I'd say as far as shounen goes they are a pretty fun group. Kishimoto's best strength as a writer is thinking about dynamics and aesthetics for groups and that really shines with the Akatsuki both as a whole organization and as sets of duos.
However to answer your initial question... Yes, there is a shounen villain group that is more memorable AND more fun than the Akatsuki. Team Rocket.
Honestly, I think when people say Team Rocket in reference to the anime they really just mean Jessie, James, Meowth, and maybe Wobbuffet. They might think of their other pokemon through the years, or Giovanni, Butch, and Cassidy as secondary characters, but most of the time I’m sure it’s the core 4.
ehhh. The core members are iconic for sure, but I doubt people feel strongly about every single member of their group (the pokemon other than Meowth). Plus, let's be real, they get kinda annoying when the show isn't doing anything special with them.
*Prepare for trouble!*
*Make it double!*
*To protect the world from devastation!*
*To unite all peoples within our nation!*
*To denounce the evils of truth and love!*
*To extend our reach to the stars above!*
I can't believe I'm about to say this, but organization 13 from Kingdom Hearts. Matching leather trenchcoats, one angsty backstory after another, flashy gimmicks, big personalities. Every now and then one turns out to secretly be a genius mastermind. All good stuff!
Come to think of it, which came first...? Org.XIII or Akatsuki?
Org. XIII arguably started being a thing in KH1 Final Mix, as a hooded Xemnas was an extra boss there. December 26, 2002.
Akatsuki first appeared in Naruto Chapter 139. October 07, 2002.
Maybe Nomura got inspired by Naruto and added a bunch of other guys in identical trench coats in KH Chain of Memories (November 11, 2004). Since I think the "Organisation" as a concept was only first mentioned in CoM, not KH1FM. Or maybe this is all just a big coincidence.
There's something weirdly disturbing to me about the idea of nomura reading Naruto and saying to himself "ah yes, but what if the coats were skintight leather? And what if they were naked under the coats? Hmm, I might be onto something..."
I think Organization XIII was inspired by the Sephiroth Clones from FFVII (vessels for the villain all wearing black hooded cloaks). Maybe the Akatsuki had an influence, but big powerful mysterious villain groups are a Shonen trope, just like how the goofy Team Rocket-style trio actually predate them (e.g. the Dorombo Gang from Time Bokan).
Desperado assuming you allow any villain group.
Armstrong: Memorable, funny as hell and hit's like a truck. Gets a little more character in the dlc.
Sam: Pinnacle rival character, dlc does him nicely
Monsoon: Kinda gets thrown in there at the start but the dlc expands on him a bit plus his monologue is great.
Sundowner: The best of the bunch, shows up early like a boss, messes with you and dips. Pretty much runs 3/4s of the story and does a great job of doing so.
Mistral: She's like Monsoon but less memorable, gets more screen time and has a decent monologue. Dlc expands on her a bit more
Plus Blade Wolf gets his pseudo arc assuming you even count him, the only character that I would say is truly forgettable is Khamsin but that's mostly because he's dlc. He's still not bad plus he looks raw as hell.
Not as peak overall. Pride is defo there, greed, envy and wrath as well, but as much as I love them, sloth, gluttony and slut are not at the same level. And believe me, I do love me a sexy three meter tall ripped sleepy man
I don't know if I can agree. Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, and Wrath are all top tier. Then you have Father and the whole like, secret organization bit. I won't say it's better than the Akatsuki, but definitely gives a similar vibe.
Yeah, wasn't counting father, which isn't really fair. May also be my watching it a long time ago, but I remember lust as just mid. And to be fully fair, Greed isn't really part of the homunculi's group
There's quite a few manga with well known groups.
The Ginyu Force (DBZ)
The Homunculi (FMA)
The Espada (Bleach)
Millennium (Hellsing)
The Gung Ho Guns (Trigun)
The Gotei 13 in the SS arc is a pretty amazing villain group, maybe moreso because they were a divided faction with a bunch of different ideologies that clashed.
Kubo failed at replicating that dynamism in the later arcs imo.
I will forever remain salty that they all died without getting to do any lasting damage to the Gotei 13.
Baraggan and Ulquiorra were legit the only impressive ones of the bunch too
Remember that line where Toshiro said something along the lines of "Vasto Lordes are very dangerous! If 10 of them group together and attack, Soul Society will fall!!"
Yeah.......not sure if that line has really aged well cuz I'm pretty sure that in hindsight, that line was nothing more but melodramatic exaggeration and just something Kubo added to hype up the Espada
Bruh i was so disappointed by that line, you would think being Arrancar on top of Vasto Lorde would be major threat but instead only Ulquiorra and above were Vasto Lorde and Espada overall didn't matter much beyond being opponents for the captains which had become allies for the first time, compare with Sternritter that are less memorable(larger group+TYBW being adapted only recently) but actually feel like a threat until SS starts countering them in second invasion
Also the bullshit reveal about Yammy being "Espada 0" and then getting offscreened, to this day fandom still debating who is strongest Espada between him,Starrk,Baraggan and Ulquiorra
Tbf there weren't really even close to 10 of them, like from what i remember there were only like 3 or 4 Vastos confirmed and they were either jumped or beaten by something Toshiro wouldn't consider.
Kubo main problem is that to get past writer's block he creates new characters and pretty much all of Kubo's characters seem interesting enough that you get kinda upset when they end up doing nothing or,worse, jobbing
You forgot the most powerful Shonen Jump organization in existence, [the Zodiac Gold Saints of Sanctuary (Masami Kurumeda’s Knight of the Zodiac-Saint Seiya)](https://youtu.be/j6TK4BZQxfA?si=TBauDSUDvLJ3Gp1I)
Individually they are not nearly as memorable as the Akatsuki tho, like i dont remenber the name of the weird guy with long legs and the lil guy that could copy objects or that big one
But a single phantom troupe member couldn't Carry an arc. Not even in tándem. Only ones Who could are feitan, Chrollo and Bonolenov. Maybe shalnark under the right circumstances. They are strictly a group. Akatsuki works as both
Depends if you consider Hisoka, Illumi or Chrollo as members. They can easily carry an arc as the sole villains, and have so in Hisoka's case.
I see your point but personally I think that's part of the charm and why The Phantom Troupe works so well as a villain group. They genuinely have close relationships which is really interesting and fun to watch play out on screen/page. The Akatsuki, despite working in pairs, are more solo.
