Hey guys, have you ever been addicted to, fell in love or infatuated with, and been amazed by a story’s antagonist or villain? It is always a mixed thought, even in anime story; there are just some instances where we fell in love with a villain in one way or another. I must say, anime villains are among the most complex characters in any anime series or movies, their existence and roles are as important as the main characters.
In 2019, we had seen some better (if not the best) anime villains in recent years and most of them are just plainly amazing in their ways. No matter what their story and motive and why they antagonize the main characters, it always great to see interesting and well-built anime villains in the story nowadays. In this post, I am glad to share the best anime villains that I’ve seen from anime that aired in 2019. Alright, I am excited to start our list so I’ll have a dreadfully infuriating villain in our first spot and that is Mama Muzan – I’m sorry, I mean Muzan Kibutsuji from Demon Slayer.
Muzan Kibutsuji (Demon Slayer)
The progenitor of demons in the 2019 smash anime hit Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer). Don’t tell me you don’t know him, if you’re a member of any anime community in social media, there’s no way that you didn’t encounter this demon. You might have seen him in various anime memes on a daily basis, back in the peak of Demon Slayer’s popularity in the 3rd quarter of 2019. He is a ruthless and narcissist demon who will use everyone at his disposal to serve his goal. He is a powerful villain, feared by almost every demon in Kimetsu no Yaiba story. While he’s been haunted by Demon-Slaying Corp, he also killed lots of hunters too. He only made few appearances in the anime so far yet the progress of the story is always connected to him. He is the villain that you’ll love to see dead but will not dare to mess up with him, or else you’re dead. Nonetheless, I am cheering on Tanjirou, Nezuko, and crew to get the best of him and eventually defeat him.
While I am not sure if Muzan will make an appearance in the upcoming Demon Slayer: Infinity Train movie, we should look forward for the film as it will have the phenomenal showdown of the Flame Pillar and the Upper Moon 3.
While I am not sure if Muzan will make an appearance in the upcoming Demon Slayer: Infinity Train movie, we should look forward for the film as it will have the phenomenal showdown of the Flame Pillar and the Upper Moon 3.
Interesting Read about Muzan Kibutsuji:
- 10 Facts You Didn’t Know About Muzan Kibutsuji | CBR
- Muzan Kibutsuji: An Analysis [SPOILERS] | THE RAMEN STAND
Askeladd (Vinland Saga)
Lucius Artorius Castus aka Askeladd – This warrior is someone whom I can’t easily tag as an anime villain because I felt like he is one of the main protagonists of Vinland Saga. He played an important role in the story and that influenced Thorfinn into a man that he is right now. He had our main character suffer so much – emotionally and mentally, however, Askeladd also gives Thorfinn a reason to live, despite having vengeance for that sole reason. I still think that Askeladd is an unfathomable man and what’s going on inside his mind is quite vague. One thing is sure though, we had seen a glimpse of that heroic side of him; he shed blood to protect what truly matters to him. He is intelligent and also a great warrior, I couldn’t ask for more from this guy whom I can think as one of the best anime villains of 2019.
Interesting Read about Askeladd:
Isabella (The Promised Neverland)
Mama, it’s our dear mama from The Promised Neverland and I have quite a complex impression about her. I hated her at some point, and despise her action but when we look beyond the surface, she’s also suffering, she had a heart, and she’s a genuine mother too. Unfortunately, she’s just a disposable tool by even more dangerous villains that were hiding behind the curtain. She’s also a victim but we couldn’t erase the fact that she had been a great and effective villain to our protagonists – Emma, Norman, and Ray. I believed she played an important role that leads The Promised Neverland bagging the title of the best anime of 2019 from us, beating other strong contenders from last year such as Attack on Titan, Vinland Saga, and Dr. Stone.
Garou (One Punch Man)
Oh dear, here’s one of my favorites. It’s Garou from One-Punch Man season 2. Who wouldn’t fall in love with this antihero? I felt bad that he needs to beat those heroes but I felt like some of them need those beating though. In a world where heroes became diluted, arrogant, and abused their power, those people who desire to be heroes or do well to others were also affected and sometimes changed their outlook in life. And such is the case with Garou, I can’t ignore the fact that he reminded me of Stain from My Hero Academia. He’s like any other anime villains out there, strong and hot-tempered but he also follows the path of the main protagonist as it seems that he still needs to learn more stand atop of everyone else. Garou is among those villains with complicated and interesting stories to tell, I just hope to have another sequel for One-Punch Man for us to see what will happen to him.
