Villains in Naruto are lauded for a reason. Most of them have nuance and have relatable goals. From Pain to Itachi to Obito, all of them have tragic backstories that make you better understand why they were doing what they were. It’s one of the best qualities that Naruto has.
Unfortunately, that nuance isn’t present in all of their villains. Many of the filler arc characters are dull and have confounding reasoning for their actions. It isn’t just filler as a few canon characters fall into the same hole.
10 Kin Tsuchi Had No Reason To Follow Orochimaru Or Kill Sasuke
It’s understandable that Kin didn’t have much of a reason for following Orochimaru’s orders since she was such a minor character during the chunin exams. The issue is that both her teammates got far more depth and a purpose for why they followed Orochimaru. It made Kin feel superfluous and only existing for the sake of having three people on the team. Her only real contribution to the story was berating Sakura enough to get her to cut her hair.
9 The Motivation For The Village of Sand Helping Orochimaru Was Flimsy
Baki’s involvement in the attack on Konoha never made a whole lot of sense. He was there on the Kazekage’s orders since the nation was in an economic decline. Weakening Konoha would help that issue some, but in the grand scheme of things, it’d only hurt the village further as Konoha would want retribution. Admittedly, some of this is remedied due to Orochimaru posing as the Kazekage after he’d killed him during a secret meeting.
8 Mizuki Came Off As Nothing More Than A Whiny Child
There’s little doubt that Mizuki is one of the worst villains in the whole series, made even worse in the filler arc when he returns in his tiger form. His reasoning for everything he did was nothing more than jealousy.
He was jealous that Iruka got more attention than him and kept getting opportunities that he didn’t. It’s one of the pettiest reasons to go running to a villain as cruel and as manipulative as Orochimaru was.
7 Raiga Kurosaki Was As Generic A Villain As They Come
Considering that Raiga ended up getting added into the manga during the Fourth Ninja War, you’d think he was a well-made character, but he was anything but. Nothing was interesting about Raiga beyond the fact he was a Seven Swordsman of the Mist. He did evil deeds for seemingly no reason at all and built a friendship with Ranmaru that didn’t do anything to make him redeemable. It made his act of killing himself feel pointless at the end of his fight.
6 Amachi’s Only Goal In Life Was Creating The Ultimate Underwater Ninja
5 Akahoshi Was Willing To Sacrifice Everything To Make His Village As Powerful As The Big Five
A smaller village wanting to join the powers of the big five makes total sense. It’s something that’s cropped up a few times in the series, both in fillers and canon material. The issue with Akahoshi’s decision is the fact he wanted to reinstate star training in order to do it.
It was a training that just so happened to poison those that underwent it. Akahoshi didn’t care about that, only seeing how strong his village could become. It’s hard to have a strong village when everyone is dead.
4 Genno Blamed Konoha For The Loss Of His Village When It Wasn’t Even Their Fault
Swearing revenge on Konoha for the destruction of his village would have made Genno a somewhat sympathetic character, not unlike many of the villains that filled Naruto. Unfortunately, his reasoning falls apart when it was a completely different village that ransacked his hometown, leaving him the sole survivor. It’s made even worse when by the end of his life, he gave up his plans for revenge when Naruto reminded him of his son.
3 Four Celestial Symbols Men Were Upset That Villages Weren’t Grateful Enough To Them
It’s one thing if the Four Celestial Symbols Men were angry at not being paid or getting manipulated by the villages to provide them weapons, but none of that was the case. Instead, they were upset that the villages weren’t grateful enough. It’s yet another petty reason to hold against Gaara and Sunagakure, making it one of the worst filler arcs in a sea of bad filler during the first half of Naruto.
2 Hidan Was A Religious Zealot Whose Only Goal Was To Slaughter Others
As far as Akatsuki members go, Hidan was one of the weakest, even if his banter back and forth with Kakuzu was enjoyable. It’s a shame since Hidan had an interesting look and mythos with the cult of Jashin and his effective immortality. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much attention paid to the religion beyond the fact that Hidan believed in the wholesale slaughter of people. It made his religion seem like an excuse for murder.
1 Sasuke’s Turn Towards Villainy Always Felt Like Spitting On Itachi’s Grave
Sasuke’s journey towards villainy started fine when it was centered on getting revenge on those he felt wronged Itachi, namely Danzo and his followers. His attempt to catch Killer Bee for Obito could even be taken as Sasuke getting manipulated, but when he wanted to destroy all of Konoha, things went too far. It made it seem like Sasuke couldn’t exist if there wasn’t something for him to avenge, muddying some of his character.