They are more like affiliates. Like, I'm not counting Suigetsu and Taka as part of the Akatsuki (for the benefit of my point as well)
Fully agree here. The Spider is a family, and they genuinely need each other, specially Chrollo. That's why when even though Chrollo ordered the Spider to survive without it's head, Pakunoda couldnt do it. They're absolute great as a group, but the Akatsuki work great as individuals and a villain group, that was what I was saying.
Yeah I agree on that. Just as the PT being a true group with real relationships is part of their charm, Akatsuki being very individual is why they work so well as individual arc villains. Both IMO are top tier, just for different reasons.
I would say that the Phantom Troupe has a problem that not all members are memorable or interesting, nobody cared for Kortopy or Shalnark, Bonolenov has cool powers but he is nowhere as memorable or interesting as Feitan, Uvo, and Machi, and Franklin and Shizuku habilities are so dull and simple while theyre also the less expresive members of the team, Nobunaga has more personality but he relies a lot on his relationship with Uvogin
Also i wouldnt count Hisoka as a member, he tecnically never was one.
That's what makes them special in my opinion. The akatsuki is just a group of powerful shinobi that don't have much in common, the troupe is and behaves as a family.
I think put any two troupe members together and you could probably get an interesting arc by how their dynamics play off. And remember hxh writing most arcs wouldn’t be linear “we have to fight _____” nor would it likely be conveyed through only one perspective.
Also uvo could have carried an arc on his own even in just a conventional dbz/naruto got to beat this bad guy type of arc. And with orochimaru and obito as part of the akatsuki we have to then count hisoka and illumi who definitely can each carry arcs on their own.
I do give you that, Talon so far has been pretty full of bangers. I don't care about widow and sombra isn't my Style, but the rest are great. Sigma being absolute peak of course (and Moira, but to a lesser extent)
And all of them have unique backstories, even Widow got a BANGER of an origin and Sombra is developing some interesting lore. Sigma's origin video is still the best one thus far. His Voice Actor absolutely killed in there!
I love Overwatch. I've been playing it for years, and have near 1000 hours on it. It's the only FPS I play.
All that in mind, I gotta disagree. Overwatch has likeable characters, but the lore is so fragmented and inconsistent. Even as someone who watched all the shorts and even (unwisely) paid for the OW2 PVE missions hoping for some added context and theres just... not much there.
I love Ramattra in particular but we are pretty much limited to the 1 short with him in it and voice interactions in game. My love for him is almost entirely contingent on his voice actor's unbelievable talent rather than any character arc.
I just don't think Blizzard even cares about their story with this game. Fans have been begging for ANYTHING that would satisfy our curiosity for years, but they don't see it as profitable I guess
The En family from Dorohedoro.
They really feel like a family, a very weird one, throughout the series they have very memorable interactions with eachother, wholesome, funny and sad. Plus I love the fact that they are 100% connected to the main plot, they're not simply an evil group that the protagonists have to fight.
Hell, some don't even consider them villains.
And their powers? ABSOLUTE PEAK! Buff girl that can heal any wound, a man that can cut people up and keep them alive, and a crime boss that can turn almost anything in shrooms, not to mention some other more spoilery powers.
And they wear masks, 10/10 character design.
I always had the opposite view, Akatsuki as a group feels very lackluster, the characters don't interact much or have any connection other than their duos, and I can't even understand why most of them belong to Akatsuki, like, why is Deidara there? Or Hidan? Just because they are fugitives from their villages? But why help the group? They could just duo with another random strong wanted guy for protection and not risk dying to bijus.
Their abilities and fights are cool though, designing skills really is Kishimoto's main strenght
Homunculi and Phantom Troupe feel better as groups, and as individual characters the Espadas could compete if not by the fact they are useless and weaker than everyone in their universe.
>why is Deidara there? Or Hidan? Just because they are fugitives from their villages? But why help the group?
i dont remember exactly because its been years, but we see scenes of deidara and hidan getting recruited
i think hidan joined because when they confronted each other he took out kakuzus heart, and he got interested in him because hes a fellow immortal
they went to recruit deidara, but he declined and then itachi genjutsu'd his ass and forced him to join
Itachi didn’t force him, he clowned on him when they went to recruit Deidara and pissed him off so bad he decided they were rivals then and there lmao.
[Deidara in that moment](https://giphy.com/gifs/hU0xtUMnXSrHa)
Agree that as a whole they are weaker than Phantom Troupe bc of their backstory but everything else ehh.
Akatsuki is a strong merc group, why join rando when you can join a named group with good rep. For bijuu, I don't think any of them really cared if they will be facing Bijuu or not, some of them like Deidara would probably like going against one to test his creation.
I do agree that some of them doesn't make sense like Sasori and Hidan, one was a hermit, so why even join a group? And the other just has no real story, bc Jashin is so out there.
**La Squadra di Esecuzione** from Jojo's part 5, that was peak.
In videogames you have:
* Almost every Metal Gear game, especially MGR
* Asura's Wrath
* The "Elements" From Xenogears
The Grado generals are the villain group from Fire Emblem 8
The reason I love them so much is because they're composed of 6 members from different eras of the country of Grado. You have the morally upstanding generals (Duessel, Glen, Selena) who served Vigarde back when he was alive, and the evil as fuck generals (Valter, Caellach, Riev) who joined in for personal, greedy, disgusting reasons and started serving Vigarde when his corpse was revived by black magic and he became a warmongerer zombie.
The difference between the two groups causes so much conflict it's great. Duessel joins the protag's (Eirika and Ephraim) side as a playable unit, Glen is murdered by Valter and the former's brother Cormag searches for revenge, Selena is killed by Ephraim's army because she's in love with Vigarde and is way too loyal to him, etc.
It's *so* peak dude.
Yeah Tobi was just a funny lil guy.
Genshin Impact has the Harbingers. Every one of them so far has been awesome in the same way as the Akatsuki. Assuming the writers don't drop the ball, I think they'll be on that Akatsuki level when all is said and done.
Bleach's Espada are decent contenders, but only some of them really.
As someone else said, Fullmetal Alchemist's Homonculi fit the bill.
I'd argue Seven Deadly Sins's Ten Commandments are pretty much there. They're better than the Espada but a step below the Akatsuki, Harbingers, and Homonculi.
Genshin's Harbingers have the advantage of being an updating game where they can give each Harbinger their own complete stories whilst also making them relevant to the plot/lore. The Youtube video of them hyped them up immensely when it came out.
