After all, they’re chivalrous, gallant, and easy to look up to. However not all main characters are good guys. Some are vile, heinous, despicable villains. As distasteful as it sounds, any manga with a villain MC allows readers to understand how the insides of a villain’s head works, for better and for worse. And maybe readers can even empathize (or agree) with such wretched ideals. Well either way, I’ve come up with this huge list of the best manga featuring villains as a main character. Enjoy!
15. Masamune-kun no Revenge (Masamune-kun’s Revenge)
Focusing on the titular Masamune, this series revolves around his planned revenge on the girl that dumped him from being a fatty. The premise is easy to relate to, and even his plan is something my petty soul applauds. It has an interesting take on how petty a person could react in the face of rejection. Although the premise sounds very evil-y, the execution is borderline comedy. Still, Masamune has gone through great lengths for the sake of his revenge and earned his place (albeit the last) on this list.
14. Dead Tube
Putting YouTube and all the rumors about the dark web together gives us the Dead Tube. The main character, Machiya Tomohiro, initially seemed like a victim. But he eventually turned into a full-blown psychopath. The way he supported Mai both as a cameraman and accomplice deserves more than just being called evil. He’s wicked to the core. From stealing, murder, and basically every illegal act, Dead Tube has it. Needless to say, it contains a lot of nudity, gore, and horror.
13. Accel World
It’s arguable that the protagonists of Accel World aren’t villainous. However, their true objective is revealed further down the story. Kuroyukihime backstabbed and killed a level 9 player, breaking the truce between kings. Since then, she recruited teammates in her bid to reach level 10 and end the game, which everybody enjoys. Accel World could have ranked higher on this list, but the manga is actually a little worse than the anime and the novel, so it stays here.
12. Peephole (Ana Satsujin)
Etsurou Kurosu is a different kind of villain compared to the ones above. He doesn’t engage in any heinous acts. But he does nothing to stop them, either. Kurosu was a shut-in who had lost his will to live. When he’s about to commit suicide the hook breaks on him, and creates a peephole. He used it to get off while watching his neighbor… but one night, he saw her brutally murder someone. He kept silent about it, but eventually his neighbor found out. And that’s when they started to date. Peephole effectively shows what happens inside a serial killer’s mind. The way it shows how Rio murders people without emotions, then acts normally afterwards, perfectly depicts how detached to the world she is.
11. Shamo
At one point in time, something inside Ryou Narushima’s head snapped. Since then, he has become a mad dog that bites everybody that comes near him. Ryou seeked to improve himself and get stronger no matter the cost. That included threats and beating others. Shamo is a martial arts manga that tackles various forms of combat sports and disciplines. But that it also became its weakness. It has a decent storyline, albeit a slow pace. The problem, however, is how Ryou tend to regress to nothingness after every arc. It’s like Dragon Ball, but Goku gets weak again after defeating an enemy.
10. Kangoku Jikken (Prison Lab)
Prison’s Lab’s purpose is to bring out the worst out of people. So it’s unsurprising that Aito Eyama becomes a ruthless, unreasonable human. From the list so far, Eyama easily fits the description of a vile villain. After being bullied for three years, he finally gets the chance to take his revenge. He receives a letter inviting him to be the captor in a captive game. He chose his bully, Aya Kirishima, as his captive. And tormented her the best he could. Initially, Eyama is an easy character to empathize with. After all, it’s just a story of a victim putting justice into his own hands. However he eventually turned out to be a despicable human taking revenge without any sense of morality or reason.
9. Fukushuu Kyoushitsu (Revenge Classroom)
A bit similar to Kangoku Jikken (Prison Lab), Ayana Fujisawa also aims to seek vengeance on her bullies. Unlike Eyama, however, she wants to take revenge on her entire class. And she didn’t need any divine intervention to snap out of it. Fukushuu Kyoushitsu banks on the satisfaction from getting sweet revenge, although it’s not really extremely gory nor violent. On the contrary, Ayana’s revenge is more often psychological in nature, but still gets the job done. Ayana’s grudge spares no one and no reason. No matter what, she’s sworn to make all of her classmates suffer.
