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A wise man once dared to ask “Is hair gel just easily accessible in every anime show?”
And to truly comprehends the depth of this question, you have to take a step back and realize “man, a lot of characters have spiky hair, don’t they?”.
Well to further the great research this young made-up philosopher, let’s dive deep into anime lore and check out some of the best characters with spiky hair. We’ve all gotta help answer these burning questions.
20. Zora Ideale
Anime: Black Clover
I love Zora because you can take one look at him, guess what he’s about, and be both correct and terribly mistaken all at the same time.
He seems like your average edge lord who’s going to be the cover photo of some heavy nightcore song. And as such, you’d expect him to do edge lord things. And that’s true: he has no issues with sacrificing people, he has his own moral code, and the second he’s introduced he mops the floor with someone who outranks him.
But on the other hand, he’s rather laid back, learns how to cooperate quicker than anticipated, and doesn’t drown us with his backstory every ten seconds. I’m looking at you, Sasuke.
19. Meme Oshino
Anime: Monogatari Series
Man I wish this guy had more screen time.
For me, Meme was basically the Morgan Freeman of the show, only somehow even cooler.
Whenever some convoluted curse or villain appeared and I was completely lost as to how the hell Araragi was going to get out it, Meme would appear from the shadows and explain everything.
He also gave off that cool uncle vibe. So honestly how could you not love him?
18. Izuku Midoriya
Anime: Boku no Hero Academia
Midoriya doesn’t change much in regards to the shounen protagonist archetype. But he doesn’t really have to.
He’s a nice guy who wants to help everyone, and will prioritize friendship over everything. Even joint health.
He’s also quite the dandere at heart. Ao anytime a female is near him(that doesn’t want to steal his blood and wear his face) it’s absolutely adorable.
I’m disappointed that it took three seasons for him to remember he has feet. But hey at least he got there.
17. Ryuk
Anime: Death Note
Personally when I think about the words “death” and “god” I don’t usually associate them with the words “funny” and “relatable”.
And yet here Ryuk stands.
I think what made Ryuk so appealing was that he acted more like a viewer than an active participant of the stories. He didn’t bother himself too much with who would win, he just looked like he was interested in how it was going to happen.
He’s also probably the only character that actually made jokes in the show. And his addiction to apples has somehow stuck with me even a decade after seeing the show.
16. Yami Sukehiro
Anime: Black Clover
Yami might just be the strongest shounen character to have ever lived, as he seems to know that he’s in a shounen.
Whenever trouble arises, this muscley man simply takes another puff from his tar stick and states it’s time to go plus ultra ,yet again.
He’s a very down to earth guy who just wants to be left alone in the bathroom, and will respond to any sort of violence with even more violence. He also has a lot of beef with Scyther.
15. Tahoumaru
Anime: Dororo
This might not be the most popular pick, as I feel everyone prefers his brother Scissor Hands. But I think he deserves to be mentioned anyway.
I like Tahoumaru because he made for an excellent foil character. He wasn’t really evil, but rather a utilitarian with some mommy issues.
We can see that he made actual bonds with the people around him, that he cared for his country, and that he was willing to die for his ideals.
In other words, he was basically more of a typical shounen protagonist than Hyakkimaru.
14. Senkuu
Anime: Dr. Stone
I personally loved the child prodigy archetype. And Senkuu is definitely one of my favorite examples.
This is because his brilliance is at least believable, except for his counting skills. So his inventions don’t look like plot armor magic, but rather an actual invention.
I mean, I say “invention” but they’re all things that existed beforehand.
He’s far from emotional, but he isn’t really an apathetic character either. Basically he’s a better version of Jimmy Neutron, fight me.
13. Killua Zoldyck
Anime: Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Who doesn’t like a good old child murderer from time to time? To avoid confusion, I mean a child who’s a murderer, not a murderer who kills children. Where does the hyphen go again?
Anyway, amongst all these tiny Jack the Rippers I think Killua is probably the most recognizable and well-known. As very few have a “rip a man’s heart out and put it in a doggy back for later” badge aside from this zappy little fellow.
And even if some characters could rival him in edge lordness, I sincerely doubt they can match his character depth. Killua has both killed people and my trust towards older siblings. And needles.
12. Natsu Dragneel
Anime: Fairy Tail
As a funny character I think Natsu is okay. He’s no Bo Burnham, but he’s no Amy Schumer either.
But that’s not why I like Natsu. I like him when all the chips are down and he gets serious. I like when he finds another thousandth way to eat some fire, and occasionally whatever is thrown at him, and just go to town.
I like Natsu when bagpipes are blaring in my ears at full volume as I scream “I’m just getting fired up” and he mercilessly proceeds to beat the ever-living hell of whoever just offended his nakams.
11. Gon Freecss
Anime: Hunter x Hunter (2011)
As much as we can all like Killua for his badassery, we can love Gon for his soul.
