10 most problematic Anime mothers, ranked

Anime mothers have different personalities, with some being good enough to support their children through thick and thin. On the other hand, some are the worst who purposely try to create obstacles in the way of their children. Separate from these two types, there are some mothers whose children get entangled in their issues, which later leads to the suffering of the little ones.

Whether these problems are related to the anime mothers' families or personal ones, the children get stuck in them and they suffer mentally, physically, or sometimes even from both perspectives. This article will compile 10 of the most problematic anime mothers whose problems caused their children unnecessary suffering.

Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed in this article solely belong to the author.

Kikyo Zoldyck, Kaguya Otsutsuki, and 8 other problematic anime mothers ranked

10) Kikyo Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)

Kikyo Zoldyck as seen in the anime (Image via Madhouse)

The mother of one of the protagonists of Hunter x Hunter, Killua, Kikyo Zoldyck is one of the most problematic anime mothers who got happy for her children whenever they showed a talent for assassination.

Killua was the sole target of her affection, and this soon turned into her growing overprotective of her son, leading to her cutting ties with anyone who tried befriending Killua. When Gon tried to save Killua, Kikyo tried her best to keep him away from her son, which eventually led to Killua's suffering.

9) Charlotte Linlin (One Piece)

Charlotte Linlin as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

One of the strongest pirates of the Grand Line and also one of the Emperors of the Sea, Charlotte Linlin (more commonly referred to as Big Mom) is one of the most problematic anime mothers who got too obsessed with the final treasure, the One Piece.

For this purpose, she created a huge family to create a pirate crew that no one could beat. However, during this process, she forgot to give any of her children proper love the prime example of which was Charlotte Pudding. Big Mom only wanted power from them and as Pudding hadn't awakened her powers, she couldn't get the love she yearned for as a daughter to a mother.

8) Yumi Suou (Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian)

Yumi Suou as seen in the anime (Image via Doga Koba)

Yumi Suou is the mother of Masachika, the male protagonist of Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, and one of the most problematic anime mothers who got scared of her son when he was growing up to become a genius.

Unfortunately, the protagonist only wanted praise, but Yumi feared that he might become a mechanical being. This created obstacles for Masachika in his life, and he had to separate his life from his family and had to go through different problems too.

7) Saki Arima (Your Lie in April)

Saki Arima as seen in the anime (Image via A-1 Pictures)

The mother of the male protagonist, Arima Kousei, who was obsessed with making his son the greatest pianist after one of her friends praised Arima's piano-playing skills, Saki is one of the most problematic anime mothers.

She used to physically abuse her son for piano lessons, which eventually led to him hating her mother. After she died, Saki's ghost kept haunting Kousei, who couldn't play the piano and suffered whenever he tried playing the musical instrument.

6) Hiromi Shiota (Assassination Classroom)

Hiromi Shiota as seen in the anime (Image via Lerche)

Hiromi Shiota is one of the most problematic anime mothers who tried enforcing her life goals onto her son, Nagisa, because she couldn't live a fulfilling life when she was a child. Forced to study instead of dressing up, she had an urge to look pretty, which she fulfilled by making her son wear girly clothes.

While Nagisa complied with everything his mother said, his girly persona led to him getting bullied by other students and going through some harsh emotions at a very early stage in life.

5) Isabella (The Promised Neverland)

Isabella as seen in the anime (Image via CloverWorks)

The caretaker of Grace Field House Plant 3 and the motherly figure of the main protagonists, Isabella was one of the most problematic anime mothers who put up a facade to fake her love for her children.

Luckily, Emma and the other saw through her schemes early and escaped, but they had to face so many hardships, like escaping demons and trusting strangers with their lives. She eventually met her death in the last part of the series.

4) Akemi Hinazuki (Erased)

Akemi as seen in the anime (Image via A-1 Pictures)

The mother of Kayo Hinazuki, whom the protagonist lept back in time to save three times, Akemi is one of the most problematic anime mothers who her husband abused and she later vented out her anger on Kayo.

Kayo was mentally affected by her mother's abuse, but she kept everything hidden from the world. Moreover, when Akemi kept Kayo locked outside the house on snowy days, Kayo suffered but never spoke to anyone about her mother's abuse. Fortunately, after three tries, Kayo is saved by the main protagonist.

3) Ren Sohma (Fruits Basket)

Ren Sohma as seen in the anime (Image via TMS Entertainment)

The mother of Akito Sohma, the major antagonist of Fruits Basket, and one of the most problematic anime mothers, whose love for her husband made her so conscious that she got scared of her daughter gathering her father's attention.

Ren's hatred for Akito led to the latter developing a mental illness, due to which she forced the Zordiac members to always stay with her. Moreover, Ren's enforcement of Akito to behave like a boy (hoping that this would lead to her husband keeping his attention away from her daughter) made the latter develop a phobia of her gender, which was the reason why Akito's gender reveal was so shocking.

2) Saika Gasai (Future Diary)

Saika Gasai (left) as seen in the anime (Image via asread)

The adoptive mother of the female protagonist, Yuno Gasai, of Future Diary, Saika, was neglected by her husband, and she vented out her anger on her daughter in different ways. Moreover, she treated her daughter like livestock which included keeping her in a cage and regulating every act she did.

This contributed heavily to Yuno's mental health and became the major reason for her going paranoid. When Yuno grew up, she implied the same behavior to Saika and her father, which ended up killing them.

1) Kaguya Otsutsuki (Naruto)

Kaguya as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Kaguya Otsutsuki was the final antagonist of Naruto and the first person to bring chakra to Earth. After giving birth to two sons (which meant giving a part of her chakra to her sons), her carnal desire to devour any life form forced her to devour everything, including her sons Hagoromo and Hamura.

Unfortunately, her sons had to break loose of their mothers' approaches and as a last resort, fought Kaguya in a battle until finally sealing her. Kaguya's thirst for chakra, which forced her to devour her own blood, makes her one of the most problematic anime mothers.

Final Thoughts

In every argument, there are two sides and this list utilizes the side that puts anime mothers on the side where they receive criticism. However, looking from the other side, these women also had their reasons for doing the deeds they did and some of them even received redemptions in their own ways.

Isabella's dying moments when she finally regretted her actions, Hiromi when she finally accepted Nagisa for what he was, and so many other moments show that these anime mothers weren't wrong but their conditions forced them to act differently.

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Edited by Bharath S