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Anime heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and so do their families. There are a lot of characters connected to the heroes by family ties that are essential in positive ways, but there are others that choose a rather awkward way of doing family time. Then there are some who are downright villains.
In that regard, many anime heroes have family ties with their respective villains. This often leads to interesting situations because the hero has a connection with the antagonist, thus adding extra drama to the whole thing. On that note, here are 10 anime heroes who are family with the anatagonists of the show.
Disclaimer: This list contains major spoilers of several series.
Baki and other 9 anime heroes that have family ties with the villains
10. Jotaro Kujo and Dio
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Dio Brando already had family connections with the Joestars because he was adopted by them during the beginning of the first part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Phantom Blood. However, things started to get weird when he took over the body of his adoptive brother, Jonathan, at the end of said storyline. To make things strange, Dio ended up adding to the Joestar bloodline as well.
By the end of the third part, Stardust Crusaders, Dio, now in Jonathan’s body, would face the descendant of the latter, Jotaro Kujo. This JoJo would put a stop to Dio’s madness, taking his life for good and ending the Joestar-Brando rivalry forever. However, the body that Jotaro ended up destroying belonged to his ancestor. Although it’s weird and complicated, it all stayed within the family in this case.
9. Sasuke and Madara Uchiha
It’s true that this list is about anime heroes, and Naruto’s Sasuke Uchiha has a dubious record on that front, but he is as much of a protagonist in this series as the title character. Moreover, his influence in the plot cannot be understated. The relevance of his clan, with some of them being the main villains like Madara Uchiha, is also another big factor.
Sasuke is one of the main protagonists of the series, looking to avenge his clan after it was massacred by his brother Itachi (another family connection). Meanwhile, Madara is one of the main villains in Naruto, having manipulated everything in the story for decades to achieve his final goals.
Eventually, these two meet and Sasuke joins Naruto to fight him, leading to the death of Madara. However, author Masashi Kishimoto then introduced Kaguya Otsutsuki as the final boss, who also has family connections with the Uchihas.
8. Takuto and Reiji Miyabi
When it comes to anime heroes with family ties to the villains, very few are as straightforward about it as Star Driver, but it does work quite well. The series is about robots that can only be used in a special place called “Zero Time,” and the main character, Takuto, is the only man capable of stopping the evil Glittering Crux Brigade from achieving their selfish goals with those resources.
However, there is the catch that the leader of the organization, Reiji Miyabi, also happens to be Takuto’s father. This adds another layer of complexity and drama to the story, making thing a lot more interesting in Star Driver.
7. Giorno Giovanna and Dio
This is another fun exception when it comes to anime heroes because Dio is not the villain of Golden Wind, where Giorno is the protagonist. However, he is the main antagonist of the entire JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series and is important here because he is the protagonist’s son.
Before the events of Stardust Crusaders, Dio traveled across the world, which is explained in depth during the sixth part, Stone Ocean, and got several women pregnant for the Heaven Plan he had in mind. This is how Giorno was born, having the genes of both Dio and Jonathan and becoming a member of the Joestar family.
While Giorno is a lot more noble and selfless with his actions and motivations, he did inherit his father’s ruthlessness, charisma, intelligence, the “MUDA!” Stand battle cry, and his golden locks. Thankfully, Dio never got a Requiem arrow.
6. Guts and Griffith
There are cases of anime heroes with weird family connections to the villains, and then there is the one that Guts has with Griffith in Berserk. The fact that this was the last plot twist that legendary author Kentaro Miura did before his untimely passing in 2021 makes it even more poignant.
Guts’ love interest, Casca, was pregnant with his child during the tragic events of the Eclipse when she was assaulted by Griffith after he became a member of the Godhand. This led to the corruption of the baby, transforming it into a demonic fetus that followed the protagonist everywhere. However, when the living Beherit started the ritual to resurrect Griffith’s human form, he ate the demonic fetus and connected it to the latter’s body.
