Top 10 Most Controversial Anime Characters Ever

“Kinnikuman” (1983-92)
Like his dear old dad before him, Brocken here is…a Nazi. Straight up. Even has the swastika on his costume to prove it. That would make for tricky enough tightrope as is, but then there’s the fact that Jr happens to be one of the good guys. That’s right, he went full Stroheim, complete with all the propaganda you could want on his outfit as he enters the ring. At least Ultimate Muscle had the forethought to shift his design a little. We know it was the 80s, but come on!

“Dragon Ball Super” (2015-18)
The old hermit has a laundry list of perverted deeds across his tenor as one of the Dragon Ball’s most recognisable faces, and by this point, fans have just learned to live with the fact Roshi will likely be a pervert until the day he dies. But it was his antics in Super that really landed him in legal trouble, since Japan’s Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization were gunning his head following on from yet another ecchi venture. Yes, it’s still creepy what he tried with Bulma back in the day, but come on, it’s Master Roshi!

“Eromanga Sensei” (2017)
She nearly got all anime banned in Australia. What more do we need to say? Given the outback’s rather uneasy history with mediums like video games, it stands to reason that a non-anime enthusiast might look at Sagiri who, as a substantially young girl who has a career in drawing hardcore erotica with a physical attraction to her brother, and be a tad…perplexed. One Australian senator was so outraged at the fanservice and incestuous hints that he tried to get all anime banned. Mate, you’re going about it the wrong way. You have to embrace the trash, not reject it.

“One Punch Man” (2015-19)
As if the second season didn’t have enough problems with its animation, it also sparked a racism controversy over one of its heroes. He may be an S-Class, possess more muscles than any other on the show, and quickly got his name shifted over to Darkshine, but that did little to stop fans calling out the series for, like some of its forbearers, illustrating a black character in such a way that it inspires some very negative connotations. You’d think animators would really know not to tread this kind of ground again.

“Overlord” (2015-18)
Just goes to show that not everyone loves a bad boy, especially if they go out of their way to trick and systematically massacre a group of adventurers who happen to find their way into his back garden. While fans had no problem with Bone Daddy Ainz wiping out enemy soldiers, monsters and other less personable victims, there was a major outcry following the defeat of Foresight; a group that many had grown close to, only to watch them be killed off or sent away to meet unspeakable fates. Guess there’s no doubt about which side Ainz is playing for now…

“The Rising of the Shield Hero” (2019)
You’ve got to have pulled some shady shit for an entire fanbase to be cheering at the prospect of you getting your head chopped off come the series end. Very few have ever succeeded in inspiring so much vitriol as this princess, who through her deceptions and manipulations nearly led her kingdom to ruin. So desperate to sit her greedy ass on the throne, Myne showed no remorse for framing Naofumi for attempted rape, turning the kingdom against him, conspiring with a crazy church, and trying to assassinate her sister on frequent occasions. Getting her name changed to Bitch was about a lucky an end for her as she could have hoped.

“Inuyashiki” (2017)
Even among anime’s most notorious mass murderers, Shishigami stands out as a special kind of scumbag. Why? Because not only did he use his newly-created cyborg body to kill, but did so out of boredom and curiosity. There’s something truly demented about walking into a house at random, shooting down the mother, going upstairs to shoot the father (whose dead body also happens to drown his son in the bath), and then force the traumatised daughter to talk about One Piece. That’s some next level shit that makes your soul feel unclean.

“Dragon Ball Z” (1989-96)
To us, this resident assistant at the Lookout is a kind, caring individual who has aided Goku across the years. For everyone else, they see a portly, floating man with an appearance very reminiscent of black face. Yeah. The normies of the 90s were not prepared for this. The similarities are certainly there, and while there were desperate attempts to cover it up (aka Blue Popo), there was no way something like this was not going to catch fire from those that weren’t already inducted into Toriyama’s world.

“Berserk” (1997-98)
There’s a reason why the White Hawk’s betrayal still lives on in infamy to this day. An act of such callous sacrifice paired with his effortless step towards the dark side that it would mark him as one anime’s greatest villains, one who we will likely keep on hating until Miura actually finishes the damn manga. Choosing his dream over his comrades, Griffith took the God Hand up on the offer and attained a rebirth of cosmic proportions, the only price being the lives of his allies who were swiftly mauled to death by demons. Given how he went on to defile Casca moments after his transformation, we’d say he has no regrets about his decision.

“My Hero Academia” (2016-)
He’s the world’s next number one hero, tasked with standing tall as the Symbol of Peace. He’s also got a terrible history of abusing his wife and children. As you can imagine, suddenly being thrust into such an inspirational role …yeah, bit of a bridge to cross. While he’s certainly taken the first steps towards trying to heal his relationship with Todoroki, it’s going to take a lot more for fans to completely forgive him for his heinous past deeds. Even if that battle against High End was hype!