13 Most Overrated Anime Characters

Ash Ketchum's name is known by everyone, even if few people consider him a favorite anime character. He is the protagonist of a franchise that introduced a whole generation to anime, yet Ash lacks real character development and barely has a personality.

People call Ash naive or cheerful. These traits describe someone his age, not Ash himself. He is bland. This is fine if you want to imagine yourself on your Pokémon journey and ignore his existence, but it is not great from a character standpoint.

Kirito is a character simultaneously overrated and underrated. Haters call him worthless; devoted fans think he is flawless. Kirito remains a regular shonen protagonist; he is neither especially interesting nor terribly bad.

He shows moments of interesting development inSword Art Online IIIn this story, he starts processing the trauma of being trapped online and forced to kill people. However, his personality shifts, and he is overpowered to the point that it feels untrue. Overall, he remains an unremarkable guy.

Goku is the beloved protagonist of an anime with serious nostalgia value.Dragon BallGoku is not a terrible character, but he does not compare to some other Z-Fighters.

The series gives little attention to his character growth; his personality stays the same across the entire series. Those who like his increasingly strong fighting skills might not notice this, though they might see him as overpowered. Fans wanting to see him change emotionally will be disappointed.

Haruhi Suzumiya is the protagonist of the very popular animeHaruhi Suzumiya.When the show first aired, nearly everyone praised it, and people often cosplayed the characters at anime conventions. Both the protagonist and the show itself are overrated..

Haruhi Suzumiya is extremely self-centered. Her obsession with the supernatural makes her a constant threat to the world. If she is not entertained enough, she could restart the world. Haruhi is charming sometimes, but she can also seem like an overtired toddler.

She is willing to hurt others for fun—like forcing a guy to grope Mikuru, then taking a photo and threatening blackmail. A character does not need to be morally perfect to be interesting, but this goes too far.

The yandere trope—innocent girls who become clingy, jealous, and violent—can be entertaining. It has a huge fan base. Yuno is a popular example that defines this archetype. This causes a problem because there is.Very little exists for her character besides being a yandere.Had she started the trope, it might have been fine; then it would have been inventive. However, Yuno is.

Yuno is far from the first example.One of the earliest known examples of this archetype is the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar.The Mesopotamian goddess is one of the earliest known examples of this archetype.When a trope is so common, it needs new, complex ideas to capture interest. Yuno is extreme, but she adds little else.We have seen the tormented, revenge-seeking protagonist trope too often in modern anime. Eren's fiery personality has no issue, but the story is overused. Eren stars in a show that appeals to many viewers because of its originality, which hides his character's generic nature.Future Diary.It came out in 2011. A trope this worn needs something new and complex to grab attention. Yuno is extreme, sure, but she offers little else.

Modern anime often shows the tormented, revenge-seeking protagonist trope too much. Eren's fiery personality has no issue, but this story has been done too many times. The show gets attention for its originality, which makes Eren's generic character hard to ignore.

During a scene meant to be funny but isn't, Takeo asks Suna to kiss him to practice for his first kiss with Yamato. Suna refuses. Takeo slaps plastic wrap over Suna's mouth and forces a kiss through it. If Takeo did this to Yamato, he would be seen as scum like Makoto Itou, but because it is Suna, he keeps his teddy bear status.

It is hard to be a protagonist for a major shonen title. Without new ideas, it is hard to match the role's demands. Natsu Dragneel is not a bad character, but he lacks interest.As a user from The Top Tens says, "even bread has more personality than Natsu." Natsu acts recklessly and gets angry fast, yet he is totally dedicated to his friends. These traits are not inherently bad; they are just overused. Natsu adds little to the shonen hero trope; he just copies it.Takeo Gouda came out, and he was praised as one of theVictor Nikiforov is a great character. "Overrated" does not always mean bad. However, he has flaws the fandom often ignores.in the history of shojo. Takeo and Yamato are total relationship goals. Seeing an anime hero who isn't conventionally attractive get loved is good. However, Takeo has some uncool moments with his friend Suna that make him hard to like.

During a scene that should be funny but isn't, Takeo asks Suna to kiss him to practice for his first kiss with Yamato. When Suna says no, Takeo slaps plastic wrap over his mouth and forces a kiss through it. If he did that to Yamato, he would seem like scum like Makoto Itou, but because it's Suna, he keeps his teddy bear image.

Being a protagonist for a major shonen title is tough. Unless you offer something new, it's hard to meet the demands of the role. Natsu Dragneel is not a bad character, but he lacks interest.

As a user from The Top Tenssays, "even bread has more personality than Natsu." Natsu acts recklessly and gets angry fast. He is also totally loyal to his friends. These traits are not bad; they are just overused. Natsu adds nothing to the shonen hero trope; he just copies it.

Victor Nikiforov is the deuteragonist of the much-lovedYuri!!! on ICE.He is a great character. 'Overrated' does not mean bad here. Still, he has flaws the fandom often ignores.

Victor starts rudely toward Yuri. He makes harsh comments about Yuri's weight and skating. He becomes moody, sulky, and quiet. Victor arguably crosses lines as Yuri's coach early in their relationship.

Victor does not need perfection to be a great character. Flaws make a character more interesting. The fandom tends to ignore his flaws, instead idealizing him.

Light Yagami is a popular character. His downfall makes people think seriously: what if you considered murdering people with criminal records?

Death NoteLight's actions seem justified, though misguided. Some fans view him as a tragic hero.Fans support him.Fans support his early choices. They think he loses sight of his original goal as he gets drunk on power. That is wrong.

Light shows no grasp of what pushes people to crime from the start. One major cause is poverty.povertyHe views people with criminal records as evil monsters, not human beings who made mistakes. He does not know if the people he kills are guilty or not.guiltyLight trusts a police system he claims fails its job instead.

One-Punch ManOne-Punch Man is a popular anime recently. It is not bad.bad, its protagonist is not as great as everyone claims.

Saitama is an ordinary, carefree guy. He defeats anyone with one punch because of this.One-Punch ManOne-Punch Man is a parody anime; Saitama is a parody character. Parody and character development can share space in Gintama.GintamaIn Gintama, Gintoki Sakata has a rich history and complex reasons for his actions, yet he remains funny. Saitama is sadly one-note.one-noteOne episode shows Saitama's personality.

He is funny, but he stops there. Truly great anime characters go beyond that.great anime charactersThese characters do.

C.C. is not as hyped as she was when Code Geass first appeared.Code GeassC.C. stays a fan favorite. She is mysterious, beautiful, and alluring. Her partnership with Lelouch and her tragic past make her more compelling.

C.C. did something terrible the fandom ignores. She gave the Geass power to an orphan named Mao. Mao could read minds, but he lost control, hearing everyone's thoughts. This caused a debilitating condition that drove him insane. C.C. left, even though she raised him for years, and his madness was her fault.

C.C. gave Lelouch the Geass power despite her horrible mistake. She waits until it is too late before showing him how dangerous it is. Fans ignore C.C.'s sordid past, focusing only on her pizza habit, which makes her overrated.

Many characters are overrated.Naruto.Naruto fans love Jiraiya. They defend the show by trying hard to make viewers feel for this often neglectful pig. Jiraiya spends half his time sexually harassing women and the other half ignoring his duties to his godson. Despite his lecherous and irresponsible acts, Jiraiya often looks sympathetic, getting lots of screen time.

He is a talented ninja with some character growth (if you can stop cringing at his perverse behavior long enough to see it). However, many other greatNaruto.characters who are not obvious misogynists.