Anime often have incredible characters and diverse worlds, typically featuring wider casts than most mediums. However, having an expansive cast can be a blessing and a curse. While a large cast allows many lovable side characters, it also opens the door for screen time wasted on flawed characters.
Every so often, a character is so poorly executed that they actively make the series feel worse when they are on the screen. Even if they do not outright ruin the series as a whole, the scenes with them are distinctly worse than the scenes without. How impactful such a character is can also depend on their importance to the story.
Updated by Alexandra Locke on June 19, 2023: Anime has a plethora of great characters. However, there are still some characters who are so terrible that they ruin the series. Whether it is through actions or poor writing, these characters are some of the worst anime has to offer. As there are many to choose from, this article has been updated to include even more anime characters who ruined their series.
This article contains mentions of sexual assault.
15 Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Shinji Ikari is the main character of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Unlike most shonen heroes, Shinji does not want anything to do with his new responsibilities.
Fans can agree that piloting a giant mecha suit and fighting the angels would be scary. However, Shinji treats every mission like it will be his very last. Shiji is always whining or having some other kind of crisis. His constant complaining about his life situation turns a lot of new fans away from such a classic story.
14 Igarashi Gurimu (Blue Lock)
Blue Lock centers around egotistical soccer players striving to become the best striker in the world. However, not all players have earned their egos. Igarashi Gurimu, the lowest-ranked player in every new stage of the Blue Lock program, keeps miraculously surviving despite his poor skills.
Igarashi's true talent seems to be his luck, but the obnoxious monk has made it further than many beloved characters despite his weak skills as a player. He somehow always seems to end up as the worst player on a great team and advances because of it.
13 Yamai Ren (Komi Can't Communicate)
Komi Can't Communicate shines thanks to a lovable cast of side characters who enrich Komi and Tadano's lives with their interesting quirks and personalities. Almost all side characters are lovable, except resident yandere Yamai Ren.
Ren's over-the-top love for Komi gets in the way of the cast trying to have a good time, and she has even gone as far as kidnapping Tadano out of jealousy. While other characters fight against their worst habits, Yamai seems content to keep making Komi and Tadano uncomfortable because of her obsession.
12 Lower Level Ants (Hunter X Hunter)
The Chimera Ant Arc is famous for having some of the highest highs and lowest lows in Hunter x Hunter. Meruem and his Royal Guards are some of the most compelling antagonists in anime history, but original ants almost all negatively impact the arc.
Cheetu and Leol, in particular, take up an incredible amount of screen time without contributing much to the story. Welfin and Colt are the only ants who have a significant impact on the plot, and they are also the only lower-level ants who deserve the screen time that they get instead of pointlessly taking away from Meruem and Pitou's arcs.
11 Misa & Rem (Death Note)
Death Note was at its best as a game of cat and mouse between Light and L. The skill and genius of the two characters were what drove Death Note to be so great. However, the show decided to ultimately settle their rivalry with the deus ex machina of Rem.
Having Misa's love for Light and Rem's love for Misa become the undoing of L ruined everything that made Death Note so great. It gave Light a shallow victory over his rival, proving that L was better than Light, even in death.
10 Kon (Bleach)
Breaking immersion is one of the greatest mistakes in any storytelling medium, and anime does that far too often with terrible slapstick characters. None are a more significant example of this than Bleach's worst side character: Kon.
Kon's perverted antics toward Rukia are the worst part of his character, but he also simply adds nothing to the story. Not a single part of Bleach actively required Kon's participation, and a useless side character is almost as bad as a frustrating one. Sadly, Kon is both frustrating and useless, making him a distinct low point in Bleach.
9 Hifumi Yamada (Danganronpa: The Animation)
The Danganronpa franchise has some of the most lovable side characters in video games, an impressive feat for how large the cast is. However, the original Danganronpa and the anime it is based on feature the franchise's worst character: Hifumi Yamada.
Yamada and his spiritual successor from Danganronpa 2, Teruteru, are frustrating because of their pointlessly perverted personalities. Making the "ultimate fanfic writer" a perverted man who says creepy things to the female cast is also a dull use of what could have been a very interesting "ultimate."
