Killers can come in a variety of shapes and sizes as well as have varying reasons for maiming others. Shiroshi Hajime—aka Ichi—kills others when his emotions are pushed past the breaking point and he unleashes his martial arts abilities to decimate his enemies. The problem with Ichi is that while he does take down yakuza in Koroshiya 1, he tends to do it in extremely brutal and inhumane ways. Ichi might be seen by some as a vigilante, but in our minds, he’s also a serial killer through and through. Ichi’s action though do make for an interesting read that keeps you constantly glued to each page of Koroshiya 1 wondering what this seemingly normal guy will do next when his emotions go rampant.

In our current generation, it’s not uncommon to see some pretty outrageous actions being filmed for views. Dead Tube’s Mai Mashiro is a perfect example of a woman who wants to be seen by others and revel in the limelight. Mai though doesn’t play tricks on others or do self-derogatory actions for views online but instead kills and brutally murders various people while her love interest—Tomohiro Machiya—films each gore-filled moment. If you look in our history—especially in the west—you’ll see many serial killers thrive off the police chasing them or having themselves become infamous killers in the press. Mai herself is a perfect example of someone who lives off the thrill of killing others and hoping she gets famous for each brutal murder making her a scary serial killer in so many ways. One can only imagine if Mai is this low on our list who tops her actions on our Top 10 Serial Killers in Manga article?

Trained and raised to kill, Tista Lone is a force to be reckoned with when she is armed and ready. After a tragic beginning forcing Tista to be raised in a Catholic orphanage, she began to be taught ways to deal out judgment on those considered evil. As time passes, Tista leaves for The Big Apple—New York City—and begins to hunt those who hurt others and are seen as evildoers. Tista is another vigilante who might be killing those who do wrong to others. Ultimately though, Tista still is a serial killer just with a mindset that her actions are justified because she’s doing God’s Work…

With an early kill count of 700+ people, our number 7 spot goes to Kuroko Koumori from Murcielago. Armed with beauty, weapon experience and a thing for killing, Kuroko is a scary serial killer with absolutely no remorse for murdering those who are targeted by her employers or those she considers “evil.” Kuroko is a literal assassin in many ways but in our minds, that also means she’s just a serial killer with a fancier title. Kuroko shows though that you can never truly judge a person just based on looks alone. Even the prettiest faces can hide a serial killer just waiting to take another’s life…

Teachers have a rough job in this world. They must be mentors as well as educators to help children advance forward in life. Seiji Hasumi seems like the perfect teacher with a demeanor that screams caring teacher, but the reality is far from the picture his face paints. Seiji is someone who lacks empathy for his fellow man and woman which makes his mind shift towards dark decisions when it comes to handling school related issues. If Seiji hears a student is bullying others or maybe a parent is hurting their children, Seiji decides to take actions into his own hands, though not with the use of a parent-teacher conference. Instead, Seiji murders parents/children alike and does so with the intent of ridding the world of problematic people. If you hear Seiji is teaching a class next year, you might want to avoid enrolling your kids in his class.

Love can kill. It’s an old saying that usually means loving someone can be hard and filled with various trials and tribulations. In the case of Rio Miyaichi, this statement has a bit of a broader sentiment. With a penance for killing, Rio is caught in her actions by a neighbor who ends up not fearing her and instead embraces it. Now with Etsurou Kurosu as her accomplice, Rio continues her killings with her now neighbor boyfriend. Does Kurosu fall victim to Rio’s killing intentions? You’ll need to find out by reading Ana Satsujin—Peephole in English—and seeing if love can blossom between a normal man and his serial killer girlfriend.

Growing up in school was tough for many of us seeing as how we loved anime and all things geeky/nerdy. This meant many of us here at Honey’s Anime had to deal with bullies in our ways to avoid problems at school and to have a semi-happy school life. Nozaki Haruka from mangaka Oshikiri. Rensuke’s MisuMisou series handles bullies too in the series…just with violence instead of words. Pushed to the brink, Nozaki goes from being the hunted girl to the huntress as she deals with those who tormented her in a serial killer fashion. Nozaki’s actions should be a bit of warning to those who hurt others in school. Be careful who you anger…you never know what they will do to unleash their frustrations once they reached their breaking point.

As we mentioned earlier, teachers are supposed to be the people we look up to in life for guidance and safety. Though as our Top 10 Serial Killers in Manga list shows, teachers can also be pure evil. Boku dake ga Inai Machi proves this with its infamous serial killer Gaku Yashiro who seems at first to be a loving teacher but is unmasked as being a killer of children. Luring the kids with kindness and treats—don’t take candy from strangers, kids—Gaku took the lives of several kids in Boku dake ga Inai Machi and proved himself to be a deranged man free from love or feeling. This is why we knew Gaku deserved the top 3 spot on our list as he’s just so far gone, it’s truly terrifying.

You want to know how to judge if a person is truly considered evil? If people describe them as Adolf Hitler, the devil and or call them a monster, then most likely that person is someone worthy of being considered criminal. Johan Liebert from the highly acclaimed Monster series—written by Urasawa Naoki—is the embodiment of what a serial killer is defined as. In the Monster series, Johan doesn’t just kill others but destroys them mentally as well. That’s why Johan is deserving of the titles he’s been dubbed in his life. Instead of taking a second chance at life and making the most of it in a positive way, Johan unleashes hell on people in various cities and places. Though even as bad as Johan is, he still doesn’t take the top spot…that one is reserved for the truest serial killer in all of manga history.

At number one on our list of the Top 10 Serial Killers in Manga, we have Light Yagami. Now you might be thinking, Light killed many people indeed in Death Note—the series he originates from—but he used a mystical item to do it. We agree that Light’s murders were only possible thanks to the Death Note, but regardless, this man killed thousands of people—with various lists showing up to 100,000+ kills—and he didn’t bat an eye doing so. Light only thought of ridding the world of anyone who got in his way of making the ultimate world and stopping him in his rise to the level of God. Serial killers can be ruthless, evil and all around horrible people, but Light has most beat by being so delusional with thoughts of grandeur that he truly believes he can be a God among mortal men. At the end of the day, folks, Light Yagami is the ultimate serial killer and probably will be for some time to come in the manga world.