Some villains in anime were born to be the boss. These villains are so menacing, intimidating, and downright devious that it’s nothing short of shocking that they aren’t the final bosses of their respective series.
There are a ton of great villains in anime, but only some are so compelling that they stand out from the rest. These villains shine within their respective series for a myriad of reasons, giving them an edge even over the final boss of their own series.
To be a great final boss, a villain has to have aura on another level. They can’t just be another bad guy: they have to bring something unique to the series that no other antagonist has. They have to be cunning, deceptive, and enthralling every time they’re on-screen. Most of all, they have to be an absolute menace to the protagonist.
Kakeru Ryūen
Classroom of the Elite
Classroom of the Elite is one of the best anime of the past few years. It’s an amazing series because it’s exactly what it wants to be: an edgy power-fantasy in which one character is so ridiculously smart that it feels like he’s several steps ahead of everyone around him.
Out of all the characters in the series, nobody is a better villain than Kakeru Ryūen. Ryūen, also known as Dragon Boy, is equal parts intimidating and intelligent. He’s a smart character that uses his physicality to his advantage, manipulating the people around him so that he can get whatever he wants.
Ryūen feels like he should have been the final villain in Classroom of the Elite, but even he’s no match for the true anti-hero that is Kiyotaka Ayanokoji. Ayanokoji is somehow both the protagonist and the final boss, and that’s one of the many reasons why Classroom of the Elite shines in the seinen genre.
Shimazaki Ryo
Mob Psycho 100
Mob Psycho 100 isn’t just one of the best anime of the past few years, it’s one of the best anime series of all time. Mob Psycho 100 is hilarious, heart-warming, and action-packed all at once. In three succinct seasons, it tells one of the best stories around, showcasing the eponymous Mob as he does his best to just be himself.
There are a ton of solid villains in Mob Psycho 100, but none of them stood out like Shimazaki Ryo. Shimazaki is the definition of a one-man-army, and his fight against multiple espers is one of the greatest anime fights of all time.
Shimazaki is cocky, and, honestly, he should be. He’s a powerhouse capable of leveling a city all by himself. His esper abilities put him in a league of his own, but unfortunately for Shimazaki, Mob exists in a league he can’t even comprehend.
Neferpitou
Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter is, surprisingly, one of the darkest shōnen series around. At first glance, the series looks like a lighthearted romp where the main character looks to leave his small hometown, explore the world, and find his dad.
Hunter x Hunter isn’t that at all. It’s a brutal series that pushes many characters well past their limits. It’s also one of the rare shōnen series that doesn’t pull any punches, forcing characters to go somewhere they never thought that they’d go.
One of those characters that is more than used to putting protagonists into a corner is Neferpitou. She’s one of the strongest villains in the series and a villain who made Gon sacrifice everything he had just to kill her.
Kargalgan
Solo Leveling
Solo Leveling rightfully took the world by storm, and Kargalgan is one of the many reasons why. In the grand scheme of things, he’s not a significant boss. When he first appeared, however, he looked like the final boss of a dungeon that could take hours to get through.
Jinwoo’s fight against Kargalgan was the first time anyone really saw his powers. He showed off against the shaman, summoning his entire Shadow Army and using a ton of his strongest attacks to break his foe to pieces.
Once Jinwoo killed Kargalgan, he added him to his Shadow Army, creating his strongest soldier at the time. While the Ant King was a much stronger threat than Kargalgan, the shaman’s evil royal aura made him seem like he could be the final boss of Solo Leveling.
Ushijima Wakatoshi (Ushiwaka)
Haikyu!!
Haikyu!! is the best sports anime series of all time. There is nothing but action in Haikyu!!, and the series doesn’t have a single skippable moment. There are few sports anime series, or anime series in general, that have such great pacing as this volleyball epic.
There are a ton of great antagonists in the series: The Great King, Tōru Oikawa, the unstoppable Miya Twins, and all of Nekoma. There is one character that every other character (bar Hinata and Kageyama) fears: the Miracle Boy, Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Ushiwaka might be the single greatest volleyball player in the series. He’s dominant in so many ways that it would be easier to describe what he isn’t great at. He’s such a great antagonist that every game after Karasuno’s vs. Shiratorizawa felt like it was being played in his shadow.
Madara Uchiha
Naruto
Madara Uchiha is such an amazing villain that he had to be killed in one of the most frustrating ways possible. He’s one of the most impressive villains in anime, and if it wasn’t for the deus ex machina towards the end of the series that took his life, he would have been unstoppable.
Naruto: Shippuden had been revering the phantom of Madara for hundreds of episodes before he was fully introduced to the series. The build-up seemed to be too big, as no character could really be as amazing as the series wanted Madara to be.
Madara not only met these inconceivably high expectations: he blew them out of the water. He’s not only the best villain in Naruto, he’s one of the best villains in anime. He has some of the greatest fights in the entire franchise, and he was only around for a small part of it.
Toji Fushiguro
Jujutsu Kaisen
Toji Fushiguro is the definition of aura. He does what he wants, when he wants, and there are only two characters alive in Jujutsu Kaisen that can slow him down. He’s one of the strongest characters in the entire series, and he doesn’t have an ounce of Cursed Energy.
Toji is the main antagonist of the Premature Death Arc, but he could be the main antagonist of the entire series if he wanted to be. He’s one of the only characters that can fight Gojo on even ground, and if he was just a bit smarter, he would’ve killed the strongest sorcerer of the modern age.
Akaza
Demon Slayer
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle cemented Akaza as the best villain in the entire franchise. Akaza has been a great villain since his introduction, but his backstory took his character to another level. There aren’t many villains as lovable as Akaza, and that’s especially shocking given the fact that he killed Rengoku.
Akaza was driven by his own will so feverishly, he destroyed his own body to stop it from regenerating. He recognized that Tanjiro won their battle fair and square, and he decided that he would rather die than step on his opponent’s deserved victory.