In anyAnime, the protagonists can only flourish if the antagonists are equally as entertaining. From cruel, mindless evildoers to groups of organized criminals planning on world domination, we’ve seen plenty of extremely loved yet hated villains that have joined hands with one another.
Among the various groups that have made our favorite heroes' lives hell, here are the absolute vilest, most heinous, yet most memorable evil groups in all of Anime.
7League Of Villains
My Hero Academia
My Hero Academia is a show based on heroes fighting villains. It’s no surprise that it has some of the most entertaining villains we’ve seen in modern Anime. However, no single villain can compare to Shigaraki Tomura’s League Of Villains.
While the group wasn’t by any means the strongest at its earlier stages, being little more than a ragtag bunch of villains with strong quirks, it quickly turned into something more akin to a natural disaster.
6Paranormal Liberation Front
After defeating and recruiting Re Destro, the League Of Villains eventually turned into The Paranormal Liberation Front. It had all the members that made the group so intimidating, as well as the power in influence and numbers to make full use of its strong members.
After Re Destro lost, he realized that Shigaraki was the personification of everything he wanted to achieve. He put all his resources into helping the Paranormal Liberation Front after the realization.
In terms of actual combat ability, the group was on a completely different level than what it used to be as well. Shigaraki alone could make entire cities decay with the help of All For One’s plans. If not for Deku and his friends, the group might very well have had no one who could stop them in the My Hero Academia universe.
512 Demon Moons
Demon Slayer
The name Demon Slayer represents its show’s premise very well, since our protagonist must kill demons that plague society. This would be an easy job, with most members of the Demon Slayer Corps being qualified enough to handle a demon or two, and with the strongest Hashiras being able to cut through swarms of demons with little effort.
The Upper Moons are so strong that an entire century passed without any member being killed. This ended with Gyutaro’s death at the hands of Tengen.
However, the problem arises with Muzan’s hand-picked 12 Demon Moons. These demonic entities have consumed hundreds of humans, and are powerful enough to give even the aforementioned Hashiras a tough battle at best, and a one-sided death at worst.
4Akatsuki
Naruto
Naruto has had its fair share of antagonists, but the Akatsuki has been giving the main cast trouble since the earliest episodes in the series. The actual goal of the group was different for the three masterminds behind the scenes, but the group mostly functioned as mercenaries.
The group went through multiple iterations with many variations in its members, and had some of the most popular characters as part of it at one point or another, such as Itachi, Orochimaru, and even Sasuke briefly.
3God Hand
Berserk
There are many different ways to showcase the terror of an antagonist. However, regardless of how popular a group of evildoers may be, they’re usually made to serve as a challenge to overcome. However, compared to the other tangible entries here, God Hand from Berserk is different.
Even though specific circumstances led to Griffith sacrificing the Band Of The Hawk and turning into Femto, he was destined to join the God Hand regardless of what happened.
It consists of godlike beings that can simply will your life to end. They’re harbingers of death who cannot be overcome through any normal means. They also carry great importance within the story of Berserk, being the source of all major events, and having Guts’s best friend, Griffith, as a member.
2The Espada
Bleach
Bleach has no shortage of unique and engaging enemies for Ichigo to fight. Among these, the Espada stands out as the most memorable. While one may argue that Yhwach’s Sternritter is stronger, the Espada is a better and more memorable representation of villainy as a concept.
Each member of this group represents an evil plaguing society. From greed to ego, each character shows what these sins can cause if left unchecked. The group also has some of the most well-designed characters, courtesy of Kubo.
1The Phantom Troupe
Hunter x Hunter
Much like the Akatsuki, the Phantom Troupe is an extremely memorable group of organized criminals thirsting for wealth that can’t help but make our favorite characters' lives hell. Each of them have a specific role, and they work with complete loyalty towards their leader and friend, Chrollo.
While they may seem like a group motivated only by wealth at first, they do have a noble cause; to find out who killed their childhood friend. However, the crimes they’ve committed, including the eradication of an entire clan to sell their eyes, may not be entirely justifiable.
