We have been well conditioned in all media that the good guy should win. They are who you should root for. They are the character that you should like. You what’s great, though? When they don’t actually win. Sure, the good guy will probably win in the end, but some anime series have those “good” characters so thoroughly thwarted by evil, that it might not seem like they will ever come out ahead. It’s pretty smashing.
Best Anime Where Evil Wins
Berserk
One of Berserk’s core concepts is the struggle. Gutts, as the struggler, goes through the most horrible life and just keeps moving forward. Even when his best friend sacrifices all his other friends to become a demon to fulfill his ambition and then rapes his lover in front of him. Even after that event, things don’t get better. In fact, Gutts continues to struggle and the evil in the world seems to just take a stronger hold.
Devilman Crybaby
Well, the world is kind of trashed at the end of Devilman. The main character is dead, his lover is dead, everything he liked about the world is gone. Devilman series never end happily, and you’d find out the reason for that if you commit to reading the manga. Earth is basically a punishment, as all us living people know.
Higurashi: When They Cry
Higurashi has several different endings that you can see. In some of them, the good guys win, especially in the OVAs, and in others the evil in the world very much wins.
Wolf’s Rain
Wolf’s Rain is all about getting to paradise in a world that is dying. They open the paradise, but the villain actually still ends up corrupting it. So, in essence, every sacrifice the heroes made to get to that moment was in vain. Of course, there are some that suggest the last moments of the series mark the race to paradise starting anew.
Yu Yu Hakusho
It is funny that Yusuke even flat out admits that the final villain of the series in the end did indeed win. He wanted to open the demon portal to let demons that were strong enough to kill him out. He gets that wish, but not in the way one would expect. Furthermore, that demon portal stays open and humanity and demons actually live pretty peacefully together. Sensui got his wish and accomplished what he wanted to do, but not everything went the way he expected.
Texhnolyze
This anime series has one of the most complex and likely subjective endings of all anime series. In essence, it all surrounds evolution and the paths that can be taken to evolve. If you believe the surface dwellers to be the good guys because they removed all those that were violent from their society, well, they definitely lost in the end, didn’t they?
Bokurano
Like Texhnolyze, Bokurano is a little blurry in terms of good and evil. As you watch, you quickly find out that everyone is a little bit evil in their right. Some more than others at times. However, as almost everyone is dead in the end, the plan behind Bokurano kind of succeeds.
Hellsing Ultimate
The Major, the villain in Hellsing Ultimate, had one goal – to see a great war. So, he created one and it resulted in a tremendous loss of life on both the sides of good and evil. It ended, but it was mostly a Pyrrhic victory for the side for good.
Speed Grapher
The villain of Speed Grapher ultimately succeeds in his goal. He blows up all the yen, ruins the economy, kills his enemies, and even forces his biggest rival blind. While he dies, he ends up winning in that death by fulfilling his goal in ruining a world.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
No matter how you look at the end of Evangelion, the world is pretty much ruined forever. It ends with what you might call some of the heroes alive, but not particularly well. Is being alive a victory in a world that is dead? Probably not.
Gankutsuou
Gankutsuou is very much a tale of revenge. You will find that the villain pulling the string succeeds in many of his plots for revenge, irrevocably ruining many lives in the process. While he may not exactly win in the end, he wins in his own ways.
Casshern Sins
In Casshern Sins, it could be argued that the protagonist is the villain since he may have started the ruin, but if you are not in that camp, then evil very much wins in the end. Except, that, well, there are no real winners in that world since everyone is going to be gone soon anyway.
Did we miss any more good anime recommendations where evil wins? Let evil fans know in the comments section below.
You forgot about mobile suit gundam – iron blooded orphans.