17 Most Cunning Antagonists in Anime Explained!

We often cheer the protagonists and what makes them shine even stronger is the presence of antagonists in anime. Well, for most parts, who doesn’t like a smart, intelligent and cunning evil anime villain who is a top worthy contended to battle head-to-head with the main characters?

Over the years, the emergence of smart antagonists can be terrifying, captivating, and have their own strategy to match the actual rivals and it's not just brute strength but a well-calculated plan to deceive everyone to stay ahead of their adversaries.

Who are the smartest anime villains of all time?

It's hard to remove smart villains from the plot who cultivate and honed their skills and sometimes pose a challenge for the heroes. Who is the most cunning antagonist in anime history? Which evil anime guy is smart enough to deserve attention and respect? Who are the smartest anime villains of all time?

17. Cell

When it comes to the smartest animal villains how can the list deprive the name of Cell from the Dragon Ball Z series? What made Cell a special villain over other Dragon Ball villains is that he had something that others didn't have which is intelligence.

The ultimate creation of Dr Gero, didn’t rely on brute force alone but rather use his knowledge and awareness of the weakness of Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo to exploit them in battle. It's his constant personality change with each transformation that makes him even scarier.

Cell is a sneaky, cautious, cunning, calculating, and knowledgeable anime villain who dreams of achieving perfection. Cell constantly provoked Vegeta's pride and arrogance and used everything to his advantage to gain upper hand.

16. Father

Next on the list of coming and evil anime antagonists go to Father from Full Metal Alchemist. This sneaky and cunning anime villain was no less than calculating trash who had absolutely no qualms about sacrificing his so-called children/creations; the Homunculi.

Father demands blind obedience and expects undying loyalty from his creations called Homunculi children. He would never leave them to go unpunished for their disobedience. This character didn't bat an eye and punished Greed and abandoned Pride for his end goals. Father uses his knowledge for eternal life and was the mastermind behind the genocide of Ishwal.

15. Shishio

If you love Ruroni Kenshin, it's hard to forget the main antagonist of Kyoto Arc Shishio Makoto. Battosai’s successor survived several failed assassinations from the government and spent an entire decade slowly amassing power and creating his own private group of warriors to execute a political attack and destroy the Japanese government.

Shishio is cold-blooded, sadistic, and strongly believes in social Darwinism. He has an extraordinary level of intelligence and plays the role of a perfect evil mastermind in the series to hide from the Meiji government while using his manipulative skills to exploit others psychologically for his own benefit.

14. Yuichi Katagiri

There’s a pretty thin line between good and evil and is quite apt in Yuichi Katagiri’s case. The protagonist in an antagonistic role, Katagiri Yuichi is nearly an abomination as one of the game masters comments.

Don't be fooled by his kind and willing appearance as he had a sinister side and his sadistic nature without any remorseful action makes him a very manipulative character who takes pleasure in exploiting the misfortune of his enemies. Katagiri Yuichi does not shy to use any means for achieving his end goal and even goes as far as to threaten to blackmail or murder.

13. Kabuto

The most harmless-looking four-eyed Ninja Kabuto Yakushi from Naruto is the definition of a cunning villain who worked as a spy most of his life and an underling of Orochimaru.

Kabuto was one of the main characters who played a major role in the Fourth Shinobi War by using the reanimated Jutsu and bringing back the dead to ensure more chaos. This sly and evil antagonist from Naruto is the definition of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

While looking harmless at first glance, Kabuto is known for gathering intelligence and even helped in conducting research for Sasuke as the potential new host. Let's not forget Kabuto’s role in the success of the invasion of the Hidden Leaf village during the chunin exams.

12.Charles Augustus Milverton

The primary antagonist of Moriarty: The Patriot Anime series is Charles Augustus Milverton. His cunning and sly nature is evident through his reputation of blackmailing others in the Victorian era and being recognised as a Media Mogul. He was a true mastermind of Jack the Ripper cases. Milverton went as far as to poke Sherlock and implicate Dr Watson while observing Moriarty Brothers from the background.

11. Lelouch

This might be one of the most debated topics on whether Lelouch is a protagonist or an antagonist. Lelouch vi Britannia is a formidable opponent with high intellectual skills. He is a cunning and smart villain in many senses as he manipulates others into thinking of him as a vigilante and how he saves only those who he thinks of as worth protecting.

Lelouch wishes to create more chaos in the world to fulfil his end goals while creating a rebellion. He is a strategist and a genius-level intellect capable of using his mind with incredible speed and precision.

