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One of the most popular tropes in anime is a villain being obsessed with a protagonist, or vice versa. Many classic anime features this trope, from the Big Three series like Naruto to new-gen smash-hits like Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man.
In most cases, the trope helps to elevate the story to new heights, rarely considered as a detriment to a series’ narrative. While many anime series take this approach to highlight the relationship of their protagonists and antagonists, there are a few others that stand out for a number of reasons.
Here are 5 anime villains who were obsessed with their protagonist, and 5 more times it was reversed. Readers must take into account that this list will contain spoilers and is ranked in no particular order.
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Makima and Denji, 4 other villains obsessed with their protagonist
1) Orochimaru’s obsession with Sasuke’s body
Starting this list with the most memorable and creepy villain in Naruto, Orochimaru's obsession with Sasuke was extremely weird. One of the main reasons the former was so obsessed with the latter was because of his Uchiha body, possessing the Sharingan as well as tremendous amounts of chakra and natural skill.
Using his body transfer jutsu, Orochimaru’s goal was to take over Sasuke’s body and make it his own, permanently absorbing the Sharingan as a result. Fortunately, this didn’t work out as the former Sannin had planned. Just as the body transfer was being attempted, the young Uchiha killed his mentor and continued in his journey as a rogue ninja.
2) Yuno’s romantic obsession with Yukiteru
Future Diary’s Yuno Gasai was eventually revealed to be one of the series’ main antagonists in its final moments when she chose to go against the protagonist, Yukiteru. Despite going against him, she was romantically obsessed with him throughout the entire anime, even while they were fighting one another.
While he also reciprocated some similar feelings, they’re on a much smaller scale than what Yuno felt for him. Interestingly, their romantic plot device is one of the few constants throughout the series, benefiting most from its quality rather than harming it.
3) Makima’s obsession with Denji lies in what’s inside
Theirs is an interesting example since Chainsaw Man’s Makima wasn’t actually obsessed with Denji, but Pochita, the Chainsaw Devil. Her fixation was rooted in her desire to acquire the Devil, which lives within the main protagonist as per their contract. Nevertheless, she portrayed this as an obsession with him for the vast majority of the series’ first part, only revealing her true goal once she gets confident about her victory.
While some may argue that Denji was obsessed with her as well, the reality was that the antagonist was manipulating him into loving her all this while. Since anyone reading the manga for the first time would be unaware of Makima’s true motives, the core truth is - her obsession with Denji was enough reason to mention their case in this list.
4) Esdeath’s love for Tatsumi gets weirdly obsessive and possessive
Esdeath’s obsession with Tatsumi in the Akame ga Kill! anime can easily be considered one of the most off-putting pairings in this article. Despite being enemies, she fell in love with him at first sight, and he, in turn, instantly became all she could think about.
The obsession continued until the series’ finale, when she took his corpse and froze them both in ice, which shortly after broke to snow-sized pieces. It’s one of the few examples where the villain got to achieve their ultimate goal. Without a shadow of doubt, it is one of the most creepy examples on this list.
5) Toga’s deadly obsession with Midoriya
Himiko Toga’s obsession with Izuku Midoriya throughout My Hero Academia is downright terrifying, showing no hesitation to hurt or even murder anyone she feels stands in the way of her love. This obsession has been a constant since their first meeting when she laid her eyes upon him while fighting Ochako Uraraka.
Undoubtedly, it is one of the most unhealthy obsessions on this list, especially considering her obvious mental health issues. While it is not canon yet, many fans suspect Toga to have not just one but many illnesses, which explains her murderous intent, growing increasingly quick despite being constantly rejected by Midoriya.
Guts and Griffith, 4 other anime protagonists obsessed with their villain
1) Naruto’s desire to bring Sasuke home becomes obsessive
The Naruto series spends much of its story seeing the titular hero chase after his best friend, Sasuke Uchiha, who defected from Konoha at a young age. Despite the latter's obvious intent to kill the former, Naruto never gave up, always striving to get the Uchiha to turn back towards the path of light.
Eventually, it takes the two of them to fight each other to death to achieve this goal, with both sacrificing an arm in the process. Despite the hero's noble intentions, it’s clear that Naruto’s desire to bring Sasuke home becomes obsessive as the series progresses, with the climax being the aforementioned fight between the two.
2) Eren’s murderous obsession with Titans
During what many fans would call a simpler time in Attack on Titan’s story, viewers saw a young Eren Yeager become absolutely obsessed with killing each and every Titan. It influences the vast majority of his actions in the early seasons of the series and greatly affects the character's growth as the truth behind his sworn enemy is finally revealed.
It even gets to the point where Eren takes sadistic pleasure in killing the mindless, naked humanoid enemies, brutalizing them when in his Titan form. There’s no doubt that this fanaticization with the death of the Titan race quickly turns into an unhealthy obsession.
3) Guts’ rage is fueled by an obsession with bringing Griffith to justice
The Berserk protagonist’s relationship with its overarching antagonist is undoubtedly one of the most unique since the two began their story as best friends. However, this quickly turns to murderous animosity when a battered Griffith chooses to sacrifice Guts and all of their friends to be given the power to achieve his personal dreams.
This begins the latter’s murderous obsession with bringing the former to justice, to the point of willingly hurting himself physically and mentally just to achieve his goal. His idee fixe is unhealthy in every sense. Arguably, this is one of the most quintessential examples of an anime protagonist being obsessed with their antagonist.
4) Gon foregoes his life to enact his justice on Neferpitou
When Gon and Killua return to confront Meruem and the Chimera Ant infestation, the former does so under the pretense of being able to see his mentor, Kite, revived. However, his enemy revealed that was not the case, sending the young boy to such rageful, obsessive depths that he sacrificed his own lifespan to see justice brought to his enemy.
What follows is a set of incredibly emotional scenes which emphasized how angry and sad Gon was over the death of a dear friend. It’s undoubtedly one of the intense “rage” scenes in the anime, highlighting exactly how obsessive his personality had been.
5) Ichigo’s calm and collected approach to Aizen is still obsessive
When one looks at the plot of Tite Kubo’s Bleach, there are a few points in which Ichigo could have been able to pull the chute and remove himself from the Seireitei’s conflict with Aizen. However, he never took these opportunities. Despite always getting back to what was taken before, he continued to pursue his enemy.
It’s a clear case of obsession, even though the relationship was never presented as such in the anime series. While Ichigo’s desire for standing up for what is right was a crucial factor that motivated him to defeat Aizen, it still counts as a case of obsession.
While the anime universe is populated with such examples of protagonists being obsessed with antagonists, it is often cited as a common trope particular to shonen. But whatever might be the case, we know that anime heroes will continue to be obsessed with either their friends or villians. On that note, do let us know your favorite obsessive pairing from this list in the comments section below!