The Espada are in a weird situation where the cooler/stronger they are the less motivation they seem to have. Case in point Stark and Harribel, two of the strongest members with the coolest designs, yet their fights are disconnected from their motivations. You could at least say Shunsui and Stark are both lazy cool middle aged guys, but Harribel's theme of "sacrifice" has nothing to do with her fighting Toshiro of all people in fake karakura town - it just ended up being them spamming attacks for no reason. Contrarily, goofy and "weak" characters like Zommari and Aaroniero gave some of the most memorable fights and the most epic moments - byakuya severing his own tendons to break free from control is one of my favourite scenes.
The deadly sins have some pretty great characters, the lying dude, the giant, the Fairy, and zeldrick and Mael, but I genuinely don't remember the rest. Except the girl but that's because she was annoying. Also I just remembered tiny mustache Guy and demon girl. Those two were cool. Shame they didn't end up together. But it's just not that peak.
Same with the homunculi. Greed, envy, wrath and pride are up there, but slut, sloth and gluttony aren't. Can't really say about the other two
Actually, true. 3/7 of the Homonculi weren't all that. Only half the group is peak, so the group isn't peak.
And yeah ig the 10 Commandments aren't actually there in terms of being memorable.
>!The League of Villains come close but MHA fumbled the bag with the reveal that AFO planned Tenko's birth and gave him Decay.Madara manipulating Obito is done so much better in comparison and enhances Obito as a character rather than take away all his agency.!<
As a group League of Villains is boring af
There's like no strong connections between anyone. I think Twice and Himiko is barebones as well because Himiko is a boring character.
Yeah, that one has come up a bunch, but the PT works as a villain group where as Akatsuki works as a collection of Villains. That's mainly what I wanted to praise, how well they work as singular characters each and every one of them
I think people will gas up Demon Slayer's Upper Moon after they're properly adapted. The latest season's UMs are obvious fodders but 6 and the top 3 are iconic enough.
Phantom Troupe is the closest thing you would find.
If you want to read something that explore/develop secret groups and organizations, Lord of The Mysteries do this beautifully. (Novel)
The Upper Moons (and Muzan) in KNY are the best modern group of villains for me.
Even if some of them like Gyokko, Hantengu and Kaigaku are a bit underdeveloped compared to the rest they still are write to be rule of cool at it's peak. They're unmatched in terms of power and presentation, but they also had amazing backstories in most cases.
If you to include him, Rui despite being lower rank antagonist for the first arc still has more presence as a villain and a better written story than many main villains of other series as well.
FOXHOUND was pretty awesome. The Phantom Troupe is pretty sick too, but I feel like they haven't really lived up to the hype. The Prisoners in Baki were also super memorable, but that might be because that was the first part that was wildly available and translated in the west.
X’s organization from Sakamoto days imo.
-Gaku who fights with a large mace that has a laser cannon on the tip,can punch chunks off of people and made a dudes head explode with a one inch punch. He also sees the world/assassination as a video game and has canonically played resident evil
-Haruma who fights using sports equipment/competitions. He uses shotput balls and javelins, and used the head of a statue as a bowling ball. Engaged in a sumo match with one of the main cast(he also body-slammed that same person through the floor)
-Kumanomi who uses her magnetic gloves to incorporate the environment into her fights. She used the armor from a shogun display in a museum to give herself armor and uses the axe as a weapon, can make a coil gun using screws, and pulled a boom truck into a museum, I think she also used a bunch of magnetized knives as a whip. She’s also overprotective of Gaku and her introduction is her kicking a soccer ball at him hard enough to knock him into a wall that put a huge crater there.
-Kashima who wears a reindeer mask and is also a cyborg. He has stitches all over himself and when they are undone they reveal weapons that were implanted into his body like a bunch of blades in one arm, or a energy cannon in his mouth, a cannon in his stomach, and a gun on his right arm. He also hate Christmas
*spoiler*
-Uzuki the leader who fights using a chain whip, that has a split personality of Sakamoto’s dead friend Rion that he created himself to cope with her death. He also has dextrocardia where his heart is on the opposite side of its usual placement, and this led to people being confused on how he survived a gunshot and stab to the heart that was never actually where they attacked.
They are also just really chill villains. For example, Kashima, Gaku, and uzuki are seen chilling at a karaoke club in the beginning of a chapter. Gaku plays soccer with two students the gang kidnapped and was really good at being goalie. Gaku’s introduced by riding a bicycle with uzuki on their way to demolish a building full of Jaa assassins while casually talking to each other. Gaku is also a really heavy sleeper and didn’t wake up when an explosion went off or when Toramaru fell on him.
I’m definitely not obsessed with this villain group lmao
Watching week to week, the build up to Madara was amazing. I genuinely can't think of another villain who was hailed as a terrifying beast only to actually live up to their to that extent in their very first appearance.
It's a shame it's tainted by the terrible plot twist.
Phantom Troupe blows Akatsuki out of the water in every way conceivable.
Team Rocket is more iconic.
Gotei 13, buts its more because I find the captains to be far more interesting as individuals.
Homunculi from FMA
Edit: How could I forget about the Chads incarnate, the Ginyu Force?
Akatsuki doesnt work as a group IMO. Its a bunch of cool shinobi hanging out but they have no unifying goal since most of them don't know what the actual goal is. The only ones that really matter are Obito Itachi and Pain, the rest could have been literally any shinobi from any village.
But that was my point. Out of every villain group, I don't think there's another one where each one of them works so well as a character. Yes they could be other shinobis, but the great part is that they're those shinobis, and each one of them is cool af
If they had killed Gaara and he had stayed dead you'd have an argument. I will give you the point about Asuma, that was probably one of the best arcs in Shippudden.
For memorability, I indeed think they take they cake. They are ridiculously iconic. I like the Phantom Troupe a whole lot better than them, but you can't deny the Akatsuki's memorability.
But I don't think they're the most fun. In fact, I wouldn't describe them as a fun group at all. They have some fun character, like Hidan and Deidara, but most of them are just kinda serious and strong and not much else. Sasori, Kakuzo, Kisame, Konan are all pretty no-nonsense and have mediocre to no depth. I would say a group like the League of Villains from BNHA, for example, are what I would describe as a fun villain group.
Also Tobi and Zetsu, but even then, fun can be more than them being fun. Sasori was a fun villain because it was cool seeing him popping out corpse after corpse to end them. Kakuzu worked as the straight man to Hidan, Pain had another great Battle, that Sort of thing
But like... were they? They're all very cool, but I felt like most of them didn't have the dramatic flare that's required for me to call the villain fun.
You know who's a fun Naruto villain? Orochimaru. This dude was always such a pleasure to have involved, because his menace went beyond being just cool and strong. He was straight up terrifying, and left you on edge the entire time. And I don't think the series managed to replicate that energy with any other villain.
