It is not uncommon for an anime character to become villainous thanks to the horrors of their backstory. They become misguided and their perception of reality is warped by the trauma and pain they experienced, often at formative years in their life. Some think they are good and working hard to try and change the situations that left them broken in the first place. Others just want to watch the world burn.
On occasion, anime villains have committed such horrid crimes in their past that they are unredeemable and sometimes their backstories just do not make sense, ruining them in the minds of fans.
10 Killing His Father Destroyed Suzaku Kururugi In Code Geass
Suzaku Kururgi’s decisions did not always make sense in Code Geass. He was manipulated to kill his father and betray his people by the Britannian Royal Family and they welcomed him into their military ranks. As a result, Suzaku went against his heritage, his people, and his family.
However, there was a good reason for this: when Suzaku was pressed to kill his father, something inside him broke. Due to the tragedies of his backstory, he was a broken person whose decisions were never going to make perfect sense.
9 In Naruto Shippuden, Nagato Was So Destroyed He Had To Create The Pain Alter Ego
Naruto Shippuden’s Nagato Uzumaki was another character whose misguided and almost nonsensical actions were a product of the horrific trauma in his backstory. Nagato watched his family and friends die in succession thanks to one of the ninja wars and the corruption of the Hidden Rain Village. He tried to rage against the system, but it only served to bring him more death.
As a result, Nagato broke as a person and he created an alter ego, Pain, to deal with his pain. Konan, his only remaining friend from his former life, stood by him to support and watch over him, but the damage was already done.
8 Itachi’s Life Was Entirely Ruined By His Past In Naruto
Itachi Uchiha was another character the events of the Naruto franchise broke. He was a dedicated and loyal member of the Hidden Leaf Village, but thanks to that village’s corruption and prejudice, Itachi ended up having to massacre his own family to stop a rebellion that was fabricated by the village in the first place.
Itachi spent the rest of his life in exile, working as somewhat of a spy in the Akatsuki. He was forced to make his brother hate him and come after him for revenge and he was forced to remain a criminal in the village he did so much to protect.
7 Johan Leibert’s Backstory Turned Him Into The Monster
Johan Liebert was made into Monster’s titular monster. His backstory was equally tragic and horrific and it commented on the results of unethical medicine. Both he and his sister were a product of eugenics in practice and because of this, they had a beautiful appearance and incredibly high intelligence.
Unfortunately, the eugenicists did not account for the sheer amount of evil they might be capable of and when the world continued to abuse and traumatize the children, Johan snapped and became a serial killer like no other. Johan was so compelling because of the backstory that broke him. Monster served as an interesting criticism of society, science, and medicine.
6 Light Yagami’s Backstory Ruined His Likability In Death Note
Death Note’s Light Yagami was a serial killer of almost genius intelligence like Johan Liebert of Monster. However, Light’s story was slightly less compelling even though it provided an interesting look at the nature of ethics, human rights, and god complexes.
Light Yagami’s backstory is disappointing because Light had so much privilege. In a way, a lot of his ability to avoid responsibility for his actions was because he was so charming, good-looking, and from such a respected family. His backstory made his status as a tactical genius less compelling because he had so many other things getting him out of trouble.
5 Shou Tucker’s Backstory Proved His Villainy In Fullmetal Alchemist
Shou Tucker’s backstory in Fullmetal Alchemist did not ruin his characterization, as Light’s did his. However, Shou’s backstory did ruin himself in the eyes of fans — now, fans just want to forget he ever existed. If turning his daughter into a chimera (who later died) was not enough, he had been guilty of the same crime earlier, but no one cared.
Shou was a disgusting look at what people might do for money, power, and prestige. He wanted others to respect his work in alchemy so much that he was willing to sacrifice his wife and daughter when it was not even needed.
4 In JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Dio Brando’s Backstory Didn’t Make His Evil Make Sense
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s Dio Brando ranks among the dastardliest villains in the series. However, for such a cool villain with such an interesting design, his backstory was utterly disappointing, and it did nothing to make fans believe in him as a villain.
Dio’s father, Dario, was a petty criminal who was abusive to his family, and Dio swore to be eviler than Dario ever could be. He wanted to show his father what a villain of intelligence and power could do. However, there was very little prompting for this or his fixation on the Joestar family.
3 Vicious’ Backstory Was That He Was Just Vicious In Cowboy Bebop
What was so frustrating about Cowboy Bebop’s Vicious was the fact he was so compelled to kill Spike for stealing his girlfriend. While anime villains who dip into the realm of psychopathy are not uncommon, Vicious seemed to be so intent on revenge for such a petty reason that his anger did not seem to fit. It was written off by the show simply saying “Vicious is vicious” and that was the end of it.
What makes even less sense is how Vicious could truly even love another person with such a cruel and self-centered personality. He only cared about Spike’s betrayal because he saw it as an ego contest.
2 Mahito’s Backstory Of Being So Young Is Not Compelling In Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen’s Mahito was one of the most powerful cursed spirits that any of the jujutsu sorcerers had ever faced. He was able to warp people’s bodies, turning them into mutant-like curses themselves. Most did not survive this, but those that did were pained and chaotic beings.
However, there was very little to go on with Mahito’s backstory. Fans learn that he is a new cursed spirit, having only been born recently — so he got this power without earning it. On top of that, his philosophy makes no sense both in practice and in tandem with his lack of backstory.
1 Naraku’s Obsession With Kikyo Was Just Gross In Inuyasha
In Inuyasha, Naraku’s whole villainous image was built on an obsession with Kikyo, which was a weird and uninteresting way to write a powerful, murderous villain. He used to be a human named Onigumo, which foreshadowed his demonic fate.
After almost dying in a perilous series of events, Kikyo nursed the demon-to-be back to health. Naraku then sacrificed his body to demons to gain power. While it was later revealed the Shikon no Tama was partially manipulating Naraku, his backstory still was not a compelling one, especially as everyone seemed obsessed with Kikyo.
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