Top 50 Most Popular Anime Characters of All Time (According To Japan)

More than 150 anime series are released yearly, but not many become as popular as Demon Slayer or Naruto. While the story and animation play a significant role in the popularity of the series, the majority of the fans remember the anime because of its popular characters.

To determine the most popular anime characters, Japan’s biggest ranking website, Goo Ranking, created a poll where users could vote for the most popular anime characters of all time. Almost 25,000 Japanese anime fans participated in this poll, and 175,000 votes were collected to determine the most popular anime character of all time. Every participant can give their favorite characters a rating of 0 to 100.

Here are the Top 50 most popular anime characters of all time, as voted by Japanese anime fans.

50. Hanako-kun

hanako kun
  • Anime Title: Toilet Bound Hanako-kun

Hanako is a dark-haired boy who is about 14 years of age and is a ghost. He has big amber eyes making him look kinda cute. He is always wearing a male-school uniform and has a paper seal on his left cheek.

Hanako is always accompanied by two spirit orbs, just like any classical ghost. These orbs are called Haku-Joudai. He is always wearing a black hat, with a gold emblem on it.

The real name of Hanako, when he was still human, was Yugi Amane. He has a pretty jolly personality, despite being a ghost. Hanako is the School Mystery Number 7 out of the School Mysteries which students have.

49. Nanami Kento

nanami kento
  • Anime Title: Jujutsu Kaisen.

Nanami is a first-grade jujutsu sorcerer who is in a serious mood all the time. He was the underclassman of the famous character of the series, Gojou Satoru. He started a normal job as a salaryman after graduation but returned to jujutsu training after a short amount of time.

Nanami always looks like a salaryman with a suit, a spotted tie, and black shoes. He also teaches the protagonist, Yuji Itadori the basics of jujutsu sorcery.

Nanami’s personality is very calm and collected as long as Gojou Satoru is not involved. He extremely hates loud people and tries his best to stay away from them.

48. Taizo Hasegawa

Taizo Hasegawa
  • Anime Title: Gintama.

Hasegawa is a middle-aged man who was formally associated as a member of Bafuku, the central government. He now does strange part-time jobs all the time to receive some income.

Hasegawa lost his previous job because the protagonist, Gintoki, motivated him in such a way that he committed some rude acts in Bafuku, leading to him being fired.

Hasegawa has a kind personality, but his appearance, with sunglasses and a goatee, say otherwise. He has a nickname, “MADAO,” which means “completely useless old man.”

47. Eren Yeager

eren yeager
  • Anime Title: Attack on Titan

Eren is the protagonist of the series and holder of the most titan forms in the series i.e. Attack Titan, Founding Titan, and War Hammer Titan. He is an alone fighter and manipulator.

Eren’s appearance changed from a pretty cute appearance when he was a young boy to the appearance of a villain with long hair. His personality changes the same way, from being kind and friendly to being a rude, hard-headed maniac later in the series.

Eren plans to destroy the whole world, as he wants to see his friends happy and wants them to carry on a normal life. He betrays his older brother for this purpose and becomes a rebel. He is also famous for his highly talented voice actor “Yuuki Kaji”.

Also Read: 10 Most Memorable Deaths In Attack on Titan

46. Inosuke Hashibira

inosuke
  • Anime Title: Demon Slayer

Inosuke is the hot-headed member of the rookie trio of Demon Slayers in this anime. Despite his voice and appearance being crude and manly, his face is quite beautiful, making him look like a female.

He is always wearing a boar mask to hide his face. His personality is extremely rude and he does not respect anyone. He has a buffed body and does not wear anything on his upper body.

Inosuke is extremely obsessed with power and wishes to be the strongest demon slayer in the world. He uses Beast-Style Breathing.

Also Read: Demon Slayer Season 3 Release Date & Plot

45. Shiro

super shiro
  • Anime Title: Crayon Shin-chan

Shiro is an amorphous-looking dog that the protagonist, Shin, found in a box abandoned. He is a pretty wise dog because he comes up with more sharp decisions compared to his human owners.

He is most of the time neglected by his owners because of their forgetful nature. He is white and fluffy in appearance.

Shiro is responsible for his food as the food he gets from his owners is pretty much useless. He is extremely careful of nature and is very responsible.