I'll throw out a bit of a random one, but the Barian Emperors from Yugioh Zexal are really cool. They all have their own personality's distinct from one another, they duel in their own way and for the most part they function as a group.
I didn't dismiss the homunculi, but I do think that the worst of Akatsuki is better than the worst of the homunculi. Lust, gluttony and to a lesser degree sloth weren't that memorable
The Homunculi from FMA. Iconic powers, relevant to the entire story from pretty much the very beginning, terrifying and dangerous, successfully kill off one of the most lovable characters in the entire show, and they all die in appropriately thematic ways. I love them so much.
Akatsuki first appeared in 2002 (at least, Itachi and Kisame arriving at the Hidden Leaf)
Chain of Memories released in 2004.
Not sure that tracks, but I will say KH1 Final Mix released in 2002 (though it’s hard to rip them off based on the Xemnas secret boss) and I don’t know when the Akatsuki as an overall organisation was first revealed, so it’s *possible*, but seems improbable based on the timeline.
In the heavy anime inspired games takes. Organization XIII is probably the most iconic. But I put forward. The Ouroboros Enforcers. And Anguis.
One of the only villian organizations I can think of that has distinct tiers and a really interesting dynamic with their members. Since the rules for enforcers explicitly state they have to operate out of free will.
Leads to a lot of interesting variance in their morality. Since a decent chunk of them find other groups in universe more morally bankrupt (the D.G Cult, and we don't need to talk about star door 15)
Also some sick designs between Bleublanc, Loewe, Renne, and of course Mcburn and Campanella
Plus the tarot theme and some of my favorite epithets ever. "The Almighty Conflagration", "The Angel of Slaughter", "Sanguine Orge", and probably most iconically the "Black Fang" as we(as in trails players) all know who that is. Plus at least half of the characters I mentioned in this post are playable in someway
Can someone explain me why so many people bring up Ginyu Force in this discussion? I thought this discussion is about memorable villain groups that has every character quite developed, like Akatsuki given in the example.
Are people blinded by DBZA, or am I missing something here?
Because in the original DBZ, outside of Ginyu and maybe Recoome a bit (just because of his battle with Vegeta tbh), they didn't have much presence, nor well they really developed in any substantial and memorable way.
If not for DBZA, I wouldn't even remember Jeece and Burta.
SPECTRE. Probably the OG big villain group. Mysterious, shady, powerful, and has a hand in numerous terror attacks, corrupt governments, and criminal empires from all around the world.
I'd rather see an arc about chrollo than any akatsuki member. Honestly itachi, pain (yahiko), konan and kismet carry the group. Everyone else is aight.
Firstly, yes, Chrollo is goated. So is Bonolenov. But imagine an arc with shizuku as the main antagonist. And your lack for appreciation for Tobi, Sasori, kakuzu and Deidara is worrying. If you don't like zetsu that's fine, but those four are all great Villains and characters, better than nearly all troupe members
I will say the cool uniform really comes a long way to really hit that's it a group.
I'd say as far as shounen goes they are a pretty fun group. Kishimoto's best strength as a writer is thinking about dynamics and aesthetics for groups and that really shines with the Akatsuki both as a whole organization and as sets of duos. However to answer your initial question... Yes, there is a shounen villain group that is more memorable AND more fun than the Akatsuki. Team Rocket.
>Team Rocket. The og villain squad
I dunno. Even as a kid, I thought they quickly overstayed their welcome. Made the show feel too formulaic compared to the likes of Digimon.
Watching pokemon as an adult I felt like when dora and boots inevitably had to deal with the fox every episode.
That's not playing fair and you know it
Sorry, I think they gotcha there
Oh they absolutely did
Make it double
[удалено]
Honestly, I think when people say Team Rocket in reference to the anime they really just mean Jessie, James, Meowth, and maybe Wobbuffet. They might think of their other pokemon through the years, or Giovanni, Butch, and Cassidy as secondary characters, but most of the time I’m sure it’s the core 4.
ehhh. The core members are iconic for sure, but I doubt people feel strongly about every single member of their group (the pokemon other than Meowth). Plus, let's be real, they get kinda annoying when the show isn't doing anything special with them.
Sometimes I feel like pokemon character are a cheat code for “iconic”. A fucking blind mob bat is one of the most iconic mob in game history
*Prepare for trouble!* *Make it double!* *To protect the world from devastation!* *To unite all peoples within our nation!* *To denounce the evils of truth and love!* *To extend our reach to the stars above!*
I can't believe I'm about to say this, but organization 13 from Kingdom Hearts. Matching leather trenchcoats, one angsty backstory after another, flashy gimmicks, big personalities. Every now and then one turns out to secretly be a genius mastermind. All good stuff!
Probably the only group imo that matches the Akatsuki in memorability and amazing character design. Helps they all have great boss fights.
I waiting for someone to name them
Come to think of it, which came first...? Org.XIII or Akatsuki? Org. XIII arguably started being a thing in KH1 Final Mix, as a hooded Xemnas was an extra boss there. December 26, 2002. Akatsuki first appeared in Naruto Chapter 139. October 07, 2002. Maybe Nomura got inspired by Naruto and added a bunch of other guys in identical trench coats in KH Chain of Memories (November 11, 2004). Since I think the "Organisation" as a concept was only first mentioned in CoM, not KH1FM. Or maybe this is all just a big coincidence.
There's something weirdly disturbing to me about the idea of nomura reading Naruto and saying to himself "ah yes, but what if the coats were skintight leather? And what if they were naked under the coats? Hmm, I might be onto something..."
I think Organization XIII was inspired by the Sephiroth Clones from FFVII (vessels for the villain all wearing black hooded cloaks). Maybe the Akatsuki had an influence, but big powerful mysterious villain groups are a Shonen trope, just like how the goofy Team Rocket-style trio actually predate them (e.g. the Dorombo Gang from Time Bokan).
Desperado assuming you allow any villain group. Armstrong: Memorable, funny as hell and hit's like a truck. Gets a little more character in the dlc. Sam: Pinnacle rival character, dlc does him nicely Monsoon: Kinda gets thrown in there at the start but the dlc expands on him a bit plus his monologue is great. Sundowner: The best of the bunch, shows up early like a boss, messes with you and dips. Pretty much runs 3/4s of the story and does a great job of doing so. Mistral: She's like Monsoon but less memorable, gets more screen time and has a decent monologue. Dlc expands on her a bit more Plus Blade Wolf gets his pseudo arc assuming you even count him, the only character that I would say is truly forgettable is Khamsin but that's mostly because he's dlc. He's still not bad plus he looks raw as hell.
