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Some anime characters, while evil, are understandable. They commit irresponsible acts, but when the bigger picture is taken into context, their actions can be comprehended. Other characters are straight up evil for almost no reason. These characters are so despicable, they can be nothing but hated. They use the people in their lives as nothing more than tools to get a job done. Or, they're willing to lie, cheat, and steal their way to the top, justifying their actions with nothing.
These self-righteous characters don't have a good side at all. Itachi Uchiha was once one of the most hated characters in anime until his real motive was revealed, shining a light on a previously unseen side of the Akatsuki member. Shou Tucker used his dog and daughter as an experiment, making him just the worst, plain and simple.
10 Sakura Haruno
Naruto
Cast Junko Takeuchi , Noriaki Sugiyama , Chie Nakamura , Kazuhiko Inoue , Hidekatsu Shibata
Release Date October 3, 2002
Seasons 5
Writers Masashi Kishimoto
Directors Hayato Date
Showrunner Masashi Kishimoto
Creator(s) Masashi Kishimoto
Sakura was easily the most hated character in anime when Naruto first aired. She was an incompetent anchor who weighed Team Seven down at every turn. It wasn't really her fault though, as she was placed in the wrong group. Sasuke was not only an Uchiha, but also one of the most promising ninja in the village. Naruto had the Nine-Tails sealed inside of him and was also the son of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Sakura isn't related to any legendary ninja and doesn't get a power boost until much later in the series.
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While she's able to fight on relatively equal terms much later in Naruto: Shippuden, early Sakura is a pretty frustrating character. She isn't adding much value to Team Seven and instead spends her time either cutting her hair or fighting Ino to an inconclusive draw.
9 Gendo Ikari
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Cast Megumi Ogata , Megumi Hayashibara , Kotono Mitsuishi , Spike Spencer , Allison Keith-Shipp , Sue Ulu , Amanda Winn Lee , Tristan MacAvery
Character(s) Shinji Ikari , Rei Ayanami , Misato Katsuragi , Ritsuko Akagi , GendoIkari
Release Date August 20, 1997
Seasons 1
Creator(s) Hideaki Anno
Gendo Ikari is one of the worst dads in anime. As soon as his wife Yui dies, he sends their son Shinji away. While he's grieving Yui's loss, so is Shinji, but Gendo tossed him away when he didn't want him. He only calls for Shinji to return when he has a dangerous Evangelion unit ready for his son to pilot. Even after Shinji returns, Gendo is cold and distant towards his son. The End of Evangelion reveals in its conclusion that Gendo really did love Shinji and was always afraid of hurting him.
Unfortunately for Shinji, he never got to see that side of his dad and only experienced the worst of him. Outside his relationship with his son, Gendo had a romantic relationship with Naoko Akagi and her daughter Ritsuko years later, which is pretty creepy too.
8 Malty Melromarc
The Rising of The Shield Hero
Cast Kaito Ishikawa , Asami Seto , Rina Hidaka
Release Date January 9, 2019
Seasons 2
Malty Melromarc started The Rising of The Shield Hero as a promising side character. She was intelligent and helpful towards Naofumi as he was getting used to his new world. She was only using Naofumi, however, and made him go into debt to buy her expensive adventuring gear. She also stole his chainmail and the rest of his money to give to a new party later. Worst of all, she accused Naofumi of assault to further bury his social standing, a crime he never committed.
Malty's actions in The Rising of The Shield Hero are pretty irredeemable. She never repents for what she does and thinks it's morally correct if she can get her way. She minimizes the voices of real victims while hurting an innocent man at the same time, easily earning her a spot as one of the most hateable anime characters of all time.
7 Zenitsu Agatsuma
Demon Slayer
Cast Natsuki Hanae , Zach Aguilar , Abby Trott , Akari Kitō , Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
Release Date April 6, 2019
Seasons 5
Unlike Malty who is hated because of who she is, Zenitsu is hated because of who he could be. He's capable of one of the strongest breathing techniques in Demon Slayer, but rarely uses it because of how scared he is. When Tanjiro, Inosuke, and even Nezuko leap into battle, Zenitsu is often crying somewhere behind them. Even he knows how annoying he, as in epsiode 17 he says, "I hate myself more than anyone. I always think I have to get my act together, but I end up cowering, running away, sniveling. I want to change. I want to be a competent person."
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With the final arc of Demon Slayer soon to be animated as a movie trilogy, Zenitsu has the chance to redeem his cowardly attitude. His breathing technique is gorgeous, powerful, and devastating every time he uses it, so hopefully he feels brave enough to pull it out during the final battle.
6 Danzo Shimura
Naruto Shippuden
Cast Junko Takeuchi , Kazuhiko Inoue , Noriaki Sugiyama , Chie Nakamura , Shoutarou Morikubo , Hideo Ishikawa , Nana Mizuki , Houchuu Ootsuka
Release Date February 15, 2007
Seasons 22
Network Adult Swim
Writers Junki Takegami , Satoru Nishizono , Yasuyuki Suzuki , Yasuaki Kurotsu , Masanao Akahoshi
Directors Hayato Date , Masaaki Kumagai , Yasuaki Kurotsu , Osamu Kobayashi , Chiaki Kon
Danzo Shimura is another character from Naruto that rightfully gets a lot of hate. Unlike Sakura, however, Danzo never gets redeemed and is a selfish, hateable character until his death. He is a shadow Hokage, running things behind the scenes. While he claims to do it for the good of Konoha, it seems like his actions benefit Danzo and his organization more. He's the brutal leader of the assassination group Root and tried to kill Kakashi for leaving. He's also a huge antagonist to the entire Uchiha Clan, stealing their eyes and disgustingly implanting them within his own body.
