Many times, these characters serve little to no real purpose, existing solely for comedic relief that quickly wears thin. Sure, some viewers might find them amusing at first, but when their gimmicks become predictable or their personalities cross the line into unbearable, they end up dragging the entire anime down. At their worst, these characters don’t just annoy—they actively make the experience worse, turning what could have been a great anime series into an exercise in patience.

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10

Demon Slayer’s Zenitsu Begins As A Cowardly Nuisance

Streaming on Crunchyroll

Zenitsu Agatsuma has improved the longer he has been on Demon Slayer. However, when he is first introduced, his personality and fear are so annoying, that he makes the show a chore to watch. Zenitsu is supposed to be a cowardly character, but his constant complaining is too much for most audiences to handle.

Zenitsu becomes more understandable as time goes on, and it’s nice to know that he isn’t useless in a fight, but that he can’t be good unless he’s sleeping is onerous. Zenitsu would be much better as a true side character, rather than the girl-crazy, cowardly secondary protagonist he purports himself to be. Smaller doses of him are the key to making his character work.

9

Konosuba’s Aqua Forgets To Specify Kazuma’s Wish

Streaming on Crunchyroll

Aqua is a goddess who is wrenched from her godly residence through a loophole. Despite her previously charmed existence, Aqua does nothing but complain about her current situation. She constantly talks about how great she is, but never fully delivers on that promise. She is also rude and drinks way too much whenever she gets the chance.

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Aqua is fine in small doses, but as the secondary character, she becomes grating. The protagonist, Kazuma Sato, has faults of his own, but Aqua’s are more exaggerated than the rest. She is fussy, entitled, and has a knack for getting in trouble. Although the premise of a goddess being brought down by a loophole is hilarious, her presence is too often grating to be truly enjoyed.

KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!

Release Date

2016 – 2024

Directors

Takaomi Kanasaki

Writers

Natsume Akatsuki, Aoi Akashiro, Touko Machida, Kojiro Nakamura, Makoto Uezu, Alexander Von David

8

Meelo’s Crude & Violent Humor Isn’t Funny in The Legend of Korra

Streaming on Netflix

Meelo is the second youngest of Avatar Aang’s grandchildren from The Legend of Korra. Since his mother is pregnant with their youngest at the beginning of the show, Meelo acts as the unruly baby of the group. He has poor impulse control and does nonsensical things – as any child would. But he takes his childish antics to a whole other level.

The most egregious things he does are his use of flatulence and his obsession with military combat. Meelo manipulates his farts as part of his Airbending. Studios often use passing gas to appeal to children, but it quickly became a nuisance in otherwise tense fights. Meelo’s frightening proclivity for militarism is also concerning and annoying because of how quickly he goes from his child-like frivolities to becoming a staunch combat leader.

7

Ren Yamai Is Too Much Of A Yandere in Komi Can’t Communicate

Streaming on Netflix

Komi Can’t Communicate is full of over-the-top tropes. The show means to use the characters that embody these tropes as a type of satire, but things aren’t as satirical when it comes to Ren Yamai. Ren is the embodiment of a yandere character, which means she has violent and obsessive tendencies when it comes to her having a crush on Komi.

Unfortunately, Ren ignores the satirical aspect of the show and fully becomes a yandere character. She even goes as far as kidnapping Komi’s confidant (and eventual crush) Hitohito Tadano. Despite her illegal activities, Komi still agrees to be her friend and the rest of the cast goes on like nothing has happened. Ren’s crimes and other problematic behavior make it hard for audiences to appreciate her as a character. Plus, her many misgivings almost caused the downfall of the show.

Komi Can’t Communicate

Release Date

2021 – 2021

Directors

Kazuki Kawagoe, Ayumu Watanabe

Stream

• 

6

Fire Force’s Arthur Needs To Believe In A Delusion To Be Useful

Streaming on Crunchyroll

Arthur Boyle is one of the newest Fire Soldiers in Company 8. Arthur can be talented when he wants to be, but it is, unfortunately, outweighed by how incredibly unintelligent he is. Because of some sort of childhood backstory, Arthur believes himself to be the King Arthur of legend, and can only perform well in battle if he believes his own lie.

