There are plenty of aspects that attribute to a battle-shonen's success. Aspects such as plot, storytelling, and worldbuilding are just the essentials. Characters, however, might sometimes prove more vital than the aforementioned aspects—but, of course, some might argue otherwise. As the shonen genre nearly devolved into a copy-paste medium with little to nothing new with each series, characters became the subgenre's lifeblood. Antagonists, in particular, are inseparable from a shonen's success.
Luckily for us, there's plenty of series which are aware of the importance of villains. One Piece, for example, is a haven for greatly-written villains. Throughout the years, the series has introduced lots of villains ranging anywhere in the greatness spectrum. Some were good, others were exceptional, and then there's Sir Crocodile and Doflamingo, two of the series' most iconic villains. These two bad guys might be well-received within the community, but they are not as much in the world of One Piece, mainly due to their crime-infested records.
10 Doflamingo: Doffy And Viola
According to Oda, Doflamingo and Viola shared a "romantic" relationship. Having said so, due to Viola's identity, it's highly unlikely that it was a consensual one. This is one of the cases in which One Piece showcased its underlying darkness. Not a lot of fans noticed, but those who did were undoubtedly disturbed. As per Oda, "The nature of their relationship was too hardcore for the Shonen Magazine."
9 Crocodile: Abduction
Crocodile is the kind of man who stops at nothing to accomplish his goals, and, naturally, a "light" crime such as abduction was not out of Crocodile's and his syndicate's practices.
Even kings are not exempt from Crocodile's dirty claws. In one attempt to further fuel the rage of the public, he kidnapped Cobra, the king of Alabasta, and switched him with a double under his command.
8 Doflamingo: Manipulation And Blackmail
Doflamingo pulled the strings, both literally and figuratively, of many incidents that caused major ripples in the world of One Piece, all from the comfort of his throne. Manipulation is just one of Doflamingo's many character quirks.
Moreso, as the undisputed king of the underworld, the influence he could practice at a moment's notice was immense, to say the least. He even has blackmailing cards against the World Government, a further testimony to his terror.
7 Crocodile: Manipulating An Entire Nation
When it comes to manipulating his way through, Crocodile is just as terrifying as Doflamingo, if not more. This desert king literally planned and schemed to take control of an entire nation whilst staying out of the grid, and, for the most part, he succeeded.
Without using his combat prowess, Crocodile was this close to causing a nationwide rebellion. Had it not been for the Straw Hats' timely intervention, Alabasta would've been done for.
6 Doflamingo: His Evil Regime
To the unknowing tourist, Dressrosa might seem like a land of abundant happiness and colors, and even fans thought so when the kingdom was first introduced. Little did they know of the dark secrets looming under Dressrosa's happy-go-lucky facade.
The entire country was a showcase of Doflamingo's inhumane acts, one of the most prominent of said acts was how he turned a good chunk of the nation's populace into toy slaves.
5 Crocodile: Mass Murder
Murder is a mainstream crime that every villain in the making would've committed once or twice. Crocodile, however, has done it more than one could count. Outside of the thousands of people who died as a direct result of his plans, Crocodile himself killed tens, if not hundreds, of people. According to him, he has murdered everyone that made fun of him, and it didn't seem like he was lying, either.
4 Doflamingo: More Mass Murder
As detached from life as Crocodile was, his body count was, in all likelihood, just a fraction of Doflamingo's body count. The apathy of Doflamingo is one that can not be described by words. He killed so frequently that he stopped feeling anything about it.
One example of his tyranny was how he executed eight towns worth of lives just to prove a point.
3 Crocodile: Treated Everyone As Pawns
As a master manipulator, Crocodile had no regard for anyone—even his subordinates, for that matter. Everyone under him was but a pawn; once their potential was drained, he wouldn't hesitate to get rid of them.
To put it into perspective, even Doflamingo had positive sentiments towards his "family." On the other hand, Crocodile appears to be rather immune to such trivial emotions.
2 Doflamingo: Human Auctioning House
Doflamingo owns plenty of businesses that openly violate human rights, and the Human Auctioning House is at the forefront of said businesses. To put it simply, the Human Auctioning House is a place where living sentient beings get sold as slaves. Humans, fishmen, giants... etc.; as long as one was rich enough, they could buy any slave they desire.
1 Crocodile: Delivered A Widespread Drought For His Goals
Vying for power is nothing new in the world of One Piece. Many individuals attempt to and invade Kingdoms to gain control of them, but what sets Crocodile apart from his counterparts is the method he used. Crocodile organized an outright massive drought that left many citizens dead, and even more starving, all for the sake of his aspirations. Everything was fair game if it meant him Alabasta falling in his hands.
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