With the medium so often featuring supernatural threats, it's no surprise that some of the scariest demons in anime are still leaving an impact on audiences to this day. Though not all anime demons are truly horrific or malicious entities, it's undeniable that some anime demons still haunt fans' nightmares long after their shows end.
Far from the Western interpretation, demon is a tricky term to pin down in Japanese. It can refer to Western-style demons and devils, with horns and wings that often come from Hell itself. Yet, it's also commonly used as a translation for Japanese terms such as Yokai, which refer to different classes of spiritual beings that are often pretty dangerous. This isn't just a complication of translation, though, as Japanese media like anime and manga will often deliberately mix the two. To find the scariest demons in anime history, it's important to look at every type possible.
10 Asura (Soul Eater)
In Soul Eater, evil souls are also referred to as "demon eggs," and must be collected by death's agents before they have the chance to mature into Kishin, or even worse--used to awaken the Kishin Asura, the manifestation of madness and fear. Asura is considered one of the "Great Old Ones," making him a terrifyingly ancient being who claims he can never be truly destroyed, and he's capable of driving people insane using that power. Asura uses eyes for symbolism, starting with having three eyes, giving him an instantly creepy appearance. Worse still, Asura's connection to fear means that raw power isn't enough to overcome him--so long as those who oppose him feel fear, they can never win.
9 Megicula (Black Clover)
Megicula is the Demon in Black Clover that's responsible for a lot of the bad things that have happened in the series. Megicula is both smart and cruel, able to use powerful curses that can even be fatal. In fact, it's kind of the source of all curse magic in the series. Megicula's most notable victim may be Noelle's mother, whose soul it captures, but she's far from the devil's only target. Megicula is also bonded to the villainous Vanica by contract, meaning that aside from its own ambitions, it's also a party to every crime of Vanica and the Spade Kingdom. Megicula's magic can also restrict opponents and disable weaker attack spells, making him nearly unstoppable for all but the most powerful.
8 The Farm Demons (Promised Neverland)
The farm demons are never named in The Promised Neverland, but in a way that just makes them scarier. These demons aren't scary because of magic or infernal power; rather, the terror that they create comes from the industrial-scale of their human farming. It's a kind of banal evil, not overtly exciting or even threatening, but evil all the same. While it's not uncommon for demons to feed on humans indirectly, either through their fear, life-force, etc., it's not too often that they're given this kind of organization. Of course, meant to be a mirror for real-life industry farming, the goal of The Promised Neverland's demons is to get viewers wondering about the morality of these acts in general.
7 Satan (Devilman Crybaby)
Devilman Crybaby is a brutal anime series that doesn't pull punches. Of all the anime demons on this list, Devilman Crybaby's Satan is without a doubt the most successful. Immortal and unkillable, Satan is every bit as terrifying as he really should be, able to control all other devils, and is responsible for protagonist Akira Fudo becoming the eponymous Devilman. It's tough to talk about him too much without getting into major spoilers but rest assured, this is one Satan who lives up to his name.
6 Ryuk (Death Note)
The shinigami (gods of death) in Death Note can have a variety of appearances, but most basically resemble the typical horns and wings demons of Western culture. Ryuk, of course, is the poster child for Death Note's shinigami, as he spends the entire series with Light. Ryuk and the other shinigami are capable of seeing the lifespan and name of any human they look at, then easily killing them simply by writing their name into the Death Notes that each shinigami carries. Shinigami who kill humans prematurely are rewarded with the rest of that human's lifespan being added to their own, meaning that shinigami can effectively live forever, so long as they don't try to save a human's life. They're also completely invisible to humans who haven't touched a Death Note, meaning there's no way to even know one is targeting you until it's too late.
5 Toguro the Younger (Yu Yu Hakusho)
The main villain of Yu Yu Hakusho's Dark Tournament, Toguro is one of a pair of brothers who once fought alongside Genkai, Yusuke's mentor, in that same Dark Tournament 50 years prior. As victors of the tournament then, both Toguro brothers chose to become demons and carved out a space for themselves in the demon world. Toguro has several forms, each increasingly more muscular and more monstrous than the last. He had no qualms with killing his opponents, either--even his former lover.
4 The Ten-Tailed Beast (Naruto)
The Ten-Tailed Beast was one of the most dangerous threats in Naruto. Said to be the origin of all chakra, it was effectively a god, extremely fast and powerful with an incredible regenerative ability. Using ninjutsu techniques, it could attack targets from miles away with a force capable of destroying mountains. With little more than a bellowing roar, Naruto's Ten-Tailed Beast was able to create natural disasters which spanned the entirety of Naruto's world.
3 Buu (Dragon Ball Z)
The "Majin" in "Majin Buu" literally means "Demon Person", and anyone who has seen Buu in action would be hard-pressed to disagree. Buu may not look like much, but he carries within him some of the darkest evil imaginable, present from his very creation. Buu is resistant to most types of physical attacks and doesn't even seem all that bothered by Ki-based attacks. He's able to transform anyone into basically anything, but his favorite is to turn people into candies and devour them--a fate that befell several cities. While Dragon Ball Z has had some terrifyingly powerful villains, Buu's devastation was difficult to even comprehend; by the arc's lowest point, there are only a handful of survivors from planet Earth: Gohan, Mr. Satan, Dende, and Buu's dog.
2 Naraku (Inuyasha)
Inuyasha's big nemesis is Naraku, is one of the most sadistic villains in anime history. While Naraku got his start as the human bandit Onigumo, he surrendered his body over to the demons for power (and to possess Kikyo) and instantly became the scheming mastermind he's known to be. Naraku is able to create separate incarnations of himself which can function autonomously, even though they often rebel against him. He could absorb other demons into himself as well, stealing their power for his own. Naraku's specialty is shapeshifting and puppetry, as he prefers to get his targets to destroy themselves, or to trick others into doing his bidding for him. Naraku was also nigh-unkillable, except for one night of weakness--which he got to choose, unlike Inuyasha.
1 Muzan Kibutsuji (Demon Slayer)
Muzan Kibutsuji is the original demon of Demon Slayer, the creator of all the demons that came after and every bit as powerful as the progenitor of an entire race should be. Like Naraku, he was once an ordinary human, but has now lived for a thousand years, devouring some humans while turning others into his minions. Muzan is absurdly fast, intelligent, and strong, able to mutate his body into different forms for combat. He also has absolute control over his minions--should they do even the slightest thing to betray him, he's able to instantly kill them with his demonic "curse." His only weakness is to sunlight, and he's spent his entire lifespan as a demon trying to overcome that. It's fitting that the scariest demon in anime history would come from the world's most popular demon-based series.
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