Top 10 Creepiest Anime & Manga Characters

Top 10 Creepiest Anime & Manga Characters

Written by: ClayDragon & Shiggins

Since it’s October and on the run-up to Halloween, we decided to go for a slightly darker list than usual, and came up with this. We’ve scourged every series we’ve seen and categorised the Top 10 creepiest characters ever. This isn’t just in terms of looks, but also their personalities, mannerisms and interactions with other characters. This list was requested by Aynsleigh Hollywood! Happy birthday Aynsleigh!

As is this the case with many of these lists, SPOILER ALERT. You have been warned.

DISCLAIMER: We are not responsible for any nightmares you may have after reading this list.

10.)        Haruna Niekawa (Durarara!!) (Written by ClayDragon)

“Will you accept my love today?”

Everyone enjoys a nice love story: Girl meets man, girl falls in love with man, man extorts girl, girl remains in love with man, girl leaves man due to outcry over their relationship… It’s like something out of a fairy tale. Haruna was a fairly normal schoolgirl until she met Takashi Nasujima, a teacher at her school. They ended up getting together and remained that way for a while until Haruna was forced to transfer schools due to people finding out about their relationship.

That is not the smile of a sane person.

So far, so normal, right? Well, yes, except that isn’t really the whole story. See, people did find out about their relationship – when Haruna was caught trying to cut Takashi with a knife in order to physically verify their love. Her mental stability went down from there. After that, she came into contact with Saika, a sentient katana that forces all who wield her to attack everyone they see in order to spread Saika’s control. Haruna’s mental stability pretty much hit rock bottom at this point.

Haruna is very happy to see you...

She then decides to go after the new object of Takashi’s affections (Anri) and attempts to kill her so she can have Takashi all to herself. Thanks to a somewhat contrived coincidence, this plan backfires and Haruna is forced to flee – freed from Saika’s control, but still a knife-obsessed psycho bent on revenge. Haruna just managed to scrape her way onto this list because of three things: her utter lack of empathy for anything not Takashi-related, her twisted views on love, and her creepy eyes. She’s definitely not someone you want to meet in a dark alley.

9.)           Emporio Ivankov (One Piece) (Written by Shiggins)

“Never underestimate the power of miracles!!"

I think this may be the best example of an awful design. A character that is not even proportionally correct is terrifying enough, but when you base it off of Tim Curry’s character from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, you know you’re going to be keeping many readers up at night. Emporio Ivankov is a man and former resident of the huge infamous prison Impel Down.

A prison which gave him an entire stage to perform on...Huh.

Now, I have nothing against transvestites or transgendered or transsexual or anything like that. I am quite liberal. What I do not like though is a character that can literally jump through the air, slash you and transform you into the opposite sex against your will. Does Ivankov do this with everybody? I don’t know who to trust anymore thanks to this power and I’m already scared!

The Rule 63 version of Ivankov is actually more tolerable.

Fishnet tights, purple hair, a body that makes no sense physically, a ginormous head and a cape just add to the weirdness of this character. It gets even weirder when the character has crazed hissy fits and acts like a drama queen (ha ha, I’m so funny). I suppose the majority of this character’s personality isn’t creepy, but the design itself makes me cringe and just assume that not enough work went into giving Tim Curry a proper One Piece portrayal, which I find utterly disappointing too. All praise Tim Curry!

8.)           Ragyō Kururin (Kill La Kill) (Written by Shiggins)

“Now, which one of you will adorn me today?”

Oooh, boy. I have wanted to talk about this woman for a long time. If you’re a fan of the amazing series Kill La Kill, you’ll understand the biggest reason she made it onto this list. If you’re not a fan of the series, go watch it then come back here to nod in understanding. If you are unable to properly understand this creepy lady, just picture the lovechild of Cruella De Vil and a child molestation anime. (so… Boku no Pico).

"Pick a colour, any colour. I'll guess your future!"

The CEO of a massive clothing corporation and the mother of Satsuki, who was the previous main antagonist, Ragyō is terrifying. Despite not appearing for the first half of the series, she instantly dominates from her first appearance by using huge rainbow-coloured hair and clothing to literally “shine”. Also, her fashion sense can range from bright and beautiful to downright weird and not at all practical.

