10 Anime Where the Bad Guys Should’ve Won, but Didn’t

10 Anime where the villains were stronger, smarter, or just right about their opinions, but had to be defeated because of the plot's demands.

Oftentimes, anime villains are defeated, not because they were outclassed, but because they need to let the heroes win. These villains have a better strategy, have a morally righteous standpoint, or they are simply too overpowered to be taken down the right way.

Yet, plot armor as thick as a rhino’s hide keeps the villains at bay, preventing them from securing their righteous victory. This list consists of anime, which prompts viewers to question: The bad guy should have won, though? So here are 10 anime in which the bad guy had every reason to come out on top, but was robbed of the opportunity.

1 Hunter x Hunter – Meruem

Meruem, the most powerful Chimera Ant, might have been a ruthless villain in the beginning, but he eventually felt sympathy. He even realized the folly in human societies. He was disgusted by how people can become rulers via connections or bloodline, without any merit.

Meruem wanted to replace the unfairness of human society, where the weak suffer and the powerful rule mercilessly. He realized the true purpose of power was to protect the weak. He was powerful enough to defeat several powerful hunters in the anime, to the point that Yoshihiro Togashi had to use a Deus Ex Machina to bring Meruem down.

There are several plot holes when it comes to Netero’s last resort, Poor Man’s Rose. Meruem’s defeat feels too forced in Hunter x Hunter, and if the chemo-explosive bomb hadn’t been suddenly introduced, Meruem would have won.

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2 The Promised Neverland – The Demons

The ending of The Promised Neverland showed the orphans happily returning to the human world, and the only sacrifice is Emma’s memory. Even then, Emma eventually reunites with the gang, as hinted at by the finale of the manga. The ending is just too good to be true. Emma’s memories seem like a very small sacrifice in front of saving so many lives, especially when she is also successfully transported to the human world.

The final battle against the Demon Queen showed her collapsing under her own hunger. Emma also convinced Norman to stand down through sheer compassion. Somehow, the series provided the children and Emma with a cost-free happy ending. The demons who are physically superior should have won, but didn’t.

3 Death Note – Light Yagami

By the end of Death Note, Light and Near were in a battle of wit and cunning, but Teru Mikami was too reckless and retrieved the real Death Note to kill Kiyomi Takada. This fatal mistake allowed Near to swap the Death Note for a fake. The only reason Light lost was because of Teru, not himself.

Light has always been a cunning character, and his actual plan to kill Near would have worked if not for his follower. Light had the brains and the power to elude capture forever. He would have won had he not let his overconfidence take over.

4 Jujutsu Kaisen – Sukuna

In Jujutsu Kaisen, Sukuna was defeated because of a combination of two factors. One was because Yuji landed a Black Flash, and the second was due to Megumi’s resistance to Sukuna from within. Sukuna’s control over Megumi’s body cracked and split, leaving his powers to deal with the different threats, leaving him unable to defend himself against Yuji’s last strike.

Yet, Sukuna’s defeat feels like it was done for narrative purposes. Sukuna was defeated simply because he had to be, not because he was too weak. Plenty of Jujutsu Kaisen fans regard Sukuna’s defeat as a forced one, especially after he defeated Gojo, the strongest sorcerer. Sukuna had to die so that the anime could perpetuate lessons against villainous and evil characters.

5 Demon Slayer – Upper Ranks Demons and Muzan

While Demon Slayer is lauded because of the eventual win of the good against the bad, the series is filled with questionable defeats of villains. Most of the Upper Rank demons, and especially Muzan, were extremely powerful. Yet, the Hashiras kept defeating demons who were several times more powerful than they were.

Firstly, Akaza is an extremely powerful demon, and had he not remembered his human past, Tanjiro and Giyuu would not have survived the fight. Kokushibo had already killed Muichiro and Genya, and Sanemi would have been gone too had Kokushibo not started questioning his own motives. Koyoharu Gotouge suddenly gave the villains flashbacks to weaken their resolve at the last minute.

6 Attack on Titan – Zeke Yeager

Zeke Yeager’s plan of euthanizing the Eldians was villainized in Attack on Titan, but was Eren’s plan any better? Zeke wanted to make sure that no Titans would ever emerge, completely eliminating their threat. Of course, it had its own downfalls, but at that point, it was about choosing between two evils.

Marley would have still tortured the existing Eldians, but it’s better than a genocide that killed 80% of the world’s population. Among that 80%, a majority were innocent people, and Eren failed them.

7 Bleach – Aizen

Aizen is the overarching antagonist of Bleach, and there are plenty of controversies surrounding his death. He possessed the Hogyuku, whose true power lies in its ability to sense the deepest desires of those around it and materialize them. Aizen was almost indestructible with it, yet he was defeated by Ichigo.

The reason Bleach hints at is that Aizen was lonely because of his strength and thus wanted to be defeated by someone who could at least equal or surpass him. The fact that Aizen was defeated only because he wanted to means that he could have easily won if his heart had wished for it.

8 Naruto – Madara

Madara is an extremely complex villain. He wanted to force a perfect and conflict-free world, but his method of achieving his goal was questionable. He wanted to trap humans in Infinity Tsukuyomi, effectively taking away their free will. Madara is also a powerful villain in Naruto, and his feats cannot be taken lightly.

Thus, when he was defeated, various controversies came out in the open. He was defeated after Kaguya Otsutsuki’s will took over his body, and he was eventually left to deal with the immense chakra drain. He was basically written off.

9 Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure – Dio Brando

Dio Brando might be the supreme meme of the anime community, but his presence in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is undeniable. His battle against Jotaro in Part 3 is legendary, but the last power-up of Star Platinum, which is to halt the flow of time, is a last-minute pull.

Nothing in the anime suggested this power would appear, and it’s a device that was introduced just to bring down Dio. This ultimately made the finale of Dio extremely disappointing.

10 My Hero Academia – All For One

All For One has lived for decades and has an entire arsenal of Quirks at his disposal. Some of these powers are lethal and dangerous, yet AFO never uses all of them, but only a select few, which he repeatedly brandishes against the heroes. Despite being so cunning, he made quite a few foolish decisions in the finale of My Hero Academia.

At the same time, the heroes received timely power-ups one after another, and Bakugo was literally brought back from his death. These elements feel too convenient as they were perfect to counter the overwhelming power of AFO.

Do you think these anime baddies deserve another fair chance? Who amongst these do you think should have won? Let us know in the comments below.