What would a magical girl show be without a cutesy mascot character to help our young heroes on their journey to restore smiles to the world? But Kyubey isn’t your average Sailor Moon cat or Precure fairy companion, as evidenced by his eerie unmoving face. Beneath that blank expression lays a calculating, inhuman mind that thinks nothing of using innocent children to accomplish the greater goal of his species.

We love Kyubey because, technically speaking, he isn’t evil. He doesn’t bear any ill will toward the girls and only withholds information from them because they didn’t ask. His sense of morality is completely divorced from anything resembling human values, so all he’s doing is carrying out his mission to prevent the heat death of the universe. We cheer whenever Homura gives him a taste of his own medicine in the form of bullets, but in some strange way, we understand where this monstrous little cat rabbit thing is coming from.

Goku is such an iconic pure-hearted anime hero that it’s a genuine shock to see another character use his appearance and voice to act like a scheming evil warrior. Goku Black’s origins are shrouded in mystery, but what’s clear is that he destroyed Future Trunks’ world (this kid just can’t catch a break) and must be stopped at all costs.

However, he’s more thoughtful and complex than other world-conquering Dragon Ball villains. Goku Black sees the original Goku as a worthy opponent who deserves to be fought fair and square, and he’s fascinated with the Saiyan’s unusual powers. He’s not the ultimate villain of the series, but we enjoyed the time we had with him.

Every kid who grew up with the first generation of Pokémon knew that Gary Oak was a Grade A certified toolbag. He was rich, spoiled, arrogant, and never let Ash forget that he was better than him at every single step. We all had bullies like Gary at our schools, so it helped us empathize with Ash and root for him to be the very best, like no one ever was.

Unlike real bullies, though, Gary was endlessly entertaining to watch. He was just so over-the-top! He had a chauffeured convertible driving him around, a squad of cheerleaders to dote on him, wrote taunting notes on road signs for Ash to find, and somehow earned two gym badges that don’t even exist in Kanto! But the best thing of all was that we could turn on our own Pokémon games and name him something ingeniously clever like “Buttface” to get the last laugh.

Children grow up relying on adults and believing that they have all the right answers, so what could possibly be scarier than an adult (a parent, especially) who doesn’t have their child’s best interests at heart? Enter Isabella, the seemingly doting mother figure to the orphans of Grace Field House whose actual aim is to raise the children as meat for high-class demons.

But how could she heartlessly send these kids off to their deaths when she’s a human and grew up in the system herself? Isabella justifies her cruelty by denouncing the outside world as unlivable and strives to give each child the best life possible before their time is up, but even that motivation is suspect since she hides her real emotions behind a perpetual sly grin. In the end, her true goals are a puzzle we may never solve...

Like many teenage girls, Satou Matsuzaka loves cute things and can’t help but squeal when she sees an adorable little kid. She wants one for her very own, so she kidnaps a young girl named Shio and traps her in her apartment, cutting off any contact Shio had with the outside world and gaslighting the child into loving and idolizing her like an older sister. Well... that escalated quickly.

Satou looks like the ideal cute anime girl on the outside, but just below the surface, she’s an unrepentant psychopath (and possibly a pedophile) who sees nothing wrong with the abuse she inflicts on Shio. Like a domestic true crime documentary, she’s a reminder that seemingly normal people could be hiding horrific depravity behind closed doors. And even though we know we shouldn’t be fascinated with her, we can’t stop watching.

The enigmatic head of the Sohma family appears only a few times in the original Fruits Basket anime, but he certainly makes an impact. Akito is the “God” of the Zodiac, which gives him subliminal emotional control over the cursed animal members. Just one lingering look or subtle threat is enough to reduce otherwise confident characters like Yuki to shambles, and even the outsider Tohru is terrified when Akito shows up at her high school unexpectedly.

In the new anime, we’ll get to see how Akito ended up this way and what happens when his iron grip on the Sohmas starts to unravel. But even without these revelations (which the original show didn’t get to since it ended about 1/3 of the way through the overall story), we still love to hate this unique antagonist who uses mind games and short bursts of violence to keep his family loyal to him at all costs.

Speaking of family drama, Shion wouldn’t be who she is today without the systemic abuse that the Sonozaki clan put her through ever since the day she and her twin sister Mion were born. Mion was chosen to inherit leadership of the family when she comes of age, and Shion was left to rot in a boarding school for socialites. In arcs where she’s not the focal character, she acts as kind and respectful as you might expect from her education. But when she’s the villain, all hell breaks loose.

In the Watanagashi-hen arc, Shion’s jealousy for her sister overtakes her and she falls into insanity, spurred on by the supernatural influence of Hinamizawa syndrome. Her methods of revenge are so cruel that we struggled to watch at times (although the subpar animation helped dull the shock somewhat), but her motivation is perhaps the most understandable of any of the Hinamizawa syndrome killers. She can swing from supportive older sister to deranged murderer in the blink of an eye, and that’s why we can’t get enough of her.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure boasts an impressive gallery of villains across its many parts, each with their own unique spin on the role of an antagonist. But we had to go with the British vampire who started this whole crazy rollercoaster in the first place—Dio Brando.

Dio’s original goal was to ruin Jonathan’s cushy life and steal his family’s fortune, but eventually, he abandons any pretense of moral superiority and sets his sights on world domination. He’s completely reprehensible for no other reason than that he wants to be, but he’s just so good at being a “capital E for Evil” kind of villain that we hold him up as one of the best. And even when he’s not the main threat, his influence stretches across time and space to affect every single JoJo part in one way or another.

If Isabella is one of anime’s worst moms, then Gendo Ikari is the absolute champion of terrible anime dads. After repeatedly putting an innocent teenage girl in grave danger as an Eva pilot, he forces his estranged son to take her place—as if Shinji is just a disposable commodity he can throw at his problems whenever he wants. And even when Shinji physically and emotionally tears himself apart fighting against the Angels, Gendo never once acknowledges his son.

Similarly to Dio, fans love Gendo because he’s so unapologetically self-centered that it borders on the absurd. His grand gestures and incomprehensible plans are highly entertaining to watch, even when he’s using his family members and employees as pawns to further his goals. You just keep on being Best Dad, Gendo. We’ll always be here to see what you get up to next.

Envy is a unique sort of beast. He committed two of the most impactful murders in the series—the innocent child that started the Ishvalan War and the beloved Maes Hughes—while feeling no remorse and hiding behind a face that wasn’t his. But he can also be affable and occasionally helpful, even if it’s just to save his own skin. And on top of that, he’s secretly jealous of humans and their ability to forgive and trust one another through thick and thin.

We love the Envy vs Mustang fight near the end of Brotherhood for its deep exploration of both characters’ ideologies and how we’re never quite sure which combatant is in the right. Envy is obviously a monster, but Mustang goes so far with his revenge that we almost feel bad for the homunculus as he’s burned over and over without the chance to fight back. As morally bankrupt as Envy was, we were sad to see him go.