Sandbox / Magnificent Bastard Anime And Manga A To G

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# - C

• Afro Samurai works:
  • Anime:
    • Justice is the former Number 2 headband-bearer and a man who wishes to use the Number 1 headband to change the world that he will rule as God himself. Challenging Afro's father years ago, Justice concealed his third arm so he might outwit and behead Afro's father, telling the traumatized boy to challenge him one day when he is ready. Converting the world as its new messiah in his philosophy of using "absolute power to bring absolute peace", Justice acts through proxies against Afro before attempting to trap him as well, declaring the nobility of his purpose before Afro cuts him down. Even in the end, this is not enough to stop Justice permanently, who appears with a mysterious new scheme at the end of Resurrection.
    • Resurrection: Lady Sio is the younger sister of Jinnosuke who concocts a plan to get revenge on Afro. Enraged by the maiming of her beloved brother and the mass deaths caused by Afro, Sio steals the Number 1 headband and arranges for Afro's father to be resurrected as a battle android, intending to make Afro suffer before being killed. Manipulating the whole cast and even the betrayal of her subordinates to her advantage, Sio succeeds in temporarily having her android kill Afro, her plan ultimately only failing when Jinnosuke regains his humanity and tries to fight to save Afro.
  • Manga: Ninja Ninja is the "Collective Will of the Universe" guiding Afro to take up the mantle of saviour of the world. Overseeing Afro's journey, Ninja Ninja ruthlessly tests his mettle against thousands of opponents before leading him to the lair of his hated foe Justice. Forcing Afro to confront the reality of Justice having died long before he could take his revenge for his father, Ninja Ninja uses his loss of purpose to force him to take up Justice's mantle bringing the planet peace and prosperity.
• Ajin: "Satō", real name Samuel T. Owen, is a remorseless yet boldly audacious Ajin terrorist. Once having been caught and killed after massacring hundreds of criminals despite having lost a leg as a soldier, Satō reawakened as an Ajin. Recruiting fellow Ajin to his revolution, Satō intends to throw Japan into anarchy to alleviate his boredom and makes a series of threats promising to ultimately take control of the government. Assassinating targets including a well-defended security company executive by cutting off his own hand to discreetly mail it to the location of his target and killing himself to regenerate from the severed hand, Satō easily poses himself to force officials to meet his demands. Deciding to challenge himself more, Satō uses trickery to capture Japan's most well-armed military base and uses his immortality to commit Suicide Attacks and revive from them to utterly dismantle the Japanese government. Outplaying protagonist Kei Nagai at every turn, Satō nearly escapes Japan to set out anew for another challenging battle overseas, only stopped by Kei relying on sheer luck to defeat him and takes his loss with grace and respect for his foe.
• Akame ga Kill! franchise:
  • Original manga: Najenda is the brilliant leader of the Night Raid assassination squad and former General of The Empire, who charmed her forces into leaving alongside her when she defected out of disgust at their corruption. Coldly demanding payment for assassination services from the land's desperate peasants, Najenda proves instrumental in guiding her team and gathering resources for the planned rebellion. Convincing many members of the nobility into joining her cause, Najenda acts as a decoy in a plan of her own design and succeeds in crushing the Empire's armies and overthrowing the vile regime.
  • Hinowa ga Crush!: Yomihime is a mysterious woman who joins the Tenrou Nation in order to train her skills by fighting strong enemies. Introduced in a mission to recover the decapitated head of a fallen general, Yomihime defeats the original Hinowa and kills her while acknowledging her skills in both combat and leadership. Years later, Yomihime confronts Hinowa's daughter and fights Akame, surprised at her strength and is forced to retreat. Ordered to work with the murderous sadist Kyoukotsu, Yomihime ignores his more revolting crimes and manages to genuinely befriend him after discovering his military talents and crafting a dangerous strategy that costs the lives of many soldiers from the Soukai Nation. When the Elder's Class kill Kyokutsu and stop the attack, Yomihime mourns him and keeps his last gift despite her dislike of it. Returning to Tenrou to rethink their invasion plans, it is shown that Yomihime is respected by her fellow Ten Stars generals, having fully earned her title.
• Akudama Drive: In this Crapsack World filled with violent criminals, these three manage to survive through their brilliance and charm.
  • Swindler starts off as "Ordinary Person" who becomes ruthless and cunning upon joining a team of Akudama. Swindler helps them rescue the immortal children, Brother and Sister, from Shinkansen and escort them to Kansai, before escaping with Sister after Doctor sells them out to the Executioners. Swindler then changes her appearance and incites chaos within Kansai by spouting claims of leading an Akudama army to it easier for her and Sister to escape, unconcerned if her manipulations lead to wide scale panic, death and destruction. Swindler would resort to murder those who would harm her and Sister, including group of criminals and Cutthroat whom she lures to a trap and convinces Hoodlum to turn against Doctor resulting in their deaths. Arriving in Kanto, Swindler convinces Hacker to rescue the children before goading the Executions into killing her, using the program Hacker gave her to edit the footage of her death resulting in the people of Kansai revolting against their society and allowing Courier to escape with the children.
  • Courier is a serious and highly efficient Akudama who delivers goods to whoever should enlist him. Priding himself on never letting a client down, he is enlisted to rescue Cutthroat from his execution, and then to steal cargo from the revered Shinkansen. Armed with his tricked-out motorcycle, his gun and his pragmatic wits, he helps the group achieve their objective. When Doctor turns traitor, Courier fulfils Brother's last request for him to deliver his lucky charm to Sister, saving Swindler in the process and tagging along with her as a getaway driver after being swayed by her resolve. At the very end, Courier uses the chaos created by Swindler and Hacker, destroying the Kansai Radio Tower to escort Brother and Sister to their destination and fighting through an army of Executioners in the process. When he realises he doesn't have much time left, he drops them off close to their destination and fights off the remaining pursuing drones, taking the last one out right before it can reach the siblings. Declaring this "Perfect", he succumbs to his wounds, accepting his death with a smile.
  • Hacker is a brilliant, thrill-seeking Akudama wanted for hacking into countless government and private banks in Kansai. Hired to rescue the mass murderer, Cutthroat, from death row, he, alongside several others are tasked with stealing cargo from the highly secured Shinkansen, with Hacker using his skills to fend off any opposition and get them to their destination. Once there, Hacker parts with the group to leave for Kanto, having already figured out how to remove the bomb collar that kept him under control. Arriving in Kanto and learning of its true nature, Hacker uses his genius to retain free will where he then frees Swindler and Courier from its hold before helping them rescue Brother and Sister. Dying in the process Hacker accepts his death, content to have found his most fun challenge, and gives Swindler a program that would be used to broadcast Swindler's death to the public resulting in mass riots and an eventual blackout, while allowing Courier to escape with the children.
• Alice in Borderland: Ginji Kyuma, revealed to be one of the citizens of Borderland, ran a dangerous treasure game called "King of Clubs". A charismatic and jovial musician who, despite his troubled life, retains a positive outlook towards life in general, Ginji accepts his fate as one of the citizens of Borderland after playing several dangerous games. When Arisu and his companions tries to challenge him in the treasure hunt, Ginji and his companions outwit Arisu's team several times despite their advantages over Ginji's team at first, which leaves Arisu and his companions in complete disarray. Despite being outwitted by Arisu at the end of the game, Ginji accepts his defeat and praises Arisu's performance during the game, proving himself to be one of the most compelling enemies Arisu had ever faced.
• Angel Beats!: Yuri "Yurippe" Nakamura is the leader of the SSS Afterlife Battlefront, a group of dead students rebelling against God, whom Yurippe blames for the unfairness of her life. Fighting opposition from Kanade Tachibana, Yurippe fully acknowledges how inept her subordinates are and thinks up plans around this, being able to fight Kanade to a standstill while ensuring important followers and resources aren't claimed by Kanade, lead a stealth mission to hack Kanade's computer and uncover crucial information from it, and sabotage Kanade's performance on an exam so that she loses her status. Ever Crazy-Prepared, Yurippe also knows how to make good use of her lackeys through intimidating them with twisted penalties for failure, keeping them in the dark about things she knows until an ideal time, and using their own idiocy as convenient distractions in operations. When threats emerge and endanger Battlefront, Yurippe uses her quick wit, decisiveness and skill with weapons to counter them, even breaking a shadow's illusion over her with a heartfelt speech. As perceptive and caring as she is strong-willed and ruthless, Yurippe earns and keeps the loyalty of her troops through raw charisma and being a fair and inspirational leader in spite of her frequent cruelties towards them.
• Armed Girl's Machiavellism: Satori/Misogi Tamaba of the Five Swords is one of the most ruthless and cunning opponents Nomura has to face. A girl who doesn't believe she's human, Satori had no qualms using any means to achieve victory, framing Nomura as a sexual deviant by drugging him and setting up an edited nude photo to have his friends turn on him. Anticipating he'll be looking for the original to prove his innocence, Satori ambushed him and Warabi with her sister, engaging Nomura herself. In battle, she dominates most of the fight with her bold strategy of doing a Full-Frontal Assault in the slippery baths which complimented her Confusion Fu techniques, and even after being defeated, she still manage to put Nomura in a no-win situation which would've worked had she not decided to let him go after being touch by his resolve. One of Nomura's greatest opponents and later one of his most valuable allies, Satori manage to show herself as a tricky fighter that should not be underestimated.
• Ashita no Nadja: Rosemary Applefield, believing Nadja was stealing the princess life Rosemary had always dreamed of away from her and casting her aside, becomes a willing participant in Hermann Preminger's schemes and proves herself a deceptive, manipulative, and ruthless schemer in her own right at only age 13. Pretending to be the long lost Nadja Preminger to the Duke and to Nadja's mother, Rosemary charms everyone with her elegance, courtesy, and seeming innocence, which proves useful when implicating the real Nadja, the Black Rose, and even the Applefield orphanage in alleged crimes against her. When Nadja confronts her, Rosemary feigns being an Unwitting Pawn before shredding Nadja's most cherished dress right before her eyes. In a later meeting Rosemary emotionally agitates Nadja into nearly assaulting her, which gets the police to go after Nadja. Nadja returns to prove her identity, but Rosemary counters her claims with quick thinking and skillful manipulation of others in the room. After getting what she'd wanted but finding Victory Is Boring, Rosemary is quick to denounce her alliance with Hermann, who himself has come to fear her, and when proven to be a fraud, she shows herself to be a Graceful Loser and imparts advice to Nadja before leaving the manor of her own accord, receiving no punishment for her actions and even earning Nadja's respect.
