Examples of the Dreaded in Anime and Manga:
- In Bleach, strangely enough, it's the warm-hearted captain Retsu Unohana that has this effect on pretty much the entire soul reaper army. We've never seen exactly why this is so, so it remains a bit of a Running Gag.
- Supplemental material has shown that she can be a nightmare if you ever dare speak ill of Squad Four. Also: she's the Captain of Squad Four - the only captain it's ever had.
- Another example would be Barragan, the second Espada. His release is terrifying enough to scare Soifon into losing her cool.
- Another straight example is Ulquiorra. Just sensing his Reiatsu makes Ichigo drop to his knees, and Uryu is so freaked out that he wonders if it's even Reiatsu at all. Aizen takes it a step further, Ichigo actually refuses to fight after feeling his power.
- Nanao Ise can terrify anyone, even Mayuri, by taking her glasses off.
- In Naruto, Orochimaru has this effect on people, freaking out even the likes of Ibiki Morino.
- Pain. Jiraiya nearly shat himself when he heard that Pain had defeated Hanzo,who a younger Jiraiya had failed to defeat even with the support of his team. He goes to his Super Mode to counter Pain's power but sadly it's not enough.
- Sometime later pain makes the whole of Konoha wet their pants when he effortlessly destroys Konoha.
- Likewise, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was this for the enemy troops. He was so powerful and feared that the shinobi of Iwagakure during the Third War were ordered to cut and run if he was so much as spotted anywhere near the battlefield.
- Pain. Jiraiya nearly shat himself when he heard that Pain had defeated Hanzo,who a younger Jiraiya had failed to defeat even with the support of his team. He goes to his Super Mode to counter Pain's power but sadly it's not enough.
- Shizuo Heiwajima from Durarara!! is this to all of Ikebukuro, having a well-deserved reputation as super strong berserker who no one in their right mind should cross (unless its Izaya). He's recognizable by his bartender clothes (even if he isn't one anymore), and Tom thinks that anyone who lives in Ikebukuro but doesn't know him are probably public school dropouts.
- "Oh shit! It's the Teacher!" from The Sky Crawlers.
- Evangeline A. K. McDowell from Mahou Sensei Negima qualifies. She has a bounty of millions upon her head, and most people are terrified by her. An example can be seen in Anya's reaction to discovering that Evangeline, the Queen of the Night, the Doll Master, the Maga Nosferatu, the Apostle of Destruction, is teaching Negi magic. "She's gonna eat me alive!"
- The Lifemaker also counts. Even the most Badass people in a World of Badass such as Jack Rakan and the aforementioned Evangeline fear him.
- Great Demon King Chestra, the Big Bad of Violinist of Hameln manga, inspires this reaction both through his reputation and his magical power. The entire armies are literally frozen in terror by his mere presence, implacably courageous characters doubt aloud whether they have a slightest chance against him, and greatest heroes of humanity see him in nightmares even after he is defeated.
- Seiichirou Kitano from Angel Densetsu has this sort of rep. He really doesn't deserve it.
- Erza Scarlet in Fairy Tail is a rare heroic example. The entire guild freaks when it's announced she's returned from a mission, and nobody dares step out of line when she's around. Even Natsu and Gray stop bickering and pretend to be best friends.
- Apparently, Mirajane used to be this.
- A villainous example, is Bluenote.
- Black Mage Zeref to the Magic Council. The mere mention of his possible return is enough to convince the first Magic Council to authorize a Kill Sat strike.
- Acnologia the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse. Representatives from the second council immediately flee Tenrou Island when they hear Zeref mention Acnologia and when he appears the whole Fairy Tail pulls a Mass "Oh Crap".
- Yuu from Holyland wants to become this so that the bullies and gangsters will stop making trouble for him. It's not working out yet.
- Zebra from Toriko. The entire world panics when he is released from prison. Just news of his release causes massive economic and social upheaval. And he hasn't even done anything yet.
- What he DID do to get him into prison was Cause the extinction of 26 SPECIES. Said species were damaging the ecosystem, but still!
- The Tokiwadai Dorm Manager in A Certain Magical Index, well actually A Certain Scientific Railgun to be precise.
- Accelerator in A Certain Magical Index has this effect as well, just his arrival can scare the hell out of anyone who might have pissed him off.
