Antagonists have rousing motives and ideologies that resonate deeply with the viewers by virtue of realism. The conflict of philosophies between them and their opposite protagonists is always the highlight of a good anime series. With their reasonings,the antagonists challenge the conventional ideas of good and eviland create moral dilemmas that split the fandom into polarizing opinions about them.
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That’s why the villains of modern anime, such asLight Yagami and Pain, despite being pure evil, manage to humanize their actions and gather empathy from many fans. These twisted philosophies lead to the most compelling arguments, which push even extreme idealists to question their personal beliefs.
10Drosselmeyer
Princess Tutu’s fictional dead writer, Drosselmeyer, is a very interesting take on a writer’s philosophy, which revolves around the authority of a writer over the fate of his characters. Although deceased, Drosselmeyer resurrects himself in a fantasy world he created in his writing series, The Prince and the Raven.
He views his characters just as mere puppets and himself as a master of this grand scheme. He explores the grayest portions of emotions through his magical storytelling. To do so, he even cages his characters in tragic events and struggles. His ideology echoes real-life puppeteer-like control of authors over the world they’ve created.
9Izaya Orihara
Izaya Orihara, the enigmatic antagonist of Durarara, personifies a bizarre and nihilistic allurement with mankind. His characteristic claim of loving humans seems more like a paradox, as he finds pleasure in placing humans in situations where they could surpass ordinary mannerisms.
Izaya enjoys observing people’s actions, and his love for humans is projected by manipulating them to evaluate them ultimately. He wishes to create a state of war in Ikebukuro while hiding himself in the shadows. This makes him an unpredictable antagonist, leaving his character open to interpretation.
8Shogo Makishima
Makishima Shogo, a Criminally Asymptomatic person from Psycho-Pass, embraces true freedom. His philosophy has its roots in existentialism and opposes the Sibyl System that has the power to reprimand individuals.
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He orchestrates chaos by spreading helmets among the criminals so that they can mimic the Psycho-Passes, thus dismantling the previous social order and creating a new one where humans are free to kill. Makishima believes himself to be a liberator, to reveal the true face of human existence, even committing the most heinous acts to achieve it. His twisted ideology of freedom paves the path for an alternate world where criminals might have an equal chance to be celebrated as heroes.
The world of Berserk is lined with darkness, and Griffith’s presence as a heroic leader is a driving force that pushes the anime series forward. Griffith’s ideology is such a complex one that it has divided the fandom in half – while some are completely allured by his character,others regard his actions as an utter act of evil.
While it’s up for debate, one cannot deny that Griffith’s character was relatable, a man with one ambition in his mind, to form a perfect world free from any suffering, and for which he believed that sacrifices must be made, and where he is considered as a Savior of Midland.
6Hero Killer Stain
The anime series My Hero Academia explores a world dominated by glorified heroism, plagued by money and fame. To defy such a rotten system,Hero Killer Stain rises and catalyzes the exploration of flaws in society.
Stain’s philosophy resonates deeply with the audience as it illuminates the dark end of a hero-dominated world. He critiqued the idea of True Hero, calling it a profession that should be devoid of any influence of fame or money. While his methods of defiance are brutal, the misplaced system prompts fans to question true heroism.
5Yoshikage Kira
Kira Yoshikage from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures mimics the mannerism of a real-life serial killer, so much so that he’d fit in like a puzzle piece in the real world. From his early years, Kira was fascinated by female hands, which turns into a disturbing fetish later and leads to a violent habit of female homicide just to be romantically involved with their cleaved hands.
However, at the core of his psychotic tendencies lies a desire for Peace.Kira wants to live a life that goes undisturbedby any human intervention. He just wants to lead a normal undisturbed life, fulfilling his disturbing urges in secret.
Nagato, or Pain, is one of the better-written antagonists in modern anime. You might object to his ways, but his philosophy projects some meaning. Pain’s philosophy was simply the Cycle of hatred. Pain believed that Hate reproduces conflict, which leads nations to war, and war begets just more hatred.
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Hence, a cycle is created that entraps individuals into resolving a war that they did not initiate. Pain plans to end the wars once and for all by constantly reminding people of their pain and thus coercing peace.
3Zeke Yeager
One of the most intriguing facets of Attack on Titan was the clash between the philosophies of the Yeager brothers, both trying to create a world free from the suffering of the Eldians.
While Eren unchained a full-blown Rumbling to exterminate the entire world outside Paradis, Zeke has a pessimistic take on Eldian restoration. He unleashes his Euthanasia plan to make Eldians sterile.Zeke presents his philosophy of Voluntary Extinction. He believes that the Eldians should never be born in the first place rather than be subjected to discrimination.
2Light Yagami
Light Yagami is arguably the most complex character in Death Note, the man who has the power to condemn criminals by killing them. The fact that Light Yagami realizes that he is committing a criminal act adds many layers to his character.
Light believes himself to be a divine arbiter of justice. He envisions a greater purpose to fix the world and create a new one free of evil. Light forgoes morality and ethics for a higher cause, to the point where he claims he is Justice, thereby committing to an act of psychotic dispossession that allows him to justify the suspension of morals.
1Johan Leibert
Naoki Urasawa’s sensational anime series, Monster featuresJohan Liebert as one of the evilest antagonists of all time. Johann’s evilness might be easier to comprehend than to explain, but as a general idea, gather every negative trait and make a man out of it – that is what describes his personality the best.
His vicious nature doesn’t come as pointless but is rather very philosophical. His many beliefs correlate with the human idea of nihilism, which puts forwards the idea that life is absurd to its core. He has an absolute disregard for human life; hence manipulating and killing people doesn’t bother him.
