Not every villain stays a villain forever. Some of anime’s most memorable bad guys start out as enemies but slowly win over the audience with shocking backstories, surprising loyalty, or moments of pure heart.
What makes these characters so fascinating is that their journeys feel real and complicated, just like people in the real world. Get ready to look at 17 anime antagonists who went from hated to genuinely respected.
1. Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)
Few anime reveals hit as hard as Itachi Uchiha’s true story. For most of Naruto, he looked like a cold-blooded killer who wiped out his own family for power.
Then the truth came out, and everything changed.
He was actually a loyal protector forced by his government to make an impossible choice. Itachi carried that unbearable burden alone to keep his little brother alive.
Fans went from despising him to calling him one of the greatest characters in anime history.
2. Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z)
Vegeta showed up wanting to destroy Earth and kill Goku. That is not exactly the best first impression.
Yet somehow, over the years, he became one of Dragon Ball Z’s most beloved characters.
His stubborn pride never went away, but fans started rooting for him anyway. He fought alongside the heroes, saved lives on his own terms, and showed real growth without ever losing his edge.
Watching Vegeta evolve while staying true to himself is genuinely satisfying.
3. Meruem (Hunter x Hunter)
Born as the most powerful being alive, Meruem started out terrifyingly cold and brutal. He saw humans as nothing more than food and tools, which made him genuinely scary to watch.
A blind girl named Komugi changed all of that. Through their Gungi matches, Meruem discovered curiosity, humility, and even love.
His final moments are some of the most emotional in anime, and fans who once feared him ended up heartbroken when he died.
4. Pain (Naruto Shippuden)
Pain destroyed the Hidden Leaf Village and nearly killed Naruto. That sounds like a straightforward villain move, but his reasoning was far more complicated and tragic than it first appeared.
He genuinely believed suffering was the only path to lasting peace. What made fans respect him was his openness to being proven wrong.
When Naruto challenged his philosophy and won, Pain listened, and then chose to heal the people he had hurt. That took real courage.
5. Greed (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Greed literally named himself after one of the worst human vices, which does not scream “fan favorite.” But his rebellious personality and surprisingly consistent worldview made him hard to dislike.
He wanted everything, sure, but he also stuck fiercely to his own code. Greed never pretended to be something he was not, and that honesty was refreshing among the scheming Homunculi.
By the time his story ended, fans were genuinely mourning a character who called himself the most selfish being alive.
6. Younger Toguro (YuYu Hakusho)
Younger Toguro is one of anime’s most physically intimidating villains, a fighter who pushed himself beyond human limits in the worst possible ways. He crushed opponents without blinking and seemed completely heartless at first.
His backstory revealed a man haunted by guilt and a desire for punishment rather than power. He chose to walk into Hell after his defeat, seeking atonement on his own terms.
That kind of moral weight turned a scary villain into a deeply respected one.
7. Garou (One-Punch Man)
Garou called himself the “Human Monster” and spent most of the series beating up heroes. Not exactly the resume of someone fans are supposed to cheer for, right?
What made Garou compelling was his genuine belief that monsters were more honest than heroes who fought for praise. He defended that philosophy with everything he had.
Even Saitama recognized something real in him. Fans came to respect Garou not for his victories, but for the conviction behind every single punch.
8. Eren Yeager (Attack on Titan)
Eren started as a passionate hero who wanted to protect his people. Watching him slowly transform into someone willing to commit mass genocide is one of the most unsettling character arcs in anime.
Yet fans kept engaging with him because his reasoning, while horrifying, was deeply rooted in pain and love. He genuinely believed he had no other choice.
Whether viewers agreed or not, Eren forced everyone to wrestle with real questions about freedom, sacrifice, and what people become under impossible pressure.
9. Sesshomaru (Inuyasha)
Cold, powerful, and completely uninterested in humans, Sesshomaru spent early Inuyasha episodes being an outright threat to the main cast. He looked down on everyone and showed zero warmth.
