Top 15 Favorite Anime Villains

As I promised earlier, here's a meme I created dedicated to some of my favorite anime villains. And now, allow me to explain each and every one of them in the best way I can.

15. M. Bison (Street Fighter II) (1991-1994)
Known as "Vega" in Japan, M. Bison made his first appearance as the final boss in Street Fighter II, the one game that popularized the 2D fighting game genre for video games everywhere. Now, M. Bison has had many different appearances in the past. Now, you might ask what makes this guy one of my favorite villains of all time? Well, I'll tell you. Because Bison is pure EVIL. He is the perfect example of a bad guy who is downright bad to the bone, and will do anything to achieve his dark desires. He's like Adolph Hitler as a super villain. Hell, Bison is one of the most evil of all video game villains, and personifies the devil himself. Now, based on what I understand, not much is known about Bison's background. However, some sources say that he killed his parents when he was very young, and he was later adopted by mystic monks who taught him martial arts and how to harness spiritual energy. It was said that Bison was so evil, that he resorted to the negative side of his spiritual energy, and discarded all the goodness in him to become the superhuman villain we know him as today. So basically, his power is harnessed from the pure negative side of spiritual energy that flows within him. He refers to his power as his "Psycho Power". And well, given his personality, I can plainly see why it's called that. And as you may remember, M. Bison is one hell of a badass. Not only is he an exceptional fighter, but he is also brutal and ruthless, as you would expect from a villain. Bison is most noticeable by his red uniform and cap, armored boots and gauntlets, white pupiless eyes, and his huge and generally creepy grin which he tends to have on quite often. Bison is the dictator of the international terrorist organization known as Shadowlaw (or Shadowloo if you prefer the latter). But what I love about M. Bison is that he's not a complete joke like Captain Strom or Gustav Havoc from Road Rovers. Oh no; this guy is a force to reckon due to his incredible strength, prowess, and stamina. Several of the other Street Fighter characters have a personal vendetta against him including Chun Li, Guile, Thunder Hawk, and even Cammy to some extent. His most recent appearance was in the Disney CGI film "Wreck it Ralph", where he had a cameo appearance with one spoken line of dialogue. Most notably "You're not going Turbo, are you?" He has also appeared briefly in an episode of Robot Chicken, where he calls Ryu on the phone to tell him that he got the "wrong packet", and was lost in another game where he punches Q-Bert. In the TV series Street Fighter II V, Bison was depicted wearing a blue uniform rather than his red uniform which he usually wears. In the first live action film, Bison was played by Raul Julia. And in The Legend of Chun Li, he was played by Neal McDonough. Though his appearance in that movie was completely different from his usual design. In Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie and in Street Fighter II V, Bison was voiced by Takeshi Kusaka in Japanese, and by Tom Wyner in English.

14. Himoru Gemma (Ninja Scroll) (1994)
Now this guy has a very special place in my heart even after almost 20 years since I first saw Ninja Scroll. Himoru Gemma is the main antagonist of Ninja Scroll, and the sworn enemy of Jubei Kibagami, the main protagonist. What makes this guy special is that he was absolutely badass. This guy could fight with just his bare hands, and he was excellent in hand to hand combat. In the final fight between him and Jubei, he really gave his rival a run for his money because he nearly handed his ass to him. As a villain, Gemma was cold, ruthless, and he didn't hesitate to kill anybody who opposed him. Towards the end of the movie, he got in an argument with a superior. And as their argument prolonged, the superior ninja draws his sword and charges at him. But Gemma grabs the guy, breaks his neck, and throws his body into the water. But probably what makes Gemma special from the others besides his badassery and his utter ruthlessness is the fact that he is immortal. Yes, that's right people, Gemma is virtually impossible to destroy. Hell, in a flash back scene, Jubei chopped off his head, and yet he somehow managed to reattach his head to his body, which resulted in him gaining the scar around his neck. And in the midst of their fight towards the end, Jubei head butted him to death, stabbed him, sliced off one of his arms, and even sliced him in half with his sword. But no matter what he did to him, Gemma just wouldn't die. In fact, because Gemma is virtually invulnerable, he was beyond the reach of death. So, Jubei had to encase Gemma in molten gold which gets all over him. And when it dries, Gemma is last seen trapped inside a golden coffin as he sinks into the bottom of the sea. But still, Gemma has a very special place in my heart. Because hell, I can imagine he'd even give Spike Spiegel a run for his money if they ever crossed.   

