However, to practice true Thanosism, we need to strike a balance. And there’s plenty of dumb anime characters worth appreciating. That’s why below I’ll be listing out some of the not-so-smart characters that anime has to offer. Prepare to see a lot of shounen protagonists.
20. Izuku Midoriya
Anime: My Hero Academia I want to start off with Midoriya, as this might be the most controversial pick on this list. Although he was literally written to be a smart character, constantly taking down notes and forming strategies, the dude is just straight up dumb in my opinion. The example that I always go for convincing people about this opinion is the fact that it actually took him a day or two to remember that he has legs and can kick. His knowledge of percentages also seems to be all over the place. And if you can’t agree with me on the fact that he’s dumb, you at least have to accept that he’s dense. Both in terms of Uraraka’s affection for him, as well as Bakugou’s obvious issues with him, Deku seems to be pretty clueless.
19. Okuyasu Nijimura
Anime: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable With Okuyasu, it’s pretty obvious why he isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. He simply always relied on his brother to make every and any choice that affected him, or their family. However, now that he’s on his own, my dude is struggling. Even the most obvious lies to have ever graced this earth will fool Okuyasu, as he has the deduction skills of a seven-year-old. Then again, considering how overpowered his Stand is, I guess they had to balance him out one way or another.
18. Taiju Oki
Anime: Dr. Stone This dude is just beyond dense. I’ll never forget that fateful episode in the first season when Taiju really laid his intelligence bare and nearly popped a blood vessel in my head. Let me set the scene: An extremely strong dude wants to kill the people that you hold dear. You’re also very muscular and have gorilla strength. What do you do? Why of course! Just stand in front of him and allow him to punch you repeatedly, because that way he won’t feel like punching other people. In all of my years of watching anime, I have probably never seen a stupider fight. The only reason it somewhat worked was probably because the enemy had a headache from this tomfoolery.
17. Kyouya Onodera
Anime: Talentless Nana This is another case where the character was supposed to be smart, but his actions just proved the exact opposite. He’s literally immortal, and has suspected Nana of being a killer for a while now. And yet he just can’t put two and two together. At the very least, why not just follow her everywhere? You’re immortal. What’s she going to do? Sure, it might be a little creepy. But at least you’re stopping a mass-murderer. The fact that he never came up with such a simple plan is just astonishing to me. And don’t get me started on the mind-reading stuff. He should have busted her in episode 1.
16. Asta
Anime: Black Clover Natsu just has a heavy dose of shounen blockhead syndrome. He does well in battle and all, but he’s denser than rock. He has two chicks brawling over him, and he can never figure out what their deal is. So instead, he pursues a nun and her hand in marriage. I really don’t know who’s going to break the news to poor Asta in regards to what being a nun means. Not to mention that she’s like a mother figure to him. At least he’s a very likable pair of walking biceps.
15. Naruto Uzumaki
Anime: Naruto Naruto is arguably one of the densest, most stubborn characters anime has even produced. His obsession with Sasuke has been meme’d to death. And there’s a good reason for that. Even though he spent his entire childhood alone and isolated, he somehow never learned what it means for someone to dislike you. His battle tactics are a bit more solid – but even in that regard, most of it can be chalked up to Nine Tails hacks. He usually gets destroyed at the beginning of the fight, and only comes up with a winning strategy because his healing and infinite chakra allow him to take his sweet time.
14. Milim Nava
Anime: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Milim is your classic 1,000 year old child, and her character fits that description pretty solidly. The entire show would have just ended in season one, were it not for the fact that you can just distract Milim with a lollipop and be done with it. Even the war she started was probably due to a childish grudge, or because someone just pulled her very accessible strings. I love seeing her go berserk. And I’m always up for an overpowered character. But you have to admit that she spent all her points in strength and left intelligence at zero.
13. Monkey D. Luffy
Anime: One Piece This one is kind of a freebie, as even characters within the show call Luffy stupid. But, like always, it’s only at a certain time and place. When Luffy is serious, he has the aura of an old general looking over his troops. But when the show is on the lighter side, you can’t help but question whether his brain is just a bouncy ball. He cannot pick up on social cues even is his life depends on it. And he just flat out refuses to understand certain things. He’ll just call some things a mystery and move on. Reminds me of myself in college, if I’m being honest.
12. Aqua
Anime: KonoSuba Aqua is another child at heart, only somehow she’s even more ridiculous. Being a goddess who spent most of her life admiring her own reflection, Aqua has the life experience of a new-born baby – plus a very whinny attitude. Don’t get me wrong, I find her absolutely hilarious. However, I do not recall her ever doing anything that requires an IQ in the double digits. She mostly just cries, gets drunk, and spends all her skill points into pointless emotes. If she existed in the real world, she would have definitely loved Twitch.
11. Natsu Dragneel
Anime: Fairy Tail I honestly think that Natsu’s entire brain is made up of three thoughts. The first being about fire, the second about his friends, and the third about the method of eating other people’s powers to grow stronger. I don’t think I have ever seen Natsu do anything that doesn’t belong in one of these three categories. I mean, it’s to be expected given that it’s a shounen and all. But they could have pushed my dude at least into the double digits. Especially since the character design itself can be pretty cool once he goes all out.
