NUMBER FIVE: NAGO THE BOAR DEMON - PRINCESS MONONOKE
Please refrain from making any feral hog jokes, okay?
This is serious business.
For real though, have you ever seen a boar up close?
They’ve got those nasty tusks and will try to kill and eat all sorts of stuff.
But we’re not talking about real boars, are we?
No, we’re talking about Nago the Boar God!
Imagine a boar ten times larger than a regular one.
Okay, now add hatred, and rotting flesh, and maggots.
Still with me?
Now imagine what you would do if something like that ran straight at you, eyes aglow.
Stand and fight?
Run away?
Nah, let’s be real.
You’d probably crap your pants.
A creature like that is exactly what Prince Ashitaka went up against at the beginning
of Princess Mononoke.
Originally the leader of the boar clan, he led his fellow creatures in fighting off humans
from Irontown as they tried to take over the mountainside.
These efforts were successful for a while, but came to a stop when Lady Eboshi brought
her riflemen along.
The boar couldn’t stand up to the power of the rifles, and Nago was shot by Eboshi.
The iron ball stayed within his flesh, corrupting him from the inside.
As his flesh rotted, this great boar’s rage increased alongside his fear of death until
he became a demon god.
Rampaging along the countryside, he was a writhing mass of hatred destroying everything
he came in contact with.
At this point, he looked similar to a giant spider with masses of worms crawling all over
its flesh.
Not a pretty sight.
In addition to being hideous, stinky, and massively destructive, Nago also found a way
to concentrate all of his negative feelings towards humans into a powerful curse.
In his final battle with Prince Ashitaka, he infects the human leader with a touch,
dooming him to die slowly from the mark.
Nago’s dying words promised the human race a similar fate to his own, full of hatred
and regret.
His physical form and intense hatred are scary enough on their own, but when you think about
how he came to be, it becomes even more unsettling.
If left alone, the boar would have likely carried on and lived a normal life.
But humans came along with their corrupting influence, and transformed him into something
he hated.
Underneath the tragic story of Nago lies a message about how humans treat the environment,
and it rings especially true today.
Soon enough, we may find Nago-like creatures in the biomes that we’ve invaded.
Are you ready to face down a boar demon?
NUMBER FOUR: ANGELS - NEON GENESIS EVANGELION Ok, yes.
These are called angels, not demons.
But the way they act is definitely not angelic.
As descendents of Adam, with a genetic code 99.98% similar to humans, they are massively
destructive beings that must be systematically destroyed by NERV.
Humans who have cast aside form, they develop until a certain point as humanoid entities,
before undergoing spontaneous metamorphosis into an adult form.
Some are vaguely humanoid in shape, while others can take on the forms of insects, geometric
beings, and even fourth-dimensional shadow-bodies.
It’s hard to determine the Angel’s motivations, as the clues regarding this are ambiguous
and varied.
Some say they are looking to make contact with Adam, which would bring on a third impact
and destroy mankind.
Others hypothesize that the Angels are looking to access Lilith and reset all life.
Not having clear objectives makes them all the more unpredictable, which is a pretty
scary thought.
Ultra-powerful beings that we don’t understand, possibly looking to contact their progenitor
and end all human life.
Oh boy.
Speaking of powers, these things have plenty.
From A.T. (or absolute terror) fields that allow them to create force fields, levitate,
and jump huge distances, to exploding cores and energy projection, Angels are nothing
to mess with.
Plus, most seem to be capable of regeneration, making them even more difficult to kill.
On top of the existential threats that Angels pose, there are some moments in the show that
are genuinely chilling.
I won’t get too deep into these moments here and now, but if you know, you know.
It’s hard to say if Shinji and company ever really had a fighting chance.
NUMBER THREE: JINMEN - DEVILMAN We’ll jump from existential threats to extremely
personal ones.
Enter: Jinmen.
A depraved, sadistic, repulsive, perverse turtle monster.
This demon revels in the suffering of humans, so much so that he will eat them alive instead
of allowing them to die before consuming them.
This quirk of his also allows him to psychologically torment others as well.
He does this by storing their still-living faces on the back of his shell after eating
them.
The faces still retain sentience, and know that they’ve been eaten.
This is actually based on a Japanese folktale, known as Jinmenso, where face-shaped sores
appear on a human’s body and cause extreme pain unless they’re fed.
Ugh, I don’t even want to imagine that.
Trypophobia has never seemed so scary.
Jinmen compares the faces on his shell to tattoos, and wears them with pride.
It is also a useful combat scare tactic, as he can use the relationships these people
had to his advantage.
