Villains in anime sometimes have a point. Not every villain, of course, but quite a few have made valid arguments during their monologues to the anime’s protagonist. Almost always, the main character rejects the villain’s methods or ideology, but that doesn’t mean the villain was entirely wrong. The hero will often outright reject the villain’s plan because of their conflicting worldviews or naivety, but the hero isn’t always right in anime.

Villains are complex characters and not every villain is downright evil. Sometimes the villain does evil acts for the sake of good, often having a complex moral compass to achieve or justify their ultimate goal. More often than not, anime villains usually make several good points that the hero can’t outright reject or immediately counter. The best villains in anime are nuanced and complex characters that challenge the hero in more ways than one.

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Father from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood did horrific things to become immortal. From sacrificing an entire empire as a homunculus beside Hohenheim to facilitating the Ishvalan Civil War and countless other conflicts. All in the name of achieving godhood. He believed that by removing his emotions and by sacrificing Amestris to create a perfect philosopher’s stone, he could achieve ultimate perfection. His methods were wrong, but his idea that human beings were slaves to their emotions wasn’t entirely unfounded.

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Father created other homunculi in the form of the seven deadly sins, removing himself from every major impurity. He believed that by removing his most basic human trappings, he would become something greater. Father was right in the sense that too much of anything, such as his emotions, was a bad thing, but that didn’t make him good or remove his selfish nature. He ultimately proved that while humans can be driven by their emotions, creating conflict and strife, human nature is too broad to be classified as bad or good. Excess is ultimately the root of all evil.

9

Charles Zi Brittania Fought to Eliminate Lies in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

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In Code Geass, Charles Zi Brittania used the Holy Britannian Empire to spread suffering and death across the world in the name of uniting humanity into a single collected consciousness. He did all of this to end pain, suffering, and the lies of humanity to achieve peace. Charles Zi Brittania believed the ends justified the means, even if he was the direct cause of most of the suffering. By eliminating humanity’s ability to lie, Charles believed he could create an ever-lasting peace.

Lelouch ultimately rejected Charles’ plan, believing that freedom of choice mattered more in the grand scheme of things, even if it led to more suffering. Charles sought to enforce his own ideology and tyranny on all of humanity without taking into consideration that his utopia would only be another form of oppression. That being said, Charles ultimately proved that he had a point that humanity would continue to create strife, war, and suffering because of free will. Conflict continued to rage after his death, despite Lelouch’s Zero of the Requiem Plan.

8

Medusa Gorgon Tried to Shepard Evolution in Soul Eater

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Medusa Gorgan from Soul Eater believed that humanity had stagnated and sought to rush evolution by ushering in an age of chaos and madness. In such a chaotic world, only the strong would survive, which would create the perfect environment for evolution to rapidly continue and transcend humanity into something greater. While the DWMA sought to suppress the madness of the world, Medusa believed that madness was a fundamental part of nature, being another form of chaos.

Medusa may have wished to usher in an age of brutality where only the strong could survive, but she was right in a sense that stagnation was worse than death. The DWMA and Death attempted to suppress knowledge of madness. Rather than learning to control or understand what caused the madness to exist in the first place, they feared it. She viewed such control over information and the rigid system that Death had created as little more than cowardice in the face of natural progression. Medusa’s plan may have ultimately been flawed from the start, but she was right that the only way for humanity to progress was by moving forward, no matter the direction.

Soul Eater

Release Date

2008 – 2008

Directors

Takuya Igarashi

Writers

Akatsuki Yamatoya

Franchise(s)

Soul Eater

7

Griffith Proved That Humanity Wanted to be Ruled in Berserk

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Berserk showcased a brutal world of constant warfare and suffering. Griffith wanted to become a king and create a true utopia. By manipulating, betraying, and doing whatever was required to achieve his goal, Griffith believed that he alone could reshape the world into a better place, no matter the cost. Griffith founded the Band of the Hawk, powerful mercenaries who shaped the battlefield to end the Hundred-Year War.

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After betraying Guts and the rest of the Band of the Hawk by sacrificing them, Griffith becomes Femto, a demon of the God Hand. By betraying those closest to him, Griffith achieved his dream by founding the nation of Falconia, a utopian city where many nations gladly surrendered to Griffith in exchange for safety. He became humanity’s undisputed ruler and proved that humanity wished to be ruled, albeit through deceitful means to ensure his control over the world.

Berserk

Release Date

October 8, 1997

Directors

Naohito Takahashi

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Askeladd Believed that Idealism Leads to Death in Vinland Saga

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Askeladd from Vinland Saga believed that manipulation was the only way to truly end the constant chaos and war of the world. While he may have worked for the Vikings as a mercenary, he viewed them with disgust as nothing more than barbarians who pillaged the world to sate their greed. Askeladd challenged Thorfinn’s idealistic nature by reinforcing that to bring about true, real change, manipulation of others is required. Idealism may be a nice concept, but it doesn’t work in the real world.

By manipulating those around him, Askeladd used Thorfinn as his personal weapon, shepherded Prince Canute into a true ruler, and saved his homeland of Wales from invasion. Even at the cost of his own life, Askeladd killed King Sweyn to keep his homeland safe and forced Prince Canute to become the next ruler, one who wasn’t a mindless warmonger like his father. He may have manipulated everyone, even his own band of Vikings to achieve his goals, but in doing so, Askeladd ultimately saved far more lives by ending Denmark’s planned invasion.

