In anime, villains are the most enthralling characters and, in some cases, the main attraction of the series. With their unfathomable powers, they set a bar for MCs that they must leap over to stand in front of them.
Although strong anime villains are a nuisance to the good boys of the anime, any series is incomplete without a good antagonist.
So, in this blog, I am going to rank 20 of the smartest, strongest, and almost overpowered anime villains with a classical tier ranking!
20 Anime Villains Who Give The MC A Hard Time!
Strongest Anime Villains Tier List
We’ll kick things off with a tier list!
And in our tier list, villains in D rank do not imply that they are the weakest, but rather that they are the least powerful among these 20 overpowered characters.
Then C & B rank villains are the many antagonists who create the ultimate mayhem with their ultimate powers.
A and S are cut-throat villains with the highest possible kill count, using God-Level attacks, with S-Tier villains doing it all just for the heck of it.
So, as we go down from D to S, we see more and more vicious and cold-blooded characters who made MCs go through hell!
| D | Desty Nova | Hisoka | Stain | ||
| C | Cell | Akainu | Majin Buu | ||
| B | Tomura S. | Garou | Frieza | Overhaul | |
| A | Blackbeard | Orochimaru | Doflamingo | Wrath | Pain |
| S | Madara U. | Muzan | Meruem | Lord Boros | All For One |
20. Desty Nova
- Anime: Battle Angel Alita
- Role: Scientist
- Ability: High Intelligence
Desty Nova is an immortal, proficient, yet insane rogue scientist featured as the main antagonist in the Battle Angel Alita.
He was one of the top scientists on the team entrusted with uncovering the mystery of the Floating City. Unfortunately, the findings drove Nova and his colleague insane. And they got kicked out of the Tiphares.
However, Nova’s ambitions were motivated by his finding of the brain bio-chip that serves as the brain for all adult Tiphareans. So, he continued to conduct heinous and inhumane experiments to the point where he made his own son, Kaos, one of his test subjects.
In the end, using a technique he invented, “Stereotomy,” Nova created a clone of himself to achieve immortality.
19. Hisoka Morow
- Anime: Hunter X Hunter
- Role: Hunter
- Ability: Bungee Gum
Hisoka, a notoriously vicious and cunning fighter, is one of the most formidable villains on this list. His peculiarity lies in his masochistic behavior, where he enjoys torturing his opponents and causing them the utmost misery.
For Hisoka, there is nothing more satisfying than taking on powerful Nen users in intense battles. Tactical fights that put his life in jeopardy are his favorite!
However, Hisoka has immense strength, stamina, endurance, and agility. And he is a master of stealth, weapons, hand-to-hand combat, and strategy. Yet, these dynamic abilities are secondary since the real prowess of Hisoka lies in his deadly use of Nun as Transmutation and Conjuration.
Bringing up his Nen power, Hisoka creates a sticky aura he calls Bungee Gum, which he can manipulate for attack and defense purposes.
Ultimately, Hisoka is a vicious monster in human form!
18. Chizome Akaguro – Stain
- Anime: My Hero Academia
- Role: Villain
- Ability: Bloodcurdle
A fearsome villain and ex-vigilante in MHA, Chizome Akaguro goes by the name “Hero Killer: Stain” due to his prominence for killing numerous Pro Heroes in the series.
At first, Chizome was driven to become a hero himself, but after enrolling in a Hero course in high school, Chizome lost his interest and passion. He observed the downfall of the Academy as its students were becoming Heroes only for financial gain.
Therefore, Chizome dropped out of school, trained himself, and came up with the ideology “Revival of Heroics.” He set out to reshape the world by staining his own hands with blood as the Hero Killer: Stain!
Since then, Stain killed 17 well-known Pro Heroes and severely injured 24 more, leaving them permanently disabled.
Although activating his Quirk takes quite a toll, Stain overcomes the high cost by seizing his opponents in hand-to-hand combat.
17. Cell
- Anime: Dragon Ball Z
- Role: Villain
- Ability: Saiyan Powers
Cell was one of the earliest and most powerful villains in DBZ who gave our Saiyans a tough time!
