Full metal alchemist

The Top Ten Greatest Anime Characters of All Time

Ever since anime came to the United States from Japan many different characters have become favorites of anime fans everywhere. Weather it is Erein in his journey to destroy the Titans in Attack on Titan, to the Elric brothers in FullMetal Alchemist, brotherhood not the original, and all the characters in Naruto. We love them and have enjoyed hundreds of episodes, tuning in every week to watch how their journey will end. So this is the top ten greatest anime characters.

Himura kenshin

10. Himura Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin

Based on an actual samurai from the Meiji Period named Kawakami Gensai, Himura Kenshin was a hardern assassin who gave up that life to become a wandering Samurai sworn to protect the innocent. But Himura was more than just a wandering samurai because he carried a sword with a reversed blade called a Sakabato which makes it nearly impossible to kill anyone. This and Himura’s scar are classic symbols in anime culture.

Ash and pikachu

9. Ash and Pikachu

Pokemon was a probably the first anime many people saw in elementary or middle school.  I doubt there isn’t a college student now that does not know the pokemon theme song or would not recognize Pikachu.The world of pokemon was brought to us through the eyes of Ash, a young boy who set off on his 10th birthday to begin his journey to become a pokemon master. He is given his first pokemon, Pikachu, a small electric mouse pokemon by Professor Oak. Along the way he meets his friends Misty and Brock and together they battle gym leader, rivals, and the comically evil Team Rocket.

Shinji ikari

8. Shinji Ikari from Evangelion

While Shinji is not the most heroic anime character, he is cowardly, he cries, and whines but over the course of the show he becomes a fearless Evangelion pilot. His Eva is unit 01 the only mech created from the body of Lilith, the second angel while the rest of the Eva’s are made from Adam. This makes his Eva wildly unpredictable and causes it to go berserk killing many angels. While Shinji himself is not usually in full control of his Eva he grows as a character and becomes worthy of the great power of unit 01.

Light from deathnote

7. Light  from Death Note

Light is a character who needs no introduction, he is a genius who became bored and one day a god of death sent him a book called a Death Note that kills anyone who has their name written in it. Soon Light begins using the Death Note to kill criminal throughout Japan. With the help of a death god named Ryuk he begins a reign of terror as a man named Kira. His slide from college student to deranged genius killer is a fascinating murder mystery told from the killer’s point of view. He goes to every extreme to create his perfect crime free world and in the end he lost his life to the death god and became stuck in limbo for all eternity.

Shotaro kaneda

6. Shotaro Kaneda from Akira  

Like Shinji from Evangelion Shotaro Kaneda is not a remarkable character in his own right but the world he was placed in made him someone to remember. What most remember about him was his kickass red motorcycle, his red leathers and his laser rifle. His discovery of Akira and the reason behind the explosion that destroyed Tokyo. Akira was the one of the first anime movies to come to the United States from the Japan and started introducing americans to the world of anime.

Spike spiegel

5. Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebob

One of the best Film Noir style animes ever is Cowboy Bebop created in 1998 featured Spike Spiegel an assassin for the Red Dragon Syndicate who left because he fell in a woman named Julia. He became a bounty hunter with his partner Jet’s ship the Bebop having adventures in the near future. Spike is a fast talking and smooth bounty hunter who cheats at cards and chain smokes cigarettes, he is the perfect Film Noir character who had a jazzy opening theme and was one cool cat.

Naruto

4. Naruto from Naruto and Naruto Shippuden

One of the longest running and wilding loved animes is Naruto, with its main character the under estimated and big dreaming ninja Naruto. He starts off as a orphaned castaway who dreams of becoming the leader of his home the village hidden in the leafs. His journey has its twists and turns and Naruto goes from being a child to a sage of Toads of techniques at his disposal that some ninja only dream of. He fights against enemies and friends alike all in the name of his village and his dream of becoming the Hokage of his village.

Sailor moon

3. Sailor Moon from Sailor Moon

O Sailor Moon a show designed for young girls it quickly became popular with boys as well. It tells the story of a young girl Usagi Tsukino who finds out that she is a princess of the Moon Kingdom silver Millenium. She befriends a talling cat named Luna and becomes the super heroine Sailor Moon and with the help of Sailor Jupiter, Venus, and Tuxedo Mask fight the evil dark kingdom. Sailor Moon is one of the most recognisable anime characters ever and has the theme song to OOOO SAILOR MOON.

Elric_brothers

2.  The Elric Brothers from Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

The two brothers bound together in your use of forbidden alchemy Edward lost his right arm and left leg and his younger brother Alphonse becomes a soul bound in a suit of armor. They go on an epic adventure to find the mythical Philosopher’s stone in order to get their original bodies back. These brothers are some of the best written characters in all of manga and anime. They have tragic backstory and best powers. With alchemy they can create anything they want and they fight against creatures made from dark alchemy and a clone of their father known only as father. They are some of the best and deserve the number two spot.

Goku-ssj-goku-22034795-1280-800

1. Goku from Dragonball and Dragonball Z
Anything and everything that is cliche about anime comes from Goku. He had his start in Dragonball when he was a kid in his search for the legendary Dragonballs who’s power can summon a mystical dragon that grants any wish. As more of a comical series Goku began as a little tailed kid but then came along Dragonball Z. The Goku in Dragonball Z is a fighting machine that actually dies that runs his way out of hell and actually yells at god until he lets him find a martial arts master to teach him. Then when he returns to earth he fights pretty much everyone and wins. Goku is one of the craziest and most powerful anime characters ever, he even has been thought to be so powerful he could beat superman. With his orange uniform and ka-me-ha-me-ha wave Goku takes the number one spot because he is what the quintessential anime character.