It’s a sad day for Mobile Suit Gundam fans and the nation of France: Charles Aznavour, the popular French-Armenian singer, and actor has passed away at the age of 94. Called the “Frank Sinatra of France,” he’s also the direct inspiration for one of the top anime villains in history, Char Aznable from the breakthrough anime Mobile Suit Gundam, the first giant robot anime where the humans were more important than the robots.
I thought it’d be fun to explore the top anime villains with the help of our followers on Twitter. Here’s what we came up with…
- Griffith from Berserk. Chilling antagonist capable of incredible cruelty, including rape and torture.
- Donquixote Doflamingo from One Piece, who considers himself a “heavenly demon.”
- Frieza from Dragon Ball Z. A sadistic sociopath who likes to watch people suffer and kills his own underlings at the slightest whim.
- Desslar, the ruler of the Gamilos Empire, who drops radioactive planet bombs on Earth in an allegory to the bombing Japan endured during WWII. Already awesome in the 1974 original, he was greatly expanded in the recent Space Battleship Yamato remake.
- Johan Liebert. Terrifying serial killer from the Monster anime and manga.
- Swim Swim. The final boss from Magical Girl Raising Project, who’ll coldly dispatch any enemy in her quest to become the strongest magical girl.
- Lucy. The demon protagonist of Elfin Lied, who can tear any human apart with her invisible “vectors.”
- Raou. The main villain of First of the North Star, he’s the strongest user of the Hokuto Shinken fighting style and rides a bad-ass horse called Kokuoh.
- Sibyl System from Psycho-Pass. An organic computer system designed to monitor all citizens to ensure none is about to commit a crime, it eventually goes too far.
- Light Yagami. The chilling villain uses the Death Note to kill all evil in the world until he goes insane with power.
- Kyubey from Madoka Magica, the Incubator, who cynically sacrifices the lives of magical girls in order to stave off the heat death of the universe. I love the way Kyubey is total without empathy or emotion.
- Bondrewd from Made in Abyss. Responsible for the horrible experiments on Abyss technology and…the elevator scene.
- Dio from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. You didn’t think Dio would on this list, but it was I, Dio!
- Lelouche of the Rebellion from Code Geass. One of the best hero/anti-heroes in years, making Code Geass one of the best-written series.
- Char Aznable from Mobile Suit Gundam. His attractiveness and skill made him an instant fan favorite, but I loved his weakness, like the time he cried after realizing he wasn’t strong enough to defeat Amuro. Then he changes sides, joining forces with his former enemies to battle the Titans, a fascist government that rises on Earth. In the end, he tries to drop a giant asteroid on the Earth so the spacenoids can finally be free. Such dedication!
Let’s not forget to give an honorable mention to Makoto from School Days, Black Beard from One Piece and, Father from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
Who are your favorite anime villains? Did we miss any good ones? Tell us on Facebook or Twitter!
