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The world of anime is strange and full of complications. Sometimes, it may happen that the foolish action of an anime character will land them in lifetime atonement. Other times, a series' protagonist might be hated by the entire fandom for the weirdest reasons.
Whether it's the perception of getting in the way of a popular relationship, being an only child, or just a criticism that turns into the defining trait of a character via pop culture osmosis, fans have had many reasons to hate various anime characters. Sometimes this extends to entire teams, other times it's just one character they would rather see dead.
Whatever the case may be, this article will profile 10 anime characters who were or have been hated for the most mind-boggling of reasons.
Disclaimer: This list reflects the author's opinions and will contain spoilers for all the below-mentioned anime. Moreover, only one character per anime has been discussed barring two exceptions.
Sakura Haruno, Team RWBY, and 8 anime characters who are hated for absurd reasons
1) Gabi Braun - Attack on Titan
As is pretty well-known within the otaku community, Gabi Braun from Attack on Titan is one of the most hated anime characters in recent anime history besides Mineta from My Hero Academia. To put the hate in perspective, Gabi is hated for killing Sasha Braus and for her attitude when she's on Paradis. That's about it.
This kind of hate may be understandable to an extent, as nobody enjoys it when their favorite anime character is killed. However, it crossed the line into absurdity when fans not only started hating Gabi every time she was onscreen but also harassed her voice actress with death threats.
Moreover, it's hilarious that Gabi gets hatred for killing all of one fan favorite and yet some people chose to defend Eren's action of committing genocide. While Gabi thought the Eldians on Paradis were devils, she was conditioned by the Marleyan propaganda as she was a native of that place.
Despite Gabi's redeeming moments, it doesn't seem like she can do anything right for her haters as many fans are still bitter over Sasha's death. Meanwhile, Reiner went through almost the same wringer but the otaku community were quick to warm up to him.
2) Sakura Haruno - Naruto
Sakura Haruno is a curious case of a female anime character who, despite going through major character developments in Naruto, gets more hate than Team 7 members combined. It's gotten rather old in recent years, but fans still spread the hate around.
While plenty of criticism on Sakura stems from inconsistent and sometimes downright poor writing, the absurd number of memes on the character's uselessness has reached critical mass long ago. Surprisingly, the only thing some Naruto fans accept as Sakura's trait is her "useless" presence.
Simply put, most people haven't bothered to rewatch or even research into the series to see if they accept these as fact. Sakura showed plenty of improvement combat-wise as early as the Forest of Death arc, and later in Shippuden. Moreover, she has not only saved Naruto and Sasuke in the series but also several other characters with her medical ninjustsu.
However, with the plot progression in Boruto, the hate has dississipated by large as most fans now consider Sakura a good mother to Sarada and fantastic kunoichi, even if she still has a few quirks here and there.
3) Chibiusa/Sailor Chibiusa - Sailor Moon
To hate a child for being childish is absurd, yet that didn't stop many Sailor Moon fans from hating Chibiusa throughout the anime. While Chibiusa has annoyed Usagi several times, it shouldn't have come down to wishing death upon the anime character.
Fans hated Chibiusa so much that they wrote entire screeds and fanfictions on how she's alternatively killed off and/or hurt in uncomfortable ways. To emphasize the absurdity of the situation, imagine Chibiusa being in the same position as Future Trunks from Dragon Ball Z, albeit much younger.
Her future home was destroyed by a malevolent force, her mother and father were practically on death's door, and the only hope she ever had was going back to the past. She's just a scared girl hiding her fears beneath her disappointment for Usagi Tsukino, her future mom.
It probably didn't help that in the original, Chibiusa's powers weren't impressive. However, she gets more powerful over time and helps in team attacks. Many fans were even hit hard when she died toward the end of the Queen Nehelenia arc and again during the Galaxia arc. Even those that wanted her dead didn't cheer when it happened.
4) Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
To hate a depressed anime character like Shinji Ikari for not being as steadfast as Amuro or getting out of his spiral as fast as Gurren Lagann's Simon the Digger is just downright absurd. That also when it's shown that he goes into combat on his father's insistence and without any prior training.
Shinji Ikari earns the distinction of being treated poorly not only by the Neon Genesis Evangelion fandom but also his abusive father. Moreover, he is either exploited or looked down upon by almost everyone at NERV who just see him as an EVA pilot, including fellow pilot Asuka. Not to mention the bevy of "Get in the goddamn robot, Shinji!" memes.
Shinji is the poster child for trauma and depression in an anime character. Although realistic and morbid, mangaka Hideaki Anno tried to show how unresolved psychological issues can fester into long-term effects. Moreover, his realistic character portrayals, such as running away, disassociating, and constantly complaining about his life, should invoke a sense of empathy among the fans rather than developing deep hatred.
5) Team RWBY as a whole - RWBY
It's bad when the titular protagonists of a show garner the wrath of the fandom, especially when the hatred is based on fictitious recollections of events and the actions of anime characters. RWBY already has massive hatedom, but despising the main characters is a special kind of absurd.
Many people have touted that the titular quartet of anime characters are different from their portrayals in the first three volumes. Some fans have stated that they have either been flanderized or not complex enough. Moreover, majority of the fandom believe that all four women have become the villains of the show in their misogynistic and homophobic approach.
While the four women of Team RWBY decided to become defenders of humanity by being as huntresses, the hate of the fandom is mostly rooted in the basic events, such as:
- Ruby not trusting Ironwood since Volume 7 and cutting off Tyrian’s tail in Volume 4.