• Assassination Classroom:
  • The elusive Reaper raised himself from an impoverished child to the most feared and brilliant assassin in the world. Raising the son of one victim as his apprentice, the Reaper expanded his business until his apprentice betrayed him to the vile scientist Kotaro Yanagisawa. Falling in love with the abusive Yanagisawa's fiancée, the Reaper eventually breaks free of captivity by slaughtering Yanagisawa's guards when his lover is fatally wounded. Knowing the experiments will cause him to self-destruct along with the earth within a year, the Reaper becomes caring a teacher of troubled youth, "Koro-sensei", grooming their self-confidence while imparting the skills to kill him and save the world.
  • Gakuhou Asano was once a caring teacher who sought vengeance on the bullies who drove one of his students to suicide by getting them addicted to gambling, ruining their lives in the process. Becoming the chairman of Kunugigaoka Junior High School, Gakuhou established a system that ensured the top 95 percent of the students would be successful, by demeaning the lowest 5 percent, Class-E. He would make sure that the top 95 percent would constantly triumph Class-E over in academics and sports, by subjugating them to his brutal teaching methods. Willing to prove that his system is flawless, Gakuhou challenges Koro-Sensei to opening one of five handouts, four stuffed with grenades lethal to Koro-Sensei and one a regular grenade. When Koro-Sensei avoids the barrage of the four lethal to him, Gakuhou uses the regular grenade in an attempt to take Koro-Sensei with him. Having a change of heart after Koro-Sensei saves him, Gakuhou accepts his loss with grace before resigning as chairman.
• Ayashimon: Urara is the daughter of the great Yōkai Enma Syndicate ruler Kioh. After her father's passing, Urara determines to take over the demon underworld, testing and recruiting the moronic but strong hero Maruo Kaido and building up her power base for this purpose. Expanding her Yakuza family by telepathically instructing Maruo as her champion in duels, Urara sets herself up to have Maruo defeat the current Enma head so she may cement her rule.
• Babylon (2015): Kaika Itsuki, a young and charming mayoral candidate, is a key mastermind behind the Shiniki Initiative, seeking to pass the suicide law. Itsuki hired Ai Magase to eliminate his enemies and build support for his cause by forcing people to commit suicide, while also avoiding law enforcement by working through Magase. Invited to a televised debate by Zen Seizake, Itsuki effortlessly counters every argument against his law and answers every question presented to him, convincing multiple governments worldwide to pass his law with his charm and reasoning. Itsuki does this because he wants to commit suicide so he can give his dying son Taiyo his heart.
• Bakugan franchise:
  • Original anime: Masquerade is one of Naga's enforcers and the chief rival of Dan Kuso with a desire to prove himself as the best Bakugan brawler. Battling his way to the number one spot, Masquerade uses his skills and wits to his full advantage, making use of his manipulations and Doom Cards to banish his opponents' defeated Bakugan to the Doom Dimension. As the Bakugan Battle Brawlers oppose him, he consistently remains one step ahead of them and recruits several top-ranked brawlers to keep them occupied, later casting them and even his own Bakugan aside after they serve his purposes. Evolving his Hydranoid to make it the most powerful Bakugan in the world, he faces Dan in a climactic final showdown which he narrowly loses. Taking his loss in stride], he learns to move past his obsession with victory and reveals himself to be the Split Personality of Alice Gehabich. Defecting from Naga's servitude, Masquerade uses his guile to aid Dan in fighting his former master's hybrid Bakugan, expressing contentment that his final battle was alongside Dan before fading from Alice's mind, leaving her with words of encouragement and his Hydranoid.
  • Battle Planet: Haavik is a shapeshifting alien who sets his sights on Earth. Witnessing the Awesome Brawlers defeat his thralls, he takes an interest in them and first meets them personally, forcing them to take part in his "games" before being defeated by Dan in a brawl. Later hijacking the Bakugan Battle League, Haavik places the losers in stasis while he steals their Bakugan in a bid to control them in order to destroy Tokyo. Using the data he collected in the League, Haavik creates Sabrus, a Fusion Bakugan he uses to cause large amounts of property damage before setting his sights on Tiko, who he intends to use to increase Sabrus's power. Even though he finds Tiko having undergone a Heel–Face Turn and unwilling to give up without a fight, Haavik is undeterred and instead forcibly fuses a weakened Pyravian to his creation. Although he loses to the Awesome Brawlers, Haavik graciously accepts his loss and simply moves on to invade another planet.
• Banana Fish: Former KGB Lieutenant Blanca becomes The Mentor to the protagonist Ash Lynx, making him into a merciless fighter. Hired by Dino Golzine, Blanca attacks and easily subdues Ash for Dino. When Ash manages to escape from Golzine's clutches, it is Blanca who hunts him down for them, using his knowledge of the New York City sewer system. Realizing the depths of the depravity of Yut-Lung, his current employer, Blanca betrays him and allies with Ash out of a show of his own beliefs of honor and human compassion, proving his status as Ash's most Worthy Opponent in the series.
• Beastars' "Meteor Festival" Arc & "Murder Solution" Arc: Ibuki joined the Shishigumi at the age of 18 after taking care of himself in the back-alley market for six years. Much more restrained than his chief, Ibuki treats the lions as a family and ensures their loyalty to the gang. When Louis kills the chief, Ibuki suggests making him the new boss to improve the gang reputation and acts like a father figure to the young deer while subtly consolidating the latter's power. When Louis resolves to leave the Shishigumi, which would result in his death, Ibuki has himself shot by another lion so that Louis can escape. As charming as he is ruthless, Ibuki proves essential in leading both Louis and his own gang towards a path of redemption.
• The Big O: Michael Seebach was once a reporter seeking the truth behind Paradigm City's mass amnesia and survived an Assassination Attempt and became the vigilante "Schwarzwald". Burning a group of the city's classist elites to death, Schwarzwald exposes Paradigm's corruption to hero Roger Smith, before engaging Roger in their giant robot Megadeuses. Even after death, Schwarzwald's spirit continues his work, passing along the amnesia's true reason to Roger and repossessing his own Megadeus to have it devour the vile Alan Gabriel.
• Big Order:
  • Gennai Hoshimiya, father of Eiji and Sena, performs terrible experiments to connect with the Spirit World and create a happier world. Desperate to save his ill daughter, Gennai betrays his organization and allows his children to ask for a wish, with them accidentally causing the Great Destruction and killing billions throughout the world. Years later, Gennai uses the U.N. as a cover for his real plan, sacrificing Sena to try to fulfill his Utopian goal with the possibility of causing a Second Great Destruction, betting the fate of the world. Kidnapping Sena, Gennai fools the media by presenting himself as a loving father before revealing to her the truth, using her guilt to make her accept her sacrifice and pitting her against Eiji. Managing to open the door to the Spirit World and risking the entire world, Gennai is fatally wounded in a confrontation with the Group of Ten. Admitting his own hypocrisies, Gennai apologizes to Eiji, saying that his only real goal was to atone for his actions and see a world where all wishes are fulfilled.
  • Sena Hoshimiya, now aware of her role in the Great Destruction, starts a series of actions to ensure being killed to save her beloved brother from a life as a pariah and destroy all of the remains of her father's legacy. Reuniting multiple Order users and earning their loyalty for multiple reasons, Sena broadcasts her apparent plan to cause a new Great Destruction to the public, using their fear for her plans. Prevailing against the attempts of the Group of Ten to stop her, Senna eventually opens a gate to the Spirit World, taking control of an Eldritch Abomination known as "God" and unleashing it on the world, threatening to absorb all of it. A girl considerably smarter than she looks, Sena tries to manipulate her brother into hating her until she forces him to shoot her. Telling him the truth, Sena's last action is to join forces with her brother and use their Orders to control the damage she has caused.
• Billy Bat: Billy Bat himself is a ancient alien entity that crashed on Earth on the past and got divided into three beings, one of them sealed on the moon. Making contact with humanity since prehistory, the Bats manipulate humans into their plans by using chosen artists and representations of himself. Initially granting wishes to humans and causing the destruction of worlds doing so, Billy wants to stop humanity from asking for another wish, knowing that such an act would be the last. Manifesting himself to comic book artist Kevin Yamagata and other humans, Billy uses their desires to fulfill his goal to protect Kevin Goodman, while also showing that the humans that he used got what they really desired. When the original Billy is persecuted by Chuck Culkin Enterprises in their attempt to replace him for a false version, the real Billy protects his chosen artists, managing to buy time for the world in the process. Failing to prevent 9/11 and the inevitable downfall of civilization, Billy finally merges back into a complete being and says goodbye to Kevin Goodman—having shared a life together—and tells him to "keep drawing".
• Black Butler (2008 anime):
  • This incarnation of Earl Ciel Phantomhive remains the steadfast young head of his house and the infamous Queen's Watchdog. Unfolding a plot that begins with drugs being placed in his company's toys, Ciel ends up infiltrating a zealous cult, brutally punishing criminals all along the way. Discovering a mad angel using the chaos to bring about the end and "purification" of London, Ciel has his demonic butler Sebastian kill it, calmly offering Sebastian his soul with their contract fulfilled. When the second season reveals Sebastian was unable to consume his soul he and Ciel join forces to dismantle the plots of the broken yet cruel Lord Alois Trancy and his own traitorous demonic butler Claude Faustas, outplaying their enemies once again before charging off after their next challenge.
  • The demon going by "Sebastian Michaelis" remains Ciel's near-perfect servant. Battling through the forces of the first season's evil angel and seducing or otherwise overcoming its legions of followers, Sebastian maintains his trademark snark even under the angel's sadistic torture. Unleashing his true demonic form, Sebastian horrifies and devours the angel, saving all of London in the process. After failing to consume Ciel's soul the two work together once more, with Sebastian tricking and outplaying Alois's servants and faces down and bests the wicked demon Claude, earning his spot back as the demon to own Ciel's soul once more.
  • This story's Lau is still Ciel's scheming ally. Though occasionally coming to blows, Lau helps the young noble in his quest for justice and provides key insights into stopping the Angel's plan. In the second season Lau remains untouchable for the villains, mocking their attempts to use a melody to zombify him with ear plugs and keeping his ever jovial tone in spite of being a brutal drug dealer and crime lord.
  • Black Butler II (Season 2): Hannah Annafellows was a brutal demon until she made a contract with the child Luka Macken after slaughtering his village. Promising to make him happy, Hannah helps turn Luka's brother Jim into the noble "Alois Trancy" after Luka's death and stays by Alois' side even through his horrific abuses. Manipulating the entire cast and slowly revealing her true powers, Hannah tricks Claude into fighting Sebastian after killing Alois, getting Claude himself killed for Hannah to die with him and the two demons to reunite with the brothers in the afterlife as a family.
