Final antagonists in anime are incredibly difficult to get right, and often the vast majority of writers fail to deliver on them. That's not to say that no story in anime has done a final villain properly. Over the years, quite a few story writers have delivered a fitting end to their series by incorporating the perfect villain with the perfect ideals, as well as getting their ending right as well.
One Piece's Saint Nerona Imu stands tall as one of the most exciting, well-written final villains to make moves in the Final Saga. Imu has already been incredibly convincing as a final villain, and it's clear that not all anime villains are on his level. But in a small pool of compelling final antagonists in anime, some are certainly much better than others.
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All for one
In the modern shonen world, hardly any villain can come close All for one in terms of competence. All For One was always going to be the last antagonist to My Hero Academiaright from the first chapters, and that in itself makes him incredibly exciting as a character. Over the years, Horikoshi slowly built him up to become the ultimate enemy, with his evil knowing no bounds. All For One's manipulative actions, combined with his immense strength, made him an incredibly compelling villain. The characterization he received, especially in the Final War arc, and the special bond he shared with his brother made him even more interesting as the final antagonist.
In particular, the conclusion that All For One received in the final war, where he managed to take control of Shigaraki but was eventually destroyed by Izuku Midoriya by sacrificing the power of One For All, makes him even more perfect as the final villain.
Dio Brando
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Anime: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Dio Brando is one of the main villains in the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure series, and he served as the final antagonist of both Part 1 and Part 3. In Part 3, Dio's character was elevated to a whole new level, making him the pure embodiment of evil. Dio may not have the deepest backstory or the strongest abilities, but what he represents as a character, both in Part 1 and Part 3, makes him incredibly compelling.
Add to that the fact that Dio is incredibly charismatic and easy to root for, despite being a villain, and that really makes him a beloved final antagonist in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
Sasuke Uchiha
Sasuke Uchiha is certainly not a villain, but he stood as the final antagonist in the Naruto series. After the fall of Kaguya Otsutsuki, who many mistakenly assumed to be the final antagonist, Sasuke stood in Naruto's path with the goal of killing all the tailed beasts and executing the five kagi for leading the world to its final downfall. Sasuke decided to imprison all the Tailed Beasts using the power of his Rinnegan, then aimed to break the last connection he had in the world, which was to Naruto Uzumaki.
The final battle he had against Naruto was truly incredible and completed his character arc brilliantly by bringing him back to the village as well as sorting out his relationship with Naruto forever. Sasuke's entire character arc was incredibly awesome throughout the Naruto series, and his eventual standing as the main antagonist of the series just made him that much more compelling.
Yhwach
Yhwach was leader of the Quincies from Whiten and certainly a compelling antagonist in his own right. Despite the fact that the vast majority of Bleach fans consider Aizen to be a better antagonist than him, the fact that he served as the final antagonist makes him the only fit from this series.
Although not the best villain from the series, it is a fact that Bleach is certainly not lacking in this department, and Yhwach is also interesting in his own way. His powers, as the Almighty, make him incredibly compelling as a villain, and his past as well as his goal to destroy the world system only serve to make him an incredibly chaotic villain. Add to that the fact that he gave fans one of the most memorable battles in all of Bleach. All of this together makes him incredibly exciting as the final villain.
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Griffith
Griffithfrom Berserkis one of the most awesome villains in all of anime and manga. At first, Griffith was just the leader of a group known as the Band of Hawks and the best friend of Guts, the protagonist of the series. Their incredible relationship elevated the story of Berserk immensely. It is because of this bond of brotherhood that he is such an incredible antagonist. On the day of the eclipse, Griffith finally transforms into the ultimate antagonist of the series when he joins the Hand of God. From that day forward, Griffith only got better.
Griffith also has a very special goal to have his own kingdom, which he has had since he was very young. The fact that he was willing to make a lot of sacrifices to achieve this goal until the very end further enriches his character arc and makes him an incredibly well-written final villain whose depravity, darkness and evil nature, as well as ambition, knows absolutely no bounds. It's unfortunate that the story of Berserk still isn't finished, but if there's one thing fans know for sure, it's that Griffith will stand as the final antagonist in the series. Despite not being close to the end, he's already one of the most compelling anime and manga villains of all time.
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Father
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Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist
Father, from Full metal alchemiststands tall as one of the best antagonists in any story. That this series is known for having a very special conclusion means just that Father was handled perfectly by writer Hiromu Arakawa. Father led the Homunculi and aimed to become a god and his powers, derived from being related to a Philosopher's Stone, made it so that he could completely avoid the laws of equivalent exchange and use alchemy without any Transmutation Circles.
Father was incredibly powerful, both in terms of a deep and rich background and tremendous fighting ability. His character left no stone unturned. Even the conclusion he received, as someone seeking divine powers, was absolutely fitting. It goes without saying that he is one of the few anime villains that completely lived up to expectations and served to greatly enhance the ending of the series.
One Piece
- Release date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- Directors
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Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
- Author
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Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
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Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
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Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
