Most people want to see good triumph over evil in fiction. The hero rescues the kidnapped prince. The spy deactivates the bomb before it destroys the city. The superheroes drive the alien invaders out of Earth once and for all. The battle might be hard-fought, and there may be casualties, but in the end, good stands victorious.
In these anime, though, that’s not how it goes. Sometimes the reason the villain is monologing is because his evil plan is already in motion, and the heroes have already lost. Other times, good may win, but at such tremendous cost that may as well have lost. If not for such stories, the end of every series would feel fated. Only the genuine threat of loss keeps the tension alive.
Updated on August 05, 2025, by Oluwatokiloba Folami:In the battle of good versus evil, good always wins. That is the ideal situation, but there are some cases where it is the opposite and evil wins. For example, in some cases, like the Attack On Titan, Eren starts as the protagonist, wanting to destroy the Titans and ultimately stop them from eating more humans. However, things take a drastic turn when Eren becomes a Titan and eventually becomes the villain of the show. The only way to achieve his goal is to eradicate humanity. There are countless anime where the protagonist turns into a villain and achieves their evil goals or the antagonist from the start has things go their way, and they are successful in implementing their wicked ideas. Either way, things work in favor of these villains.
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Hokusai Azuma, The Professor
The Professor inTokyo Espmay have died, but it is safe to assume he died happy, knowing he realized his objectives before his death.Hokusai Azuma, The Professor, is the villain and leader of the terror group that antagonizes the world ofTokyo Esp.The professor was not originally a villain, but the murder of his wife pushed him to a dark and vengeful place.
As he tries to lure out his wife’s killers, he becomes a terrorist seeking to turn ordinary people into espers (humans with extraordinary powers). His plan works, as he is able to turn people into espers with the help of the glowing fish. In the end, he gets stabbed and dies, but at least he got what he wanted. The only downside is that he was not alive for long enough to enjoy the manifestation of his plans.
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Some fans may argue that Lelouch was not technically a villain because he had good intentions. However, his methods of realizing his goals paint him as a bad guy. Lelouch is almost like Eren inAttack On Titan,as they both wanted to make the world a better place for their loved ones. Lelouch adopts a secret identity as Zero and becomes the leader of a rebel group to fight for the liberation of Japan and the downfall of Britannia.
Lelouch is ruthless, cold, and very calculative. He has no problem sacrificing innocent human lives and manipulating people to achieve his goal. He was successfully able to make the whole world unite by making everyone hate him. Lelouch did everything he could to make the world a better place, and once that was done, he sacrificed his life.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Kyebey is a cute and furry cat with red eyes inPuella Magi Madoka Magica,but he is more than that. He is an incubator, meaning he is emotionless and has no regard for or understanding of humans and their emotions. This manipulative little animal lures young girls to sign their souls to him in exchange for becoming magical girls. Kyebey also has the power to turn them into witches, as he turns Homura into a witch in thePuella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part III: The Rebellion Story.
Kyebey is interested in getting Madoka’s soul, but he has been able to successfully manipulate other young girls into signing their souls away. Since Kyebey is an incubator who has no emotions, killing him is quite useless, as another incubator will take his place and carry on their manipulative duties.
Eren Yeager, the protagonist of theAttack on Titananime series, also doubles as its overarching antagonist. At first, Eren was only a boy who wanted to secure freedom for himself and his people. However, after discovering that the whole world was his enemy and seeing him as a devil, Eren decided to cleanse the world of all humans apart from the Eldians.
Using the rumbling, Eren achieved a considerable amount of his goal by wiping out 80% of the world’s population. Moreover, although the Scout Regiment stopped him from wiping away all of humanity, that was only because he allowed them the freedom to do so. Even after Mikasa, Armin, and other members of the Scout Regiment managed to stop Eren, at best, they only avoided the worst-case scenario and in no way won the battle.
