Top 15 Best Anime Villain Groups
The list is based on both Anime and also Manga so there may be manga spoilers for some anime.
15. The Ten Commandments
Anime: Seven Deadly Sins
Ten Commandments are from the series Seven Deadly Sins. They are elite members of the demon clan selected by the Demon King himself. They each have a commandment a power given by the King himself. This power gives them a unique curse to whoever breaks a rule specific to each member.
All members are unique from each other and their dynamic is great to watch. They are really strong and their unique abilities add to the charm. Some of the characters individually aren’t that interesting hence they have a place low on the list.
14. Dark Triad
Anime: Black Clover
The Dark Triad is a trio of powerful mages who used to rule over the Spade Kingdom. The members of the Dark Triad are all known to be extremely powerful mages whose strength is on par with devils, as they are possessed by three of the highest-ranking devils from the underworld.
Their direct subordinates are known as the Dark Disciples, they are strong and loyal mages whom the members of the Dark Triad have shared some of their devil’s power with, they can access significant proportions of a devil’s power such as 40%. These powers grant the Dark Triad and Dark Disciples a massive boost in power which allow them to easily take on and overpower an entire squad of Magic Knights on their own. The Dark Triad is easily the strongest group in the whole black clover series and according to the latest development, the Wizard King of the Clover kingdom is also a part of the dark triad. Which makes them even stronger.
13. Twelve Demon Moons
Anime: Demon Slayer
Twelve Demon Moons is the primary villain group from the series Demon Slayer. All of them are under Muzans’s control and he is their leader. They are in order based on their strength and each has received a significant amount of Muzan’s blood. They are further divided into the six Upper Ranks and the six Lower Ranks and each has a number assigned to them. They all can use Blood Demon Arts and techniques manifested through the blood that only powerful demons can access.
The upper Six Ranks are really enjoyable to watch. Each of them has a unique personality and a fighting style. And they also provided a great obstacle to the heroes in the story making them a great villain group. Muzan lacks as the final boss and the lower Six aren’t that impressive hence they have a low place in the list.
12. God Hands
Anime: Berserk
God Hands are the five demon sovereigns who act as executors of the Idea of Evil. They act as the leaders of other demons including the Apostles. Every one of them is previously a human being themselves but sacrificed their close ones to attain this status and power. They are basically untouchable, incredibly strong, and they feel like Gods.
Griffith is one of the greatest villains of all time and he even ranked 2nd place in our list of best manga villains ever. And a group that is having him will have a great argument to be placed here. God Hands don’t have many group moments and that is why they aren’t ranked at the top. But the rare moments when they make their moves, are genuinely scary.
11. Cursed Spirits
Anime: Jujutsu Kaisen
Cursed spirits including some special grades and Cursed Wombs make this list. This list contains Mahito, Fake Geto, Jogo, Hanami, Choso, Eso, Kechizu, and several lower-level cursed spirits. They are created as a result of the manifestation of cursed energy from the negative emotions of humans.
The characters in this group don’t impress individually but they are quite fun as a group. They really impressed me as a group in the Shibuya Arc and as a result, they have earned a place on this list. The stakes in the arc were constantly high and they turned out to be great villains of the heroes there.
10. En Family
Anime: Dorehedero
En Family is a powerful group that is led by one of the strongest magic users, En. The main members are En, Shin, Noi, Fujita, Chota, etc. The organization controls most of the businesses in the Magic-User Realm, creating a hierarchy of power and En acting as the technical de facto ruler of the Magic-User World.
The group is funny, and the dynamic between them is fun to read. The world of Dorehedero is grey, to say the least. Heroes aren’t perfectly good guys and the bad guys aren’t just evil. The villain groups care for each other and it adds a charm to them.
9. Aogiri Tree
Anime: Tokyo Ghoul
Aogiri Tree is a ghoul terrorist organization founded by Eto Yoshimura. They actively combated the C.C.G, inflicting heavy casualties on them. It is believed that this organization is led by the One-Eyed King. Despite being the organization’s founder, Eto often acts behind the scenes while Tatara serves as the operational leader of the organization
The Aogiri Tree is united under the ideology of ghoul supremacy as promoted by the One-Eyed King. Aogiri sought to make ghouls the dominant species and planned to overthrow humanity and ascend to power. The organization had several thousand ghouls in its ranks, The upper chain of command consisted of many ghouls S-rated or higher like Naki, Tatara, Miza, Ayato, and Takizawa.
8. Blackbeard Pirates
Anime: One Piece
Blackbeard Pirates are one of the main antagonist groups of the series. Blackbeard Pirates led by Blackbeard himself orchestrated the first half of the series. They have the most real-life pirate look to them and they are incredibly strong.
