Best Shounen Antagonists
A shounen (Or Shōnen) is a manga genre directed towards a younger male demographic (Usually teenagers). This genre has become a staple in Japanese culture, with several shounen series being adapted into anime where many have achieved great success and popularity in Japan and the wider world.The character that you intend to add in must originate from a shounen manga, otherwise, they are likely to be unable to qualify. Keep in mind that some of the most well-known anime characters (E.g. Goku and Luffy) have originated from a manga series as well.
This list will be solely based on villains who made their debut in Shounen manga or while they may be an anime exclusive, they appeared on a source material based on a manga. Which villain from a shounen manga do you think stood out the most?

A total complete monster. Frieza may not be the best villain ever, but man did he set up standards for how evil one character could get. Even if he didn't change the series's mood, he is still one of Dragon Ball's most vile and sadistic villains.

Watch the damn show. He doesn't need explaining.
The best one to be fair.

What makes Light stand out is that he is the main protagonist. He may be the primary villain, but he was the protagonist anyway as Death Note centered around on him, a villain protagonist. A lot of people (Myself included) rooted for Light, but the more he kept using the Death Note, the more villainous he became until he ultimately became irredeemable in the end. That's saying a lot when it comes to character writing.

He killed Hughes, started the Ishval Civil War by gleefully murdering a child and acts like a bratty sociopath. You can hate him all you want, but I think that's what makes him a great villain. The Original 2003 anime version of Envy is actually even worse if you think about it. What he does, in the end, is so petty it's actually unforgivable.
Envy is best homunculus.


There is no anime Antagonist that has scared me like orochimaru in real life. I literally used to feel the fear when he would make appearance or even whenhis theme was played especially in chunin arc.
I miss him as a villain. Yeah, he's more of an on-and-off villain now, but back in the day, his creepiness and sometimes disgusting characteristics really made him stand out, and that's saying a lot considering how diverse Naruto characters are.

One Piece has a lot of vile villains, but while some were at least able to defeat Luffy, the tone of the manga and anime didn't change much. Akainu transcends that due to his merciless and extremist-like personality which he never attempts to hide and showcasing how vile and untrustworthy a government could get. He is also the VERY FIRST character to destroy Luffy emotionally, completely changing the tone of the series and even a few antagonists openly hated him. And surprisingly, this makes Akainu all the more, an effective villain.

Everyone hates him and so do I. But Shou Tucker needs to be mentioned considering how he affected Ed and Al for the reminder of Full Metal Alchemist. He's just hated because of what he does in the plot and that's totally understandable. But in a critic's viewpoint, Shou Tucker stands out as he changed the tone of the series very early on and showcasing a possibility of a person like Tucker existing in real life. What Arakawa (The author of FMA) does with him in a manga OVA is SO satisfying because that's how much of a villain he really was.

I haven't watched Monster, but the reason why I want to watch the anime (Which is by the way, based on the manga of the same name) is because of this guy. And like Shou, the possibility of a person like Liebert living in the real world is frighteningly possible...

Look into his backstory, and understand his motives. Though childish it may seem, he understands true human nature, and wants to wipe them all out. To point this out; one he is irritated at the Celestial Dragons (GODS), the Government and "Most" Pirates in general, so he uses them for his benefit. Another pointer is that his reason to destroy the world as well as the "HEAVENS" is because of the Celestial Dragons' actions, which mostly was reflected back to his family which took his mother's life the only if not the only person he first admired. At his young age obviously he thinks keeping slaves are like playing games just "like a child". Then witnessing all the actions people wanted to take on them because of the "HEAVENS'' made him open his eyes to the truth of the world.



I'm calling it: Zamasu is Dragon Ball's best villain since Frieza. What's surprising about him is that his species are normally good guys who are mostly benevolent and seek peace. But Zamasu is an extremist who thinks that he is the only one who understands true "justice" and seeks to "purify" the world. He even kills his master and steals Goku's body during his goal, and to make matters worse, he kills Goku, Chi-Chi and Goten after stealing the former's body just to be a total jerk about it.
He reminds me of Light... Started out with good intentions and did everything to achieve his goal and what he believes is 'justice', then gradually turn evil in the process. Really well written.




Deserves to be in the top 5. What I like about him is that he's always one step ahead of everyone. He shows that nobody can rival or equal him, heck he's so strong that he (Spoilers, "don't see if you don't want to) DESTROYED Bankai Ichigo (who was going toe to toe with bankai Byakuya) with ONE tap. He also planned everything, getting Rukia executed, Ichigo and his friends coming to rescue her, and more. Overall, badass villain who deserves to be in the top 10 - TheDarkOne_221b
Aizen is a genius he would deserve to be in the top 5, as well as being a genius he is very strong honestly one of the most interresting shounen vilain I ever saw.

What was once a character you bonded with and liked a lot instantly becomes of the vilest and most disgusting manga/anime villains, but it makes Griffith a lot more complex and although you can understand why he wanted to do something, in the end, it doesn't change that fact that what he did was downright unforgivable.

A Vile Man who is disturbing JUST Because you get to know SO Deep into his life that it's honestly disturbing. And His Introduction and The Death Of Shugechi is still Heartbreaking.

I guess the fact that he is hated so much and manipulated much of the events that would lead to so much tragedy in the Naruto world makes him a good villain. And as much as I'm not a fan of Sasuke, it's still so satisfying to see him stab this excuse of a "well-intentioned" extremist.

Eren was a hero in Seasons 1-3 but in the Final season he decided to become an antagonist. And he is a really good one.
