Vanity is a famous vice, so it naturally appears in the world of anime. There are plenty of anime characters who become obsessed with how they look. Some characters will even use drastic measures to become or remain beautiful, like possessing bodies or stealing vitality from others.
If a character’s a “good guy,” they probably don’t take this too literally; they will usually have some depth outside their vanity. Some stories might even paint it as something positive, as they use their appearance for self-expression. If they genuinely are obsessed with their looks, chances are they will grow out of it. If a character is a villain, their vanity can easily be exaggerated into their main defining trait.
10/10 Black Clover: Kirsch Vermillion Takes After Narcissus Himself
In Black Clover, Kirsch Vermillion serves as the Coral Peacocks’ vice captain. As befitting a peacock, Kirsch is vain, shallow, and obsessed with beauty. Kirsch also appears to detest anything he finds ugly or beneath him, like commoners.
Kirsch’s power comes from Cherry Blossom Magic, allowing him to bring his own brand of beauty to the battlefield. Kirsch is even capable of making duplicates of himself out of cherry blossoms. Mimosa even once commented that Kirsch will likely die pining at his own reflection, just like the mythical Narcissus.
9/10 One Piece: Alvida Will Club Anyone Who Denies She’s The Most Beautiful
In One Piece, Alvida is one of the first enemies Luffy faces, and she believes herself to be the greatest beauty of the seas. Alvida also forces her crew to repeat these claims under threat of clubbing. Anyone who insults Alvida’s appearance can expect a similar attack. Alvida even expects everything around her to likewise be beautiful.
After eating the Sube Sube no Mi devil fruit, Alvida was able to change her appearance. The fruit also gives Alvida the power to become slippery and immune to various attacks.
8/10 Devilman: Lala Hides Her Real Face & Age
In Devilman, Lala is a demoness who is initially an enemy of Devilman. Characters refer to her as a great beauty, and she is the most humanoid of the demons who appear in the series. Despite this, Lala’s appearance isn’t natural, as it’s once shown that her face comes apart when she starts crying.
Lala’s cute looks also cover the fact that she is much older than she looks. Lala does eventually show more depth, also falling in love with Devilman himself. Toward the end of the series, Lala is ultimately sacrificed by the other demons.
7/10 Boruto: Hanabi Grows Into Becoming More Fashionable
In the Naruto and Boruto universes, Hanabi initially appeared similar to her modest older sister, Hinata, if a bit more confident. As years went by, however, Hanabi grew to become much more obsessed with appearances.
Hanabi clearly prioritizes appearances at times, whether it’s accessorizing her kunai with a doll or complaining about how a battle messes up her hair. Hanabi also appears to be concerned about her age, as she appreciates her nephew Boruto addressing her as a “Big Sis” instead of “Aunt.” Despite this, Hanabi respects her sister Hinata and can be serious at times.
6/10 Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics: The “Cystal Ball” Witch Drinks Blood To Remain Beautiful
In the Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics episode “The Crystal Ball,” a witch was so envious of the hero’s mother’s beauty that she killed the woman and assumed her identity. To further sustain herself, the witch imprisons a princess and drains her blood, reducing her to a corpse, on the night of the full moon.
In a rare comedic moment in the episode, the witch even complains that she just did her makeup after involuntarily changing back into her true form.
5/10 Sailor Moon: Queen Nehelenia Turned Evil When She Learned Her Looks Would Fade
In the Sailor Moon series, Queen Nehelenia is a villainess patterned off classic fairy tale villains, particularly Snow White’s wicked stepmother. When viewers see her backstory in the 90s anime, Nehelenia asks a mirror if she will be beautiful forever. The mirror shows her a vision of her old and decayed, with a voice telling her to seek out the power of dreams. Nehelenia wouldn’t mind being sealed away for all eternity if it meant keeping her looks.
Nehelenia’s minion, Zirconia, resembles the queen’s true form. While Zirconia’s existence is never really explained, she is implied to be the personification of Nehelenia’s fear of losing her beauty.
4/10 Howl’s Moving Castle: Howl Has A Tantrum When His Hair Color Changes
Howl, the titular wizard of Howl’s Moving Castle, is ultimately a heroic character but is still shown to be pretty vain. In the original book, it’s implied Howl is naturally quite plain and uses magic to appear more attractive, but the anime treats his looks as slightly more natural.
Even in the anime film, Howl still enjoys using magic to toy with his appearance, giving himself blonde hair early on. When Sophie accidentally messes with his potions while cleaning, Howl throws a tantrum for some reason when he finds himself with black hair. Despite this, Howl is also able to transform into a monstrous bird when the need arises.
3/10 Inuyasha: Tsubaki Wanted The Shikon Jewel To Remain Young & Beautiful
In Inuyasha, Tsubaki is a miko and was, in their youth, a rival of the more virtuous priestess, Kikyo. Tsubaki was particularly envious of how the Shikon Jewel was entrusted to Kikyo. Tsubaki had partially hoped the Shaken jewel would preserve her beauty and youth.
At some point, Tsubaki sold her soul in order to retain her youthful looks. Tsubaki absorbed yokai into her body through her eye to keep herself young, aging if she should expel them. Naturally, Naraku also used Tsubaki’s vanity to manipulate her.
2/10 Record Of Lodoss War: Karla Likes To Possess Young & Magical Women
In Record of Lodoss War, Karla, also known as the Grey Witch, is a primary villain, particularly a nemesis to Parn. Karla has sealed her soul into a circlet and uses it to possess bodies, allowing her to live centuries of different lives. Technically, Karla can technically use anyone as a host, though she favors young and beautiful women, especially those with a penchant for magic. There are exceptions to this, like the thief Woodchuck.
As her title suggests, Karla is ultimately a morally grey figure, ultimately believing that power must be balanced in order to avoid destruction. In practice, however, Karla often uses her new bodies to spark fighting and conflict.
1/10 Princess Tutu: Femio Thinks He’s So Beautiful, It’s A Sin
In Princess Tutu, Femio has deluded himself into thinking he’s destined to be some sort of fairy tale prince. Femio not only thinks he is beautiful, he thinks all girls are in love with him. In fact, Femio believes he is so attractive he feels he must regularly chastise himself by getting a bull to attack him.
Ironically, Femio’s overconfidence in himself turns out to be helpful. Femio refuses to sacrifice himself to Kraehe since he feels he can’t belong to just her.