10 anime characters who are aloof geniuses like Blue Lock's Seishiro Nagi
Anime geniuses come in many forms and sizes, and are either portrayed as mad or more aloof, like Blue Lock's Seishiro Nagi. This means that there are many characters with high IQs that have various personalities and drives. Some, like Washu, make science romantic, while others like L Lawliet use their brains to solve murders and other crimes.
A lot of these geniuses are often cold-seeming or aloof, usually radiating a warm and caring nature, like Shoto Aizawa, or being as cold as they come, like Shougo Makishima.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the various anime characters from Blue Lock and others. Only one genius is considered per show, and the opinions expressed reflect only the author's opinions.
From Shikamaru Nara to Ray: 10 aloof anime geniuses similar to Blue Lock's Seshiro Nagi
1) Washu Hakubi (Tenchi Muyo)
Washu is Tenchi Muyo's resident genius. Of all the eccentric women living in and around Tenchi's home, she was the smartest in the bunch. She was a goddess too, but that's locked away in the depths of her memories that she herself erased to prove that higher beings like her existed at one point and/or exist at all.
Washu's geniuses included being a mother to Ryoko, creating dimension-destroying cannons, and a lot of other things that get people into trouble. She could likewise be just as, if not more, immature than Ryoko and Ayeka. She somehow managed to keep order and dispel most of the chaos that comes with a household full of aliens, space pirates, and bratty princesses.
As an aside, she too fell for Tenchi at one point or another. Much like with Blue Lock's Nagi, Washu was driven by science and will only put effort into that; anything else she did was usually over-the-top like trying to be an aggressive mom to Ryoko.
2) Lelouch vi Britannia (Code Geass)
Lelouch more than definitely fits the bill of being aloof and genius when he isn't leading the Black Knights as Zero. In his civilian life, he was a chess-loving and socialable student with a stoic personality.
Much like Blue Lock's Nagi, Lelouch's true colors showed themselves when he was in battle and/or among friends. He was kind and compassionate, and in a battle he could be extremely cold where collateral damage was a concern.
Considering he's fighting an empire that doesn't hesitate to wipe people out, one can forgive him for being a little selfish and disinterested in what doesn't concern him. However, it does come back to bite him when he's betrayed by his allies.
3) Ai Haibara/Shiho Miyano (Detective Conan)
If one really wants an example of a more realistic genius in kid form, they can look no further than Ai Haibara from Detective Conan. Conan himself might be the premiere detective, but Haibara created the drug that made Shinichi into Conan and is a victim of it herself.
She's arguably the coldest of the Detective Boys, acting older than she's supposed to be and was often quiet and jaded. This probably had something to do with her former job at the Black Organization. She was likewise usually working overnight on the antidote to the APTX 4869 drug, often giving everyone the wrong impression.
Her genius credentials included being a biochemical genius, a huge knowledge of medicine, keen observation, and sensing if Black Organization members were nearby. She could handle firearms, could drive, and was also a very gifted actress when given a chance. Additionally, Haibara focused on fashion and pop stars as her interests, which helped her in quite a few cases.
4) Shikamaru Nara (Naruto)
Brilliant but lazy describes Naruto's resident genius, Shikamaru Nara, with heavy accurancy. It's one of the many things he and Nagi from Blue Lock have in common: they both don't like things they consider a drag and prefer to do relaxing things like reading, eating, and napping, rather than their chosen profession.
Much like Blue Lock's Nagi, however, Shikamaru did go through an arc where he started maturing and taking everything more seriously. This was most prominent during the Chunin Exams and thereafter, when Shikamaru was chosen to lead the Sasuke Retrieval Mission.
By the time of Shippuden and especially Boruto, the formally lazy genius was finally an assistant to Naruto, the current Hokage. Shikamaru was also a father, and a key element in helping stop several threats in the Code Arc. This just goes on to show that sometimes brains can triumph where brawn cannot.
5) Ray (The Promised Neverland)
One of the deuteragonists of The Promised Neverland, Ray was a genius, an avid reader, and likewise incredibly blunt. The aloof attitude he portrayed was similar to Blue Lock's Nagi in that he only seemed to care about books. It was a facade, as he did care for his friends and fellow orphans.
He also frequently lost his temper and was extremely blunt, which he considered a kindness. Ray's strengths were typically his level-headedness, cunningness, manipulative nature, and always thinking ahead. His weaknesses, however, were his self-sacrificing attitude, making plans too quickly, and giving up on them just as fast.
Further, he contemplated and attempted suicide due to the extraordinary amount of trauma he endured. Thankfully, he began turning things around after the mass escape attempt succeeded, much like how Blue Lock's Nagi turned himself around after being forced to care when his team lost games.
