Spring 2022 has brought plenty of amazing anime protagonists, including the beloved Katagiri Yuichi and Loid Forger, but sometimes the side characters are the ones who steal the show.
Whether it's the deuteragonist or someone with an even smaller role, people at MyAnimeList frequently favor someone other than the protagonist as their top character for various shows. Whether it's an older classic like Death Note or a currently running masterpiece like Attack on Titan, side characters can sometimes make or break a show.
Levi
Attack on Titan's protagonist Eren is certainly a beloved character, but his old squad captain Levi is 2nd on the entire website with a total of 130,155 favorites.
Levi's calling card is being humanity's strongest soldier, but there's much more to Levi outside of his incredible fight scenes and superhuman strength. The relationship Levi had with Erwin, highlighted even further thanks to OVAs, is one of the greatest friendships in anime. Not to mention the resulting rivalry he built with Eren's brother Zeke after Erwin's charge.
L Lawliet
With 118,505 favorites, L Lawliet from Death Note is one of the most popular characters on the entire website. He serves as the main rival for Light in the first half of the show.
L and Light's rivalry carried the show to such an incredible degree that many fans stopped watching the show after L was out of the picture. In terms of quality, part 1 and part 2 of Death Note are considered by the fanbase to be entirely different levels in terms of quality, and the genius detective L was part of what made part 1 such a classic.
Killua
Killua's 87,097 favorites put him significantly above his best friend Gon Freecs, making him the most popular character in Hunter X Hunter, which was recently announced to return from hiatus.
Killua is one of the strongest sidekicks in all of anime and is more powerful than Gon for basically the entire anime (outside of Gon's one-time powerup against Pitou.) Killua's relationship with his younger sister Aluka is one of the most wholesome sibling relationships in anime, and his disastrous relationship with the rest of his family makes him as tragic as he is beloved.
Rem
Rem is one of the most beloved Re:Zero characters at 43,760 favorites on the website, far more than the protagonist Subaru. The one-horned demon is far more skilled at most maid tasks compared to her twin sister.
Rem is a multi-dimensional character who is much more than the third point of Subaru's love triangle. Her backstory and relationship with her sister Ram are heart-wrenching, and she's an incredibly capable fighter who often makes sacrifices for her friends and family. She and Subaru's conversation in "From Zero" is arguably the best scene in the series.
Gojo Satoru
Gojo Satoru is the most popular character from Jujutsu Kaisen with 43,584 favorites, more than protagonist Itadori Yuji. Gojo is widely known as the strongest character in the series.
Gojo isn't just the most powerful Jujutsu sorcerer, he's also a fascinating mentor character for Yuji and the others. His relationship with Yuta in Jujutsu Kaisen 0 brought an entirely new angle to the character, as he serves as an almost father figure for Yuta in the movie. No matter what his reckless abandon may convey, Gojo does clearly love his students.
Megumin
KonoSuba's Megumin is a key part of the main group of characters as well as protagonist Kazuma's main love interest. She has 38,414 favorites, a bit more than her love interest Kazuma.
Megumin's relationship with Kazuma carries much of the emotional depth in an otherwise highly comedic anime. Her powers are hilariously over the top and make her a lovable character just by absurdity alone. Nobody in the show offers as much comedy or depth as Megumin, making her by far the standout in the series.
Hisoka Morow
An overarching antagonist present for nearly every arc in Hunter X Hunter, Hisoka is a demented yet incredibly popular character with 33,895 favorites, making him the second character from the series more beloved than Gon.
After defeating Gon time and time again, Hisoka's malicious nature began to become more concrete. The clown magician lives completely for battle, a chaotic character who exists only to find and fight the strongest nen users and most interesting people he can find. The monstrous Hisoka isn't just one of the most beloved characters in his show, he's one of the most beloved anime villains.
Kamina
While arguably the most important character in the first half of the show, Kamina is ultimate a side character in the overarching story of Gurren Lagann. With 31,408 favorites, he's more popular than protagonist Simon.
Kamina's iconic catchphrase "who the hell do you think I am?" as well as the variations of his iconic "believe in yourself" speeches make him one of the most quotable anime characters out there, and he's certainly one of the most beloved mentor figures in anime. Kamina carries the first half of the show, and it isn't surprising that so many users favorited him.
Todoroki Shouto
23,394 favorites indicate that the son of the number 1 hero Endeavor is the most popular character in My Hero Academia, more so than even main rival Bakugo and protagonist Midoriya.
While Midoriya might be one of the strongest Shonen Jump protagonists, Todoroki outshines him often throughout the series. Their first fight is one of the best moments in the series. Todoroki is given the series' most iconic song, "You Say Run," as his background music in an epic clash with Midoriya that kickstarted a fantastic friendship and rivalry.
Askeladd
With 20,339 favorites, Askeladd is the most iconic character in one of the greatest historical anime of all time: Vinland Saga. He ends up considerably ahead of protagonist Thorfinn.
Askeladd's unlikely partnership with Thorfinn was the backdrop for almost all of season 1. Askeladd ended up going from one of the most hated villains to one of the most beloved characters in all of anime. Almost every major event in season 1 moves forward because of Askeladd's leadership, and he was by far the most influential person in Thorfinn's life.