Demons and demon slayers are known to constantly engage in battles across the history of the series. However, with the introduction of Tanjiro, the protagonist of the series, many thought that the demon slayers would begin to have an edge over the demons. Unfortunately, once again, a demon slayer fell to an upper-rank demon in a battle that would serve as one of the most unforgettable aspects of theDemon Slayerseries. As Rengoku, the former flame Hasira, and Akaza, an upper-rank demon, fought, fans were left astounded by the beauty and brutality of their techniques.
Although Rengoku used all the skills in his arsenal, he was unable to kill Akaza. Even after sacrificing vital parts of his body to hold Akaza down so the sun would kill him, he still failed to kill the demon and lost his life, ending the canon anime movie on a sour note.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
A young David Martinez is involved in an accident and loses his mother. Now an orphan and in poverty, David mixes up with cyberpunks and becomes one of them. With his new cybernetic implant, the Sandevistan, David proves to be a useful asset to his gang of cyberpunks. However, one thing leads to another, and several members of David’s crew die off.
Now, years later, David is the leader of the crew and has pulled off heist after heist. Unfortunately, Arasaka, a megacorporation, has its eyes set on David. Meanwhile, Arasaka’s rival, Militech, pays very close attention to Arasaka’s movements. Caught between the scheming of these two mega corporations, David loses his life, unable to defy their will as he is caught in the crossfire. Moreover, most of his crew members are killed off as they are unable to defy the power of money and influence.
Mobile Suit Gundam
Though best known for its epic mech fights,Mobile Suit Gundam Wingis, like the rest of theGundamfranchise, about far more than laser swords clashing and missile barrages slamming down on bases. It’s a complex political drama, and the intrigue and machinations of its power brokers have always led to some of the series' best drama.
Treize isa controversial character,in part because his ultimate goal is to push humanity towards peace, butthe only way he sees to achieve that goal is to first plunge the earth into even greater war,a plan he carries out successfully. From his departure from the Foundation to the formation of the Treize Faction to his eventual death in battle, Treize got what he wanted.
Fate/Zero
The Fourth Holy Grail War could’ve ended in so many ways, but its actual ending is bleak and uncompromising. As the battle royale for the wish-granting chalice comes to a close, Kiritsugu Emiya at last gets his chance to claim the magical artifact.
In the end, however, the Holy Grain is a hollow prize. It was corrupted long ago,a realization that causes Kiritsugu to reject the Grail.Thus, his many losses were for nothing, while villains like Kotomine and Gilgamesh get what they want and emerge from the unfolding calamity unscathed. There are darker, grimmer anime out there, but there’s something especially heartbreaking about seeing a series likeFate/Zeroend this way.
Kaiji
Intense, stylistic, and sometimes bloody,Kaiji: Ultimate Survivorhas all the markings of thegreatest shonen anime,but it’s not about fighting martial arts tournaments or ninjas. It’s about gambling. Kaiji is a down-and-out gambler who is coerced by a loan shark into participating in a secret gambling event.
Kaiji could’ve kept his winnings but instead gambles all of themplus four fingers for the chance to win an even greater pot and defeat the sadistic chairman. His luck fails him, costing him not only his ¥20 million winnings but also his fingers. The chairman’s knowledge and cunning win the day, leaving Kaiji to skulk away with nothing and plot his revenge.
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Expanding upon the story told inPersona 4: The Animation,Persona 4: The Golden Animationcenters around Yu Narukami, a boy who discovers a twisted TV World, gains the power of Persona, and tries to untangle the mystery of Marie and the Velvet Room.
The OVA “Thank You, Mr. Accomplice” acts as an alternate ending to the series. In it, Yu forgoes enlisting the help of his friends and instead confronts Adachi alone.Adachi coerces Yu into helping him,a move which in a single stroke, sabotages Yu and Marie’s relationship, leaves the mystery unsolved, and allows the ominous fog to hang upon the town forever. Is this twist necessary? Arguably not, which is why it was fated to become an alternate ending instead of the canonical good one. Nevertheless, Adachi has his day.