44. Yuuta Okkotsu

yuta jujutsu kaisen
  • Anime Title: Jujutsu Kaisen

Yuuta is a second-year student at Jujutsu High and the main protagonist of the record-breaking movie of this anime. He has a pretty rough appearance with blue eyes and unorganized black hair.

He was treated as a special-grade curse in his early days because he was cursed by his childhood friend, Rika. He has to suffer a lot because of this situation.

Yuuta is in Africa as the anime is about to reach its second season. He is training there with Miguel, the antagonist of the movie, who was recruited by Gojo later on.

43. Toushirou Hijikata

Toushirou Hijikata
  • Anime Title: Gintama (Series)

Hijikata is the vice-commander of The Shinsengumi (a police force). He is famous for being hot-headed and a real headache for other people. But despite that, he has a pretty weak heart.

Hijikita also has an obsession with cigarettes and mayonnaise. He covers everything that he eats in a flood of mayonnaise and this earned him the nickname “Mayora.”

He is the eternal rival of the protagonist, Gintoki. He challenges him in every little thing he can think of, for instance, drinking challenges or simple rock-paper-scissors.

Also Read: Japanese Fans Rank Best Anime In History

42. Ray

ray promised neverland
  • Anime Title: The Promised Neverland

Ray is one of three perfect children of the Grace Field House. He has a pretty cool aura and is very sharp. He has black hair and tries to associate with others the minimum, besides Emma and Norman, the other protagonists of this anime.

Ray has a pretty short temper and is often seen shouting at small issues. He prefers to read books all the time and looks at everything realistically.

It was later revealed that Ray is the real child of Mama, the antagonist of the story. Ray betrayed the children of the House after escaping but he planned to help them escape the demon world.

41. Emma

emma promised neverland
  • Anime Title: The Promised Neverland

Emma, just like Ray, is one of the perfect students of the Grace Field House. Despite being a girl, she is the gutsiest out of all the children. She, along with Norman, witnessed the true reality of the house after sneaking out secretly. She has a pretty good talent for learning things quickly.

Emma has an extroverted personality and loves every child present in the house. She plays the role of a big sister for every little child present in the House.

Her only flaw is that she is pretty soft-hearted. Later in the series, when everyone decides to exterminate the demons, Emma refuses. Emma is also pretty air-headed, despite being one of the perfect scorers of the House.

40. Naruto Uzumaki

naruto uzumaki
  • Anime Title: Naruto (Series)

Naruto is the protagonist of one of “The Big Three” anime of the 2000s. He is an orphan who was left behind after his parents died after sealing the Nine-Tailed Beast inside him when he was just born.

Naruto has a jolly personality and is very friendly. He always wears his orange jacket and is loved by his school teacher, Iruka, who treats him just like his own son. Initially, he is just a brat who likes to annoy people, but when he saves the village from Pain’s invasion, he becomes a hero.

Later on in the series, Naruto makes up with the Nine-Tailed Beast inside him and reaches his perfect form. He also forms a pact with all nine beasts and gets power from them. This gives him a power of equal level to that of The Sage of the Six Paths (God).

Also Read: 15 Years After Release, Naruto Is Still the Most Popular Anime

39. Miku Nakano

Miku most popular anime
  • Anime Title: The Quintessential Quintuplets

Miku is one of the show’s five quintuplets and the third oldest out of them. She has a pretty calm appearance and is a very silent girl.

Miku has little confidence in herself because of her silent behavior. She becomes pretty hectic when she gets in a bad mood. She loves to study Japanese history though.

Miku later falls in love with the protagonist, Futaro, who is his teacher, when he starts to teach him more about Japanese history. She does gain confidence in herself later in the series.

38. Kikyo

  • Anime Title: Inuyasha

Kikyo is one of the supporting characters of the series and she loves the main protagonist, Inuyasha, throughout the series. She is killed by the main antagonist, Naraku. He loved Kikyo so much that he was killed while being disguised as Inuyasha.

Kikyo is later given rebirth by a demon but she has to collect the souls of others to stay alive. Before death, Kikyo was a very kind and passionate girl who cared about everyone. But after she became a Spector, her personality became cunning and very cold.

Kikyo is always in a white robe with red cords. She was a very beautiful woman with long hair and a pretty voice. After becoming a Spector, her appearance remained the same but she stopped bleeding whenever she was hurt.

