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Sarcasm often disguises itself or conveys a rude gesture, and is especially prevalent in shonen anime. From tsunderes to quiet snarkers, shonen anime has a plethora of characters that deploy sarcasm when hearing something displeasing.
From Yu Yu Hakusho's Hiei to plenty of others, sarcasm reigns supreme with these shonen anime characters. This list will rank the sarcasm of shonen anime characters from the least to most sarcastic.
Note: As sarcasm is subjective, the article will go into extensive detail as to why these characters are sarcastic. Thus, the article will contain spoilers on multiple characters' histories and backgrounds. It is also only the author's opinion.
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10 of the most sarcastic characters in shonen anime, ranked by their snark
10) Kusuo Saiki
Kusuo Saiki in the shonen anime comedy The Disastrous Life of Saiki K is a quiet, deadpan sort of snarker. His sarcasm usually comes in the form of inner sarcasm, as he prefers to stay as straight-faced as possible. He is considered something of a tsundere, never insulting people to their faces and always selfless despite his desire to be left alone.
Being a psychic means Saiki needs to keep his thoughts and powers in check. It means no outward displays of emotion, no friends, and no real experiences, since his powers either go haywire or knowing people's true feelings tend to end relationships fast.
He does come to accept that he needs people, however, throughout the couse of the anime and manga.
9) Riza Hawkeye
Riza Hawkeye is the "sane" member of Roy Mustang's squad in the shonen anime Fullmetal Alchemist. She is usually cool under pressure, with her time in Ishval rendering her nearly stoic, cold, and rigid more than anything else. She also has a dry and sardonic sense of humor.
That is not all there is to her, mind you, but it is the outward facing appearance that she puts up. Those close to her know that there is more to her than her no-nonsense attitude. The Elric brothers in particular know that beneath her professional aura is a kind soul who understands the difficulty of carrying a heavy burden.
Imagine trying to balance Roy Mustang's hotheadedness with the other Amestrian military members. The only reason why she's this is low is because the other entries have more to deal with.
8) Kyon
This unlucky guy is the main protagonist of the shonen anime Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and narrator to boot. He is the second person to join the SOS Brigade, and unintentionally gave Haruhi Suzumiya the idea of forming the club.
He is the "normal" or sane one, just like Yomi. This usually results in several different contradictions between his outward stated desires and his actual actions. For example, he outwardly presents himself as a skeptic, always arguing in favor of the mundane, and claimed that Haruhi forced him to join the SOS Brigade.
However, Kyon confessed in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya's opening narration that he wants extraordinary things to exist.
Kyon is a tsundere, according to the other members of the cast, since he hides his feelings from his friends. His inner monologue states that he disregards Haruhi despite his continued care and fondness for her.
7) Kiyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara
The "sane" one of the core group of friends in the shonen anime Azumanga Diaoh, Yomi is the most level-headed of the group with a high tolerance for antics. This includes snarking. Lots of snarking.
Yomi also manages to get one up on her classmates by upcutting Osaka when she cannot take it anymore. There is also the fact that she tends to have a mean sense of humor: she feeds a super spicy croquette to Osaka who can't handle spice, and gives the animal-loving and shy Sakaki a can of bear stew.
So, why is she like this? She is the smartest in the class out of her friends and is sometimes rather embarrassed to be around them, and acts as the voice of reason.
6) Piccolo
A grumpy person who enjoys solitude, Piccolo from the shonen anime Dragon Ball Z is most certainly a dry snarker. He can also be confrontational towards people, with direct and honest opinions about a situation or an individual, especially in battle.
As the original son of King Piccolo, his original goal was world domination and destruction. The thing is, after a while, he began to like the Earth and its people. Piccolo went from being a harshly evil person to more angry and grumpy, though not as he used to be.
Piccolo got better thanks to training Gohan but is still quick to stress and anger thanks to the antics of the other Z fighters, especially Goku.
5) Shikamaru Nara
Shikamaru is also probably the most snarky character in the ninja-focused shonen anime Naruto, besides Kakashi Hatake, never one to let a situation pass by without his trademark "what a drag" catchphrase. He calls everything that, to the point where his own teammate Ino has to shake him into compliance!
This does not fade during adulthood either. So, where does this come from? It was an early goal of his, wanting to live unremarkably, free of anything of note, and then to die just as unremarkably as he lived. This changed when his sensei, Asuma Sarotobi, died.
Shikamaru still snarks as of Boruto, but is much more likely to adapt to challenges and take them on then not face them or take the easy way out.
4) Jotaro Kujo
There is a reason why Jotaro's catchphrase is "yare, yare, daze" or Good Grief. Despite hardly saying anything unless he absolutely has to, Jotaro Kujo of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders tends to lean more on the snarky side, especially after a villain is defeated.
Jotaro started out as rather a reserved, quiet individual, who is often satisfied with expressing himself in short phrases. This may have been due to Star Platinum manifesting within him at 17 and him getting into a fight and becoming a delinquent, but the exact cause is unknown. Regardless, he is more than happy to snark about everyone, from allies to enemies.
This obviously changed over the course of the Egypt Arc, and as of Stone Ocean, he is actively caring about other people like his daughter Jolyne.
3) Levi Ackerman
As if the murderous Titans and trying to contain the reckless Scouts is not enough, shonen anime captain Levi Ackerman also has to deal with the lack of cleanliness on display upon his first arrival. Levi is considered nearly unapproachable due to his reserved emotions and insulting manner of speaking.
Levi is provocative and uses vulgar language to those that oppose or irritate him, such as Eren. He is very sardonic towards the Military Police, merchants, and, generally speaking, anyone that has not seen combat. He is used to employing violence to get others to listen to him as he nearly choked out Historia Reiss when she declined to be queen at first.
This behavior stems from a terrible past. His mother died and he lived in squalor, he was basically chiseled as a member of the Ackerman clan, thanks to Kenny. Levi did eventually join the Survey Corps, and the rest is history.
2) Seto Kaiba
Iconic shonen anime character Seto Kaiba usually defaults to snark and sarcasm as his default mode of communication. But when you have to deal with not just your sworn rival, but a bunch of ancient, magical/destiny nonsense? You would be snarky too.
It is practically Kaiba's default state of mind. He has to be, when you consider his upbringing. Seto Kaiba's father, Gozaboro, was a rather shrewd businessman, but a harsh and cruel patriarch at home. He practically groomed Seto to be twice the cutting and ruthless person he was.
Yugi Moto and company were able to turn Seto's sarcasm around into genuine care. Though Kaiba's more a tsundere than Saiki, he swallows that to team up whenever threats to the world arise.
1) Hiei
Looking for someone even more cynical and misanthrophic than Seto Kaiba? Look no further than the shonen anime Yu Yu Hakusho's very own Hiei. Whilst having cooled off since his original villainous appearance, Hiei's sharp tongue has not left him, especially since he is on a team with the loud Kuwabara, the punk Yusuke, and the more level headed Kurama.
Putting a fine point on it? Hiei has no respect for humanity, their emotions, nor any other being he considers weaker than himself. He is like Vegeta, but without the Prince of All Saiyans bit. Despite this misanthropy, Hiei does show a degree of respect towards his companions, and is a bit of a hypocrite at times.
It probably stems from not only being raised by bandits, but his actual love and care for his sister Yukina. He pushed himself to extremes for her and continued to do so throughout the series.
