The numerous mothers of anime, both biological and adoptive, are well-known for being some of the most wholesome characters out there. These mothers may take a backseat to the events of the story, but they more than make up for their small roles with their unconditional support for their families.
While most anime moms are the best characters their series has to offer, there are sadly other moms that are less than considerate towards their families. Although many biological mothers may fit into this role, these foster mothers are also infamous for their lack of motherly sentiments and their cold-heartedness.
7 Roji – One Piece
When Nico Olvia departed to study the Void Century, she left her daughter Robin back on Ohara in the care of Roji, her biological aunt. Unfortunately, while Roji cared for her own daughter, she absolutely had no qualms about physically and verbally abusing Robin, going as far as to call her a freeloader.
At one point, Roji left Robin by herself to complete her chores while she and her family went out to celebrate a birthday. Even her husband deemed Roji's methods to be too cruel and thus would defend Robin from her temper.
6 Mrs. Stadtfeld – Code Geass
The legal wife of Kallen's father, Mrs. Stadtfeld adopted the Black Knight member Kallen and her brother into her household as a result of her sterility. However, despite the two of them being her husband's children, Mrs. Stadtfeld is unkind to them both, going as far as to harshly scold Kallen in front of one of her friends.
While Mrs. Stadtfeld is cold towards her adoptive children, she saves her real ire towards Kallen's biological mother, whom she makes it a point to abuse at every possible moment. She even went as far as to disallow Kallen's mother from seeing her children, to no avail.
5 Kaneki's Aunt – Tokyo Ghoul
In one of the more tragic backstories in anime, Kaneki was sent to live with his aunt after his mother died. At first, his aunt treated him well, but she eventually started to compare Kaneki to her own son, resulting in her becoming abusive toward the former.
Despite Kaneki's attempts to avoid interacting with her, his aunt would go out of her way to verbally abuse him, even going as far as to exclude Kaneki from meals with the family. It is ultimately revealed that Kaneki's aunt was responsible for his mother's death, having extorted her for money, which led to her working herself to death.
4 Queen Of Midland – Berserk
Though not as hateful towards her family as other stepmothers, the Queen of Midland still possesses a cold-hearted demeanor. Married to the King of Midland, she begins having an extramarital affair with her brother-in-law, Julius, to escape the lovelessness of her marriage.
Being of noble birth, the Queen of Midland despises Griffith for being a commoner, despite his gradual rise to power, and disapproves of her stepdaughter Charlotte's infatuation with him. In the end, she is killed when Griffith lights her tower on fire in retaliation for her assassination attempt on him.
3 Isabella – The Promised Neverland
One of the caretakers of the Grace Field House, Isabella presented herself as a sweet and loving motherly figure towards all the children in her care. As a result, many of the Grace Field orphans came to love her as if she was their own mother.
In truth, Isabella was a malevolent individual who gave the children away to be eaten by demons with no remorse. She also proved to be very manipulative, often resorting to physical violence in order to pacify the remaining children, some of whom were aware of their imminent fates in her care.
2 Carmel – One Piece
Like Isabella, Carmel presented herself as a kind motherly figure while hiding her nefarious plans for the children in her care. In this case, Carmel intended to sell her children, including a young Charlotte Linlin, to the World Government in order for them to be trained as Marines and Cipher Pol agents.
Outside of pacifying Linlin's behavior and appetite, Carmel viewed the children in her care as nothing more than pawns to be sold to the highest bidder. But before she could sell Linlin and the other children, she mysteriously met her demise during one of Linlin's feeding frenzies.
1 Gyokumen Koshu – Saiyuki
The mystically beautiful Lady Gyokumen has only one ambition: to revive her dead lover Gyumaoh and become his wife. To do so, she will not hesitate to bend anyone and everyone to her will, even if it means she has to lie to their faces.
Gyokumen's single-minded ambition also puts her at odds with her two children, both of whom she holds in low regard. The only time she ever interacts with her children is in order to further her chances of reviving Gyumaoh. Otherwise, she considers her stepson Kougaji a failure and completely neglects her biological daughter Lirin.