• Black Clover:
  • Rhya the Disloyal is the most powerful of the Third Eye, the elite force of the Eye of the Midnight Sun. One of the victims of the genocide of the elves from centuries ago, Rhya was summoned back by the elf Patry pretending to be their former leader Licht. The most affable and charming of the group, Rhya is also their chief infiltrator, utilizing his Imitation Magic to impersonate William Vangeance in the Clover Kingdom while Patry is borrowing Vangeance's body. Helping to manipulate the human members of the group to their eventual sacrifice and the revival of the elves, Rhya shows his strategic skill in fighting by ensuring he copies powerful Grimoires to use at opportune moments. After the reveal of the demon Zagred, Rhya is among the first to leap to the side of the humans in an effort to save the world.
  • Zenon Zogratis, youngest of the Dark Triad of the Spade Kingdom, was an idealist who made a pact with his best friend Allen to protect their nation. When facing a devil, Zenon took the chance to kill Allen to destroy their enemy and protect a nearby village. Heartbroken, Zenon abandoned emotions to become a devil host like his siblings and embraced a cold, ruthless demeanor. Helping to overthrow the Grinberryall family, Zenon personally defeats the Diamond Kingdom and the Golden Dawn Magic Knights, capturing William Vangeance and using the defeat of his elder brother Dante to ambush and kidnap Yami Sukehiro of the Black Bulls. Zenon intends to unleash the demons of the Tree of Qliphoth, killing his nation's people to revive them in undying bodies so none will ever need to perish again. Facing Yuno, Zenon takes his own defeat with pure dignity, pausing only to remember his old bond with Allen as he dies.
  • Nacht Faust, vice-captain of the Black Bulls, is an intelligent and ruthless Magic Knight who loathes the laidback and carefree Yami. Working as a spy in the Spade Kingdom for years because of his proficiency in using demonic magic, Nacht then returns to mentor Asta when Yami is kidnapped by the Dark Triad. Subtly pushing Asta to become stronger and confront his hidden devil Liebe, Nacht also secretly plans to kill Asta should Liebe take him over. Delighted by Asta actually befriending Liebe, Nacht then provides for the invasion of Spade Kingdom with intelligent scheming to help ensure the complete downfall of the Dark Triad and their schemes.
• Black Lagoon: In this dark criminal underworld, a few manage to thrive and even direct the chaos:
  • Rokuro "Rock" Okajima himself has grown steadily darker as the series goes on. Proving his tactical acumen in the first few episodes by coming up with a genius plan to wipe out a pursuing anti-tank aircraft, Rock later shows his skilled manipulative side by becoming a flawless negotiator to the point that all the most powerful players in Roanpur genuinely like and respect him. During Roberta's rampage, it is Rock who manipulates Roberta and her master Garcia into a deadly confrontation to end the bloodshed, nearly getting both killed, but ending in Roberta recovering her sanity and leaving in peace. Rock continues to demonstrate his ability to use and manipulate others, even if for ostensibly desirable ends, as possibly the single most dangerous and skilled player of the criminal game in the darkness that is Roanpur.
  • Balalaika, born Sofiya Pavlovna, was cast out of military service to the Soviets for saving a child in a refugee camp. Now the head of Hotel Moscow in Roanpur with her old unit, Balalaika loves war above all else and maintains control of her section of the city with an iron fist. When she heads to Japan on business, Balalaika casually manipulates a gang war simply to enjoy the excitement with no side ever coming close to even touching her. Earlier, when two of her beloved soldiers are killed by the assassin twins, Hansel and Gretel, Balalaika lures Hansel out to his death and delivers an utterly chilling breaking speech as Hansel bleeds to death. Frequently displaying a tactical brilliance, Balalaika shows again and again why she is one of the single most powerful and dangerous people in the world.
  • Eda, supposedly a flirty criminal nun from the so-called Church of Violence smuggling operation, is actually a skilled major player in her own right. A CIA agent who also completely dominates the Triad boss Mr. Chang, Eda is in effect the true secret ruler of Roanpur. On the field, Eda also freely manipulates the hapless Janet Bhai into a safehouse that will be invaded, with enough instructions to escape so Eda can extort her for protection, and later shows that she casually plays all sides in Roanpur while setting up an end to the insane battle maid Roberta's rampage.
• Blade of the Immortal:
  • Anotsu Kagehisa desires a world where "the sword excuses all". Creating the Itto-Ryu, Anotsu begins to hunt down dojos to eliminate them in order to abolish the stifling sword styles from the world in favor of a world of pure determination. Cleverly eluding his pursuers via having prostitutes disguise themselves as him and lead his hunters into ambushes, Anotsu's utter tenacity sees him through other attempts on his life and rallying the itto-Ryu against the shogunate, culminating in a dynamic assault on Edo castle itself. Even to the end, Anotsu remains a complex figure, stopping at nothing to achieve his dreams despite all the wrongs he has committed on his path.
  • Habaki Kagimura, secret master of the Mugai-Ryu and the shinbangashira—a major figure in the Shogunate—forms the Mugai-Ryu to secretly destroy the Itto-Ryu before luring the organization's strongest members into a trap and destroying them. Capturing series protagonist, the immortal man Manji, Habaki subjects him to experiments to perfect immortality for the sake of the Shogun. When ordered to commit seppuku, Habaki uses his time to try to destroy the Itto-Ryu, dealing a series of decisive blows before engaging Anotsu himself with surprising good humor and mutual respect, with his only regrets at the end being the loss of the two loves of his life and his dead children.
• Blast of Tempest: As the "Mage of Exodus", Aika Fuwa's duty was to stop the Tree of Genesis from massacring modern civilization and restarting the world, and would sacrifice anything necessary to accomplish it for a bright future for Yoshino and Mahiro. With her ability to foresee future events, Aika imparted cryptic advise to Mahiro and Yoshino ensuring they'd survive the incoming disasters she couldn't stop. Later learning about her death from Hakaze, Aika realized her death was a suicide she planned since it was mandatory to set in motions the events needed to save the world. Resolving herself to her fate, she fought off Hakaze who was trying to prevent it and then killed herself and her parents, leaving behind final messages to her loved ones to explain the truth and hoping they can move forward despite being distraught from her actions.
• Blaster Knuckle: Alex MacGregor is The Rival of protagonist Victor "Bloody Rain" Freeman. Raised in the beast-slaying organization Silven Kreuz, Alex befriends Victor during his time in the organization. Becoming a feared and cunning Bounty Hunter while remaining part of Silven Kreuz, Alex enjoys hunting both beasts and human criminals. Joining a police hunt of Victor while knowing that he isn't a murderer, Alex befriends a young Bounty Hunter and tries to convince him to return to his old life and has a duel against Victor that ends in a harsh tie with both injured. Later, Alex manages to survive unscratched by the traps of the beasts in the town of White Rock Valley and kill his attackers. Enraged at the death of his friend, Alex joins forces with Victor to kill as many beasts as they can. Killing the beast leader personally by using his own power against him, Alex reminds the good times and allows Victor to go away, warning him about other members of Silven Kreuz and showing why he's both Victor's enemy and friend.
• Blaz Blue Remix Heart: Military Academy instructor Cypher Albar masterminded all the conflict in the story to discover the Burning Red Grimoire once and for all to prove himself. Once aspiring to become a famous and respected hero, Cypher planned to use Burning Red under the belief it should cure humanity of its reliance on Ars Magus. With an amicable and collected demeanor charming student and staff alike, Cypher kept tabs on his targets through surveillance in his lab, using developments to inform his subsequent actions. Taking an interest Mai Natsume's Grimoire-made existence, Cypher engineered a scenario by which he gained her trust while planting a device on her as a contingency. Later secretly triggering the device to endanger Mai, he manipulated Noel, her friends, and fellow teacher Estella into bringing him students with the greatest Ars Magus aptitude under the guise of "saving" Mai when, in reality, this allowed him siphon their power and complete the transformation of Mai's Grimoire into the Remix Heart. Although once called mad and unworthy by his past peers, Cypher Albar earned the sympathy of Mai herself while exhibiting the hallmarks of an intelligent scientist and alchemist.
• Blood Blockade Battlefront: Femt, the "King of Depravity", is a Beyondian with a taste for both destruction and fair-play and the surprisingly laidback and friendly Big Bad of the series. A brilliant scientist, Femt regularly threatens the city of Hellsalem's Lot with his demonic creations, while always leaving humanity a fighting chance: at one point summoning a demon while giving the chance for a riddle-like choice to allow for its defeat. In another outing, Femt deploys a demon able to multiply and consume all in its path but purposefully gives them a short lifespan to keep them from being unbeatable. Quick to recover from his faux-tantrums when bested and fond of his fellow Kings, Femt proves himself a hilarious, hammy and even graceful villain.
• Blood+: Nathan Mahler is one of Diva's Chevaliers and far more than the silly, foppish man he appears to be. Implied to have been the Chevalier of Saya and Diva's mother, Nathan steadily plays both sides between Diva's forces and Red Shield against one another, protecting Diva during her pregnancy while making sure she faces Saya and that her children will survive. Arranging his own seeming death at Saya's hands, only to slip away completely unharmed, Nathan secures the deaths of any who might harm Diva's children while entrusting them to Saya, his strings so subtle that most are completely unaware they even exist.
• Blood Reign: Curse of the Yoma: Marou, upon becoming the demonic "Kikuga no Miko", tries to save his loved ones from his cursed rampage and takes control of the Yoma to lead them on a conquest of the world. Manipulating the backstabbing Takeda ninja to their deaths, when Marou confronts his best friend Hikage, he tries to corrupt him though respects his convictions when rebuked and even as he dies, Marou gracefully accepts his rebirth as a human free of the Yoma curse.
• Blue-Blood Gears, by Koei Hanao: Kujou is a mysterious engineer who takes the position left by Prince Kodo, creating powerful machines to be used in the genocidal war against the Red Blood People and rising in power and prestige despite his peasant origins. In truth, Kujou is actually a Purple Blood who suffered violent discrimination from both sides until he was adopted by the exiled engineer Instein, Prince Kodo's biological father. Enjoying life as Instein's pupil, Kujou's innocence is shattered when Instein is murdered while trying to protect him from a mob. Concluding that humanity is doomed to constant war and hatred, Kujou decides that the only way to stop hatred is the extinction of humanity. Disguising himself for years, Kujou drops his cover when both sides are negotiating, and infects the King of the Blue Blood with a Mystical Plague and starts spreading it across the world. When Kujou is defeated by Kodo, Kujou reveals that he put his main station on space, forcing Kodo's animal partner to sacrifice himself to save the world. In the epilogue, Kujou shows regret for his atrocities in his jail cell, realizing that Kodo was Instein's real heir.