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Arthur’s character would not be nearly as irritating if he wasn’t so dim-witted. Despite his power, he essentially needs to be babysat in everyday life so that he doesn’t mess up anything important. He also has the annoying quality of believing that he is superior to everyone else. Arthur’s ignorance mixed with his power is a bad combination for any character, but especially for a prominent side character like him.

Fire Force

Release Date

July 6, 2019

Directors

Yuki Yase, Tatsuma Minamikawa

Writers

Yamato Haijima, Tatsuma Minamikawa

Franchise(s)

Fire Force

5

Renge Houshakuji’s Laugh Grinds Audiences’ Ears in Ouran High School Host Club

Streaming on Netflix

Regne Houshakuji is a later addition to the Ouran High School Host Club lineup. She arrives via a high-powered motor, spinning up from the ground as she cackles maniacally. Her nonsensical entrance would be humorous if it only happened once, but Renge appears, accompanied by a high-powered motor practically every time she is onscreen.

Her guffaw does not do her any favors either. Its shrillness only adds to the already grating tedium of her arrival. She may know how to get the Host Club’s business to thrive, but it is at the cost of audiences losing their sanity every time she’s onscreen. Renge also doesn’t add much to the story, and the anime would be none the worse without her.

Ouran High School Host Club

Release Date

April 4, 2006

Directors

Takuya Igarashi

Writers

Yoji Enokido

Franchise(s)

Ouran High School Host Club

4

Minoru Mineta’s Perverse Womanizing Is A Tired Trope

Streaming on Crunchyroll

Minoru Mineta is the most perverted member of Class 1-A. He is constantly objectifying any girl or woman he sees. He also does his best to invade their privacy by trying to sneak peeks at them in the locker rooms or the baths. No matter how many times he is admonished by his classmates or others, Mineta can’t seem to let go of his problematic ways.

Mineta’s comments have become so prolific that audiences cringe every time they see him onscreen. The worst part about Mineta’s character is that there’s no reason for him to be in the story. If Mineta had never existed, the entirety of My Hero Academia would be practically the same. Creators may have thought his quips were humorous, but they’re unwelcome by today’s standards.

3

Excalibur’s Self-Adulation in Soul Eater Becomes Annoying Very Quickly

Streaming on Crunchyroll

Excalibur is a bit of a strange creature from Soul Eater. He’s not exactly human, but he’s not an animal either. Rather, he is the embodiment of the famed sword, Excalibur, and he does his best to ensure that everyone knows of his greatness. He does this by pirouetting around and singing the single most annoying anime song all about himself.

No matter how many times people beg Excalibur to stop, he continues right on singing. Excalibur’s brazen personality is already a lot to deal with, but topping it with the self-congratulatory song is too much. Thankfully, he is not in most of the Soul Eater episodes, so fans don’t have to stay with him throughout its run.

Soul Eater

Release Date

2008 – 2008

Directors

Takuya Igarashi

Writers

Akatsuki Yamatoya

Franchise(s)

Soul Eater

2

Gabi Braun Is Responsible For A Beloved Attack on Titan Character’s Death

Streaming on Crunchyroll

Gabi Braun is one of the worst anime characters to exist. Not only is she incredibly annoying, but she almost brought down a juggernaut of a show like Attack on Titan. When the mystery of the world beyond the wall is revealed, audiences are treated to a new core group who are fighting for Marley against their enemies. Gabi is among these newcomers.

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Gabi has a determination and fire that would make her a good soldier to have in battle, but her intensity and hatred for her own people make her insufferable. She, also, killed one of (if not the) sweetest characters in a brutally thoughtless move. In a world where Eren Yeager’s intensity already exists, Gabi feels like a misplaced character. Her intensity and drive would be great for another anime, but not one where the consequences could have wider rippling effects than others.

1

Winner Sinclair Is An Anime-Only Nightmare in Karin

Not Currently Streaming

Winner Sinclair is an anime-only character from Karin. He is one in a long line of Vampire Hunters and is out to destroy the Maker family. However, he is so unintelligent that he doesn’t notice how many Vampires he comes into contact with. Winner becomes infatuated with Karin and tries to duel Kenta Usui for the honor of being with her every day.

His constant declarations of love to the very person he’s attempting to hunt become tiresome. But his greatest flaws are his constant speeches that add nothing to the story, other than to make Winner unbelievably unlikable. As the manga proves, the story perfectly exists without him in it, making his presence in the anime even more baffling and irritating.