8. Overlord
Overlord’s timeline (in the manga) is quite interesting. It first came out as a light novel, then as an anime. The manga is actually the final medium that came out. That said, it’s also behind in content compared to the other two. The world domination in Overlord started when Momonga gets trapped in Yggdrasil, an MMORPG. He gets isekai-ed as his own character, the strongest wizard in that world. Overlord’s strength lies in army building. Momonga doesn’t have a convenient ability to instantly strengthen his forces, so he has to rely on a more realistic method. The Floor Guardians pillage, abduct, experiment on humans, and conquer, all to expand Nazarick’s domain.
7. Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch
With the huge success of the anime, Code Geass also became a manga. The manga, however, came out to be a bit of a disappointment compared to the anime. Although it followed the same titular Lelouch, there have been a few tweaks here. One of the biggest tweaks is the lack of knightmare frames, which is a huge part of the anime. Nonetheless, Lelouch is still the same revolutionary wanting to take down the empire, giving him a deserved slot on this list.
6. Elfen Lied
Probably one of the most controversial works in the world of manga, Elfen Lied prides itself for its gory and brutal killings. Lucy, a well-known yandere, leaves a bloodbath in her wake every time she changes personalities. However, it’s not just pointless killings. As the story progresses a lot of things come to light: the reasons behind the powers, killings, and the split personality. Admittedly, Elfen Lied isn’t a manga for everyone. But it also isn’t a total piece of garbage.
5. Akumetsu
Unlike most entries of this list, the titular Akumetsu takes up vigilantism to cleanse the world. That simply means massacring people for the sake of his personal sense of justice. When Japan’s economy crashes, the number of scum increases. Which also increases Akumetsu’s targets. Akumetsu breaks down complex ideologies of both what is good, and what is evil, and leaves its readers pondering. Of course, there’s also a hefty amount of “beating the bad guys” while technically also being a bad guy himself. What’s there not to like?
4. Homonculus
The manga Homonculus has an interesting set of characters. There’s Susumu Nakochi, a supposed homeless man living in his car, and Manabu Ito, a medical student who paid Nakochi to be his guinea pig. At the start, Nakochi passes a good natured protagonist acquiring a supernatural power. But he eventually gets drunk on power and goes completely mad. By the end of the manga, he’s reduced to a mad man and a lowly murderer.
3. Yoru ni Naru to Boku wa (At Night I Move)
Yoru ni Naru to Boku wa gives off heavy Death Note vibes, even though there are very few similarities between the two. Both series feature heavenly psychological warfare between the criminal and the law, but the similarity ends there. Unlike Light’s quest to fulfill his own idea of justice, Wataru just wants to avenge his sister. He doesn’t just rely on his ability to invade and kill people’s dreams; he also uses his head to do it in a way that makes his revenge far more satisfying. Also, the mental and psychological battle between Wataru and Misumi is what deserves this manga a top spot on this list.
2. Berserk
Berserk is already an acclaimed classic for solid reasons. Although the artwork isn’t as great as today’s standards, it’s entirely well balanced with a great set of characters and just the right amount of mature content. Despite the characters being egocentric, they don’t really come off as demonically evil. Instead, they’re always treading the gray area of morality. It does a good job portraying human nature during extreme situations, as well as in pursuit of their own ideals. That is, of course, while hacking and slashing people with a humongous sword.
1. Death Note
I think #3 on this list already spoiled my top pick, but Death Note still holds first place. After all, Light, L, and Ryuk’s story is already a renowned classic in the world of manga. Although Light Yagami’s original intent is morally good, his method of slaughtering whoever he deemed as evil, as well as those who hinders his plans, easily makes him the story’s main villain. And Light’s chaotic goodness has messed with its readers’ minds from the first arc. The schemes and plot twists are second to none here. Then add in the psychological and mental warfare between L and Light, and it all proves just how much of a masterpiece Death Note is.