10. Eris Boreas Greyrat
Anime: Jobless Reincarnation Eris is just spoiled stupid. She has been so pampered throughout her entire life that she makes Aqua look like a wise sage that lives atop a mountain reading scrolls. Eris didn’t even phantom the possibility that people don’t like her, even though she spends every day screaming at them and physically abusing them. Her attitude towards learning also isn’t too promising. So I think she’ll be a candidate for this list for quite some time to come. At least she’s getting better at using the sword, and not punching the teeth out of those who care for her.
9. Mako Mankashoku
Anime: Kill la Kill Mako is just the most adorable kind of stupid. Her comic relief role was done with heaps of enthusiasm, making her a bumbling mess of emotions, spotlights, and monologues. Even far into the show, Mako has no idea what’s going on around her. And she never seems all too eager to know. She just speaks from the heart and relies on her absolute wholesome cuteness to get her by. And it does in fact work every single time if you ask me. She did show promise when it comes to being a diehard capitalist, however, so maybe not all hope is lost.
8. Inosuke Hashibira
Anime: Demon Slayer This man is 50% pride, 50% instinct, 0% intelligence, and 100% to remember the name. Tricking Inosuke into doing things honestly seems easier than getting a two year old to finish their supper. All you have to do is add a little “if you can do it” at the end of your request, and the task is as good as done. And since he basically lived in the wild, you can expect his knowledge of social interactions and traditions to be as good as those of a real wild boar. He does still make for some amazing moments, though.
7. Rak Wraithraiser
Anime: Tower of God Rak is up next, as I find him to be very similar to Inosuke. The dude is all about battling and relies on his instincts more so than on any form of strategy. In fact, if you put him in a situation where he has to make a tough logical decision, he will literally just have a panic attack and start climbing the walls. You have to be a special kind of character to be afraid of thinking too hard. But just like Inosuke, he’s far from useless, and his stupidity just adds to his very goofy charm. He’s the best turtle fanatic I have ever seen.
6. Everyone
Anime: The Promised Neverland Season 2 It’s common knowledge that season 2 of The Promised Neverland is one of the biggest let-downs anime has seen in years. And a big part of that is the fact that our genius kid crew left all of their brain juices back at home. Their plans just consist of different variations of “run away” and “split up” and Norman suddenly got the emotional intelligence of a shoe. The dude has this entire plot about killing the demons. Yet all it takes is Emma going “but like, what if you didn’t?” to fully convince him to choose a new path in life. That entire season was dumb, all of the characters were dumb, and I was dumb for not dropping it after episode three and reading the manga.
5. Sakura Haruno
Anime: Naruto Shippuden Do you remember how in the very beginning of Naruto, it was stated that Sakura had the best chakra control out of everyone in team 7? Well she obviously bloody didn’t, as it took her hundreds of episodes before she came up with the brilliant idea of actually using jutsu. Naruto might be dumb. But at least the dude remembered the fact that he was a ninja. Meanwhile, Sakura is just out there cutting her hair, biting people’s hands, and making her fifth Sasuke shrine. And I swear, whenever she claimed that she had caught up to Naruto and Sasuke, I just had to legitimately question whether she was mentally insane.
4. Jessie and James
Anime: Pokémon It truly takes a special kind of stupid to fail hundreds of times in a row. Especially when you take into account that in the original story Ash wasn’t even that strong nor bright. In fact, he was also kind of stupid, considering how it took him years to just learn Pokémon types. So the fact that Jessie and James lost to this Einstein (even though they had huge funding, the element of surprise, and more experience) just showcases how many steps behind they were. Then again, their stupidity basically made the show what it is. So keep blasting off, Team Rocket.
3. Goku
Anime: Dragon Ball Z Out of all the beloved shounen protagonists, I think Goku is by far the densest and the dumbest. Despite the fact that he has two sons, I’m convinced that he doesn’t even know what sex is. Hell, sometimes I’m surprised that he even knows Gohan’s name. And don’t even get me started on the leaps of logic he used when he gave Cell a Senzu bean. I still get headaches over that one. There’s no doubt that he’s an amazing fighter, and that his heart is in the right place. But with each subsequent installation of the franchise, Goku just keeps getting dumber and dumber.
2. Isaac and Miria
Anime: Baccano! These two are my favourite duo in all of anime. They’re just so stupidly goofy that I find it impossible to resist their charms! The heists they pull look like they came straight out of a Disney movie, with stupid getups and everything. They literally stole clocks to steal time! But their crowning jewel is the fact that it took them seventy years to realize that they were not aging. I mean, that type of density is dangerously close to black hole levels.
1. Riki Nendou
Anime: The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. I chose Riki as my number one, and if you have ever seen the show, you’ll know why. The guy is just a riot. He’s the only person on Earth who simply does not have thoughts, aside from maybe ramen. And his deduction skills have made me bust a gut continuously throughout the show. The scene where he thinks that the airplane if going through an earthquake worked out my abs more than a yearly membership to the gym ever could. So if you’re truly looking for the stupidest of the stupid, go check out Riki in Saiki K.