• Blue Reflection Ray: Shino Mizusaki believes that feelings cause people nothing but suffering and aims to rid the world of them. To accomplish this she creates a team of red Reflectors to steal the emotions needed to open the Common while she herself stays out of the spotlight until needed. She manipulates the feelings of the Hirahara sisters so that one of them works for her while the other accumulates the despair Shino needs. She confidently stays one step ahead of both her allies, so that she can use their feelings as much as possible before she discards them, as well as her enemies, who play into her hands more often than not. Once she accumulates the power and despair she needs, she tosses away her own feelings and reshapes the world into one with no emotions. When the Reflectors come to stop her, she bombards them with their traumas until they reach her heart and convince her to stop.
• BNA: Brand New Animal: Marie Itami is a mink beastman known hustler in the underworld of Anima City who will help anyone for the right price. Saving Michiru Kagemori from a group of bigoted humans with her henchmen, Marie demands all of Michiru's money in return, taking her to Anima City and sending one of her lackeys to pickpocket her when Michiru tries to keep some of her cash. Committing casual scams on whims, Marie later infiltrates the Silver Wolf Order building and eavesdrops on Nazuna Hiwatashi telling Michiru she will reveal herself a human at her concert to remove stigma towards the Nirvasyl Syndrome cure, and after passing the information to Shirou Ogami and Guiliano Flip, she is send to ferry as many people from the concert as she possibly can. When Nazuna's admission triggers the dangerous Syndrome in the beastmen, Marie saves Nazuna's life and aids the heroes by hacking a media truck to broadcast Shirou's howl and sooth the raging beastmen.
• Brain Powerd:
  • Winston Gaybridge is initially presented as a Reasonable Authority Figure before revealing himself as the Governor of the Reclaimers. Intending to control Orphan and awaken it, potentially causing The End of the World as We Know It in an attempt to make humans value nature, Gaybridge dislikes his own actions yet is willing to accept the guilt for causing the destruction of mankind. After the United States of America invades Orphan, Gaybridge shows his distaste towards American imperialism yet uses the Americans for his own purposes. Painting the crew of the Novice Noah as terrorists, Gaybridge fires nuclear weapons against the ship—uncaring about the thousands of refugees caught in the crossfire and inside the Novice Noah itself, and when the Novice Noah teleports the nukes elsewhere, Gaybridge orders multiple nuclear strikes to frame the Novice Noah for it, turning them into enemies of the world. Polite to both allies and enemies, Gaybridge's defeat was a product of his lack of understanding of Orphan's unexpected human-like nature.
  • Baron Maximilian is a mysterious man who becomes Jonathan Glenn's Evil Mentor, giving him the Baronz, a special and powerful antibody that damages the mind of their pilot. Showing a clear fondness for Jonathan, the Baron ensures the best for him, joining the Reclaimers with the eventual intention of synchronizing Jonathan's mind with Orphan. Realizing a coup against Winston Gaybridge and taking control of the Reclaimers, the Baron supports Quincy Isamu after she synchronizes with Orphan,due to knowing that Jonathan supports her as well. Knowing about Jonathan's grudge against Yu Isamu, the Baron pilots the Baronz, intending to kill Yu for Jonathan's well being. Revealed as Anoha McCormick, formerly the captain of the Novice Noah and Jonathan's regretful negligent mother, Anoha is defeated, dying at the hands of her son. A mysterious, powerful and intimidating persona, Baron Maximillian is able to overcome the odds in order to bring happiness to her son,and while her apocalyptic plans failed due to the collective efforts of the Novice Noah, Anoha died fulfilling her true goal of reconciling with her son.
• Brynhildr in the Darkness: Chisato Ichijiku is the director of the experiments performed by a mysterious organization known as Vingulf and the man responsible for the events in the first half of the manga. Initially appears as an apathetic person in his teenage years, Chisato is heartbroken after his sister's death and tries his best to revive her, even joining Vingulf to do so, and participates in their unethical experiments. He even implants a parasite capable of annihilating the human race in one of Vingulf's subjects, "1107", in order to revive his sister. Despite his seemingly failed attempts at bringing subject 1107 to Vingulf's higher ups, he manages to do so after persuading a Valkyria class witch, Mako Fujisaki, to capture the escaped test subject and raids the hero's hideout along with her. Encountering the soul of his sister in the final moments of 1107 after she got ejected, Chisato finally regains his humanity and spends his last moments protecting Mako from harm.
• Carole & Tuesday: Tao is an elusive, multi-talented genius with a background in neuroscience who now seeks to create soul-touching music, and becomes Angela Carpenter's songwriter-producer. Putting her through tortuous training sessions, Tao nevertheless shows shrewd analytical assistance, winning her a singing contest by assessing a judge's mood and later catching her stalker by predicting his behavior. Arrested for prior illegal human experimentation, Tao bails himself out and exposes the corrupt CEO who incriminated him, later revealing to Angela they are both Artificial Humans, then encourages her to start singing again, before escaping.
• Case Closed:
  • "The Moonlight Sonata Murders": Seiji Asoh is the son of Keiji Asoh, the true identity of Doctor Narumi Asai and the culprit behind the murders on Tsukikage Island. Seeking to avenge the deaths of the Asoh family, Seiji begins murdering those responsible, playing a recording of the "Moonlight Sonata" as a funeral piece for each of them. Seiji drowns Hideo Kawashima so the Japanese Police will have to examine the body on the mainland, leaving him as the only doctor on the island. Seiji then kills Tatsuji Kuroiwa, using the recording of the Sonata and his medical knowledge to create an alibi for himself. Seiji then murders Ken Nishimoto, making his death look like a suicide and writing a note saying that he's the real murderer. When his crimes are discovered, Seiji calmly burns himself to death along with his father's beloved piano, spending his last moments thanking Conan for his kindness.
  • "Murder at the Ski Lodge": Akiko Yonehara is a cheerful former teacher of Ran and Sonoko who's out to deliver justice to two of her colleagues who murdered her student. Inviting all of her coworkers to a ski lodge, Akiko murders Sugiyama before everyone arrives, then fakes an attack on herself and Sonoko in order to give herself an alibi. She then strengthens her alibi by rigging Sugiyama's body to be found at a set time where everyone is in the same place. Not knowing the identity of the other murderer, Akiko invites a reporter connected to the student's death to the lodge and leaves subtle clues to her true intentions in order to cause Sugiyama's cohort, Kohei Shimoda to panic and reveal himself. Akiko then strangles Kohei with her wig to obfuscate his death and when exposed admits fully to her crimes and expresses regret that she had to hurt Sonoko to get what she wanted.
  • "Mysterious Clocks": Monjiro Izubuchi was a criminal known as "The Demon" and the leader of the gang of thieves known as "The Goblins". After several years of successful criminal activity, Monjiro decided to retire and distributed his stolen goods among the gang while keeping a valuable set of diamonds for himself. Years later, Monjiro decides to give a gift to his beloved granddaughter Misao. Gifting his house to Misao when he dies, i's revealed that he set up an intricate puzzle within the house, with the ultimate prize being a watch containing the diamonds as his gift to Misao.
  • "The Actor's Apartment and the Two Rooms": Kozaburo Hijikata is a famous actor who schemes to murder his cheating wife and frame Hajime Okita. Inviting Kogoro Mouri to his apartment under the pretense of teaching him how to act like a detective, Kozaburo rigs his wife's corpse to fall on an adjacent balcony so Ran and Conan will see it. In order to frame Hajime, Kozaburo makes his rooms on the fifth and sixth floors look identical so his guests think that they are on the fifth floor when they're really on the sixth. When everyone runs to get the police, Kozaburo lowers the body onto the balcony of Hajime's apartment a floor below so he will look like the killer. When accused by Conan and Kogoro, Kozaburo points out that the evidence used doesn't prove he's the killer, and Conan is only able to find the damning evidence by pure luck, with Kozaburo quietly accepting his arrest while complimenting Kogoro.
  • "Murder on the North Star Express and the Unpublished Novel": Toshinori Kaetsu is a former member of Yasuji Asama's gang who initially began working for Keitaro Izumo as part of a plan to rob his store. However after his girlfriend died from a drug overdose, Kaetsu began planning to kill Asama for getting her hooked on drugs, and Izumo for being a drug dealer. Lying to Asama by telling him that Izumo wanted his store robbed to get insurance, the robbery is botched when Izumo hits the alarm, causing people to believe that he caused the robbery to look like a hero. Kaetsu then tricks the two into getting on the same train and beats Asama to death, then shoots Izumo while disguised as Asama and rigging his body to fall out of the train, making it seem as if Asama killed Izumo, then died accidentally while trying to escape. When Yukiko Kudo claims to have evidence that would expose Kaetsu he plans to kill her, being only seconds away from succeeding when he's finally caught.
• Cat's Eye:
  • Hitomi Kisugi is the main thief of Cat's Eye pulling out their many heist with flare and flawless execution. Working with her sisters to trick her father by stealing all his art pieces to reach out to him, Hitomi, with her extraordinary athletism, espionage, and quick thinking is able to pull them off with clever methods to overcome the police and criminals they fight, all the while using her relationship with Toshio to her advantage, using his position in the police to gather intel unbeknownst to them while going out of her way to stop far worse criminals during her robberies, having a creed to protect innocence. Eventually surpassing Rui and becoming leader due to being better in adapting, Hitomi and her sisters are ultimately able to steal the last of her father's art pieces and find him, while nearly getting Toshio to join her by using a dual identity to try alluring him to her side.
  • Rui Kisugi, the eldest sister of Cat's Eye, is the groups's master strategist and seducer. Alluring as she is intelligent, Rui is a master of using her beauty to get key intel her team needs for their daring heist, planning the crime near flawlessly regardless of security and opposition, while setting up fallacy plans whenever someone is close to their identity. While as the parental figure to her sisters, Rui is able to care for their well-being, keeping the group together and maintaining their infamous reputation till the end where they manage to accomplish their goal of finding their missing father.