"Don't forget it, you'll regret it, Mother knows best!"

And now we address the elephant in the room. Ragyō literally feels up her daughter and sexually assaults her. The series is filled with very few uncomfortable scenes and although many can be shocking, it’s only the scenes between mother and daughter that make the viewer really shudder and twist. To see a strong character like Satsuki as nothing more than the toy for a mother’s wandering hand in a bath is a moment no viewer will forget anytime soon.

7.)           Genocider Syo (Dangan Ronpa) (Written by Shiggins)

“My behind! Byakuya-sama's behind! When our behinds collide, we will reach new heights!”

                                                                                                                                

Oh yeah… Spoiler alert. Ah well, too late now. Ironically, the character with the largest history of killing is not the main villain but she’s definitely as unforgettable for her own reasons. Also known as Genocide Jack or Jill in the English dub of the game (but fuck off, because that name is stupid), Genocider Syo is the Ultimate Murderous Fiend and the split personality of Toko Fukawa.

No, I don't know where she was hiding them. No, I don't want to know either.

By this point, you’ll no doubt be wondering what exactly it is that makes her so creepy. Perhaps it’s how she just wants to kill as many people as possible, but only if they are hunky men that turn her on and make her moist. It could possibly be that. Or her obsession with the handsome Byakuya Togami, to the point where she’ll actually start stalking him during inappropriate times. It’s hard to pinpoint the main reason.

How does she do that with her tongue?

A character that almost literally appears out of nowhere is exciting, and it is creepy how sexually wild she can get when murder is involved. An extra “creep-factor” is how we can literally go from a shy stuttering nerd one minute, to a lustful murdering lunatic the next. Oh and by the way, cross-dressing boys turn her on so much she wants to kill them. Yes. That is a thing with her.

6.)           Alois Trancy (Kuroshitsuji) (Written by Shiggins)

"Oh, so you didn't want me to come piss with you?"

Before I begin talking about this character, I’d just like to say that I enjoy Kuroshitsuji. I write the reviews for it every month now and I get a “kick” out of seeing a young boy and a demon butler have a bunch of laughs and dark content together. That being said, I do understand the series can be considered very sexual if you look at the subtle hints throughout. Most of the time, the series is very subtle. Alois Trancy on the other hand decides to take the sexuality of this series and beat the shit out of you with it.

This must be what rich people do after they drink tea - pose like idiots.

This attention-seeking little brat was once a poor little boy who lived in a horrible village. After his little brother managed to get every single person killed there (long story), Alois eventually ended up in the delightful Trancy Estate… where he was a slave and sex toy of a disgusting paedophile. And before you ask, the paedophile is not on this list because his appearance is less than an episode. And I know that should be a sympathetic-enough backstory to make me be nice to him but… no.

Do yourself a favour and don't watch this scene.

When a character’s first scene literally involves prancing about in thigh-high tights and shorts, ripping out an eyeball and speaking Spanish mockingly, you’re well-aware of the freakiness you’re in for this season. Alois is a perfect example of how weird and sadistic the anime got, even making him do his own version of the infamous cross-dressing scene Ciel did in season 1 but adding in extra licking and more dancing during it. Alois is a cold, sadistic bastard who would probably molest you if he could and then laugh his ass off afterwards because it was so funny. Avoid him, boys and girls. Nobody is safe from his fingers or tongue.

5.)           Caster (Fate/Zero) (Written by ClayDragon)

“Fright is about the feeling that you will die. The true meaning of terror doesn’t lie in a static condition, but in a change.”

Caster is…weird. There’s no other way to describe him. Summoned by Ryunosuke Uryu to enter the Fourth Holy Grail War, Caster first appears to be a relatively decent person, freeing a captured kid from Uryu. Then, this gets horribly subverted when he brutally kills the child himself, and explains that the feeling of hope that his victims get makes their deaths even sweeter. He only gets more depraved from there, mainly because he and Uryu are pretty much kindred spirits.