- Touma also has this effect to the magic side, to the point many magical organizations start sending assassins after him. All fail.
- Vash the Stampede is well named, as whole townships have been known to evacuate at the rumor of his approach. He has defeated Mooks and resolved conflicts simply by announcing his presence. Not bad for a Technical Pacifist who just wants some donuts. (In the manga, it's not the man himself civilians are afraid of, but the terror and destruction that inevitably follow him)
- Johan Liebert is this in Monster, and FOR GOOD REASON!!! Anyone who has any knowledge of him (who's still alive that is) will generally begin to shake uncontrollably even thinking about him.
- A psychopathic serial killer even kills himself when he's shown a picture of him.
- When Anna, his own flesh and blood, confronts him with the intent on killing him, she falls to pieces as soon as he says hello and tries to kill herself.
- In Rurouni Kenshin this is a common reaction to finding out the title character was once Hitokiri Battousai.
- "IT'S A Gundam!!!!" - inspiring this reaction in enemy Mooks since 1979.
- The three Admirals of One Piece are this for most pirates. Only the strongest of pirates don't immediately run screaming at the mere sight of an Admiral. And with good reason, considering all three are nigh-invulnerable elementals with abilities that cause massive devastation.
- Whitebeard’s sole declaration of ownership of an island is enough to keep it out of harm’s ways and people with his mark on their back are deemed untouchable, because he is famed for going on Roaring Rampage of Revenge against anyone, who has laid even one finger on his crewmen. Many characters have an Oh Crap moment, when they hear that the World Government decided to publically execute Portgas D. Ace, which means an open declaration of war against World's Strongest Man.
- Other pirates of sufficient power can be this trope. The people of Fish-Man Island become terrified when they realize how close they are to experiencing the wrath of someone on Whitebeard's level of power. The marines of G5 (A Navy branch full of Jerkass' that love to torture pirates and refuse to obey headquarters) panic at seeing Trafalgar Law, a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea who sent the Government 4 hundred hearts to join. Back in the East Blue, people are scared of the idea of pirates like Krieg and Arlong coming.
- Seimei of Loveless is definitely the most feared of the series. Usually used with a pretty little topping of Oh Crap. What makes him even more creepy is that just about this entire trope applies to him. The Fearless Fool does indeed cry in fear, and The Pollyanna does indeed despair over The Stoic being defeated, who also lost his cool. In fact, his appearance alone isn't the only way he causes genuine fear - he uses words to, effectively, freak. People. Out.
- In Fist of the North Star, Kenshiro is known to most of his enemies as "the man with the seven scars", and mentioning this nickname is sometimes enough to make the mooks run in terror.
- Guts from Berserk is this when he was known as the Hundred-Man Slayer before the Eclipse, and post-Eclipse when he is now known as The Black Swordsman.
- Nosferatu Zodd is well-respected/feared by mercenaries as the "god of the battlefield". And they don't even know that he's a powerful demonic Apostle.
- During the final arc of Eyeshield 21, Donald "Mr. Don" Obermann of the American Pentagram takes on this role. A seven-foot Genius Bruiser and Juggernaut, Mr. Don plows through the cream of the Japanese team as if they were so many bowling pins, a fact that leaves most of the other characters shaking. He terrifies Sena, Monta, and the rest of the Deimon players, manages to put the fear of God into Agon, and leaves everyone with the impression that he cannot be stopped; the only one who doesn't fear him is Gaou. During the Kantou Regionals Arc, Agon and Gaou themselves had this status, terrifying both opposing players and their own teammates.
- Lina Inverse the Dragon-Spooker. Pretty justified, considering the trail of destruction she leaves behind her and her questionable motivations.
- Yujiro Hanma from Baki the Grappler makes even strongest characters in the series poop their pants in fear. His presence alone has made polar bears and lions run away like puppies. The average human reaction to him ranges from wetting your pants in fear to instinctively punching yourself in the face so he won't do it himself.
- Dragonball Z: Frieza and Majin Buu. Even the gods are terrified of them. When King Kai finds out that Frieza is also searching for Namek's Dragon Balls, he basically tells Goku to grab the Dragon Balls and run for his life, because if Frieza finds out he will hunt him down and kill everyone on Earth. Buu managed to kill all but one of the Supreme Kais and is fully capable of destroying the universe. Guess what he tries to do after turning into Super Buu.