They have unique character designs, great dynamics between them, and fit the role of the antagonists for the theme of the series. Blackbeard is one of the most unique villains of all time and his dynamic with Luffy is a unique one. He represents the ideology of anarchy and they act like a real-life pirate crew. Their role as the main antagonist in the series hasn’t even come yet and they can only move up the list once their time comes.
7. League of Villains
Anime: My Hero Academia
League of villains is a villain organization founded by All For One but now led by Tomura Shigaraki with the goal of destroying the hero society. They are incredibly strong with unique abilities and they also have Nomus with them. They act as the main antagonists with great characters like Shigaraki, Twice, AFO, Himiko, Dabi, etc.
But overall I wouldn’t say individually they are that great compared to other villain groups in anime. But as a group, they absolutely shine and it is one of the reasons they rank high. My Villain Academia arc, which focuses entirely on them is the best arc in MHA for a reason.
6. Homunculus
Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
Homunculus is a group of artificially created living things by Father based on the Seven deadly sins. They are Pride, Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, Sloth, and Envy with Father being their leader. The group has a hatred for human beings and Father uses them to fulfill his goal.
Each of them has a unique personality, and interesting abilities, and is incredibly strong. Character conclusions of characters like Pride, Wrath, Greed, and Envy are some of the best in anime.
5. The Espada
Anime: Bleach
The Espada are the top-ranked and most powerful Arrancar in Sōsuke Aizen’s army of Hollow-Shinigami hybrids, serving as the primary opponents of the Gotei 13 captains during Aizen’s war. The Espada is comprised of ten Arrancar with exemplary strength. Members of the Espada are given a number from 0-to 9. The lower the number, the more Reiryoku (power) the Espada has.
Any Espada ranked 4th or higher are not allowed to release their Zanpakutō (sword) within Las Noches, nor are any Espada allowed to discharge a Gran Rey Cero(special technique) as both are powerful enough to destroy the majority of Las Noches. Their importance in anime and their epic fights earn “The Espada” the spot this high on the list.
4. Chimera Ants
Anime: Hunter X Hunter
Chimera Ants are the primary antagonists of the Chimera Ant arc. Queen Ant has the ability to impact the characteristics of ingested creatures onto the Chimera Ants it gives birth to. Chimera Ants have a hierarchy and once Mereum was born he became King to three royal guards and other ants that stayed. There are three royal guards – Pitou, Pouf, and Youpi who all are strong on their own. And there are dozens of other Chimera Ants that have their own characteristics.
Mereum is one of the greatest villains in Shonen history and characters like Pitou and Pouf are also great. Even minor Chimera ants like Colt, Cheetu, Leol, Welfin, etc are also memorable characters.
3. Phantom Troupe
Anime: Hunter x Hunter
Next on the list is too from Hunter x Hunter and we have the Phantom Troupe. Also known as “Spiders”, they are a group of thieves who steal whatever they want. There are 12 members similar to spider legs and Chrollo Lucifer acts as the head of the spider. All legs are equal in ranking while Chrollo leads them.
They are strong and have some of the strongest Nen Users in the verse. The dynamic between Phantom Troups is probably the best in this list. If we consider Hisoka also a Phantom Troupe then this group is undoubtedly one of the greatest villain groups ever. Individually some of the characters lack depth compared to the last two positions, hence they rank in the third position. But their role in the current Manga arc has a great chance for them to end up as the best group on this list.
2. Marines
Anime: One Piece
Marines are one of the primary antagonist groups in One Piece. They are a large organization with so many different characters with their own set of ideologies that it is easy to forget that they are antagonists in the narrative. Marines have a hierarchy with a Fleet Admiral at the top, Three Admirals under him, several Vice Admirals, and so on.
Marines overall lean towards Authoritarianism with Akainu following an extreme form of it. But there are characters like Aokiji who don’t follow it entirely and Kizaru who simply don’t care that much. Other characters such as Fujitora, Smoker, and Coby all have ideologies that actually go against the core values. It is a fascinating group in that regard that we actually forget that they are antagonists given how diverse the characters and their ideals are.
1. Akatsuki
Anime: Naruto
Akatsuki is a group of S-Class Ninjas that exist outside of the usual system of hidden villains. Originally formed by Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan during the third Shinobi war but later Nagato started to lead the group after Yahiko died. Nagato under the name of Pain wanted to collect all Tailed Beasts to bring peace to the world. Later Obito started to lead it after Pain’s death.
Pain is one of the greatest Villains in anime while Itachi is also one of the best side characters of all time. Then we have characters such as Obito, Kisame, Orochimaru, and Sasori who all have a great impact as villains in the story. The strength, unique abilities, dynamics between groups, etc are some of the best in the anime medium itself. Akatsuki is undoubtedly the best Anime villain group and also the most iconic one too in anime.
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