Villains are a central part of every story, the roadblock meant to challenge and improve the hero. In most cases, villains are extremely intelligent, cunning and ruthless, able to outmaneuver their opponents to achieve their goals. This is often demonstrated in anime, and none more so than in its female villains.

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Compelling, complex and utterly terrifying, these women rule the room with their mere presence. From mob bosses to deadly assassins, here are some of the best female villains in anime.
8
Annie Leonhart
Attack on Titan
Annie Leonhart was the main villain in season one of Attack on Titan and managed to slip into Paradis along with her comrades Bertholdt and Reiner. Originally from Marley, Annie was sent to retrieve the Founding Titan, and she joined the Military Police to do so.
She later attacks the Survey Corps with her female Titan form to capture Eren but ultimately fails to do so. Despite appearing cold and distant, Annie is capable of feelings of guilt and remorse, which she feels after being forced to sabotage Marco – leading to his death – to save the mission. Eventually, her identity was discovered, and as she watched the walls close in, Annie chose to crystallize herself rather than give up.
7
Android 18
Dragon Ball Z
Originally an average human named Lazuli, Android 18 fell into the hands of Dr. Gero and was transformed into an android along with her brother, who became Android 17. She was created for the sole purpose of killing Goku and was single-minded in her goal to sow chaos and destruction (which she shares with her alternate self up to a point).
Despite fighting Goku, Vegeta and their allies several times, Android 18 turned the tide against Dr. Gero and killed him instead. She fell for Krillin and eventually married him; the couple had a daughter named Marron. Conscious and confident, Android 18 persuades Krillin to enter the Tournament of Power to improve the family's financial situation.
6
Esdeath
Akame Ga Kill!
Brutal, sadistic, and unafraid to get her hands dirty, Esdeath became a high-ranking general in the service of the Empire. She embodies Darwinism to a tee, believing that only the fittest survive and that it is justifiable for the weak to die. As a result of this thinking, Esdeath committed many savage acts of cruelty against those deemed to be in rebellion against the Empire.
Esdeath created and led the Jaegers, a task force intended to eradicate the Resistance. Somewhere along the way, Esdeath strangely decided she wanted to experience falling in love, and did just that by falling for the show's main character, Tatsumi. Despite Tatsumi fighting for the resistance, Esdeath remained loyal to the Empire and chose to kill Tatsumi so no one could have him.
5
Balalaika
Black lagoon
Practical and efficient, Russian-born Balalaika was a former soldier of the Soviet Union who earned the respect of her men. After being forcibly discharged, her men followed her and joined the Russian mafia known as Hotel Moscow.

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Unsurprisingly, Balalaika's leadership skills and ruthless nature helped her rise through the ranks to become head of the syndicate's Thai branch. Balalaika, who now resides in Roanapur with her men, deals with all the other crime lords and works well with the Lagoon Company, while doing whatever it takes to push Hotel Moscow's Thai operations to the top.
4
Lust
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
The second oldest Homunculi and one of Father's creations, Lust is the embodiment of her name, meant to seduce and captivate. She uses her beauty and charm to achieve her goals in service to father and is prone to bouts of bloodlust and violence like her fellow Homunculi.
Lust can extend and transform her fingers into Wolverine-like claws that can severely wound her enemies and tear through any substance. Lust was completely loyal to father de facto leader of the rest of her siblings, putting them on task and making them work together. However, she was the first of the homunculi to die, defeated and killed by Roy Mustang.
3
Makima
Chainsaw man
Chainsaw Man's Makima quickly established himself as someone not to cross. The head of the Public Safety Devil Hunter agency, she is later revealed to be the Ancient Control Devil, with powerful mind control abilities, abnormal strength and speed, and various other overpowered abilities.
Raised by the government, Makima is determined to rid the world of all demons and believes she can achieve it by acquiring the powers of the Chainsaw Man. Despite appearing ruthless and cold, Makima has shown that she longs for a warm family life. The latter seemed to come true after her death, with Denji raising Makima's incarnation, Nayuta.
2
Take Himiko
My Hero Academia
One of the main villains of My Hero Academia, Toga Himiko first joined the League of Villains because she wanted to make the world an easier place to live. Despite being a teenage girl, Toga got into trouble with the law after a series of murders she committed, draining her victims of blood.
Her fascination with blood is directly tied to her quirk, which allows her to shapeshift after drinking the blood of her victim. Her power makes it easy for her to infiltrate enemy territory, and after having a Quirk evolution, she can use quirks of those she loves. A skilled combatant, Toga regularly uses his knives in battle and has his blood transfusion machine to collect the blood of his victims.
1
Medusa Gorgon
Soul Eater
Medusa Gorgon, also known as The Snake Witch, is the malevolent main antagonist of the Soul Eater series. There are almost no redeeming qualities in Medusa, who is not above abusing and torturing her daughter Crona whenever she fails to fulfill her wishes.
Medusa abhors the current state of the world and is extremely obsessed with destroying it completely in order to make a new, clean slate. Powerful, indomitable and one of the most skilled witches ever known, Medusa is probably the most heartless female villain ever written.

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