10 Best Anti-Hero Anime Like Death Note

Good or evil, black or white, hero or villain — based on their preferences and inclinations, anime viewers often divide and take sides. However, every once in a while a morally ambiguous character comes along and baffles almost everyone. One such character is Light Yagami from Death Note.

Viewers can’t help but feel intimidated by his feelings — or lack thereof — for the world. At the same time, many found his questionable but effective methods of serving criminal justice appealing. It’s gray areas like these in Yagami’s character that wins Death Note so many fans and it’s the same anti-hero traits that set the foundation for some of the most memorable anime characters and shows.

10 Cowboy Bebop (Spike Spiegel)

If it wasn’t for his moral ambiguity, the protagonist of Cowboy Bebop, Spike Spiegel, wouldn’t be the intriguing character he is. There are several moments in the anime where the bounty hunter wears his heart on his sleeve and proves that he’s undoubtedly a hero. Case in point: despite not being an animal lover, he provides shelter to a Welsh Corgi after finding out he is about to be sold on the black market.

However, contrasting his acts of heroism and cementing his place as an anti-hero are moments where he steals from old women, puts the lives of innocents on the line for his personal motives, and mindlessly chases bounties.

9 Youjo Senki: Saga Of Tanya The Evil (Tanya Degurechaff)

An ordinary salaryman in her previous life, Tanya Degurechaff is a badass nine-year-old who has the wits of a genius and a heart as cold as ice. After being thrown into a wartorn world where her strategies and ruthlessness are an asset for her regiment, she shows no mercy towards her enemies and quickly rises up in the ranks to command her own regiment.

It soon becomes evident, though, that the salaryman from her previous life is still buried deep inside her – the same salaryman who had extreme polar behaviors – sometimes believing that he’s above everyone else while suffering from inferiority complex during others.

8 Dorohedoro (Caiman)

The roster of Dorohedoro is replete with anti-heroes. There’s not even one character who falls into the ideal archetypes of hero or villain. This setup not only befits the show’s dark dystopian setup but also adds a layer of comic relief by showing how everyone’s moral compass in the series has gone bizarrely askew.

For instance, the protagonist himself is a vicious-looking reptile-headed man who ruthlessly eradicates the sorcerers of his world, hoping to one day find the person who cursed him. Yet, when he’s around his friends and loved ones, he’s hardly the evil monster he appears to be and comes off as an amicable gyoza-loving ordinary man.

7 Black Butler (Sebastian Michaelis & Ciel Phantomhive)

Dynamic duo Ciel Phantomhive and his devil butler Sebastian Michaelis join forces and work under Her Majesty to ensure that peace is maintained in Victorian England. However, there’s a lot more to the two characters than meets the eye.

Ceil is somewhat of a prodigy and his exceptional leadership abilities demand respect from anyone who meets him. Contrasting with this is his dark past, which suggests that he is so determined to seek revenge from his enemies that he sold his soul to Sebastian. Speaking of Sebastian, his loyalty to Ceil is unwavering, but beneath his “Yes, my lord” chanting butler facade, he’s nothing but a devil who can’t wait to feast on Ceil’s soul.

6 A Certain Magical Index (Accelerator)

The storyline of A Certain Magical Index ensues in Academy City where almost everyone possesses psychic esper abilities—some more powerful than others. Ranking among the top espers of the city, Accelerator starts his journey as an antagonist who trusts no one and only believes that the fittest can survive.

However, it turns out that his shrewd demeanor is a consequence of all the ruthless experiments enforced on him because of the grand scale of his abilities. As the series progresses, a better side of him comes out as he goes out of his way to protect and show gratitude towards others. His fits of anger still instill fear in most others, but the ones close to him learn to admire him.

5 Gangsta (Nicholas Brown & Worick Arcangelo)

Handymen Nicholas Brown and Worick Arcangelo are mercenaries who are always willing to take on their city’s most perilous jobs. And it’s not only criminal syndicates that rely heavily on them, even the city’s cops do, the reason for this being that although they’re both morally grounded, they don’t shy away from bringing out their darker sides, when necessary.

Living deep in the underbelly of their city, they ensure that they make the most out of their contracts — be it with cops or gangs — and try to land easy payouts. But at the same time, they are always looking out for the less fortunate folks around them.

4 Hellsing Ultimate (Alucard)

In Hellsing Ultimate, the very definition of evil gets subverted. At its fore is a typical villainous character named Alucard, who shows no qualms when it comes to expressing his love for war. However, what makes him an anti-hero is how he chooses to use the evil within him.

Instead of misusing his brute strength and abilities to harm innocents, he works for an organization called Hellsing and helps them eradicate others of his kind. Considering his superhuman abilities, he could have easily leaned to the other side to tread a darker path, but instead, he remains compassionate enough to realize that “with great power comes great responsibility.”

3 Berserk (Guts)

Guts’ dire childhood circumstances made him a cold-blooded warrior who moved from one battlefield to another, killing anyone who crossed his path. After joining forces with a mercenary group and their seemingly warm leader Griffth, Guts does eventually find his place in the world. Unfortunately for him, he soon realizes that nothing in his world lasts forever.

What makes Berserk such a memorable series is how it misleads viewers into believing that Guts is the bad guy, while Griffith is some noble too-good-to-be-true hero. The truth, however, turns out to be the complete opposite.

2 Samurai Champloo (Mugen & Jin)

Samurai Champloo unfolds as a rite of passage for three characters: Jin, Mugen, and Fuu, who fatefully embark on a cathartic journey. While Fuu seems morally grounded, Jin and Mugen’s past suggests that they’ve both been villains of their own stories at some point.

Calm and good-intentioned, but unforgiving towards wrongdoers, Jin stays true to his principles as a samurai, no matter what. Meanwhile, Mugen is just a rowdy wayward Samurai who grew up in the wrong neighborhood but had enough compassion and self-awareness to leave his old life behind.

1 Code Geass (Lelouch Lamperouge)

Trapped in the crossfire between the Holy Empire of Britannia and Japan’s Area 11 rebel armed forces, Britannian student Lelouch somehow escapes with the help of a mysterious girl named C.C. To his surprise, the girl also grants him the ability to gain immense control over people.

This marks the inception of his journey towards waging a vengeful war against his own people who had left him for the dead. Assuming a whole new vigilante persona called “Zero,” he stops at nothing and ignites Japan’s war against the British. His revenge-fueled rage benefits the ones who need him, but the path he chooses isn’t bereft of sins.

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