37. Arsene Lupin III

Arsene Lupin III
  • Anime Title: Lupin III

Lupin III is the son of Lupin II and the grandchild of the Great Arsene Lupin. Lupin III is the most wanted thief in the world. He bears a fondness to cool gadgets and pretty women.

Lupin III is treated as a gentleman despite being a thief, as he refuses to kill women. He is happy as long as she is successful in a heist, despite getting nothing from it. His hobbies include dating beautiful women, fishing, gambling, and participating in formal dinners.

Lupin III has an appearance that is a mixture of Japanese and French cultures. His weaknesses include pretty women, tickling, video games, and curiosity.

36. Nino Nakano

Nino Nakano
  • Anime Title: The Quintessential Quintuplets

Nino is one of the five quintuplets of the show and is the second oldest out of them. She has a pretty high personality and a pretty sharp tongue.

Nino has a lot of friends because of her outgoing personality and she has a lot of confidence in her cooking abilities. She also plays the role of a tsundere, as she does not completely express her emotions.

Later in the series, Nino falls for the protagonist, Futaro, as he was the one she fell in love with when they were little kids. She confesses but he does not hear her at first. So, she confesses to Futaro again.

35. Kirby

kirby  popular anime characters
  • Anime Title: Kirby (Series)

Kirby is a spherical creature having a fluffy appearance, with two hands and legs extending out of her round body. Kirby is considered a male but the Japanese still consider his gender unknown. He is very flexible and stretchy.

Kirby has no teeth. He has a pretty hefty diet as he gobbles anything he ingests. In the game of Super Smash Bros, Kirby has the power to copy his opponent’s ability by ingesting them.

Kirby has an innocent personality, as confirmed by his creator and he cares about the people close to him. His personality differs though in anime as he is shown weak in many series.

34. Kirigaya Kazuto (Kirito)

Kirito popular anime
  • Anime Title: Sword Art Online (Series)

Kirito is the overpowered protagonist of this show. He starts his journey by becoming a Solo Beater (having previous experience in the game) and tops his way to becoming the strongest character in this game.

Kirito has a very good personality as he loves to help everyone and cares about people close to him. He changes his attire from season one to the latest season according to the vibe of the game he plays, but, he remains fashionable. He is also the only player to be a Dual-wielder of Blades in the game.

He later confesses his love for Asuna, the other protagonist, and they both get married inside the game and spend life as a couple together.

33. Kuga Yuuma

Kuga Yuuma
  • Anime Title: World Trigger

Yuuma is one of the protagonists of this anime series. He is one of the two ace attackers on his team and he is extremely powerful.

Yuuma’s appearance includes his red eyes and white hair. During a certain period of his life, his body stopped growing and this explains his white hair (which used to be black) and short height.

He is kind of an unknowledgeable person as he was transported from another world into Japan. Despite that, he thinks about everything very logically.

32. Shinobu Kocho

shinobu anime popular
  • Anime Title: Demon Slayer

Shinobu is the beautiful female Hashira (expert demon slayers) of this series. She is the Insect Pillar Hashira of the total Hashiras. She has a pretty calm aura around her.

Shinobu has a pretty small height, so, her sword style consists of mainly using poison and other substances for fighting. She is an orphan and her parents and sister were killed by a demon.

She is always wearing a purple robe with her hair tied and she has a very kind and passionate personality, which helps others in need. She is also taking care of Kanao, a rookie demon slayer.

Also Read: Demon Slayer was censored in China

31. Nagisa Kaworu

 Nagisa Kaworu
  • Anime Title: Neon Genesis Evangelion (Series)

Nagisa is one of the Angels in the series. He is the Fifth Child and the 17th Angel, who is used as a replacement pilot for Unit-02, initially piloted by Asuka.

Nagisa does not consider himself a human as he is a Seed of Life that has taken over a human body. He refers to human beings as Lilin, which means Homo sapiens (the scientific name for humans)

He has a supremely confident personality which separates him from other Angels, who are mostly emotionless. He is pretty wise and given the nickname “Angel of Free Will” because of his competent personality.

30. Rei Ayanami

Rei Ayanami
  • Anime Title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

Rei is one of the three major characters of the series and The First Child. She is the pilot of the Evangelion Unit-00. She is very emotionless and non-interactive.

Rei has blue, short hair which is organized as bangs around her forehead. She looks pretty much human despite being a Seed of Life. Her personality and behavior show that she is not a human.