Not to say that he’s going to Heaven or anything, that boy is covered in blood. But the fact that he never gives up and somehow still loves his father is charming.
He’s also just adorable whenever he interacts with just about anyone, as god knows no one can resist his charm… and he inevitably brings out the best out of people.
And cats bring out the worst of him, but what’s there to say? He was destined to be a dog person.
10. Dio
Anime: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
I’m not even going to put a season down because I have loved this man whenever he’s appeared.
There’s just something about his over the top nature that keeps me coming back for more every time he defies death.
His need to flex on his enemies every chance he gets, his cockiness that he’ll figuratively and literally take to the grave, and his status as an absolute fashion icon will forever keep him in this list.
9. Naruto Uzumaki
Anime: Naruto: Shippuden
Naruto is just kind of a staple. Even if you don’t like his character all too much, he has been around for so long that you had to start liking him against your will.
Because man, does he never give up. He also never stops talking about not giving up, but I guess that’s to be expected.
And even against one’s better judgement he always somehow manages to inspire you.
He also made it a knee jerk reaction to cry whenever I see a swing. It’s like Sadness and Sorrow just starts playing from the skies the second one appears.
8. Shouya Ishida
Anime: A Silent Voice
Sometimes you just have to love a character because they’re written so well that they’re barely a character anymore. They’re just a 2D person.
Sure, Shouya was kind of a prick early on. But newsflash, all children are kind of pricks. It’s what you do later on that truly defines you.
And Shouya really just gave it his all to be a good person.
It wasn’t always easy, and he strayed off the path a few times. But he got there eventually!
7. Sinbad
Anime: Magi: Adventure of Sinbad
I love Sinbad because he’s honestly the ultimate power fantasy.
Do you want to be powerful? Well here’s a man who will blow up a mountain just so that his enemy needs a new pair of pants.
What’s that, you don’t want to be the stupid brute force character?
Well it’s a good thing that Sinbad is also very versed at negotiation, globalization, and most probably fornication.
Like seriously, how isn’t he everyone’s ultimate dream in life?
6. Gohan
Anime: Dragon Ball Z
I want to be clear here: I specifically mean Cell Saga Gohan because as we can all agree he’s the best Gohan.
Every other form of Gohan would honestly top out at C class in my book. But Cell Gohan, in that one moment every DBZ fan dreams about, is a pure S class.
The fact that a pacifist who was lead down the path of a bookworm was pushed to such an extreme that he became the most recognizable badass in the entire show… it still gives me chills to this very day.
5. Ban
Anime: The Seven Deadly Sins
At first I thought I would love Ban because he would be this funny overpowered character who would be at the receiving end of a tsundere punch or something.
But in the end I started to love Ban because of his his love life, and his devotion to his friends, Meliodas at least. It’s all so admirable that I just grew to appreciate him.
I mean, he still does get “killed” quite frequently so that the bad guys can flex their powers. But somehow he was the most down to earth relatable character to me.
4. Pain
Anime: Naruto: Shippuden
See how I put down Pain and not Nagato, as the Deva path has spiky hair, I just pulled a little sneaky on you.
But in all honesty, the Deva path is the one most people associate to Pain as a character, while Nagato is more like some extra lore.
The reason Pain was so good was because he was the first to leave Naruto speechless. The first to give a valid reason for his crimes.
He also levelled the entire village and slaughtered some of the main heroes.
Watching that arc while it aired was the most tense and hyped experience Naruto has ever given us.
3. Garou
Anime: One Punch Man Season 2
While I do agree that season 1 of One Punch Man was better, Garou really carried season two up to newer heights that I didn’t think it would reach.
His position as a protagonist, anti-hero, and villain was just such an interesting thing to watch.
Will he kill that guy? Will he save that kid? Will he join the monsters? Is he already beyond the monsters? Does he have Saiyan blood?
Seriously, how does he keep his hair up like that?
These are all questions that flood my mind when I see this finely chiselled specimen.
2. Katsuki Bakugo
Anime: Boku no Hero Academia
I know this is a hot take, but I always preferred Bakugo over Midoriya.
Although the world was against me initially, I think I have gotten quite a few comrades with the newer season and the exploration of Bakugo’s character. Sure, he’s a loud-mouth egomaniac who likes to belittle others.
But he also has a weird inferiority complex, survivor syndrome, and a seemingly unreachable goal. And I find that easier to relate to than being the hero Jesus.
1. Kamina
Anime: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
If there’s one character I will truly never shut up about, it is Kamina.
The man who dared to ask “What if I max out my charisma tree and somehow seduce logic itself to make me a good fighter?”
And his bet definitely paid off as he quickly became the most lovable character both in and out of his universe. And he also became the undisputed leader of an army to take back the surface.
His hair is pointy, his glasses are pointy, his taste in women is on point, and his monologues are powerful yet right to the point.
