In anime, good characters often make a series. Though fans love talking about their favorite series’ great storylines, more often than not it’s the characters, not the story, that brings people in. Of course, just as it’s possible for a character to bring a fanbase in, it’s equally possible for them to turn potential fans away.
Some anime have characters that are annoying or frustrating to watch on a legendary scale. It doesn’t stop a series from becoming popular, but depending on how these characters are written, the fans might hate them so much they become one of the main reasons the show is known for fans and non-fans alike.
10 Mineta Is Too Creepy For Some Fans
My Hero Academia
Mineta doesn’t even make sense as a character within the Hero Academia world. Every other student has an important backstory and incredible powers that pushed them to get into the most prestigious Hero school in Japan. Mineta’s powers barely qualify to make him useful in class 1-B, let alone the Class 1-A.
At the same time, his role as comic relief feels like a throwback to the 2000s, where the “joke” was having a character who couldn’t respect women’s boundaries. Despite My Hero being around for hundreds of chapters, he’s experienced virtually no character development. Mineta can turn people off the show on his own, it’s just fortunate he’s not often featured.
9 Zenitsu Is A Good Idea Executed Poorly
Demon Slayer
The idea behind Zenitsu is great. He’s a coward who’s only capable of functioning in the Demon Slayer world when he passes out, and his subconscious takes over. But Zenitsu leaves a lot to be desired in practice. His constant overacting makes it difficult to get attached to him – his loudness is more obnoxious than endearing.
He also feels like a character from a bygone era, obsessed with chasing after women who clearly aren’t interested in him. The idea of wanting to be married before dying isn’t unreasonable, but the way he acts towards women certainly is.
8 Seryu Is The Worst Fake Hero Of All Time
Akame Ga Kill
Akame Ga Kill is full of characters that aren’t exactly likable. The point of the show is showcasing a world where there aren’t many good guys at all. But Seryu Ubiquitous pushes things into infamous territory in terms of being a loath-worthy individual. She believes that justice can only come from the ruling party, and so everything they do is automatically justice.
She has no concept of right and wrong outside what edict the current rulers have passed down. Despite this, she calls herself a Hero of Justice, indiscriminately murdering anyone who dares go against the Empire. Her disgusting hypocrisy makes her one of the most annoying characters in anime history.
7 Boruto Has Trouble Following His Father’s Legacy
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
In reality, Boruto doesn’t deserve the hatred he gets. His father is neglectful, regardless of what his intentions are. But fans spent over a decade watching Naruto scratch and claw to achieve his dream of becoming the Hokage. In the face of that, it’s hard to ever take Boruto’s side in their argument.
Worse, because he grew up with both of his parents, Boruto feels like the spoiled gifted kid. Everything comes easy to him, yet he’s still the same troublemaker his dad was. So despite the series still having plenty of viewers, Boruto remains one of the most polarizing characters in shonen anime.
6 Makoto Itou Is The Worst Harem Protagonist Ever
School Days
School Days might have the worst protagonist in anime history. Mankato Itou is what happens when a harem protagonist actually takes advantage of the women who like him instead of respecting their feelings. He’s a user, manipulating those around him to get what he wants.
The worst part is, Mankato often doesn’t act like he’s done anything wrong, even as he tramples all over the emotions of girls who genuinely love him. The character does receive his comeuppance at the end of the series in one of the darkest, most iconic scenes in 2000s anime history though.
5 Asta Is Too Loud, While Gauche Is Too Creepy
Black Clover
Fans are often split on their feelings towards Asta. He is one of Megan Thee Stallion’s favorite anime characters, after all. But the early episodes of Black Clover had the voice actor going a bit overboard on how loud Asta could be.
Just watching the show back then was a chore, as he was the character with the most lines, and he screeched them as loudly as possible. Meanwhile, Gauche also makes the show weaker as well. While much of the Black Bulls cast are endearing, Gauche and his creepy obsession with his sister can be off-putting for viewers.
4 Gendo And Shinji Make Enjoying The Series Difficult
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Shinji is a fascinating character. However, fans often bring up the fact that Shinji is a realistic portrayal of a kid who’s forced to pilot a giant robot. Still, mecha has shown how young pilots deal with the trauma of fighting in a war for decades, and they usually aren’t as boring as Shinji. But, Shinji is nowhere near as bad as his father, Gendo Ikari.
The only anime father that’s more despicable is Yuujirou Hanma. Gendo had no problem abandoning his own son, only coming back into his life when he thought he could get something from him, and even then makes no effort to repair their relationship. It can be argued he’s as much of a villain in the series as the angels attacking humanity.
3 Malty Doesn’t Have A Single Endearing Trait
Rising of the Shield Hero
Malty is so evil she borders on terrible writing. She betrays Naofumi, a person she barely knows, for no other reason than because her dad hates the Shield Hero’s legend. She’s been barred from becoming the next Queen because of her own behavior, so she hates her sister enough to attempt to kill her.
If that weren’t enough betrayal, she tries to work with the Spear Hero afterwards, and betrays him at the earliest possible convenience as well. She seemingly exists only for the audience to have a character they can hate, but there isn’t any logic to her behavior.
2 Nina Einstein Is An Example Of Pushing Love Too Far
Code Geass
Code Geass is filled with a massive cast of polarizing characters, including the protagonists. But if there’s one character universally disliked, it’s Nina Einstein. Originally introduced as a bookish, shy type, she undergoes a complete 180 transformation after the death of Princess Euphemia.
She joins the Britannian Empire out of a hatred for the Japanese people, and creates a dangerous nuclear weapon intending on wiping them out. While Euphemia’s death is a tragedy, creating a weapon of mass destruction to inflict more pain on a group the Britannians already colonized is unforgivable.
1 Entire Cast Of Characters Are Morally Bankrupt
Redo of Healer
There’s no likable characters in Redo of Healer. Everyone is terrible, starting from the protagonist all the way down. While the protagonist Keyaru has a logical reason for behaving the way he does, it doesn’t make his behavior any less disgusting. Sadly, an argument can be made that he’s the least terrible character on the show.
In fact, Keyaru is seeking revenge in the first place because all the other characters broke him mentally. They’re all traumatized in some way, using everyone around them for their own ends no matter what it means for other people.