Ask John: Who’s the Most Evil Anime Villain of All Time?
Question:
In your opinion, John, which anime villain is the most evil and malicious of all time? Orochimaru and Freeza are probably the most famous in this category but surely there’s someone else far worse than them.
Answer:
Given the fantastical nature of anime, its abundance and variety of villains should be no surprise. Several of them immediately spring to mind as candidates for particularly ruthless and malicious characters. Gatchaman’s distinctive Berg Katz may be considered if for no other reason than the sheer staggering number of henchmen he/she sacrificed in the effort to conquer the Earth. Gundam’s Char Aznable is certainly one of anime’s most charismatic villains, so colorful and magnetic in personality that otaku may overlook Char’s near successful attempt to end all life on Earth. Fuma Monou of the X movie is memorable for his swift and wholehearted embrace of merciless antagonism. Harara Hagakure of the 1996 Kakugo no Susume OVA series may be one of anime’s most brutal villains ever. Death Note’s Light Yagami is certainly one of anime’s most devious villains. Orochimaru of Naruto is especially formidable and singularly ruthless. Dragon Ball’s Freeza epitomizes the megalomaniacal overlord with godlike destructive power.
However, in my recollection, the most dispicably and dangerously evil anime villain I’ve ever witnessed was a normal man, not a superhuman, supernaturally enabled human, or an alien. The despotic leader Hamdo of the 1999 television series Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku (Now and Then, Here and There) exemplifies the same characteristic personality that we believe allowed Adolph Hitler to rise to power. Hamdo is a genuine psychotic with a personality so compelling, charismatic, demanding, and overbearing that he literally bullies everyone around him into submission merely through his very pressence. He’s especially dangerous because his psychotic amorality justifies his actions, so he has no remorse or hesitation, nothing akin to normal human sympathy. He routinely exploits, tortures, and kills children and the defenseless without even considering the horrific immorality of his actions. Even selfish monsters like Orochimaru and Freeza are aware that they’re evil. Hamdo has absolutely no hesitation or reservations about his horrifically cruel reign of terror because he doesn’t even comprehend that his actions actually impact other people’s lives. He’s pure megalomaniacal id with no morality or conscience whatsoever, and the terrifying ability to exert his apocalyptically destructive will. Unlike fantastical monsters whom viewers know will ultimately be opposed by heroes, Hamdo is a character whom real life has proven possible. He’s not a character easily dismissed as fantasy or a villain who could never really exist. He is the ultimate epitome of genuine human monstrosity, which makes him far more terrible and terrifying than cackling aliens, snake ninja, or self-righteous high schoolers.
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Wow..that’s a great call on worst villain. Thats a pretty dark anime and Hamdo is just crazy-evil. And for some reason at least once a week I find my self thinking “Lala-Ru?…Lala-Ru..Where are you Lala-Ru?”
Bingo! As soon as I saw the question, Hamdo came to mind. He was truly mentally disturbed and incredibly evil. Funny thing is….I watched that anime over 5 years ago, and it still has an impact.
Yeah, these people are pretty brutal. Women don’t get to be heartless, classic villains all that much though, do they?
A good selection. Hamdo and that cat… an unforgettable scene.
Wow, Hamdo has also been my pick. He’s truly insane, going from brutally beating everyone around him to cowering in fear when the situation overwhelms him back to brutal when he gains the upper hand again, with no self-reflection to be seen. I’ve never witnessed a character that better fits the villian moniker.
Citizens from the Grave of Firefilies…
Vamp-sama.
I often wonder how Aizen from Bleach fares in comparison to all of these guys.
http://myanimemangafix.blogspot.com/2010/11/is-aizen-lame-villain.html
I don’t even like Now and Then Here and There. To me several elements were so comically unbelievable that I could never form a good sense of “suspension of disbelieve” to enjoy it. I spent the entire time watching while thinking to myself, “This would never happen because it makes no sense to do this.”
And on that note, I still agree he has to be, if not the most evil, one of the most evil characters in anime ever. And the fact so many people followed his stupid, contrived, and inhuman orders because of years of mental programming just makes it worst.
@ robotghost: The citizens of Grave of the Fireflies were not villains or evil. They were a beaten down and broken people who were running off little more than basic human desire of survival. When a human is put in a hopeless situation as they were, anything needed to continue ones own life is most important. Even the lead character need to protect his little sister even at the cost of his own life if needed is human instinct (usually from a parent toward a child). The evil villain in the film was America who was fire bombing non-military targets. Everyone in the file was either a survivor of a fire bombing or a refugee from a city that was literally burned to the ground. People were starving to death because entire farms were destroyed by the same bombs. These were acts that did occur during WW2 and would now be considered inhuman and a direct violation of the Geneva Conventions.
