I am well aware that I have terrible terrible TERRIBLE tastes in anime um…friends…Wait no I don’t mean you guys. I mean the anime characters I like are just not that great. Sure, I love a good hero but my head always turns for a great villain. Or a troll. I can’t seem to resist a Magnificent Bastard. That’s a TV Tropes link, be warned. I looked it up then wasted half my day on the site…
I used to have a hint of discomfort about my obvious lack of discernment when it comes to anime characters. I was afraid people would judge me. I was a little afraid they wouldn’t… I mean – it’s bad you guys.
Luckily, it seems I’m not the only one with a deeply misguided soft spots for attractive jerks . A lot of you guys also have some questionable favourites. This is why I’m so happy to have found you! We are peas in a pod. You and me! It’s also why I feel so comfortable to share this list with you. So let’s all take a second to be mildly horrified at the Top 5ish characters I like which are also terrible people. (please note this is a mere sampling, the full list is way too unwieldy for a post.
There’s a Madoka spoiler lower down – You have been warned!
5) Hisoka (Hunter x Hunter)
Hisoka is one of the most popular characters in Hunter x Hunter so I am obviously not alone in this. I’ve also always had some issue with his status as a villain. Don’t get me wrong, he’s an obvious wacko with some major issues to work on. I am not trying to sell him as a good guy or anything. It’s just that by Hunter x Hunter standards, he’s pretty average in terms of lacking morality. As far as I can tell, the only difference between him and 90% of the characters in the show is that he’s more efficient and more flamboyant.
This said, Hisoka is in fact a very bad person and one you should avoid him at all costs. I still really like him. I will forever be a little angry at him for making creepy clown my type.
4) Kyoya Ootori (Ouran Host Club)
Ouran Host Club is full of sweet if occasionally spirited young men who would all make for perfect company on a lazy afternoon. Sure, they have a bit of baggage but who doesn’t. The important thing is that they are kind people who truly care about others. Well Except for Kyoya.
Of course, I would pick the one guy that is indifferent to the point of hurtful. Kyoya has no issue with manipulating others around him, when not “playing his part”, he is unlikely to spare anyone’s feelings and will even be openly hostile to strangers that just want to talk to him. If it wasn’t for his loyalty to his childhood friends, you could easily have cast him as the bad guy.
3) Akane (Love Tyrant)
I do not like Yanderes. I refuse to like Yanderes. If that’s your thing, well I’m obviously in no place to judge. This said…I kinda like the idea of yanderes. There’s something behind that basic concept that could make for interesting characters, but I haven’t seen that many pull off the archetype satisfyingly. Yeah yeah, you’re gonna tell me Yuno from Future Diary. She has her moments, but it also goes way to far at times (I’ve only read the manga).
Akane on the other hand is just perfect. Somehow balancing out the Yandere with a generous dash of Tsundere made both archetypes better! Oh this girl is a handful! I mean just surviving her is unlikely and if you do, you’ll probably get a barrage of insults thrown your way. Yet, I still think it’s definitely more than worth it. How is that possible? Black magic I recon.
2) Raphiel Ainsworth Shiraha (Gabriel Dropout)
The angels in Gabriel Dropout are all a little peculiar. Sure Gabriel herself is not the easiest person to get along with but any self-respecting demon should really be taking lessons from Raphi.
Not only is Raphi openly sadistic and visibly takes pleasure in the suffering of others, but she will do it all with the sweetest smile on her face. By far the most terrifying character in the series, I couldn’t get enough of her! Every scene Raphiel was in was sure to be exciting and potentially horrible for the other characters.
Honorable mentions
Fafnir (Kobayashi)
See Fafnir would definitely have made the list, if he actually was a bad person. Fafnir talks a big (and occasionally very threatening) game but when push comes to shove, he acts like a sweetheart. In fact, he seems to be considerably less trouble than the other dragons, although occasionally demanding. I would happily have him as a roommate.