• Cells at Work!: Cancer Cell is a malfunctioning cell attempting to survive. After watching his friend get killed by Killer T Cells, Cancer Cell became wrathful, devoting his existence to destroying the body and pushing the white blood cells down to his level. Disguising himself as an ordinary cell, Cancer Cell uses one of his clones to stage an attack and gets saved by Neutrophil; Killer T Cell; and NK Cell. He then lures them to his lair to kill them with his clones. Returning to life when his genetic information is leaked, Cancer Cell manipulates Regulatory T Cell into believing him to be a functioning cell, using her to protect himself from attacks. He then invades the intestines and siphons off the toxic fumes of the harmful bacteria. Reasoning that a better world would ensure that cells of all kinds would be able to live together in harmony, Cancer Cell notes that even if it fails, he would be putting everyone out of their misery. Despite his omnicidal designs, Cancer Cell displays an unwavering respect for Neutrophil, taking both of his defeats with stride.
• Chainsaw Man:
  • Makima is the brilliant head of the Devil Hunters' fourth division, and secretly the devious Control Devil. Recruiting the young Denji to her side for his bond with the Chainsaw Devil and offering him all he pleases, Makima begins an elaborate plot to harness the Chainsaw Devil's power. Thwarting multiple attempts to assassinate Division 4 and capture Denji, Makima successfully builds Denji a new life only to viciously tear it down and psychologically break him to claim control of the Chainsaw Devil, defeating the incredibly powerful Gun Devil through cunning tactics and unleashing Chainsaw Man against Kishibe's rebellion, proving content to be eaten by Chainsaw Man due to the loveless life she's led. Cruel to achieve her vision and matching her lust for control with genuine intent to fix the world's ills, Makima manipulates everyone she can to achieve either complete control of the world with her power over Chainsaw Man, or the eternal death of the human fear of control at his hand. Only foiled due to the unorthodox ingenuity of Denji despite all her measures, Makima ultimately reincarnates into the innocent Nayuta as a second chance at life.
  • Kishibe is an incredibly intelligent Devil Hunter and the sole intellectual rival of Makima. Kishibe introduces himself having been tasked to train Denji and Power in unorthodox methods, proving his skill by repeatedly attacking and terrorizing Denji and Power, each much stronger than him, during their daily lives. Fighting off the allies of the assassin Quanxi, Kishibe deduces that Makima has nefarious plans for mankind, and plots against her, even trying to recruit outright assassins and enemies such as Quanxi. Organizing an "Anti-Makima" squad with a number of Devil Hunters and analyzing the powers that give her invulnerability, Kishibe recruits the Hell Devil to send Makima directly to hell and bypass them, even using sacrifice to empower its abilities. While it fails to defeat Makima due to her using exceptional means, Kishibe later helps Denji get back on his feet, eventually leading to Makima's defeat, and prevails in his goals.
• Claymore:
  • Rubel is the enigmatic, perpetually affable, and manipulative handler of the Claymores. Willing to dispense execution orders and missions without hesitation in the face of the Claymores while playing at being a member of the wicked Organization that created them, Rubel works for another in reality. Using subtle trickery and manipulation to gradually turn the Claymores against the Organization, Rubel methodically and unfetteredly takes their operations apart, willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to achieve his goals, alongside manipulating every side in the Continent to serve his ends. Upon realizing his goals, Rubel gracefully accepts the Claymores' demand that he return to his mysterious employers as a messenger and never return, and rides away.
  • Isley, the Silver King, was the first of the Creatures of the Abyss, the first Number 1 of the first and only male generation of Claymores. Upon meeting the powerful Priscilla and learning her power, Isley submits to her, intending on manipulating her to bring the world under his control. Bringing about a war in the North with his former comrades now as Awakened Beings, Isley splits his forces in half to sacrifice them against another Abyssal One and the Claymore Organization while he heads South to defeat the third Abyssal One and take her lands. Bonding with heroine Clare's former companion Raki, Isley truly grows to love him and Priscilla as family and even sends them away when the monstrous Abyssal Feeders come for him to save their lives. Even post-mortem, we learn Isley only ever Awakened to begin with voluntarily to stop his former comrades and instilled Raki with a plan to help stop Priscilla if she became a monster, a plan that Raki manages to pull off thanks to his teachings.
• Coppelion: In the radioactive wasteland of Tokyo and its surroundings, Ibara Naruse faced some truly brilliant adversaries:
  • Doctor Coppelius, initially named Matasaburo Itami, was called to create the Coppelion after the nuclear outbreak that destroyed Tokyo. Using the alias Doctor Coppelius, he created Haruto Kurosawa by cloning himself and tried to revive his deceased daughter by cloning her. Exiled by the Three Professors, Coppelius kept himself hidden and managed to contact with some flawed Coppelion in Tokyo, promising them to fix their flaws if they help him. Stealing Aether that allows him to survive in radioactive areas and improving it before escaping to Tokyo to reunite with his allies, Coppelius captures the Ultimate Coppelion and analyzes her DNA to bargain it. Eventually captured for his creations and put in a jail, he writes a formula to turn Coppelion into regular humans to save them from a genetic flaw before escaping. Finding a clone of his own daughter as a member of the Lost Retrieval Unit, Coppelius liberates them to kill the Professors. Rediscovering his faith in humanity, Coppelius tries to stop his own apocalyptic plan, and as he dies, Coppelius gives his last Aether to Haruto to save Ibara. An eccentric old man proud of his creations, Coppelius dies as he lived, with a silly smile.
  • Ougai Masamune is the Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs. Initially helping the Coppelion program, Ougai is actually a nationalist intending to turn Japan into a world power. Side-stepping the Copellion and the Tokyo survivors, Ougai manipulates the First Minister and the jingoistic members of the E9 council into intervening in a foreign war with the intention of making them use nuclear power again after showing the radiation-resistant Coppelion. Intending to sell them to ensure the Japanese supremacy in a nuclear powered world, Ougai threatens the survivors of Tokyo and sends the Three Professors to capture the Ultimate Coppelion desired by the entire world. After the world is threatened by a new nuclear meltdown, Ougai eventually acknowledges his own mistakes and tries to atone for them, helping the Coppelion to save the world and helping to create a new law for a more responsible use of nuclear power. Abandoning his self-interested partners, Ougai creates a new magisterium, puts his former enemy Mishiba in charge of it and helps a depowered Ibara to reunite with her friends for a while, showing that despite everything, Ougai truly loved his country and wished for a better future.
  • JSDF Commander Kunikawa is the leader of the First Division, soldiers abandoned by their own government—including his politician best friend who would become the Japanese First Minister—in the toxic ruins of Tokyo. Developing a hatred towards mankind, Kunikawa manages to survive for years, planning his revenge. Working with the violent Ozu sisters, Kunikawa tries to cause a new nuclear meltdown in the Daiba nuclear plant, endangering Japan and even the world. He kidnaps a Coppelion for his plans and despite being captured, he manages to escape anyway, fooling even Teen Genius Haruto Kurosawa. Intending to succeed, Kunikawa is only stopped due to the combined efforts of the survivors of the Planet base and the heroic Coppelion. Having an honest talk with Haruto, who was almost as misanthropic as he is, about the actions of Ibara Naruse, Kunikawa recovers his faith in mankind, giving his own life to save both the survivors and his remaining soldiers, while giving his cape—accidentally causing the future redemption of the First Minister at seeing it—to Haruto to show his faith towards him before dying, smiling at having recovered his own humanity.
• Cutie Honey franchise:
  • Flash (1997):
    • Prince Zera is the son of Panther Zora who seeks to take Sister Jill’s spot as leader of Panther Claw. One of the co-creators of the Airborne Elemental Fixing Device alongside Professor Takeshi Kisaragi, Zera also worked with Zora to raise a girl named Seira Hazuki into hating Cutie Honey by having her branded with the Mark of Hatred. Disguising himself as the mysterious Twilight Prince, Zera manipulates Honey into killing Sister Jill, swooping in to take her place. Setting his sights on Honey's device to make Zora a loving figure and wipe the mark from Seira, after Seira is corrupted by her mark and kills Professor Kisaragi, Zera, blasé of their deaths, reveals himself to Honey and tries to kill her. After losing to Honey thanks to her new love ability, Zera joins her side, doing everything he can to help her take down the resurrected Sister Jill and Zora. Despite sacrificing his life to protect Honey from Zora, Zera's spirit is still able to assist, and ends the show wishing Honey a happy marriage before departing to the afterlife.
    • Scud Panther is one of Sister Jill's three elite kaijin following her resurrection. The head of Panther Claw's Middle Eastern branch, Scud was responsible for dozens of successful robberies and murders, which ceased when Scud discovered a little girl who treated her with kindness. After the girl was murdered by a gunman, Scud declared war on humanity for taking away the one person who valued her. Joining Jill in her plan to take Honey's device, Scud volunteers to do the deed herself, firing several miniature missiles at Honey as a warning knowing that she could potentially destroy her and the device. Visiting Honey's dorm to invite her for a talk, Scud uses the opportunity to initiate a duel. Leaving Panther Claw for good with the help of Honey, Scud still forces Honey to fight her in one final duel. Upon her defeat, Scud accepts her loss and thanks Honey for helping cure her sadness, spending the last seconds of her existence with the promise of starting a fresh life.
  • Re: Cutie Honey: Seiji Hayami, supposedly a bumbling journalist for the Maicho Newspaper, is actually "Agent Blue", a government agent tasked with stopping Sister Jill. Well-versed in the history of Professor Kisaragi and his creations Honey and Jill, Seiji gets Honey and Inspector Natsuko Aki involved in his plot to stop Panther Claw. Keeping his true motives a secret from the two just to toy with them, Seiji isn't afraid to coldly kill Honey after she goes haywire, while still congratulating Natsuko for saving her. Doing what he can to assist Honey and Natsuko, while willing to risk his and their lives for the sake of stopping Jill, Seiji ends the story both a hero and an ally in Honey and Natsuko's new crime fighting business. Able to plan his moves several steps ahead of everybody, or at least create safety precautions in case of an emergency, Seiji proves himself to bear a crafty intellect and never loses his playful charm even when caught in tight spots.
  • Cutie Honey a Go Go!, by Go Nagai & Hideaki Anno: Seiji Hayami, allegedly a cheery journalist for the Daily Morning Newspaper, is actually a U.S. government spy tasked with securing battle android Honey Kisaragi as a government weapon. Developing a close relationship with Professor Kisaragi to gather information about him and his projects, Seiji also coerces officer Natsuko Aki into assisting him and Honey in stopping Panther Claw. Despite failing to protect Professor Kisaragi when Honey goes berserk, Seiji plays a tape recorder containing a message of hope from Kisaragi in the assumption that he'll die and need to calm Honey down. Doing whatever he can to assist Honey and Natsuko's battles against Panther Claw, while doing what he must to complete his hidden agenda, Seiji never loses his playful attitude in the worst of scenarios.