10. Izaya Orihara

The cunning antagonist from Durarara is a powerful and skilled information broker who loves to manipulate others for his own enjoyment while claiming his love for the human race which excludes Heiwajima.

Izaya Orihara’s definition of love can be extremely twisted and his unpredictable nature and is a very chaotic character. He is charming and cunning and uses his manipulative nature while mocking others.

Izaya never takes a side in a conflict and plays both sides to have equal advantage to side with whoever wins. He enjoys conflict while never directly contributing and prefers to observe from the background.

9. Shinsuke Takasugi

One of the major antagonists of Gintama, the Kihetai leader is Takasugi Shinsuke. He is extremely manipulative and cunning by involving from the background and controlling several higher officials and even Nobu Nobu.

Shinsuke is intelligent and has ambitions to destroy the world. The Kihetai leader seeks chaos and total destruction and is even willing to sacrifice his subordinates if they dare to defy him or get in his path.

8. Itachi Uchiha

The international criminal Itachi Uchiha became infamous and pursued after he murdered the entire clan while only sparing Sasuke’s life.

Itachi is a perfect balance of strength and intellect as he joined Akatsuki, the secret organisation. Itachi was a double agent and was loyal to Konoha till the end.  

Itachi is a genius talent and outranks several ninjas and even rivalled Kakashi in a fair fight.

7. Makishima Shogo

The main antagonist of Psycho-Pass is Makishima Shogo. This intelligent villain has the gift of gab and the ability to manipulate others to do his bidding.

Shogo has a charismatic personality and a gift for persuasive speech. He is unrecognized by the Sibyl system making him criminally asymptomatic.

The scan fails to align his criminal coefficient with his personality and does not judge his actions; it is either zero or non-existent or cannot be determined.

6. Obito

The list will remain incomplete without the honorable mention of Obito Uchiha, the true mastermind and string-puller of Akatsuki. He is a sly, merciless, cunning and manipulative individual who does not care about people.

Obito viewed every crime as a necessary evil. His goal was to create chaos and even regarded murder as a sacrifice for the greater good. He was responsible for recruiting and manipulating the members.

Obito was cunning and manipulative while controlling the members of Akatsuki to serve as mere tools for his own agenda.

5. Muzan Kibutsuji

One of the smartest, most fearful and most cunning evil anime characters is Muzan Kibutsuji from Demon Slayer. Muzan is ruthless, intimidating, cold-hearted and exceptionally intelligent. He is a character who you do not want to mess with.

Muzan completely and callously murders his own subordinates on his whim and if he is displeased with them. He is a narcissist, petty, and obsessive character who wants to become a perfect being.

4. Utsuro

The intelligent and manipulative villain from Gintama Utsuro is the founder of Tenshouin Naraku. He is an emotionless and fearless immortal who cannot die. Utsuro is a psychopath and ruthless anime villain who orchestrated massive destruction in the universe to destroy Earth.

3. Light Yagami

Before becoming a full-time serial killer, Light Yagami from Death Note was an honour student, a talented and natural genius with good problem-solving skills.

Light is a strategist with high intelligence and a high sense of justice which quickly became distorted after gaining the ability of death note. His intentions may have started from a good cause but later succumbed to evil and became a cold and calculated killer famous for his God complex becoming Kira.

He was successful to hide his true identity from the police and would mercilessly execute anyone who became an obstacle in his path

2. Moriarty

The main protagonist/antagonist of Moriarty: The Patriot is William James Moriarty. The arch nemesis of Sherlock Holmes, Moriarty wanted to bring in him to become the symbol of justice in his own twisted and calculated plans to uproot the high society of England.

Molarity is knowledgeable, intelligent, and good at manipulating people with his charismatic personality and working with his brothers to reform the British class stratification to uproot corruption among nobles.

1. Aizen

In the list of cunning, intelligent, sly and manipulative evil anime villains, Sosuke Aizen from Bleach has the number one ranking. Wondering why he is ranked number one among the most cunning anime antagonist?

Learn it from Aizen who devoted nearly 100 years to overthrowing soul society and played a central role in developing Ichigo Kurosaki, the ultimate chess pawn and the reason for his downfall.

Aizen is the greatest anime villain to date and even though he is pure evil and downright dangerous, he is a respectable and reputable anime villain for giving his all and even manipulating the members of Soul Society. Kudos to Aizen!

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