Nobunaga (Drifters)
Unlike Fafnir, Nobunaga is unquestionably a bad person. He’s not so much evil as entirely devoid of morals. My issue here is that in the Drifters universe, he’s not only par for the course, he occasionally is the lesser of all evils. You know something has gone very wrong when you are looking to Nobu to save you.
Komaeda (Danganronpa)
I’m not quite sure how much of Komaeda is evil and ho much is just crazy. Part of the charm of this character is that a lot of his misdeeds are driven by what he truly believes are the best intentions. Am I just making excuses because I have terrible tastes in anime boys…mebbe….
Kyubei (Puella Madoka Magica)
Still bestest evil pokemon. I’m going to reserve him for top 5 cutest villains. This was the spoiler! Breathe easy.
1) Izaya (Durarara!!)
Durarara!! has so many fantastic characters. They have all made my favourites list at some point. In fact, it was quite the inner struggle, refusing to admit to myself that my actual favourite is this jerkface. Why? What is wrong with me? Izaya is not even a cool villain or anything, he’s just a plain ‘ol d*. I’ll let you fill in your own d word there. Also, I guess he is a little cool… sometimes…
Yes, the character is supposed to be very attractive, talented and intelligent but let’s face it, he acts like a spoiled brat most of the time. He seems to cause problems for the people around him and carelessly toy with peoples lives just ’cause he can. If it can amuse him for a bit, he will gladly destroy some innocent bystander who put their trust in him.
No wonder he has no friends and his own family generally disregards him. How come I’m the only idiot that hasn’t figured out this guy is bad news? Terrible tastes, tell you!
‘Cmon now, don’t leave me hanging here. I told you mine, now you tell me the horrible characters you can’t seem to hate! I’m not the only crazy one here, I’m sure of it!
I am rather a fan of Tanya Degurechaf.
i like tanya too
Your #1 is such an awesome pick. Shizuo is the man though and now vending machines are flying your way.
Glad to see Hisoka take a spot, too.
How’s about Shinsuke from Gin? He’s a tool.
Well that’s not fair…Are there any non tool charas in GinTama? That’s part of the charm
I have Hild in my anime harem. Safe to say I understand the attraction to characters who are not straight arrows. 😉
Don’t kid yourself my friend. Hild has YOU in her harem!
LOL, yeah, I’ll have to admit that!
Haha, not surprised to see Izaya on here. That guy is one everybody loves to hate. Enjoyed the list 🙂
Yay!
Izaya is my fave!! He is an amazing and quite complex character and I love him! 😊
Also a little bit of a d…
Hahaha of course! Otherwise it wouldn’t be Izaya lol
I might be in the small minority here. I cannot stand unredeemable bad guys. I just cannot. They are never my favorite character. They frequently drive me away from shows (like your top rated character did). But I think I’m in the rare group with that, rather than the side that you’re advocating for in your post.
I hope you’re not
Like I said these are terrible
I hope you’re not
Like I said these are terrible people…
Ooh, Hisoka and especially Izaya would be high on my list, too. (Aside, wouldn’t you want to watch a roadtrip show with Hisoka and Illumi? Who said you need 4 horsemen of the apocalypse…)
I have trouble coming up with characters of my own, since I have no internal index along the good/bad lines. Hmm… maybe, Sonokawa Momoka from Sabagebu: vain, petty, unforgiving and an unrepentant cheat. The ideal protagoinist for an airsoft gun comedy.
This is the 3rd or 4th time you’ve casually thrown out a random aime idea that now NEEDS to be made if my life is to be complete.
I love Izaya so much. He’s definitely an asshole but he also clearly wants to create friendships with people and just can’t stop being an asshole long enough to manage and that’s ….a little sympathetic? Okay it’s not but I love him anyways!!
It’s sadly relatable…to me at least….
Shogo Makishima is the first that come to my mind oh and Ferid Bathory too.
I see a hair trend there….
LOLOL Not all white/gray/silver are beautiful jerk… just look at Victor… but then we also have Haizaki…
Victor can be a bit self centered too…
Maybe but he is not as bad as the three others
Agreed! Also I currently have white hair…
… you jerk… but I still adore you
YES!!! Success!!!
