5 sinister false prophets of anime

Anime isn't afraid to explore various religions and their acolytes. Some are characters who worship different detities, while others are those who use the word of God or omnipotent beings to deceive their congregation for their own nefarious purposes. These individuals claim they're doing things in the name of their religion, but then end up abusing their followers, lying to them, or even eating them. They're corrupt beyond belief, and utterly fascinating characters all the same. Here are five of the most sinister false prophets of anime.

Bishop and High Inquisitor Mozgus of Berserk is evil cloaked in the guise of purity. The seemingly "religious" man supposedly protects his followers from heresy, but at the same time rounds up those he believes to be breaking his tenuous "rules." He then tortures them to death in his bizarre, dungeon-like home. He's constantly on a wild witch hunt, and unfortunately has a large congregation who truly believe he is saving them from those who wish to push their sins on the innocent people of the world. As you can see in the image, he's extremely gruesome and menacing, hiding an even more terrifying face behind the guise of a gentle giant — not sure how anyone could ever be lead into believing this strange-looking man doesn't have a few secrets up his (supposedly pious) sleeve. 

Father Enrico Pucci is a priest, so technically he isn't a false prophet, but he's certainly not the devoted man of the cloth he pretends to be. In the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure arc "Stone Ocean", he works at a prison and uses his supernatural Stand ability to gain various followers on his twisted mission to achieve the power of "Heaven." While it's true that he genuinely believes in God, and he does attempt to spread the gospel, his actions can hardly be described as those that the higher powers would approve of. And on top of that, he's also responsible for bringing an innocent member of the Joestar clan into the prison under false pretenses. 

Credit: FUNimation Entertainment

Father Cornello in Fullmetal Alchemist used alchemy and a fake philosopher's stone to perform "miracles" for his congregation. He made an entire village believe he was delivering messages from God and rewarding them for their hard work with miracles performed through him from God himself. If that wasn't bad enough, he also used these tactics to manipulate the people into electing him their leader, which briefly caused the city of Liore to flourish, but still lied to those who believed he could truly perform miracles like create water out of thin air or bring human beings back to life. In reality, he was working with a group of homunculi for horrifying purposes, and he pulled off some truly disheartening schemes before he was finally stopped. 

This seemingly righteous Catholic priest in Tokyo Ghoul ran an orphanage, praising the power of God for allowing him to give children without parents a home and a chance at a better life. However, it turned out that when the children were "adopted," Porpora himself was actually killing and eating them! He kept up this disgusting ruse for a long period of time, using his status as a priest to deceive others and continue preaching the word of God while slaughtering those in his care. Eventually, he was found out and captured, but not before committing heinous acts, all concealed by his priestly persona.

As the leader of the Vatican's Iscariot Organization, Enrico Maxwell pretends to be a gentle bishop who cares only for serving his congregation and spreading God's message. In reality, he's a hugely hypocritical, self-serving and calculated leader who only wants to stay true to his mission: getting rid of the Nazi vampires in the world of Hellsing, no matter the consequences. He's killed hundreds of innocent people in the name of killing vampire and sating his own deathly thirst for power. A Godly man Enrico is not.