When Anime Characters Became What They Hated Most, Explained

Some of the best arcs in anime belong to anime characters who became what they hated — heroes and idealists who set out to destroy something, then slowly turned into it. This breakdown looks at the tragic irony that ties them together.

Betrayal turns heroes dark

Dabi from My Hero Academia was a boy who idolized heroes before his father’s neglect twisted him into one of the setting’s cruelest villains. Nagato from Naruto wanted to end suffering and chose to inflict more of it than anyone. These are the clearest anime characters who became what they hated, driven there by loss rather than ambition.

Trauma rewrites identity

Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul feared ghouls, then became one and adopted the exact cruelty used to break him. Hiei, Mikaela, and Garou each build a hardened persona as armor against betrayal — and the armor becomes the person. Light Yagami starts with justice and ends as the criminal he vowed to erase.

Even the redeemed carry it

Vegeta despised humanity before Earth made him part of it, and Eren Yeager hated the Titans before becoming the greatest monster the walls ever saw. Together they show how thin the line between avenger and villain really is. For more character studies, browse our anime explainers or start with Sukuna’s full story.