Rei becomes more interactive and extroverted when she starts to be friends with the main protagonist, Shinji. Although both of them have some misunderstandings at the start, they both develop some excellent stats in their personalities after clearing their differences.

29. Kotarou Katsura

Kotarou Katsura
  • Anime Title: Gintama (Series)

Katsura is the former comrade of the protagonist of the anime series, Gintoki. He is highly respected by his colleagues and has the nickname “Daybreak of the Joui Faction”, which was given to him by them.

Katsura has long, silky, black hair which he mostly keeps untied. He is mainly seen in attire which consists of a blue kimono (robe) with a yellow sash. His appearance is that of a very beautiful person as his silky hair compliments his looks.

He is pretty stupid and air-headed as most decisions that he makes are utterly idiotic. Katsura is very polite though, and addresses everyone he meets with respect and dignity.

28. Tsukishima Kei

Tsukishima Kei
  • Anime Title: Haikyuu!!

Tsukishima plays the role of a middle blocker in his volleyball team in the anime series. He is pretty good at this and is given the nickname “The Clever Blocker” by his teammates.

Tsukishima is a very tall person as he is the tallest out of everyone on his volleyball team. He has blond hair and always wears glasses, as his eyesight hinders his view. He enjoys volleyball to its fullest.

He is a pretty blunt person who does not hold back on anything. Tsukishima is pretty down-to-Earth too as he considers himself to be inferior to others. He tries his best to be involved in every matter as he does not want to be involved in matters that do not concern him.

Also Read: Fans disappointed as Haikyuu season 5 gets replace with 2 films

27. Shuuichi Akai

Shuuichi Akai
  • Anime Title: Detective Conan

Shuuichi is an FBI agent in this series with a pretty mysterious persona. He has pretty small hair with bangs covering some part of his forehead. He has permanent bags under his eyes, making him look sleep-deprived.

Shuuichi has a calm demeanor. He is very professional and deals with everything with a cool head and a collected mind. He is often described as introverted by others because of his hostile behavior towards others.

Shuuichi has one flaw, which is that he is too work-driven that he prioritizes his work over his loved ones. This has caused him a lot of trouble with the people who care for him.

26. Conan Edogawa (Kudou Shinichi)

Conan Edogawa
  • Anime Title: Detective Conan

Conan is the protagonist of this series and, yes, he is a detective. His real name is Kudou Shinichi, and he is a 17-year-old teenager. He is famous for solving criminal cases and is very popular with the police.

Shinichi swallows a poison named “APTX 4869” which shrinks his body, and he becomes a toddler, taking up the name Conan Edogawa. Despite being a toddler, his intellect remains the same, and he is a famous detective now. He also starts to wear glasses as his toddler version also resembles his real face, and this helps him disguise himself.

Despite being a very intelligent person, Conan tries to act like a little kid, to make it feel natural for everyone that he is a kid. He addresses his close ones with respect-honorifics. He is very confident and has a pretty calm demeanor.

25. Soryu Asuka Langley

Soryu Asuka Langley
  • Anime Title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

Asuka is one of the three main protagonists of this anime series. She is also the original pilot of Evangelion Unit-02. She has a pretty distant personality like the main protagonist, Shinji.

Asuka is the Second Child in the series. She is very pretty with auburn hair and blue eyes, which make her pretty attractive also. She usually wears her school uniform everywhere and tends to hurt people close to her and ruin her relationships.

It was later revealed that Asuka’s mother became paranoid after an experiment with an Evangelion Unit and started to treat a doll that looked like Asuka as her daughter. Her mother even stopped calling the original Asuka, taking a toll on Asuka’s mental health.

24. Sano Manjirou (Mikey)

Sano Manjirou (Mikey)
  • Anime Title: Tokyo Revengers

Manjiro is one of the founders and the leader of the delinquent group, Tokyo Manji Gang. He is small in height and is respected by most of his colleagues, juniors, and other leaders of different gangs.

Mikey has a very kind and helpful personality as long as his friends are concerned. But as soon as his friends are hurt, his demeanor changes, and he becomes that of a hungry wolf that is unstoppable.

Mikey has long, blond hair and wide eyes. He always keeps his jacket on and has a pretty old model of a motorcycle. He respects the main protagonist, Takemichi, and recruits him by seeing potential in him.

