KenesuKurusu’s T.A.R.DIS: My List of Note-Worthy Anime Villains, Version 1.0

DISCLAIMER:  Everything and anything discussed in this article is purely based on my opinion, therefore, it may be biased in some way, shape, or form.  If you have anything to say about my opinions, please do so in an orderly manner in the comments section down below.  Likewise, other people’s opinions are important as well.  Please attend to those opinions with due respect.

Also, Spoilers, sooooooo, there’s that…

What would a normal face-off-for-justice be without an adversary ready to give the hero a run for his/her money (hey that rhymed!).  In the world of fiction, villains play the role of being a direct contrast to the main protagonist, constantly questioning and bludgeoning (sometimes literally) the hero’s  motives with constant meddling, scheming, and sometimes just plain dicking around.  Oftentimes, the villain gets no flack, sometimes just being there for the sake of having an opponent for the hero.  However, there are quite a few villains who deserve their status wickedly, either through their actions, schemes, philosophical speeches, or just for being damn too awesome and evil.

Now, in terms of anime villains, who do I think are deserving of their villainous titles?

Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Kenji, and welcome to Kenesu Kurusu’s Thematic Anime-Related Discussions (T.A.R.DIS for short). Today, I give to you the anime villains that I think are pretty, ahem, “wickedly” maleficent.

Allons-y?

NOW, TO PREFACE, THIS IS NOT A “TOP” LIST.  All the characters introduced here are in no particular order, and this is because I don’t feel that villains should be numbered down.  Evil isn’t exactly ranked, ya know?  At least, not in my book.  I also only limited my choices to only one villain per series of my choosing.  They were added to this list based on:

• How menacing they are
• Powers (if they’re superhuman)
• Motives
• Badass moments
• Characteristics that make them entities of antagonism

AND NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET US BEGIN:

1.)  Vicious, from Cowboy Bebop

Being the main antagonist of Cowboy Bebop, Vicious is the leader of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate, an organization comprised of mafias and criminals based on Mars.  He participated in a war some time long ago, and somehow, along the way (probably due to trauma), he developed into a menacing villain.  Now, real talk, if you are gonna be the leader of an ENTIRE ORGANIZATION full of some of the most heinous crooks this side of the solar system, you gotta have the skills, the charm, and the menacing personality to be able to keep the organization afloat.  Vicious has all of those traits and more.  A ruthless, blood-thirsty sword-wielder, he exhibits no mercy when achieving his goals; a direct opposite to Spike Spiegel’s laid-back attitude.

His mastery of the sword, along with the fighting style he compliments that skill with, makes him a lethal swordsman that rivals Spikes style of fighting, a fact that may sound cliche at first, but after you’ve seen how deadly good Vicious wields his sword, you’d probably change your mind.  Vicious is cunning, knows what to do to get what he wants (it usually involves a lot of blood and…birds), and very ambitious, making him a classic villain who can send chills down your spine with just one, vicious stare.

2.)  Madara Uchiha, from Naruto:  Shippuden

Arguably one of the most (if not THE most) powerful ninjas in the Naruto-verse, Madara is a descendant of the famed Uchiha clan, a clan known for their fearsome ocular prowess.  The clan has been exceptionally known for their astounding battle abilities, but even by the Uchiha standards, Madara is a devastatingly powerful ninja.  A child prodigy, Madara honed his abilities to their fullest in just a few years, and by then he bacame the one of the leaders of his clan, along with his brother.  After being defeated by Hashirama Senju, he decided to form an alliance with him, and thus, the village of Konohagakure was born.  All was going fine and dandy…

…that is, of course, until he read the Uchiha stone tablet, leading him to discover the origins of shinobi and somehow led him to despair about the fate of all shinobi-kind.  He challenged Hashirama to a battle again and, after a really close fight, lost again and seemingly died.  However, Madara’s still back, and has even managed to resurrect himself in the present stronger and grumpier than ever.

Now, what makes this guy a note-worthy villain?  Well, for one HE CAN SUMMON METEORS FROM THE FREAKING SKY!  But besides that, he is an expert at ninjutsu, taijustsu and nature transformation; he has an IMMENSE amount of chakra, able to perform jutsu after jutsu after jutsu on large scales without visible exhaustion from chakra loss; is a skilled battle tactician, having participated in multiple battles; and has modified his body to the point where his physical strenght and endurance rivals those of the only person who have ever defeated him.  However, his most feared weapon is his ocular jutsu, more specifically the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and the Rinnegan, which allows him to perform powerful genjutsu, control tailed beasts, SUMMON METEORS OUT OF THE SKY, cloak himself with the almost-indestructible Susanoo, absorb jutsu, see chakra, SUMMON METEORS OUT OF THE SKY, use practically any technique, summon the fearsome Demonic Statue of the Outer Paths, manifest chakra-receiving rods, SUMMON METEORS OUT OF THE SKY, summon chakra chains strong enough to restrict even Tailed Beasts, and control gravity.

This is not even my final form…

In short, HE’S FREAKING OVERPOWERED.

THIS…IS MY FINAL FOOOOOORM….

Not only that, but his experience in battle is unmatched, being a participant in a war that took the life of his brother.  He is cold, calculating, and rotten to the core.  In battle, Madara is composed, adaptable, confident, highly vigilant, and both careful AND unmerciful, which, considering his insane abilities, makes him one of the most powerful villains in anime history.  He will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, and no one, not even the 5 Kages, can get in the way of his plans to control the world through the “Eye of the Moon” plan.

3.)  Ragyo Kiryuin, from Kill la Kill

The menacing mommy-dearest and the CEO of the REVOCS Corporation, Ragyo is one of the more…well, fabulous antagonists of this list.  She was the very first person to discover the Original Life Fiber and, awed by its power, uses it in her plan to conquer the world.

Classic plan for a villain, but what makes here incredibly villainous is the scope of her cruelty.  Ragyo is a cruel and sadistic individual, reveling in the pain that she inflicts to others.  She lusts in power and authority, which leads her to become ruthless, not hesitating to destroy to achieve her ambitions.  She has a rather unbreakable will, making her a very stubborn antagonist who, even in the face of defeat, remains undeterred no matter what the situation is.  Ragyo is also a skilled user of weapons and is nearly immortal due to her having the powers of the Life Fibers fused into her, making her a very tricky opponent.

However, what makes Ragyo so unbelievably maleficent is her utter disregard for all human life, even her own flesh and blood.  She used her daughters for her fatal Life Fiber experiments (she simply discarded one of her daughters after failing the test) and does not care for her own well-being, shown when she committed suicide rather than accepting defeat.

With a villain like Ragyo, big evil financial CEOs look like little kindergarten children in comparison.

4.)  Father, from Fullmetal Alchemist:  Brotherhood

The very first Homonculus, Father was actually an entity called the “Dwarf in the Flask” who took on the appearance of Van Hohenheim.  The ruthless creator of the Homonculi, Father stripped himself off his humanly flaws in his attempt to become the perfect human being.  Based solely on that fact, we can already assume his personality, right?

Father is a ruthless and cold individual who thinks that humans are nothing but pawns for his plans.  He has an almost insatiable thirst for power and has a pitiless nature to boot.  He also has some sort of a god-complex, seeing himself as the one who will ascend God and as the “perfect human”.

The fearsome thing is that he does seem to have god-tier powers.  He can perform alchemy on a large scale without using transmutation circles, suck the souls of other people, create energy force fields, create destructive energy waves, cancel out other people’s alchemy, create energy blasts, manipulate the weather, and a whole lot more nature-defying abilities that makes him almost unstoppable in terms of power and abilities.

Oh, and he also has thousands of extra lives, so there’s that.  Wonderful, eh?

5.)  Medusa Gorgon, from Soul Eater

A powerful, sinister witch, Medusa is a master of manipulation, using her charm and wit to trick people and witches alike to perform her plans.  Very trick and clever, Medusa easily infiltrated the DWMA in order to aid in the resurrection of Asura in order to “reset” the world to the way that she deems is right.  SHe is a sadistic and cruel individual who is not above torturing people, allies and enemies alike, for her own amusement.  More so, she does not hesitate to destroy anyone who stands in the way of her plans, making her a very ruthless opponent.

The face of evil…

 

NOT the face of evil…

Being a witch, Medusa wields her magic abilities with extremely effective precision and skill, making her one of the most powerful witches (and adversary in general) in the Soul Eater universe.  Utilizing Vector magic, combined with her snake-themed abilities, Medusa is a master combatant, able to hold her own in a battle with Stein, is very intelligent and a genius in the battlefield, and has a really large and powerful soul wavelength.  Another thing that attributes to Medusa being a cunning genius is her fail-safe plans of surviving when the odds are against her favor.  She can conceal her soul into minuscule snakes, allowing her to escape unseen or escape by possessing people, where she eventually takes full control of the host body.

Cunning, sexy, and battle-adept….damn.

6.)  Light Yagami, from Death Note

Now, I know what you’re gonna say:  “But Kenji, Light Yagami is an anti-hero!  He started with the right intentions but fell victim to the innate lust for power that human beings have!  He had a good purpose, he just lost his waaaaaaay! Hur dur dur.”

Well, to be fair, all those arguments are valid.  What I do want to put out there is that Light, by the second half of the series, starts to lose any sense of morality that he has:  he murders his father, manipulates the task force to do his bidding, and involved innocent people in his plans, all for the “greater good” (oh, and he killed L, soooo…there’s that).  Therefore, I will include him in the Villains section for my list.

Anywho, do I need to explain why he’s here on this list?  Cunning, intelligent, charming, and ruthless are just about enough to describe Light Yagami.  After accidentally finding the Death Note, a notebook that kills the person who’s name is written in it, Light realizes the extraordinary power he now possess and proceeds to, ahem, “purify” the world by getting rid of criminals left and right.  Eventually, he degenerates into a mad villain who does not hesitate to kill anyone that stands in between him and his plans of recreating the world where Kira rules supreme.

Despite orchestrating the deaths of multiple people, sometimes innocent people, Light’s desire for a new world remained unshaken, indicating how string his resolve is.  He eventually devolves into a human with almost no compassion and mercy left, replaced with a malevolent and ruthless personality as well as a god complex.  The fact that he is actually very intelligent and resourceful only added to his hubris.

Uhm….

Through his actions, he demonstrates not only his brilliant mind, but also his willingness to risk everything, anything, if it meant victory.

And of course, you can’t go wrong with that potato-chip scene.

And that’s it for me for now.  If you have any villain that you think should be on the second version of my list, tell me and I shall give it a look.

Leave a comment down below pertaining to your thoughts on this list, the topic discussed, or if you would like me to discuss about anything.  And, speaking of “liking”, give the T.A.R.DIS a like if you enjoyed it.  With that, until next time, this has been Kenji, thank you and I’ll see you guys in the future.