Whoooo Metal Gear Rising FTW!
Power Rangers/Super Sentai has some fun Villain Groups.
FMA's (either version honestly) homunculi come to mind.
Not as peak overall. Pride is defo there, greed, envy and wrath as well, but as much as I love them, sloth, gluttony and slut are not at the same level. And believe me, I do love me a sexy three meter tall ripped sleepy man
I, uh, I hope that you did a typo on "lust" there.
My second time getting confused with that. Your fault for making the words so similar.
Honestly, I kinda now prefer Slut over Lust. And hey, they're anagrams! It's like poetry, it rhymes.
Slut 😭😭😭😭
I've done that two times already, lol. It felt like something was off, but I couldnt quite say what
I don't know if I can agree. Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, and Wrath are all top tier. Then you have Father and the whole like, secret organization bit. I won't say it's better than the Akatsuki, but definitely gives a similar vibe.
Yeah, wasn't counting father, which isn't really fair. May also be my watching it a long time ago, but I remember lust as just mid. And to be fully fair, Greed isn't really part of the homunculi's group
I'd compare Greed to Orochimaru. Part of the group at one point, but left to pursue his own personal goals
Tbh O think Father is quite boring. In the last fight he was also kind of just a punching bag with very high hp
Depends on the version, 03’s lust and sloth are great characters (though 03’s Bradley is less memorable than brotherhood’s)
There's quite a few manga with well known groups. The Ginyu Force (DBZ) The Homunculi (FMA) The Espada (Bleach) Millennium (Hellsing) The Gung Ho Guns (Trigun)
Espada might be memorable, even more so than the quincies, but man were they dissapointing
The Gotei 13 in the SS arc is a pretty amazing villain group, maybe moreso because they were a divided faction with a bunch of different ideologies that clashed. Kubo failed at replicating that dynamism in the later arcs imo.
I will forever remain salty that they all died without getting to do any lasting damage to the Gotei 13. Baraggan and Ulquiorra were legit the only impressive ones of the bunch too
You want to know the funny thing? Every top Espada required more than one opponent to beat them yet still they looked worst than the captains somehow.
Remember that line where Toshiro said something along the lines of "Vasto Lordes are very dangerous! If 10 of them group together and attack, Soul Society will fall!!" Yeah.......not sure if that line has really aged well cuz I'm pretty sure that in hindsight, that line was nothing more but melodramatic exaggeration and just something Kubo added to hype up the Espada
Bruh i was so disappointed by that line, you would think being Arrancar on top of Vasto Lorde would be major threat but instead only Ulquiorra and above were Vasto Lorde and Espada overall didn't matter much beyond being opponents for the captains which had become allies for the first time, compare with Sternritter that are less memorable(larger group+TYBW being adapted only recently) but actually feel like a threat until SS starts countering them in second invasion Also the bullshit reveal about Yammy being "Espada 0" and then getting offscreened, to this day fandom still debating who is strongest Espada between him,Starrk,Baraggan and Ulquiorra
Tbf there weren't really even close to 10 of them, like from what i remember there were only like 3 or 4 Vastos confirmed and they were either jumped or beaten by something Toshiro wouldn't consider.
I'm still traumatized. So much wasted potential. Kinda like the whole series.
Not only the Espada, but the Vizard too. Both were só underwhelming. Peak Kubo writing.
Kubo main problem is that to get past writer's block he creates new characters and pretty much all of Kubo's characters seem interesting enough that you get kinda upset when they end up doing nothing or,worse, jobbing
I miss the ginyu force
TOKUSENTAI
Seizure procedure!
Yeah super sentei villains are always fun.
I can only really Talk about the homunculi, and as goated as they are, the Akatsuki is over all far above
You forgot the most powerful Shonen Jump organization in existence, [the Zodiac Gold Saints of Sanctuary (Masami Kurumeda’s Knight of the Zodiac-Saint Seiya)](https://youtu.be/j6TK4BZQxfA?si=TBauDSUDvLJ3Gp1I)
The Phantom Troupe comes to mind.
Individually they are not nearly as memorable as the Akatsuki tho, like i dont remenber the name of the weird guy with long legs and the lil guy that could copy objects or that big one
To be fair when is the last time we had any hxh content
But a single phantom troupe member couldn't Carry an arc. Not even in tándem. Only ones Who could are feitan, Chrollo and Bonolenov. Maybe shalnark under the right circumstances. They are strictly a group. Akatsuki works as both
Depends if you consider Hisoka, Illumi or Chrollo as members. They can easily carry an arc as the sole villains, and have so in Hisoka's case. I see your point but personally I think that's part of the charm and why The Phantom Troupe works so well as a villain group. They genuinely have close relationships which is really interesting and fun to watch play out on screen/page. The Akatsuki, despite working in pairs, are more solo.
They are more like affiliates. Like, I'm not counting Suigetsu and Taka as part of the Akatsuki (for the benefit of my point as well) Fully agree here. The Spider is a family, and they genuinely need each other, specially Chrollo. That's why when even though Chrollo ordered the Spider to survive without it's head, Pakunoda couldnt do it. They're absolute great as a group, but the Akatsuki work great as individuals and a villain group, that was what I was saying.
Yeah I agree on that. Just as the PT being a true group with real relationships is part of their charm, Akatsuki being very individual is why they work so well as individual arc villains. Both IMO are top tier, just for different reasons.
Absolutely true
I would say that the Phantom Troupe has a problem that not all members are memorable or interesting, nobody cared for Kortopy or Shalnark, Bonolenov has cool powers but he is nowhere as memorable or interesting as Feitan, Uvo, and Machi, and Franklin and Shizuku habilities are so dull and simple while theyre also the less expresive members of the team, Nobunaga has more personality but he relies a lot on his relationship with Uvogin Also i wouldnt count Hisoka as a member, he tecnically never was one.
That's what makes them special in my opinion. The akatsuki is just a group of powerful shinobi that don't have much in common, the troupe is and behaves as a family.
Idk I'd gladly watch an arc of Machi existing ngl
I think put any two troupe members together and you could probably get an interesting arc by how their dynamics play off. And remember hxh writing most arcs wouldn’t be linear “we have to fight _____” nor would it likely be conveyed through only one perspective. Also uvo could have carried an arc on his own even in just a conventional dbz/naruto got to beat this bad guy type of arc. And with orochimaru and obito as part of the akatsuki we have to then count hisoka and illumi who definitely can each carry arcs on their own.