13. Count Magnus Lee (Vampire Hunter D) (1985)
When I first saw the original Vampire Hunter D film in 1996, I at first thought that Count Magnus Lee was Dracula himself. But can you really blame me for having that impression? I mean he has the same fashion sense, the same black and red cape, ect. The resemblance is uncanny. But in fact, Dracula himself has had numerous make overs in the long 100 years since he's been known in the media. And therefore, he's had different actors playing as him throughout the ages. Count Magnus Lee was probably modeled after Christopher Lee, who played as Dracula in the 50s and 70s. Now what makes Count Magnus Lee so special is because well, something about him seems different from some of the other anime villains. While he is downright evil and bad to the bone, I couldn't help but to sympathize with him for some odd reason. I know I neglected to go over this in my review of Vampire Hunter D. But what I found unique about Count Magnus Lee is his personality. He has everything, but it means nothing to him. He's always looking for enjoyment and for ways to relieve boredom and stress. Mainly because he said that he has lived for 10,000 years. While Doris said that he has lived for 5,000 years. But either way, I can imagine that 5,000 years or 10,000 years must be an incredibly long time. Because he's lived that long, he is characterized by weariness and depression. I know this because that's what he said to his daughter Lamica when she asked him about her mother. And it was revealed to Lamica that her mother was human, thus making her a dhampir just like D. In fact, putting myself into Count Lee's position, I could actually understand where he was coming from. Because the idea of immortality is nothing new. It has existed for ages. Long before technology was developed. And I think what he was saying is that he feels cursed to endure an endless life as a vampire whose forever thirsting for blood and for ways to pass the time. And I guess the message that he conveys is that to live forever would be a curse. Now what I loved best about Count Magnus Lee is that he was absolutely badass. I'm warning you, this guy doesn't mess around. Not only is he incredibly strong and versatile, but he has psychic powers. And with them, he can tear you to shreds just with a single thought. A good example is the scene where he kills Rei Ginsei, one of his subordinates who deliberately tried to rebel against him for his own purposes. And of course, Count Lee didn't go down quite easily. It took a lot of effort on D's part to kill him. But that's what makes Count Lee so special.  

12. Knives (Trigun) (1998)
Now this guy also has a special place in my heart. Knives is the evil, sadistic, and psychotic twin brother of Vash the Stampede, and the main antagonist of Trigun. What makes Knives so special is that he is a complete psychopath who simply enjoys doing evil things. I know this because in a flash back scene in a particular episode, it is revealed that Knives was insane even since he was a child. He and Vash are actually of the same plant-like species that normally powered the ships of Project SEEDS. It started so innocently until Knives made up his mind about humanity (due in part to beatings and insults). He began to kill the crew of the SEEDS main ship, one by one, then attempted to cause all the ships to crash into a desolate, barely inhabitable desert planet. Only a sacrificial effort by Rem Saverem managed to save some of them. Knives thinks humans are an inferior species, and sees nothing redeemable about them at all. He is downright vicious and ruthless, as you would expect being that he's the main antagonist. It is to my belief that Knives might have been partly inspired by MD Geist, who is also a psychopathic madman. But in Knives' case, he more or less has sensible reasons for why he's violently and homicidally insane. Mainly because he endured abuse during his childhood, which might have been the leading factor for his insanity. But even though he hates humans, he still has a caring relationship for his brother Vash, and wants for him to join him on his quest to eliminate humans for what they had done to the plants. But Vash refuses, and things get ugly between them in the end. Knives' fate is unknown in the anime, but in the ending of the series, Knives is shown to have been bandaged from his final fight with Vash.