• Cyborg 009 vs. Devilman: BREAKDOWN, by Akihito Yoshitomi:
  • Demon General Zann is the head of the demon army and first of the two masterminds behind the events of the manga. Coming up with his master plan to bring victory to demonkind in their battle for Earth, with the assistance of his right-hand woman, Psycho Jenny, Zann brought the protagonists of the Cyborg 009 and Devilman universes into the devastated future version of Tokyo, as he then manipulates the Cyborg team and sends Psycho Jenny to pull the strings of Devilman army and Akira Fudo. As Zann took the form of Dr. Rainuma, he quickly gains trust of everyone around him, guiding the team into easily beating up Akira and later convinced Joe Shimamura to fight to the death with Akira by showing him a fake video of Akira murdering his Love Interest, Francoise Arnoul. As this resulted in two universes becoming one, Zann unleashes the demons upon humanity, after which he politely offers Lord Kokurei to join his ranks, having achieved everything he wanted.
  • Psycho Jenny is the second-in-command of the demon army and the second of two masterminds behind the plot. Assisting Zann in coming up with the scheme to guide demonkind in taking over Earth, Jenny helped Zann in teleporting the heroes of both universes to the destroyed future version of Tokyo, where she took the form of a little Devilman girl, called Mayumi, and manipulates Akira Fudo and the entire Devilmen army into attacking the humans, by playing the victim. Showing Akira the fake remains of Miki and blaming the Cyborg team for her death, Jenny tricks Akira into heading to fight Joe Shimamura and makes sure he won't hold back. Saddened by the fact that Ryo Asuka won't remember his true identity as Satan, Jenny then still got satisfaction in success of their plan.

D - G

• Dance in the Vampire Bund: Alphonse Medici de Borgiani is the Bund's master of intelligence who, for the sake of the Bund, will have a child kidnapped and bitten to blackmail the boy's politician grandfather. Constantly putting pressure on the hero Akira to better himself and become a strong companion for Princess Mina, Alphonse later orchestrates the betrayal and takeover of Mina's evil Doppleganger, before repenting and making plans to have Mina return to the throne via a series of clever contingencies. Finally, Alphonse allows himself to be destroyed and leaves a recording blaming himself for all of the Fake Mina's crimes so none of it will reflect upon the true Mina, protecting her, as Akira says, all the way to the bitter end.
• Death Note franchise:
  • Original manga: L Lawliet is the world's best detective and the Arch-Enemy and only intellectual equal of Light Yagami aka Kira. Introducing himself by tricking Light into revealing his location by sacrificing a death row inmate, L goes on to pursue Light with unfettered ruthlessness. With only mundane resources at his disposal, L manages to constantly evade Light's supernaturally-backed attempts to kill him and becomes ever-closer to exposing Light for his crimes. Even when Light deliberately loses his memories of his work as a Serial Killer, L continues to close in on his enemy and is only finally killed when Light convinces a Shinigami to take out L by giving its own life. Having left a fail-safe to inform his successors of his passing, L's posthumous machination leaves Near and Mello the field to finally take down Light, leaving his rival to scream and plead for his life before his own death.
  • Special Chapter: Minoru Tanaka is the second human chosen by Ryuk to own the Death Note. After being given the Death Note, Tanaka crafts a scheme to take advantage of the Death Note without actually using it. By having Ryuk send out messages on live broadcasts, Tanaka auctions the Death Note to the highest bidder, opening it up for abuse and spreading panic around the world. After getting the governments of America and China involved, Tanaka pits the two against each other in a bidding war before selling the Death Note to America for a quadrillion yen. To ensure that he can't be traced by law enforcement through the transaction, he has the U.S government split the money across the bank accounts of countless Japanese citizen's, causing an economic boom in the country. Hiding his identity all the way through, Tanaka proves himself to be a worthy successor as Kira.
• Deca-Dence: Kaburagi is a Bug Hunter who infiltrates the MMORPG Deca-Dence disguised as a Tanker and maintained his cover there for years as he eliminates bugs by sending them to Hugin and Munin. Considering to continue his occupation, Kaburagi decides to go against his superiors after being inspired by Natsume, helping her and the players beat the game. Sent to the Bugs Correctional Facility for his disobedience, Kaburagi persuades the prisoners to revolt while he infiltrates Deca-Dence again to retrieve his unchipped avatar, before reuniting with Natsume. The two would then sneak into the Gadoll Factory and destroy it, where Kaburagi reveals the truth to Natsume, with the latter deciding to trust Kaburagi knowing that he truly cares about her, having proven this several times such as when he kept her status as a bug hidden from his superiors and having defeated Hugin when he tried killing Natsume. Entering the system, Kaburagi inspires everyone into helping him defeat Munin and The Omega Gadoll before dying, but not before having Jill backup his data, bringing him back to life three years later where he reunites with Natsume.
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba:
  • Kagaya Ubuyashiki is the brilliant leader of the Demon Slayers Corps. A kind man who loves his subordinates like his own children, Kagaya is still willing to go to extremes to see the monstrous Muzan Kibutsuji dead, subjecting the trainees to a potentially deadly selection process where they have to fight captive demons, while also memorizing the names and faces of every single Demon Slayer who dies. A genius planner, Kagaya keeps Muzan and his forces at bay through a complex hiding system to defend his strongholds and sets plans to move and crush the powerful Twelve Kizuki of the demon forces. Captivating the love of his subordinates with his natural charisma, Kagaya uses himself, his wife and his two eldest daughters as bait for Muzan himself to sacrifice all their lives in an explosion and give the Demon Slayer elites a chance to kill Muzan for good.
  • Kokushibo, Upper Rank 1, was born Michikatsu Tsugikuni and joined Muzan to stave off death in order to grow more powerful. Almost wiping out the Demon Slayers, the only warrior to ever exceed him in power was his younger twin Yoriichi, whom Kokushibo was never able to fully cease loving. In modern times, Kokushibo is undefeated, killing countless Demon Slayer elites and manipulating some, such as Kaigaku, into becoming demons before casually dominating the battle with his descendant Muichiro Tokito. Engaging the strongest of the Hashira and concealing his true power to catch them off guard, Kokushibo takes every chance to show why he is the strongest of the Kizuki.
  • Akaza, Upper Rank 3, was born Hakuji and adopted his Social Darwinist beliefs after the deaths of his loved ones and becoming a demon under Muzan. Baiting a Hashira into combat, Akaza mortally wounds him to tempt a strong opponent with demonhood, yet respects the man's decision to die human when he refuses. Returning later, Akaza shows his full tactical abilities while facing both hero Tanjiro Kamado and another Hashira simultaneously. Constantly switching maneuvers to keep them on the defensive, Akaza even dies by his own hand, forgoing a chance to kill his opponents to commit suicide and reunite with his family.
• Detective School Q:
  • King Hades, real name Hoshiko Kokuo, is the final villain DDS Q-Class faces in the story, and the true mastermind behind the team's common foes. A brilliant mind since birth, Hades' abusive, despairing childhood lead him to create the criminal organization Pluto. Pluto is designed by Hades to be a helpful group to aspiring murderers, offering to craft a perfect murder scheme for their clients to pull off and get away with it all, though at a high price and with the caveat that no member of Pluto can personally commit a murder for the client. Recruiting creative minds to Pluto to continue its expansion and pulling off countless murder schemes that go off without a hitch, Hades, seeking to make his grandson Ryu his heir, orchestrates a decade-long plan to turn Ryu into a perfect successor, even allowing the boy to ally with Pluto's enemy DDS as one of the steps. Hades personally manipulates four people into killing each other one after the other, frames Ryu for the crimes, and nearly kills all of Q-Class, calmly accepting his defeat when they outsmart him and even returning Ryu's lost father to him as a last kind act before vanishing forever.
  • Cerberus/Kerberos is the single most dangerous operative of Pluto, serving King Hades loyally while taking a playful enjoyment in his clashes with DDS Q-Class. An inventive and exceptional hypnotist and Master of Disguise, Cerberus fools Q-Class several times over with his art of imitation and disguises, and uses his hypnotism to silence any potential leaks to Pluto. Completely outsmarting Q-Class in his first appearance, Cerberus is captured later when Dan Morihiko personally leads the charge, however Cerberus politely spends his time in prison chatting with his guards and even recommending literature. Pulling off an intense, complex escape scheme through a combo of hypnotism and ingenuity, Cerberus later honors his master Hades in saving Ryu's life and helping the boy find his lost father, after which Cerberus departs to kickstart his own criminal aspirations. Ever gracious, affable and respectful to even his worst enemies, Cerberus stood in stark contrast to his fellow Pluto operatives' smug, cruel personalities.
• Devil Devil, by Yu(u)ki Miyoshi: Shiva Garland is one of the strongest demons in Hell. Working for a demon what he believes is Satan, Shiva is sent to kill his best friend Sword. Sending demons of different moralities to secretly test him, Shiva's intent is to be defeated by Sword to give him a chance to defeat Satan. Killing one demon that was going to kill Sword, Shiva puts a lethal curse in his human host with the intention of forcing him to become stronger and kill him. Defeated by Sword, Shiva reveals that he's working with a rebellion against the Demon King and is put into a coma, awakening to stop the omnicidal Shadow of Satan, sacrificing his life to save all of existence. An honorable Blood Knight willing to risk the lives of humans to ensure a victory for his best friend, Shiva Garland was as powerful as he was intelligent.
• Devilman franchise:
  • Original manga: Ryo Asuka, in truth the fallen angel Satan, is the one who connives to have Akira Fudo become Devilman by tricking him into being possessed by the demon Amon. Upon regaining his memories as Satan, Ryo exposes the existence of demons and sets the world into a full-blown panic to make humanity turn on itself while he sweeps in with his demons to eliminate them, eventually facing and killing Akira himself to his great sorrow. Even after God resets the world, forcing Ryo to relive losing Akira over and over, Ryo shows hints of subtly altering things to eventually change the fate forced on him, showing why he is both Akira's greatest friend and deadliest enemy.
  • crybaby: Ryo Asuka is, initially unbeknownst to himself, the fallen angel Satan. Deliberately arranging events to recruit his best friend Akira Fudo into fusing with the demon Amon and becoming the dangerous Devilman, Ryo then aids Akira in hunting down demons, slowly but surely planning out the revelation of demons to mankind, and arranging it so that humanity descends into chaos despite not even knowing his own identity. Taking advantage of humanity's hatred to destroy civilization and reclaim Earth for his people no matter the cost, Ryo recovers from every setback and ensures his victory is achieved through people's natural willingness to persecute and destroy each other. After successfully achieving his goals and annihilating society, Ryo wins his final clash against Akira and his Devilman army. As Akira dies, Ryo admits he truly loved Akira, pontificating on the nature of love and mourning the only man he ever cared about as he is forced into a time loop, having finally come to understand the empathy and love he once despised in humans.
