Top 10 Anime Characters That Got Away With It All (Ft. Todd Haberkorn)

“Little Witch Academia” (2017) Some people never get over their high school years, especially when they think they’ve been duped out of a chance to become the most powerful witch in the world. When her bestie was entrusted with the Shiny Rod, Croix not only decided to terminate their friendship, but also try and sneak her way to ultimate power in her adult years. Too bad that grand plan of hers involved turning a human populace into an angry mob, endangering Akko, all before her own tech ended up creating a sentient magic missile that nearly destroyed everything. Does she get thrown in the slammer? Nah, she makes peace with Chariot and decides to be a good girl instead.

“Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam” (1985-86) Even the vilest of villains manage to slip away every now and again, and Yazan is one of the slipperiest of them all. Constantly seeking battle, this bloodthirsty pilot soon found himself hooking up with the deadly organisation known as the Titans, who quickly put his penchant for murder to good use. This mostly consisted of him taking out whole droves of AEUG’s main cast. You would have thought that this would eventually lead to the Zeta Gundam ripping him a new plug socket, but nope, he manages to keep on finding a way to survive. Can’t we just trade his life for Four’s? Please?

“Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul” (2017) Just because you have smouldering good looks doesn’t mean you can act like a tyrannical ruler. And yet, ye old merry jerkface over here managed to get his own happily ever after when all was said and done. Oh sure, he ended up losing his eyesight, but that’s a small price to pay when you’ve got a gal like Nina waiting on your every need. Still can’t wrap our heads around that one, after all Charioce enslaved demonkind, attacked the gods themselves, locked up Jeanne for pretty much no reason, not to mention treated Nina like a waste of space. Why does he get to keep his position of power? Oh right, he’s hot.

“Shaman King” (2001-02) Well, somebody made the jump to the good guys’ side rather easily! Need we remind you that this creep tried to cheat his way through the Shaman Tournament? Namely by kidnapping Manta to throw Yoh off his game during their battle. Did he end up getting the stuffing beaten out of him by Yoh as a result? By now you should know that’s not where this list is going. Instead, later down the line Yoh’s wife-to-be Anna offered to bring back Faust’s wife as long as he’d join their cause. If it weren’t for Yoh being the most chill guy ever, you can bet this wannabe necrophiliac wouldn’t have been forgiven so easily.

“Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans” (2015-17) Hate to say, but you can’t deny that this smug bastard kind of earned his victory. He played the looooong game. Set the pieces up perfectly. Used McGillis’ sense of self-righteousness against him, brought in war-crime weaponry to take out his foes, and of course, wiped out Tekkadan in the process. The fruits of his bloody labour? Becoming the undisputed ruler of Gjallerhorn, and all the prestige and power that comes with it. You’re an asshole Elion, even if you did outsmart everyone else along the way.

“Berserk” (1997-98) Back in his prime, this mercenary leader was so charismatic that he could practically get away with murder. And he did. A lot. Alas, after Guts decided to walk out on the Band of the Hawk, Griffith went through something of a mental breakdown. After screwing Princess Charlotte, the White Hawk would find himself imprisoned and extensively tortured. Now you might think that would disqualify him from this list, but if you think about it, what is a year of getting cut up compared to being offered godhood, taking it, sacrificing all your friends, violating your most trusted companion, and NOT getting butchered by Guts as a result. We’d still call that a win.

#4: Sasuke Uchiha

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“Naruto” series (2002-) While traitors in anime tend to meet their maker sooner rather than later, this guy managed to breeze through his villain phase and hop right back around into everyone’s good graces just in time for the sequel series. We won’t deny that Sasuke’s alignment shifting was engrossing at the best of times, you would have thought that at the end of it all he’d get more than a slap on the wrist. He betrayed the village, went from one villainous faction to the next, even came close to gutting his former team-mates. Yet they still took him back without a second thought. Maybe he just gives really good Christmas presents.

“Dragon Ball” series (1989-) Death is but a rotating door for this tyrannical alien ruler. He’s enslaved just as many planets as he’s destroyed, ruining countless lives along the way. You wouldn’t have thought a genocidal junkie like him would be able to escape justice forever, but he has his wily ways. Trunks sliced him in half, Goku blasted him into a million pieces, even hell itself tried to swallow him whole. Was that the end of it? Oh please - he ended up getting a pardon from an angel and now gets to carry on around the cosmos like the good old days!

“Bleach” (2004-12) Quite possibly the only mad scientist you will ever find wandering around heaven, the Captain of the 12th Division might be a genius, but he’s also not who you’d want in charge of the afterlife’s military. He’s kidnapped, killed and experimented on members of the Quincy clan, has way too much fun when it comes to thinking up unorthodox ways to poison someone, shown to have no problem threatening other subordinates with torture, and has acted abusive to his own lieutenant. And yet, Soul Society still has him on their payroll in spite of what has to be a laundry list of ethical violations.

“Naruto” series (2002-) What many consider the MVP of the ninja villains this anime introduced over the years, Orochimaru is a snake by every definition. The amount of crimes this guy is just too many to count, from conducting illegal experiments to invading Konoha. And let’s not forget the fact that he was behind the deaths of both the fourth Kazekage and the third Hokage. You would have thought that he would have at least been given the death penalty for his horrendous actions, yet nowadays he’s kicking it back as a proud papa under strict surveillance. Sneaky bastard.