Friendships are among the most powerful bonds that a person can have. They develop through many stages of someone’s life, and the value of a good friend is priceless. Platonic bonds help build, uplift, and encourage a person to live a full, happy, and healthy life, and the same support is normally reciprocated.
However, this isn’t always the case. There are some friendships that form under less-than-ideal circumstances: out of necessity or deceit, to gain popularity, and others out of pure malice. Unfortunately, there are many characters across anime series who can be dubbed the worst friends anyone could have.
10 Jack Atlas Stole His Best Friend’s Duel Runner And His Best Duel Monster Card (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s)
Jack Atlas was once friends with Yusei Fudo, the main protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s. In the beginning, he and Yusei were amazing friends and spent their time improving their lives in Satellite by becoming the best duelists.
However, Jack was easily manipulated into believing he was special and thought he could be the king of New Domino City. He forced Yusei to choose between himself and saving their friend’s life, and when Yusei went to save Rally, Jack stole Yusei’s best Duel Monster card and his Duel Runner.
9 Sawa Nakamura Manipulates And Blackmails A Boy Into Following Her Every Command (The Flowers Of Evil)
Sawa Nakamura is a character in The Flowers Oo Evil, an anime about a bookworm named Kasuga Takao in love with a girl in his class called Saeki. But when he stole his crush’s uniform, someone saw, and that someone was Sawa.
Sawa then manipulates and blackmails Kasuga into becoming her friend via a contract. She also makes it so that he has to follow her every command, or else everyone will know who stole Saeki’s uniform. She continues to manipulate him and make decisions for him through much of the series.
8 Sae Kashiwagi Turns The Entire School Against Her Friend Momo And Even Tries To Get Momo’s Boyfriend To Break Up With Her (Peach Girl)
Sae Kashiwagi is the main antagonist in Peach Girl, an anime about Momo Adachi and her friendships, romantic entanglements, and school life. Sae may look sweet on the outside, but looks can be deceiving.
She’s manipulative, rude, and gets extremely jealous. She even goes as far as spreading rumors about her friend Momo, turns the school against her, and even tries to get Momo’s boyfriend to break up with her. She’s even willing to play the victim, using fake bruises and tears to get her way. Sae is a horrible friend.
7 Naoka Ueno Denied Having Any Part In Pushing Ishida Into Bullying Their Deaf Classmate (A Silent Voice)
Ueno is one of the characters in A Silent Voice, an animated movie about a boy, Shoya Ishida, who decided to beat boredom by being cruel and bullying Shoko Nishimiya, their classmate who’s Deaf. Ueno was a horrible friend to Ishida and an even worse classmate to Nishimiya.
She pushed and pestered Ishida into bullying Nishimiya and even participated in the cruelty that eventually led to Nishimiya transferring schools. Ueno even attacked Nishimiya after her attempted suicide. Ueno has moments of regret, but she doesn’t do anything to change her ways. She’s a terrible friend because she’s an awful person.
6 Sasuke Uchiha Had No Problem Trying To Kill His Friends Or Using Them As Cannon Fodder (Naruto)
Given his history and all he’s experienced, it’s understandable that Sasuke would not be a well-adjusted child. However, by allowing his need for revenge cloud his judgment and every possible positive emotion, he did some terrible things.
Sasuke tried to kill Naruto and Sakura every time they stood in his way. He was also very cruel to Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin, the people who tried to help him with his revenge quest. He views these teammates as nothing more than an annoyance and has no problem using them as cannon fodder.
5 Ryo Asuka Forced His Friend Into A Dangerous Situation Where He Gained The Power Over A Demon, Changing Him Forever (Devilman Crybaby)
Ryo Asuka, or Satan, is the main antagonist in Devilman Crybaby. As a child, he befriended a boy named Akira Fudo, who taught him about human emotions. But as they grew older, Asuka changed and grew dangerously possessive of Akira.
He dragged his friend to dangerous parties where there was a very real chance of Akira getting hurt or worse. But at one particular party, Asuka crossed the line and inducted Akira into a Sabbath ritual, where he gained power over the demon Amon. As a fusion between demon and human, Akira became Devilman.
4 Obito Uchiha, Leader Of The Akatsuki, Gave Up On His Friends And Comrades (Naruto)
After pretending to be dead for many years, it’s discovered that Obito was very much alive and was the leader of the Akatsuki, a criminal organization that once aspired for world peace but ended up going down a radically different path.
There are many things that Obito did to his friends and comrades that were horrible — he blamed Kakashi for Rin’s death, he attacked the Hidden Leaf Village and killed many people, he manipulated those around him, and he even helped slaughter his own clan.
3 Light Yagami Formed Friendships Just He Could Use People For Personal Gain (Death Note)
As the main protagonist, it would be expected that Light Yagami’s a decent person. However, that’s not the case in Death Note. Given his level of intellect and the purpose of the Death Note, Light formed friendships with people for his personal gain, or just to use them as bait.
Light ends up killing the one person who he considered as a true friend, L, by manipulating his pawns to do his bidding. Light prioritizes his role of cleansing the world over his friendships and has no problem with doing questionable things to achieve his equally questionable goals.
2 Kyoji Shinkawa Became Obsessed With His Friend And Planned On Ending Both Of Their Lives (Sword Art Online II)
Kyoji Shinkawa is someone who should never have friends. Alongside his brother, he became known as Death Gun, a killer who targets players in Gun Gale Online — and in real life.
Due to a traumatic event, Sinon, his friend, was still recovering, and Kyoji was more concerned and protective than he really needed to be. He then becomes obsessed with Sinon to the point where he breaks into her house and plans to kill her and himself. Thankfully, he was stopped, but the incident proved that he was a horrible person and an even worse friend.
1 Griffith Sacrificed His Loyal Friends And Comrades When They Came To Rescue Him In Order To Become Femto (Berserk)
Griffith was seen as a savior across the continent as he and his mercenary group, Band of the Falcon, were able to bring peace to Midland. Unfortunately, a bad decision led to his year-long imprisonment where he was tortured and lost hope for himself, and for the world.
When his loyal friends came to rescue him, Griffith sacrificed them in order to gain the power of the God Hand and was stripped of his human inhibitions. He then became known as Femto and joined the demons as they exacted the Idea of Evil’s will.
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