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Shonen protagonists often yell, scream, and rage. It's practically considered a given in most shonen anime for the protagonist to have a moment where they experience rage, gain a new superpower as a result, and completely topple the villain of the series or that particular arc.
From Goku's Super Saiyan transformation to Naruto's Nine-Tailed Fox mode, plenty of these shonen protagonists have had transformations tied to rage and anger. It can either help them win a battle, as with Goku, or be an extreme hindrance as seen with Gon Freecs and Naruto.
This article will show 10 examples of raging shonen protagonists who became fan favorites almost immediately.
Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers for all the anime involved and the fates of the shonen protagonists. It also reflects the writer's opinions.
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Son Goku, Ichigo Kurosaki, and 8 more fan-favorite raging shonen protagonists
1) Son Goku (Dragon Ball Z)
The king of the old guard of shonen protagonists, Son Goku (or simply Goku) of Dragon Ball has had a number of rage moments. From raging at Krillin's original death and taking off after King Piccolo in the original Dragon Ball, to his epic beatdown of Goku Black in Super, chances are any time Goku gets mad the audience will enjoy it.
The most famous of Goku's rage moments came in the form of the first Super Saiyan transformation. When Krillin died at the hands of the galactic tyrant Frieza in Dragon Ball Z, Goku got so angry that he triggered the transformation into the Legendary Super Saiyan and thus beat Frieza so badly that he had to get mechanized life support. Fans rejoiced on seeing the sadistic emperor get beaten so badly.
2) Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)
The titular shonen protagonist has anger issues already given his upbringing of being ostracized due to having the nine-tailed fox Kurama sealed inside of him as a baby. Whenever he gets significantly angry, the fox comes out to play.
This can result in one of two things. The usual result is the energy helping turn the tide against a difficult foe like Haku or Pain, but in Naruto: Shippuden, the fox energy went out of control and nearly killed Sakura and Yamato. After that incident, Naruto worked on controlling his rage and the fox.
3) Gon Freecss (Hunter x Hunter)
What happens when a usually fun and smiling shonen protagonist loses his temper at exactly the wrong moment and begins to act like a villain as a result? Hunter x Hunter's Chimera Ant arc answers that all too well with Gon Freecss finally losing all composure while battling the cunning Neferpitou since Neferpitou destroyed Kite.
This was not only an epic moment for Gon, one that made an already fun character even better but was also a huge drawback. The problem with Gon going full power is that he cannot use Nen ever again, leaving himself practically disabled as a result once he came down from the massive power boost.
4) Denji (Chainsaw Man)
Continuing the proud tradition of shonen protagonists losing their minds to rage, newbie Denji lost his mind when Pochita fused with him and he initially pulled the rip cord to become the Chainsaw Man. Armed with slicing and dicing chainsaws, Denji cut his way through the Zombie Devil and his Yakuza tormentors with ease.
This may have landed him in a worse situation with Makima, but upon seeing Makima's true intent and identity later on in the manga, Denji snapped once again. The titular Chainsaw Man might have gotten a stumbling start, but he garnered plenty of fans by going into his own raging state.
5) Eren Yeager (Attack on Titan)
Speaking of fans of raging shonen protagonists, Eren Yeager of Attack on Titan has a huge fanbase. Eren's entire character is basically the consequence of revenge and how it can majorly devastate an individual and the people around them. Eren likewise gained a ton of fans for his raging behavior.
The fact that he transformed into the Attack Titan probably has something to do with his massive popularity. Even when Eren went full villain and turned completely omnicidal in the final season, there were still fans that refused to leave his side. Whether they were vindicated by the end is a question they are still asking to this day.
6) Yusuke Urameshi (Yu Yu Hakusho)
From the very first episode of Yu Yu Hakusho, where Yusuke gets into fights, gets run over, and becomes a spirit detective all in one day, fans have loved this shonen protagonist throughout the anime. Yusuke's boiling points aren't exactly the hardest to reach, given how much trouble he's been in.
From his first swearing to his demon transformation, Yusuke Urameshi is a delinquent through and through that gets better over time. He's still an angry person, just less than usual. Fans really enjoyed him getting rightfully angry after Kuwabara's death and mopping the floor with Toguro afterwards and later in demon form.
7) Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach)
While more in control of his temper than most of the other shonen protagonists on this list, Bleach protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki has had his own share of furious moments. He's quite short-tempered, stubborn, and impulsive at the best of times. This often results in him biting off more than he can chew, such as against Byakuya the first time.
But even when his Hollow tries to take over, Ichigo beats it up to reign himself in as he fights. For fans, however, his fight against Ulquiorra was a major highlight in his temper going haywire. Furious and desperate to help Orihime, he awakens his Full Hollow Form. This fully overcame Ulquiorra, turning around a hopeless situation.
8) Asta (Black Clover)
For someone who's not Bakugo, Asta is pretty explosive. His loud and obnoxious personality stems from an upbringing at an abbey combined with a horrible case of being discriminated against for his lack of magic. He also has a dark side called his Devil Form, which can be triggered if he's not careful.
This happened when Dante stabbed Gauche, and Asta ended up fully uniting with Liebe for that fight. It may have severely cost Asta his energy and rendered him unable to move afterwards, but it helped fight off Dante. Some fans tended to overlook that the power-up debilitated him.
9) Shigeo Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100)
Shiego Kageyama aka Mob is a psychic, whose powers are emotions based. When he nears 100% of any emotion, be it happiness, rage, or otherwise, his powers overload that particular emotion. This can manifest in feats such as reality warping or massive explosions that can obliterate entire blocks.
Mob, therefore, has to keep his emotions in check. Many fans, therefore, think the 100% emotional explosions are some of the best moments in Mob Psycho 100 as a result. One of these moments is seen against Toichiro Suzuki where 100% anger and rage came out, followed by a time he almost got to 100% murderous intent but was thankfully stopped.
10) Every Joestar after Joesph (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)
This isn't an exaggeration, every Joestar in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure following Joesph's tenure has had at least one big rage moment. Whether it's Jotaro's tranquil fury, Josuke hating when someone rags on his hair, Giorno's seven-page Muda strike, or Jolyne's flaring anger, all four of them have gotten massive fanbases nearly right away.
This is usually in no small part due to each of these shonen protagonists not just being rage monsters, but also likable people. Each also has a bevy of companions to assist them in their quests and special Stand powers to help them with whatever villain they find themselves up against.
One thing that needs to be said about the 10 popular raging shonen protagonists is that they all usually rage whenever someone they love is in danger. Many fans liken this to righteous anger turned up, though as Gon, Naruto, and Mob prove that when anger is misdirected it can lead to serious harm. It goes to show that a lot of these examples are usually anger being directed at a single foe.
If any other examples exist that this list forgot, readers are encouraged to mention them in the comments.