Also Read: Tokyo Revengers season 2 release date

23. Roronoa Zoro

Roronoa Zoro
  • Anime Title: One Piece

Zoro is the vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates and probably the most loyal person in the whole series. He is a swordsman and uses his original “three-sword style” to fight, in which he keeps one sword in his mouth and the other two in both of his hands.

Zoro has green hair and always wears a bandana whenever he is about to fight. He aims to become the best swordsman in the world, and he is very determined about his aims. He has a pretty calm personality, and he never laughs. We only see him laughing during a fight when he is sure he will win.

Zoro is pretty famous for his terrible sense of direction in anime. Although he does not show it on the outside, he loves his crewmates and is willing to give his life for them. He is a fan-favorite character in this series.

22. Sesshomaru

Sesshomaru
  • Anime Title: Inuyasha

Sesshomaru is the older half-brother of the protagonist of this anime, Inuyasha. He is a full demon-dog, unlike his little brother, and often belittled him on this aspect and his friendship with humans, as Sesshomaru despises humans.

Sesshomaru is most of the time seen in armor that covers one side of his body, and he has long white hair just like his little brother. He also has a moon crest mark on his forehead.

He can transform into a yonkai (ghost), in which he transforms into a giant wolf-like beast. His personality is pretty confident and collected as he is very powerful. He gains interest in humans after witnessing a girl named Rin smile.

21. Rem

Rem anime
  • Anime Title: Re: ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-

Rem is a demon girl and one of the maids of the Roswaal Mansion. She is very diligent and always obeys her older sister Ram, the head maid. She has blue hair and is always in a maid outfit.

Rem is initially very skeptical of the main protagonist, Subaru, and tries to kill him. But later, when Subaru proves his worth, she starts to like him a lot and develops a love interest in him.

She has a very kind personality as she cares about everyone who is in trouble. She is also very sweet and innocently cute. Rem is very weak to alcohol as is shown in the special episode of the series.

Also Read: Top 50 Cutest anime girls of all time

20. Itachi Uchiha

itachi uchiha
  • Anime Title: Naruto

Itachi is the series’s dual-agent (working under both Anbu-Black-Ops and the Village). He is responsible for killing his clan, and he possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan (after his close friend Shisui Uchiha died).

He had a pretty mysterious and bizarre personality from the start when he was just a kid. Itachi was extremely talented from the start and has been a source of pride for his parents. He joined Akatsuki (a criminal agency) at a point in his life just for personal purposes.

He has no particular attire as he is always seen wearing the attire of the agency he works for. When he was reincarnated, he was seen wearing a dark-brown robe. His hair is a bit long, and his eyes how marks, showing he sleeps less. He is also the fan-favorite character of this series.

19. Saiki Kusuo

saiki k
  • Anime Title: The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

Saiki is the overpowered protagonist of this series. He is a naturally born psychic who can do many supernatural things, including telepathy, teleportation, rapport, precognition, psychometry, clairvoyance, and any other out-of-the-ordinary ability.

Saiki has a very uncanny and ignorant personality. He does not care about this world and is always busy in his world. He has a sweet tooth and enjoys sweet things very much.

Saiki has purple hair with two antennas extending from his head. He is mainly seen in his school uniform. He wears green glasses always, and he used his psychic powers for the first time when he was just 1-year-old.

18. Sougo Okita

Sougo Okita
  • Anime Title: Gintama (Series)

Okita is the best swordsman in Shinsengumi in this series. He has a foolish personality and a very light-head aura. Despite all this, when he speaks, he speaks heavily.

Okita was brought up by his sister, as his parents died at a very young age. He has red eyes and short brown hair with a very handsome face. He likes to see women fight as he thinks the face they make during fighting is very hilarious.

Okita, having no parents while growing up, develops a sadistic nature, and he enjoys this kind of play. His main target for this sadistic play is Hijikata, who he tries to tease whenever possible!

17. Kamado Tanjiro

tanjiro
  • Anime Title: Demon Slayer

Tanjiro is one of the three rookie demon hunters of this series. He is the older brother of Nezuko, the girl who is transformed into a demon in the first episode. Tanjiro uses Water Breathing.

Tanjiro usually wears his green robe and earnings (which show his relation to the lineage of demon hunters). He also has a burnt mark on the right side of his forehead. His only motivation for fighting the demons is to turn her sister back into a human.

