Top Ten Best Anime Protagonists

Gotta catch em all! Or at least gotta catch Pikachu, Charizard, Greeninja, Lucario, Infernape, and Sceptile for the win.

S1 - He's angry.
S2 - He's betrayed.
S3 - He's lost.
S4 - He's a MONSTER.
and his name is.. Eren Jaeger.

Simply being one of the best characters of all time, Eren tops the Shingeki no Kyojin cast, along many other Anime characters, with his superb character development. He might as well be in the top 10 Anime characters in history, but does he deserve it? Indeed.
Isayama-Sensei knew what he was doing with his character. He made every single one of us think he's just a generic, shonen MC with no unique traits, and later reveals us a masterpiece. Eren is not generic, he's special, since the day he was born. From an angry and whiny wimp who cried for his mother's death, he developed into a mature person who knows how the world evolves around him. You might think he has similar goals to other protagonists, but you're mistaken, and I'll tell you exactly why.
Other shonen protagonists: I hate how this world has become, I'll change it!
Eren Jaeger: This world has ...more

Sie sin dass, Essen? Nein wir sind die Jaeger! Shingeki no Kyojin or Attack on Titan's Eren Jaeger started off as a young boy who wanted to see the outside world and discover the many different places in Earth. But one day, right before his very eyes, he watched as the walls- that protected humans from titans for a hundred years-were destroyed and titans walked in and began eating people. he saw right infront of him as his own mother was eaten by a titan. The survivors were evacuated to the inner walls and not long that the place had trouble because of food shortage. he swore to become a soldier and join the Recon Corps to slay every titan. A few years later, he joined the military with his foster sister, Mikasa and his childhood friend, Armin. After their training, he joined the Recon Corps. Mysteries begin to unfold when he remembers about the key in the basement which his father kept for a long time and when they discovered that Eren had unusual titan-transforming powers. Eren is ...more

Went from angry shounen boi who gets powers, to realizing he wasn't that special. From there, he grows and grows more mature and eventually, in the world where good and bad are not defined, he becomes a monster that you really can't blame him for becoming. Masterful character, I don't think anyone can top him.

Don't judge a book by its cover; his initial insufferable personality is all a ruse to make you think he's a generic, non-special character, but he's written in a very specific way and develops into one of the most well-written, complicated, entertaining, and humane characters in anime/manga.

Greatest MC ever, intelligent (classic intelligence and emotional intelligence), motivated, drives the action, yet very emotional and human, compassionate for the people he cares about. Thoroughly enjoyed Lelouch in action.

Easily the best character here. His character development is top notch, and his character arc ties up so perfectly at the end of the show.

A tactical genius, idealist, hero, villain, maniac, big brother, king, demon.
All rolled into one.
What's not to like?

Protagonist? Antagonist? I don't know about all that, except for the fact that he's very well written.

Best character of all time in my opinion, he is a smart shounen anime protagonist unlike most other shounen protagonist. What I like about him in both FMA series is how he would sacrifice everything just to getbhis brother's body back. In FMA03 one of the most emotional scene is when Ed sacrifice himself to get his brother back but in expense of him going to the other side of the gate, probably wouldn't meet his brother again. But, that scene is really heartbreaking because at the end we never see a happy ending with two brothers meeting each other again with their wish became granted.

I'm assuming many people here hasn't seen FMA Brotherhood. To make things fair, neither have I. While Eren Jaeger and Rin Okumura make for good protagonists, I know for a fact that Edward Elric might not make for a protagonist with a character seen a lot in real life, but he is truly a special and noble one. Watch the series to see why.

The GOAT. FMA had the perfect style, FMAB had the perfect plot. Fun fact: Ed's door of truth is the 10 sephiroth. Took me 20yrs to find and understand that, but my lazy quest finally found success.

Edward Elric is one of the best. This anime is the best I've seen and he's such a great protagonist.

Badass through and through.

His sense of justice is so twisted and at the same time interesting. His way of talking and living is interesting and his past is a very weird one.

Needs to get some sleep. Mans need therapy as well, I mean have you seen how he sits on a chair? No manners Fam

Now L is my favorite anime character ever but he's not a protagonist light is the main character therefore he is the protagonist l is the antagonist

One word: Psychopath. Mans on another level. His genius is on par with Tony Stank. Mans is so evil after touching da note book. Kira has taken over light and Light is no longer with us anymore.

Has a goal and does whatever he needs to obtain it. Plays the mind games 24/7 and always has something up his sleeve. Very entertaining to watch.

He was actually making the world a better place, by reducing the crime rates by 70%. He is an end justify the means type of character.

Doesn't have the best physical shape but never underestimate his brains

Loved him in dragon Ball. Love him even more in DBZ. My favourite progranist in anime. Love his personality and dedication to get stronger. Love the eating moments the most.