• The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Kusuke Saiki is Kusuo's inhumanly brilliant older brother. Obsessed with standing out from his godlike sibling, Kusuke invents a device to block Kusuo's telepathy, nearly catching him in a complex game of tag and even masochistically enjoying his defeat when beaten. Loving his brother enough to invent a time machine in an attempt to bring him back in a reality where Kusuo dies, Kusuke still takes any chance to test his powers, threatening to reveal his powers lest Kusuo complete his psychic ability tests.
• The Dungeon of Black Company: Kinji Ninomiya is the sly, enterprising commander-in-chief of titular Dungeon Black Company. Summoned to Amuria and forced to work for the Raiza'ha Mining Corporation, Kinji creates the title company and is able to vastly grow his power base without any of the higher-ups noticing. After returning from the Bad Future unscathed, informed of the reasons for his summoning, Kinji is able to find the ancient power of the ruins before Belza does, efficiently using its abilities with a combination of savvy business strategies to send Raiza'ha into near bankruptcy while dominating the market with his company in just three months. When Belza is able to get Kinji arrested by manipulating one of his companions, Shia, into testifying against him, Kinji secretly leaves emergency instructions for his inner circle to arrange things behind the scenes so that he is voted CEO of Raiza'ha, turning the entire corporation into a thriving subsidiary of Dungeon Black Company. Deciding he feels most fulfilled when chasing a goal, Kinji prepares to globalize the Black Company by taking over the dungeons located in the other countries of the world.
• F-Zero: GP Legend: Black Shadow is the bombastically evil mastermind behind Dark Million, and a character ten times as devious and stylish as his video game counterpart. Black Shadow manipulates virtually all the conflict across 50 episodes in his scheme to obtain the Reactor Mights and use them to create a universe of evil, a dream Black Shadow has dedicated himself to fulfilling with every inch of his being. Black Shadow plays heroes and allies alike as pawns while rarely ever getting up from his seat, and nearly curbstomping the heroes every time he does finally step in directly. Black Shadow's manipulations even stretch 150 years in the past, having directly arranged for the creation of both his Co-Dragons and even numerous fail-safes to stop Ryu Suzaku from stopping him. Black Shadow has planned for every failure in advance, always ready with an Evil Laugh and a wicked grin for every apparent setback, and remains in total control of the series up until Captain Falcon is forced to perform a galaxy-shattering Heroic Sacrifice to stop him.
• Fairy Tail:
  • Zeref Dragneel, the Dark Mage, is known as the most evil wizard of all time. In truth, a tormented genius cursed with everlasting life after he tries to resurrect his beloved younger brother Natsu, Zeref plotted to send the Dragon Slayers into the future to one day combat the evil dragon Acnologia. Upon surrendering to darkness, Zeref clandestinely founded the Alvarez Empire as Emperor Spriggan and used them to wage war on Fairy Tail, seizing the ultimate magic Fairy Heart for himself, intending on using it to wipe out the current timeline and go back to correct all his mistakes in the hopes of forging a better world.
  • Ultear Milkovich is a manipulative, backstabbing sorceress who uses other wizards to further her Master Hades' plans to bring back Zeref, most notably causing the events in the Tower of Heaven that result with the Etherion cannon being fired at the Tower, destroying it. Even after her Heel–Face Turn, Ultear continues to show her ruthless nature, even trying to kill the heroic Rogue to prevent him from becoming a villain in the future and her honor by giving her youth to cast a spell to turn back time and save the heroes from death. Later returning as a magical projection, Ultear helps save Fiore from the Alvarez Empire's sorceress Dimaria.
• Fist of the North Star franchise:
  • Original manga:
    • Raoh himself, Kenshiro's eldest brother disciple in the Hokuto Shinken school, styles himself as Ken-Oh the Conqueror, the King of the Fist. In a series of brilliant and ruthless campaigns, Raoh carves out his own empire in the wasteland while defeating any martial artists who challenge him and sending them to the prison Cassandra while stealing their scrolls for his own usage and advancement. While sometimes at the disadvantage thanks to Kenshiro or rival forces, Raoh is infamous for pushing back to be stronger than ever through sheer force of will and tenacity. Possessing a strong form of honor, Raoh does not hesitate to execute any in his army who terrorize or violate his citizens and when he faces the warrior Fudoh, Raoh orders his own men to kill him should he take a step back, a request he is furious they ignore. When he finally faces Kenshiro and loses, Raoh embraces his brother with true affection and uses the last of his energy to purge the radioactive toxins from the atmosphere, declaring that he lived his life without regrets as he dies standing proud.
    • "Ryuga" Arc: Ryuga, one of Raoh's chief generals, is a true believer of unity through strength in the wasteland. Realizing the power of Kenshiro and his potential to surpass Raoh, Ryuga attempts to awaken Kenshiro's true potential and strength by kidnapping Kenshiro and Raoh's brother Toki, holding him as a "hostage" after killing his patients. Inspiring Kenshiro to pure rage so he may be killed in punishment for his deeds, Ryuga helps to unlock the true sorrow in Kenshiro's heart and Hokuto Shinken's ultimate technique so that Kenshiro is finally ready to face Raoh.
  • 1985 anime's "King" Arc to "South Cross" Arc: Joker is Shin's most faithful and effective servant. Working to keep tabs on Kenshiro for his boss, Joker also lures Kenshiro into a series of traps to nearly kill him with Shin's forces. When Kenshiro manages to survive an onslaught from their forces Joker is the only to suspect his survival, returning to fight Kenshiro and dying defiantly while sending one final message to Shin, interested in the results of the two great fighters' battle.
• Flame of Recca: Kurei Mori, The Dragon to Kouran Mori is the string puller behind the events of the first 50+ chapters. Kidnapping Recca's "princess", Yanagi, Kurei baits Recca to his castle. Defeating Recca and the heroes' Team Hokage, Kurei forces them to participate in the lethal combat arena, Ura Butou Satsujin, where the wealthy gamble on the fights—including Kurei's adoptive father Kouran. After witnessing the abilities of Team Hokage, Kurei prepares powerful fighters to challenge them and even uses the heroes to take down the traitorous Genjuro, along with his minions. Having removed all other opposition, Kurei challenges Recca to one-on-one combat and after being defeated, honors his promise not to attack Recca or his friends. Helping the heroes kill Kouran after he betrays Kurei, Kurei proved himself to plan one step ahead of everyone else and always remained a Noble Demon at heart, despite his brutal tendencies.
• FLCL series:
  • Original anime: Haruko Haruhara, real name Haruha Raharu, uses her employment in the Galactic Space Police Brotherhood to covet the N.O. powers of the mighty "Pirate King" Atomsk for herself. Seeking out the powerful N.O. user Naota Nandaba, Haruko uses him to summon and recruit the Medical Mechanica robot Canti, using his strength to get closer to freeing Atomsk from Medical Mechanica's captivity and subverts the efforts of both the company and government officials seeking to stop her. Leaving Earth after being defeated by Naota powered with Atomsk's strength and professing his love for her, Haruko returns years later, finding more N.O. users to begin her plans anew. Through a series of manipulations and deals with rivals—including her own split-off personality—Haruko again nearly unites with Atomsk and though initially torn by his repeated rejection, recovers with his comforting before preparing to chase him once more, calmed and enlightened.
  • Progressive & Alternative's Progressive: Julia Jinyu is Haruko's literal other half who seeks to stop her from taking Atomsk's powers. Previously a friend of Atomsk, she was abandoned by him for being weak to keep up, but nevertheless, she vowed to protect him from losing his free will. Arriving at Mabase to stop Haruko, Jinyu attempts to kill Hidomi Hidori for being an N.O. user, but relents, and instead becomes her helpful house keeper, fighting Haruko any chance she can get to protect her friends. After getting eaten by Haruko and spat back out thanks to Canti, Atomsk is released, and decides to combine himself with Jinyu instead. With Jinyu reunited with her one true love, she bids Haruko a friendly, comforting farewell before heading back into space.
• Fragments of Horror's "Whispering Woman": Mitsu Uchida is a seemingly timid and unassuming woman hired by the wealthy Mr. Santo to care for his paranoia stricken daughter Mayumi. Despite being forced into the job by her abusive, low-life fiance Aga, Mitsu demonstrates near-supernatural skill in guiding Mayumi's actions, even saving her from a road accident she predicted herself. As the work takes a toll on Mitsu's health, her spirit stays with her charge after her murder by Aga. Mitsu's voice guides the once anxiety-ridden Mayumi to hunt down and brutally stab her killer to death, taking revenge through her living charge and promising she'll always be by Mayumi's side.
• Fushigi Yuugi: The brilliant, ruthless Nakago was once a boy named Ayuru Gi who was taken by the Kutou Emperor after his tribe was destroyed. Used as a Sex Slave, Nakago gained the Emperor's trust and eventually became a general of Kutou. Manipulating the priestess of Seiryuu, Yui Hongo, to his side and winning the loyalties of the legions of Kutou as well as his Seiryuu warriors, Nakago tricks his own subordinate into killing the family of hero Tamahome and often stays a step well ahead of the heroes. Eventually overcoming the Emperor and launching a coup that makes him ruler of Kutou, Nakago comes within a hairsbreadth of having Seiryuu summoned to make himself a god above all gods, even managing to absolve himself of his sins to pass to heaven in his final moments.
• Future Diary: Mur-Mur is the humorous minion of Deus Ex Machina, but schemes behind her master's back to continue the survival games for eternity to amuse herself. Convincing Yuno Gasai to travel to the 2nd World and take that Yuno's place so she can still be with protagonist Yukiteru Amano, Mur-Mur would also take her own 2nd world counterpart's place so she can manipulate the people in that world; She tells Keigo Kurusu that he can cure his son's illness if he wins causing him to turn against Yuki, and lies to Yuki that he can resurrect his dead parents if he becomes god. Mur-Mur also takes direct manners to those that interfere with her plans such as erasing all of Akise's actions in Paradox, abandoning Yuki in the 2nd world before traveling to the 3rd world with Yuno, and brutalizing Minene Uryu when she fights her; she would have won if Yuno had not killed herself out love for Yuki, leading Mur-Mur to unite Yuno's 3rd world counterpart with Yuki.
