Every season, new anime comes out, and new anime villains are introduced. Some of them are just okay, but others are fantastic. For this list, we’re going to take a look at the best modern anime villains: that is, the best villains who have appeared in anime that came out between 2010 and present day 2024.
These anime villains have been voted on over 14,000 times by anime fans on Ranker, so enjoy the wisdom of the crowd as we present the list in a countdown format.
9. Esdeath – ‘Akame ga Kill’
Esdeath is a high-ranking military official who is the leader of the Jaegers. Though she’s cruel and sadistic towards her enemies, she’s respectful and loving towards her allies. She uses a Teigu called Demon’s Extract which lets her create and manipulate ice.
8. Tomura Shigaraki – ‘My Hero Academia’
Tomura Shigaraki is All For One’s protege. His quirk, Decay, lets him destroy everything he touches, and that’s exactly what he wants to do to Hero Society. He’s absolutely chaotic, and so far in the anime it’s not clear why – but there’s plenty more to come about this villain.
7. Charlotte Katakuri – ‘One Piece’
One Piece has a plethora of great villains, so this time we’re going with Charlotte Katakuri, who was introduced after 2010 and who you guys voted to Number 1. He’s the second son of the Charlotte Family, and he serves as one of the three Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates. Intensely loyal to his mother, he wants to destroy the Straw Hat Pirates, the Vinsmoke Family, and anyone else who might get in Big Mom’s way.
6. Dio Brando – ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has a lot of great villains, but for now we’re sticking with the classics. Dio is a super-powerful vampire who can stop time with his Stand. His primary goal is nothing short of world domination.
5. Garou – ‘One Punch Man’
After being bullied in school by a kid who’d pretend to be a hero and force him to be a monster, Garou started to feel disdainful towards heroes and empathetic towards monsters. He disliked anything that was ‘popular’ because he believed that whatever was popular would always win. This led to him becoming a villain and a ‘Hero Hunter.’
4. All For One – ‘My Hero Academia’
All For One is the mastermind behind the League of Villains, and he’s also All Might’s arch-enemy. After severely injuring each other during a previous battle, the two have an epic showdown that spells the end of All Might’s career, and sees All For One sent to a high-security prison. But just because he’s in prison doesn’t mean his villainy is over…
3. Muzan Kibutsuji – ‘Demon Slayer’
After becoming a demon in order to save himself from a fatal illness, Muzan Kibutsuji becomes obsessed with becoming a ‘perfect being’ and with transforming as many people as possible into demons. He’s the one who massacred Tanjiro’s family and turned Nezuko into a demon, so he’s the one they must defeat.
2. Meruem – ‘Hunter x Hunter’
Born to be the king of the chimera ants, Meruem is supposed to be spending his time preparing to dominate those around him and amassing strength. Although he’s strong as hell, he’s more concerned with his true purpose in life. That’s how he ends up building a powerful and unexpected connection with a human girl named Komugi.
1. Hisoka Morow – ‘Hunter x Hunter’
Unlike some villains who have tragic backstories or pure motivations, Hisoka Morow just wants to destroy strong opponents. Sometimes, this means that he slides out of the villain role to help the protagonists, but sometimes this means that he’s the toughest obstacle they have to face.