Tanjiro has the most humble and soft personality. He is kind and even shows his sympathies for demons. He likes to help everyone who is in trouble. He even changes his breathing form to a less-painful one when he realizes the demon is in pain.

16. Killua Zoldyck

killua
  • Anime Title: Hunter x Hunter

Killua is one of the four main characters of the series and belongs to the Zoldyck Family, a family of assassins. He meets Gon, the main character after a few episodes and they both become best friends, as they both are of the same age group.

Killua is always seen wearing fashionable clothes i.e. wearing T-shirts and shorts most of the time. He is mature when we compare him to Gon, because of the assassin training he went through in his childhood.

Killua has a pretty calm demeanor and is always kind to people he knows. He is very fond of Gon and does everything he can to protect him. Although he is very hostile to new people and enemies, his assassin’s genes turn on whenever he senses danger.

15. Karma Akabane

Karma Akabane
  • Anime Title: Assassination Classroom

Karma is one of the main protagonists of this series, who gets introduced to the series after a few episodes. He is highly violent and pays no respect to his teachers due to some past incidents.

He has red hair, and he is always seen wearing the school uniform. Karma respects no one and is very happy in a world of his own. He is also very intelligent, despite being very mischievous and un-respectful.

Karma has a very fierce personality as he wants to fight with anyone who annoys him! He is one of the few persons who has managed to harm Koro-sensei, the antagonist of the show.

14. Monkey D. Luffy

luffy popularity
  • Anime Title: One Piece

Luffy is the main protagonist of this show and the captain of The Straw Hat Pirates. He started his journey alone and now has one of the strongest pirate crews in this world.

Luffy’s attire varies, but it always includes a red shirt and his Straw Hat, which was bestowed upon him by his mentor, Shanks. His appearance changes in different movies according to the vibe of the movies.

His personality is that of a stupid airhead that only wants fun. He usually has no sense in his actions whatsoever, causing his crew suffering and pain. But he is determined on one thing, and that is becoming the Pirate King of this world.

Also Read: Top 20 highest bounties in One Piece

13. Pikachu

pikachu
  • Anime Title: Pokemon (Series)

Pikachu is arguably one of the most famous Pokemon of all time. He is famous for being cute and fluffy and being the companion of Satoshi (Ash, in English), the series’s main protagonist.

Pikachu has the appearance of a yellow fluff ball. He has two arms and two legs with a tail on his body. He has noticeable red face cheeks, which make him pretty cute.

Pikachu has the personality of a normal Pokemon with mood swings according to the situation. What makes him the cutest is the fact that he can only say his name in speech and nothing else!

12. Son Goku

goku dragon ball
  • Anime Title: Dragon Ball (Series)

Goku is probably the most overpowered character (according to Dragon Ball fans) in anime. He is a Saiyan (alien species with a human body and a tail) who was sent to Earth by his parents when the Saiyan planet was about to be destroyed.

Goku always wears his orange fighting suit with “悟” written on it, meaning “Go”. He is seen in different attire in the later series when he starts living in a house and becomes a farmer.

Goku’s personality is simple, and all he thinks about is fighting. He is pretty airheaded in other matters and his decision-making is based solely upon his ability to fight other strong people.

11. Zenitsu Agatsuma

zenitsu most popular characters
  • Anime Title: Demon Slayer

Zenitsu is the crybaby and one of this series’s three rookie demon slayers. He has a pretty lame persona; all he does is cry and whine about his situations. He is highly obsessed with women, which causes his demise.

Zenitsu is always wearing his yellow-orange fighting robe. He has hair of similar color and yellow eyes. He possesses the Thunder Breathing technique but the catch is that he can only use it when he is asleep because he is very scared to attack demons.

Right from the start, Zenitsu is a lame person who wants everything in this world to come to him, without making any effort. Even in the scene where he is introduced in the anime, he is begging a girl to marry him. Despite all this, he is a fan favorite, and part of the reason for this is his talented voice actor “Shimono Hiro.”

10. Kaito Kuroba (Phantom Thief)

Kaito Kuroba (Phantom Thief)
  • Anime Title: Detective Conan

Kaito is the main antagonist of this series who takes the identity of his murdered father. He takes the identity of his father to lure in his murderers and take his revenge on them.