8 Kikyo Kushida (Classroom Of The Elite)
Classroom of the Elite features some of the smartest human characters in anime, and some sinister characters can be very exciting to watch. Ryuen and Arisu are fantastic antagonists, but one minor villain is remarkably annoying to watch: Kushida.
Kushida's first introduction as a twist villain is when she threatens to give a false testimony that Ayanokoji touched her inappropriately, by far the most heinous threat a Classroom of the Elite character has used in any of the games. While other characters use their intelligence to get what they want, Kushida is content just to lie her way through Koudo Ikusei.
7 Excalibur (Soul Eater)
Excalibur is an all-white being from Soul Eater who also happens to be a Demon Weapon. Unfortunately, his status as a legendary sword has inflated his ego to the point that his character is utterly insufferable. Not only is he demanding toward everyone, but he also believes that he is above everyone else.
Additionally, Excalibur is fond of singing a particular song to himself incessantly. The nonsensical song dares to be an earworm as well, frustrating audiences who hope to forget that Excalibur ever existed as a character.
6 Gabi Braun (Attack On Titan)
Gabi Braun is a Marleyan Warrior in training from Attack on Titan. Although all Marleyans have a skewed view of Eldians – ParadiSiam's in particular – none are as ruthless and bigoted as Gabi. Gabi constantly talks about how awful Paradisians are.
She hates them so much that she robs from one couple who graciously took her and Falco Galliard in. Yet, the thing Gabi is most hated for is that she murdered fan-favorite Sasha Braus. Audiences understand that things happen in war, but Sasha’s death was particularly hard, as she was the lifeblood of the Paradis Military.
5 Minarou Mineta (My Hero Academia)
My Hero Academia's Class 1-A has many fantastic characters. Shoto Todoroki, Katsuki Bakugo, and Ochaco Uraraka have all had tear-jerker moments on screen and greatly impacted Midoriya's high school life. The same cannot be said for the obnoxious Minarou Mineta.
Mineta's role is the worn-out trope of the "goofy perverted character." He is constantly harassing his female classmates and saying inappropriate comments. He has gotten better in the latest season, but he still has little impact on the story, and most of his scenes would be better without him.
4 Yuri Briar (Spy X Family)
Few slice-of-life comedies are as close to perfection as Spy x Family. The central family of Yor, Loid, and Anya, along with the series' most important side character, Damian Desmond, are all well-developed and fascinating characters that are almost impossible not to root for. However, the show does have one blemish: Yor's brother, Yuri.
Yuri's obsession with his older sister is cringe-worthy and out of place in a show like Spy x Family. It could have been more passable if toned down, but his obsession bordering on romantic makes it hard for any audience member to take him seriously.
3 Oberon (Sword Art Online)
At first glance, Sugou Nobuyuki appears to be nothing more than a regular corporate worker. However, his intentions for the game ALFheim Online are far darker. As it is later revealed in Sword Art Online, Sugou’s avatar is none other than the Fairy King Oberon who has taken Asuna hostage.
Not only is Oberon reprehensible for kidnapping someone inside a Virtual Reality game, but his perverted attitude toward Asuna makes him hard to watch. Oberon’s spine-chilling behavior repulsed fans so much that it almost made the second arc of the show unwatchable.
2 Shou Tucker (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Shou Tucker is not only the most reviled character in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, but most likely in all anime. As the Sewing-Life Alchemist, Shou is under a lot of pressure to create another chimera like he made in the past. Driven by an unholy need to succeed, Shou does the unthinkable and merges his daughter Nina and the family dog Alexander into a new chimera.
The thought that any father would do something so heinous to his own daughter makes audiences’ blood boil. Shou’s despicable actions are so horrifying that many fans will skip over his episode entirely when they rewatch the series. Shou is so hated that it causes fans to willingly miss a chunk of the story just so they do not have to hear or see him.
1 Denji (Chainsaw Man)
It is very difficult for a show to be incredible despite its main character, but Chainsaw Man does precisely that. Fantastic major supporting characters like Aki and Power keep the show feeling fresh, and the terrifying Makima is one of the greatest anime antagonists.
Sadly, Denji cannot live up to his supporting cast. His teenage antics are admittedly realistic, but his focus on his bizarre "goals" as he battles giant devils is usually obnoxious rather than funny. Fortunately, Denji dramatically improves as a character later in the manga.