The Best Villain Characters In Gundam Anime

Summary

• Gundam franchise spans over 30 series, exploring war’s effects.
• Intriguing Gundam villains blur lines between right and wrong.
• Characters like Char Aznable and Gihren Zabi drive conflict.

The Gundam franchise has existed for over five decades, blossoming from the brilliant mind of Yoshiyuki Tomino with the original anime, Mobile Suit Gundam. The original series spawned multiple universes that explored different eras of war and its effects on people. With over thirty series across various timelines, Gundam is the most successful Mecha franchise in history, alongside Transformers.

Gundam tells stories about cataclysmic conflicts involving massive machines of war called Mobile Suits. Both sides push each other to the edge until a pilot takes it upon themselves to bring peace to the world by compassion or by force. The villains of these stories are also incredibly crafted characters who display magnetic charisma as they campaign for total victory. The writing of many Gundam series can blur the line between right and wrong with how well their antagonist is written.

8

Kyoji Kasshu/ Dark Gundam

A Puppet And Its Master

Kyoji is the brother of the main protagonist of Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Domon Kashu. In the series, Domon aims to track down his brother, who has stolen a highly advanced Gundam while participating in the Gundam Fight tournament.

However, Kyoji was infected by the artificial intelligence of the Dark Gundam and used a power source. It was the AI of the Dark Gundam that sought to save the Earth by destroying all human life, using its Dark Gundam cells to take over organic hosts to do its bidding. The Dark Gundam is one of the few non-human villains in the Gundam universe, and one of the most terrifying.

7

Zechs Marquise

The Masked Strategist

Zechs first appeared in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, one of the most famous Gundam series in the West. He served as a weapon for the OZ corporation, and first clashed with the Wing Gundam piloted by Heero Yuy during Operation Meteor.

Throughout the series, Zechs is a thorn in the side of all Gundam pilots thanks to his excellent strategic foresight and pristine piloting skills. While Zechs was just a tool for the cooperation he served, he was an excellent tool, and a cold and calculating villain while performing his duties.

6

Prospera Mercury

Burning The Entire Universe For The Sake Of Love

In Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, the plot began as a more light-hearted story than most Gundam titles. However, as the curtain fell and the whole picture was revealed, it became a tragic series of discrimination, loss, and greed.

Prospera Mercury fulfilled the “man or woman in the mask” trope in the show and seemed to be a string-puller behind the scenes. It was revealed that her goal, after creating an artificial intelligence based on the mind of her deceased daughter, was to create a world where she and the other AIs could live normally. The issue with this would be that by utilizing a data storm, Propspera would then have dominant rule over the entire Earth with forced peace.

5

Rau Le Creuset

A Force Of Nature Without A Past

Rau serves as the man in the mask of Mobile Suit Gundam Seed and the remaining antagonist of the series. Rau’s true name is Rau La Flaga; he is a clone of Mu La Flaga’s father, who was meant to replace him due to his father’s superiority complex. Unfortunately, Rau was deemed a faulty product and abandoned. This sparked immense hatred that pushed him to want to end humanity’s existence as a whole.

With his dominant military skills, Rau was able to quickly rise through the ranks of the ZAFT organization and implement a plan to wipe out all humanity with the aid of a nuclear arsenal. Rau had no allegiance to any cause or faction; he sought to end the constant war by ending everything else and putting the universe at permanent peace.

4

Gihren Zabi

A Charismatic Warmonger And Enemy Of Peace

If Char Aznable was the sword of the principality of Zeon, Gihren Zabi was its guiding hand. As the oldest of the Zabi children, Gihren was also the most gifted regarding intelligence and physical capability.

Gihren could inspire the passions of the people of Zeon and turn them toward his cause, which is how he seized so much power as both Mast Chief and Supreme Leader. Gihren’s accomplishments were only matched by his cold lust for power and his overconfidence. Gihren may have been the driving force between the Earth Forces and Zeon conflict, but his goal was much more sinister at heart as he sought all-out war between all factions.

3

Full Frontal

The Reincarnation Of The Red Comet

In Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Full Frontal was the series’ main antagonist, serving as the ace pilot for Neo Zeon and the organization’s leader. At first, he was portrayed as the mysterious masked man who would lead Neo Zeon to victory.

Full Frontal was a direct copy of Char Aznable enhanced by cybernetics, and genetically altered to be perfect. While on the battlefield, he was unmatched and nearly succeeded in his plan to subvert economic power for his people. He was pulled by fate to let go of his despair.

2

Haman Karn

The Youthful Prodigy Of Ne Zeon

Haman Karn was only sixteen when she became the supreme leader of the Axis Forces after the death of her father. In hopes of returning the Zabi family to its former glory, Karn waged war on the Earth Forces in hopes of conquering the colonies and Earth with her at the head of the table.

Haman Karn was a brilliant politician who knew how to tap into her people’s hopes and wishes and use them as a weapon. For Karn, no task was too inhumane if it meant victory for her and her people. Her ambition and endless ruthlessness were eventually her undoing.

1

Char Aznable

The Red Comet And Savoir Of Zeon

It could be argued that Char Aznable is more than just a simple villain, but one of the foundations of the Gundam universe, and not good or evil. However, Char was the linchpin of the conflict between Earth and Zeon, serving as an antagonist in the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime in the main Universal Century timeline.

Seeking for humans to evolve thinking Newtypes to be superior, Char wanted to leave the Earth behind and send humanity into the stars. To accomplish this, Chr did unspeakable things and attempted to cause a nuclear holocaust to achieve his goal.