He showed Vegeta and Frieza mercy! After all they did, all the people they killed, he gave them a second chance! Also, we watch him grow as a person, become a father, become a grandfather, and he saved the planet, what, more than 10 times? He even saved the entire GALAXY! Goku definitely would be at my number 1 favorite anime, no even character in anything.

Inspiring, tough, creative, cheerful, happy, funny, kind, caring, pure-hearted, courageous, strong-willed, friendly, brave,… Simply epic. Goku is the best. He's number one!

The original anime superman. Every shonen hero since is an imitation.

Naruto is a great protagonist. His character development has been great, as he has shown to mature as the series progress. He has finally achieved his dreams if being a hokage, but has not turned out the way he has envisioned it. Love him so much

He is the most inspirational protagonist amongst all anime characters.

He is the no.1 anime protagonist in my opinion

Should be higher he is one of the best protagonist in all of anime

I knew he was gonna make the list but why so low? (Literally placed lower the deku) You can't just compare legends to new gens yes they may be goated but overall old gens are better

Goku with a brain and personality and motivation beyond enjoying a challenge. Ichigo is a gentleman and a badass.

You feel emotional as you follow Luffy, he has suffered like many of the protagonists on this list and laughed, and he is a very charismatic MC who I genuinely think should be higher up on the list.

Where to start.. Luffy is literally the best. He makes you feel so many different emotions. He isn't a hero or anything, cause he has his own wishes and life. But this boy is literally the most dependable one can be.

Never seen the anime, but I don't like it anyway. not interested in a guy who is called a monkey and acts like a fxcking monkey. Might as well call him the next Optimus Primal

I mean, he's gonna become the King of the Pirates!

I love this boi so much. He's different from most shonen protagonists, in how he's not necessarily good, and he actually has many qualities other than "he's a smol bean" *cough* Deku *cough*

Freak of nature

He's kaneki. Anime suffers a little in the Re version of it. But in terms of manga...he is top 3 best developed characters of all time. It's guts, kaneki, eren yaeger at this point.

Ever since he was a child, he had a stubborn personality and people started calling him a 'demon'. He was frustrated about this because he didn't want to believe it. After a few years, he found out that he is indeed a half-demon, the son of Satan. After Satan killed his foster father, Shiro Fujimoto, the strongest Paladin (highest-ranked Exorcist) of all time be killed right infront of his eyes, he swears to kill Satan and gain revenge. A certain Mephisto invites him to True cross Academy where he will be getting lessons on how to be an Exorcist. His powers as the son of Satan is sealed in a certain "Kurikara" sword. Rin can be lazy and funny at times. Okay dude, ALL THE TIME. that's why I like him so much. Not bad for a demon.

Rin is the best. He gets hated, feared and has to go through a lot of pain and he is still standing throughout it!

The best oddball ever

I can't believe Eren Jaeger got more votes than this fluffy little otaku. Midoriya needs all the hugs and is surprisingly nuanced and interesting for a protagonist who's generally a very nice guy already. I love his growth and how he makes others around him grow.

Mah boi Izuku needs some representation on this list. I'm biased because he reminds me of myself to a T but isn't that the sign of your favorite protagonist? I don't know. I just wanted to represent my favorite green headed boy.

Deku is a great character. Yes, he may come across as a wimp who cries a lot, but has matured a lot and now learns the responsibilities of his quirk. He has shown to get stronger as the series goes and will succeed his goal in being the next NO.1 Hero

I love midoriya as a character. A socially awkward, quirkless teen that gets bullied almost his whole life because of his shortcomings but he meets someone who gives him powers so now he can fulfill his lifes dream. Amazing character and plot. 10/10

She is really amazing. I love her way of hosting. She should be at least in top 5. I love her smile. She is so quite.

Joseph Joestar is an amazing character in Battle Tendency. Clumsy, but badass. Goofy, but hyper-intelligent. Comic, but sentimental (I cried at a certain part, and chances are you did too if your heart isn't made of stone). One of the most expressive characters you'll ever see, every moment he is on screen is endless entertainment.

Unlike most anime heroes, Joseph's fights are not won by brute strength. Instead, he takes down enemies massively stronger than him with ingenuity, mind games, and pure luck. The fact that his raw power is relatively modest (in terms of anime) also makes him a more relatable character, and you can almost put yourself in his shoes.

This guy pretty much single-handedly made Battle Tendency the best JJBA. Well, him and Speedwagon.

Respect.

What can I say? This guy is hilarious. Mans has had his brain cells clapped the day he was born. Dusty Yute. His humour was fantastic in but, but decreased a lot in SC. Missed his humour before, but is still a funny protagonist and has his moments. My second favourite JOJO in JOJO BA

Hilarious dude. My 2nd favorite Jojo apart from Johnny.

I know what you're going to say next: "Why isn't Joesph higher on this list? "

Good man, taking care of others and being nice all around. Very entertaining to watch.

He is the funniest protagonist of all time!