Jera, immediately having
12:33 to battle his way up the food chain.
12:42 Now this might paint him as a grizzled lone hero of sorts, but he kinda loses that title
12:47 by the end, when he unleashes an army of machines dead set on consuming all life on the planet.
12:53 Naughty, naughty.
13:04 Number 8.
13:05 Makoto Ito – School Days While he might look like your run-of-the-mill
13:16 bland-as-bread rom-com lead, Makoto is an evil unto himself.
13:21 How so?
13:22 Well, unlike all those other characters that suddenly find themselves at the centre of
13:26 a high school romance, this callous and uncaring jerk decides that just one girl isn't enough.
13:37 Cheating on one after the next, Makoto's despicable attitude towards women not only
13:42 mentally breaks his first girlfriend, but also leads to his best friend stabbing him
13:47 to death in revenge for how he cheated on her as well.
13:51 Nice boat, though.
13:57 Number 7.
13:58 Alucard – Helsing Ultimate While this vampire gets some serious brownie
14:09 points for gunning down Nazis, he's still quite the monster.
14:13 In service to the Helsing organisation, the former count loves nothing more than being
14:18 let loose and tearing apart whatever enemy he gets his hands on.
14:31 As long as he gets the go-ahead from Integra, there's nobody he wouldn't reduce to bloody
14:36 chunks – even average humans.
14:39 Unless you're an ally or enemy that has earned his respect, then you're basically
14:43 spare blood.
14:51 Number 6.
14:52 Umaru – Himoto Umaru-chan Don't you dare try and tell us that this
14:56 little hellspawn isn't a villain.
15:06 Acting like the perfect student, only to turn into a demon in an orange hoodie when no one
15:11 else is around.
15:12 Her obsession with junk food and video games only matched by the ferocity of her tantrums
15:17 when she doesn't get her way.
15:25 She takes so many boxes when it comes to your classic anime villain that it's almost scary.
15:31 While you're bound to tear out your own hair after the umpteenth outburst, she'll
15:35 still try and win you back with their innocent facade a second later.
15:39 Damn you, Umaru.
15:46 Number 5.
15:47 Kiritsugu Emiya – Fate/Zero If you want something as grotesque as the Fourth
15:52 Holy Grail War to go your way, then you're going to have to play dirty.
16:04 While we can certainly understand the motivations behind why Kiritsugu played the game the way
16:08 he did, it's easy to see why Saber was so pissed at him for how he did so.
16:17 Setting his wife as bait, trying to cheat the rules, assassinating other masters and
16:22 servants with underhanded means, this so-called champion of justice cut way too many corners
16:28 while trying to save the world.
16:30 Shame that the price turned out to be a tad too high in the end.
16:36 Number 4.
16:37 Tanya – Saga of Tanya the Evil The title kind of gives it away.
16:48 After finding herself being sent to a parallel world in the body of a young girl, Tanya is
16:53 given a new lease on life – one that involves killing a lot of enemy soldiers with magic
16:59 and the most terrifying murder face you will ever see.
17:12 Needless to say, she's not happy about her reincarnation, despite how much she obviously
17:17 enjoys the killing part, and so sets her sights on taking out the one person who put her in
17:23 that position to begin with – God.
17:30 Number 3.
17:31 Ainz Ul Goan – Overlord
17:46 Sorry to all of you that thought that deep down, Bone Daddy was still walking the anti-hero
17:51 route.
17:52 If his antics are anything to go by, there's no doubt he's truly embraced his role as
17:56 that of a villain.
18:01 In order to bring the Great Tomb of Nazarick to glory, Ainz has not only committed unspeakable
18:07 atrocities, but also great deceptions over those who would view him as a selfless ally.
18:13 Killing 70,000 soldiers, leading a group of adventurers to their doom, tricking an entire
18:18 kingdom's populace into submission, the Sorcerer King has got it made.
18:31 Number 2.
18:32 Eren Jaeger – Attack on Titan
18:35 Discovering the truth of the world beyond the walls should have been a dream come true
18:39 for Eren. Unfortunately, it turned out to be his worst nightmare. After discovering
18:57 the Attack Titan's power of foresight, and learning about the world's impending and
19:02 unavoidable fate, Eren is forced to orchestrate events behind the scenes. He does so by influencing
19:08 his father with select memories of the future, and forcing him to wipe out the Reiss family
19:13 in order to acquire the Founding Titan's power. Although secretly desiring a peaceful
19:24 resolution, Eren is unable to stop the inevitable, as he unleashes the power of the Rumbling
19:29 and marches toward a future far worse than anyone could have imagined.
19:55 Number 1. Light Yagami – Death Note
20:04 We won't deny that watching this genius student think his way out of the impossible
20:09 was what made the anime such a gem, but let's be honest here – Light is a villain through
20:14 and through. Using the Death Note in order to become the god of the new world, the man
20:19 known as Kira dropped countless bodies in the name of his personal crusade, including
20:24 plenty of innocents. Consumed by hubris and pride of divine proportions, Light talks a
20:34 big game about justice, but his desires are that of a bright lad whose messiah complex
20:39 got way out of control.
20:45 Which anime protagonist did you think were too bad to be good? Let us know in the comments
20:51 below.
21:03 Thanks for watching!