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,
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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!