As a side note, Americans in Grave of the Fireflies was my second choice.
It’s disbelief, not disbelieve. What was too unbelievable about Now and Then? That someone could travel to another version of reality?
It was 3 am when I posted that, I was a little out of it.
I will start with one of John’s parallels when comparing Hamdo to Hitler. I think that comparison is completely wrong. Hitler’s beliefs were globally unacceptable, cruel, and down right inhuman in some cases (specifically his beliefs about the Jewish people); however, he was smart, charismatic, and arguably a political genius. Hamdo, as I recall, was just bat shit crazy. I can see why people with parallel views would allow Hitler to maintain power once he took it, but Hamdo? The only person I can think of that stayed in a position of power even though he was bat shit crazy by his time’s standards was Caligula. And even that only lasted 4 years. No one in their right mind would follow a man like Hamdo for very long and the show seemed to imply he had been in power for decades. I couldn’t grasp why no one among his ranks tried to assassinate him. It is not even implied they would try as he has no personal guards and seems rather easy to reach if I recall.
Shu had next to no survival instinct. While I can let his….need to protect Lala Ru slide even though the only reason seems to be he would do it for anyone, it takes it too far for me. I mean he was nearly killed no less than 3 times, beaten until he was unconscious, imprisoned, I think he was starved for a few days, and whatever else I missed in episode 2; yet his only concern was relocating a girl he knew for all of 5 minutes who spoke only 1 word to him (her name). Any normal person, no matter how loving or peaceful or whatever word you wish to use to describe him, would be concerned with their own survival first and foremost.
Hamdo’s methodology of enslavement was just stupid. He violently attacks a town, kills almost everyone and enslaves the survivors. Would it not have been easier, more efficient, less of a hassle to just recruit people into the military with a promise of better living? They got food and water daily, a place to stay, etc. You catch more bugs with honey than you do with vinegar comes to mind.
Yes you can argue that human kind has enslaved people that were conquered in the past. There are even occasions where those slaves were added to the military on a large scale. My issue is Hamdo’s attacks seem to be solely motivated by a need for new soldiers and controller all water supplies. It was also implied that his entire military force was made of slaves. First, no civilization has started a war just to enslave the people their to replace the soldiers that were lost in the past doing the same thing. That is just stupid. Second, no 1 man can control an entire army of slaves. You usually need an army to control the slaves.
I know a lot of reviewers have commented on how realistic this show was and I disagree. I think everyone was so caught up in the brutality and harsh treatment….of well everyone especially children, they overlook smaller details. Those details were like giant spotlights to me and I couldn’t just look past them. I did watch the entire show because it was rather short, but it just isn’t realistic if you take the time to break down the show IMO. I could be wrong. I may need to simply rewatch the show.
I do offer this. If we get away from this belief the show is so realistic and look at it in a different way, it makes more sense to me. What if Now and Then Here and There was an anime Shakespeare play. Shakespeare didn’t have the time to realistically build the “drama” of his plays, so he idealized every aspect of it. Romeo and Juliet didn’t fall in love. They fell into a love so deep, continuing life without the other was impossible at first sight. He took every emotion to an epic dramatic level to cut down on the time needed to understand the character’s motivation. Now and Then Here and There can be viewed the same way. Hamdo was just a tyrant. As John said, he was the most evil bastard in all of anime. Shu wasn’t just a good guy with a happy disposition. He was completely selfless, honest, and cheerful no matter how bad a situation got.
I could go on, but this is long enough. If I look at it from my Shakespeare point of view, it was a great achievement. And while I understand and respect Shakespeare, I do not like his story telling technique at it comes off abrupt, harsh, and unrealistic for my personal taste.
You cannot call a man “shit crazy” and then expect him to follow rational thought.
Can’t we chalk the main character’s selflessness to poetic license? What good a hero would he be if he just gave into the bad guys and said “ok, I’ve had enough, take this girl and use her for your evil schemes”
When people call this show realist, I think they are referring to the brutality and hopelessness you feel when you see the predicaments these children are in, and you also have a villain that you hate for realistic reasons. It’s not just because he has a take over the world scheme. It’s also because he’s a thoroughly unlikable human being.
You should read those last two paragraphs. I truly believe that comparison as the reasoning.
And you are right, I don’t expect him to operate with rational though. I expect people who can to realize he was going to lead them to their deaths and “remove” him from command. We had 1 guy, his would be girlfriend, and a dead cat verses several thousand slaves and no one was thinking of a uprising?
I can agree that people who get into the story can be emotionally affected. I can’t argue with that. It was just not my flavor.