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A massive amount of shonen anime characters could fill a complete book. The amount of people that know what they want to be or who they really are could easily fit a few chapters, likewise the ones in the dark about their true identities.
This means that there are many shonen anime characters that are either being lied to or otherwise have something hidden about them that results in a long character arc. From Goku's Saiyan Heritage to the mysteries behind Fate's Servants, plenty of shonen anime characters have had this happen to them. This list will chronicle 10 shonen anime characters that are in the dark about their true identities.
Disclaimer: This list contains spoilers for plenty of popular shonen anime, past and present. It is also subject to the author's opinion.
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10 shonen anime characters blindsided by their true identities
1) Goku as a Saiyan
As it turns out, Goku being a Saiyan named Kakarot was something he forgot about. He was sent to Earth at a young age and bonked his head hard when his capsule crashed, with his grandfather Gohan rescuing him. Goku was alerted to this heritage when his brother Raditz came down, kidnapped his son and forced him to fight.
Over the course of shonen anime Dragon Ball Z and Super, this iconic shonen anime character came to grips with his Saiyan heritage and ultimately rejected the violent ways. He's more of Earth than he ever was of Planet Vegeta, though learning about his father most definitely helped him get things straight.
Point being, he's the guardian of Earth through and through.
2) Naruto as the Hokage’s son
To be completely fair, most fans theorized that Minato was Naruto's father long before it was revealed in the shonen anime Naruto. But that didn't change how heartbreaking and heartwarming it was when Naruto found out. Punching his father's spiritual manifestation was probably not how Naruto expected the revelation to happen, but neither did he expect to get punched by his mom.
To put this in short: Naruto is the offspring of the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. The two were deeply in love and had their lives cut short by Kurama and Obito's attack on Konoha. The fact that it was hidden from him didn't really bother Naruto all that much.
It is worth mentioning that Naruto was never given much time to properly absorb and process it, given he was a teen at the time and was dealing with Pain's assault.
3) Atem/Yami Yugi as Pharaoh
This was one of the many overarching mysteries in the original shonen anime Yu-Gi-Oh! Yugi and Yami both had their suspicions as to Yami's true identity and memories, but they were locked out even as the puzzle was solved and they started living together. Yami was aware of his Egyptian heritage, but it wasn't until the Battle City Arc that the truth began coming clear.
The truth is that Yami is the reincarnation of the Pharaoh Atem, rebirthed after 3,000 years of having his spirit sealed in the Millennium Puzzle. This became something of a character development point throughout the whole series, as Yami gained more memories.
Ultimately, it came down to one final duel between Yugi and Yami, where Yugi won and Atem departed from the world.
4) Tenchi Masaki as a physical God
One of the most unlucky, or lucky (depending on one's point of view) character in a shonen anime is a God. Tenchi Masaki is a human-alien hybrid similar to Gohan from Dragon Ball Z. His powers don't manifest until much later in the original OVAs and anime, nor does he realize what he is, until told of it.
It explains how he survives being pursued by Ryoko and other dangerous people capable of destroying the Earth three times over. His grandfather purposefully kept his Juraian heritage from him to protect him, so Tenchi had to discover his Light Hawk Wings and other powers on his own after being revived by a Goddess.
Trying to do that and survive several alien women attracted to him, plus dealing with extra-teresstrial threats, wasn't easy.
5) Yusuke Urameshi having Mazoku blood
The punk protagonist of Yu Yu Hakusho having demon ancestry was completely unknown about it. In fact, it wasn't revealed to him until his second death at the hands of the S-class human Sensui during the Chapter Black Saga. That death came about after giving up his life to unlock the rest of Team Urameshi's hidden potential, modeled after Kuwabara doing the same thing during the Dark Tournament.
As was revealed to the protagonist and the audience, Yusuke is an ancestor of the demon Raizen. The latter explained that through the Avatism process as a result of Yusuke's subsequent spirit detective missions, he was able ot unlock these powers. Now, Raizen had to possess Yusuke to kill Sensui since he still couldn't control this power and this made him vengeful.
Yusuke wouldn't get the chance until later to track Raizen down and settle that score.
6) Ichigo as a Quincy, among other things
Is it possible for a shonen anime character to have multiple things that are special about them that they have no clue about? Bleach's main protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, would merit study as to how many things he'd had no clue about. From his Hollow form to his Quincy heritage, the man might as well be clueless about everything, involving Shinigami.
In fact, he was clueless about everything until Rukia came into his life. He was classified as a Fullbringer due to the traces of a Hollow Reiryoku passed on to him from birth by his mother, who was a Hollow victim. His mother was also a full blooded Quincy, and Ichigo was able to tap into his Hollow powers thanks to this heritage.
It certainly helped him on many occasions, with multiple power boosts against various threats like Aizen, Grimmjow, Ulquiorra Cifer, and Yhwach.
7) Allen Walker being a Noah
The shonen anime D-Gray Man might not be as well known today, but that doesn't mean that Allen Walker's hidden identity of being the 14th Noah doesn't count. To summarize, the Noah family consider themselves the "true apostles of God" and are the main antagonists of the series. Allen's whole storyline is an amnesia arc.
This was revealed to him by his uncle Nea Walker, whom Allen supposedly volunteered to be a host for. It was blanked out his memory purposefully and put a major target on his back from allies and enemies alike. It doesn't help that Allen is also supposedly marked as being chosen to weild the Heart of Innocence that can destroy the Millennium Earl.
8) Luffy's middle Intial/Gear V
Monkey D. Luffy started out as a kid wanting to be the Pirate King. It's rather odd how the shonen anime and manga One Piece has escalated into huger stakes like the nature of heaven and government propaganda. There are two things that Luffy really wasn't aware of as far as his identity goes: his middle initial and Gear V.
There are quite a few things involved with Luffy's overall identity. For one, his father is the leader of the Revolutionary Army and his family line carries the mythical Will of D, which is comparable to being "God's Archenemy," according to Donquixote Rosinante, meaning a D. will fight and possibly dethrone the Celestial Dragons.
The other part is Luffy's apparant ableness to awaken his Devil Fruit's hidden link to the ancient Sun God Nika. This unleashed Gear V, which helped him triumph over Kaidou and drew theories that Luffy was Nika's descendant.
9) The subjects of Ymir/Eren as a Titan Shifter
While this entry applies to all citizens of Paradis, it chiefly applies to Eren Yeager's questions as to what his father Grisha was hiding in his basement. To put all the revelations in the shonen anime Attack on Titan in perspective: all the citizens of Paradis are considered devils by the rest of the world due to the sins of the ancient nation of Eldia and years of unquestioned propaganda.
On a more personal note, Eren Yeager's quest to find the mystery behind the Titans and crush them all ultimately backfired on him. Not only did he have Titan Shifter abilities implanted in him and then erased from his memory, but he too was an Eldian with his collective memories erased.
It's no wonder this shonen anime hothead turned villain, that and being trapped inside omniscent powers that made time move differently.
10) The Fate servants/Saber
Overall, the Servants of the Fate franchise (but more particularly the shonen anime adaptation Fate Stay/Night) have collective amnesia. They were summoned by the Holy Grail to participate in the Holy Grail Wars under the masters of various magical talents. The twist was that plenty of them actually are reincarnations of past historical and mythical figures.
Consider Saber aka Atoria Pendragon, for instance. She's the one most people know or are familiar with. She is King Arthur from the English myth, only gender-swapped. The true memories and true names of all Servants are sealed, or else they can reveal plenty of things like weaknesses or their story. This could lead to a massive disadvantage.
Some don't care, like Jack the Ripper, while others keep it a closely guarded secret.
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