Villains come in a variety of different sizes in anime. Sometimes they can be the most depraved and unstable people imaginable, ones capable of killing another person just for looking at them the wrong way. Other times they're sympathetic characters who may perpetrate evil deeds but have a goal worthy of pursuing.
What's rare is the villain that's one in name only, the type of villain who's either played completely for laughs like Team Rocket or ones who only want to build themselves up as a bad guy when they're actually anything but. This type of villain is all bark and no bite.
8 Hayate The Combat Butler Originally Planned To Be A Villain Before Realizing He Was A Hero
At the start of Hayate the Combat Butler, Hayate was convinced he needed to be a bad guy to get out from under the debt to the yakuza his family left him with. To do this, he planned on kidnapping Nagi and ransoming her to get the money he needed to pay off the debt.
Not only does Nagi misinterpret his words as a confession of love, but another group of kidnappers beats him to the punch. By the end of it, he ends up her butler and a hero of the story rather than the villain he thought he'd be. They even end up together as a couple when all is said and done.
7 Prince Eccentro Is Never As Evil As His Father Wants Him To Be In Mon Colle Knights
In Mon Colle Knights, Prince Eccentro was trained by his father and Chuzaemon to be one of the most vile people in the world. That doesn't end up the case whatsoever as Eccentro can't seem to ever hurt anyone, only trying and failing to use his charms on others.
He's followed by two henchwomen, Batch and Gluko, who compose what is essentially the series' Team Rocket Trio. They show up in nearly every episode only to fail spectacularly in whatever evil deed they're attempting. It makes them the perfect villains for this lighthearted show.
6 Cait Sith Cheshire Was More Of A Servant Than A True Villain In Saint Seiya
Some villains are used strictly for comic relief purposes, and that's the case with Cait Sith Cheshire in Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas. While he serves a villainous entity, he does very little beyond attending to Pandora's needs and watching fights as they happen.
Beyond that, he's there for comedic purposes and never lifts a single finger to harm another person. He's classed as a villain based on affiliation more than anything he did on screen.
5 Satania's Most Heinous Acts Are No More Than Minor Inconveniences In Gabriel DropOut
Gabriel Dropout is a silly anime that follows a group of angels coming down to earth after graduating from school in heaven. They're supposed to be learning about humans while attending high school there, but it's mostly a backdrop for shenanigans.
Satania is at the forefront of said shenanigans as a dimwitted demon who thinks she's perpetrating the most heinous crimes on humanity when in reality, she's at most creating a minor inconvenience. An example being when she puts a bottle cap in the wrong recycling receptacle. She even ends up getting bullied so much she may as well be the hero of the anime.
4 Ms. TogeToge Was A Monster Of The Week Who Refused To Do Anything Villainous In Sailor Moon
One of the most blatant examples of a villain who does nothing wrong is Ms. TogeToge from Sailor Moon. She was a monster of the week summoned by CereCere to battle the Sailor Scouts.
Things didn't go as planned as Ms. TogeToge wouldn't swallow the Dream Mirrors, saying it was icky. It led to CereCere trying to force-feed the mirror to her minion, giving the Scouts plenty of time to defeat the monster before she did anything at all. The moment was even lampshaded with TogeToge stating she didn't do anything as she died.
3 Jaken Was More Of An Advisor To Sesshomaru, The Same Way As Myoga Was To Inuyasha
In Inuyasha, both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru had guides or advisors that were with them at all times. Neither of them engaged in combat in the series, both being more cowardly and hiding behind the brothers.
Jaken's entire role in the series seemed to be the ultimate brown-noser who praised Sesshomaru no matter what he did, much to the latter's annoyance. Occasionally he'd throw out a shield and unkind words to Inuyasha, but beyond that, he wasn't anything more than a toady.
2 Marino You Was Only Ever A Villain To Help Protect Her Sister And Never Believed In The Glittering Crux's Goals In Star Driver
Marino was an interesting character in Star Driver because while she was a member of the villainous organization, she was more of an anti-villain. She didn't believe in their goals and only joined the cause to help protect her sister Mizuno from harm; Marino hoped to divert attention to herself instead.
This motivation was shown in most of her actions, especially when it's revealed that the two of them aren't actually sisters, and Marino is only a clone created so Mizuno could cope with her loneliness. Her lack of evilness helped make her feel more sympathetic at that heart-wrenching moment.
1 Richard Wong Was So Much Of A Man-Child In Patlabor That It Was Hard To Remember He Was Even A Villain
Richard Wong was one of the villains of Patlabor and in charge of the Griffon Project. On the surface, he was a man who almost always had a smile on his face, much like Gin Ichimaru did in Bleach. Like Gin, that smile hid a cunning mind, but unlike the former captain, Richard wasn't very effective at scheming. He was a villain who escaped capture without harming anyone, such as when he dropped Kumagami into a laundry basket to cause the distraction he needed to flee.
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