Most Popular Anime Characters 2022
As Anime takes part in the entertainment industry worldwide, let’s take a sneak peek at the 10 Most Popular Anime Characters of All Time.
1.     Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass)
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion is one of the hit television series aired in 2006 in Japan. The story revolves around an all-out war between the Holy Empire of Britannia and its rebels in an alternate universe, setting in Japan. Lelouch Lamperouge, as the main protagonist, embarks on a journey as Zero, a masked vigilante who seeks revenge, overthrowing the tyrant empire and restoring justice in the land.
After its airing a decade ago, the series still impacts anime lovers, specifically Lelouch Lamperouge. There are several reasons why Lelouch Lamperouge is the most popular anime character. In terms of technical skills, the voice actor of Lamperouge, Jun Fukuyama (Japanese dub) and Johnny Yong Bosch (English dub), made an accurate impression on Lelouch’s character, especially with his emotions.
Lamperouge is a multifaceted character. He often hides his true nature/identity during the series, making the viewers wonder about his true motives and ideas. There are instances wherein he revealed parts of himself in the story. We cannot argue that Lelouch is brilliant but not similar to Mary Sue. He has clever strategies for outwitting opponents in battles. In terms of his character development in the series, Lelouch Lamperouge started to realize from his struggles and application what is right and what is necessary to attain his goals despite his evil actions.
Another thing remembered from Lelouch Lamperouge is his alter ego, Zoro, who is the rebels’ commander, namely the Black Knights. One interesting fact is that Lamperouge is a member of the Britannian royal family, yet he is also the resistance group leader. Zoro became the symbol and hope for the victims of tyranny.
He is not your typical anime character due to the realness of his character. After taking over the world and overthrowing the empire, he sacrificed his life. His death got caused by the weight of his sins, and he tried to find redemption through his sacrifice.
2.     L Lawliet (Death Note)
Death Note centralizes its story and idea is justice and punishment befitting the crime. The notebook in this series became a popular ornament worldwide. The report of Death Note was first released in Manga in 2003 and adapted as a television series and film in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
The plot circulates with Light Yagami, a genius teenager who discovered the Death Note, a mysterious black notebook belonging to Shinigami Ryuk that grants a supernatural ability to eliminate the names you write on its pages.
L Lawliet, commonly known as L, is an international consulting detective with a hidden identity. Throughout the series, L became an observer to Light Yagami after founding the Death Note, attempting to expose Yagami to his sins. Arguably, he is known for his intelligence after becoming the first to know who “Kira” was before his death. His anti-social behaviour, enigmatic personality and quirky mannerisms were also a factor in finding the true identity of Kira in the series. L Lawliet was the only one to go head-on against Kira throughout the series, making L more popular than the main protagonist, Light Yagami.
3.     Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
One Piece is one of the longest-running anime series known after its first airing in 1997. It tells an epic tale of Monkey D. Luffy, a kid who dreams of being the pirate king, who is the ruler of all seas. He started his journey on the waters to achieve his dream and meet companions with aspiring goals.
Throughout his journey on the seas, Luffy became the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. He has a simple background as a son of a revolutionary and a grandson of a marine. Luffy can stretch like with the properties of rubber due to the intake of the Gum-Gum Fruit. During the series, viewers have seen his lack of common sense—however, he has unwavering confidence and fearlessness. Luffy only has a simple view of the world. Despite the struggles and challenges he and his crewmates face, his aspiration to become the pirate king made awes the viewers, building a solid will in their hearts.
4.     Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan)
The story of Attack on Titan focuses on the survival of humanity against the Titans, monstrous creatures that eat people leading to their extinction, that reside everywhere. Because of its generality and predictability, attack on Titan has a phenomenal storyline and setting for viewers to follow.
Levi Ackerman is the Captain of the Survey Corps, troops responsible for watching the Titans outside the capital. He is well-regarded by his subordinates, including Eren Yeager, the series’s main protagonist, but with an aloof and harsh personality. Despite his behaviour, he very well cares for the lives of his companions.
