Ah Hisoka… Truly someone you just can't help but love to hate. His inner monologue when battling Gon on the tower is so sick and twisted and yet one of the most entertaining moments in the medium. Such a fantastic show.
Your love for HXH seeping through here, eh :D? But yeah, Chrollo, Meruem and Hisoka are three different kinds of villains and all fascinating in their own merits. I haven't seen all of the series here so I can't judge properly, but I guess MY personal list of best villains would feature at least ONE bad guy from Dragonball Z. Most likely Frieza. For all of DBZ's lack of subtlety in many respects, I think what makes it be still memorable and relevant is how much layers you could build upon the few hints that it drops about each aspect of its story and characters. And Frieza has a pretty chilling story arc (let's forget about the latest movie); a born ruler who wields power casually and has total disregard for his inferiors, but also has paranoia and fear ingrained in him by his own inability to accept anything but absolute mastery over the entire universe, and is ultimately driven to craft his own demise, twenty years down the line, by that very fear. He's a relatively simple character as most characters from that era of anime are wont to be, but in his simplicity he still hints at wonderful possibilities for development in multiple directions.
Hahaha Enzo you need to calm down your HxH boner, as Simone said at least one DBZ character has to be in there.
I do praise you for putting Squealer in there, though, I hardly think of him as a villain, and more like a freedom fighter who had to take extreme measures to revolt against overpowered übermensch who would kill beings by merely thinking about it.
As much as I loved Dragon Ball as a child, I don't think any villains(the closest being Vegeta and Frieza) deserve to be on this list as much as any characters on this list or many others, even if we only talk about the shounen battle anime/manga. I'd put Aoshi(and Enishi) from Kenshin or Itachi from Naruto(even though the manga/anime lasted way too long for what it had to offer) above anyone from Dragon Ball.
Itachi? Itachi spend more time "ousted" as a double agent than what he did as a villain. Orochimaru was a much, much better villain… until that last war arc happened.
There are just no other villains more present, more widespread in the collective unconscious of Western anime fans than DBZ villains. Vegeta, Frieza and Cell… no other baddie in the medium can compare to them, no other bad guy will continue to be remembered for years to come and generate discussions and memes like them.
As for HxH villains, I would only put Hisoka on that list. Chrollo has too little screentime and Mereum… he just downright stops being the bad guy within his own arc. You can easily argue that Shaiapouf ends up being like the true villain in the second half of the Chimera Ant arc.
"There are just no other villains more present, more widespread in the collective unconscious of Western anime fans than DBZ villains."
Something being popular doesn't make it good. The transformers films make millions and people know them but it doesn't make them good movies or characters.
Dragon Ball's characters have the depth of a paddling pool, they're just fun and while the villains are strong at the time they show up, they don't really make for much of a impact in a series where the characters die and come back to life all the time. There's not tension to them at all.
I really can't see them on a list of good villains at all. They're pretty much just a series of taller and taller mountains the Goku and Gohan need to climb.
Hahaha well, what you say is true, I concede. But, even if I don't even like DBZ anymore, I will defend Vegeta. He has some amount of depth and is a memorable villain and later antagonist.
Even in the simplistic DBZ I still say he's a better character than Itachi. His potential as an interesting character was completely ruined the moment it went "oh wait, he was a good guy all along!"
I do agree that Vegeta is the closest in the series to be a good "Villain" but I feel like there were some moments in his growth that were missing, like how he ended up with Bulma.
Let's just drop the Itachi thing, I don't care about him that much either, even though he's my favorite Naruto character(that's not saying much…). I was just trying to find somewhat interesting "villains" from other shounen jump battle series and he's the first one I thought about.
I had no doubt that Hisoka would top your list, truly the finest villain with the sexiest voice. I would have substituted Chrollo for Illumi though, for his chilling disregard for human beings other than his own family.
The thing with HXH is, the series is chock full of villains. Hell, by most other shows' standards KILLUA would probably count as a villain. And Kurapika might be as well, considering how he works with the mafia and pursues revenge ruthlessly despite being extremely honor-bound.
Interesting list. A little surprised Hakumen no Mono made it on. Definitely could wind up as one of my favs, just waiting to see how the series turns out (but the design in vocal performance alone is top notch).
Anyway, every character I'm familiar with on this list is pretty much on my favorite villains list aside from HnM & Naraku. Squeler, Shishio & the HxH villains especially. Some of my favorites that weren't on the list are Sensui from Yu Yu Hakusho, Johan Liebert from Monster & Ladd Russo from Baccano!
I am curious if you were to only put one HxH character on there, who would the replacements be?
Hmm – I'm a huge HxH fan too, but isn't 3 characters from one series a little much when comparing all of anime? Surely Akio Ohtori from Revolutionary Girl Utena, or Dio Brando from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure should be up there? I digress, it is your list after all – I'd be hard pressed to choose between Hisoka & Meruem – HxH truly does have some of the best villains.
Dextro
January 6, 2016 at 8:55 amAh Hisoka… Truly someone you just can't help but love to hate. His inner monologue when battling Gon on the tower is so sick and twisted and yet one of the most entertaining moments in the medium. Such a fantastic show.