Just in case you were wondering, none of those children are his.

In fact, Caster is pretty much what would happen if a character from one of H.P. Lovecraft’s books ever got into anime. His eyes bulge out from his gaunt face, and they tend to point in different directions. He can summon hordes of tentacled monsters to do his bidding, and he and Uryu embark on a spate of serial killings simply because they’re bored. Caster also has a disturbing fascination with Saber, as he believes her to be the reincarnation of Jeanne D’Arc and as such he stalks her in order to make her remember her previous life (he’s wrong, by the way).

Hey, at least he can read both pages of the book at once.

To be honest, anyone who looks and acts like Caster was bound to make this list. He’s ugly, depraved, and places absolutely no value on human lives. The only exception to this is Uryu, as Caster is genuinely saddened when his Master dies. Add that to the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) hints of paedophilia, and it’s easy to see just why we find Caster so creepy. And that’s without mentioning the fact that he can transform into a massive eldritch abomination.

4.)           Shou Tucker (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) (Written by ClayDragon)

“The progress of medicine… The progress of human knowledge… is the result of experimenting on humans. Someone has to do it. As a scientist… you should be the first to…”

Introduced as the ‘Sewing Life Alchemist’, Shou Tucker starts off helping Ed and Al on their quest to get their original bodies back. Praised as the only alchemist to create a talking, sentient chimera, he was plagued with personal issues, such as his wife leaving him two years prior to the start of the story, forcing him to raise his daughter Nina and her dog Alexander by himself. He was only put under more stress by the approaching deadline of his state alchemist assessment. However, he was able to find a workaround…

The very picture of a happy family man (note: that was sarcasm).

By which I mean he turned his daughter and dog into a chimera. Let me repeat: the man put his daughter through an irreversible (and most likely very painful) experience that he knew full well would potentially kill her. In fact, it would probably have been better had Nina and Alexander actually died in the process, as it would have been a mercy compared to being a chimera for the rest of their short lives. If that wasn’t bad enough – and it really, really is – he also subjected his wife to the same procedure, and she starved herself to death rather than live as a chimera.

I was going to make an 'inseperable' joke here, but I'm not quite ready to be that soulless yet.

The worst part? Tucker shows absolutely no remorse for his actions, and even tries to pull a ‘not so different’ speech on Edward, arguing that they both broke a fundamental law of alchemy because of their own selfish desires. Thankfully, Tucker gets killed by Scar not long after, but quite frankly he deserved worse than a quick death. He’s even stated to be the one character in the series who goes to Hell – even people like Lust and Envy go to Heaven, whilst Tucker stays in Hell like he deserves.

3.)           Orochimaru (Naruto) (Written by Shiggins)

“This child… intrigues me to no end.”

Okay, you knew this guy was going to be on this list. As one of my all-time favourite villains ever, Orochimaru can make as many appearances as possible on our top 10s and we’ll hold no shame for it. And if you ever thought for a second that we would not include a snake-man who wants to be inside Sasuke’s body… well, you’re just silly.

"This is...dirt! I love dirt!"

Let’s face it, you already know why he is on this list. I could go on and on about his science experiments on live humans, his cruel personality, his sadistic attitude towards anybody under the age of 18 or the fact his biggest obsession in the series is to enter a young boy and stay inside him until he’s finished before moving onto the next underage boy. With so much to talk about, it’s actually difficult to talk about just one aspect of him.

I could write pages on this picture alone.

Should I just focus on his neck and tongue? I should because talking about anything else Orochimaru does to make him creepy has been said before. So long and elegant. Smooth and yet alluring, like a snake in the grass. Your eyes can’t help but watch it wiggle around enchantingly, and you follow the route of flesh until you come to the main body of the boneless freak himself. Just remember, if you ever wonder why Orochimaru is creepy… look at his neck and tongue. They deserve your attention.

