A lot of anime are known for their villain redemption arcs, which is something fans always look forward to. The best redemptions prove that it's never too late for anyone, while the lackluster ones are either clumsy or downright bad.
Unfortunately, these villainous characters fall in the latter category. These redemptions aren't inherently bad, but given the severity of these villains' acts, their forgiveness was questioned and doubted by even their dedicated fans.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead.
10 Naruto — Orochimaru Terrorized The Ninja World & Was Given A Nice Retirement
One of the biggest criticisms about Naruto is that he's too forgiving. Case in point, Orochimaru. For most of the legendarily good original anime and Shippuden, Orochimaru was one of the deadliest and most ruthless ninjas alive. Not only did he murder countless ninjas, but he was responsible for unethical experiments as well.
Rather than being punished, Orochimaru was forgiven after he helped the Alliance during the Fourth Shinobi World War and because Naruto (now a Hokage) said so. During Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Orochimaru had settled down so nicely that his biggest concern was getting his son into ninja school.
9 Inuyashiki — Hiro Shishigami Died A Hero After Killing People For Edgy Reasons
The thesis of Inuyashiki was that power doesn't turn anyone into a hero or villain, but that it amplifies what's already there. Where the polite and elderly Ichiro used his newfound alien strength to help others, the already sociopathic Hiro became a serial killer motivated by his teenage angst and nihilism.
Throughout the anime, Hiro callously murdered and tortured because he felt like it, but he was still depicted as someone to sympathize with because he loved his mom. In fact, when an asteroid almost hit Earth, Hiro was given the chance to sacrifice himself to stop it by triggering his body's self-destruct function.
8 The Promised Neverland — Isabella Settled Down In The Human World After Collaborating With The Demons
After giving up years ago, Isabella sided with the system that oppressed her and many others by becoming a Mama. Isabella's duty was to raise gifted children as the Demons' prime meat, a job she frighteningly exceled in. Despite sending many to their deaths, Isabella wasn't only forgiven by Emma, but she got to leave the Demon World.
All this redemption took was one saccharine speech from Emma and a quick apology. Afterwards, she spent the rest of her days in the human realm with the same children she lied to. Contrast to Isabella's redemption and death in the much superior manga, where she died protecting her kids from a rogue Demon.
7 Sword Art Online — Kayaba Akihiko Caused The SAO Incident & Became One Of Kirito's Best Allies
Of the villains introduced in Sword Art Online, Kayaba (aka Heathcliff) is the most divisive. Kayaba didn't just create the anime's eponymous VRMMORPG for the famed NerveGear, but he's responsible for the SAO Incident that trapped more than 50,000 gamers in it, where many of them died while the survivors were traumatized.
Kayaba atoning by giving Kirito the final victory and The Seed (or SAO's source code) was a fitting end, but what came after was questionable. In succeeding seasons, Kayaba became Kirito's spiritual ally and friend. Whether he intended to make people suffer or not, Kayaba's fate was too light given how many lives he harmed and destroyed.
6 Future Diary: Redial — Yuno Gasai Got Her Happy Ending After Slaughtering Many In A Different World
To be fair, Yuno's villainy was born from sorrow, not malice. Distraught after her lover Yuki Amano died in Deus Ex's challenge, Yuno used her newfound godhood to go to a parallel reality where Yuki was still alive. Now in The Second World, Yuno ferociously did everything she could to keep Yuki alive - including murder and torture.
In a rare moment of lucidity, Yuno saw who she became and took her own life. Rather than let this be her appropriately tragic end, Future Diary went out of its way to redeem her. In the OVA Redial, Yuno from the Third World was given a clean slate and the memories of the first Yuno so she could reunite with Yuki.
5 Dragon Ball Z — Vegeta Was A Mass Murderer Turned Heroic Z Fighter
Vegeta's redemption is regarded as one of the best of its kind, so much so that it helped codify how antiheroes should be written. That said, Vegeta was still complicit in atrocities that can and should never be forgiven. For one, he served under the Frieza Force for a long time, and helped the warlord decimate entire worlds.
Besides that, Vegeta endangered the Earth for his own ends. More than once, he betrayed the Z Fighters so he could fight Son Goku, his nemesis in a one-sided rivalry. Vegeta took most of Dragon Ball Z to snap out of his obsession, and he has yet to atone for all of his sins. At the very least, Vegeta is currently on the path of good.
4 Naruto — Sasuke Uchiha's War Crimes Were Rewarded With Naruto Uzumaki's Friendship
Sasuke's betrayal was one of the most shocking turns in anime history, especially after he spent a lot of time being the eccentric Naruto's stoic foil. Rather than commit to Sasuke's villainy, Naruto redeemed him and brought him back to the side of good. He even got a nice family life in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
When he was hunting his brother Itachi, Sasuke joined the deadly Akatsuki and was more than willing to kill anyone who got in his way, including Naruto and Sakura. Naruto never giving up on Sasuke may be a great testament to their friendship, but how Sasuke's apology answered for his atrocities is anyone's guess.
3 My Hero Academia — Endeavor's Abusive Parenting Gets Brushed Aside Because He's Trying Really Hard To Be Nice
Endeavor is one of the most polarizing characters in My Hero Academia because while he's technically a hero, his past and attitude say otherwise. In his desperation to surpass All Might, Endeavor abused his family. Not only was his wife institutionalized, but his children (especially Shoto) were scarred for life. For this, he gets a redemption arc.
Even if he's been called out for it by some, Endeavor's sins are mostly downplayed because he's now a comically overbearing dad to Shoto. While the anime's later arcs (as seen in the manga) will delve deeper into Endeavor's guilt and regrets, the fact that someone as vile as him got a redemption arc at all split the fanbase in two.
2 Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon A Time — Gendo Ikari Remembered How To Be A Dad After Causing Countless Impacts
The big twist of Thrice Upon A Time is that all of Neon Genesis Evangelion is actually a time loop that the characters are cursed to play out endlessly. This means that in all these dimensions, Gendo tried and failed to resurrect his dead wife Yui by triggering Human Instrumentalities through the Impacts. Despite this, his son Shinji forgave him.
Besides ending the world more than once, Gendo was a terrible parent and person who manipulated everyone (including Shinji) for his own selfish desires. Gendo getting the redemptive dignity of sacrificing his life in Shinji's place does little to atone for the countless lives and realities he destroyed for the sake of his own desires.
1 A Silent Voice — Naoka Ueno & Miki Kawai Got Off The Hook For Bullying Because Shoya Ishida Took The Fall
While Shoya's arduous search for forgiveness was praised, many took issue with the group he used to lead. Naoka (left) and Miki (right) were just as bad as he was, but they got away scot free. Naoka all but pressured Shoko into accepting her apology, while Miki was never called out. In the end, everyone was friends again, and all it cost was Shoya nearly dying.
What's worth noting is that this was the result of condensing the manga for a movie. Originally, a guilt-ridden Naoka began her own journey of redemption. Meanwhile, Miki found herself in Shoyo's place when her class exiled her after seeing through her lies and narcissism. Because their fates were changed, Shoko's bullies accidentally got off easy.
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