If you’ve been watching anime for a while now, then you can probably think of a lot of stereotypical characters that are present in almost every kind of anime.
We’ve got the annoyingly optimistic characters that just can’t seem to ever look at the negative aspects of any situation at all, and we’ve also got the type of characters that just can’t stop crying about every little thing.
But that’s just scraping the surface. In this article, we’ll be looking at the most common anime stereotypes that a lot of anime characters fall under.
What are the Most Common Anime Character Stereotypes?
Some of the most common anime character stereotypes include:
- Bakadere
- Dumb Shounen Protagonist
- Overpowered Protagonist
- Tsundere
If you think of well known anime, you can surely bring examples that fit this mold. But there are many more commonly used anime archetypes, so let’s get into all of them in detail.
1. Cute Airhead
We see this type of anime character archetype a lot in most slice-of-life shows, and they are usually girls. A cute and clumsy air-headed character is added in most of these shows in order to create a more light-hearted environment.
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These clumsy little characters almost always mess everything up and are oblivious regarding most things happening around them.
Some examples of characters that fall under this anime character stereotype are:
- Chika Fujiwara (Kaguya Sama: Love is War)
- Mako Mankanshoku (Kill La Kill)
2. Bakadere
Quite similar to the previous anime character archetype on my list, these characters are also pretty air-headed and oblivious.
Unlike the cute airheads, Bakadere characters are very loud and annoying and keep on getting on everyone’s nerves. Most of the time, this anime character type just gets pushed around by all the other characters in the series.
Some examples of anime characters that fall under this stereotype are:
- Yoshiko Hanabatake (Aho Girl)
- Youhei Sunohara (Clannad)
3. Dumb Shounen Protagonist:
In my personal opinion, this is the most annoying of the anime character stereotypes. It seems that almost every single long-running Shounen anime must have the extremely optimistic and dumb protagonist that just never seems to give up.
These Shounen protagonists are quite oblivious most of the times, but they are able to solve every problem eventually. Their opponent could be a hundred times stronger than them, but these characters will still never lose hope.
Stupid but persistent is the best way to describe this anime character type. Some examples of characters that fall under this stereotype are:
- Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)
- Gon Freecss (Hunter X Hunter)
- Goku (Dragon Ball)
4. Popular Anime Character Type: Cool Rival
The Cool Rival anime character stereotype is also mostly found in long-running Shounen anime, just like the previous entry on my list. The Cool Rival is a character that always has the complete opposite personality compared to the dumb protagonist.
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This guy/girl is naturally gifted, and they always manage to impress everyone around them. The cool rival doesn’t really accept the protagonist as his/her rival at first, but things start to change as the story progresses.
Some examples of characters that fall under this anime character type are:
- Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto)
- Vegeta (Dragon Ball)
- Yuno (Black Clover)
5. Annoying Anime Stereotype: Overpowered Protagonist
The Overpowered Protagonist stereotype is mostly found in isekai or harem anime. We get this male protagonist who is just so overpowered that no villain can even dream of ever defeating him.
The anime character archetypes employed here are that of the hero and main character many people would like to be.
The guy is also quite oblivious most of the times, however and doesn’t really have a real personality. But, for some reason, every single girl in the series seems to fall madly in love with him just because of how strong he is.
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These characters are living every man’s ultimate dream, but are also one of the more boring of the anime character stereotypes. They are never under pressure, so their personality has no screen time to develop.
Some examples of characters with these anime character personalities:
- Ainz Ooal Gown (Overlord)
- Kirito (Sword Art Online)
- Diablo (How Not to Summon a Demon Lord)
6. Pervert
Usually an old man, there is always that one perverted character in all shounen anime that just wants to see every girl naked.
Sometimes members of these anime character archetypes can get a little too forward, but the scenes involving them are usually used for comedic fan service in most anime. These perverted characters don’t try to hide their love for lewdness!
Some examples of characters that fall under these anime character stereotypes are:
- Master Roshi (Dragon Ball)
- Jiraiya (Naruto)
7. Anime Character Archetypes: Tsundere
Tsundere is the most common type out of all the deres. The word tsun actually comes from the Japanese word “Tsuntsun,” which means aloof.
A tsundere character is a guy or a girl in a romantic anime that just never seems to accept his or her romantic feelings towards another character.
They will even go as far as straight-up saying that they don’t love that certain person, all the while knowing full well in their hearts that they can’t live without them. A Tsundere just seems to get embarrassed whenever someone talks about love, and they can even get quite violent.
Some examples of characters that fall under these anime character personalities are:
- Taiga Aisaka (Toradora!)
- Chitoge Kirisaki (Nisekoi)
8. Yandere
A Yandere is one of the most disturbing types of anime characters! The word Yan comes from the Japanese word “Yanderu,” which literally means mentally ill.
A yandere is someone who is completely obsessed with another character. This guy/girl openly admit their love for a certain character, and they don’t want anyone to ever get close to them.
They want their love interest to only love them and forget the existence of every other person in the entire world.
Some examples of characters that fall under this anime character type are:
- Yuno Gasai (Future Diary)
- Anna Nishikinomiya (Shimoneta)
9. Extremely Beautiful Girl Who Likes the Protagonist
I couldn’t really find the perfect word to describe this type, but we all know that it exists in most shounen anime, and it is quite dumb.
This character is basically the popular and beautiful girl that rejects every single guy left and right. However, she somehow develops feelings for the dumb and average-looking protagonist of the series.
Usually, these feelings develop because the protagonist totally ignores the girl and doesn’t really fall for her like every other guy in her life.
Some examples of characters that fall under these anime character stereotypes are:
- Kokomi Teruhashi (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K)
- Boa Hancock (One Piece)
10. Common Anime Character Personalities: Darudere
Darudere is another one of the deres, and this stereotype is used to describe the extremely lazy and sluggish anime character personalities. The word daru comes from the Japanese word “Darui,” which means sluggish.
These characters are usually also quite intelligent but don’t seem to use their intelligence unless they absolutely have no other choice.
Some examples of characters that fall under these anime character archetypes:
- Shikamaru Nara (Naruto)
- Houtarou Oreki (Hyouka)
Know Of Any More Anime Character Archetypes?
These were the most overused anime personality types we could think of. Do you know of any more we should have mentioned? Let us know in the comments!