Top 10 Worst Anime Dads

“Hunter x Hunter” (2011-14) Known around the world as a legendary Hunter, Ging’s thirst for adventure knows no bounds…even to the point where he was willing to leave behind his son in order to continue on his journeys. While he shows no ill will towards Gon, he’s certainly not the most concerned parent on the planet. After Gon was nearly torn to pieces during his climactic battle with Pitou, Ging didn’t even both to come visit him, stating there was no need. Needless to say, he earned that punch Leorio dealt him!

“Assassination Classroom” (2015-16) Hard to believe that despite a giant yellow tentacle monster working at the school, this guy comes across as more of a monster than Korosensei. This chairman only cares about results, the strong triumphing over the weak, so much so that he introduced a school system that saw the underachievers ostracised and offered very little chance of achieving their academic goals. The fact he undercuts and belittles his own child is just the rancid cheery on top. It’s kind of impressive that the mass of tendrils blamed for blowing up the moon comes across as a better dad.

“Food Wars” (2015-) Turns out that you can find megalomaniacs even in the world of gourmet cooking. Fuelled by an elitist view that only the upper echelons deserve the chance to cook professionally, this former patriarch of the Nakiri family inflicted his beliefs on his daughter Erina to the point where he left her traumatised. Apparently forcing someone to discard otherwise great dishes over and over can have that effect on people. Either way, his treatment left Erina almost brainwashed by his culinary prejudices. Gordon Ramsay almost seems like a kitten by comparison…

“Steins;Gate” (2011) Jealousy is an ugly thing, especially if it leads to you to murder your daughter just because you want to steal her research. Yep, turns out that the elusive figure that killed Kurisu and essentially began the whole time-travel fiasco was her dear old papa. Apparently, Mr Makise wasn’t too proud of his little girl for making world-changing scientific breakthroughs, and would rather just have her drop dead so he could take the credit for her findings. It may have taken a few trips through time, but at least Okabe was able to put this quack doctor in his place.

“My Hero Academia” (2016-) You would have thought that the guy who held the title of the second greatest hero would have lived up to the image of a caped crusader. Nope. After living in All Might’s shadow for so long, this hellfire user turned into a bitter, almost petulant man. Marrying a woman purely for her Quirk in order to produce powerful offspring, only to abuse said offspring with intense training, Endeavor’s treatment of his family is reprehensible. Driving his wife to a mental breakdown to the point she scarred her own son during a bout of insanity? Yeah, we can see why Todoroki might have issues with him.

“Naruto Shippuden” (2007-17) The former Kazekage really screwed the pooch with this one. While originally wanting to strengthen the military prowess of the Hidden Sand Village, Rasa decided the best option would be to implant his son with the spirit of a demon. How’d that turn out? Pretty horrendously, since Gaara’s isolation and trauma over being told he killed his mother in childbirth ensured that his power was too wild to control. Now unable weaponize his creation, Papa Dearest went for Plan B – trying to have his own son assassinated. We think you might have the whole parenting concept a bit backwards.

“Neon Genesis Evangelion” (1995-96) Being so consumed over the loss of your wife that you’d be willing to bring about the end of the world just to see her again is…kind of romantic. However, that in no way should give you the excuse to force your son to fight angels inside of a sentient mecha, and as a result give him an early case of PTSD. Throw in the fact he doesn’t even attempt to make an emotional connection with Shinji, and there’s no other way of looking at Gendo other than as a self-conceited asshole. Also cloning your dead wife into the body of a teenage girl your son obvious has feeling towards is kinda… odd.

“One Piece” (1999-) No words can describe just how loathsome this king truly is. In an effort to reclaim the power he once held, the Vinsmoke head was willing to turn his own children into living weapons, moulding them into spiteful killers. Of course, the crème de la crème of his insidious actions was when he imprisoned Sanji for being weak, making sure he knew how unwanted he was, to the point that he would rather have him die than be associated with his family name. It’s almost a shame that Big Mama didn’t end up roughing him up even more than she did.

“Code Geass” (2006-08) All men are created equal, but some are more equal than others, that’s the creed that the Emperor of Britannia lives by. With the goal of subjugating all Japanese citizens both through segregation as well as supernatural means, Lelouch’s father was ruthless in his pursuit of total dominance. Despite having numerous wives and countless children, this heartless ruler showed no mercy to his own kin when one stepped out of his line, even if it meant erasing their memories or handing out death sentences. No wonder Lelouch rebelled.

“Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” (2009-10) He fused his DAUGHTER with her DOG! He took his only child and used alchemy to turn her and her pet into a talking chimera, purely for the sake of retaining his State Alchemist’s license. Yeah, the Sewing-Life Alchemist is a dick. So consumed with his desire to retain the life he had gained after secretly turning his wife into a chimera, Tucker eventually conceded and turned his daughter Nina into the vessel for his next experiment. The inhumanity of it all broke a lot of hearts and nearly sent Ed off the deep-end.