Simone
January 6, 2016 at 11:25 amYour love for HXH seeping through here, eh :D? But yeah, Chrollo, Meruem and Hisoka are three different kinds of villains and all fascinating in their own merits. I haven't seen all of the series here so I can't judge properly, but I guess MY personal list of best villains would feature at least ONE bad guy from Dragonball Z. Most likely Frieza. For all of DBZ's lack of subtlety in many respects, I think what makes it be still memorable and relevant is how much layers you could build upon the few hints that it drops about each aspect of its story and characters. And Frieza has a pretty chilling story arc (let's forget about the latest movie); a born ruler who wields power casually and has total disregard for his inferiors, but also has paranoia and fear ingrained in him by his own inability to accept anything but absolute mastery over the entire universe, and is ultimately driven to craft his own demise, twenty years down the line, by that very fear. He's a relatively simple character as most characters from that era of anime are wont to be, but in his simplicity he still hints at wonderful possibilities for development in multiple directions.
Chrysostomus
January 6, 2016 at 4:55 pmHahaha Enzo you need to calm down your HxH boner, as Simone said at least one DBZ character has to be in there.
I do praise you for putting Squealer in there, though, I hardly think of him as a villain, and more like a freedom fighter who had to take extreme measures to revolt against overpowered übermensch who would kill beings by merely thinking about it.
Geebun
January 7, 2016 at 10:01 pmAs much as I loved Dragon Ball as a child, I don't think any villains(the closest being Vegeta and Frieza) deserve to be on this list as much as any characters on this list or many others, even if we only talk about the shounen battle anime/manga. I'd put Aoshi(and Enishi) from Kenshin or Itachi from Naruto(even though the manga/anime lasted way too long for what it had to offer) above anyone from Dragon Ball.
Chrysostomus
January 8, 2016 at 12:48 amItachi? Itachi spend more time "ousted" as a double agent than what he did as a villain. Orochimaru was a much, much better villain… until that last war arc happened.
There are just no other villains more present, more widespread in the collective unconscious of Western anime fans than DBZ villains. Vegeta, Frieza and Cell… no other baddie in the medium can compare to them, no other bad guy will continue to be remembered for years to come and generate discussions and memes like them.
As for HxH villains, I would only put Hisoka on that list. Chrollo has too little screentime and Mereum… he just downright stops being the bad guy within his own arc. You can easily argue that Shaiapouf ends up being like the true villain in the second half of the Chimera Ant arc.
Geebun
January 8, 2016 at 2:00 am"There are just no other villains more present, more widespread in the collective unconscious of Western anime fans than DBZ villains."
Something being popular doesn't make it good. The transformers films make millions and people know them but it doesn't make them good movies or characters.
Dragon Ball's characters have the depth of a paddling pool, they're just fun and while the villains are strong at the time they show up, they don't really make for much of a impact in a series where the characters die and come back to life all the time. There's not tension to them at all.
I really can't see them on a list of good villains at all. They're pretty much just a series of taller and taller mountains the Goku and Gohan need to climb.
Chrysostomus
January 8, 2016 at 3:58 pmHahaha well, what you say is true, I concede. But, even if I don't even like DBZ anymore, I will defend Vegeta. He has some amount of depth and is a memorable villain and later antagonist.
Even in the simplistic DBZ I still say he's a better character than Itachi. His potential as an interesting character was completely ruined the moment it went "oh wait, he was a good guy all along!"
Geebun
January 8, 2016 at 10:43 pmI do agree that Vegeta is the closest in the series to be a good "Villain" but I feel like there were some moments in his growth that were missing, like how he ended up with Bulma.
Let's just drop the Itachi thing, I don't care about him that much either, even though he's my favorite Naruto character(that's not saying much…). I was just trying to find somewhat interesting "villains" from other shounen jump battle series and he's the first one I thought about.
melodic thoughts
January 6, 2016 at 5:26 pmI had no doubt that Hisoka would top your list, truly the finest villain with the sexiest voice. I would have substituted Chrollo for Illumi though, for his chilling disregard for human beings other than his own family.
Simone
January 6, 2016 at 5:53 pmThe thing with HXH is, the series is chock full of villains. Hell, by most other shows' standards KILLUA would probably count as a villain. And Kurapika might be as well, considering how he works with the mafia and pursues revenge ruthlessly despite being extremely honor-bound.
kandda92
January 6, 2016 at 10:29 pmPersonally Johan Liebert from Monster could also be on that list XD, or Light from deathnote.
Kohmata Reizno
January 7, 2016 at 6:21 amInteresting list. A little surprised Hakumen no Mono made it on. Definitely could wind up as one of my favs, just waiting to see how the series turns out (but the design in vocal performance alone is top notch).
Anyway, every character I'm familiar with on this list is pretty much on my favorite villains list aside from HnM & Naraku. Squeler, Shishio & the HxH villains especially. Some of my favorites that weren't on the list are Sensui from Yu Yu Hakusho, Johan Liebert from Monster & Ladd Russo from Baccano!
I am curious if you were to only put one HxH character on there, who would the replacements be?
admin
January 7, 2016 at 6:37 amHard to say. Maybe the Spiral King from TTGL, who ended up being a very interesting antagonist.
Unknown
January 11, 2016 at 7:27 amHmm – I'm a huge HxH fan too, but isn't 3 characters from one series a little much when comparing all of anime? Surely Akio Ohtori from Revolutionary Girl Utena, or Dio Brando from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure should be up there? I digress, it is your list after all – I'd be hard pressed to choose between Hisoka & Meruem – HxH truly does have some of the best villains.