Characters in Japanese anime vary greatly in their personalities and conduct, ranging from petty, dishonest bullies or antagonists all the way to honorable, chivalrous people who hold themselves to a high personal standard. In general, having honor is a person’s tendency to act in a fair, honest, and respectable way, which is often paired with discipline and the desire to do good in the world.
Some anime characters will stoop to lies and tricks to get ahead, greatly worrying and angering their more honorable peers. By contrast, anime’s most honorable gentlemen would rather face defeat or even perish than resort to dirty tricks or compromise their noble principles.
Update on May 29th, 2023 by Louis Kemner: plenty of anime characters are bound by honor to be honest, morally upstanding, and have good sportsmanship in battle. These charcters inspire and thrill viewers because they don’t just win – they win in the right way, without stooping to tricks and lies to get ahead. This includes a variety of male leads who show everyone what gentlemany honor and chivalry really look like, and anime fans are ready to meet more of them.
15 Kenshiro (Fist Of The North Star)
Fist of the North Star‘s manga and anime depict a huge variety of deeply dishonorable villains in a Mad Max-inspired wasteland, such as gang leaders and petty warlords who use intimidation, deceit, and bullying to get what they want. All this deeply upsets the series’ stern but honorable hero, Kenshiro.
Kenshiro is a noble martial artist who uses Hokuto Shinken to defend the weak and the innocent, as honor demands. Sometimes, Kenshiro suffers a real beating or is too late to help someone, but in most cases, justice will definitely be served when Kenshiro gets in a warlord’s way to save the day.
14 Captain Smoker (One Piece)
When he was introduced in the East Blue saga in One Piece, then-Captain Smoker was just another Navy antagonist who tried to get in Luffy’s way, and he didn’t seem that honorable in Loguetown. He did listen, though, when Monkey D. Dragon urged him to let Luffy leave.
In later arcs, such as Alabasta and Punk Hazard, Smoker showed his honorable side, having a more flexible and compassionate sense of justice than most other Navy officers did. For the sake of protecting the weak, Smoker would even fight alongside the Straw Hats and let them go when the battle was won.
13 Might Guy (Naruto)
In the Naruto anime, most Leaf Village ninjas have a shonen-style code of honor that emphasizes teamwork, friendship, honesty, and courage. Plenty of characters live up to this lofty ideal, such as Kakashi Hatake and his energetic rival, the martial artist Might Guy.
Might Guy is boastful but selfless as a jonin Leaf ninja, and he takes great pride in his three students’ accomplishments. Even if he acts like a himbo, Might Guy can be quite serious and will never bend his inspiring principles for any reason. He also has immense respect for his sworn rival, Kakashi, and they are the best of friends, too.
12 Soichiro Yagami (Death Note)
Light Yagami’s father, Soichiro Yagami, is honest and idealistic to a fault in Death Note. Unlike his serial killer son or his slippery ally, L, Soichiro obeys the letter of the law and doesn’t like it when people make up their own rules or invent their own justice.
Soichiro is a cop’s cop, complete with stern discipline and a clearly defined code of honor, as duty demands. Soichiro was highly reluctant to break the law or do anything immoral while hunting Kira, though he reluctantly made exceptions when he and L saw no alternatives.
11 Benimaru (That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime)
Benimaru is the chief of an ogre tribe in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and he takes that duty seriously. One day, an orcish army wiped out the village, and a grief-stricken Benimaru led his friends into battle against protagonist Rimuru Tempest, only to learn the truth. Since then, Benimaru has served as Rimuru’s most loyal ally of all.
Benimaru is an honorable bodyguard of Rimuru’s, being charismatic as a leader but also being humble as Rimuru’s right-hand man, striking a fair balance between these two positions. Benimaru also likes a fair fight and will give it his all while never resorting to tricks or even psychological warfare.
10 Jonathan Joestar (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
The first JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure protagonist was Jonathan Joestar, a musclebound hero with a flamboyant sense of honor even by the standards of Victorian England. Jonathan would even rush into a fight to protect innocents like Erina Pendleton, and later, he gave his life to stop Dio Brando.
Despite all he lost, Jonathan never hated his villainous foster brother, Dio, and he fought Dio not out of anger or to get even but to protect others. Jonathan thus set a very high standard that no other Joestar hero has met so far in the JoJo’s anime.
9 Azan (Berserk)
Even seemingly honorable and chivalrous Berserk characters like the charismatic Griffith are actually monsters on the inside, but the knight Azan is different. He actually does embody noble knightly virtues and honor, which set him apart from the antihero Guts in post-Golden Age story arcs.
