Villains are an important part of any story. A villain is what challenges the hero and pushes them to greater heights, and their conflict forms the plot of the story. Without a villain, most stories would end up falling flat rather quickly.
Anime villains play a big part in most anime series, and Spring 2022 is no different. While there were not too many villains in the anime that premiered this season, there were still more than enough that terrorized viewers as they clashed with the protagonists. Here are the best villains from the Spring 2022 anime season.
8 Supreme Leader Bosslar – Love After World Domination
Unlike many of the other entries on this list, the leader of Gekko is not quite as cruel and villainous. While he has designs to rule over the world, since Love After World Domination is mostly a parody of Super Sentai shows, his role as a villain is goofier than most.
Still, even as a parody, Bosslar's influence is not to be underestimated. He commands a massive army full of beast-human hybrids, and they are all fairly powerful. While Gekko is often played for laughs, they do have some reason to be feared.
7 Brad Watt & Ghost – AMAIM Warrior At The Borderline
While Amo Shiiba and the members of Yatagarasu must fight a variety of enemies throughout the series, Brad Watt and Ghost manage to position themselves as the principal foil. The two initially begin as separate threats that Amo and his allies are forced to face, but when Brad Watt gets ahold of the Ghost AI, they combine to be an even greater threat.
The battle between Brad and Amo finally occurs during the establishment of New Japan. Brad Watt initially plays himself off as a ruthless villain, but in truth, his motives are slightly more complex.
6 Karasawa – Ya Boy Kongming!
Not all villains are evil masterminds hellbent on world domination. Karasawa may not be a criminal, but he is the biggest obstacle for Eiko and Kongming as they attempt to obtain 100,000 likes in order to go to Summer Sonia.
However, Karasawa is also an overbearing producer who forces Azalea to give up their indie-rock roots and become a cookie-cutter idol group all for the sake of popularity. While his philosophy isn't evil, it is counter to what Eiko and Kongming believe is core to creativity and being a musician, making him a perfect foil to the duo.
5 Nagisa Akutsu – Aoashi
Between not being in sync with his fellow Team members and not keeping up with their experience, Ashito Aoi has a lot of roadblocks to get over on the way to becoming a pro football player. Still, most of his teammates do want him to get better, even if it's just to further their own careers.
Nagisa Akutsu, however, is completely different. While he has only appeared a few times so far, he has made it clear that he wants nothing more than for Ashito to fail and be kicked out of the youth team. Nasty and malicious, Akutsu takes great pleasure in seeing Ashito fail even if he has nothing to do with it.
4 Yuri Briar – Spy x Family
The younger brother of Yor Briar is a polite and handsome young man - and a member of Ostania's secret police, working to hunt down spies from Westania. His main priority is Twilight, but he is unaware that the man he is looking for has married his own sister.
While Yuri Briar isn't evil, his loyalties and goals align him against Twilight, whose goals and motives are unknown to him. In addition, his methods are vicious and even cruel, though only out of necessity rather than desire. Yuri Briar may have yet to truly get in Twilight's way, but it is almost certainly a matter of time.
3 The Shadows – Summer Time Rendering
The Shadows are mysterious supernatural creatures that are only spoken of in urban legend on the island Ajiro Shinpei and Ushio Kofune call home. However, they are genuinely real and are the cause behind Ushio Kofune's tragic death.
Shadows have the power to copy another person's appearance, allowing them to take their place once they are killed. In addition, they can transform their bodies into various forms, making them quite versatile and dangerous to fight. Their true motives have yet to be uncovered, but it's clear that they are planning a great evil.
2 High Priest Bezewanst – Ascendance Of A Bookworm Season 3
For most of the series, High Priest Bezewanst existed mostly as a minor antagonist. He does not like Myne as a result of their initial meeting at the end of Season 1, but often did little to harass her, mostly just keeping an eye on her using Delia.
However, in Season 3, Bezewanst becomes part of a conspiracy to contract Myne to another noble and get her out of the cathedral. He shows his true colors as a selfish and cowardly man who only cares about his own comfort. Bezewanst is an easily hateable villain that is incredibly cathartic to see taken down.
1 Pandaemonium – The Executioner And Her Way Of Life
When Lost Ones appear in the world, they gain strange powers that break the rules of the world. To keep them from doing damage to the world, Executioners of the church are tasked with killing these Lost Ones.
Still, some Lost Ones have managed to cause great cataclysms, including Pandaemonium, a little girl who has lived hundreds of years. Her ability allows her to control monsters, and she is nigh un-killable. Even a talented veteran Executioner like Menou has a hard time taking this monster down.