For the most part, the wide world of Japanese animation is populated with beloved and exciting characters of all sorts, from heartfelt shojo heroines to classic shonen heroes and everything in between, including popular support characters and even some sympathetic villains. Other characters, though, aren’t so easy to like.
Some of the less popular anime characters might divide a fandom, such as if the character did something horrible but then almost made up for it, with the flame hero Endeavor in My Hero Academia being one famous example. Other anime characters, though, are always disliked, often intensely, and they are little more than punching bags for the anime fandom. Often, these anime characters deserve the hate.
Updated on March 15, 2023, by Louis Kemner: Some anime characters are controversial because of their harsh personalities, dialogue, and action, while other characters are universally disliked and rejected because of who they are or what they’ve done. It takes a lot for any anime character to unite everyone against them, and the most disliked anime characters stand out for their extreme unpopularity. Most often, it’s a reflection of the character, but other times, such dislike is a comment on the anime fandom and what they expect from these characters.
15 Shou Tucker (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
The Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime came out all the way back in 2009, but even now, anime fans are still shuddering at the thought of Shou Tucker and his crimes. He is a state alchemist known as the “sewing life alchemist,” and when he gets desperate to produce results, his family will pay for it.
Shou earned his license by stitching his wife with an animal, and the resulting chimera begged for death. A few years later, Shou combined his beloved daughter, Nina, with their dog, Alexander, producing a second chimera that horrified Edward, Alphonse, and even Scar to no end. Scar killed Shou before the case could go to trial.
14 Princess Malty Melromarc (The Rising Of The Shield Hero)
The royal family of the Melromarc kingdom in the isekai realm in The Rising of the Shield Hero is a mixed bag. The queen is a noble, wise, and benevolent woman who became one of Naofumi Iwatani’s best allies, and her young daughter Melty was fairly helpful, too. However, the queen’s husband and older daughter are a different story.
The king and princess Malty conspired to have Naofumi banished from the kingdom, and Malty used horrible lies and accusations to have Naofumi’s name blacklisted for all time. She didn’t regret it at all, and this put her at odds with her mother, the queen. Worse yet, sabotaging Naofumi like that weakened the kingdom’s defenses against the Waves.
13 Danzo Shimura (Naruto)
On paper, the elite Leaf ninja Danzo Shimura from Naruto isn’t so bad. He and his Root/Foundation organization are sworn to protect the Hidden Leaf Village at all costs and serve as a humble foundation of defense without expecting any thanks in return. But there’s more to Danzo than this noble mission statement.
Danzo is a cold, exploitative, and pitiless man who treats all minions like disposable tools, even by ninja standards, and Tsunade, as Hokage, was often at odds with him. Danzo also wanted to effectively imprison Naruto Uzumaki in the village to shield him from the Akatsuki, and his methods were too extreme. He was eventually slain at the hands of Sasuke Uchiha.
12 Muzan Kibutsuji (Demon Slayer)
Some anime villains are actually popular despite their misdeeds, such as the scheming Sosuke Aizen from Bleach or the yandere Himiko Toga in MHA, but Muzan Kibutsuji is simply hated. He is Demon Slayer’s primary villain, and he’s the one who personally slaughtered the Kamados.
Even by anime villain standards, Muzan is cold, selfish, and unsympathetic, and he seems to spread pain and misery just because he can. Fans find it amusing how he resembles the late Michael Jackson, but otherwise, there’s nothing to like or appreciate about Tanjiro Kamado’s nemesis.
11 Gabi Braun (Attack On Titan)
If it weren’t for just two key factors, Gabi Braun, the warrior candidate, would actually be fairly admirable and somewhat sympathetic as a character, but this brash, gung-ho young soldier went too far in the eyes of Attack on Titan fans. She can’t be easily forgiven for what she’s done.
It was Gabi who snuck aboard the airship and shot the beloved Sasha Braus, an act that instantly united the entire fandom against her. On top of that, Gabi is reviled for her brainwashed attitude about her fellow Eldians, stubbornly believing them to be devils who must be punished or slaughtered.
10 Minoru Mineta (My Hero Academia)
Bit by bit, the trainee hero Minoru Mineta from MHA is slowly making a case for himself since he is becoming braver as a fighter, gets decent grades, and has had a few clever moments in action, such as when he outmaneuvered the R-rated hero Midnight in battle. Overall, though, he’s easy to dislike.
Minoru can be quite the pervert, being the type to yank open a girl’s underwear drawer and ogle at the contents. He’ll even try to peek at girls in the bath, a time-worn anime cliché, and he is also noted for being easily frightened and panicking when things go wrong. He really grates on most fans.
9 Akito Sohma (Fruits Basket)
There are some clear reasons why Akito Sohma behaves the way she does in Fruits Basket, but that doesn’t stop anime fans from disliking her as an obnoxious and extremely dysfunctional shojo anime villain. Akito is the “god” of the zodiac animals, and she has significant control issues and attachment issues as well.
