Subverting expectations is one of the most interesting ways to keep readers or viewers invested in any piece of literature or media. Anime is no exception. One of the most common tropes in some anime is the decoy protagonist, who mostly dies to provide meaty character development for the actual main protagonist.
But this can also go both ways. There are also decoy villainsin anime who are there to up the stakes; once they've been vanquished, out comes the true big bad to beat down the wearied heroes. It works well and provides plenty of surprises. The following anime titles, both fantasy and otherwise, exemplify this trope and love to keep their villains under wraps.
8 Attack On Titan - Titans Are Just Victims
Titans in Attack on Titan initially had a huge impact on the show's villain hierarchy, but as the series progressed, the lore grew even more intricate and deceptive. Turns out the Titans were no more than rabid humans who had lost control of their genetic ability to turn into giants, and they were merely being sent to Paradis to inconvenience the island nation.
The real villains were a lot smarter and crueler than some bumbling and malformed giants. Granted, the Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan introduced themselves quite early on, but no one likely would have thought them to be two confused and brainwashed teenagers, save for manga readers.
7 Naruto - Gaara Is Just Orochimaru's Decoy
The first half of the Naruto epic paints Orochimaru as the big bad but not before introducing Gaara as the titular character's main contender. Gaara was practically the mirror image of Naruto and what the latter could have been if he received a lot less love and care from the people around him; thus, their fight after the final stage of the Chunin exam was inadvertently personal.
As powerful as Gaara was, he wasn't exactly out for Naruto's head or Konoha's destruction. He was merely being used as a pawn by a disguised Orochimaru. Gaara later turned out to be a false antagonist once the conspiracy had been uncovered. But he certainly made for a compelling villain and could have remained just as interesting even if he continued down that path.
6 Dragon Ball Z - Androids Are Just Food For Cell
The Androids (16, 17, 18) were initially painted as agents of destruction in Dragon Ball Z since the series needed to introduce new and fresh threats after Frieza. The Androids were promptly introduced, but they were far from Dr. Gero's best creation, which turned out to be Cell.
So while Goku and his friends were busy looking for ways to defeat the three rampant Androids, Cell took the opportunity to consume and assimilate as many great fighters as he could to become the ultimate warrior. Cell ended up consuming two Androids, several citizens, and even Goku himself, contributing to his monstrous power.
5 Psycho-Pass - Makishima And His Pawns
Psycho-Pass takes place in a fictional world where people are preemptively judged for their crimes based on their psychological potential to commit them in the future (like in Minority Report). Thus, committing crimes was more difficult than ever. But somehow, a lot of twisted individuals still managed to indulge in their violent and cruel tendencies, thanks to an instigator named Makishima.
Makishima is the main villain in the first season, but he merely nudged some "special" individuals and their tendencies to cross moral and legal boundaries. Some of his most unique pawns include a hacker who murders social media personalities, an artist who makes sculptures out of her human victims, and an android who hunts humans like game meat.
4 Dororo - 13 Demons Distracted The Hero From His Evil Dad
In the 2019 remake of Dororo, the story revolves around Hyakkimaru, who, from birth, was offered up to 13 demons by his deadbeat emperor father in order to secure prosperity for his domain. The demons ended up taking Hyakkimaru's body parts and organs, leaving a blind, deaf, limbless, and skinless (etc.) baby fending for himself.
Hyakkimaru managed to survive somehow and went on a quest to retrieve his body parts by killing the 13 demons who tore him apart. But the real villain of the story was his father, Daigo, who offered him up as a sacrifice for mere royal ambition. Needless to say, the 13 demons were the highest examples of the main boss hurdle in anime.
3 Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - The Beastmen Are Just Dampeners For A Galactic Apocalypse
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann sees a post-apocalyptic Earth where the majority of the humans were figuratively hunkered down underground for fear of the Beastmen. The first half of the anime has protagonist Simon and his brother Kamina leading a revolution against their Beastmen overlords with the power of manliness, brotherhood, and space mechs.
But the real galactic threat loomed over them once they had won against the Beastmen. Because apparently, enough human existence will trigger the Human Extermination System set up by the Anti-Spiral. Seeing as Simon and his friends won and that human civilization was restarting again, they had to deal with the Anti-Spiral in the anime's second half.
2 Demon Slayer - Daki Just Tags Along With Her Brother
One could argue that the Twelve Kizuki/Moons are just decoys so that Muzan can carry out his research. But among them, Daki stands out as a decoy among decoys. Because it's not her that Muzan wants, but her brother, Gyutaro. Muzan saw Gyutaro's potential as a demon lieutenant, but the latter wanted to bring his poor sister along out of care.
So, Muzan let Daki tag along, and she and Gyutaro even shared the same body, which was disturbing enough. The thing is, Gyutaro didn't even need Daki to become powerful. In fact, it was even through Daki that they drew the attention of the Hashira or the Demon Slayer Corps. elite. To Muzan, Daki was merely an irresponsible child who could not function without her brother.
1 Death Note - Teru Mikami Stands In For Light
In an anime like Death Note where the villain is the protagonist, it's hard to get surprised by any decoy and true villain reveal. But one still has to commend Light Yagami for his cunning and deception. When he was placed under surveillance once again, he delegated the role of Death Note executions to Teru Mikami.
Sadly, Mikami was a little too volatile and overstepped his bounds, killing not just criminals but also society's "slackers." Mikami was instrumental in Light's orchestrations, but this decoy villain eventually led to the detectives catching Light red-handed, making their henchman-villain dynamic more unique compared to the rest.