• Gankutsuou: Once an innocent man sentenced unjustly, Edmond Dantes returns as the ruthless, charming Count of Monte Cristo to destroy his enemies. Rescuing the son of his former best friend Fernand and his fiancee Mercedes, the young Albert Morcerf, it is later revealed the Count set up the kidnapping to begin with to gain Albert's trust. Manipulating his old enemies into trusting him with investments that ruin them, the Count also reveals he rescued a young alien girl named Haydee so she could expose Fernand as a traitor and the murderer of her father. Edmond also introduces one enemy, Villefort's, mentally unstable wife to poison so she will commit murders and further disgrace her husband while later having his ally, the bandit Andrea, reveal he is Villefort's illegitimate son to ruin him further. Finally, the Count plans to harden his own heart and kill Albert to destroy Fernand, not satisfied until he has given Fernand the same unending despair Fernand once gave him, before finally letting go of his hatred thanks to the love of Albert, ending his life with a final plea to remember that his name was Edmond Dantes. A charming, sophisticated manipulator, none around him ever saw the Count coming until he struck.
• GaoGaiGar: Arm Primeval, also known as ZX-07, is the leader of the Seven Magnificent Primevals, a group consisted of the strongest Primevals which he lives up to such title. Being able to make use of Eye Primeval’s ability to see through the future, Arm is able to predict every direction Guy is striking towards him. Even after losing Liver Primeval, Arm is still able to remain his cool and fused with other Primevals to become Combined Primeval which gives the GGG a hard time. Later, he is able to trick the heroes into destroying missiles which release sand that immobilised them and later used the sand to help him escape. In order to hide their portal that brought the Primevals to Jupiter, Arm created a Zonder Robo to disrupt GGG’s radio sequence so they won’t detect the portal. Always being able to come up with a plan ahead of the heroes and managed to avoid getting purified for three times, Arm Primeval has proved himself to be one of the most competently dangerous Primeval GGG has ever faced.
• Ga-Rei: The God of the Land is a deity that follows the call of nature to support the Dark Priestess and the Decimation Plan to cleanse the world. The Land God is introduced while interrupting protests around Naraku and murdering JDSF soldiers to spread miasma across Tokyo and turn the city into a hellhole. He allows the heroes to escape, knowing that he has ensured the awakening of the Dark Priestess and that she will be hunted by the Agency. Dedicated to defend the Black Priestess Yomi, the Land God makes a temporary truce with the heroes to defend her in the house of his human friend Michael until Yomi embraces her role after suffering a great loss. When The Decimation Plan starts and many Narakus are summoned across the world, the Land God appears to the cowardly world leaders to criticize them for their corruption of the world. When the Light and Dark priestesses reconcile and leave the apocalyptic plan to create a world where humans and spirits co-exist instead, the Land God accepts the results and leaves, feeling no regrets for his role.
• GARO: Crimson Moon: Akira, one of the last scions of the Yūge Clan, desires revenge for her family on the wicked Lord Michinaga. Working alongside her brother, Akira orchestrates a series of Horror attacks while appearing as a savior to Michinaga, managing to connive her way into becoming his lover and allowing her to planet a tracking spell on him. Planning to summon a powerful Horror to complete her vengeance against Michinaga, Akira even offers herself as a sacrifice to complete her plan, her devotion to her beloved family coming before all else.
• GeGeGe no Kitarō (2018 anime): The ruthless Nurarihyon seeks to elevate the Yōkai above humanity. Having released the Four Treacherous Generals from the underworld to wreak havoc and sow tensions, Nurarihyon plays the part of a businessman who helps humans antagonize Yokai, allowing him to gain their loyalties when they grow tired of Kitaro's peaceful ways. Putting his plan into action, Nurarihyon allies with Backbeard and the Western Yokai, only to betray and poison them when he judges their usefulness to him to have expended.
• Getter Robo:
  • Hayato Jin is introduced as the leader of a brutal group of young terrorists. When the Dinosaur Empire attacks, Hayato is forced to pilot the Getter Robo and proves to be a skilled pilot who befriends his crewmates. In G, when his gang are turned into demons, Hayato allows Ryoma to euthanize his loved ones. In Shin Getter Robo, Hayato becomes Professor Saotome's successor and fights the Andromeda Country. In Go, Hayato trains the next generation. When Lando attacks Japan, Hayato uses ruthless strategies before sending Go to recruit a traumatized Ryoma and use the Shin Getter Robo. Facing the Andromeda Country again, Hayato recruits Ryoma's son Takuma, Baku, and the half human-half dinosaur hybrid Kamui to pilot the Getter Robo Arc. In the anime, after Kamui discovers that the Getter Rays will exterminate all non-humans in the future, Hayato admits tolerating such a Bad Future to ensure the survival of humanity despite admitting that Human and Dinosaur lives have the same value and encourages Kamui to shoot him. Then, Hayato uses his last moments to unleash Getter Dragon and entrust the future to the next generation.
  • āḥ, by Go Nagai & Ken Ishikawa: Kamui Sho is a Half-Human Hybrid created by the Dinosaur Empire using the DNA of Emperor Gore that is seen as the hope for their species. Growing to become a pilot of Getter Robo Arc, Kamui shows his skill in the fights to protect Earth. Eventually sent to the future, Kamui discovers the Awful Truth that humanity and the Getter Emperor are in a genocidal war against every other sapient species with the Dinosaurs being absent from the future Earth. Accepting McDonald's final plan to destroy the Getter, Kamui returns to the present and overthrows his cruel older brother while avoiding killing him to prevent conflict. Forcing his brother to declare a new war against humanity, Kamui attacks the Saotome Institute to kill his former mentors, completes the mecha Bug and destroys human cities before fighting his former friend Takuma. In the anime, Kamui is last seen reconciling with his former team to fight the Getter itself and challenge fate.
• Golgo 13: "Golgo 13" himself, real name Duke Togo, spends most of his stories coming up with a complex gambit to fool his target and get him in a position to take his shot. A master sniper, Golgo has been active decades with incredibly few failures and a sterling reputation as a professional. In one instance, he tricks a CIA traitor into leading him to her boss while wearing a red coat against the snowy background to snipe them both in one shot. In another, knowing a mobster was faster on the draw than him, Golgo fools the mobster into being occupied with his dominant arm holding on to a woman so Golgo could outdraw him. Throughout every story, Golgo is characterized by his cold charisma and unreadable expression, always having a plan to take out his target, no matter who it is.
• Great Pretender:
  • Laurent Thierry is an elegant con artist seeking revenge on the human trafficker, Liu Xao, for seemingly killing his lover. Establishing a crew of con artists in pursuit of his goal, Laurent deceives Makoto Edamura into accompanying him before forcibly ensnaring him into his crew. Throughout the series, Laurent deceives several corrupt and wealthy folk into bankruptcy. When Makoto announces his intentions to leave the crew, Laurent uses his connections to get Makoto to unknowingly work for a human trafficking group so that Makoto will help the crew out in their final scam. After getting Makoto to reunite with his father, Laurent and Makoto trick Liu Xao and his rival, Akemi Suzaku, to meet in a fake building created by Laurent's crew, before making off with their finances and stranding the traffickers on a deserted island. Having a near limitless supply of tricks up his sleeve, Laurent gets away with everything he intended to collect before going on to continue his life as a con artist.
  • Cynthia Moore is a brilliant, money-hungry con artist in Laurent's crew and one of the few who can keep up with him. Introduced disguised as an FBI agent, Cynthia manages to bankrupt their mark ostensibly for immunity before leaving the mobster at the mercy of the police. In later arcs Cynthia continues showing her charm and ingenuity: at one point scamming her old friend's abusive boss into losing all of his money and later doing the same to a corrupt art critic who had in the past taken advantage of her ex-boyfriend, setting up an entire fake auction house to do so.
  • Seiji "Oz" Ozaki was a brilliant con artist and successful lawyer who connived to be arrested with a tarnished reputation to give himself a reason to work for the Suzaku Group traffickers. Secretly in league with Laurent, Oz fakes his death at his own son Makoto's hands to secretly reconvene with Laurent after serving as the Suzaku Group's translator in trafficking children. In truth, Oz helps set up their complete defeat while saving the children, repairing his relationship with his son in the bargain.
• Grimms Notes (2019 anime): Curly is a member of the religious cult known as Church of Fortrem and also a member of the Rogue Storytellers known as Chaos Tellers. Believing that people in their own Story Zones have accursed fates that were given to them from the Book of Fate, Curly teams up with another Chaos Teller, Loki, to manipulate the people in their Story Zones who had a horrible fate in their books by turning them into a Chaos Teller, which resulted in the Story Zone getting distorted and several innocent citizens turning into creatures known as "Villains". Eventually, Curly's plans culminate as she attempts to destroy all of the Story Zones and recreate them in their own image along with Loki in order to liberate people from their accursed fates as a last resort. Despite her beliefs being refuted by the heroes, she remains affable towards them, making her one of the most compelling enemies the heroes have faced.
• Guilty Crown: Gai Tsutsugami is the mysterious but charming young leader of Funeral Parlor, a resistance organization against the evil GHQ. With a series of schemes to subvert the GHQ's efforts, Gai has a laser-armed satellite of theirs destroyed and halts drug trade. Sacrificing himself to stop the spread of the Apocalypse Virus, Gai is resurrected by the GHQ alongside Mana Ouma for their Adam and Eve plot and works alongside the GHQ while brutally putting Mana's younger brother, the hero Shu, through a series of hardships to force him to eventually kill Gai and Mana, ultimately stopping the Apocalypse Virus from devastating mankind.
• Gunbured × Sisters: Sister Dolores Lily "Dorothy" Alguencruz became a monster hunter after a dhampyr killed her nursing mother. Dorothy knows how to keep the unruly damphyr Maria Belford in line without being aggressive and remains calm in most situations. Even when she seems pinned down, she has another trick up her sleeve to get out of it, either on her own or by making sure her allies are in place to assist her. She is also not above using brutal violence against those she fights. She uses people like pawns, even allies like Maria and her admirer and the Knight of the Cross, Shannon. When Maria points this out, Dorothy sets up a scenario where Maria and Shannon can settle their differences and learn to fight together. She finds out Maria's long-lost sister Noelle is the one who killed her mother and the Church's association with the True Bloods. Despite her disappointment with her father for making this deal, Dorothy still sets out what she intended to do, with Maria backing her up. Despite Noelle escaping, the ending implies that Dorothy still has her resolve to hunt her down.