Although he is cloned from the DNA of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Frieza, and King Cold, Cell is the crowning achievement of Dr. Gero, a genius scientist. Since Cell is created from the DNA of three formidable opponents—Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo—he is well aware of their weaknesses and perfectly uses them to his advantage.
The reasons for including Cell in my strongest villain list are his ultimate transformations and unfathomable absorbing abilities!
After devouring over 600,000 humans, he was able to surpass both Android 17 and Piccolo, withstanding Piccolo’s most deadly attack with no damage at all.
In its final form, The Perfect Cell is so much more powerful that it poses a threat to the entire Universe!
16. Akainu
- Anime: One Piece
- Role: Admiral
- Ability: Magma User
Sakazuki, better known by his nom de guerre Akainu, is a navy Admiral in One Piece. He is one of three of the highest-rank officers and has the power to annihilate an entire island!
A sworn antagonist of Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates, Akainu is a man of absolute justice who never shows mercy.
Although Akainu is not a villain technically as he is serving his country, every One Piece fan knows how much hate this man actually deserves!
Akianu not only killed Ace, one of the greatest characters of One Piece, but he also allowed the complete destruction of Ohara by a Buster Call, killing everyone except for Nico Robin.
15. Majin Buu
- Anime: Dragon Ball Z
- Role: Alien
- Ability: Transmutation
Majin Buu, who was first introduced as a chubby and innocent pink creature, later becomes a slim yet brutal demon known as Pure Majin Buu. Like many other villains in DBZ, Buu also had several forms that make him the worst of the worst!
In his primitive childish form, Buu did nothing wrong but just turned people into candy and chocolates, and devoured them in an instant. Yeah, that’s the Buu tale of his innocent “cute” form. (Sarcasm!)
What makes him one of the strongest anime villains is his devouring the 2 Supreme Kai and creating his own Dragon Balls in Namekian form.
Yeah, that’s another overwhelming form of Buu where he doesn’t seem stronger but becomes the smartest creature in the universe.
When it became a harsh truth that no one could stop Buu, Goku gathered the power of the entire planet into a massive Spirit Bomb and used it to defeat Majin Buu.
14. Tomura Shigaraki
- Anime: My Hero Academia
- Role: Villain
- Ability: Decay
Tenko Shimura, better known as Tomura Shigaraki, is the ultimate shonen villain in MHA. He is one of the arch-nemeses of Izuku Midoriya.
After killing his own family after his Quirk awakening, Shigaraki was adopted and raised by none other than the greatest villain of My Hero Academia, All For One!
Following his footprints, he eventually became the leader of the League of Villains and attempted to kill several heroes. Now, he is a Grand Commander of the Paranormal Liberation Front.
At first, Shigaraki was a puppet who only followed orders from All For One. But, over time, he has become the ruler of the underground world.
13. Garou – A Human Monster
- Anime: One Punch Man
- Role: Supervillain
- Ability: Martial Artist
Garou is another hero-cidal villain like Stain who hunts down the strongest heroes with his impetuous martial arts. And who thought him the killer moves? None other than the S-Class hero, Silver Fang.
The Hero Association considered Garou a Dragon-level threat when he started his journey to become the ultimate monster by brutally defeating the high-ranked heroes.
Despite being an ordinary human with no superpowers, Garou has proven himself capable of eliminating Demon-level monsters. He is indeed a worthy opponent for Saitama, and One Punch Man Season 3 will finally put the two head-to-head.
[Spoiler Alert]: What’s more terrifying is the upcoming transformation of Garou (Awakened Garou: Cosmic Fear Mode), where he achieves god-like capabilities. Season 3 will surely see Garou break into the strongest anime villain ranks.
12. Frieza
- Anime: Dragon Ball Z
- Role: Agent of Destruction
- Ability: Multiple Powers
“I doubt I need an introduction, but just in case, I am the mighty Frieza, and yes, all the horrible stories you’ve heard are true.” — Frieza.