- Weiss refusing to take her father's abuse.
- Blake being privileged and a "coward" for leaving an abusive relationship.
- Yang being a "hypocrite" and too angry.
- The general homophobia of the show for Blake and Yang slowly becoming a couple.
All of these are bad faith arguments that reached a fever pitch during Volumes 6, 7, and 8. The heroines basically went against a military dictator whose plans would've killed many. In addition, by killing Blake's abusive ex after he stalked them and jailing Weiss' abusive father, they have saved many lives. Hence, watching the show is encouraged as it dispels the complaints entirely.
6) Nina Einstein - Code Geass
Destroying an entire city with a nuke in a fit of rage when your crush dies is pretty deplorable. However, the situation regarding the anime character Nina Einstein from Code Geass is far more complicated than it initially appeared.
She was nearly r*ped by Japanese citizens in a ghetto she grew up in and was traumatized by it, resulting in xenophobia. Moreover, the death of Princess Euphemia, who Nina respected and had a crush on after saving her life, via Zero amplified it. Some people tend to forget that seeing the raw destruction of Tokyo and its citizens on display has caused her to change.
depite being hailed as a mentally ill genius with access to military technology, she's often exploited by Lelouch's manipulative brother Schneizel. It's no wonder she went off the deep end. However, much like Albert Einstein, she saw the error of her ways and defected to the Black Knights to atone for her actions.
At the end of it all, Nina received plenty of death threats for her actions. She still garners hate when people think of her, which is rather disproportionate to what she does throughout the series. Even so, otakus treat Charles zi Britannia or even Schneizel better than her.
7) Orihime Inoue - Bleach
While the level of despise for Orihime Inoue might have vanished in recent years, it was inescapable back when Bleach was originally airing. This type of hatred falls under the realm of shipping nonsense. Fans usually see an anime character's value based on their different relationships, and sometimes it can get ugly when those expectations aren't met.
The divide comes from Rukia and Ichigo shippers, who were disappointed that they didn't end up together. Disappointment is an understatement, considering the amount of hatred that was pushed at Orihime for ending up as Ichigo's wife.
Shipping aside, another point of contention for this female anime character was ending up as a damsel in distress and having the Sakura curse of "being useless." To avoid reiterating earlier stated points, Orihime is not useless but lacks the killer instinct that many shonen anime characters have.
Thankfully, all the complaints stopped when the Thousand Years Blood War rolled around. Why? Because Orihime not only learned how to fight better, but her abilities deflected attacks. Additionally, Ichigo asked her to join him in the finale while Rukia told her how great she was.
8) Shippo - Inuyasha
Shippo, the kitsune kid anime character in Inuyasha, gets a lot of underserved flak for a snarker that tends to poke fun at the titular hero whenever he comically fails at things.
To summarize the hate Shippo receives:
- he's just a kid,
- has an annoying voice,
- and was an underused anime character.
That's about it. Some fans don't hate him, they just find him insufferably annoying in a cast that includes Miroku. In addition, his powerset is illusions which don't quite help in battle.
As mangaka Rumiko Takahashi has stated before, Shippo is the equivalent of a seven-year-old human boy and an orphan. Despite his powers not being suitable for battles, they've helped get the group out of trouble more than once as even Inuyasha himself has thusly stated.
Moreover, Shippo at least tries to help everyone in the group and people in need. He's also friends with everyone in the group, even though he and Inuyasha constantly snipe at each other.
9) Kira Yamato - Gundam SEED
Kira Yamato has the distinction of being one of the only anime characters from the franchise to score top marks in the best and worst Gundam characters poll. This means that fans are split right down the middle when it comes to the main anime character of the series.
Much like how Gundam SEED is a controversial entry in the franchise, Kira also shares the same sentiment from the fanbase. For those that don't like him, the usually stated angle is that he's too emotional and chooses feelings over logic most of the time. Moreover, fans say that his plot armor is so strong that he has stared death in the face several times and yet and survived each of the incidents, earning him the moniker "Jesus Yamato."
For others that do like him, they point out that not only is feelings over logic is a Gundam staple. Moreover, many fans state that he's practically the only protagonist from the franchise who stops rejects blatant killing of humans despite being told to do so.
Kira has also received the most character development than anyone in the series. He goes from being a nice kid to turning himself into a mechanical person for avoiding emotional overload, but then balances the perspectives by the end.
10) Mello and Near - Death Note
The second exception to the "one anime character" rule are Mello and Near, L's replacements in Death Note, who ultimately brought down Light Yagami. The hate for these two is so strong that it echoes in the present among the Death Note fanbase.
The reason being for the hatred is simple: many fans do not consider either Mello or Near to be good replacements for L. Near is hated because everything seems to go right for him in the most unrealistic of ways and barely has any personality. Meanwhile, Mello is hated for his one-sided rivalry with Near, which doesn’t mirror the Light/L rivalry.
According to the creators of Death Note, these two were introduced in the series to break the endless cycle of confrontations between the L and Light Yagami. There’s a kernel of truth to the copycat critique: Mello and Near were designed after L and were initially envisioned as twins and sons of L. Having a new anime character be the offspring of another isn't a bad concept at all.
However, to say that they deserve hatred that burns today is more than a little silly. Given that the two actually represented a more fresh take on the concepts of justice, the misison of breaking the cycle was definitely accomplished. Not to mention, Light had gotten far too ahead for his own good, so any attempt to take him down necessitated several contrivances.
