10 shonen anime antagonists who are more popular than the heroes

Antagonists in shonen anime tend to be vile, hateful, and full of themselves. But there are plenty of fans who love them. Sometimes they love them even more than the protagonists, which speaks volumes of their impact.

It's worth pointing out that antagonists aren't always the villains of the story, who only stand opposite the protagonists. However, Shonen anime usually treat antagonists as the villains, or at least bad guys, nine times out of 10.

The following list will catalog the antagonists in shonen anime that are more popular than the heroes.

Disclaimer: This article will contain spoilers for all the shonen anime involved, and is only the author's opinion. Only one example per series is considered to avoid duplicates.

Sosuke Aizen, Vegeta, and 8 other shonen anime antagonists with more fans than the heroes

1) Team Rocket (Pokémon anime)

In the Pokémon video game series, Team Rocket are slavers, villains, and just plain evil people that hound and harass the player. They do many evil things for their boss Giovanni in pursuit of enslaving Pokémon. In simple terms, they're the main villains of the Kanto-era games.

The shonen anime version of Team Rocket is usually represented by Jesse, James, and Meowth - two adults and a Meowth usually trying and failing to capture Pokémon for Giovanni.

The reason they're so popular is that they're the main source of comedic antics across the anime franchise. Also, some feel sorry for them after their backstories were revealed.

2) Madara Uchiha (Naruto)

Madara Uchiha (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Believe it or not, there are more than a few Naruto fans who adore Madara Uchiha as a villain way more than Naruto Uzumaki as a hero. Reasons range from his trouncing of many ninja, his godlike techniques, and his importance in the storyline. Regardless of the reason, Madara totally eclipsed the likes of Nagato/Pain, Deidara, and even Itachi Uchiha in terms of being a fan-favorite.

Many considered him the one true final boss of Naruto. He's considered popular enough to show up in many of the video games, and his battles against the Five Kage, Naruto, and Sasuke are considered iconic. His mastery over the Sharingan, and temporarily killing both Naruto and Sasuke, have earned him a spot here.

3) Sosuke Aizen (Bleach)

Sosuke Aizen has been in the top 20 since the second Bleach popularity poll came about, with his fight against Gin Ichimaru being number 4 in terms of the best fight list involving shinigami. In terms of every single Bleach antagonist before or since, Aizen remains the most popular and more iconic than even Ichigo.

Aizen is considered a master manipulator, able to think three steps ahead of everyone else. His schemes go as far back as centuries, and his machinations are nothing less than godly ambitions. Combine that with his duplicitous demeanor and frightening levels of power, and the result is a villain that's considered Bleach's best.

4) L (Death Note)

An interesting twist on the formula of hero and villain, L is Death Note's hero antagonist to Light's villain protagonist. For a shonen anime to do this was unprecedented back when Death Note was new. L is considered more popular than Light, or at least equal to Light, because of his vast intellect and role in the story.

In the cat-and-mouse game that Death Note portrays, L is always hunting down Kira and trying to capture him. Unaware that Light is Kira, L and Light end up crossing paths and outmaneuvering each other more than once. It's to the point where most fans wish that Death Note had ended with L's death.

5) Char Aznable (Mobile Suit Gundam)

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If there's one thing that many an antagonist in a mecha anime owe Mobile Suit Gundam, it's Char Aznable's popularity. Despite Char being a bit more complex than many of the typical shonen anime antagonists, he's readily shown antagonistic qualities.

Char is a backstabber, a relentless pilot, and more than willing to buy into an "ends justify the means" philosophy so long as he gets his revenge on the Zabi family.

Fans of the original Mobile Suit Gundam and all other Universal Century-era stuff will tell you that Char left the biggest impact on the series, to the point where some even rooted for him to win during Char's Counterattack.

6) Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z)

The prince of all Saiyans, and Goku's eternal rival, has been an antagonistic force since his first appearance in the shonen anime Dragon Ball Z. This entry mostly concerns Z since he starts redeeming himself during Super. It hasn't affected his popularity at all.

In terms of popularity polls, Vegeta always ranks in the top five and never leaves the second position behind Goku. With his boisterous spirit, anger issues, and general underdog feelings to him, Vegeta more than earns his popularity even when he was menacing the heroes.

In fact, most people consider his Maijin Buu temporary turn to evil to have some of his greatest moments (including the final explosion against Majin Buu).

7) Dio Brando (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

Dio, circa Jojo Part 3 (Image via David Production)

The Pillar Men may have the best theme song but no JoJo villian after Dio has come close to having Dio's popularity. Jotaro might be an iconic hero, but Dio is considered the villain that got many into the shonen anime franchise.

With his generally hammy and loud manner of speaking, his Stand The World, and providing the inciting incident that started the whole series, Dio isn't going anywhere.

Some people blame the memes that came out of the series, most focused on Dio's sayings or what Dio does. From the Stand Arrows that populate the world in Golden Wind, to Father Pucci's insane plots in Stone Ocean, Dio left a mark on the series that few have ever duplicated.

8) Esdeath (Akame ga Kill!)

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Despite Esdeath clearly being on the side of evil in the shonen anime Akame ga Kill!, she has plenty of fans. Her powers make her incredibly popular among both anime and manga fans as one of the antagonists Night Raid has to face.

The fact that she's practically the iconic face of the shonen manga and anime, showing up on covers, helps quite a lot with this. Esdeath ranked number one in the popularity polls as well. Her loyalty to her subordinates, and moments she shows of being kind or at least reasonable, helped her gain popularity as well.

9) Tomura Shigaraki (My Hero Academia)

Tomura Shigaraki (Image via Studio Bones)

Of all the villains in the shonen anime and manga My Hero Academia, none, save for Dabi, have eclipsed Tomura Shigaraki in the popularity polls. Even then, the latest popularity polls only had Shigaraki beaten by Dabi by 55 votes. Despite Midoriya and Bakugo being neck-and-neck in the hero portion of these polls, Shigaraki hangs around as an antagonist.

He's considered popular because he's Midoriya's darker mirror, a pupil of All For One. He's the face of the League of Villains, and has had far more impact than his master.

His performance when given an upgrade in the Metahuman Liberation War arc clinched him as the favorite villain. It's just too bad his consciousness got subverted by All For One as of the latest chapter.

10) Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

When compared to the actual villains from the first season of the shonen anime and manga Yu-Gi-Oh!, Seto Kaiba is still above them. Despite being mostly a rival to Yugi, Seto was an antagonist during the first episode and much of the pre-Duel Monsters arc manga. As some recall, he tried to kill Yugi and friends during that time period.

He remains the iconic shonen anime antagonist, however, as many enjoy his sarcasm, snark, dueling deck, and dragon obsession. The parody Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged series version of him, plus the dubbing talent of Eric Stuart throughout the anime, definitely helped bolster his popularity.

Every Yu-Gi-Oh! rival since then has been compared to Kaiba, with only Jack Atlas from 5D's coming close to his popularity.

Edited by Prem Deshpande