Thus, whenever there is a full moon, the boy takes control of the body and turns into a little boy that follows Guts and Casca wherever they go. Fans have called him the Moonlight Boy since he has no name. Moreover, since he is what remains of the protagonists’ child, he is forever connected to the man that ruined everything for them. It is odd and tragic when it comes to anime heroes and family connections with villains, but it is also one of the things that makes sense in the Berserk-verse.
5. Sanji and Judge
Sanji, much like Sasuke, might not be the protagonist of One Piece, but he enters the list of of those classic anime heroes. Moreover, his father-son relationship with the villain Judge Vinsmoke is tragic.
While it took author Eiichiro Oda a long time to talk about Sanji’s past, it proved to be quite the story. It was revealed that the Straw Hats’ chef had to go through a lot of abuse and mistreatment during his childhood, often feeling undermined and unloved. If it wasn’t for his encounter with Zeff, who went on to become his father figure and instilled within him the love for cooking, things might have been a lot harder for Sanji.
4. Killua and Silva Zoldyck
Family expectations and heritage, the perennial passing of the torch, is a common trope when it comes to anime heroes, but Hunter X Hunter did something special with the character of Killua Zoldyck and his father, Silva.
The Zoldycks are world-renowned assassins, and Silva wanted his boy to continue the family business against his will. That is messed up already, but there is also the fact that Killua was constantly tortured and abused to the point that his family put a needle in his head without his consent. This incident eventually forced him to flee.
Author Yoshihiro Togashi also takes the concept of an overprotective family to a whole new level when it comes to Killua and his family. There are few anime heroes with this level of pressure and abuse, but there is still more to come.
3. Baki and Yujiro Hanma
Only a few anime heroes can claim that their father is the strongest in the world, and there are even fewer anime heroes who can say that their father is the a complete monster. As it happens, Baki’s father is a combination of the two.
The entire plot of Baki the Grappler is about the protagonist finding ways to become as strong as his father, Yujiro Hanma, who is the most powerful man in the entire world and is known as “The Ogre” for his sheer brutality. Yujiro murdered Baki’s mother in front of his eyes, which motivated the protagonist to seek revenge. Baki's father is one of the most sadistic villains in all of anime, but he also happens to be a phenomenal foil to his son, making their dynamics extremely compelling.
2. Shinji and Gendo
There are several complex characters in Neon Genesis Evangelion that do a lot of messed up stuff, but Gendo Ikari seems to surpass all of that by abusing and traumatizing his son Shinji.
For majority of the series, the viewer is led to believe that Gendo’s horrible actions are for the greater good of humanity, which allows for a certain debate about whether or not he is right. However, it is later revealed that was all a lie and that he was, in fact, working for another organization, developing much more selfish reasons to do what he did.
Gendo is a sociopathic individual that had no qualms about walking all over Shinji to get what he wanted. As a result, he became the textbook example of what a bad father is. When it comes to anime heroes with family connections to the villain, Shinji had it rough.
1. Lelouch and Charles zi Britannia
Many anime heroes are connected to villains through family ties, but only few are motivated by that the way Code Geass’s Lelouch vi Britannia is. This is the reason why their relationship is the most interesting and complex on this list.
Charles is a supremacist that had no qualms about using his several children for his gain. He wanted to keep colonizing Japan from his position of Emperor of Britannia. This situation led, in a way, to the death of Lelouch’s mother, who was dear to him, prompting the protagonist to seek power and revenge.
In many ways, Charles led Lelouch to become who he is in Code Geass. While they have different ideologies and motivations, there is no denying that both rely on manipulation, getting their hands dirty, and even cheating to get what they want.
Final thoughts
Anime heroes often have to face a lot of challenges and obstacles that they need overcome throughout the series, but the dynamic changes when it involves facing a villain with a family connection. It makes things a lot more personal, adding a degree of stakes and emotions that give the story a lot more substance - a fact that can be evidenced by the aforementioned entries.
