It’s not uncommon for an anime character to become a villain thanks to the horrors of their backstory. They are wrong and their perception of reality is distorted by the trauma and pain they experienced, often in the formative years of their life. Some think they are good and work hard to try to 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 horrific crimes in the past that they’re irredeemable, and sometimes their backstories just don’t 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 into killing his father and betraying his people by the British 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 pressured into killing his father, something inside him snapped. Because of the tragedies in his backstory, he was a broken person whose decisions were never going to make perfect sense.
9 In Naruto Shippuden, Nagato was so broken that he had to create the alter ego of pain
naruto shippuden Nagato Uzumaki was another character whose misguided and almost senseless actions were a product of the horrible trauma in his backstory. Nagato saw 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 was broken as a person and created an alter ego, Pain, to deal with his pain. Konan, the only friend he had left from his previous life, was by his side to support and care for him, but the damage had already been done.
8 Itachi’s life was completely ruined by his past in Naruto
Itachi Uchiha was another character from the events of the naruto the franchise was broken. He was a dedicated and loyal member of the Hidden Leaf Village, but thanks to that village’s corruption and prejudice, Itachi ended up massacring his own family to stop a rebellion that was invented by the village in the first place.
Itachi spent the rest of his life in exile, working as a spy for Akatsuki. He was forced to make his brother hate him and persecute him to get back at him and he was forced to remain a criminal in the town he did so much to protect.
7 Johan Leibert’s backstory made him the monster
Johan Liebert became of the monster titular monster. His backstory was equally tragic and horrific and he commented on the results of unethical medicine. Both he and his sister were products of eugenics in practice and because of this, they had a beautiful appearance and incredibly high intelligence.
Unfortunately, the eugenicists failed to take into account the sheer amount of evil they might be capable of and when the world continued to abuse and traumatize children, Johan broke out and became a serial killer like no other. Johan was so convincing because of the backstory that he broke it. Monster it served as an interesting critique of society, science, and medicine.
6 Light Yagami’s backstory ruined his likeability in Death Note
death notes Light Yagami was an almost genius intelligence serial killer like Johan Liebert from Monster. However, Light’s story was a bit less compelling even though she provided an interesting look at the nature of ethics, human rights, and God complexes.
Light Yagami’s backstory is disappointing because Light had a lot of privilege. In a way, much of his ability to avoid responsibility for his actions was due to him being so charming, handsome, and from such a respected family. His backstory made his tactical genius status less convincing because he had so many other things that got him out of trouble.
5 Shou Tucker’s backstory proved his villainy in Fullmetal Alchemist
Shou Tucker’s backstory in full metal alchemist it didn’t ruin his characterization, like Light’s. However, Shou’s backstory ruined 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) wasn’t enough, he’d been guilty of the same crime before, but no one cared.
Shou was a sickening look at what people could 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 wasn’t even necessary.
4 In JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Dio Brando’s backstory didn’t make sense for his evil.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Dio Brando is among the most cowardly villains in the series. However, for such a cool villain with such an interesting design, his backstory was completely underwhelming and did nothing to make fans believe in him as a villain.
Dio’s father, Dario, was a petty criminal who abused his family, and Dio swore to be more evil than Dario could ever be. He wanted to show his father what he could do as a villain of intelligence and power. However, there was very little indication of this or his fixation with the Joestar family.
3 Vicious’s backstory was that he was only vicious in Cowboy Bebop
What was so frustrating about cowboy bebop Heartless was the fact that he was so forced to kill Spike for stealing his girlfriend. While anime villains dipping into the realm of psychopathy aren’t uncommon, Vicious seemed so intent on revenge for such a petty reason that his anger didn’t seem to fit. The show canceled it by simply saying “Vicious is vicious” and that was the end of it.
What makes even less sense is how Vicious could actually even love another person with such a cruel and self-centered personality. He only cared about Spike’s betrayal because he saw it as a contest of egos.
two Mahito’s backstory of being so young is not convincing in Jujutsu Kaisen
jujutsu kaisen Mahito was one of the most powerful cursed spirits any of the jujutsu wizards had ever faced. He was able to warp people’s bodies, turning them into mutant curses. Most did not survive this, but those who did were chaotic and pained beings.
However, there was very little to go on with Mahito’s backstory. The fans learn that he is a new cursed spirit, who was recently born, so he got this power without earning it. On top of that, his philosophy doesn’t make sense both in practice and in conjunction with his lack of backstory.
1 Naraku’s obsession with Kikyo was disgusting on Inuyasha
On inuyashaNaraku’s entire villain image was based 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 destiny.
After nearly dying in a dangerous series of events, Kikyo nursed the future demon back to health. Naraku then sacrificed his body to the demons to gain power. While it was later revealed that Shikon no Tama was partially manipulating Naraku, his backstory was still unconvincing, especially since everyone seemed obsessed with Kikyo.
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