Then a little human orphan named Rin changed him without even trying. Sesshomaru quietly began protecting her, and that small act of compassion opened a crack in his armor that fans fell in love with.
Watching a proud demon learn tenderness without losing his dignity is genuinely moving to witness.
10. Charlotte Katakuri (One Piece)
Charlotte Katakuri is the kind of opponent who makes the hero look genuinely outmatched. He was nearly perfect, undefeated, and fiercely loyal to his family.
Fans expected to dislike him completely.
Then he stabbed himself to even the odds against Luffy, refusing to win through an unfair advantage. That one act of warrior pride flipped the entire audience.
Katakuri earned respect not by losing his strength, but by proving he cared more about a worthy fight than just winning.
11. Griffith (Berserk)
Griffith is genuinely difficult to categorize. He was charming, brilliant, and inspiring in a way that made fans root for him hard during the early arcs of Berserk.
His fall into darkness is one of the most brutal betrayals in anime storytelling. What keeps fans engaged with Griffith is the tragedy of what he could have been.
His initial likability makes his descent so much more painful, and that emotional complexity is why he remains one of anime’s most discussed antagonists.
12. Sukuna (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Ryomen Sukuna is unapologetically evil, and somehow that is exactly why fans love watching him. He has zero interest in redemption or being understood, which is almost refreshing compared to other villains.
His sharp wit, absolute confidence, and twisted sense of humor make every scene he appears in electric. Fans respect Sukuna the way you respect a force of nature.
He is not trying to win anyone over, but his sheer presence and strategic brilliance do the work anyway.
13. Dio Brando (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
“WRYYYYY!” Few anime villains have a battle cry as instantly recognizable as Dio Brando’s. He started as a scheming orphan stealing a wealthy family’s life and grew into an immortal vampire tyrant with world domination plans.
Dio is respected not because he reformed, but because his commitment to being absolutely villainous is almost admirable. His charisma jumps off the screen, and his impact on the JoJo universe is so massive that fans genuinely celebrate everything about him.
14. Team Rocket – Jessie, James, and Meowth (Pokemon)
Blasting off again became a catchphrase for a reason. Jessie, James, and Meowth failed to catch Pikachu for hundreds of episodes, and somehow that never stopped being entertaining to watch.
Their loyalty to each other beneath all the bumbling schemes is genuinely sweet. Fans grew up watching these three and could not help rooting for them a little.
Their occasional moments of real kindness and their unshakeable bond made Team Rocket far more lovable than any proper villain has any right to be.
15. Zabuza Momochi (Naruto)
Zabuza was called the Demon of the Hidden Mist, and early Naruto made sure viewers believed that reputation completely. He was ruthless, calculating, and treated his young companion Haku as nothing more than a tool.
Then Haku died protecting him, and something cracked open. Zabuza cried.
A demon cried. That moment hit viewers like a truck and reminded everyone that even the coldest people can carry hidden grief.
He crawled to his enemy’s side and died with quiet dignity.
16. Lordgenome (Gurren Lagann)
Lordgenome crushed humanity’s dreams for a thousand years, forcing people underground and destroying any who dared reach for the surface. He looked like the ultimate oppressive tyrant with no redeeming qualities.
His true reason for doing all of it was to protect humanity from something far worse. When the real threat arrived, Lordgenome used the last of his existence to help save the very people he had suppressed.
That kind of sacrifice reframes an entire legacy in the best possible way.
17. Stain the Hero Killer (My Hero Academia)
Stain killed heroes for sport, which puts him firmly in villain territory no matter how you look at it. He was terrifying in combat and completely committed to his cause, making him a genuine threat.
What complicated things was his twisted but consistent code of justice. He actually saved a child he had been hunting when the moment called for it.
Fans recognized that his hatred was aimed at fake heroes, not heroism itself. That distinction made him one of My Hero Academia’s most thought-provoking characters.