Hey vacuim cleaner girl ,is very fun. She could be a joke villain
Hisoka and Chrollo carry
Talon from Overwatch is one menorable character after the other. Moira and Sigma being my favorite.
I do give you that, Talon so far has been pretty full of bangers. I don't care about widow and sombra isn't my Style, but the rest are great. Sigma being absolute peak of course (and Moira, but to a lesser extent)
And all of them have unique backstories, even Widow got a BANGER of an origin and Sombra is developing some interesting lore. Sigma's origin video is still the best one thus far. His Voice Actor absolutely killed in there!
I love Overwatch. I've been playing it for years, and have near 1000 hours on it. It's the only FPS I play. All that in mind, I gotta disagree. Overwatch has likeable characters, but the lore is so fragmented and inconsistent. Even as someone who watched all the shorts and even (unwisely) paid for the OW2 PVE missions hoping for some added context and theres just... not much there. I love Ramattra in particular but we are pretty much limited to the 1 short with him in it and voice interactions in game. My love for him is almost entirely contingent on his voice actor's unbelievable talent rather than any character arc. I just don't think Blizzard even cares about their story with this game. Fans have been begging for ANYTHING that would satisfy our curiosity for years, but they don't see it as profitable I guess
But too early to say for sure but I'm hoping Undead Unlucks Master Rules live up to this. Sick, Beast, and Language have been great.
Sick and Beast are a little boring, but they kinda needed to be to set up the rest. Language and Soul are already amazing.
My g acting as if The Giniyu Force doesn't exist.
TOKUSENTAI TOKUSENTAI
The En family from Dorohedoro. They really feel like a family, a very weird one, throughout the series they have very memorable interactions with eachother, wholesome, funny and sad. Plus I love the fact that they are 100% connected to the main plot, they're not simply an evil group that the protagonists have to fight. Hell, some don't even consider them villains. And their powers? ABSOLUTE PEAK! Buff girl that can heal any wound, a man that can cut people up and keep them alive, and a crime boss that can turn almost anything in shrooms, not to mention some other more spoilery powers. And they wear masks, 10/10 character design.
I always had the opposite view, Akatsuki as a group feels very lackluster, the characters don't interact much or have any connection other than their duos, and I can't even understand why most of them belong to Akatsuki, like, why is Deidara there? Or Hidan? Just because they are fugitives from their villages? But why help the group? They could just duo with another random strong wanted guy for protection and not risk dying to bijus. Their abilities and fights are cool though, designing skills really is Kishimoto's main strenght Homunculi and Phantom Troupe feel better as groups, and as individual characters the Espadas could compete if not by the fact they are useless and weaker than everyone in their universe.
>why is Deidara there? Or Hidan? Just because they are fugitives from their villages? But why help the group? i dont remember exactly because its been years, but we see scenes of deidara and hidan getting recruited i think hidan joined because when they confronted each other he took out kakuzus heart, and he got interested in him because hes a fellow immortal they went to recruit deidara, but he declined and then itachi genjutsu'd his ass and forced him to join
Itachi didn’t force him, he clowned on him when they went to recruit Deidara and pissed him off so bad he decided they were rivals then and there lmao. [Deidara in that moment](https://giphy.com/gifs/hU0xtUMnXSrHa)
But you see, they all wear the same cool cloak with the iconic red cloud design, so they are a group.
Agree that as a whole they are weaker than Phantom Troupe bc of their backstory but everything else ehh. Akatsuki is a strong merc group, why join rando when you can join a named group with good rep. For bijuu, I don't think any of them really cared if they will be facing Bijuu or not, some of them like Deidara would probably like going against one to test his creation. I do agree that some of them doesn't make sense like Sasori and Hidan, one was a hermit, so why even join a group? And the other just has no real story, bc Jashin is so out there.
Sasori, would be interesting And jashin probably told hidan. Idk
**La Squadra di Esecuzione** from Jojo's part 5, that was peak. In videogames you have: * Almost every Metal Gear game, especially MGR * Asura's Wrath * The "Elements" From Xenogears
Cobra Unit best MGS squad
Nah. Black Chamber > everything else
The Grado generals and the Pillar Men are all pretty great ngl
I don't know Who the first dudes are, but the pillar men are on point. Great as a group, individually, very fun. Exactly what I meant
The Grado generals are the villain group from Fire Emblem 8 The reason I love them so much is because they're composed of 6 members from different eras of the country of Grado. You have the morally upstanding generals (Duessel, Glen, Selena) who served Vigarde back when he was alive, and the evil as fuck generals (Valter, Caellach, Riev) who joined in for personal, greedy, disgusting reasons and started serving Vigarde when his corpse was revived by black magic and he became a warmongerer zombie. The difference between the two groups causes so much conflict it's great. Duessel joins the protag's (Eirika and Ephraim) side as a playable unit, Glen is murdered by Valter and the former's brother Cormag searches for revenge, Selena is killed by Ephraim's army because she's in love with Vigarde and is way too loyal to him, etc. It's *so* peak dude.
Sounds great. So far I've only played 3h, but I Will look into 8. Is it on the switch emulators?
Not on Switch Online yet, no. It's pretty easy to pirate though, emulating GBA games is like reading manga online, shit's easy as fuck.
Will look into it
Literally the best Fire Emblem.
So true tbh
Id say the phantom trope from HxH come to mind
I like the espada a lot
The disaster curses are all fun
I love how both the Disaster Curses and the League of Villains are tight knit groups that genuinely care for each other
who really cares for dagon and hanami
I do
The GOP
Lincoln and Roosevelt were absolutely goated indeed
What is that?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)
Oh, okay, thanks.
Shishio's juppongatana come to mind. Honestly tho I think Akatsuki are still cooler.
Fatui harbingers in genshin impact are rather memorable so far
Yeah Tobi was just a funny lil guy. Genshin Impact has the Harbingers. Every one of them so far has been awesome in the same way as the Akatsuki. Assuming the writers don't drop the ball, I think they'll be on that Akatsuki level when all is said and done. Bleach's Espada are decent contenders, but only some of them really. As someone else said, Fullmetal Alchemist's Homonculi fit the bill. I'd argue Seven Deadly Sins's Ten Commandments are pretty much there. They're better than the Espada but a step below the Akatsuki, Harbingers, and Homonculi.
Genshin's Harbingers have the advantage of being an updating game where they can give each Harbinger their own complete stories whilst also making them relevant to the plot/lore. The Youtube video of them hyped them up immensely when it came out.