This is who Frieza is- a badass villain who feels like he needs no introduction. But I’ll introduce him anyway.
He is the one known as the ruler of 448 planets in the universe and is a sworn enemy of Vegeta and Goku, who destroyed Planet Vegeta. Not only the Saiyans, but Frieza has encountered the God of Destruction, Beerus as well.
In his journey to attain immortality and control over the universe with his myriad army, Frieza has destroyed several planets and taken millions of lives.
And Frieza’s prowess never disappoints fans as he transforms every time into a more cool and intimidating form, becoming a nightmare for his opponents!
More so, even the most powerful attacks in DBZ, including Spirit Bombs or Kamehameha, hardly scratch him.
11. Kai Chisaki – Overhaul
- Anime: My Hero Academia
- Role: Yakuza
- Ability: Overhaul
Kai Chisaki, codenamed “Overhaul,” is the head of the Shie Hassaikai, a Mafia organization formed of evil Quirk-users.
Chisaki is shown as a mysophobic, ruthless, and sadistic villain. And his only goal is to make all humans Quirkless and recreate the world from its foundation.
For his dream to come true, Overhaul even put his former boss in a coma to rule over their Yakuza organization. He also kidnapped Eri-Chan, a little 7 years old girl with a Quirk to rewind time, and performed several deadly experiments on her.
What makes Chisaki a powerful villain is his Quirk known as Overhaul. With Overhaul, Chisaki can assemble and disassemble anything and deliver instant death with just a touch of his hands.
10. Marshall D. Teach – Blackbeard
- Anime: One Piece
- Role: Emperor
- Ability: Dark Dark Fruit
Marshall D. Teach, infamously known as Blackbeard in the pirate world, was a Warlord who betrayed one of the powerful Sea Emperors, Edward Newgate (Whitebeard), and sent Luffy’s brother Ace, behind the bars.
In the whole One Piece Saga, Blackbeard is a cold-blooded villain who killed several of his own crewmates to seize power.
And being a man of such a hideous personality, Blackbeard made many of the high-profile pirates his sworn enemy, including the protagonist Straw Hat Luffy, Whitebeard, Red Hair Shanks, Boa Hancock, Monkey D. Dragon, and the Revolutionary Army.
What’s more annoying is Blackbeard is now the only Emperor of the Sea. He also knows how to acquire the Devil Fruits of the dead and currently wields the power of two Devil Fruits.
09. Orochimaru
- Anime: Naruto
- Role: Sannin
- Ability: Snake Jutsu
Orochimaru is one of the cunningest villains in Naruto. He’s a rogue ninja known for killing his own master and the Third Hokage of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Although Orochimaru was among the three legendary Sannins, his ambition to master all the world Jutsu drove him to conduct heinous human experiments. He’s killed thousands of people, including the 4th Kazekage of Sand Village.
Eventually, Orochimaru joins the most fearsome and blood-stained organization, Akatsuki, and attempts to take over Uchiha Itachi.
Furthermore, through his art of manipulation and cunning personality, Orochimaru broke wars among many villages, attempted to kill the MC, Uzumaki Naruto, and yet was never caught once.
08. Donquixote Doflamingo
- Anime: One Piece
- Role: Warlord/ Former Celestial Dragon
- Ability: String-String Fruit
Donquixote Doflamingo is a former King of Dressrosa, a Warlord of the sea, and one with the most influence in the One Piece underworld. Extreme violence is Domfalmingo’s main trait, making him a living threat to the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, the God-Level beings in One Piece.
Being one of the strongest Warlords and a subordinate of the undead Sea Emperor, Kaido, Doflamingo was entrusted to produce SMILES (Artificial Devil Fruits) to make Kaido’s army the strongest army in the world.
And don’t ask me about the level of suffering these SMILES bring into the world!
With the great power of his Donquixote Family, particularly with the power of Sugar, Doflamingo ruled over the people of Dressrosa, turned half of its citizens into living toys, and massacred many who stood against him.