11. MD Geist (MD Geist) (1986-1996)
Oh yeah, I've talked about this guy a lot, and I even did a review of the series he's from in case you're curious. Debuting in 1986, MD Geist is the title character of his own OVA series, which sadly is only two episodes long. The first episode was released in 1986, but the second episode didn't come out until a full 10 years later in 1996. As I said in my review, many people consider MD Geist to be one of the flat out worst anime cartoons ever made. Believe me, a lot of people who reviewed this anime virtually had nothing positive to say about it. But naturally, I disagree. While it's probably not the best ever made, it's far from the worst. Believe me, I've seen better, and I've seen worst. And MD Geist is in the middle. The "MD" in Geist's name stands for "Most Dangerous". So literally, he's "Most Dangerous Geist". In his respective series, MD Geist is an experimental soldier who was created by Dr. Breston, a scientist who worked in the Regular army during the gruesome and devastating civil war which ravaged the fictional planet of Jerra. MD Geist is the second in the line of these experimental soldiers. Now, it's never explained anywhere in the anime about his past or what kind of person he was before he became part of the MDS project. For what it's worth, he might have been human at some point in his life, and was later experimented on when the war between the regular army and the nexrum army worsened. Or, he was probably made from scratch like a regular Frankenstein monster. But anyway, what makes MD Geist so special is that he's downright evil. Not only is he psychotic, insane, violent, and bloodthirsty, but he's unpredictable. So you never know what he's going to do to you if you get in his way. However, in the Ground Zero comics, MD Geist was depicted in a more positive light as an obedient machine like soldier who would only kill in self defense or when ordered to. But he was later banished from the regular army and was placed in a stasis satellite which was launched into Jerra's orbit. Several years later, the satellite hurls its way back to Jerra's surface, and Geist awakens with a sole desire for personal revenge. In both episodes, MD Geist has very few lines of spoken dialogue, which means he's the kind of guy who usually lets his actions do the talking. MD Geist has superhuman combat skills, and he even owns an awesome suit of battle armor which he acquired from the corpse of a stray soldier who was wacked by a motorcycle gang. The armor he wears has a very unique and distinctive design, and it was even used as the logo for the US. Manga Corps. Hell, I think it still looks awesome today. What made MD Geist so terrifying aside from his destructive side is that he would stop at nothing. And he lived solely for battle, massacres, and bloodshed. Admittedly, this guy is one of the inspirations for my Road Rovers OC, Geist the Doberman. But I can assure you, he has his fair share of differences that separates him from this guy.

10. Snake (Golgo 13: The Professional) (1983)
Snake, as I mentioned elsewhere, is a one shot character whose first and only appearance was in Golgo 13: The Professional. But I just can't help but to love this guy because he was quite a challenger, and he really gave Golgo 13 a run for his money. Which is very rare seeing how almost none of Golgo's enemies ever manage to hurt him let alone lay so much as a single scratch on him. And that's why Snake has a special place in my heart to this day. He was absolutely hardcore and badass. Not to mention he was kind of creepy because of his pale skin and yellow eyes. In fact, I actually thought he was a monster or some kind of mutant experiment. Not only did he kill the clock smith, and later Rita, but he also massacred the trio of commandos who nearly bumped off Golgo 13 at a cathedral when he least expected it. The last scene with him where he fights with Duke in the elevator really got the adrenaline flowing, and it really had me anxious to know how the outcome was going to be like, seeing how Duke and Snake were evenly matched. Of course, Duke comes out on top in the end. But not without receiving a few bruises and scratches. And of course, Snake was taken out by gunfire from a military helicopter. But still, Snake really left quite an impression on me. An impression which remains fresh in my mind right to this day.

9. Vicious (Cowboy Bebop) (1998)
Now, to my understanding, Vicious has had very few appearances in the Cowboy Bebop TV series. But nevertheless, Vicious has a special place in my heart to this day. Because as far as I know, he was perhaps the only villain in the show (right next to Mad Perriot) who equaled Spike in fighting skills, stamina, and endurance. He is marked by his white hair, long black trench coat, and a vulture that sits on his shoulder. In fact, now that I think of it, Vicious bares a vague resemblance to Dais from Ronin Warriors. His weapon is a long katana which he uses in battle. True to his name, Vicious is savage, ruthless, and well... Vicious. And he definitely lives up to his name. Vicious was originally an assassin for the Red Dragon syndicate. But towards the end of the series, he rebelled against his masters, killed them, and took over the organization. In the final episode, he and Spike engage in a one on one fight to the death to settle old scores. In the end, Spike and Vicious pretty much end up killing each other. Believe it or not, Vicious is one of my inspirations for my OC Geist the Doberman, right next to MD Geist.

8. Frieza (Dragon Ball Z) (1988-1996)
Now this is a villain who I praise and rate highly among many others. Frieza is one major bad guy. And I mean that literally, he takes the cake when it comes to "pure evil". And not only that, but he's incredibly powerful as well. Not only has he killed countless innocent civilians as well as people who would dare to oppose him, but he even has the ability to destroy entire worlds as well. In a flash back scene, it was shown that Frieza was responsible for the destruction of planet Vegeta, the home world of Goku, Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz. This guy puts everybody else to shame. Hell, he even makes Judge Doom look less intimidating than a lamb. What I found most interesting about Frieza is that he had multiple transformations. But perhaps the form that most fans remember is his final form, where he appears to be all white with some purple areas here and there. Now, when I first saw Frieza, I couldn't tell if he was male or female. Mainly because his English voice sounded funny, and he had purple lips. This gave me the impression that he was either male, female, or perhaps a hermaphrodite. But I soon got my answer that he's male. At least I'm pretty sure of it.

