7 Anime Villains Better Than Pain, Ranked

Pain is one of the most powerful and also the best written villains in the world Naruto series. Pain standing as the Akatsuki leader at one point was a thorn in his side To Naruto side and his influence on the story was immense. Unlike the norm, Pain was not a villain who sought destruction for the sake of it. There was meaning behind every action he took, and that attracted him. He was primarily responsible for delivering one of the most iconic shonen arcs of all time, and it goes without saying that he ranks among the best villains in the entire world. Naruto series. However, Pain is far from the best anime villain. There are many villains, old and new, who do a lot of things better than him and are superior to him in many ways.

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Frieza

When it comes to pure evil, few can come close Frieza from Dragon Ball. While his legacy has become somewhat of a joke in the series' sequels, Dragon Ball sees Frieza as the ruler of evil as the true representation of evil, killing for fun and bringing chaos and destruction wherever he goes. Frieza has also served as inspiration for many writers to create iconic anime villains, and that alone makes him much better than Pain.

Not only did Frieza initially stand tall as an untouchable enemy, but he also killed off some of the most important characters in the main cast, leaving both Goku and the fans shocked. He also gave rise to one of the most iconic transformations of all time in a shonen series, forever defining the genre. For all these reasons, Frieza is definitely much better than Pain.

Ryomen Sukuna

Ryomen Sukuna is the main villain Jujutsu Kaisenand he's definitely an exciting adversary for the main cast. While Pain had his reasons for seeking to destroy his enemies, Sukuna simply destroys things because he can. As the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna has virtually no competition in the world Jujutsu Kaisenwith the sole exception of Gojo Satoru.

Sukuna brings more chaos and fear than pain ever did. Additionally, he is the primary antagonist of his series, while Pain surpasses many others later in the series. Sukuna also kills off quite a lot of the main characters and leaves nothing but hopelessness behind for the main cast, and that's something Pain can't do.

By Meru

Meruem hunter x hunter Anime Villains Better Pain naruto — Meruem looks pensive during the Chimera Ant arc.

When it comes to depth as a villain, few can compete with her By Meru from Hunter x Hunter. This ant continued to grow throughout the Chimera Ant arc, showing the ant's evolution from a destructive weapon to a more humanized entity.

In Meruem, Togashi created a weapon that could wipe out all of humanity, but also gave him the growing essence of a human. Pain is remembered as a complex villain, but Meruem definitely surpasses him in that regard.

Dio Brando

Anime: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Another character that is purely defined by their charisma and evil is Diofrom Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Dio is known to be quite a chaotic individual from the very beginning, but he becomes more complex as a character as the story progresses. However, his core identity of chaotic evil never changes. Dio's reasons for being a villain are far different from pain's reasons. While the latter actually seeks to improve the world, Dio simply wants to cause chaos for his own benefit. This makes him a compelling villain and a phenomenal adversary for the main cast to face, whether it's Jonathan Joestar, who he inflicts massive amounts of pain on, or Jotaro. Dio has done more than enough to turn their lives upside down, as any competent villain should.

In addition, Dio also has a huge influence on the overarching story of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Without him, the series would simply collapse. The vast majority of the main cast, both heroes and villains, are heavily influenced by him in one way or another. His influence on the story alone makes him better than Pain.

Madara Uchiha

Madara naruto Anime Villains Better Pain naruto

In the world NarutoPain is often considered one of the most exciting villains, but even he can't compete with him Madara Uchihaa true representation of fear and chaos in the story. Like Pain, Madara also sought peace, but in his own way. Moreover, he was much more afraid than anyone else.

Madara's name alone could have sparked an entire war with the entire world coming together, and he alone was able to decimate those who stood in his way, showing immense power. Madara was the true representation of power in the series and the display he put on definitely made him far superior to Pain. Unfortunately, his ending was nowhere near as good as Pain's, but overall Madara stands tall as the best villain in the entire Naruto series.

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The best anime villains of all time

Great antagonists are what make a story interesting, and these anime villains are undoubtedly some of the best of all time.

Kaido

In the world One piecemany villains may represent power, but its true embodiment is none other than Kaido. As tall as one of the four sea emperors, Kaido served as the villain of the Wano Country Arc, ruling the land he enslaved for 20 years with an iron fist. Kaido killed and massacred all the noble families of the land and completely crushed the spirits of the samurai. He crushed any dissent and also showed what true cruelty means.

Kaido wanted to create a pirate nation that could challenge the world government and eventually overthrow it. Wanting to create his own world of equality where only strength mattered, Kaido did what he could to destroy the current world order and usher in a new era. He's undoubtedly a phenomenal villain, especially for what he represents, and arguably far better than Pain.

Donquixote Doflamingo

Doflamingo one piece Anime Villains Better Pain naruto

One piece he has his own cast of incredible villains and he is among them Donquixote DoflamingoA celestial dragon who considers himself superior to all others. Doflamingo is incredibly charismatic and thoroughly evil at the same time, making him very exciting as a villain. Unlike Pain, Doflamingo has no good intentions. Everything he does is for his own good and to crush the society that rejected him.

Doflamingo was raised as a Sky Dragon and that alone spelled his doom. His upbringing made him a monster, but even among the Heavenly Dragons he was extremely evil. Over the years, he has done acts that put Pain to shame, such as participating in slavery, destroying entire nations, tearing families apart, and even going so far as to engage in trafficking and slave trading and erasing the memories of people from the world. More than that, Doflamingo wanted to rise to the top as king of the entire world, and his ambition, along with the suffering he caused the main cast, makes him an incredibly compelling villain, and far superior to Pain.

Johann Liebert

Johann Liebert he's an anime villain without any superpowers, and that's why fans love him as much as he does. Johann is chaos given human form and his existence alone brings nothing but death and destruction. IN Monster series, Johann causes countless deaths and each one shows just how dangerous he really is.

If Johann flourished, he would bring the entire world to ruin, and the fact that he can do this without any power, and at times without lifting a finger, just proves how dangerous he truly is. In terms of writing, there is no comparison between Johann and Pain and he definitely stands tall as one of the best villains in all of anime, if not the best.