Anime villains tend to flex hard when they fight. Of course, they're villains. One would expect that to happen. But there are times when the villain grows either way too overconfident or puts too much effort into what they're doing, usually to the protagonist's surprise.
These are ten anime villains who went way too hard on the protagonists.
Note: Only one villain per series has been selected. This article will contain spoilers and is just the author's opinion.
10 villains who flexed too hard on the protagonists
1) Ragyo Kiriyuin (Kill la Kill)
Studio Trigger's Kill la Kill is full of moments that could easily fit on the list. Only one has managed to leave the protagonists in a terrible state, Ragyo Kiriyuin. In the aftermath of the Tri Schools Raid Trip, Ragyo Kiriyuin decided to visit Honnouji Academy.
It was a trap by her daughter Satsuki, who revealed her rebellion and stabbed her monster of a mother in the heart. The only problem? Ragyo knew that was coming. In her first action against Satsuki after recovering, Ragyo beat her daughter until she couldn't move and stole Junketsu from her. She then ripped Ryuko Matoi's heart out.
Ryuko only lived due to being revealed to be Satsuki's missing sister and fused with life fibers, and Satsuki had to be rescued. It was quite the introduction and flex.
2) DIO
It's hard to pick where Dio truly flexed on the Joestar family. Tormenting Johnathan would count if Dio hadn't tried being clandestine. So, the absolute destruction of the Star Dust Crusaders has to go on here. Dio was never going to be easy, but nobody expected his time-stopping ability.
Before Jotaro and Dio cross, Dio kills Kakyoin while dodging a large Emerald Splash, kills Joesph. He then beats back Polnaraff for good measure after using time stop to move him around a step down a staircase. Then, as the two fought, Dio's The World Stand hit Jotaro's leg in a speed test.
Not bad for a flex, but the gloves began coming off as the fight continued. A further flex was throwing a road roller at Jotaro when DIO could stop time further as he went God mode.
3) Pain - Naruto
The tactical nuking of the Hidden Leaf Village was undoubtedly an iconic start to Pain's fight with Naruto. A statement and flex that Pain is here and will be delivered. The devastation caused ripped a massive hole in the village, killing dozens instantly. This only inspired the rest of the village to resist even harder against the assault.
It may have succeeded in drawing Naruto out, but it also caused Pain to start hurting finally. He was strong enough to withstand blows from Naruto's newly acquired Sage Mode and the associating techniques, but not for long.
It turned out to be a flex that was more than able to be backed up by action.
4) Perfect Cell - Dragon Ball Z
Attaining his perfect form was not an easy feat. Cell had to locate, pin down, outlast and outfight at least three Z fighters to get to both Androids. It was made easy by Vegeta wanting to fight him at full power (like the narcissistic person he was) and Krillin being unable to blow Android 18 up.
However, once he did attain his perfect form, Cell would proceed to flex in so many ways. Cell would:
- Tank Vegeta's Final Flash and recover near instantly from it via his Namekian cells.
- Beat Vegeta like a ragdoll.
- Make Trunks, even with Enraged SS2, look foolish by out speeding him with a few blows and a devastating speech.
- Announce his tournament by taking over a television studio.
The destruction of Android 16 was likewise a cold-blooded period on the statement that Cell wasn't going anywhere.
5) Aizen - Bleach
Aizen seemed like an affable captain in Soul Society, polite and soft-spoken. He was even seen giving lectures on calligraphy at the Shin'O Academy and seen as a good person. Then he killed Hinamori and nearly slew Renji before Ichigo intervened.
As a flex of his own, Aizen blocked Ichigo's sword with a single finger and broke Renji's Shikai with his bare hand before beating them both down. Then he continued to move through the place, injuring and attacking people as he went without any real effort having been spent until the Gotei 13 (the elite of Soul Society) surrounded him.
He then escaped through a portal, laughing and ranting as he did so. A mad genius, and a mad flexer too, Aizen would last as one of Bleach's iconic villains.
6) Muzan - Demon Slayer
Tanjiro escorted Nezuko through the city until he felt a demonic presence. The presence was the Demon King, Muzan, impersonating a family man. He had been doing this for millennia, trying to get a family to breed a demon brood with, and this was no exception. At first, he feigns ignorance to his family and doesn't acknowledge Tanjiro.
Since that doesn't work, plan B: slash a human covertly and turn them into demons in a crowded market! The look of pure shock on Tanjiro's face sealed the deal as Muzan made his escape with his family, leaving Tanjiro to deal with the demon.
7) Neopolitan - RWBY
What flex list would be complete without Neopolitan's absolute sense of style and unique fighting talents? With mixed results, Neo gets on this list for the two separate flexes she did on the protagonists.
The first is from Volume 2, where she and the main character Yang Xiao Long fought on an exploding train. Neo flexed at first by hitting Yang in the gut with her umbrella as her opening moved, then turning Yang's strength against her.
With nimble dodges, quick strikes, and a tiltawhirl slam to get her out of it so she could stab her, Neo dominated the fight. That is until the enigmatic Raven Brawnwen showed up to save Yang. That fight was a stalling tactic to keep the heroes from stopping the train. It worked like a charm.
The second one is a far more elaborate affair. In the middle of Volume 7, with the Kingdom of Atlas turned against them, side heroes Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, and Oscar Pine encountered Neo trying to flee with a stolen ancient magical relic after having assumed Oscar's form! The tired and battered heroes, already on the run from the tyrannical military, were no match for Neo's brand of trickery and deceit.
The icing on that particular cake was transforming into Nora to distract Ren, playing on his feelings for her to ensure her getaway.
8) Galaxia - Sailor Moon
Let's count the flexes Galaxia pulls on the Sailor Senshi. There are dissipating strong attacks with a hand wave (does this to Neptune and Pluto, who is the Guardian of time), catches their weapons (does this to Neptune), negates or blocks attacks (Saturn, the literal embodiment of Death), and what else?
There's killing Mamarou Chiba (Tuxedo Mask) quickly aboard a plane, showing up at Usagi's house to mess with her like a serial killer, killing the inner Senshi after forcing Sailor Moon to fight them in the manga where they just disintegrate like Thanos' victims. That's all before opposing Sailor Moon.
The problem in that case? It makes Sailor Moon mad enough to summon her version of Ultra Instinct and start fighting Galaxia seriously. Do not make the pacifist angry.
9) Toguro (Younger) - Yu Yu Hakusho
This one is just brutal. Yusuke Urameshi challenged Toguro to a fight during the night. Toguro took him up on that offer. With only a mere 60% of his power, Toguro destroys a multi-level construction site and nearly buries Yusuke alive in the process with only his fists. This thankfully wouldn't kill Yusuke, but it would scare him. That's not easy to do!
He would later kill Kuwabara at full power. This was the last straw as far as flexes go. Yusuke would go all out against Toguro since he also led to Genki's death. Truly a villain that enjoyed flaunting and could back that up.
10) Father - FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood
Father in FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood summoned a miniature sun! While monologuing his plans to Edward and claiming he had God's power and could obliterate them with a thought. This backfires on him big time but kickstarts the fight.
In the fight itself, he proved everything he boasted about. He was more than able to take on everyone that came against him. Seeing as he was the head of the homunculi, the main villains of the series, it's not too out of the realm of possibility.