07. Führer King Bradley – Wrath
- Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
- Role: Homunculi
- Ability: Ultimate Eye
While first portraying himself as the genial monarch of Amestris, King Bradley was one of the Seven Homunculi (artificial humanoids) created by the nameless entity known only as Father.
Though King Bradley rules his kingdom with a tight grip and seems kind and approachable, he is actually a coldly distant, privately empathetic, vicious, and bloodthirsty homunculus wholly committed to Father’s cause.
As a homunculus, Wrath possesses the “Ultimate Eye” abilities, which allow him to see anything with perfect accuracy, including every movement of his opponents, and anticipate the result of any scenario.
As the undisputed ruler of Amestris, Wrath exercises extensive military authority and near-total control over Alchemists. He tracks every moment of human military officers and appears as the biggest threat to the Elric brothers!
06. Pain
- Anime: Naruto
- Role: Akatsuki Leader
- Ability: Rinnegan
As the name goes, Pain is the sadistic leader of Akatsuki, the sole bearer of Rinnegan, and the mightiest villain in the Naruto series, overpowering all the Five Kage and the legendary Sannins.
Before the tragedies of war and the death of Yahiko, Pain was a kind and quiet person named Nagato, who would never consider killing a fly. However, the unspeakable pain of the shinobi world transformed the war orphan into the greatest anime villain of all time.
As the leader of Akatsuki, Nagato named himself Pain and became a merciless creature with 5 clones of himself, believing that his sufferings had raised him to a godlike status.
Thereafter, Pain destroyed the Hidden Leaf village and killed everyone in his path, including his former teacher Jiraiya!
05. Madara Uchiha
- Anime: Naruto
- Role: Leader of the Uchiha Clan
- Ability: Rinnegan
Madara Uchiha is one of the coolest antagonists of Naruto with the highest level of visual prowess, wielding both Mangekyou Sharingan and Rinnegan with complete mastery.
He is a very tenacious and stalwart fighter who considers combat to be a form of “dance” and enjoys every second of it. However, few have experienced the full might of Madara, except the greatest ninja, Hashirama Senju.
In the Fourth Great Ninja War, Madara single-handedly fought with all the 5 Kages, matching them move-to-move using his incredible Susanoo. Not only that, but he also called upon a great meteor with a God-Level Jutsu, called Tengai Shinsei.
Moreover, after gaining the chakra of all 9 tailed beasts, Madara becomes a Jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails, battling with the entire Allied Shinobi Forces by himself!
04. Kibutsuji Muzan
- Anime: Demon Slayer
- Role: Demon King
- Ability: Demon Creation
The formidable leader of the Twelve Kizuki and King of all Demons, Muzan is an immortal villain of Demon Slayer with the power of injecting his blood into people and turning them into loyal Demons.
As an archenemy to the Kamado Tanjiro, Muzan killed the whole Kamado family mercilessly and turned beautiful Nezuko into a man-eating demon!
Not only Nezuko, Muzan also turned thousands of humans into demons with the sole purpose of devouring humanity and sparking a war between demons and the Demon Slayer Corps.
Muzan created immensely powerful demons and ranked them as Upper Moon Demons and Lower Moon Demons. They are not just ferocious demons but also intelligent creatures capable of mass slaughter and fighting fearlessly against highly competent Hashiras.
03. Meruem
- Anime: Hunter x Hunter
- Role: King
- Ability: Metamorphosis
Meruem, King of the Chimera Ants, was regarded as the apex of evolution, having been born savagely by tearing the Queen’s womb from the inside and refusing to wait for a natural birth.
As the King, Meruem was a cruel, self-centered monster born with extraordinary Nen powers and was able to become even more overwhelming by killing his opponents and using their Nen as his own.
He was a Supergenius villain with immense strength, endurance, poison resistance, and ultrasonic body reflexes. As the main antagonist of HxH, Meruem fought hand-to-hand with the highest-ranked hunter, Isaac Netero.
However, he wasn’t even bothered by Netero’s ultimate attack, 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, and instead made Netero kneel and self-destruct.