7. Tony Gleck (8-Man After) (1993)
Not many people know who this guy is. Because as I said before, 8-Man After is totally underrated. But take it from me, Tony Gleck is one of the toughest anime villains I know of right next to Vicious, Knives, MD Geist, and Gemma. Tony Gleck is the main villain of the OVA 8-Man After, and was the rival of Hazama Itsuru, who was Hachiro Azuma's successor. In the past, Hazama witnessed the murder of his fiancée at the hands of Tony himself when he shot her in the back with a gun. And this was back when Hazama and Tony were still human. Enraged by his fiancée's murder, Hazama swore revenge. And so he goes on a hunt for her killers, and kills each and every one of them one by one without mercy. Eventually, he finds Tony, and shoots him on the shoulder. But he lets a train finish the job for him. But it was later revealed that Tony was upgraded with cybernetic implants by Dr. Schmidt, who for some odd reason was revealed to be a disembodied brain in a jar. As a cyborg, Tony is strong, fast, agile, cunning, and pretty much equals 8-Man in almost every way except for one thing; he has a fetish with knives and anything that's sharp. Tony has a retractable knife that springs out from his wrist which he can use for either close range combat, or as a throwing weapon. One part that really caught me off guard was when he throws a knife to a man's chest for disagreeing with his plans. That alone showed me how much of a badass Tony really was.

6. Akuma (Super Street Fighter II Turbo) (1994)
Known as Gouki in Japan, Akuma made his first appearance in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, the final remake of Street Fighter II that was made before Capcom moved on to make the Street Fighter Alpha series. Akuma is the brother of Gouken, Ryu and Ken's sensei. A lot like M. Bison, Akuma was at first an ordinary human being. But as he was training in martial arts at a young age with his brother Gouken, he embraced the evil side of his art, and became the being of pure evil we know him as today. Complete with his red hair, red eyes, and the kanji symbol on his back which means "heaven". This usually shows up in his victory poses or when after he uses the "Shun Goku Satsu" on an opponent. What makes this guy special is that he's incredibly and insanely powerful. And not only that, but he is marked by his insatiable bloodlust and his sole desire to seek out strong opponents. In other words, he doesn't care about world domination so much as he lives solely for pure battle. Akuma's name is the Japanese word for "Demon". Not only does he use all of Ryu and Ken's moves, but he has a few of his own moves. His most powerful move is the "Shun Goku Satsu" (Instant Hell Murder), which drains half a block of life from you if your health bar is full. And if your health bar is only half way empty, this move results in instant KO. Interestingly, Akuma was the only one who actually managed to kill M. Bison with this move. However, M. Bison somehow came back to life. But his previous body was useless, and therefore he required a new body that would withstand the accumulation of evil energy that he learned to harness in the first place. From Super Street Fighter II Turbo onwards, Akuma has since become apart of the franchise, and has had many appearances in many subsequent games that followed afterwards.

5. Raoh (Fist of the North Star/Hokuto no Ken) (1984-1988)
Roah is one of the main villains from the manga and anime series Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken in Japan). He is the adoptive brother of Kenshiro, Jagi, and Toki, who all trained to become the heir of Hokuto Shinken (Northern Dipper God Fist) by their sensei and foster father Ryuken. However, according to ancient tradition, Hokuto Shinken is so powerful and so destructive an art, that only one person can master it at a given time. So, Ryuken chose Kenshiro to inherit the title of successor, which made Raoh and Jagi bitter. But Toki was proud of Kenshiro's success, and therefore resorted to using Hokuto Shinken as an art for healing the sick and injured. But Jagi was so bitter and jealous that he tried to kill Kenshiro to inherit the title. Only Jagi ended up with a mutilated face as a result. But Raoh left Ryuken's dojo to start a powerful empire to rule the world. Raoh is perhaps best known for his tall hulking appearance. He often wears body armor, a helmet with horns, and rides around on a giant black horse named Kokuo. But believe me when I say that Raoh is downright badass. Believe me, you do not want to get this guy angry. Because if you do, he will show you no mercy, and he can kill you without even trying. Not only has he struck fear into his would be oppressors, but in the 1986 film, he killed Shin (Kenshiro's past freind) and later Rei. Raoh was most likely the inspiration for a character named Zeus (named after the Greek God of the same name) who was the final boss of World Heroes 2 Jet. In Hokuto no Ken 2, it was revealed that Raoh had a biological brother named Kaio, who was said to be stronger than Roah and was a master of Hokuto Ryuken, a martial art more destructive than Hokuto Shinken. Raoh was also said to have a son named Ryu, who is only briefly seen in a flash back scene from the 2004 OVA series. Believe it or not, Raoh was one of the inspirations for my OC Trevor, Johnny's brother.

