All 23 Naruto Villains, Ranked Worst To Best

No anime does villains quite like Naruto. This is a series that leans heavily into themes of morality, and that can’t be done without characters to effectively reflect the influences of good and evil. Of course, any great villain means a great on-screen battle, some of which could last for several episodes on end. Still, what takes these characters from great to absolutely exceptional is a story arc that resonates with Naruto’s themes, builds on itself effectively, and leaves viewers feeling completely satisfied. When looking at this criterion, it’s clear that not all of this anime’s villains are created equally.

23

Kaguya Otsutsuki

Kaguya Otsutsuki should, in theory, be ranked among the very best of Naruto. After all, she’s the Big Boss—the final enemy of Naruto Shippuden. Unfortunately, Kaguya never really fit the bill. Her introduction was frustratingly abrupt, and while she came with some neat lore, there was no real motivation to care about her motives as a villain. Add in the fact that Kaguya was so overpowered that she became painfully uninteresting, and it’s no wonder that this Naruto villain is so controversial.

22

Team Dosu

Dosu Kinuta and his team, Kin Tsuchi and Zaku, were certainly scary enough. They were among the antagonists introduced during the Chunin Exams and were immediately shown to be serious threats after Rock Lee’s defeat and the chaos in the Forest of Death. Team Dosu also provided some fun strategic conflict in those early days of Naruto. Still, the conclusion of Dosu’s story was rather cheap, and his team was altogether disposable and forgettable within the big picture.

21

Gato

Gato is rather unique in the world of Naruto, as he’s presented more as a real-world crime boss than the standard powerful threat. He had no ninja abilities; instead, he used his wealth to hire characters like Zabuza and Haku to do his bidding. This made him a fitting threat for the young Team 7 to face off against, providing them a lesson on corruption and manipulation. Gato certainly can’t rank any higher, given how weak and unsubstantial he ultimately was. Still, this was a truly detestable villain.

20

Team Hebi/Taka

The team Sasuke formed after betraying Orochimaru (initially, Team Hebi, then Team Taka) was technically antagonistic and certainly caused some trouble in Naruto. However, their roles were less about causing any real danger to the protagonists and more about aiding Sasuke’s own villainous arc. Team Taka reminded Sasuke what it was like to have something like a family, and that fact allowed Naruto‘s central story to play a bit more with Sasuke’s morality. Once again, these villains were more narrative tools than anything more substantial.

19

Mizuki

Mizuki was Naruto‘s very first villain, so he naturally holds a bit of status within the overall franchise. He wasn’t really anything special in the way of power, but he served a critical role in the start of Naruto’s story. It’s very fitting that the first bad guy Naruto ever managed to thwart was just a Chunin ninja greedily trying to gain more power. It set the stage for every single Naruto arc that followed. Moreover, Mizuki’s crimes brought Naruto and Iruka together, and that value can’t be overstated.

18

Konan

Konan checks many of the standard boxes for an intriguing Naruto villain. First and foremost, her ability to turn her body into weaponized sheets of paper allowed for some pretty thrilling and visually interesting battles. Then there’s the obligatory tragic backstory, which segued beautifully into the Pain arc. The downside was that Konan wasn’t much of an independent villain. She’s another Naruto character who had a larger purpose, but didn’t take up much space herself.

17

Black/White Zetsu

Black and White Zetsu were really thrilling there for a while. Trying to figure out what they were or what they were doing was all part of the fun. Then there’s the fact that these bizarre characters were downright creepy. The Zetsus were also at the center of one of the biggest, shocking twists of Naruto, as it was revealed that Black Zetsu was, in a significant way, the creature behind the curtain. Unfortunately, the Zetsus’ connection to Kaguya made their overall purpose feel a bit anticlimactic and troublesome (and they absorbed much of that controversy).

16

The Sound Five

The Sound Five carried Naruto into a brand new tier as far as villains go. It was this group who was ultimately responsible for Sasuke joining Orochimaru, so they’re obviously a big deal in that sense. Still, what makes the Sound Five so memorable was just how frightening they were. We hadn’t seen those sorts of unique, twisted, and disturbing techniques in Naruto up to that point, and Kimimaro, especially, was terrifying with his bone-manipulation technique. This group gave the show some of its best battles ahead of Naruto Shippuden.

15

Kisame Hoshigaki

Kisame is among the villains in Naruto that we really could have gotten a lot more of. He was clearly powerful and visually interesting, and utilized a great many thrilling techniques (with all that chakra and his unique weapon, Samehada), but it was Kisame’s motivation and relationship with Itachi that really made him interesting. Kisame was strangely loyal and philosophical, living by a sort of lawful-evil code to make the world something better. Unfortunately, Kisame’s defeat was underwhelming, and it really felt as if this character was ultimately underutilized.

14

Deidara

Deidara was a great deal of fun while he was around. This was another look at the more unique techniques presented throughout Naruto Shippuden​​​​​, as Deidara used explosive clay as a weapon and considered his attacks a form of fine art. His playfulness could be a bit annoying, but it also opened the doors to larger shocks and twists as we saw the sort of power hiding behind his unserious exterior. Said and done, Deidara is another Naruto villain who had a somewhat anticlimactic defeat, even if it was rather explosive.