What If the Heroes Turned Villain? The Dangerous Power of Anime’s Purest Souls

It’s easy to find morally good anime characters, but only a select few are blessed with the potential to bring the world to its knees. Their immense power can take many forms, from inexplicable superhuman strength to magical feats capable of carving holes through a mountain. It’s a genuine wonder how these characters haven’t been corrupted by the very abilities they possess.

Without their kindness, empathy, and strong moral values, these heroes could have easily become the greatest threats in their own series. If they had chosen a darker path, there would be no hero capable of saving the world from their wrath.

Yor Forger: An Unstoppable Killer

Yor Forger (née Briar) is the leading lady of this decade’s most popular action-comedy, Spy x Family. As a secret assassin, she possesses razor-sharp senses and a monstrous level of strength that would make her perfectly at home alongside the cast of uniquely deadly characters in Sakamoto Days. In fact, Yor’s ridiculous power and intimidating nature are often used as a running gag throughout the anime.

When she’s not in “assassin mode,” Yor has a gentle disposition, but she can instantly adopt a paralyzing, wolf-like gaze. She is so strong she could level buildings and forests with minimal effort. If she were an assassin working for someone with a goal to incite wars, no one would be able to stop her from plunging the entire world into chaos. It’s a good thing that she uses her deadly skills for the sake of making the world a safer place.

Izuku Midoriya: The End of Heroes

Izuku Midoriya, also known as Deku, holds the most coveted Quirk in My Hero Academia: One For All. It not only grants him bone-breaking power but also allows him to wield the Quirks of all his predecessors and even connect with their spirits. Deku could be considered the “Avatar” of his series, as One For All is the only Quirk with a chance of defeating the main villain, All For One.

If Deku were to side with All For One, the villain would achieve his ultimate goal of becoming an overlord and reshaping the world in his image. Had Deku not been such a dedicated fan of All Might and so stubbornly focused on being a true hero, he would have likely fallen for All For One’s manipulation. If All For One had successfully indoctrinated Deku as he did with Tomura Shigaraki, it would have spelled the end of heroes as we know it.

Taro Sakamoto: The Doom of Japan

Taro Sakamoto is the textbook definition of an overpowered protagonist, which is precisely the source of Sakamoto Days‘ humor. He’s a former hitman who caused a stir in Japan’s criminal underworld because his skill and potential as a killer were so immense that his decision to retire and live a mundane life was a crime in itself. Any talent related to fighting and killing, Taro Sakamoto had a ridiculously high aptitude for it.

Even after retiring, he can turn a mechanical pencil’s lead into a deadly projectile with a mere flick of his finger and evade a hail of bullets faster than an expert sniper can shoot. The only thing stopping Sakamoto from becoming the human equivalent of the Terminator is his sacred set of “Sakamoto Family rules,” which were established by the wife he gave up his career for. If Taro Sakamoto loved his wife any less, Japan’s underworld would never know peace.

Kafka Hibino: A Force Against Humanity

Kafka Hibino is the titular creature of Kaiju No. 8, having been turned into an immensely powerful human-Kaiju hybrid. He can tear through other Kaiju with minimal effort, propel a massive bomb into the atmosphere, and survive the blast with barely a scratch. And that’s just the beginning of what Kafka is capable of as Kaiju No. 8; he is currently the most powerful monster in his series’ recorded history.

However, Kafka himself is far from a monster. He possesses the noble desire to protect his home and support his comrades through every battle. He is pure heroism wrapped in a shell of courage and goofiness. If he were to give in to crueler desires—or worse, be corrupted by the Kaiju parasite that gave him his powers—Japan’s Defense Force would be obliterated, and Kaiju No. 9 would have everything it wanted.

Jiji: The Vessel to a Vengeful Yokai

Jin “Jiji” Enjoji is the hyperactive and charmingly dorky love “rival” to Dandadan‘s Okarun. He has always been an ordinary kid who tries his best to make others smile. Jiji is so full of kindness and silliness that it’s difficult to believe he would ever hurt anyone. That is, until he was possessed by the Evil Eye Yokai.

