IMPORTANT: THIS TIME THERE WILL BE NO FIGHTS. YOU WILL SIMPLY VOTE FOR YOUR TOP 4 CHOICES HERE. PLEASE TRY TO USE UP ALL 4 VOTES. THANKS.
THE BRACKET
Griffith – Berserk
VS
Zabuza Momochi – Naruto
VS
Gin Ichimaru – Bleach
VS
Ryofui – Kingdom
VS
Younger Toguro – Yu Yu Hakusho
VS
Millennium Earl – D.Gray‑Man
VS
Pride – Fullmetal Alchemist
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Mewtwo – Pokémon
THE BRACKET
Griffith – Berserk
Griffith’s villainy is defined more by betrayal than conquest. He starts as the ultimate aspirational hero—a charismatic leader whose dream of his own kingdom is matched only by his courtly elegance. His rise through Guts’ Band of the Hawk inspires devotion, romance, and legends. That makes his eventual betrayal, aimed at achieving godhood at any cost, gut-wrenchingly potent.
The Eclipse event, where Griffith sacrifices his comrades to ascend into Femto, cements his darkness. His choice sacrifices personal relationships and humanity in pursuit of transcendence. That single, horrifying moment fractures the golden promise he once represented, and forever intoxicates the audience with his cold ambition.
Yet Griffith doesn’t vanish into evil archetype. Even after the eclipse, he remains painfully human—flawed, charming, caught between destiny and horror. Guts’ war with him—love turned vengeance—captures the heartbreak of dreams realized but at grotesque cost. Griffith doesn’t just win or lose—he tears the very world around him apart.
The Eclipse event, where Griffith sacrifices his comrades to ascend into Femto, cements his darkness. His choice sacrifices personal relationships and humanity in pursuit of transcendence. That single, horrifying moment fractures the golden promise he once represented, and forever intoxicates the audience with his cold ambition.
Yet Griffith doesn’t vanish into evil archetype. Even after the eclipse, he remains painfully human—flawed, charming, caught between destiny and horror. Guts’ war with him—love turned vengeance—captures the heartbreak of dreams realized but at grotesque cost. Griffith doesn’t just win or lose—he tears the very world around him apart.
VS
Zabuza Momochi – Naruto
Zabuza Momochi is introduced as a ruthless and merciless killer, the “Demon of the Hidden Mist.” He serves as an early antagonist in Naruto, with his brutality and skill setting the tone for the series’ darker themes. Initially, he seems like a stereotypical mercenary villain, but his depth is revealed as the story progresses, showing his troubled past and complicated relationship with his partner, Haku.
What makes Zabuza stand out is the humanity beneath his cold exterior. His actions are driven by survival and the harsh world he grew up in, and his eventual death is one of Naruto’s most poignant moments. His final act of defiance, protecting Haku, highlights the struggle between his violent nature and the love he was unable to express.
Zabuza's character arc—one of redemption and tragedy—makes him one of the most memorable and complex early antagonists in Naruto, and his influence on the series' themes of loneliness, loyalty, and sacrifice is profound.
What makes Zabuza stand out is the humanity beneath his cold exterior. His actions are driven by survival and the harsh world he grew up in, and his eventual death is one of Naruto’s most poignant moments. His final act of defiance, protecting Haku, highlights the struggle between his violent nature and the love he was unable to express.
Zabuza's character arc—one of redemption and tragedy—makes him one of the most memorable and complex early antagonists in Naruto, and his influence on the series' themes of loneliness, loyalty, and sacrifice is profound.
VS
Gin Ichimaru – Bleach
Gin Ichimaru is the sly fox of Bleach—always smiling, always hiding something. His serpentine demeanor and half-lidded eyes make him seem like the classic traitor. But as the series unfolds, it becomes clear that Gin isn’t merely a servant of Aizen—he has his own agenda, driven by a quiet, tragic sense of revenge and love.
What makes Gin so compelling is how much he conceals. His betrayal of Soul Society seems absolute, but his motives—rooted in protecting Rangiku and destroying Aizen—reveal a deeply personal mission. He sacrifices his reputation, his safety, and ultimately his life for a slim chance to strike at the heart of evil.
Gin is the kind of villain who plays the long game. His actions are murky, but his intent is pure. That balance between cunning, loyalty, and ultimate sacrifice makes him one of the most complex and bittersweet figures in Bleach.
What makes Gin so compelling is how much he conceals. His betrayal of Soul Society seems absolute, but his motives—rooted in protecting Rangiku and destroying Aizen—reveal a deeply personal mission. He sacrifices his reputation, his safety, and ultimately his life for a slim chance to strike at the heart of evil.
Gin is the kind of villain who plays the long game. His actions are murky, but his intent is pure. That balance between cunning, loyalty, and ultimate sacrifice makes him one of the most complex and bittersweet figures in Bleach.
VS
Ryofui – Kingdom
Ryofui rules with calculus, not charisma. As chief strategist, he meticulously balances alliances, threats, and betrayals to further Qin’s grip. He’s hardly visible on the front lines, yet his decisions sculpt entire campaigns—making him a specter guiding the ebb and flow of war.
He is heartless about casualties—every life is a variable. But his criticism is incisive: he doesn’t cheer at corpses; he grieves alongside calculations. His emotional complexity lies in admitting guilt, yet still pushing forward. Qin’s expansion under him is not golden light, but a bloody inevitability.
What makes Ryofui compelling is that he knows war gives no heroes. He is both catalyst and realist, grieving the cost while pressing on. His arc challenges the romanticism of battle and asks if history is written by gods, kings—or cold logic.