Akito demands perfect obedience and loyalty among the Sohmas and quickly throws a tantrum at anyone who defies her in the slightest. She uses verbal, emotional, and even some physical abuse to punish the Sohmas and scare them, and that just pushes them further away, especially Kyo, Yuki, and Momiji. Somehow, her mother, Ren, is just as bad, if not worse.
8 Sugou Nobuyuki/Oberon (Sword Art Online)
In real life, Sugou Nobuyuki was RECT Inc.’s chief, and he was once engaged to Asuna Yuuki for a time. In the virtual game world, he was known as Oberon, named after the fairy king of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He wanted Asuna to be his Titania, and both Kirito and the Sword Art Online fandom objected.
Oberon had no redeeming qualities of any kind, not even courage or strength in battle. He was a horribly sleazy person who treated Asuna like a disobedient pet. He became even more repulsive thanks to his cowardice while fighting Kirito, and then he was finally defeated in the game. He later tried to attack Kirito in real life but failed.
7 Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Strictly speaking, Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion is just a 14-year-old boy, and his superiors are demanding an awful lot of him. Most people his age would react badly in a situation like Shinji’s, but that doesn’t stop the anime fandom from giving Shinji a thumbs-down. He hasn’t endeared himself to anyone.
Shinji is criticized for having little courage or resolve as a protagonist, and he often complains about just about anything he can think of. He is also noted for getting turned on by his tsundere ally Asuka Langley while she was unconscious, something nearly every fan found unsettling.
6 Orihime Inoue (Bleach)
There are plenty of anime characters who are more universally hated than Orihime Inoue, but still, Orihime has plenty of detractors, and for a few key reasons. In the story of Bleach, she is a likable and loyal friend who has remarkable bravery, and that endears her to most Bleach characters.
Many Bleach fans adamantly ship Ichigo with Rukia, but Orihime claimed Ichigo for herself, as the manga’s final chapter showed. Many fans were outraged that their OTP was ruined. Aside from that, Orihime is also often mocked for merely crying “Ichigo!” or “Kurosaki-kun!” out of concern way too many times during fight scenes.
5 Spandam (One Piece)
One Piece has a knack for making many of its nastiest, most brutal villains somewhat sympathetic or at least compelling and weirdly likable, such as Sir Crocodile and even Doflamingo. The same isn’t true of the noxious Spandam, a major villain in the Water 7 saga.
Spandam is a self-centered, conceited, and abusive Marine who makes everything about himself and his own glory, and he is downright cruel to Nico Robin while is was his captive. In the past, Spandam antagonized Tom, Franky’s mentor, and framed him for a dreadful crime, which made One Piece fans hate him even more.
4 Mami Nanami (Rent-A-Girlfriend)
Mami Nanami is a minor antagonist in the romantic comedy anime Rent-a-Girlfriend, and anime fans absolutely detest Mami, even if she’s not a violent supervillain. Even if the male lead, Kazuya, is far from Best Boy, fans still felt bad for him when Mami casually dumped him for someone else.
Mami’s actions set the entire story into motion, but Rent-a-Girlfriend fans didn’t exactly thank her for it. She is deeply manipulative and antagonistic under her falsely sweet exterior, often working hard to drive Kazuya and Chizuru apart for unclear reasons, which doesn’t do anyone any good whatsoever.
3 Ren Yamai (Komi Can’t Communicate)
The charming Komi Can’t Communicate anime doubles as a gentle parody of many rom-com anime tropes and character archetypes, such as the shy library girl Himiko Agari and the competitive Makeru Yadano. However, not even the Komi anime can fully sanitize the concept of a yandere.
Even with PG-rated humor to soften the blow, Ren Yamai is still a despicable person who has no excuse for the things she does, making her deeply unpopular. She has threatened people, bullied others as a popular girl, tried to indecently peek at Shoko Komi, and even kidnapped Hitohito Tadano.
2 Near (Death Note)
Death Note is home to one of anime’s most popular antagonists, the eccentric genius detective L Lawliet. After Light’s victory over L, the story moved on to a shorter part two, which fans didn’t like nearly as much, partly because of the antagonists involved.
The blond Mello was simply a criminal thug, while his kuudere counterpart Near was seen as a weaker, blander substitute for the original L. He was L without the lovable personal quirks, and his scenes and dialogue weren’t nearly as memorable, so fans deride him as an L wannabe at most.
1 Boruto Uzumaki (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations)
Even if the original Naruto anime had unpopular characters like Sakura Haruno and Danzo Shimura, fans still loved the protagonist, the scrappy underdog Naruto Uzumaki. Strangely, Naruto’s son, Boruto, soon became one of shonen’s most hated characters when he became the star of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
Boruto Uzumaki is powerful and talented, but fans actually dislike him for that, considering him a Mary Sue of sorts. The character is also unpopular because of his bratty attitude, which, unlike his father’s, was totally unjustified. Boruto came from a loving and supporting family, so it seemed strange that he acted up so much.
