Anime heroes are paragons of virtue who inspire the citizens they protect. They also typically look the part of the do-gooder with bright smiles and wholesome-looking faces. Yet, a growing number of anime heroes do not look or act much like heroes in their daily lives. Many of them are downright creepy.
These unsettling anime characters may still be heroes, but something about their looks or personality makes people fear them or feel uncomfortable around them. Even if they are completely harmless, other characters cannot shake the creepy perceptions they have of these heroes. Looks can be deceiving — especially in the case of creepy anime heroes.
This article contains mention of physical abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
10 Kiyotaka Ayanokoji (Classroom Of The Elite)
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji is as aloof as he is apathetic. He always seems bored, and he hardly ever willingly interacts with people. Some of his classmates even bully him for his behavior in Classroom of the Elite.
Yet, when someone is in trouble — an individual or the whole class — Ayanokoji is usually the first person to step up and fix the problem. He is always one step ahead of his peers and teachers, beating everyone at their own games. Ayanokoji may seem apathetic, but people are starting to catch on that he cares a lot more than he wants to let on.
9 Hanako (Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun)
Yuji Amame — better known as Hanako-kun from Toilet-bound Hanako-kun — is the ghost of a young boy who now roams the corridors of Kamamome High, looking for ghosts to help and keeping demons at bay. Hanako seems like a mostly innocent, brutally honest middle schooler, but his true colors shine through when dealing with enemies.
Hanako becomes so serious and deliberate with his chef’s knife in hand that he even terrifies his new partner, high schooler Nene Yashiro. Hanako may be the school’s small protector, but he has a menacing side that hints at a darker past.
8 Sakura Minamoto (Zombie Land Saga)
Sakura Minamoto is a normal high school girl dreaming of becoming an idol one day. Unfortunately, as she is leaving her parents’ house for her first idol audition, she is hit by a truck and dies. Yet, she is revived again sometime later by a mysterious man named Kotaro Tatsumi.
When she wakes up, though, Sakura is not the same. Instead of looking like the young girl she was, she is grey and decaying, having now become a zombie. Although she and her new girl group look terrifying, Kotaro uses it to their advantage, becoming an alternative idol band to help revive the Saga Prefecture in Zombie Land Saga.
7 L (Death Note)
When a mysterious vigilante begins murdering people across Japan, the country’s number one detective rises up to discover the culprit. L is a brilliant strategist who never misses anything. He notices every tiny detail so vividly that he almost captures the elusive Kira in Death Note.
However, L does not look that impressive. He wears plain T-shirts and sweatpants and is often barefoot. He also crouches on chairs instead of sitting on them, and his desire for sweets is unparalleled. Plus, his tied eyes tend to haunt whoever he is looking at. L is a particularly strange and unsettling individual, but he has justice on his side — even in death.
6 Korosensei (Assassination Classroom)
Korosensei is a yellow, tentacled creature who threatens the Japanese government so that he can become a middle school teacher for a year in Assassination Classroom. As he is Japan’s most wanted criminal, the lowest-ranked class of Kunugigaoka Middle School is tasked with assassinating their new teacher by any means necessary. After all, he appears to be a monster to them.
However, Korosensei turns out to be a surprisingly loving and effective teacher. He leads his students not only to top marks but also toward individual self-discovery. Each day, the students seem to learn something new and meaningful about their lives through Korosensei’s tutelage. He may be an ex-assassin turned gelatinous monstrosity, but he genuinely cares about his students and the bright futures ahead of them.
5 Armin Arlert (Attack On Titan)
Armin Arlert used to be a shrinking violet when it came to any sort of physical confrontation. However, his intelligence has always served him well, a fact that saves him from dying in a later episode.
Armin eventually becomes the Colossal Titan by eating Bertholdt Hoover, becoming an even more powerful foe than its previous user. He towers higher than the citizens of Paradis and Marley, and he is no longer afraid of losing casualties as long as they are not his own friends. Where Bertholdt was often timid to complete his mission, Armin no longer has qualms with hesitating and enacts Eren Yeager’s plans flawlessly in Attack on Titan.
4 Inosuke Hashibira (Demon Slayer)
Inosuke Hashibira is a surprisingly beautiful young man from Demon Slayer. However, being raised by animals in the mountains, Inosuke has a fearsome personality in addition to his signature boar’s head he wears constantly.
Inosuke is a great fighter who has shown remarkable stamina in battle. Yet, his brash decision-making and violent outbursts make many outsiders wary of this feral hero. People’s opinions often change once they get to know him, but his first impression inspires more fear than confidence.
3 Ectoplasm (My Hero Academia)
Ectoplasm is one of the many Pro Heroes and teachers at U.A. High School from My Hero Academia. Despite his job description, many people have a hard time not being terrified of him for his otherworldly, toothy look and the way he glides around using his Quirk.
While his look is congenital, and he glides because he lost his legs in a villain encounter, Ectoplasm still does his job to perfection. He even helps the U.A. students train by pretending to be a villain himself. Ectoplasm is a normal teacher who cares about his students, but he looks more like a horrifying villain than a hero.
2 Shinichi Izumi & Migi (Parasyte: The Maxim)
When aliens Parasites invade Earth, one takes up residence in Shinichi Izumi’s hand instead of consuming his brain. Now trapped in Shinichi’s hand, Migi and its host work together to fight other Parasites and protect humans from impending doom — even if Migi could not care less about human life.
Though Shinichi looks normal most of the time, his hand becomes utterly terrifying when Migi appears. Not only does it have an eye and a mouth, but it changes shape and can wield wickedly sharp blades. Migi is one hand that enemies do not want to fight with in Parasyte: The Maxim, especially when it disobeys Shinichi’s wishes.
1 706z87″ title=”akira”>Akira Fudo (Devilman Crybaby)
706z87″ title=”akira”>Akira Fudo was a normal young man until he was transformed into a Devilman by a demon in Devilman Crybaby. Although he fights for the humans in the ensuing war, he now looks more like a monster than some of the terrors he fights.
706z87″ title=”akira”>Akira grows horns and wings and has hairy, goat-like legs. He is also unbelievably strong and can rip enemies in half. Plus, his eyes and fangs are decidedly inhuman. While he does try to save people, too many humans are afraid of 706z87″ title=”akira”>Akira to truly trust him.