Justice is one of the noblest motivations an anime character could have, but it's also one of the most easily misunderstood. Or, in the worst-case scenarios, it's a motive that's intentionally twisted to suit a greater evil's needs.
Sometimes, an anime character's heightened justice is part of their show's humor, while in other instances, it's a violation of basic rights waiting to happen. Either way, nothing will get in the way of these characters' strong morals.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead.
10 Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid — Elma's Entire Being Is Dictated By Rules & Justice
Back in the dragon world, Elma was a part of the Harmony Faction of dragons. Basically, Harmony's dragons were their world's equivalents of cops who maintained peace and order at all costs. While Elma's simple but clearly defined notion of right and wrong worked among dragons, it bordered on control-freak tendencies in the human world.
Elma's life and personality are driven by a basic black-and-white logic, which makes life in the human world too complex for her. Not only is she almost incapable of acknowledging a middle ground, but she's also overwhelmed by the notion of having more than two things to choose from. Case in point, she can take hours to pick any food's flavor.
9 Inferno Cop — Inferno Cop Shot Everything & Everyone In The Name Of Justice
Before returning from the grave as the undead skull-faced harbinger of justice, Inferno Cop was (unsurprisingly) a cop in Jack Knife Edge Town who dedicated his life to fighting the criminal conspiracy Southern Cross. While this premise may sound coherent, Inferno Cop's one-man war on crime is anything but logical.
Inferno Cop's war on the very concept of injustice is so absolute that he shot whoever got in his way, whether it was the FBI or giant mutant babies. Unsurprisingly, Inferno Cop's mentor was Over Justice from Space Patrol Luluco, who also had an overzealous streak as seen in how he arrested anyone and everyone for doing literally anything.
8 Akame Ga Kill! — Seryu Ubiquitous Punished All Crimes With The Death Sentence
To be fair, almost everybody in the high-mortality Akame Ga Kill! is obsessed with their own warped senses of justice. That said, Seryu of the elite Jaeger secret police is so off the deep end that she doesn't just stand out, but she makes her allies and foes look sane in comparison. Seryu follows a simple code: anyone who isn't allied with The Empire deserves to die.
Seryu is so devoted to the idea of justice that not only is the word her catchphrase, but she had most of her body surgically replaced with deadly weapons that she used in her war against "evil." Said war includes murdering petty thieves who stole food because they were hungry, which was a crime Seryu equated to aiding terrorists.
7 Code Geass — Suzaku Kururgi Wanted To Win Independence The "Right" Way
If Lelouch vi Britannia led a bloody revolt to free Japan from the Holy Britannian Empire's rule, his childhood friend Suzaku believed that sovereignty could be achieved from within the system. To this end, Suzaku killed Japan's last prime minister (aka his father), joined the Britannian army, and ended up being hated by just about everyone.
Britannians never saw past their prejudices, while the Japanese despised Suzaku for betraying them. Still, Suzaku fought for his ideals, believing that unity could be achieved through collaboration. By the end, Suzaku's justice was demolished by war's harsh realities and the fact that his ethics were only motivated by bottomless guilt and self-loathing.
6 My Hero Academia — Stain Killed "Fake" Heroes To Restore Hero Society's Morals
Like almost everyone in the world of My Hero Academia, Chizome Akaguro wanted to be a hero. However, not even a year into hero academy, Chizome was disillusioned and furious at how heroism was motivated by political and monetary gain rather than justice. Determined to restore what being a hero meant, Chizome became the vigilante Hero Killer: Stain.
On his own, Stain killed 40 heroes while crippling more for life. As far as he's concerned, any "hero" who doesn't live up to All Might's example deserves the death penalty. That said, exposing heroes' hypocrisy backfired since it didn't inspire heroes to do better. Instead, Stain's actions motivated the villains to emerge and unite to tear down society.
5 Bleach — Kaname Tosen Was Literally Empowered & Blinded By Justice
As the 9th Division's blind captain with a strictly black-and-white code of honor, Tosen was one of the most literal embodiments of justice seen in anime. But despite being one of Bleach's most moral Shinigami who was also motivated by the desire to avenge a murdered childhood friend, Tosen was actually one of Sosuke Aizen's loyalists.
Tosen's worldview amused Aizen, and he manipulated the captain into siding with him by exposing Soul Society's corruption. Thinking that Aizen's war was righteous and that he was restoring justice, Tosen followed orders dutifully. It was only in his dying moments that Tosen realized how far he strayed away from his old self and true justice.
4 Shaman King — X-Laws Killed Anyone & Everyone Associated With Hao Asakura
Hao is the prophesized great evil in both incarnations of Shaman King, so, naturally, his mere presence attracted strong opposition. Enter X-Laws: an extremist order dedicated to stopping Hao at all costs and installing the Iron Maiden Jeanne as Shaman Queen. Problem is, their fanatical devotion to Jeanne and justice led to a massive body count.
In both the 2001 anime and the reboot, X-Laws did anything and everything to defeat Hao while paying little to no attention to collateral damage or their own safety. Worse, they ruthlessly executed everyone they suspected of being Hao's allies - even those who defected some time ago and those who slightly disagreed with their actions.
3 One Piece — The World Government Believed That Absolute Justice Is The Only Way
With the oceans dominated by pirates, the World Government was founded on the belief that Absolute Justice was the only way to restore order to a chaotic world. Simply put, Absolute Justice dictates that law and order can and will be secured at all costs, even if that means violating basic human rights and oppressing the populace.
Because of how deliberately broad and vague this philosophy is, the Marines and Warlords were given a license to commit as many atrocities as they wanted, so long as they said it was for justice's sake. Additionally, Absolute Justice branched out into worse doctrines, namely Dark Justice and Excessive Justice, which excuse even more crimes and sins.
2 Puella Magi Madoka Magica — Sayaka Miki Tried & Failed To Be A Hero Of Justice
Ever since Mami Tomoe saved her and Madoka Kaname, Sayaka looked up to the gun-slinging magical girl and wanted to be just like her. Sayaka got her wish when, shortly after Mami died in combat, Kyubey offered her a contract. As a magical girl, Sayaka fashioned herself as Mami's successor and the newest Hero of Justice.
While genuine, Sayaka's idealism was tragically naïve. Sayaka's morals were worthless in the face of existential realizations, like her soul being split from her to power the Soul Gem and the revelation that magical girls are doomed to become Witches. When her justice and romance crumbled, Sayaka fell into despair and became a Witch.
1 Death Note — Light Yagami Declared Himself The God Of Justice
Like anyone living on Earth, the high school prodigy/legendary villain Light was frustrated with the world's injustices and evils. What set Light apart, though, was his willingness to rid mankind of its sins via mass murder. With the Death Note, Light declared himself Kira, the God of the New World, or one where he was judge, jury, and executioner.
Death Note never shied away from how delusional Light was, and his impossible perfectionism was depicted as a mad flaw rather than an edgy virtue. Because Light's demand for a morally perfect world clashed with people's flawed reality, what little humanity he had slowly eroded as he committed countless atrocities for his justice's sake.
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