6) Shoto Aizawa (My Hero Academia)
One cannot begin to think about the idea of genius without Shoto Aizawa on the list. While Principal Nezu of U-A High in My Hero Academia fits the profile of a genius better, Shoto AIzawa fits the aloof profile better. His perpetual exhaustion came from a life of pushing himself to his limits at night as a hero. To be frank, this rigid apathy and stocism wasn't the real him.
Much like Blue Lock's Nagi, he's been surprised by those he once thought to be complete failures. Whether it's both Izuku and Momo progressing or Bakugo telling villains to go to hell and take their offers with them, Aizawa always showed respect and care for the fact that his students are doing their best. That's why he was so harsh.
On a bonus note, Aizawa likewise had guardianship over Eri. He took her in and helped her without complaint. He was also a genius for using his Eraser quirk, especially against Shigaraki in the Paranormal Liberation War Arc.
7) Rohan Kishibe (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable)
JoJo's Bizarre Adenture: Diamond is Unbreakable's Rohan Kishibe might be cold, distant, and overly curious, but he was fiercely dedicated to his work as a mangaka. Above all else, he wanted to make the best one possible. The character was not only a workaholic, but also had a rather bad disregard for politeness, common sense, the law, and people, with the list going on.
In their first meeting, Rohan literally took Koichi hostage and nearly did the same with Josuke with his Stand Heaven's Door that helped him read people literally like books. Much like Blue Lock's Nagi, he was shockingly arrogant and showed massive disdain towards those who weren't him.
Besides all of that, however, Rohan was a good person in the end. He helped solve Reimi's murder, always defended his friends and people in general, and also had an ironclad sense of morality. He may be a narcisstic fool, but Rohan Kishibe humbled himself to help people and took strides to tone down the arrognace.
8) Meruem (Hunter x Hunter)
Villain examples of aloof geniuses come in many forms. The aforementioned Rohan is one such example, but he's more a rival than anything else. The Chimera Ant king Meruem from Hunter x Hunter is more of a straight-played villain. He's a genius and smug and considers himself superior to everyone else. Sounds like Blue Lock's Nagi and he were more villainously motivated.
The point of this villain is that he had no empathy towards anyone he deemed inferior, not humans, nor the Chimera Ants that spoke out of turn. This, however, slowly changed as his capacity for love and empathy began to increase and his pride began to decline as he started caring for a blind girl named Komugi. He likewise stopped deeming humans as food and considered co-existence with them and the Chimera Ants.
While he was a genius, his weaknesses were his pride and arrogance. It made it difficult for him to realize that the poison from the Miniature Rose was killing him. Again, much like Blue Lock's Nagi, Meruem had to learn to stop and realize just how much things mattered to him after losing them multiple times. The situations in Blue Lock and Hunter x Hunter may be entirely different, but the strand of learning after loss connects both the characters.
9) Shougo Makishima (Psycho Pass)
At least Hunter x Hunter's Muerum and Blue Lock's Nagi learned from their mistakes, but Shougo Makishima of Psycho Pass didn't learn a thing. The character was a smug, self-serving anarchistic murderer who doesn't care about anything except the complete downfall of the Sibyl System. He did all this with a genius intellect, a few minions, and a razor blade.
In the increasingly technologically driven, algorithm-controlled corporate life that Psycho Pass postulated, the Sibyl System was the order of the day. Maskishima wanted to tear it all down via murder, starving the populace via destroying Japan's graineries, and mass chaos. Well-intentioned, though Makishima may be, as the Sybil System itself was poisioning society via over-controlling emotions, he was still an extremist at the end of the day.
He even died with a wicked grin on his face, loving the fight and almost happy that Shinya Kougami was the one to kill him. Unlike Blue Lock's Nagi, he lived for corruption and killed those who didn't amuse him. He was worse than the system itself, if only by a small margin.
10) L Lawliet (Death Note)
An interesting example of a hero playing the antagonist role, L Lawliet played Sherlock to Light Yagami's Moriarty in Death Note. Like Blue Lock's Nagi, L was very anti-social, preferring his own company to anyone else. Unlike Nagi, however, L tackled cases with professionalism and a weird form of eagerness that bordered on obsession.
Much like Nagi in Blue Lock, L's disheveled and languid appearance often made him the subject of questioning by many who first met him. Of course, this was a welcome deception, as he made his opponents overthink themselves and tip their hands early. He was also a rather dry-humored and sarcastic man, causing some to consider him condescending.
L's hobbies usually included tennis, sitting oddly, slouching, and other things that made him excessively quirky. He and Nagi share one major thing in common: both the Blue Lock character and the Death Note detective learn from their mistakes and double their efforts upon being outmanuvered.
These 10 aloof geniuses best compliment and contrast Blue Lock's Seishiro Nagi perfectly. While Nagi learns and strives to do better, so do most of these aforementioned geniuses. Any that may have been forgotten are more than welcome to be mentioned in the comments.
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