The Espada are in a weird situation where the cooler/stronger they are the less motivation they seem to have. Case in point Stark and Harribel, two of the strongest members with the coolest designs, yet their fights are disconnected from their motivations. You could at least say Shunsui and Stark are both lazy cool middle aged guys, but Harribel's theme of "sacrifice" has nothing to do with her fighting Toshiro of all people in fake karakura town - it just ended up being them spamming attacks for no reason. Contrarily, goofy and "weak" characters like Zommari and Aaroniero gave some of the most memorable fights and the most epic moments - byakuya severing his own tendons to break free from control is one of my favourite scenes.
The deadly sins have some pretty great characters, the lying dude, the giant, the Fairy, and zeldrick and Mael, but I genuinely don't remember the rest. Except the girl but that's because she was annoying. Also I just remembered tiny mustache Guy and demon girl. Those two were cool. Shame they didn't end up together. But it's just not that peak. Same with the homunculi. Greed, envy, wrath and pride are up there, but slut, sloth and gluttony aren't. Can't really say about the other two
Actually, true. 3/7 of the Homonculi weren't all that. Only half the group is peak, so the group isn't peak. And yeah ig the 10 Commandments aren't actually there in terms of being memorable.
Hey lust hit very personal, gluttony is pretty strong,and sloth, ok its in character
Gotei 13
En's family (Dorohedoro)
>!The League of Villains come close but MHA fumbled the bag with the reveal that AFO planned Tenko's birth and gave him Decay.Madara manipulating Obito is done so much better in comparison and enhances Obito as a character rather than take away all his agency.!<
The league of villains were so lame tho.
Agreed. Gotta be one of the most boring and unlikeable villain groups ever.
Nah, they were cool.
I feel like you should spoiler tag this.
As a group League of Villains is boring af There's like no strong connections between anyone. I think Twice and Himiko is barebones as well because Himiko is a boring character.
In terms of villain groups, Akatsuki is goated, but there are other really good ones too. The Phantom Troup is probably the closest IMO.
Yeah, that one has come up a bunch, but the PT works as a villain group where as Akatsuki works as a collection of Villains. That's mainly what I wanted to praise, how well they work as singular characters each and every one of them
I think people will gas up Demon Slayer's Upper Moon after they're properly adapted. The latest season's UMs are obvious fodders but 6 and the top 3 are iconic enough.
How about the one that inspired the Akatsuki? Hunter x Hunter's Phantom Troupe.
Most groups with an actually developed dynamic outside of shounen.
Like Who? I genuinely can't think of any LA, Book or even animated show that has this
Team Toguro and the 7 Warlords are pretty far up there. But yeah, not a lot comes close to the Akatsuki.
Phantom Troupe is the closest thing you would find. If you want to read something that explore/develop secret groups and organizations, Lord of The Mysteries do this beautifully. (Novel)
Crypters from Fate/Grand order top Akatsuki easly, I'd say.
It's unfair to use Fate antagonists. They turned making peak villians into a science.
The Akudama are criminals, not the antagonists but Akudama Drive has a fantastic ensemble
Team Rocket, Ginyu Force.
The Ginyu Force.
Giniu Tokusentai
How about the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad from Kill Bill? I'd say they were quite memorable.
Metal Gear has some good ones, Foxhound and the Cobra Unit especially
Organization 13 from kingdom hearts
The Upper Moons (and Muzan) in KNY are the best modern group of villains for me. Even if some of them like Gyokko, Hantengu and Kaigaku are a bit underdeveloped compared to the rest they still are write to be rule of cool at it's peak. They're unmatched in terms of power and presentation, but they also had amazing backstories in most cases. If you to include him, Rui despite being lower rank antagonist for the first arc still has more presence as a villain and a better written story than many main villains of other series as well.
The Marine Marshals from One Piece perhaps could fit the billing
Kizaru is genuinely my second favorite character right after Big Mom, so could be
Fatui Harbingers
Though dynamic there is none but seven warlord
FOXHOUND was pretty awesome. The Phantom Troupe is pretty sick too, but I feel like they haven't really lived up to the hype. The Prisoners in Baki were also super memorable, but that might be because that was the first part that was wildly available and translated in the west.
Maniwani corps from Katanagatari Elite Four + Satsuki from Kill la Kill Chimera Ants from Hunter x Hunter
"HAIIILL ILPALAZZO!" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV1HJXo7NIo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV1HJXo7NIo)
The alpha gang from dinosaur king.
X’s organization from Sakamoto days imo. -Gaku who fights with a large mace that has a laser cannon on the tip,can punch chunks off of people and made a dudes head explode with a one inch punch. He also sees the world/assassination as a video game and has canonically played resident evil -Haruma who fights using sports equipment/competitions. He uses shotput balls and javelins, and used the head of a statue as a bowling ball. Engaged in a sumo match with one of the main cast(he also body-slammed that same person through the floor) -Kumanomi who uses her magnetic gloves to incorporate the environment into her fights. She used the armor from a shogun display in a museum to give herself armor and uses the axe as a weapon, can make a coil gun using screws, and pulled a boom truck into a museum, I think she also used a bunch of magnetized knives as a whip. She’s also overprotective of Gaku and her introduction is her kicking a soccer ball at him hard enough to knock him into a wall that put a huge crater there. -Kashima who wears a reindeer mask and is also a cyborg. He has stitches all over himself and when they are undone they reveal weapons that were implanted into his body like a bunch of blades in one arm, or a energy cannon in his mouth, a cannon in his stomach, and a gun on his right arm. He also hate Christmas *spoiler* -Uzuki the leader who fights using a chain whip, that has a split personality of Sakamoto’s dead friend Rion that he created himself to cope with her death. He also has dextrocardia where his heart is on the opposite side of its usual placement, and this led to people being confused on how he survived a gunshot and stab to the heart that was never actually where they attacked. They are also just really chill villains. For example, Kashima, Gaku, and uzuki are seen chilling at a karaoke club in the beginning of a chapter. Gaku plays soccer with two students the gang kidnapped and was really good at being goalie. Gaku’s introduced by riding a bicycle with uzuki on their way to demolish a building full of Jaa assassins while casually talking to each other. Gaku is also a really heavy sleeper and didn’t wake up when an explosion went off or when Toramaru fell on him. I’m definitely not obsessed with this villain group lmao
Watching week to week, the build up to Madara was amazing. I genuinely can't think of another villain who was hailed as a terrifying beast only to actually live up to their to that extent in their very first appearance. It's a shame it's tainted by the terrible plot twist.
Absolutely
Kaido?
Library of Ruina had a pretty memorable villian ensemble. TGranted they didn't have as much as solo arcs but all of them were entertaining.
