One Piece has some of the most despicable villains in all shonen manga, with many standing out not for their strength but for their hateful actions.

The long-running series One Piece has some of the most despicable villains in any shōnen manga. Some of these villains have backstories justifying their actions and some are rotten to their core. No matter why they are the way they are, their actions make these villains easy for fans to hate. While some of these villains are also incredibly powerful, many of them are not, which makes their actions even more irritating.

Part of the reason these villains are so despicable is the way that One Piece is written. Mangaka Eiichiro Oda is an expert at depicting injustice on both a societal and personal level, and the agents of this oppression. This causes many characters that would merely be petty antagonists in another series to be enlarged to an overwhelmingly evil role. Thus, One Piece’s villains are some of the most hateable out there.

10. Rob Lucci

One of the World Government’s most loyal tools.

While Lucci may not be as obviously despicable as many of the other villains in One Piece, he is still a terrible human being. He is an antagonist devoted to the absolute justice of the World Government and is willing to do any act working as their agent. As a child, he ruthlessly killed 500 hostages of a pirate before killing that pirate and his crew, which shows his almost sociopathic degree of devotion. In Water 7 he also showed a willingness to betray those who saw him as a friend as he grievously injured his fellow shipwright Paulie after dropping his cover. So while Lucci may not be as obviously evil as the others, especially since he recently allied with Luffy, here he still easily deserves to be among the most despicable villains in One Piece.

9. Blackbeard

A scheming evil pirate in every sense.

Blackbeard is currently established as one of the biggest threats in One Piece. Blackbeard captured Ace, thus leading to his death in Marineford, and was directly responsible for Whitebeard’s death there, so many fans hate him for good reason. Blackbeard has also shown himself to be willing to stoop to any low to accomplish what he wants, including beating an enemy while they’re down. However, he unfortunately hasn’t yet had the focus that many of the other villains in One Piece have had, which means he is currently near the bottom.

8. Enel

Skypeia’s merciless, self-centered ruler.

While Skypiea as an arc is often looked down upon by fans for not closely connecting to other parts of the series, no one can deny that its villain Enel is truly a despicable villain. Possessing the Rumble-Rumble Fruit that lets him become and control electricity, Enel rules over the Sky Islands as a god. His powers prevent him from being hit through normal means as well as letting him monitor everything that goes on in his kingdom without leaving his throne. If he thinks someone is disrespecting him or his rule, he will mercilessly strike them down. All this makes him a despicable narcissist and one of the most hateable villains in the series.

7. Sakazuki – Akainu

A ruthless marine who’d do anything in the name of justice.

Akainu is one of the Navy’s most devoted admirals, with a codename literally meaning “red dog”. This is appropriate given the amount of blood on his hands he has accumulated in his service to the World Government, unflinchingly destroying its enemies with horrific acts as Buster Calls. However, the reason why most fans despise him is for the brutal murder of Ace at the end of the Marineford arc. Compared to mass murder and other atrocities, this may not seem like much, but after all the effort to free Ace and his relationship with Luffy, this death became one of One Piece‘s most brutal and emotional moments, which definitely earns Akainu a spot among the most despicable villains in the series.

6. Hody Jones

One of the many disillusioned Fishmen in One Piece.

Hody Jones may initially seem like he has a just motivation for his actions, being a victim of human racism and oppression like Arlong and Fisher Tiger, but as more of the tragic backstory of Fishman Island is revealed, it is shown that he is different in many key ways. Hody Jones wants to perpetuate the cycle of hatred and oppression instead of breaking it, as he was the one who murdered the benevolent Queen Otohime when she tried to actually bring peace between the Fishmen and the surface world. While ultimately his twisted outlook is a consequence of the oppression he was born under, this doesn’t excuse Hody’s utterly despicable actions.

5. Spandam

A pathetic coward who relishes flaunting his position.

Unlike many of the other villains in One Piece, Spandam isn’t very intimidating. In fact, in the arc he appears, he is presented almost as a joke when compared to the powerful members of CP9. Despite this, he stands out as being a completely irredeemable monster, gloating over Robin’s suffering and being an all-around terrible person at every opportunity. All of this makes his lack of power actually even more frustrating given that he serves as a representation of the World Government institutions that allow despicable men to rise to positions of authority.

4. Caesar Clown

An evil scientist who experimented on children.

Caesar Clown is the main antagonist of the Punk Hazard arc and one of the first villains the Straw Hats meet upon entering the New World. Caesar is a mad scientist by every definition, even being a member of One Piece‘s super science group M.A.D.S., trying to perfect Smile Fruit technology by experimenting on captive children. In doing his research, he essentially gets these children addicted to drugs, which is one of the darkest twists in the series. His callous disregard for these children’s well-being is what makes him one of One Piece‘s most despicable villains.

3. Kurozumi Orochi

A pathetic ruler who sold out Wano for revenge.

Orochi is the shogun of Wano, who takes delight in subjugating his subjects as revenge for how his family had been treated by the previously ruling Kozuki clan. Orochi gleefully manipulated Oden, making him look like a fool in front of his people for five years before his public execution. Perhaps his more grievous crime is how he has let both his people and the very land of Wano itself be despoiled by the pollution caused by Kaido’s factories. This has led to the disfigurement and starvation of his subjects and made his own selfish vindictiveness seem petty by comparison, causing him to become one of One Piece‘s most hated villains.

2. Donquixote Doflamingo

A truly monstrous dictator and villain.

Doflamingo was the ruler of Dressrosa when the Straw Hats visited the island, and he subjugated that land to his cruel will. Anyone who dissented with him was turned into a living doll and when the Straw Hats threatened his rule, he trapped the island’s citizens in a giant bird cage that almost destroyed them. His attitude largely stems from his childhood as a Celestial Dragon living among common people, who attempted to murder him and his family. But no backstory can justify the cruel pleasure he gains from tormenting those he has power over, making him easily one of One Piece‘s most despicable villains.

1. Saint Charlos and the Celestial Dragons

Disgustingly entitled and depraved nobles.

The most despicable villain in One Piece is arguably the weakest and that is St. Charlos. Charlos serves as a stand-in for the disgustingly spoiled Celestial Dragons, the noble class of the World Government who are legally able to do whatever they want to the world and its people. Charlos murders, enslaves, and steals anything that catches his fancy with seemingly no knowledge of how depraved his actions are. But this ignorance actually makes his crimes worse, not better, as it means he has no moral limits to what he might do. This makes Charlos and all the other Celestial Dragons like him easily the most despicable antagonists in One Piece.

Part of why fans love these despicable villains is because they know that eventually the heroes of One Piece‘s world will take them down. This is part of what makes the Straw Hats such inspirational heroes: they stand up and fight these despicable villains when others won’t. While many new manga villains are becoming more complex and relatable, the straightforward evil of One Piece‘s despicable villains shows readers that this sort of character can be just as enjoyable.