They Were Universally Denied
For better or worse, some characters just don’t click with audiences, even if they’re introduced as a protagonist with all the right boxes ticked. Whether it’s their personality, place in the narrative or lack of depth, nothing could save these five from scrutiny by the anime community.
#5: Sai
“Naruto: Shippuden†(2007-17)
Love him or hate him, Sasuke left an impact on the series that could not be undone. In the minds of fan, he would forever be one third of Team 7, which was why the reveal of Sai was met with…less than pleasant reactions. It didn’t help that his character just came across as uninteresting and uninvesting. Fans may have mellowed towards him as the series went on, and Sai did eventually establish that he did indeed have a personality buried under all that paleness, but it was a rocky start to say the least.
#4: Pan
“Dragon Ball GT†(1996-97)
A token female character that tried to come across as spunky and independent…when in truth just inherited Chi Chi’s ability to annoy. Pan wasn’t the worst thing that GT cooked up, but she certainly didn’t prove herself as a Saiyan you could take seriously. Now that we have seen what the likes of Caulifla and Kale can do, it has only furthered the opinion that Pan is nothing more than a pointless character, caught smack dab in the middle of one of Dragon Ball’s lowest points. Even Super’s baby incarnation of Pan was much more endearing.
#3: Shinn Asuka
“Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny†(2004-05)
It’s not that Shinn managed to help himself by coming across as a bit of brat most of the time, but there was never going to be anything he could to do to satisfy the SEED fanatics. Why? Because they would never settle for anyone other than our lord and saviour Kira Jesus Yamato. Even the series seemed to give up on Shinn, since he ended up going the villain route, casually allowing Kira to once again assume his role as the face of the franchise. Yeah…sucks for Shinn.
#2: Near
“Death Note†(2006-07)
In any other series, Near would have likely excelled as a character. A chid genius who spends his days playing with toys and also hunting down criminals with his unbelievable intellect. How could that not work? Only if he was presented as L’s successor…which he was, and fans were having none of it. L is practically sacred to the Death Note community, and it’s not hard to see why. He was both weird and wonderful in his wily ways, he came so close to catching Kira, and yet Near was the one who ultimately seized victory in his stead. We all know L did the heavy lifting!Â
#1: Tracey
“Pokémon†(1997-)
You have the stones to come along and try and replace Brock?! The Ladies Man? The Lord of the Drying Pan? Keeper of the Jelly-filled Doughnuts? Yeah…Tracy kind of sucked. He was just so bland and forgettable, possessing none of the fun or charm that came from the Rock Master. It eventually got so bad that he was shipped off after Ash had finished up with the Orange Islands and, thankfully allowing Brock to make his grand return just in time for the Johto league.
Be sure to check out the video below to see our picks for the Top 10 Saddest Goodbyes in Anime.
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