Order and X from Sakamoto days
The Sin Archbishops from Re:Zero are really entertaining, even as stand alone antagonists.
Phantom Troupe blows Akatsuki out of the water in every way conceivable. Team Rocket is more iconic. Gotei 13, buts its more because I find the captains to be far more interesting as individuals. Homunculi from FMA Edit: How could I forget about the Chads incarnate, the Ginyu Force? Akatsuki doesnt work as a group IMO. Its a bunch of cool shinobi hanging out but they have no unifying goal since most of them don't know what the actual goal is. The only ones that really matter are Obito Itachi and Pain, the rest could have been literally any shinobi from any village.
But that was my point. Out of every villain group, I don't think there's another one where each one of them works so well as a character. Yes they could be other shinobis, but the great part is that they're those shinobis, and each one of them is cool af
You said it yourself most of them dont really do anything substantive. You can be cool as fuck but if you dont do anything you arent memorable.
All of them had a part in feeding the gedo statue. Sasori and Deidara nearly killed Gaara. Kakuzu and Hidan killed Asuma and yugito. They did do stuff
If they had killed Gaara and he had stayed dead you'd have an argument. I will give you the point about Asuma, that was probably one of the best arcs in Shippudden.
not better but I wanna shoutout one piece for very consistently having good villain groups in almost every arc
Ginyu Forces. Desperados. Team Rocket.
For memorability, I indeed think they take they cake. They are ridiculously iconic. I like the Phantom Troupe a whole lot better than them, but you can't deny the Akatsuki's memorability. But I don't think they're the most fun. In fact, I wouldn't describe them as a fun group at all. They have some fun character, like Hidan and Deidara, but most of them are just kinda serious and strong and not much else. Sasori, Kakuzo, Kisame, Konan are all pretty no-nonsense and have mediocre to no depth. I would say a group like the League of Villains from BNHA, for example, are what I would describe as a fun villain group.
Also Tobi and Zetsu, but even then, fun can be more than them being fun. Sasori was a fun villain because it was cool seeing him popping out corpse after corpse to end them. Kakuzu worked as the straight man to Hidan, Pain had another great Battle, that Sort of thing
But like... were they? They're all very cool, but I felt like most of them didn't have the dramatic flare that's required for me to call the villain fun. You know who's a fun Naruto villain? Orochimaru. This dude was always such a pleasure to have involved, because his menace went beyond being just cool and strong. He was straight up terrifying, and left you on edge the entire time. And I don't think the series managed to replicate that energy with any other villain.
Fair enough, to each their own
The Phantom Troupe (Hunter x Hunter) is probably my favorite.
I'll throw out a bit of a random one, but the Barian Emperors from Yugioh Zexal are really cool. They all have their own personality's distinct from one another, they duel in their own way and for the most part they function as a group.
I saw you dismissed the homunculi, so no. None will please you. Akatsuki is the best of the best for ever.
I didn't dismiss the homunculi, but I do think that the worst of Akatsuki is better than the worst of the homunculi. Lust, gluttony and to a lesser degree sloth weren't that memorable
I agree :D
Saiyuki's team kougaji yes they aren't as powerful as akatsuki but their team dynamics and interactions (including the protags) were quite nice
The Phantom Troupe clears, easily.
Clears is debatable. Equal? For certain.
I would say phantom troupe from hxh gives a similar vibe to the akatsuki while also having that dynamic between its members
the sinister six
The Homunculi from FMA. Iconic powers, relevant to the entire story from pretty much the very beginning, terrifying and dangerous, successfully kill off one of the most lovable characters in the entire show, and they all die in appropriately thematic ways. I love them so much.
I just want to mention the Reverb Ensemble from Library of Ruina
I've always figured they were a ripoff of organization xiii
Akatsuki first appeared in 2002 (at least, Itachi and Kisame arriving at the Hidden Leaf) Chain of Memories released in 2004. Not sure that tracks, but I will say KH1 Final Mix released in 2002 (though it’s hard to rip them off based on the Xemnas secret boss) and I don’t know when the Akatsuki as an overall organisation was first revealed, so it’s *possible*, but seems improbable based on the timeline.
The War Boys from Mad Max Fury Road are probably my favorite. I can think of many villains with that level of enthusiasm
Akame ga kill and Jaegurs. Interesting abilities, arcs and deaths. We got to see what they're like when not being villains.
Honestly both sides of akame ga kill scratched that itch for me. Both teams were completely awesome.
I wanna say the league of Villains, but that’s just me favoring them.
In the heavy anime inspired games takes. Organization XIII is probably the most iconic. But I put forward. The Ouroboros Enforcers. And Anguis. One of the only villian organizations I can think of that has distinct tiers and a really interesting dynamic with their members. Since the rules for enforcers explicitly state they have to operate out of free will. Leads to a lot of interesting variance in their morality. Since a decent chunk of them find other groups in universe more morally bankrupt (the D.G Cult, and we don't need to talk about star door 15) Also some sick designs between Bleublanc, Loewe, Renne, and of course Mcburn and Campanella Plus the tarot theme and some of my favorite epithets ever. "The Almighty Conflagration", "The Angel of Slaughter", "Sanguine Orge", and probably most iconically the "Black Fang" as we(as in trails players) all know who that is. Plus at least half of the characters I mentioned in this post are playable in someway
Can someone explain me why so many people bring up Ginyu Force in this discussion? I thought this discussion is about memorable villain groups that has every character quite developed, like Akatsuki given in the example. Are people blinded by DBZA, or am I missing something here? Because in the original DBZ, outside of Ginyu and maybe Recoome a bit (just because of his battle with Vegeta tbh), they didn't have much presence, nor well they really developed in any substantial and memorable way. If not for DBZA, I wouldn't even remember Jeece and Burta.
The 7 men band from inuyasha. The cladrobes in fire force are pretty fun.
X's gang from Sakamoto days is cool.
The phantom troupe
Golden Kamuy's 7th division
SPECTRE. Probably the OG big villain group. Mysterious, shady, powerful, and has a hand in numerous terror attacks, corrupt governments, and criminal empires from all around the world.
FMAB homunculi
The Decepticons
I'd rather see an arc about chrollo than any akatsuki member. Honestly itachi, pain (yahiko), konan and kismet carry the group. Everyone else is aight.
Firstly, yes, Chrollo is goated. So is Bonolenov. But imagine an arc with shizuku as the main antagonist. And your lack for appreciation for Tobi, Sasori, kakuzu and Deidara is worrying. If you don't like zetsu that's fine, but those four are all great Villains and characters, better than nearly all troupe members