4. Tetsuo (Akira) (1988)
Now here's a villain who just about everybody knows because the movie he's from has gained international popularity and acclaim. Tetsuo is what I would like to call a misunderstood/tragic villain. In other words, he acts evil. But he more or less has valid reasons for why he acts the way he does. In his youth, Tetsuo was bullied and made fun of by everybody around him. And even in the movie's opening scene, it seemed his so-called friend Kaneda was no different with him. In fact, Tetsuo's past childhood experiences have made him so bitter towards humanity, that when he discovered his powers, he went insane, and went on a rampage around the city of Neo-Tokyo to vent his hatred on the world. As we all know, Tetsuo's powers are godlike. Nothing on Earth could stop him at all. But despite his decision to bring death and destruction to the world, I actually felt sorry for him. Because like I said, Tetsuo may have been the villain. But he probably wouldn't have turned out that way if only people had treated him better. And for some people, that's what happens when you push them too far. They become upset. And rather violent. For this reason, I label Tetsuo as a misunderstood villain.

3. Cell (Dragon Ball Z) (1988-1996)
Like Frieza, Cell is also quite ruthless and without remorse. But what makes this guy special is that he is a biomechanical android who was created by Dr. Gero. Like Frieza, Cell had several different stages. The form that most people know him for is his final stage, much like how it is with Frieza. Cell was perhaps one of the toughest and most challenging adversaries that Goku and his friends have ever faced. In fact, it took a lot of strength and effort to take this guy down. Cell was designed to be the ultimate killing machine. And true to his name, his powers consist of gathering the cells of other fighters to incorporate their powers and abilities for him to use at his disposal. Cell also has the ability to absorb people, and thus inherit their traits and abilities. In the anime, it was shown that he needed to absorb Android 17 and Android 18 in order for him to evolve into his final form. So in a way, he was similar to the alien creature from "John Carpenter's the Thing" because of his ability to absorb and gather cells to incorporate them into his own. Only instead of changing shape, Cell has the ability to use other people's powers as his own.

2. Prince Lotor (Voltron/Beast King Golion) (1981-1984)
If you watched Voltron as a kid in the 1980s, then you should know who this guy is. Known as Sincline in Japan, Lotor is the son of King Zarkon (Daibazal in the Japanese version), and is one of the high commanding officers of the Doom Empire (Galra Empire). Prince Lotor was marked by his infatuation with Princess Allura, much like how Blitz was infatuated with Colleen, and how Drago is towards with Lupe. Now, Prince Lotor is one of the villains who I remember the most from my childhood. Because like I said, I used to watch Voltron when I was a kid. Aside from his obsession for Allura and his desire to destroy Voltron, Lotor was also characterized by being rebellious towards his father Zarkon. More often than not, he tried to oppose his father in the attempt to claim absolute rule over the empire. But of course he never succeeds. But there's something about Lotor that just defines him as a villain. I'm not sure what it is. But he does have his charm. And that's probably what drew me to him in the first place. I found it most surprising that in the Japanese version of the show, Lotor was voiced by Akira Kamiya, the same person who voiced Kenshiro, Ryo Saeba, and Kinnikuman. As you would expect, Lotor is also quite ruthless. Because in the Japanese version of the show, he actually manages to injure Keith, and he nearly succeeds in killing him. Luckily, Keith survived his ordeal, and continued his role as the pilot of the black lion.

1. Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII) (1997-Present Day):
This guy is perhaps overrated. But I have to give him credit anyway. Because seriously, who doesn't like Sephiroth? This guy made his first appearance in 1997 with the release of Final Fantasy VII for the PS1. He was the main villain in that game, and because of it's lasting popularity among gamers and developers, Sephiroth has had countless appearances outside of the game along with Cloud.

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