Kaito has a pretty simple appearance. He has dark brown hair which covers his forehead and blue eyes making him pretty handsome. He is pretty famous among girls for this reason.

Kaito has a pretty mischievous personality as an ordinary school boy, and he loves to tease his female classmates. But as The Phantom Thief, he is calm and collected. He was first introduced in his series “Magic Kaito,” and later, he was introduced as a major antagonist in the series.

9. Shouto Todoroki

todoroki
  • Anime List: My Hero Academia

Todoroki is one of the students of U.A. Hero High School. His quirk is that he can use both ice and fire and control these elements. But he only uses ice because he inherited fire from his father, whom he hates for abusing his mother a lot.

Todoroki is seen wearing a hero suit at the start of the series, which consists of half of his suit made up of ice. Later in the series, he wears a simple gym suit through which he can easily use his quirk. He has a burn mark on his right eye.

Todoroki has a composed personality and does not get over-excited over anything. He is highly introverted and only talks to a few people. He is pretty interested in Japanese culture. He is the fan-favorite character of this series, and part of that is because of his talented voice actor “Yuki Kaji.”

Also Read: Top 10 Non canon ships in My Hero Academia

8. Tomioka Gyuu

tomioko giyuu
  • Anime Title: Demon Slayer

Tomioka is one of the Hashiras (expert demon slayers) and the first one to be introduced to us in the series. He is the water pillar of the Hashiras and uses Water Breathing just like Tanjiro (the main protagonist).

Tomioka is always wearing a multi-colored robe, his fighting attire. He stables Nezuko’s condition when she becomes a demon, which helps Tanjiro in traveling with her.

Tomioka has cold-blue eyes, and his personality is that of a complete introvert. He is famous for being a loner and most of the Hashiras tease him for this trait. He is very fond of Tanjiro and wants to see how he can cure his sister.

7. Inumaki Toge

inumaki jujutsu kaisen
  • Anime Title: Jujutsu Kaisen

Inumaki is a second-year student at Jujutsu High and a Cursed Speech Technique user. He is a very quiet person and prefers to remain quiet as his speech is cursed. So, he mostly used seafood names to communicate with his friends.

Inumaki is mostly seen in his college attire which consists of a jacket and long pants. He always wears a mask to hide the curse mark around his mouth, showing that he is a cursed speech user.

Inumaki is a pretty caring person despite having such a dangerous cursed technique. He is kind to all his friends and willing to give his all to save his friends from trouble.

6. Muichirou Tokitou

Muichirou Tokitou
  • Anime Title: Demon Slayer

Muichiro is one of the Hashiras (expert demon slayers) and the protagonist of the upcoming Season 3 of Demon Slayer.

He is pretty mysterious right now because there is not much information about him in the anime, but he is famous among anime watchers for being one of the most powerful demon slayers. He is the Mist Pillar of Hashiras and uses Mist Breathing.

Muichiro has a very short height and long; green-black hair which is always kept open. He is always seen wearing his Hashira robe and nothing casual. He is said to be the descendent of one of the Upper Moon (Strongest Demons in the World).

5. Rimuru Tempest

Rimuru Tempest
  • Anime Title: That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime

Rimuru is the protagonist of this anime series and the person who gets reincarnated as a slime in another world. His real name in the previous world was Mikami Satoru, a male contractor working for a company. Satoru gets stabbed by a random thief, dies, and reincarnated as a slime in a new world.

As Rimuru is slime, he has pretty simple facial features and is just an ordinary blue slime. Until he gains a human shape and has a female-like face, despite having no specific gender.

Rimuru is pretty caring to his servants and loved ones. He usually has a very cheerful and fun personality, but if his loved ones get sacrificed, he becomes pretty dangerous. In the latest season, he becomes a demon lord to bring back to life his loved ones.

4. Gintoki Sakata

Gintoki
  • Anime Title: Gintama (Series)

Gintoki is the protagonist of this series and a samurai, a profession, not present in this era. He is known by the name “Shiroyasha,” which means “White Demon,” because of his fantastic swordsmanship and white hair.

Gintoki has curly silver-white hair, which he never pays attention to, so it always stays unorganized. He has red, dead eyes, which always remain half-closed in normal situations. He is a pretty handsome man despite his obsession with sweets. He is mostly in a white yukata with blue and black stripes.