Azan is a quintessential knight in shining armor, such as his unwillingness to strike a defenseless opponent, and he is outraged anytime his opponents take women and children hostage. Guts thinks Azan is a naive hassle to deal with, but Azan knows what real honor is and won’t let it go.
8 Tanjiro Kamado (Demon Slayer)
Demon Slayer features an entire corps of sword-slinging demon hunters who are expected to fight with courage, discipline, and honor when defending humanity from Muzan Kibutsuji’s nightmarish hordes. This includes the protagonist, Tanjiro Kamado, who will fight hard to win, but won’t cheat.
Tanjiro is a compassionate, selfless, and honest demon-hunting hero who is quick to criticize others for their own bad behavior. Tanjiro objected when Inosuke picked a fight for its own sake, for example, and he will always stand up to bullies to defend the innocent whether or not he owes them anything.
7 Captain Byakuya Kuchiki (Bleach)
Oddly, Captain Byakuya Kuchiki’s sense of honor has made him both an antagonist and hero in Bleach. The stern kuudere Byakuya has always been pretentious and confident, but up to a point, he was rather cold about it. He believed that honor meant obeying orders and upholding the law, even if it meant hurting the innocent.
Byakuya changed his tune after the Soul Society arc and realized that true honor is more personal, such as defending the weak and the innocent because it’s the right thing to do, no matter what the law says. Byakuya also learned humility and wasn’t too ashamed to beg Ichigo to save the Soul Society when Yhwach invaded.
6 Thors Snorresson (Vinland Saga)
In Vinland Saga, most Vikings were honorless raiders and thugs, and they would attack anyone and destroy entire villages if it meant getting gold and supplies. Meanwhile, the honorable Thors Snorresson grew weary of war and faked his death to leave the Jomsvikings.
Thors wisely realized that no one truly has any enemies, and bloodshed is never justified. Instead, Thors put his sword away and never took a life again, not even when Askeladd’s band cornered him in the Faroe Islands. However, Askeladd didn’t mind a breach of honor if it meant winning, and Thors was slain.
5 Makarov Dreyar (Fairy Tail)
Many Fairy Tail characters have a loose sense of honor and often resort to wily magical tricks to win, such as in the dark guilds. Meanwhile, the wizards of the Fairy Tail guild are highly honorable about defending their guildmates as friends and found-family members, including the leader, Makarov Dreyar.
Makarov is an exemplary guildmaster, ready to fight any enemy and even give his life for the guild. Makarov also kicked out his own grandson Laxus after the latter nearly tore the guild apart, but he also made a personal gesture to assure the disgraced, exiled Laxus that he is still loved.
4 Eijiro Kirishima (My Hero Academia)
Eijiro Kirishima is a class 1-A student who’s determined to live up to Crimson Riot’s example as a cool, honorable, and manly hero everyone can look up to in My Hero Academia. And unlike his explosive pal Katsuki Bakugo, Eijiro knows that real, honorable masculinity never comes from rage or selfish acts.
Eijiro is tough but fair, and will never criticize or blame anyone else for his own problems, no matter how much he’s struggling. Eijiro also strongly believes in good sportsmanship, such as when he and Tetsutetsu shook hands and became friendly rivals after their sports festival duel.
3 Miyuki Shirogane (Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War)
Even if Kaguya-Sama’s co-star Miyuki Shirogane likes to use mental tricks and traps to fight his lover Kaguya Shinomiya, he’s still respectful and tasteful about it. Best of all, Miyuki always puts others before himself, and enjoys helping other people.
Miyuki wants to get ahead and win fairly, and he values hard work and honesty, lacking the wealthy background most of his classmates have. He is popular due to his benevolence and kindness, which is why he earned and kept his title of student council president.
2 Isshiki Satoshi (Food Wars!)
Some chefs in Food Wars! fight dirty, such as Mimasaka Subaru and Etsuya Eizan, while others, like Isshiki Satoshi, always compete fairly in the kitchen. The students at the elite Totsuki school vary greatly in their styles and skills, meaning some students can easily prey on others in official cooking duels.
However, Isshiki Satoshi will hold back against a less-skilled opponent to create a fair match. This honorable attitude makes him popular, but it also means he ranks a bit lower in the Council of Ten than his 7th place rank would suggest.
1 Mumen Rider (One-Punch Man)
Evenif Mumen Rider is one of One-Punch Man’s weakest superheroes, he is one of the most popular and inspiring heroes. He tends to claim moral victories even if he gets beaten up because he has the honor, courage, and conviction of a great hero.
Mumen Rider stood no chance against the Deep Sea King, but he faced that villain out of duty, and in that sense, he had already won, and said so. The terrified crowd applauded him for that, though Mumen Rider swiftly lost the fight just a moment later.
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