Anime
Dio Brando
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure · 1987
A hundred years of grudge, posed dramatically
Threat index 88
Monster · Anime
Muzan Kibutsuji
A thousand years old and still terrified of dying
Attribute scores
Power94
Intellect82
Menace92
Fear factor84
Cultural impact82
Charisma62
Editorial estimates on a 0–100 scale, calibrated against every other character in the index. Not official canon.
Who they are
Muzan is the origin of every demon in his story, and he can kill any of them with a thought. He hides in plain sight, changing appearance and family whenever it suits him, and his defining trait is not cruelty but cowardice: everything he does, including creating an entire species, is an attempt to solve his own vulnerability to sunlight.
Defining traits
Absolute control over all demonsShapeshifting and disguiseBlood-based transformationRegenerationParalyzing fear of death
What makes them dangerous
Every demon in the world is an extension of him, and killing them does not touch him.
And what undoes them
Sunlight, and the specific flower-based medicine he has spent a millennium failing to perfect.
Things you might not know
- He is introduced walking down a street with a wife and child, a disguise he discards without comment.
- His obsession with a sunlight cure drives the entire thousand-year plot of the series.
- The anime adaptation's animation of his blood-based attacks was widely credited with the franchise's global breakthrough.
Why number 9 in Most Powerful
A thousand years old, capable of killing any of his creations with a thought, and effectively unkillable outside a very specific window of sunlight.
Why number 10 in Most Dangerous
Every demon in the world is an extension of him, which means the threat has been growing continuously for a thousand years.
Why number 19 in Animation & Anime
A thousand-year-old demon king whose defining trait is cowardice, which is a far more interesting choice than pure malice.
If you like this villain
Comics
Venom
The Amazing Spider-Man #300 · 1988
A grudge with teeth, wearing the hero's own costume
Threat index 79
Film