This is demonstrated often in anime, and none more so than in its female villains.

Here are the best secondary villains in anime shows!

Compelling, complex, and utterly intimidating, these women command the room with their mere presence.

A collage of anime secondary villains including Toga and Aura.

From mafia bosses to lethal killers, here are some of the best female villains in anime.

She later attacks the Survey Corps using her Female Titan form to capture Eren but ultimately fails in this.

She fell for Krillin and eventually married him; the couple had a daughter named Marron.

Code Geass, Lelouch, Attack on Titan, Eren, Berserk, Griffith

6Esdeath

Akame Ga Kill!

Esdeath created and led the Jaegers, a task force intended to root out the Resistance.

After being forcibly discharged, her men followed her in joining the Russian mafia known as Hotel Moscow.

Light Yagami, Seto Kaiba and Thistle.

The hero doesn’t always win.

However, she was the first of the Homunculi to die, defeated and killed by Roy Mustang.

Despite seeming ruthless and cold, Makima has shown that she longs for a warm family life.

A collage of Lust, Makima and Balalaika.

The latter seemed to come true after her death, with Denji raising Makima’s incarnation, Nayuta.

Sometimes, the bad guys need a break and a chance at victory.

A dishevelled-looking Android 18 in Dragon Ball Z.

Esdeath in Akame Ga Kill!.

Balalaika smokes calmly as she waits for Hansel.

Lust glares at what she sees in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Medusa Gorgon (Soul Eater) holding her snake magic.