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Donquixote Doflamingo Revealed Justice is Arbitrary in One Piece

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Donquixote Doflamingo was initially born as a Celestial Dragon, but because of his father’s naivety, he fell off the social ladder and became a violent criminal to survive the injustices of the world. His status as a Celestial Dragon was revoked and Doflamingo wished to overthrow their corrupt and totalitarian rule by replacing them, using tyranny and corruption. He wasn’t a hypocrite, but he understood that morality and justice are defined by those in power.

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He attempts to set himself up as irreplaceable as an underworld broker, working for Kaido and ultimately wishing to topple the Celestial Dragons’ corrupt regime. Morality is ultimately created because of how power influences ideals. Peace and war will affect people differently based on their upbringing, creating a world of injustice, suffering, and hypocrisy. While Doflamingo failed, he was one of the few characters in One Piece to truly understand the nature of the world, especially how power corrupts and defines what justice means.

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

4

Mereum Showcased Strength Triumphs Everything in Hunter x Hunter

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Mereum was born as the strongest Chimera Ant, the Chimera Ant King. Initially viewing humanity as nothing more than a food source, Meruem wanted to rule over both humans and ants as an absolute ruler, making humans into livestock or outright eliminating them entirely. However, as Meruem learned more about humanity’s strengths thanks to Komugi, a blind girl who was a master thinker and strategist, Meruem reevaluated his plan.

Komugi proved that even weak humans could be strong, so he envisioned a world where humanity would be divided into a caste system where talent would be rewarded. Even the weak could still benefit society, as everyone would have a purpose to ensure equality and a stable world devoid of suffering. Meruem ultimately wanted to create a utopia as the absolute ruler of the world to eliminate corruption and greed from the equation entirely. He may have initially believed that strength triumphs everything, but strength can take a variety of forms. After his death, the world of Hunter x Hunter continued to be a corrupt and hostile world full of corruption.

Hunter x Hunter

Release Date

2011 – 2014

Directors

Hiroshi Kôjina

3

Stain Sought to Dismantle the Hypocrisy of the Hero System in My Hero Academia

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Stain viewed the hero system in My Hero Academia as a corrupt and hypocritical system based on fame and money over true justice. Instead of becoming heroes for the sake of heroism, Stain argued that heroes were only in it for the fame and wealth associated with the job. His words spread across society, creating countless followers and copycats based on his ideals. Ochaco Uraraka became a hero to become rich for the sake of her family, not to become a hero for others. She proved that not every hero became one for the sake of others or out of a sense of justice.

Stain was ultimately right that hero society was corrupt from its very core because money and power were associated with being a hero. By the time Deku became a true hero, society was already helpless and became dependent on heroes saving them instead of trying to save themselves. Stain may have acted brutally to share his message, but he was completely right that society relied on a system of corruption and lies.

My Hero Academia

Release Date

April 3, 2016

2

Zeke Yeager Tried to Eliminate Hatred in Attack on Titan

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In Attack on Titan, Zeke Yeager attempts to eradicate the Eldians to remove the world’s hatred through peaceful means. The hatred between Eldians and Marleyans, along with the rest of the world, reached a breaking point. A peaceful solution where everyone could live in peace was impossible, so Zeke attempted to eliminate the focal point of the world’s hatred instead of spreading more. Zeke envisioned a painless and quiet end for the Eldians by removing their ability to reproduce, allowing them to disappear naturally over generations. This was his alternative to wiping out humanity through the mass destruction of the Colossal Titans.

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But, Zeke would ultimately cannot enact his plan after his brother, Eren Yeager, chose the most extreme option to keep his friends safe. By using the Founding Titan’s power, Eren destroyed most of humanity to ensure Paradis Island’s survival. However, Eren’s path towards peace would ultimately fail with war, eventually returning to the future. Zeke ultimately proved his plan was the correct course of action that would’ve spared far more lives in the process for the sake of ultimate peace.

1

Madara Uchiha Wanted to Break the Cycle of Hatred in Naruto

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Madara Uchiha from Naruto grew up in an era of constant warfare and strife, losing his brother and hundreds of his clan in battle. Alongside Hashirama Senju, Madara wanted to end the constant war and in-fighting between the various clans by creating the village system. After founding the Hidden Leaf Village alongside his friend and former enemy, Madara believed they had succeeded, but they only evolved the cycle of hatred. Other villages would eventually appear and create the perfect circumstances for continued war between each major village, ultimately upgrading conflict.

Madara would give up on Konoha and attempt to enact the Eye of the Moon Plan to create a true utopia. By casting the ultimate genjutsu, he would rid all the suffering, violence, and pain of the world. He manipulated and killed countless people for his plan, but everything he did was in the name of peace and utopia. Madara would fail to enact the Eye of the Moon Plan, but he was right that only the most extreme measures would break the cycle of hated. Not even Naruto did so by the time of Boruto. Ultimately, not all villains are right in the traditional sense. They resort to extreme methods to carry out their plans, but some are indeed correct regarding the world and how the world could become a better place.