02. Lord Boros
- Anime: One Punch Man
- Role: Alien
- Ability: Transformation
Lord Boros is one hell of a villain as he is not some extraordinary human but is an extremely overwhelming alien entity that came from a far-reaching planet just to experience the thrill and pleasure of combat.
So, in a way, he is similar to Saitama.
As the self-proclaimed dominator of the universe, Boros has destroyed several planets and eventually ended up on Earth- face to face with Saitama.
Although Borus has an arrogant and intimidating personality, his power levels are more devastating! A single energy attack from Lord Boros, such as “Meteoric Burst,” is enough to destroy the entire planet.
Further, with ultra-speed regeneration ability, ultrasonic speed, and robust punches, Boros can deal with all the A-class and S-class heroes in One Punch Man without breaking a sweat!
01. All For One
- Anime: My Hero Academia
- Role: Leader of All Villain
- Ability: Quirk Stealing
All For One, a mysterious man with a hideous face and extremely cunning personality, served as the arch-nemesis of Izuku Midoriya and the greatest hero, All Might in the MHA series.
Whether it is the League of Villains, Paranormal Liberation Front, or mayhem created by extremely powerful Nomus, All For One is the one who pulls strings from the shadows and rules all over Japan.
What makes All For One a deadly S-Tier villain is his ability to steal the Quirks of other powerful heroes, improving them to their extent and using it for his own. While every hero has 1 Quirk at max, All For One wields 8 Quirks with complete mastery of them.
And with his tactical knowledge and the assistance of Dr. Kyudai Garaki, All For One created different types of mindless Nomus, who are extremely rowdy and powerful monsters developed from the dead bodies of humans.
So, how do you feel about the anime villains now? You must be stunned to learn that our smart and cool MCs have been facing these awful villains who have enough powers to wipe out the entire humanity!
Well, that’s why we love Naruto, Tanjiro, and Baka Saitama!
But, I’m not done just yet.
Here are 3 of my favorite new-gen anime villains that, I think, will break into the all-time lists sooner rather than later.
3 Best New-Gen Anime Villains To Look Out For!
3. Akaza – Demon Slayer
Akaza, an Upper Rank Three demon of the Twelve Kizuki, is one of the strongest demons who directly serve Muzan Kibutsuji.
In Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train, Akaza made his appearance with Enmu, Lower Rank One, and showed the Demon Slayer Corps how merciless Upper-Rank demons are!
Akaza didn’t only kill the super-skilled Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, like a Pro-villain, but also escaped alive from the battlefield. And as he couldn’t finish off Tanjiro before, Akaza has a special hatred for our MC!
Moreover, Akaza has had a very dreadful past.
Spoiler Alert!
Losing his father was not the only reason Akaza became a demon; his bottomless hatred for society also drove him to sell his humanity!
2. Suguru Geto – Jujutsu Kaisen
Suguru Geto, a formidable Jujutsu Sorcerer and a former partner of Satoru Gojo is next in the new generation of cut-throat villains.
Although he was next to Gojo as the best Jujutsu Sorcerer, Geto’s ideologies changed him into a Curse user and made him develop animosity towards mankind. He devised the plan to eradicate all humans except those who wield Curse energy.
So, as a genocidal sorcerer and special-grade Curse user, Geto is a badass anime villain wreaking havoc in the JJK series.
1. Eren Jaeger – Attack on Titan
I hope you are not surprised to see Eren on the list.
By Attack on Titan season 3, Eren has turned evil, purposefully hurting those around him, including his comrades. As with the powers of Attack Titan, Eren has Precognition- which means he can look into the future.
And that is one of the major causes for Eren slipping down a dark path.
Despite his desire for peace, he knows better than anybody that achieving it is impossible.
That’s why I think Eren will cause yet another wave of doubts, but may eventually emerge as one of the deadliest villains in anime history!
And that’s an End
If you have more characters jumping in your mind who you feel will be solid new-gen anime villains, comment below and let others support your thoughts!