Upon hearing the screams of loved ones, anyone who wants to stand against Jinmen will have
to think twice.
If they kill Jinmen, or damage his shell, that person is gone forever.
I elaborated on his cruelty earlier, and I might even go as far as to say he has no redeeming
qualities at all.
He is devious, and will work with other demons until they are no longer useful to him.
Ugh, this guy gives me the creeps.
On top of all these terrible traits, he is also quite strong.
His shell and rough skin make him durable, and he can pick up full-grown humans with
one hand.
He’s also got the ability to burn flesh with the palm of his hand, and eject flames
from his shell.
A pizza-loving teenage mutant ninja turtle he is not.
NUMBER TWO: LIL SLUGGER - PARANOIA AGENT This little guy packs quite the punch as the
primary antagonist in Paranoia Agent.
Appearing as a young baseball player on gold rollerskates, he uses a bent baseball bat
to attack people all over Tokyo, all while evading capture.
At first his attacks seem random, but it is soon hypothesized that they are connected.
He will only attack people in crisis, and the violent assaults seem to lead to an improvement
in the life of the victim.
One of the detectives pursuing Lil’ Slugger learns this, and is convinced that the bat-wielding
assailant is a supernatural force.
The detective becomes obsessive, and broadcasts a warning to the people of Tokyo, exacerbating
the public’s fears.
As fear rises, the attacks increase.
Truth and fiction are blurred, and Lil’ Slugger becomes incredibly powerful as an
urban legend.
Luckily, the detectives eventually confront the first person attacked for more details.
This girl is the creator of a popular dog mascot named Marumi, whos popularity seems
to be rising in tandem with the notoriety of Lil’ Slugger.
It is revealed that Maromi is actually based on a real puppy she had as a kid.
She accidentally dropped the leash, and the puppy ran into traffic where it was killed.
Instead of taking responsibility, she invented a bat-wielding, skate-wearing puppy killer.
Lil’ Slugger is a paranormal figment of Tsukiko’s guilt and fear, brought to life
by her need to escape her responsibilities.
It was made even more powerful through the fear of the general public.
In the end, Tsukiko confesses the truth and accepts her guilt, defeating Lil’ Slugger.
It ties up real nicely in the anime, but imagine if the detectives never went back to question
her.
She would have held onto that guilt for her entire life, and Lil’ Slugger would have
become even more powerful over time.
And if she can manifest some omnipresent rollerskating people-basher, imagine what other people could
come up with.
Not everyone is as meek as a mascot-designing teenager.
NUMBER ONE: PRIDE - FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST BROTHERHOOD Of course our number one spot goes to this
disgusting little monster.
Pride is the most powerful of the Seven Homunculi, and Father’s second in command.
On the surface, this shadow-bastard appears to be a sweet and cheerful child.
But that’s just a facade.
Beneath his rosy cheeks and little spiky bowl cut lies a ruthless, sadistic, and resourceful
killer.
The childlike shell is just a container for the real shadowy body, full of dark tendrils,
tentacles, mouths, and red eyes.
This shadow can expand wide enough to cover an entire city, and is impervious to conventional
harm.
He is also in full control of his shadow wherever it spreads, allowing him to see, hear, and
manipulate anything that falls into its darkness.
On top of the immediately obvious dark powers, Pride also has the abilities of all of its
siblings.
It can cut through anything, remains invulnerable, can shapeshift and manipulate, and can devour
and assimilate others and their powers.
Talk about a crazy power level, huh.
All of these abilities under the control of a cold and calculating child seem pretty horrifying
right?
Pride’s personality can be summed up by its name as well.
It is the incarnation of arrogance, only caring for itself.
It kills with indifference, and rids itself of allies as soon as it can.
But beneath the pristine veneer of pride lies anger, bloodlust, and a desire for vengeance.
Nothing good can come of that combination.
OUTRO And that caps off our list of scariest anime
demons!
I know it was sort of surface level, but if you guys have any other anime demons you want
to see on a top 5 list, let me know in down the comments!
Before we finish up here, let’s take a look at some of your comments from last time:
K. NightRaven M says “Keegan Looks “FADED!!!”
Good Times!!”
I mean, people usually just call me really pale instead of faded, but I’ll take it!
Itachi Uchiha says “Word of advise Keegan my man ditch the stash.
You look like a creepy 70’s uncle.”
If I ditch the stache, how will my creepy 70’s nieces and nephews recognize me?
I can’t have that, sorry!
Dave Luna says “Keegan!
What up brother!”
Hey Dave, I’m just out here livin the dream.
Researching horror, performing rituals, hailing the new flesh, the usual.
That’s all we have for today!
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time!