He is heartless about casualties—every life is a variable. But his criticism is incisive: he doesn’t cheer at corpses; he grieves alongside calculations. His emotional complexity lies in admitting guilt, yet still pushing forward. Qin’s expansion under him is not golden light, but a bloody inevitability.
What makes Ryofui compelling is that he knows war gives no heroes. He is both catalyst and realist, grieving the cost while pressing on. His arc challenges the romanticism of battle and asks if history is written by gods, kings—or cold logic.
VS
Younger Toguro – Yu Yu Hakusho
Younger Toguro defines the classic idea of “villain with conviction.” His imposing physique and brutal strength match a warrior's instinct—and his philosophy is brutally honest: strength is everything, and weakness is contemptible. Unlike malevolent dictators or chaotic maniacs, Toguro seeks the ultimate fight, pushing the notion of personal limits to biting clarity.
But it’s his paradoxical depth that truly elevates him. Behind the monstrous transformation lies a soul haunted by guilt, driven by a futile desire to protect loved ones. When he allows Yusuke to strike the final blow, it’s as much liberation as defeat—relief from his own existential despair. That final duel isn’t just heroic—it's tragedy.
His departure leaves a legacy that lingers. Toguro’s championship of strength as the only currency resonates far beyond his arc. In the series’ later reflections, his duel with Yusuke becomes a benchmark for true willpower—an emotional touchstone for other characters trying to understand their own purpose.
But it’s his paradoxical depth that truly elevates him. Behind the monstrous transformation lies a soul haunted by guilt, driven by a futile desire to protect loved ones. When he allows Yusuke to strike the final blow, it’s as much liberation as defeat—relief from his own existential despair. That final duel isn’t just heroic—it's tragedy.
His departure leaves a legacy that lingers. Toguro’s championship of strength as the only currency resonates far beyond his arc. In the series’ later reflections, his duel with Yusuke becomes a benchmark for true willpower—an emotional touchstone for other characters trying to understand their own purpose.
VS
Millennium Earl – D.Gray‑Man
Millennium Earl is the twisted ringmaster of humanity’s suffering. With a demonic carnival aesthetic, he toys with people’s grief to lure them into servitude and mutation. His personality—cheerful, refined, mocking—masks an ancient sadness: his existence is bound to a world of human despair.
He creates Akuma from unending grief, turning hope into weaponry. His terror lies in his invitation: he makes the desperate feel chosen, loved even—until the moment of transformation. In that blue-eyed grin, he shows how personal sorrow becomes cosmic tool when wielded by immortality.
Earl isn’t just a villain—he is the crystallization of despair into purpose. His missions reveal that salvation can become obedience, and love can be entrapment. The greatest horror of grief may lie not in pain, but in its corruption.
He creates Akuma from unending grief, turning hope into weaponry. His terror lies in his invitation: he makes the desperate feel chosen, loved even—until the moment of transformation. In that blue-eyed grin, he shows how personal sorrow becomes cosmic tool when wielded by immortality.
Earl isn’t just a villain—he is the crystallization of despair into purpose. His missions reveal that salvation can become obedience, and love can be entrapment. The greatest horror of grief may lie not in pain, but in its corruption.
VS
Pride – Fullmetal Alchemist
Pride is horror in human form: outwardly polite, elegant, all detective wit—underneath lies remorseless monster. His ability to manipulate shadows, hail from beneath the floorboards, and twist people’s reflections of themselves is outright frightening.
His intellectual arrogance is the perfect foil to Edward and Alphonse Elric. He doesn’t waste time with emotional outbursts. He assesses reality, calculates, and destroys illusions—literal and psychological. Every fight with him becomes a puzzle and a moral trial.
As the last of the Homunculi to fall, Pride’s defeat is not just physical, it’s ideological. He forces the Elrics—and Roy Mustang—to look inward: at ambition, pride, resentment, fear. That thematic mirror fight is what cements him as not just a potent villain, but a moral crucible for the protagonists' growth.
His intellectual arrogance is the perfect foil to Edward and Alphonse Elric. He doesn’t waste time with emotional outbursts. He assesses reality, calculates, and destroys illusions—literal and psychological. Every fight with him becomes a puzzle and a moral trial.
As the last of the Homunculi to fall, Pride’s defeat is not just physical, it’s ideological. He forces the Elrics—and Roy Mustang—to look inward: at ambition, pride, resentment, fear. That thematic mirror fight is what cements him as not just a potent villain, but a moral crucible for the protagonists' growth.
VS
Mewtwo – Pokémon
Mewtwo remains one of Pokémon’s most nuanced villains—an artificially created psychic powerhouse forged from cloning and manipulation. Its rage is existential: it hates humans for their invasiveness and for creating beings that suffer. Mewtwo doesn’t simply want revenge; it wants meaning—shelter for Pokémon, solitude from pain.
Mewtwo is tragic. Its strength comes with isolation, emotional rawness, and identity crisis. Its kingdom atop New Island becomes an echo chamber of despair, where Mewtwo rules out of frustration rather than ambition. Its battle with Ash and friends becomes a confrontation between understanding and despair.
Mewtwo reminds us that creation often carries guilt. It challenges humanity to confront whether science justifies purpose. As both weapon and philosopher, it remains one of the franchise’s most impactful and emotionally resonant villains.
Mewtwo is tragic. Its strength comes with isolation, emotional rawness, and identity crisis. Its kingdom atop New Island becomes an echo chamber of despair, where Mewtwo rules out of frustration rather than ambition. Its battle with Ash and friends becomes a confrontation between understanding and despair.
Mewtwo reminds us that creation often carries guilt. It challenges humanity to confront whether science justifies purpose. As both weapon and philosopher, it remains one of the franchise’s most impactful and emotionally resonant villains.