The Evil Eye Yokai is an entity that has come to hate humanity due to how much it has been mistreated, making it a goal to destroy every human it sees. If Jiji were less of a good guy and had ended up empathizing with the Evil Eye, he might have allowed the yokai to wreak its vengeance across Japan. At the very least, he would have single-handedly taken down the entire Kito family.

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Naruto Uzumaki: The Hero Who Could’ve Been a Villain

Naruto Uzumaki is the titular protagonist of his anime and one of the most powerful Shinobi of his time. Throughout the franchise’s main series, he was the host of the most powerful tailed beast, the nine-tailed fox known as Kurama. Thanks to Kurama, Naruto possesses a potent and nearly infinite amount of chakra that he can use to power any attack, and Kurama’s spirit is inherently destructive by nature.

Kurama himself nearly destroyed the village of Konoha the day Naruto was born. As Kurama’s host, Naruto grew up ostracized and feared by his community. Because of his lonely upbringing, Naruto had every reason to hate Konoha and willingly unleash Kurama’s wrath once he learned to harness his power. Instead, Naruto grew up to be extremely empathetic and kind, with a desire to become his village’s hero rather than its destroyer.

Hero X: A Single Snap Could End Reality

Hero X is the central character of Li Haoling’s To Be Hero X and arguably the most powerful hero in the donghua’s current timeline. He wields the ability to bend and break the fabric of reality, allowing him to effortlessly defeat hordes of enemies with a mere snap of his fingers. His power is so limitless that he is practically impossible to defeat.

After spending the majority of the series wondering about Hero X’s true nature, viewers are pleasantly surprised to find that he is just an ordinary man who hates working overtime and cares deeply for his friends. While his ultimate goals are still unknown, if he were ever to be corrupted by Fear and wished death upon the world, he could accomplish it before anyone even noticed.

Frieren: The Unimaginable Devastation

The titular elven mage of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful characters in recent anime. She possesses unparalleled control over her mana, the amount of which far surpasses almost every other character in the series. Frieren may be small and usually poses little threat, but anyone who finds themselves on the wrong end of her staff would be instantly obliterated faster than they could say “Zoltraak.”

Frieren has had over a thousand years to build her power, and so far, the only other person who can match her in magical prowess is even older. The full extent of her strength has yet to be seen in the anime, but fans have already witnessed her immense power against a team of talented mages during Season 1’s First-Class Mage Exams. The devastation Frieren could have sown had she sided with the demons is simply unimaginable.

Maomao: The Cutthroat Politician

What The Apothecary Diaries‘ Maomao lacks in physical strength, she more than makes up for with her sharp mind and extensive knowledge. Coming from the La clan, a lineage of great thinkers, Maomao is exceptionally clever and uses everything she has learned to unravel difficult mysteries. She is also highly observant and quick-witted, constantly absorbing new information.

Maomao also has the favor of countless powerful individuals in the imperial court: Jinshi, Lakan, Lady Gyokuyo, and even the Emperor himself. With her cunning and the breadth of her influence, she would have made an incredibly formidable adversary had she been born more ambitious and less empathetic. Not to mention, her vast knowledge of poisons would have become a far more pressing concern.

Sung Jinwoo: The Potential World Domination

Solo Leveling is the power-fantasy anime of the decade. After two seasons, protagonist Sung Jinwoo has become one of the strongest characters in modern anime. He has the ability to resurrect any fallen soul, whether an enemy or comrade, into one of his own personal soldiers. He currently commands an entire army of his defeated enemies, each more powerful than the last.

To top it off, Sung Jinwoo is a deadly opponent on his own. He was able to take on the Ant King, a monster that killed multiple S-rank hunters, and win. Although he has no qualms about killing hunters and turning them into his loyal Shadows, at the end of the day, Sung Jinwoo fights for his family and protects those weaker than him. If he had been more selfish and obsessed with power, he could have had the entire world bowing to him.