Interesting Read about Garu:
Malty/B*tch (The Rising of the Shield Hero)
One of the most hated and probably cursed anime characters of 2019, Malty is the character that you’ll love to kill as soon as you see her. While she’s not the best character out there, she’s an effective villain that draws out all the anger from the viewers of The Rising Shield Hero. A vicious and despicable conspirator, she made our shield hero Naofumi-sama suffered so much; she’s the type of character you will not want to have as a friend. I am quite satisfied with what happened to her in the end, but how I wish it could’ve been worse; I won’t complain if she gets more thrilling punishment.
Fyodor Dostoevsky (Bungou Stray Dogs)
A master of plot everything behind in the shadows, Fyodor is an interesting villain who seems lowkey but undeniably powerful. He is creepy to a fault, someone that resembles those psychopaths from various movies you had seen from Hollywood. He was brilliant and cunning, enough to mess up and fool around with the Armed Detective Agency, and the Port Mafia, even reaching the point of putting the lives of the respective leaders of the two powerful groups in danger. Oh man, he is so creepy and interesting, and he is the type of villain you wish to keep around and challenge our protagonist in various ways possible.
Dark God Vecta (Sword Art Online III: War of the Underworld)
Another psychopath in our list is the Dark God Vecta of the Dark Territory who declared a war on the Human Empire of the Underworld to seek the Priestess of Light – Alice, so he could devour her soul. While we didn’t see the peak of his ruthlessness yet, we’ll definitely see that in the upcoming Sword Art Online III –War of the Underworld Part 2 which will premiere in July; and that is something that we should look forward in the summer 2020 anime lineup. He sacrificed countless lives from the Dark Territory to achieve his evil goal. In reality, he was someone that should despise in many ways due to his atrocious act of feeding his ego and psychopathic nature.
Overhaul (My Hero Academia Season 4)
I have conflicted thoughts toward this villain from the 4th season of My Hero Academia. He is among those types of villains who got corrupted in the process of achieving their ideals and will sacrifice anything to realize it. The fight between Midoriya and Overhaul had been one of the best from the series, while I felt it was so short compared to the climactic battle of All Might and One For All, as well as those from other seasons. Whether we hate Overhaul or not, there’s no doubt he played the role of a corrupted and conflicted villain. He is one of my favorite villains from My Hero Academia along with Stain.
Interesting Read about Chisaki:
- Five Thoughts On My Hero Academia‘s “Overhaul” | MULTIVERSITY COMICS
Ai Magase (Babylon)
When Babylon aired from the fall 2019 anime lineup, did we all thought that Ai Magane is the personification of evil? Yes, we might all did, and she’s just exceptional as ever in playing the devilish lady of the series who made our brain cells worked up. As a villain, her existence raised serious questions about the moral standard of humanity, especially with – what’s good and what’s evil? She is not the type of villain that should be defeated; instead, she’s someone who seeks answers by raising questions. Just like any other psychological anime, her existence in the plot Babylon seeks to bring the flaws in the system and established norms to the viewers’ attention and let us decide whether it is right or wrong.
Interesting Read about Ai Magase:
- Character Analysis of a Certain Evil Lady from Babylon | REDDIT THREAD
BONUS:
Bench-kun (ORESUKI)
Some people said Bench-kun is the real protagonist of Oresuki, while some said he is the biggest conspirator out there. However, the truth is that no matter what happened, the protagonist from the series simply loses big time against Bench-kun in various ways and situations. While this may sound funny, but he is the biggest villain out there in the series, and his existence drives the plot of the story progress in the most obnoxious way.
And this is where I shall end this list of best anime villains of 2019. We hate some of them, while also fell in love with the others. We despise them because some are just pure evils, while some were simply corrupted by aiming their ideals. Some have someone to protect, while some simply want to questions the system. No matter what they’re reasons are, these anime villains sure did make 2019 a wonderful year for anime enthusiasts.
If you wish to read more about various anime series from 2019, I have listed here my final impression reviews on each season from last year as follows:
- Winter 2019 Anime Season Review
- Spring 2019 Anime Season Review
- Summer 2019 Anime Season Review
- Fall 2019 Anime Season Review
Code name: Yu Alexius is an ambiguous entity who loves to talk about anime and Chinese animation in general. An insatiable soul from the Pearl of the Orient, a frustrated writer and a Houtarou Oreki wanna-be. He is a piece of a lunatic and everything crazy.
