The most violent Yandere characters in anime

Important takeaways

• The Yandere characters will go to extreme lengths – including violence – to ensure that their love interest is theirs alone.
• Their love knows no bounds, as evidenced by their obsessive and possessive nature towards their beloved.
• Some yandere characters have tragic pasts that fuel their compulsive behavior, leading to violent and dangerous outcomes.

The “Yandere” is probably one of the most iconic character archetypes in anime and manga. Yandere characters are obsessed with their love interests to an unhealthy degree. They may be sweet and affectionate on the surface, but behind their sweet exterior hides a dangerously obsessive and sometimes violent streak.

For the yandere, devotion knows no bounds, and they will go to any lengths – even outright murder – to make sure no one gets in the way of them and their 'love'. In the darkest cases, they may even resort to killing their loved one if their feelings are unrequited or if they face rejection.

10 Kaede Fuyou (Shuffle!)

Can't stand the thought of Rin ignoring her and becoming violent as a result

Kaede Fuyou's obsession with her childhood friend and protagonist Rin stems from a complicated past. She initially blamed Rin for her mother's death and suffered overwhelming guilt after learning the truth. Since then, she has dedicated herself to taking care of him to atone for her past abuse.

She becomes afraid that Rin will ignore or abandon her, leading to her showing a violent streak when other girls, especially Asa, get close to him. Interestingly, Kaede's yandere personality is absent from the original visual novel.

9 Misa Amane (Death Note)

Has no qualms about killing people on Light Yagami's behalf using the Death Note

Like a famous pop star, Misa Amane's adorable public image hides how messy she is. She falls in love with the mass murderer Light Yagami before she even met him because he killed her parents' murderer. She is completely willing to do anything to gain Light's affections, even threatening to kill any girl she sees with him.

Although she almost never engages in direct violence, she uses her Death Note to kill criminals on Light's behalf. Unfortunately for her, Light shows little, if any, interest in her feelings, manipulating and using her for his own gain.

8 Kotonoha Katsura (School Days)

A shy, demure girl who is extremely desperate to make the protagonist love her

School days and its “yandere love triangle” are infamous in the anime community. Although Sekai Saionji is also a yandere, it is Kotonoha Katsura who proves to be the more violent one. She begins the story as a shy, insecure high school student who falls in love with the protagonist Makoto, eventually falling down a slippery slope to becoming dangerously possessive.

Kotonoha exemplifies the classic yandere archetype, being a sweet and loving girl who eventually turns to violence fueled by her romantic obsession. This culminates in the anime's infamous ending, where she kills her romantic rival Sekai and cradles Makoto's severed head on a boat.

7 Esdeath (Akame Ga Kill!)

A sadistic torturer who wants total control over the main character

Esdeath is one of the creepier examples of a yandere, who immediately falls in love with Tatsumi and decides that he must be hers at all costs. Unlike other yandere characters, Esdeath is more stoic and in control of her emotions, even when torturing people.

She refuses to accept that Tatsumi does not reciprocate her feelings and continues to pursue him, even after learning that he is a member of Night Raid. She becomes more desperate as the series goes on, even proposing to have Tatsumi executed rather than let him be with someone else.

6 Karasu (Yu Yu Hakusho)

Dangerously obsessed with Kurama, to the point of wanting to kill him

Karasu's attraction to Kurama is almost inseparable from his desire to kill him, wanting complete control over his destiny. His obsession is less about romantic affection than a desire to dominate and eventually annihilate Kurama, which he disturbingly sees as an intimate act.

What makes him particularly creepy is how calm and low-key he is when expressing his “love” and intentions for Kurama. Karasu is also a full-blown sadist and enjoys playing mind games with his victims, including and especially Kurama.

5 Himiko Toga (My Hero Academia)

Desires to literally consume and become the people she “loves”

Himiko Toga's Quirk involves ingesting people's blood to transform into them, so it's no wonder she would prove to be quite disturbed. Her view of love in particular is quite violent, and she believes that hurting and taking blood from someone is a form of intimacy.

She develops particular fixations on Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka, leading her to obsessively pursue them in order to “become” them. Due to her tragic childhood, she has a rather skewed view of love and affection, and sees nothing wrong with her obsession with drawing blood from her targets.

4 Satou Matsuzaka (Happy Sugar Life)

Kidnaps the person she supposedly loves and will do anything to keep them connected

Satou Matsuzaka is a particularly twisted example of a yandere, given that her possessiveness is directed at an eight-year-old girl named Shio Kobe. Satou kidnaps the young girl in the name of “love” and she is willing to do anything, even murder, to keep her dependent and isolated.

Satou desperately longs for love and affection, which she believes only Shio can provide. Her vision of a “happy sugar life” with Shio makes her prone to extreme actions when this dream is threatened.

3 Shion Sonozaki (Higurashi When They Cry)

Domestic abuse led her to develop an unhealthy attachment to Satoshi and commit several murders in his name

Shion Sonozaki's transformation into a yandere is particularly tragic, given the years of neglect and abuse she experienced at the hands of her family. She falls head over heels for Satoshi, as he was the first person to show her kindness. So when Satoshi goes missing, she takes it upon herself to avenge him.

She tortures and murders anyone she believes was involved in Satoshi's apparent death, including children and members of her own family. Most tragically, she will regret her actions too late, after she has already taken several innocent lives.

2 Yuno Gasai (Future Diary)

Her obsessive love for Yukiteru causes her to commit extreme and violent acts

Yuno Gasai is probably the most famous yandere in all of anime and manga, just because of how intense and brutal her obsession is. Yuno vows to “protect” her love interest Yukiteru Amano during Deus Ex Machina's survival game, which for her means killing anyone who tries to get close to him.

Yuno's obsession with Yukiteru is all-consuming, even stating that she has no regard for anyone but him. She also checks all the boxes of the typical yandere – a girl who is sweet, girly and affectionate on the outside but becomes dangerously possessive and obsessive when a love interest is involved.

1 Lucy/Kaede (Elfen Lied)

Violent tendencies arise from a mixture of tragic trauma and forced romance

Lucy is a rather complex example of a yandere, given her multiple personalities. Her violent tendencies come not only from a compulsive romance but rather from a mixture of a traumatic childhood and her nature as Diclonius. Her original personality as a child, Kaede, exemplifies the yandere archetype the most.

Lucy, as Kaede, falls in love with a young Kouta because he is the first person to treat her with kindness. When she discovers that Kouta attended a festival with her female cousin Yuka, jealousy overtakes her, and she brutally kills Kouta's sister and father using her vectors. The only thing stopping her from killing Yuka as well was Kouta's cries for her to stop.