Being Bad Feels Good, So That's Why These Anime Villains Are Impossible To Hate

Most villains in anime are made to be hated. It's pretty obvious that the antagonist of a series would be hateable, as they usually go against the moral grain to create a litany of problems for the protagonists and their group at large. Villains can be hateable for being pure evil, for having no redeemable qualities, or for committing truly unspeakable acts. On some rare occasions though, a villain can be a little too likable despite their abhorrent actions. Some villains are just plain impossible to hate.

These villains are antagonistic to the story at their core, but for some prevailing reason, fans can't seem to hate them. Sometimes, viewers will even root for these characters due to their amazing charisma, charming personalities, or overwhelmingly understandable backstories. These positives don't necessarily outweigh their negative actions, but they create an interesting character that does a lot of bad but looks so good while they're doing it.

7 Toji Fushiguro

Jujutsu Kaisen

Toji Fushiguro is one of the coolest characters in anime, and he really shouldn't be. On paper, he's a terrible dad, a bounty hunter, and a genuine villain. But the finished product that is Toji is nothing short of awesome. He's one of the few characters in Jujutsu Kaisen that can't use Cursed Energy due to a Heavenly Restriction. In exchange for his lack of Cursed Energy, Toji was given an incredibly durable body and physical attributes that make Jujutsu Sorcerers beyond jealous.

There's no argument to be had that Toji isn't an antagonistic force to the story of Jujutsu Kaisen. He's first introduced to the show in a series of flashbacks. As a bounty hunter, he was hired to assassinate the Star Plasma Vessel and prevent Tengen-sama from merging with her. Not only does he shoot her in the head in an incredibly shocking moment, but he also nearly kills Gojo at the same time.

Still, it's impossible to hate Toji. He's just so cool. He flies across the battlefield as one of anime's best one-man-armies even without any Cursed Energy. He brought Gojo to the brink of death, but even Gojo recreated Toji's outfit during the Six-Eyes' final battle against Sukuna during the last events of the story.

6 Light Yagami

Death Note

Light is both the protagonist and the antagonist of Death Note. He's the leading force of the story, but he's also the biggest villain in it, as his use of the Death Note raises a ton of philosophical questions throughout the show. When Light finds the titular Death Note, he gains the ability to kill anyone he wants by simply writing their name in the book. It's a great power on the surface, but Light might not be the best character to play God.

Light kills a ton of people in Death Note. In one of the darkest moments in anime history, he even toys with Naomi Misora before he kills her. He tells her that he's actually the serial killer known as Kira with a smile on his face while she slowly realizes that not only is he telling the truth, but that she's set to be his next victim.

While Light has a lot going against him, his intentions started from a good place. He saw a bloated, ineffective legal system and wanted to help the world in his own way. Instead of letting criminals walk free, or serve insultingly small sentences, he wanted to get rid of them for good. The end result is a mixed bag of morality, but there's no arguing he didn't have good intentions at the beginning.

5 Dabi

My Hero Academia

Most of the villains in My Hero Academia are actually fairly understandable. Creator Kōhei Horikoshi wrote several amazing, relatable villains, including Shigaraki, Himiko Toga, and Twice. These characters all have backstories that force viewers to feel at least a little sympathetic for them despite their evil actions. Even among a cast stuffed with all-time great villains though, no antagonist in My Hero Academia is harder to hate than Dabi.

Before his background was revealed, Dabi was easy to hate. He seemed like a bully who used one of My Hero Academia's strongest Quirks to impose his will upon innocent people, throwing them aside for no reason. After his backstory was revealed, however, it became hard not to feel for the blue flame user.

Dabi is actually Toya Todoroki, Shoto's older brother and Endeavor's son. He was thought to be dead. Not only is he still alive, but he's a walking reminder of the brutality that is Enji Todoroki. Endeavor bullied his son relentlessly, using him for his powers and throwing him away when Shoto looked to have more potential. To call it a hard upbringing would be putting it lightly, and after Dabi's reveal, it became incredibly hard to hate the villain.

4 Hisoka Morow

Hunter x Hunter

Despite the controversy he causes for Hunter x Hunter, Hisoka Morow is a treat every time he's on-screen. He's vicious to his core, but he's also quite literally a clown. He serves as the major antagonist to Gon and Killua for the first few arcs of the story, but as it progresses, he takes quite a different role. In the Greed Island Arc, he even helps the boys out during the most lethal game of dodgeball in anime.

Hisoka only cares about one thing: fighting strong opponents. He's willing to do anything to fight strong people, including sparing Gon so that he might get stronger, joining a group of the strongest villains in Hunter x Hunter just to try and fight their boss, and even forces Illumi's bloodlust out to give Killua a chance to get stronger as well.

Hisoka is clearly a villain in every aspect. He kills mercilessly, works closely with the worst villains in the series, and plenty more. Still, he's so easy to love. He's a joy to watch, strong enough to hold his own, and is loyal to absolutely nobody.

3 Team Rocket

Pokémon

Team Rocket might be many anime watchers' first-ever set of villains. They're two people (and a Pokémon) from one of the most evil organizations in the entire Pokémon franchise. The organization they represent is brutal. Team Rocket's only goal is to profit off of Pokémon, and they don't care how they do it. They're willing to sell, exploit, and even kill Pokémon if it means making money.

While the organization itself is harsh to put it lightly, Jessie, James, and Meowth of Team Rocket are nowhere near as evil as the organization they represent. They're three characters who are more likely to get someone to laugh than to actually do their job correctly.

​​​​The three spend the series trying to steal Pokémon from Ash unsuccessfully. They usually get "Blasted Off", or sent flying as they fail to capture their target. Their hijinks are a high point in the series, and every time they appear on-screen, viewers know that they're in for a laugh.

2 Vegeta

Dragon Ball Z

With Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball DAIMA presenting the Prince of Saiyans in a much better light, it can be hard to remember that Vegeta started the series as a brutal villain. When fighting Fused Zamasu with Trunks, he used his Galick Gun to defend the Earth, the same attack he launched at Goku in an attempt to destroy it when he first got introduced to Dragon Ball.

Vegeta was pure evil when he first came to Earth. He was so mean, he even killed his partner Nappa when Nappa wasn't strong enough to beat Goku, even though Nappa had just wiped the floor with the rest of the Z Fighters.

​​​​​​There are two big moments that redeem Vegeta entirely. The first came on Namek, when he told Goku the story of their race after dying to Frieza, humbling himself enough to beg Goku to beat Frieza once and for all. The second is the greatest moment in his character arc, when Vegeta lays down his life for the Earth and his loved ones against Buu. Even though Vegeta started as a menace, he became one of the greatest fighters the Earth could ever rely on.

1 Itachi

Naruto: Shippuden

Itachi is the least hateable villain in anime. Before his intentions were revealed, it was easy to look at him as pure evil. On the surface, he slaughtered his entire clan in a single night, leaving Sasuke without his parents and with an eternal hatred for his brother. He then went on to join the Akatsuki, the most evil group in Naruto.

Itachi killed his clan to protect the village at large, and his younger brother as well. When he found out that the Uchiha were planning a civil war against Konoha, he knew a lot of innocent people would be caught in the crossfire. He stopped the war before it started by taking out his own clan almost entirely on his own.

Itachi Uchiha is one of the most morally complex characters in anime history. Once his true intentions were revealed, nobody could hate him anymore. Everything he did was for the good of the village, and while his actions might not have been morally correct, they were nowhere near as unforgivable as they first appeared to be.