In all honesty those type of characters are around the most developed and that is part of what makes them so likeable.
True – nothing’s worse than boring and they are definetly not boring!
I love this list! You know, I’m a huge Kyoya fan too… I just love how much shade he throws at the other hosts and guests, he gives no f’s.
He’s the ouran honey badger!
Gotta agree on Izaya! He’s an excellent character.
Nicely ambivalent isn’t he!
He is that!
Anime is full of complex people that are just horrible yet the audience can’t help but like. I mean, I like quite a few characters you listed here, so glad I’m not alone on that. Would add
-Char Aznable and a lot of his comes from the Gundam realm for being a horrible person whose motivation is revenge against other horrible people because of how his dad was murdered as a kid.
Is it so strange that fiction can get us to feel things for people we wouldn’t want to be around in real life?
It may actually be part of the point.
Yeah, you are probably right. Like usual.
Hisoka and Kyoya are my faves as well!!! I just love characters that are terrible people. I mean, I have a wall devoted to Sephiroth in my room, haha. Excellent post!
My one wingeg angel – He was actually not that bad – he just got played big time!
Oh yeah he did. Poor Sephiroth-sama. I’ve gone through phases of loving many different characters, but my love for him has only grown significantly over the years, haha.
So happy to see Raphi on this list. She was a terrifying delight.
Terrifying delight is what I strive for.
Uh-oh. Are we going to have to start calling you Irina-sama?
I assumed that’s what you called me when I wasn’t around…. Wait a minute…
[ojou-sama voice] Oooooh, Irina-samaaaa~ Ohohohohohohohooooo!!!
I guess Hime-sama is acceptable too
Haha…everyone loves a good villain/evil/slighlty disturbed character. So..there is nothing wrong with you (unless there is someone wrong with all of us?? 🤔🤔).
But of the top of my hat I would say that Shougo Makishima is the one that I would choose. He is despicable, horrific even, bit also I kind of get where he is coming from lol 😂
Whoa you go for the straight up frightening! Good on you!
1. Drunken office lady from Kawai Complex.
2. Genius designer of the powered armor suits from Infinite Stratos for pranking the world
3. Sexy commander with the pipe from Heavy Object
4. Devil Princess Jurai from Tenchi Muyo GXP
5. Junko from Desert Punk.
All these women are perfectly willing to do evil for short term goals, and exploit men to their deaths for a small and temporary advantage, and all will use sex to get their way. I think they’re probably the culmination of traits drawn by the manga artists used and discarded before they hit it big. They’re accurate depictions of real ex-gfs and ex-wives. Kinda ominous to consider that those archetypes are real women lurking in Japanese society.
Well like all characters they’re parodies. I mean Hisoka is also based on people in the authors life but I doubt you meet these types down every Japanese street corner.
I would never have considered Mayumi a bad person. She’s boisterous but quite loving.
Other than drawing people into her active self destruction. She’s unconsciously evil. At least the psycho housemate with the scary makeup knows she’s evil.
My anime friend says he really likes Mayumi, and its disturbing to him since he’s also sure she’s a self destructing tornado of doom. If we were to write a separate post on disaster zone people (who aren’t actively evil) we find attractive, I’d probably have a decent list for that too.
Some of these may not be horrible people but whatever..
Hisoka
Chrollo
Feitan (pretty much the whole troupe)
Izaya
Raphiel
Esdeath
Nitta (soft as hell but he’s still yakuza)
Lelouch
Shouya Ishida
Hachiman and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka
(last 2 aren’t exactly horrible people but have negative vibes)
That’s quite the list!
Hachiman is like the anti-Japanese. He admits to being a pessimist, which was never done before in any Japanese media (that I can think of anyway).
I really love Izaya even though he is a horrible character😍
You just have to love him. There’s something about unapologetic jerks…
We are attracted to strength, and someone who is who they are without asking anyone’s permission or making any apologies for it… well, ya know. 😉