What does it take to become a perfect anime villain? Sometimes the role demands a sinister motivational push to oppose the actions of the protagonist and a driving force to conquer the world. A villain is usually compelled by a desire to commit acts of cruelty and immorality. While anime often chooses to highlight villains who redeem themselves and join the good guys, there are also such shows that are all about anime heroes who turned into villains.

There were times when it wasn’t a villain who created chaos in an anime series and there are many fictional stories featuring the same concept. In some cases, characters started off as genuinely good people, but circumstances tempted them to become evil. While, in other cases, the ungodly intentions of a character started to show off as soon as the series progressed.

But, it doesn’t matter what the circumstances were, as it’s always fascinating to watch someone who seemed to be moral at the start but embraces the dark side later. And, in today’s article, we’ll take a look at some of the anime heroes who turned into villains. So, without any further ado let’s get started.

10. Stain from ‘My Hero Academia’

My Hero Academia shares fair & square roles of both the villains and the heroes in the series. But, shockingly, there are also some villains who used to be a hero at a certain point in their life. And, Hero Killer Stain also known as Chizome Akaguro, used to be a hero-in-training in his early days.

When Stain was just a student, he aspired to become a hero just like All Might but all his ambitions went down when he found out how corrupted & mendacious hero society actually was. As a result, Stain eventually left the school and dedicated his life to finding heroes with true nobility in their hearts, sadly killing or injuring a bunch of heroes in his quest as well.

9. Shiro from ‘Deadman Wonderland’

Shiro is one of the main characters in Deadman Wonderland and also, the childhood friend of Ganta Igarashi, and the adoptive daughter of Hagire Rinichirō. Shiro begins as an innocent character and often acts as an ally toward Ganta after his incarceration. But, her reason for turning into a villain lies behind her split personality character.

As the anime is set within an unconventional prison, Shiro spent years in the cell with a lot of suffering and abuse. The pain caused by it developed a murderous alternate personality in Shiro known as the “Wretched Egg” which makes Shiro both Ganta’s best friend and his worst enemy. Also, her altered personality doesn’t come out every time still, it’s quite dangerous.

8. Sōsuke Aizen from ‘Bleach’

Sōsuke Aizen serves as the main antagonist of the popular classic anime television series Bleach. Although Aizen set the standards of a perfect anime villain, he wasn’t one from the start. At first, he also seemed a nice guy totally dedicated to the duty of being a member of Gotei 13. He was a strict law abider and gave his services to the Soul Society.

But, secretly Aizen was plotting his plans that no over ever dreamt about. As it turns out, his whole persona was a front meant to disguise his true intention, which is to crush Soul Society. He went unnoticed for a very long time, setting his plots and deceptive plans to become the heavenly king. And, it will not be wrong to say that he is the smartest anime character of all time.

7. Ken Kaneki from ‘Tokyo Ghoul’

Kaneki was a simple college going student and was living a normal life until he met a beautiful girl, Reze who turned out to be a human eating ghoul. After a date gone horribly wrong, he gets seriously injured and to treat him Kaneki is subjected to an experiment in which Reze’s organs are implanted into him. As a result, he turns into a half-ghoul.

This made Kaneki’s life hell and he went through a lot of troubles to deal with this strange ability. He wasn’t ready to accept this ghoul lifestyle until he was tortured at the end of the first season which drastically switched his personality and made him realise that he’s not a human anymore. Even though the series tries to find ways to subdue Kaneki as a hero, but he’s still viewed as the predominant problem.

6. Tetsuo Shima from ‘Akira’

Akira was one of the most well-received anime movies in the 1980s and was praised heavily for its sci-fi themed story. One of its important characters, Tetsuo Shima was initially a gang member but still, he was a decent kid until everything changed for him. After an accident, the Japanese government picks up Tetsuo and subjects him to painful experiments that grant him uncontrollable psychic powers.

This made him eventually one of the most powerful psychics ever, and also a vicious criminal as well who was more than happy to use his strength to control others. Tetsuo started building his own army and forced his followers to ingest drugs that amplify psychic energy. By the end of the movie, he was attacking the city and killing everyone in sight which puts him on the list of anime heroes who turned into villains.

5. Ryo Asuka from ‘Devilman Crybaby’

At the beginning of Devilman Crybaby, Ryo Asuka was presented as Akira Fudo’s childhood friend and also, the best source of support. As a young prodigy, he was the one who convinced Akira to become Devilman and helped him through his journeys. His encounter with Akira and his kindly demeanor became very empathetic and supportive of Akira.

But, Akira and the fans never imagined that the true identity of Ryo will turn the tables as he was in fact revealed to be the fallen angel, Satan. Although, Ryo embraced Akira, but he forced the two of them to fight and became Akira’s destruction more than he ever helped him in life.

4. Light Yagami from ‘Death Note’

Light Yagami would have been a typical high school student if he hadn’t gotten his hands on a Death Note. A simple looking notebook changed his life drastically as it granted death to anyone whose name is written on it. His sense of justice and motives were clear from the very start until he began to do inarguably unjust things.

After receiving the Death Note, Light started punishing the evildoers of the society and granted them a cruel death. He wanted to make an evil free world but, as time passed he became the biggest criminal himself. He ended up killing hundreds of innocent people including his own father, making him the greatest anime villain of all time.

3. Lelouch Lamperouge from ‘Code Geass’

Lelouch Lamperouge is one of the best anti-heroes the fans ever witnessed. Being obsessed with the thought of revolutionizing the Royal Empire of Britannia, Lelouch pledged to free Japan and create a new world that was better for everyone. He never hesitated to sacrifice the lives of civilians to achieve his belonged dream.

As a hero, he made an honorable place in the fan’s heart however, it doesn’t take long for Lelouch’s moral compass to shift. In the other half of the series, he was willing to abandon his values in order to get what he wants. In his quest for absolute power, he accidentally made his own sister a part of the collateral damage. This just not makes him a compelling character but also, one of the best anti-heroes as well.

2. Eren Jaeger from ‘Attack On Titan’

Attack on Titan is a true masterpiece in storytelling that has evolved drastically during its course of four seasons. The development of Eren Jaeger as an Eldian hero is one of the best things about the show. From the very start of the series, Eren had to go through a lot and he always envisioned taking revenge on the Marley army.

No doubt, Eren is one of the well-written anime protagonists but, his differentially unique ideology of freedom put the lives of 80% of humanity at stake. As the end neared, he started justifying that his dangerous methods are the only way to repair the world. Although, Eren was doing everything for the sake of humanity but, the cost for it was very high and eventually, it started to feel like a selfish act by him.

1. Griffith from ‘Berserk’

If the success of a villain is determined by the number of fans hating a specific character, then Griffith will surely be among the chosen ones. He has pretty much done heinous crimes which can’t be explained at all and the betrayal of friendship is one among them. Griffith is the main antagonist of the manga series Berserk by Kentaro Miura.

After meeting Guts, Griffith defeated him in battle and forced him to join the Band of the Hawk and later on, the dynamic relationship between them became the primary focus of the series. However, same Griffith was responsible for the annihilation of the entire Band of Hawk. He never hesitated to achieve his goal which is why he’s praised for how he serves as a foil to Guts and his development into a villain.

Which one of the following anime heroes who turned into villains is your favorite? Feel free to comment down your thoughts and make sure to recommend us some other characters like the ones listed above, also don’t forget to share this article with your fellow otaku friends.

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