Top 10 Anime Assassins

“Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works” (2014-15)

A heroic spirit sometimes needs to stay hidden in the shadows. Loosely based off of fabled Hashshashin assassin Hassan-i-Sabbah, Assassin is a second servant summoned by antagonist Caster to fight at his side. Since his mere existence violates the rules of the Fifth Holy Grail War, he has been able to harness his skill with a blade, going so far as mastering the unblockable kill move known as the “Turning Swallow Strike”. He can even match the protagonist Saber at fair fight. While Assassin has made other notable appearances in other “Fate/stay night” titles, we only need one irregular servant to kill our first target.

“One Piece” (1999-)

The “Devil Child” assassin turned archaeologist, Nico initially was the vice president of the criminal organization Baroque Works. After eating the Hana Hana fruit, she gained the power to replicate and extend parts of her body to other surfaces. With her newfound abilities, Nico was able to rack up quite the body count while sailing the high seas. Infatuated with history, Nico later joins the Straw Hat Pirates in order to discover the mystical treasure known as the Rio Poneglyph, that supposedly explains the true history of the world. Just because they are an assassin, doesn’t mean they can’t kill for good, ish, cause.

“Rurouni Kenshin” (1996-98)

A true warrior never strays too far from the path of the sword. Originally an assassin for the Bakumatsu shogunate, Himura left the battlefield and became a wandering ronin, swearing to never kill again unless it was absolutely necessary. Don’t let this fool you though, as just because he is retired doesn’t mean he is rusty in the art of assassination. In order to stay true to his mantra, Himura wields a reverse-blade sword, so he can inflict pain and get his point across without actually killing his opponent. In his hay-day he definitely would have scored higher on the list, but the Kenshin we know today and love today is just too much of a goofball.

“Baccano!” (2007)

A man of many names, Claire is the legendary assassin of the “Baccano!” world, claiming the highest body count of any of the other main characters. Originally introduced as a novice train conductor, he shows off his skills and pure insanity to the audience, becoming the “Rail Tracer”, slaughtering everyone aboard the train. Skilled in many different fighting styles, Claire is unstoppable in physical hand-to-hand combat, easily overpowering most of his foes. With a massive amount of skills and a twisted view of morality at his disposal... let’s just say you won’t last very long.

“Naruto” franchise (2002-)

In order to become a master assassin, you have to put personal feelings aside. No one knows this better than Itachi Uchiha, a former member of the Uchiha ninja clan. After slaughtering his entire clan and his village, only sparing his younger brother Sasuke, Itachi later joined the Akatsuki criminal enterprise. A superior ninja in both clans, Itachi’s physical prowess and control over his personal chakra made him a threat to allies and foes alike. Often coming into contact with his brother Sasuke, Itachi shows his superior planning and quick thinking to always keep the upper hand. While his methods may be questionable, Itachi is a pure shinobi.

“Dragonball” (1986-89)
In the world of “Dragonball” it’s kill or be killed. That being said, our next entry can take plenty of credit for many of those killings. An expert Chinese assassin-for-hire, Tao was hired by Red Ribbon Army antagonist Commander Red to eliminate Goku. While having multiple encounters with the series protagonist, Tao Pai Pai was able to match him blow for blow. Coming upon the realization that he could not be beaten, Tao employs new tactics to try to get the job done. Unlike many of the other entries on our list, Tao is sadistic and enjoys murdering his victims beyond just the paycheck.

“Darker Than Black” (2007-09)

After the creation of the “Heaven’s Gate”, Hei became an elite killer known as a ‘contractor’ by trading away his humanity. Each contractor has a different unique power that can end up being almost anything. Hei for example has the ability to manipulate and generate electricity in deadly amounts. Despite being cold and calculating on the outside, Hei leads a double life as a transfer student and is able to show compassion and dread for his targets. Just don’t think you can get away with fighting him up close, as Hei’s unique double-blade knife will slice your throat within an instant.

“Hunter x Hunter” (1999-01, 11-14)

Family ties run deep, and the assassin’s blood runs with it. The eldest son of the Zoldyck assassin family, Illumi is a cold and calculating individual that has very little regard for other humans, except his younger brother Killua. While trained in the art of assassination throughout his childhood, Illumi learned that the only joy he can receive is through the deaths of others. Developing his own style of Nen at a young age, Illumi uses it to control Killua and makes sure he embraces darkness and aggression. Because of this, Illumi quickly improved his skills as a manipulative assassin to take down any foe, just to raise his own body count.

“Akame Ga Kill” (2014)

Akame is the definition of a one-shot killer. A veteran member of the assassination group Night Raid, Akame trained to be an assassin at a very young age. A skilled swordsman, Akame wields the mighty Murasame, one of the few “Imperial Arms” created by a previous king to defend the kingdom. Akame is able to kill most enemies with one slice, as the blade injects a poison that will drop almost anyone to their knees. As the poison only works on biological enemies, she also learned not to rely only on the poison, and, lets face is, she really doesn’t need it all that much.

Before we plot out the death of our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.


Chaika
“Hitsugi no Chaika” (2014)

Yami/Golden Darkness
“To Love-Ru” (2008-15)

Rolo
“Code Geass” (2006-08)

Train Heartnet
“Black Cat” (2005-06)

Devo/Soul Sacrifice
“Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure” (2012-)

“Golgo 13” (2008-09)

Considered a darker Eastern interpretation of James Bond, Golgo 13 is a man with an unknown past who will take any job that requires his skills as a freelance assassin. With no limit to his expertise, including high marksman skills and cunning ability to plan out his target’s demise, Golgo 13 has not failed a mission yet and is not likely anytime soon. The show, much like the main character, focuses on more realistic assassination situations than our previous entries. While his true identity is unknown, we do know that our contract will be completed if it’s in Golgo’s hands, making him and easy pick for our number one assassin in anime.

Do you agree with our list? Who is your favorite anime assassin? For more targeted top tens published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.