The Best Mind-Controlling Anime Characters

Key Takeaways

• Some anime characters like Marik Ishtar, Lelouch vi Britannia, and Sōsuke Aizen excel in mind control, using it for various purposes.
• Abilities like Illumi Zoldyck’s Nen-infused needles and Eren Jaeger’s Founding Titan power allow for manipulation and control over others.
• Characters like Shinsou Hitoshi and Makima demonstrate how mind control powers can shape different storylines and character arcs, showing both positive and negative impacts.

From manipulating time to controlling the elements, countless powerful anime characters have graced our screens over the years. Among the powers that have been portrayed, mind control is perhaps one of the strongest to have.

Some of the characters on this list have used their ability to control minds for good, while others are much more sinister in their intentions. Whether they’re amassing an army, causing worldwide havoc or saving others from harm, they have mastered the art of controlling others – for better or worse.

8 Marik Ishtar

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Initially an antagonist for the Battle City Arc, Marik Ishtar is plagued with a split personality that results in Yami Mirak. Mirak used a weapon called the Millennium Rod to kill his father, and it was that weapon that allowed Mirak to control minds.

But aside from controlling minds, the Millennium Rod granted him the ability to peer into the minds of others to see their memories and what they’re thinking. Marik (or Mirak) was also able to create illusions and deceive the perceptions of their intended receiver. It is a multivariate weapon that he used in his scheme to conquer the world.

7 Illumi Zoldyck

Hunter X Hunter

Older brother to Killua, Illumi Zoldyck is a man of many talents. Raised and trained to be an assassin, Illumi is a Manipulator Nen-type user, granting him control over others. He uses Nen-infused needles, inserting them into his targets to control them through hypnosis, even doing it to Killua as a twisted way to protect him.

Illumi is also able to control the dead, using multiple needles to create loyal, governable henchmen that follow his every word. Unlike the corpses he uses, the Needle People are living humans that use a considerable amount of his aura to turn them into compliant slaves, condemned to abide by his orders until they die of exhaustion.

6 Sōsuke Aizen

Bleach

A master manipulator and strategist, Sōsuke Aizen is the main villain of Bleach with the abilities and Zanpakutō to match his diabolical brilliance. Not only is he able to influence others’ actions simply by either charm or intimidation alone, but he can play with the minds of others using his Kyōka Suigetsu.

Using this ability, Aizen can create believable illusions to outmanoeuvre and ambush his opponents. Once under its spell, the victim will be vulnerable to its effects each time Aizen activates his hypnosis powers.

5 Lelouch vi Britannia

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

The main character of the series, Lelouch vi Britannia (also known as Lelouch Lamperouge) possesses a Geass known as ‘The Power of Absolute Obedience’. As you might have guessed, this allows Lelouch to have his every command obeyed by those he inflicts his Geass on.

Lelouch needs to maintain eye contact with his target for his power to work, including giving verbal commands and being able to issue them to one person only once. There are certainly more restrictions to his mind control Geass in comparison to others on this list, but Lelouch learned to work with and circumvent his Geass’ limitations to pursue his goals.

4 Eren Jaeger

Attack on Titan

As the wielder of the Founding Titan, Eren Jaeger can control and alter the minds and memories of Eldians and those with Titan-shifting powers. Eren displayed this when his screams caused the surrounding Titans to attack Reiner and Bertholdt as they were making an escape.

However, the twist came when it was discovered that Eren had been manipulating events from the beginning. Using the clairvoyant aspect of the Founding Titan’s powers, Eren was able to speak to those in the past and future, even being the one to command his father Grisha to obtain the Founding Titan power and set off the chain of events in the show.

3 Q / Yumeno Kyūsaku

Bungou Stray Dogs

Q – real name Yumeno Kyūsaku – possesses an ability called Dogra Magra, which is a mind control power that also incites madness in its victims. Unfortunately, Q has a malevolent and sinister personality and takes personal pleasure in inflicting their ability on others without cause.

To activate their ability, someone will have to hurt them, but Q purposefully wraps razors around their arms and proceeds to bump into others. They would then proceed to tear their doll and their victim would be stuck in a hallucination, leading them to attack others.

2 Shinsou Hitoshi

My Hero Academia

Shinsou Hitoshi’s Brainwashing Quirk is one of the most underrated Quirks in the show, activating when someone answers his question. Once in use, Shinsou could use his Quirk to order others to do his bidding. Despite being a good person at heart, his Quirk causes others to discriminate against him, believing it to be a ‘villain-like’ ability.

However, Shinsou has dreams of becoming a Pro-Hero. His Quirk isn’t an offensive one, so he wasn’t able to pass the Entrance Exam. But after performing well in the Sports Festival, Aizawa Shouta (or Eraser Head) scouted him and trained Shinsou to catch up with the rest of the Hero Course students.

1 Makima

Chainsaw Man

Intimidating, powerful and beyond scary, Makima is a powerhouse in and of herself. As the Control Devil, Makima can put almost anyone under her control, even animals and other Devils. Her powers aren’t confined to just mind control, however, as she’s capable of travelling and eavesdropping on conversations using the animals under her power.

Makima is shown to be able to kill her enemies from a distance, gathering sacrifices and ordering them to speak her enemy’s name, before proceeding to crush them using a series of hand motions. She could also shoot a powerful, concussive force at targets by simply forming her hand into a finger gun, severely damaging them.