Top 10 Greatest Anime Villain Entrances
Top 10 Anime Villain Entrances
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Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 anime villain entrances. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most striking, dramatic, and memorable entrances of antagonists in anime. Since some of these moments are important to the plot, some spoilers ahead. If there’s an anime villain whose first impression left a big impression on you, share your favorites in the comments!
#10: Gilgamesh Treads on a Worm
“Fate/Zero” (2011-12) Gilgamesh is one of the most arrogant anime villains out there. But it’s for good reason. Our first introduction to him comes when Kirei sends his summoned Servant, Assassin, to kill Gilgamesh’s Master. Assassin worries that Gilgamesh will be a problem, and while Kirei tells him not to fear - he should absolutely be afraid! Assassin displays a lot of skill, navigating through various magical traps at Tokiomi’s base of operations. But all that skill doesn’t matter when Gilgamesh appears and launches huge sword projectiles that easily kill Assassin, all while denigrating his foe as a worm. It’s a short scene, but it immediately establishes both Gilgamesh’s overwhelming power and his incredible ego.
#9: All For One Inspires Terror
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“My Hero Academia” (2016-) The shadowy boss behind the League of Villains, All For One appears a few times in the early seasons of “My Hero,” but his proper debut still sends chills up our spines! The heroes have made raids on the League’s hideouts and all is seemingly going well. Until a well-dressed man in a life-support mask steps from the shadows and a blast seemingly blows every hero there away. In a post-credits scene, we see the heroes lying broken and on the ground with the menacing man floating above them. The hero students are hiding nearby, but the presence of All For One has them paralyzed with fear, imagining their own deaths. This is how you introduce a big bad!
#8: Goku Black Darkens the Future
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“Dragon Ball Super” (2015-18) The “Dragon Ball” franchise has some of the most iconic villains in all of anime. However, our pick for the best entrance goes to a more recent antagonist. We return to a familiar future dystopia with Future Trunks, where a mysterious figure called Black kills Future Bulma. Later, when Trunks is on the run, he and his friend Mai are attacked by Black once more. After Mai is seemingly killed too, the dust clears and the villain is revealed as…Goku?! Having the new villain apparently be a dark version of the franchise’s hero is a major twist. It turns out to be more complicated, but the initial impact of this reveal is still fantastic!
#7: The God Hand Manifest
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“Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III - The Advent” (2013) “Berserk” has had several adaptations, so the introduction of God Hand has been animated several times. But for our money, the best occasion is in “The Golden Age Arc” films. Griffith triggers the Eclipse, an event that sends he and the Band of the Falcon to a strange realm made of faces, beneath an eclipsed sun. And then the God Hand appear. Slan’s comparatively angelic form rises from the huge faces. Ubik descends to mock the humans present. Conrad appears with a mighty roar. Finally, the Void appears silently, bringing a hush with him. The God Hand may bring death, despair, and worse to the Band of the Falcon, but we give them points for style.
#6: Akaza Wants to Fight
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” (2019-) Demons run amok in the world of “Demon Slayer,” but Akaza left his mark on the heroes and the audience. Following their confrontation with a powerful demon on a train, Tanjiro and the Hashira Rengoku encounter another even stronger demon waiting for them - Akaza. He’s just crouching there in the predawn mist and then attacks them! The 3rd Upper Moon’s casual attitude, love of fighting, striking design, and epic theme music are all incredible and enough to make him memorable. But his ensuing duel with Rengoku is positively legendary! While it’s one Akaza nearly loses, he still proves himself a formidable villain.
#5: Kenny Ackerman “Rips” Through Levi’s Plan
“Attack on Titan” (2013-) For a show about Titans, it’s surprising that the best villain entrance is for a human. Levi Ackerman leads his squad in a decoy operation. Things appear to go well, with their decoys being kidnapped. However, something feels off to Levi. The tactics remind him of a certain ripper. Realizing too late, Kenny arrives on the roof, kills Nifa, and his whole squad leaps up around them! In just a few minutes, Kenny takes on a near-mythic quality, while also demonstrating how smart and ruthless he can be!
#4: Meruem is Born
“Hunter x Hunter” (2011-14) Much of the storyline in the Chimera Ant arc involves a build-up to the ant Queen birthing a King. While the Queen and everyone else believes there’s still time yet before the King is to be born, the King decides to come out early. The newborn ant monarch is an immediately powerful figure. The King, later dubbed Meruem, can turn other Chimera Ants’ heads into paste with a swing of his tail and even cannibalizes some of them! He goes on to display incredible physical feats of strength and even eats some humans to slake his hunger. And all while barely raising his voice. To be fair, when he speaks - you listen.
#3: Kaido Drops In
“One Piece” (1999-) High above the blue seas of the world of “One Piece,” a shadowy figure leaps from an island in the sky and lands with a crash on an island below. The narrator describes the man in question - he has survived many attempts on his life, challenged members of the Four Emperors, and can even live through plummeting to the earth. The massive, muscular wall of a pirate that rises from the crater is Kaido, King of the Beasts/ While we know Luffy is destined to battle and eventually beat him, it’s hard not to be intimidated by the world’s strongest creature.
#2: The Pillar Men Awaken
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“JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” (2012-) When will Nazis learn to stop tampering with things they don’t understand? The 3rd Reich have already experienced the nightmare that a lone petrified Pillar Men unleashed on them. But when they find a trio of them in Rome, they show they obviously didn’t learn their lesson. One soldier pokes his nose too close, and a Pillar Men, Wamuu, emerges from hibernation. Accompanied by what can only be described as Aztec dubstep, Wamuu proceeds to meld all the Nazis’ hands together and then deflate them! As a follow-up, the flamboyant fitness awakens his masters just so they can strike a pose together. Only in “JoJo” will you find an introduction this ridiculous yet awesome!
#1: Madara Uchiha Flexes on an Army
“Naruto: Shippuden” (2007-17) The legendary leader of the Uchiha clan, Madara is spoken of in awe for much of the “Naruto” franchise. However, like most great ninjas of the past, Madara Uchiha is revived in undead form during the final war in “Shippuden,” so we finally get to see him in action! Spoilers, he does not disappoint! Madara decides to cut through most of a whole division of the Shinobi army bare-handed! He follows it up with some high level jutsu,and then proceeds to drop not one, but two meteors on his foes! Madara basically spends an entire episode illustrating why he’s better than everyone and it’s amazing!
