Villains are a pivotal part of any story, the roadblock meant to challenge and improve the hero. In most cases, villains are supremely intelligent, cunning, and ruthless, able to outmaneouvre their opponents to achieve their goals. This is demonstrated often in anime, and none more so than in its female villains.
Compelling, complex, and utterly intimidating, these women command the room with their mere presence. From mafia bosses to lethal killers, here are some of the best female villains in anime.
8
Annie Leonhart
Attack on Titan
Annie Leonhart was the main villain for Season One of Attack on Titan and managed to slip into Paradis alongside her comrades Bertholdt and Reiner. Originally from Marley, Annie was sent to retrieve the Founding Titan, and she joined the Military Police to do so.
She later attacks the Survey Corps using her Female Titan form to capture Eren but ultimately fails in this. Despite seeming cold and distant, Annie is capable of guilt and remorse, which she feels after she’s forced to sabotage Marco – leading to his death – to save the mission. Ultimately, her identity was discovered, and seeing the walls closing in, Annie chose to crystallise herself rather than surrender.
7
Android 18
Dragon Ball Z
Originally an average human named Lazuli, Android 18 fell into the hands of Dr Gero and was turned into an android alongside her brother, who became Android 17. She was created for the sole purpose of killing Goku and was singleminded in her goal to sow chaos and destruction (which she shares with her alternate self up to a certain point).
Despite battling Goku, Vegeta, and their allies numerous times, Android 18 turned the tide on Dr Gero and killed him instead. She fell for Krillin and eventually married him; the couple had a daughter named Marron. Level-headed and assertive, Android 18 persuades Krillin to enter the Tournament of Power to improve the family’s financial situation.
6
Esdeath
Akame Ga Kill!
Brutal, sadistic, and unafraid to get her hands dirty, Esdeath rose to become a high-ranking General in service to the Empire. She embodies Darwinism to a tee, believing that only the strongest survive and that it’s justifiable if the weak die. As a result of this thinking, Esdeath committed many savage acts of cruelty against those deemed to be in rebellion against the Empire.
Esdeath created and led the Jaegers, a task force intended to root out the Resistance. Somewhere along the way, Esdeath strangely decided she wanted to experience falling in love, and did just that by falling for the show’s protagonist, Tatsumi. Despite Tatsumi fighting for the Resistance, Esdeath stayed loyal to the Empire, choosing to kill Tatsumi so that no one could have him.
5
Balalaika
Black Lagoon
Practical and efficient, Russian-born Balalaika was a former soldier of the USSR who earned the respect of her men. After being forcibly discharged, her men followed her in joining the Russian mafia known as Hotel Moscow.
Unsurprisingly, Balalaika’s leadership qualities and ruthless nature helped her ascend the ranks to being the boss of the syndicate’s Thai branch. Now settled in Roanapur with her men, Balalaika deals with all the other crime lords and works well with the Lagoon Company, while doing whatever it takes to drive Hotel Moscow’s Thai operations to the top.
4
Lust
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
The second-oldest Homunculi and one of Father’s creations, Lust is the embodiment of her name, meant to seduce and captivate. She uses her beauty and charm to accomplish her goals in service to Father and is prone to fits of bloodlust and violence like her fellow Homunculi.
Lust can extend and transform her fingers into Wolverine-like claws that can severely wound her enemies and tear through any substance. Utterly loyal to Father, Lust was the de facto ringleader for the rest of her siblings, putting them to task and making them work together. However, she was the first of the Homunculi to die, defeated and killed by Roy Mustang.
3
Makima
Chainsaw Man
Chainsaw Man’s Makima quickly established herself as someone you should not cross. The head of the Public Safety Devil Hunter bureau, she is later revealed to be the ancient Control Devil, with powerful mind-control abilities, abnormal strength and speed, and various other overpowered abilities.
Raised by the government, Makima is determined to free the world of all Devils and believes she can achieve that by obtaining the Chainsaw Man’s powers. Despite seeming ruthless and cold, Makima has shown that she longs for a warm family life. The latter seemed to come true after her death, with Denji raising Makima’s incarnation, Nayuta.
2
Toga Himiko
My Hero Academia
One of the main villains of My Hero Academia, Toga Himiko first joined the League of Villains because she wanted to make the world an easier place to live in. Although a teenage girl, Toga got into trouble with the law after a series of murders she committed, draining her victims of blood.
Her fascination with blood is directly tied to her Quirk, which allows her to shapeshift after drinking the blood of her victim. Her power makes it easy for her to infiltrate enemy territory, and after having a Quirk evolution, can use the Quirks of those she loves. A skilled combatant, Toga regularly uses her knives in battle and has her blood transfusion machine to collect her victims’ blood.
1
Medusa Gorgon
Soul Eater
Medusa Gorgon, also known as The Snake Witch, is the malicious main antagonist of the Soul Eater series. There are next to no redeeming qualities in Medusa, who is not above abusing and torturing her daughter Crona whenever she fails to carry out her wishes.
Detesting the current state of the world, Medusa is singularly obsessed with destroying it entirely to have a fresh, clean slate. Powerful, indomitable, and one of the most proficient witches ever known, Medusa is probably the most heartless female villain ever written.
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