As portrayed in the television series, viewers see Levi as a badass soldier due to his facial features and haircut. Under Levi’s ultra-serious aura, a funny side makes people fall in love with him. He is a clean jerk, constantly fixating on being clean and removing all possible dirt he could see. He usually puts on a bandana and an apron to match the situation. Another thing, Levi will also try to force his subordinates to clean until all spots are shiny.
5.     Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Fullmetal Alchemist is a Japanese manga serialized in 2001. It sets out in a fictional universe where alchemy is a general practice for science. The story follows the alchemist brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, searching for a philosopher’s stone to restore their bodies after attempting to resurrect their mother through alchemy. The series is widely known for the turn of emotions bouncing laughter, sadness, and shock in between.
Edward Elric is one of the main protagonists of the story. He got featured with a loss of arm and leg after a failed Human Transmutation attempt. Edward is known to be the youngest State Alchemist after achieving his certification at 12 years old.
His character is very relatable for the viewers as he is an aloof kid who has regrets, doubts, and fears like any other. Edward also tends to lash out at others as a defence mechanism for his hidden feelings. He is also a knowledgeable person as he often outwits his opponents instead of using plain brute strength.
6.     Light Yagami (Death Note)
Concerning L Lawliet, Light Yagami is the main protagonist of Death Note. He was the person who found a black notebook of Ryuk, which can kill a person by writing their names inside.
At first, Light only targets criminals as he has always had a strong sense of justice; however, justice becomes twisted in his point of view as he turns into a serial killer because of the notebook’s power. He was intelligent, almost at the same level as L Lawliet. Light always easily outmaneuvers investigative teams and task forces, creating more long-term schemes and always one step ahead of L in the series.
7.     Rintarou Okabe (Steins; Gate)
Steins; Gate is an anime television series released in 2011. It is an adaptation of the visual novel (Steins; Gate). It tells the story of Rintarou Okabe, a self-proclaimed mad scientist with a laboratory named “Future Gadget” located in his apartment and how he discovered time travel.
Rintarou Okabe uses his high intellect to invent things, vibing as a genius and his co-scientists.
8.     Roronoa Zoro (One Piece)
Roronoa Zoro is the first mate of the Straw Hat Pirates and a friend of Luffy in the television series, One Piece. He is known as the “Pirate Hunter”, who aspires to be the world’s best swordsman.
He is a simpleton who believes that having more swords equals more strength. He did not rely on any devil fruit powers and just trained as an excellent swordsman in the series. As he journeyed with Luffy, he became the support and guide of Luffy as the Captain of the crew. He also showed the true meaning of loyalty within his relationship with Luffy.
9.     Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)
Naruto Uzumaki is the Seventh Hokage of Konoha. The story of Naruto has a similarity to One Piece as he also aspires to be the greatest. After the installation of the sequel, Boruto, became more well-known worldwide together with his jinjuriki, Kurama.
Naruto is also known for his unwavering confidence and fearlessness in himself despite the trials and challenges he faced at an early age. He has an unspeakable power in talking out enemies in their revenge plans, achieving redemption by changing plans. He remained upbeat until the end of the series, influencing all of his friends, almost everyone.
Aside from the ninja techniques that teenagers follow, another thing that makes Naruto Uzumaki great is his undying friendship and connections with all the characters in the series, including Kurama, who was known to be an entity of hatred and anger.
10.  Sakata Gintoki (Gintama)
Gintama is a comedic television series that aired in 2006. The plot focuses on the point of view of Gintoki Sakata, a freelance samurai in the Edo period. Furthermore, the story is known for its jokes, excellent dialogue, and unexpected storyline.
He always goes for odd jobs like solving local detective cases and fighting off aliens to make ends in life. However, as the saying goes, “the happiest always has the darkest secret”. Gintoki was said to have a dark past, and confronting it became the hardest for him, although he got characterized as a funny character in the series. However, Gintoki Sakata is also a badass swordsman.