2.)           Giselle Gewelle (Bleach) (Written by ClayDragon)

“I had to deliver the finishing blow myself. Her expression at that very moment… I… I got so moist…”

Hoo, boy. Every group of villains tends to have that one member with more psychological problems that necessary, and the Vandenreich is no exception to that rule. Enter Giselle Gewelle, a young girl whose blood can control anyone it touches. By itself, this wouldn’t be too bad. However, Giselle may not actually be a girl – the series is a little ambiguous when it comes to her gender. On one hand, Yumichika states that she’s actually a guy due to him being able to smell semen on her, but on the other hand she clearly identifies as female.

That’s not too creepy by itself. What pushes her over the edge is her…enthusiasm when it comes to using her powers. She takes a huge amount of joy in turning people (living or dead) into her own personal zombies, and she’s not above killing her own team members if it means she gets an extra corpse or two. Not only that, but she takes great pleasure in overriding the personalities of whomever she controls, turning them into willing slaves.

Lies! Lies and deceit!

Going further, she derives great sexual pleasure from killing and re-raising people, especially if they can’t fight back. It’s implied that she uses her zombies for more than just fighting, and she isn’t averse to abusing them if she wants. These traits are at odds with her usual personality, which is a lot more cheerful and nonchalant than you’d expect. As such, this is why a sadistic, abusive, (possibly) transsexual necrophiliac with a blood fetish makes the number 2 spot on our list.

1.)           Hisoka (Hunter X Hunter) (Written by ClayDragon)

"Those eyes. That look. That spirit... I can't wait… To break you."

Over the course of this list we’ve seen yanderes, incestuous mothers, necrophiliacs and straight-up bastards, but none of them come close to out-creepying Hisoka. First seen during the Hunter Exam, Hisoka begins to take an unhealthy interest in the two main protagonists, who are both twelve years old. It’s then revealed that Hisoka’s bloodlust can reach insane levels, and his state of bloodlust is pretty much equivalent to his state of arousal. He also has a habit of making…unsettling faces when interacting with Gon (or even when he’s just thinking about him).

I couldn't decide which face to show, so I decided to use all of them.

Hisoka plans on monitoring Gon’s growth as a fighter so he can enjoy their inevitable confrontation even more, which isn’t that unusual a thing. What makes this disturbing is his tendency to refer to Gon as ‘unripe fruit’ and his claim that he’ll ‘pluck him’. Yeah…. This isn’t helped by him claiming to be turned on during a fight with Gon, and the fact that he blatantly stares at Gon and Killua’s behinds, and the fact that he took a long time to cover himself up when Gon and Killua stumbled upon him when he was bathing.

Jesus fucking Christ, Hisoka.

It’s almost impossible to discern Hisoka’s true intentions, as he’s a self-proclaimed liar who isn’t above messing with everyone he meets. To make things even more confusing, he’s willing to work with Gon at certain points in the story, and even contributes towards Gon’s perfect victory during one fight, despite him having no real reason to do so. In short, Hisoka is a lying, trolling, gay paedophile clown who kills only for pleasure. And if that doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will.

Honourable Mentions:

Duke Everlue (Fairy Tail)

Kishin (Soul Eater)

Yuno Gasai (Future Diary)*

Is there a character that you feel we missed out? Or do you have any suggestions for another Top 10 list? Let us know in the comments below!

*The only reason that Yuno didn't make this list (and she really, really should have) is that neither myself nor Shiggins have actually seen enough of Future Diary to properly write about Yuno's character.

My reaction to reading the Orochimaru entry.

Thanks for reading!

ClayDragon:









ClayDragon is currently studying Physics at university, and is constantly bewildered by it. The main method of contacting him is his Gmail account at kyleroulston1993@gmail.com. The alternative is his Skype account at kyleroulston1993, but he doesn’t use it that much. When not playing games or reading, he can be found with his head in his hands whilst trying in vain to understand quantum physics. I'm doing a project on Electron Beam Transport and Diagnostics! I don't know what it means, but it sounds sciencey!

Shiggins:[Admin]   .

Shiggins enjoys many strange forms of communication, especially those including cosplayers or presents or videos. However, until that wonderful day comes when people care enough to give him things for being him, you can contact him on his Skype; shigginsishere. He can also respond to you if you contact him through GMails at shigginsishere@gmail.com, and you can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere.