Do you remember how in the olden days of TV & anime, villains were evil just because they were evil? Luckily, these days a lot of villains are getting the attention they deserved – fleshing out their motivations and overall character. And a few of them kind of made some solid points, but just went about it the wrong way. And that’s what we’ll be looking into in this list: cases of anime villains who were kinda right in their actions. Note: Slight spoilers ahead.
12. Daigo Kagemitsu
Anime: Dororo I want to start off with the controversial ones. There’s no denying that Daigo is not winning any “father of the year” awards. However, you can’t really say that his motivations weren’t noble at heart. His land was ravaged with famine, the neighboring territories could invade and massacre his people at any moment, and the entire dominion was in dire circumstances to say the least. So even though sacrificing a baby is a guaranteed way to end up in hell, we also have to acknowledge that the newfound prosperity of the land probably saved countless other families.
11. Tsukasa Shishiou
Anime: Dr. Stone Tsukasa had two main points where one was just horribly wrong, and the other made some sense. His plan to enforce eugenics was definitely an awful thing that cannot be excused in any way, shape, or form. However, his plan to rid the world of science had some solid points. Really think about how terrifying it is to know that a country from the other side of the world can send one missile and destroy everything you have ever known or cared about. People with pointy sticks seem much more soothing in that context.
10. Garou
Anime: One Punch Man Garou is kind of a weird one, as I feel like he made half of a good point. In particular, it was his disdain for who society saw as “evil” or “monsters”, and who society saw as heroes. I mean, in season 1 a so-called monster called Vaccine literally tried to save the environment – yet he got instantly killed by the “merciful” heroes. Hell, Tatsumaki literally stabbed her friend with a sword while drunk, and yet we’re still supposed to believe that heroes don’t have an evil bone in their body. However, Garou’s approach to solving the issue is naïve at best – and stupid at worst.
9. Meruem
Anime: Hunter x Hunter (2011) I want to emphasize that I’m talking about Meruem’s final form here, as he’s far from righteous initially. At the end of the day, he just wanted to enforce peace. He definitely had the power to forcefully align humanity as a whole. And by the end of the series he was more humane than any of the main cast. While the heroes were doing suicide bombings and beating up corpses for revenge, Meruem was practicing forgiveness and cherishing a helpless girl that opened his eyes. Never thought I would give dictatorship the thumbs up, but I think it would have worked out for the better.
8. Lordgenome
Anime: Tangen Toppa Gurren Lagann Although Lordgenome was proven wrong by the very end of the series, the dude was anything but a tyrant. Sure, it seemed pretty evil to make humanity live underground and suffer through constant night-scares and earthquakes. But when the alternative is complete eradication of the species, it doesn’t seem as bad. It’s always good to strive for complete liberty. But you can’t fault the dude for wanting to preserve his entire species.
7. The Archive
Anime: Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song- This one is kind of a spoiler, as the Archive is revealed as a villain at the very end of the series. But I have to give it a mention. Even though it nearly ended the entire human race, the Archive was realistically just sticking to its goal. The purpose of A.I. was to better humanity. However, since everyone got so used to technology, everyone became somewhat complacent and mediocre. So presenting humanity with a difficult battle definitely would fall under the “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” category. The fact that humanity literally cracked time travel just because of this threat is proof enough that it was a reasonable decision that was just based on poorly worded commands.
6. Pain
Anime: Naruto Shippuden I don’t think I’ll ever forget about the fight between Naruto and Pain. That moment when Naruto was stating his usual pretentious speech about how this is his village and how his opponents are evil for bringing harm to it, only for Pain to verbally backhand him and showcase the fact that the Leaf village did its fair share of mass murder as well. There was no good, and there was no evil. Only circles of pain that formed an endless chain reaction. And if we look at the entire narrative of the Naruto universe, he pretty much hit the nail on the head with that observation.
5. Stain
Anime: My Hero Academia Stain made such a good point that I’m reluctant to even call him a villain. He didn’t just kill heroes because he felt like it, but rather because they were destroying the very legacy of that profession. It was obvious from the start that some heroes do not want to help people – but rather just want to make some cash and become famous. The very first episode has Mount Lady showing off her butt to the reporters to make a name for herself. So say what you will about Stain, but the dude knew how to differentiate real heroes and egocentric show-offs who just wanted money and attention.
4. Light Yagami
Anime: Death Note There’s no denying that Light had a God complex and a very loose moral compass. However, there’s also no denying that he produced results. Even though his pen was not dipped in blood, he could proudly claim that he brought down the crime rate in Japan. Everyone feared this mystical god that could strike you down in your cell with no jury needed. Capital punishment is a very controversial topic, and a great taboo in the modern world. However there’s no denying that in Light’s particular case, it yielded results. Who knew humans could behave this well once the fear of a god is brought into the equation?
3. Shougo Makishima
Anime: Psycho-Pass This entire show was so morally grey that I honestly felt like everyone made a valid point. However, Shougo is my favorite example. The Sybil system is anything but flawless, and Shougo was the living embodiment of just that. His crime coefficient never went up, regardless of what he did. Which logically made him question the very pillars on which his society was built upon. Plus it was like he was invisible to the core value of his world, which has historically shown to make people just a tad rebellious. What he did at that bridge scene was anything but humane. Yet I still can’t help but understand where this dude is coming from. ‘Tis the curse of good writing.
2. Madara Uchiha
Anime: Naruto Shippuden When you really think about it, Madara was just the most badass and ironically brutal pacifist that ever lived. His entire plan just revolved around enforcing world-wide peace where no one had to die or suffer the anguish of grief. Sure, it also meant putting the entire world under genjutsu. But for all we know, we could be living in a giant genjutsu right now. So I don’t see how that changes anything. Again, it’s always right to fight for liberty – and no decision should really be forced onto you like that. But at the end of the day, a lot of the broken characters in this show would have been a lot happier if they just lived in a perfect illusion world.
1. Squealer
Anime: From the New World I talked about the whole “always fight for liberty” thing a few times now, and I think no other anime character carries this title as well as Squealer. Sure, he started a war and killed some innocent people. However, when you look at how his people were treated, can you really blame him? Imagine having to constantly answer to someone even though you’re of the same intellect, and even share common values. Imagine having your entire village destroyed because of the wrath of some influential individual. Imagine being ridiculed and put down just for wanting equal rights with people who are fundamentally on your level. Wait, I’m pretty sure I just described slavery… so, abolitionist Squealer for the win.