He killed Itachi's best friend Shisui just to steal his eye and jutsu. Thankfully, Sasuke was able to redeem his clan when he killed Danzo once and for all. Even during his final battle, Danzo was an evil, self-centered, manipulative character who deserved nothing but contempt.
5 Ging Freeccs
Hunter x Hunter
Cast Issei Futamata , Megumi Han , Cristina Valenzuela , Mariya Ise , Michael McConnohie , Erica Mendez , Erika Harlacher , Miyuki Sawashiro
Release Date October 2, 2011
Seasons 4
Writers Atsushi Maekawa , Tsutomu Kamishiro
Directors Hiroshi Kôjina
Creator(s) Yoshihiro Togashi
Ging Freeccs is another one of the worst dads in anime. He abandoned Gon at an early age, leaving him with his cousin Mito. Ging also left breadcrumbs for Gon to follow if he ever wanted to meet his dad, a ridiculous gauntlet to put his son through. When Gon was in the hospital with his life on the line, Ging never went to visit him. Gon's friend Leorio even asked Ging to visit him on the off-chance that it would help Gon. When Ging found out Gon didn't specifically ask for him to come, he declined.
Ging is another self-absorbed character who doesn't have to pay for the consequences of his actions because he's strong. Luckily, Gon has a great support system around him who acts as the father figure he needs. Gon also realizes the shortcomings in his father, never putting too much stock into him in the first place.
4 Shou Tucker
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Cast Maxey Whitehead , Vic Mignogna , Andrew Love , Brittney Karbowski , Caitlin Glass , Chris Cason , Chris Patton , Chris Rager , Christine Auten , Christopher R. Sabat , Colleen Clinkenbeard , Ed Blaylock , Eric Vale , George Manley , J. Michael Tatum , Jerry Russell
Character(s) Alphonse Elric , Edward Elric , Jerso , Selim Bradley , Winry Rockbell , Gluttony , Greed , Zampano , Izumi Curtis , Alex Louis Armstrong , Riza Hawkeye , Führer King Bradley/Wrath , Solf J. Kimblee , Darius , Scar , Tim Marcoh
Release Date April 5, 2009
Shou Tucker is absurdly hateable. He was an alchemist who wanted to do anything to get his license and become respected in his community. He was able to get it by creating a chimera capable of human speech, a first in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Unfortunately, Shou sacrificed his wife to create the first chimera. When Al and Edward meet him later in the series, he's about to lose his license unless he creates another chimera.
In one of the darkest twists in anime, Shou uses both his daughter Nina and his dog Alexander to create a new chimera hybrid. Edward finds out when the chimera calls him brother, just like Nina did. Shou never apologizes and even has the gall to compare his situation to Edward and Al's. Thankfully, Scar was able to kill Shou later and give the chimera the mercy-killing it deserved.
3 Minoru Mineta
My Hero Academia
Release Date April 3, 2016
Seasons 7
Franchise My Hero Academia
Production Company Bones
Number of Episodes 113
Being a bit of a pervert isn't anything new to anime. There are plenty of beloved characters who might be a bit on the pervy side, like Jiraiya from Naruto or Master Roshi from Dragon Ball, who are able to reign their feelings in when it matters. Minoru Mineta has all of their worst qualities and none of their good ones. He's so focused on being a pervert, it's his main character trait. His perversion is a problem for pretty much everyone in My Hero Academia as it just leads to uncomfortable situations for all involved.
While it's not a problem for a high-school boy to be interested in girls, Mineta doesn't know boundaries. He takes everything too far and makes the girls around him feel uncomfortable. If he was able to understand consent a little bit better, he could be a lot less hateable.
2 Rachel
Tower of God
Cast Johnny Yong Bosch , Matthew David Rudd , Cherami Leigh , Scott Whyte , Valerie Rose Lohman , Chris Hackney , Trent Mills
Release Date April 1, 2020
Seasons 2
Franchise(s) Tower of God
Writers Erika Yoshida
Directors Takashi Sano
Creator(s) Lee Jong Hui
Rachel was initially a sweet character in Tower of God. She gave Baam his name and spent a lot of time with him when he first came to this world of the Tower. Underneath her kind facade, however, was a boundless pool of malice. She's been plotting against Baam ever since they both entered the Tower, jealous of his power and the Tower's decision to choose him over her. When she fakes an injury that leaves her "paralyzed", Baam is by her side the whole time.
In a pivotal test at the bottom of an aquatic environment, Baam was tasked with protecting Rachel. He did so well, and at the end of their test, Rachel shoved him into the abyss. She betrayed the most innocent character in the series for no real reason. After she tried to kill Baam, she went to his friends and said he died on his own, using them as crutches to carry herself up the Tower.
1 Griffith/Femto
Berserk
Release Date October 8, 1997
Seasons 1
Writers Yasuhiro Imagawa
Directors Naohito Takahashi
Griffith is a vile character in Berserk. He started as the brave, powerful, and noble leader of the Band of the Hawk before sacrificing all of his allies and friends for power. He lost his mind in the year he spent in captivity and allowed himself to become the ultimate evil even after he was saved. When Guts saved him from his captivity, he was a shell of his former self. He used the Crimson Behelit to invoke the Eclipse, ascending to the God Hand by sacrificing the entire Band of the Hawk besides Guts and Casca.
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Griffith then forsake his humanity and became Femto, a force of evil. Griffith's weak, insecure mentality led him to getting captured in the first place. He then went on to sacrifice everyone who loved him for a worthless morsel of power.