Anime is a medium full to the brim with some of the most iconic character designs of all time. After all, the art styles present in these shows are in a class of their own, with certain shows becoming popular mainly due to the sheer level of panache in their animation styles. As a result, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that the majority of popular anime characters can be recognized on the basis of their silhouette alone!
This is especially true in the case of the villains present in these anime, who pretty much exude evil from the very moment they're introduced on the big screen. However, not all anime have distinct villains, and some of these characters don't really seem all that distinct if people just look at their silhouette. The following anime villains are great examples of character designs that fail the silhouette test despite their iconic stature.
10 Light Yagami (Death Note)
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Light Yagami is one of the most iconic anime characters of all time. His ideas seem noble at first glance, but the execution is twisted in more ways than one.
If fans look at his silhouette, they'll have a hard time trying to identify this character. After all, one of the biggest reasons why Light is so dangerous is that he appears like a regular high school student but has the power to dictate whether a person deserves to live!
9 Shou Tucker (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Shou Tucker has a pretty unremarkable design, and this was intentional. After all, this character seemed like nothing more than a loving father... before his twisted side comes at the forefront, that is.
The fact that he merged his daughter with the family dog just to secure funding for his project shows just how demented this man really is. Thankfully, Edward managed to discover the nefarious nature of his actions before Tucker could cause more harm with his experiments.
8 Toichiro Suzuki (Mob Psycho 100)
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Mob Psycho 100 is easily one of the most engaging and beautiful anime anyone can check out. The adventures of Mob and his friends are pretty entertaining and reach a whole new level of awesomeness when these heroes have to deal with the evil of Claw.
The head of Claw, Toichiro Suzuki, seems like a pretty ordinary character at first glance. However, it's when he reveals the true extent of his powers that viewers realize that this villain is not someone to be trifled with... although he's still no match for Mob's immense power.
7 Askeladd (Vinland Saga)
The first season of Vinland Saga served as a prequel to flesh out Thorfinn's character and his motivations. At the heart of this season was Askeladd, a fascinating character who was a villain in name alone.
His character is pretty engaging, and witnessing the hand fate dealt him should've been satisfying... but really wasn't, especially for Thorfinn. Given the realistic character designs of this series, it's easy to see why many people might not be able to recognize his silhouette.
6 Johan Liebert (Monster)
Monster is one of the best and most underrated anime around. It also plays around with the idea that any person, no matter how normal, can always hide his true identity as a sinister and demented criminal.
This serial killer has no regard for anyone's life, including his own. He's one of the most chilling anime villains of all time, and his seemingly normal everyman appearance contributes to this notion.
5 Yoshikage Kira (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
Another serial killer who seems like a normal person is none other than the legendary Yoshikage Kira himself. He's an unhinged murderer whose twisted manner of killing is pretty disturbing indeed.
He changes his appearance during JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:Diamond is Unbreakable and genuinely seems like a normal human being... until his true colors appear front and center, that is. Thankfully. Josuke and the rest of the gang manage to stop this serial killer in his tracks before he can continue his rampage.
4 Vicious (Cowboy Bebop)
Cowboy Bebop is one of the greatest anime ever made, in no small part due to its cast of lovable characters. This includes Vicious as well, who is a pretty hate-able villain whose motivations become more understandable over time.
Vicious' silhouette makes him look like a pretty run-of-the-mill character. However, his sinister aura and chilling dialogue are what make him such an effective villain in one of the greatest anime of all time.
3 Zamasu (Dragon Ball)
Ideally, Zamasu's silhouette should be pretty easy to point out in Dragon Ball. However, this series has several different Kai that share a similar sort of design, making them harder to differentiate.
As a result, it wouldn't be surprising if most people look at Zamasu's silhouette but end up identifying it as the Supreme Kai's instead. It's a simple misunderstanding that doesn't take away from Zamasu's imposing presence as a villain.
2 Gin Ichimaru (Bleach)
The betrayal of Aizen and Gin was one of the most shocking moments in the entire series and served as a perfect ending to the brilliant Soul Society arc. However, Gin's motivations turned out to be something completely different, with the character performing a 180° during the events of Bleach.
He's one of the most tragic figures in Bleach who put his life on the line to try and stop Aizen from fulfilling his goal. He didn't care that he had to become a villain in the eyes of everyone he loved, and this is perhaps why his character design is so unremarkable in a series full of Tite Kubo's masterful artwork.
1 Yuno Gasai (Future Diary)
Yuno Gasai is one of the most iconic yandere characters in anime. Her sheer obsession with Yukiteru causes her to switch between the side of good and evil over the course of the series.
It's somewhat fitting that this character seems like a regular student and her silhouette is completely unremarkable. Just like most of the villains on this list, there's a sinister side to this character that most people aren't aware of for the longest time.