Gintoki has a very lazy personality. He is often seen with a disgusted expression on his face whenever he is said to do something. His only obsessions are eating sweets and reading weekly Shounen Jump comics, where he is being published!

3. Doraemon

Doraemon
  • Anime Title: Doraemon

Doraemon is a robotic cat, and seeing him will surely give most of us nostalgia. He is sent from the future to help Nobita, the protagonist, in his everyday life. He helps Nobita in his everyday life with studies and other stuff using future gadgets which he gets from his 4-dimensional pocket attached to his stomach region.

Doraemon has a blue appearance with an appearance similar to a tanuki, which he is mostly misunderstood as. He has whiskers and paws, just like a cat, and even goes out with stray cats when he is not with Nobita.

Doraemon’s personality is that of a little child. If he is given something as a reward, he does the work he is given very enthusiastically, and if he is fed up with something, he will never do it. He often fights with Nobita, but they make up in the end always.

2. Gojou Satoru

gojo
  • Anime Title: Jujutsu Kaisen

Gojo is an instructor at The Jujutsu High and the strongest sorcerer to exist in the world. He has challenged the King of Curses “Sakuna” many times in the anime when it was trapped inside a vessel. He has fought a special grade and got beaten to almost death by Gojou.

Gojou normally wears a blindfold because his eyes allow him to see even the slightest presence of curse energy in the environment and this tires him out, so, he is always wearing a blindfold. He is normally in his school teacher attire but he can also be seen in fashionable attire when in public.

Gojou has the personality of a little kid. He loves to annoy his colleagues and sometimes even the principal to the point that they even want to kill him. But when he is serious, no one can come as close to even touch him, because of the void that covers him.

Also Read: Why Gojo Satoru Will Have Less Appearences In Future Jujutsu Kaisen Seasons?

1. Levi Ackerman

Levi Ackerman
  • Anime Title: Attack on Titan

Japanese fans voted Levi as the most popular anime character of all time. Besides that, Levi is also the second most popular anime character on MyAnimeList. Levi is humanity’s strongest soldier and captain of the Scouting Legion group. He is most famous for his fight with the Beast Titan, and that episode was indeed record-breaking.

Levi has a petite height, which he is very conscious about. He has sleek eyes and is always seen in formal clothes when he is not on duty. He was part-taking in crimes in the underground city until he was recruited by Erwin, the Commander of all soldiers.

Levi is mostly a hot-headed person who is angry all the time. His decision-making is the best out of all of the soldiers as he brings no personal emotions to them. But deep inside, he cares about his teammates the most and wants to save them at any cost. Truly, deserving of the number one spot!

What are your thoughts on Japanese fans’ favorite characters? Do you think some other anime character deserves a spot here in the top 50? Let us know in the comment section. We here at Anime Senpai would love to hear from you.

Source: Goo Ranking


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24 thoughts on “Top 50 Most Popular Anime Characters of All Time (According To Japan)”

  1. This list is for what Japanese think not the world, if the list was a worldwide list, I bet Naruto, Goku, Luffy and many more characters would be in the top 10

    1. Of course I understand this is a poll about what Japanese thinks! But when their manga/anime are released to the whole world the charts about popularity changes! So there is no “better taste”, it’s culture! Don’t be so entitled to your opinions!

    1. just remember this isn’t the whole Japanese anime fans. No doubt Levi would be there but I find myself like other iconic characters from Japan missing in the votes

  2. No L, Light, Lelouch, Edward, Spike, Guts, Kamina, Okabe, Saitama, Kurapika, Ichigo, Mikasa??? Man, but I didn’t expected so many Gintama Characters, which is a pleasant surprise, alongside Shiro, Doraemon and a solid no. from Detective Conan….. Also, man Muichiro and Toge haven’t properly even appeared in their animes, but they are still top 10…. Impressive!!!

  3. Camila1318GinhijiStan

    Woooo Gintama!!! It’s my second favorite anime, and it definitely deserves more attention and praise than it’s given, well here in the US. But I’m so 😊 proud that y’all think Japanese people have good taste, clearly. Honestly I’d love to test it out, if Gintama really is that popular in Japan.

  4. Naruto is the best anime of all time he’s like me try “s his best a try”s to my other people respect him and try”s to be the best and that’s what I try to do. That’s why he’s the best anime series”he inspires people.

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