Top 10 Most Useless Anime Heroes

“Pokemon” (1997-)
Ah yes, the infamous fourth wheel that no-one was asking for. Look, we all know how the formula is supposed to go; Ash shows up in a new region, get themselves a Brock clone, as well as the token female companion who most of the time ends up becoming a love interest. So, what was the point in having the walking encyclopaedia? He barely participated in any battles during his travels and tended to act like a brat the rest of the time. We don’t need useless information on every Pokemon we see Max, that’s what a Pokedex is for.

“JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency” (2012-13)
Look, we’re not saying that Joseph Joestar shouldn’t have multiple sidekicks (even if Caesar will always be best boy) it’s just that we’d like them to be…you know…useful? You can make the claim that Smokey was supposed to be the moral centre of the group, perhaps some-kind of replacement for Speedwagon…but since Speedwagon was actually in the show it just makes him look like a tag along. Sorry Smokey, but as it stands you’re the next-gen Poco. Look at it this way, at least you got your own epilogue.

“Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack” (1988)
You would have thought that the son of legendary Earth Federation commander and Gundam icon Bright Noa would have done all he could to have measured up to his father’s legacy. He didn’t. With Char rallying the last of Zeon’s forces, it provided the perfect opportunity for Hathaway to step up, only for him spend the whole movie arguing with everyone, fanning over Quess, and even killing Amuro’s new love interest. If only he received a few more of his fathers infamous slaps.

“A Certain Magical Index” (2008-11; 2018)
Honestly, why do we need another female lead when we have Misaka? You know, the character who was so badass and endearing she got her own spin-off? The one who makes for a far better waifu? And above all else, can actually get crap done by herself! Same can’t be said for Index, who constantly needs Touma to weigh on her hand and foot in both daily life as well as when enemy espers are at the gate. Maybe if the rest of the ladies in the show weren’t awesome and capable examples we might not have cared so much. But they are, and we do.

“Fairy Tail” (2009-16; 2018)
She’s spunky, obviously beautiful and cares deeply about the rest of her guild. Unfortunately for our dear Lucy, she just might be one of the least useful members of Fairy Tail. It’s certainly not for lack of trying, but she’s struck out more times than the rest, especially when compare her triumphs to the likes of Erza…and Juvia…and Mirajane…and Wendy…and Levy…and all of her summons. Okay, point is she’s not exactly the best when it comes to the mage thing. Kudos for hanging in there, but she really could have used some of Erza’s training.

“Bleach” (2004-12)
He’s a lovable giant who had the potential to become an awesome character in his own right, and yet was denied at every single turn, mostly in the form of losing battles. Excluding all the filler, he’s only clocked one decent win against an Arrancar subordinate, all before hopping back on the losing train. Never progressing as a character outside of punching things for his friends – Chad just feels like a colossal opportunity wasted, kind of like the human equivalent of the Fullbringer arc.

“Naruto” (2002-07)
The younger version, the younger version, the younger version, we’re talking about the younger version of Sakura before she finally grew up and became a somewhat competent character in Shippuden. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, good lord was she a terrible character in her early days. Governed by a naïve infatuation with Sasuke, pretty limited in her shinobi abilities, right up until the time-skip Sakura was all talk, no action. If she hadn’t matured, we can safely say she’d jump to the top of a lot of fans’ lists.

“Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters” (2000-04)
His voice may give him super strength but that doesn’t stop him from being the useless member of Yugi’s party. Yes, we’re including Tea, Duke Devlin and even Serenity in that equation. While Tristan might be a swell guy, but when it comes to playing a children’s card game (which, lets be honest is do or die in this show) – he’s sorely lacking. His heroic sacrifice during Noah filler arc might have won others over, but outside of trying to make the moves of Joey’s little sister, he hasn’t really accomplished much in his tenor.

“Sonic X” (2003)
Imagine every anime boy that sticks to their respective main character like glue, throw in Sega’s poster boy, multiply the annoyance factor by a hundred and what do you get? Christopher Bloody Thorndyke. Outside of having major parental issues, way too much time on his hands and a somewhat creepy obsession with Sonic, Chris proved himself to be more incompetent at times than even Dr Eggman. The fact than an anime about one of gaming’s oldest icons even included humans is already up for debate, but why did one of them have to be a brat who inserted himself into every defining moment of Sonic’s legacy? By this point we’re sure Sonic would settle for more Amy.

“Dragon Ball” series (1986-96; 2015-)
In the beginning, he was nothing more than a cocky martial artist who tried getting it on with Bulma and ended up getting knocked out by Kami. In Dragon Ball Z, before losing Bulma to a formerly genocidal Saiyan he was famously blown to pieces by a Saibaman and never quite managed to recovery his dignity. By the time Super came around, he’s been pushed to the back as nothing more than occasional comic relief. When you’ve been outshined by Mr Satan, then you know you’ve fallen on hard times.