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Protagonists in shonen anime tend to follow a formula: they usually want to be the very best, are usually pretty powerful, and are usually some kind of take on an underdog/hotblooded trope.
Then you have protagonists who break that mold, who do different things or are otherwise unique in some way. For every Goku from Dragon Ball that prioritizes training, there's a Saiki that wants nothing more than peace.
This article will document 10 of the most unique shonen anime protagonists, ranked for what makes them unique amongst other shonen anime protagonists.
Disclaimer: Spoilers are included for the anime characters discussed on this list. The entire article represents only the author's opinion.
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10 shonen anime characters like Luffy, Midoriya, and Eren, ranked for uniqueness
10) Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
Monkey D. Luffy is the pirate captain of the Straw Hat Crew in the shonen anime series One Piece. His entire goal is to become the Pirate King, along with his rather colorful crew who have hopes and dreams of their own. Together, they sail the seas, brave rival pirates, Marines, and all kinds of fantastical discoveries and adventures!
What makes Luffy unique isn't just his positive attitude and huge appetite, it's the range of abilities he possesses. At first, he was unique for being made of rubber and nearly impervious to harm unless dropped in water. Haki and Gears were then introduced, and Luffy became the reincarnation of the Sun God!
9) Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia)
Izuku Midoriya, better known by his hero name Deku, was born Quirkless in a world where superpowers exist for over 80% of the population in the shonen anime My Hero Academia. After a chance encounter with the Number one hero, All Might, Deku was granted the powers of One for All and vowed to become a hero.
Deku is pretty unique amongst shonen anime protagonists because he starts off without a superpower and yet wants to become a hero regardless. His whole deal is that he's trying to control a superpower that's not entirely his, which results in quite a lot of very bad injuries at first. He also becomes jaded as the series goes on.
8) Jolyne Cujoh (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean)
The first female lead character in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure takes after her father Jotaro Cujoh in many ways. They're both hard-headed and stubborn, both have unique Stands, and they both end up with a hard grudge against their respective villains.
Jolyne was in prison at the start for a crime she never committed, and stayed there to save Jotaro when his soul and Stand are stolen.
Jolyne's uniqueness is first and foremost that she's the first female lead in the series, with major characters like Lisa Lisa and Trish Una notwithstanding. She's also quite intelligent and creative with the use of her Stand Stone Free as she's able to use its string for a variety of purposes.
7) Koro Sensei (Assassination Classroom)
A mischievous, yet helpful, teacher and octopus-looking man, Koro Sensei of Assassination Classroom is one of the oddest teachers to ever grace the shonen anime world. Attempting to atone for a rather dark past as the lethal assassin known as The Reaper, Koro Sensei gives Class 3-E one grand assignment: kill him in a year, or else he will blow up the Earth.
That last part is a lie, he's the one that's going to blow up and the Earth will blow up with him. That and his appearance aside, Koro Sensei is also unique for his genuinely helpful attitude and and possesses a lack of disproportionate retribution that plagues most teachers in shonen anime. He truly wants to help his students succeed!
6) Eren Yeager (Attack on Titan)
When the monstrous Titans breached Wall Maria in the dark shonen anime Attack on Titan, Eren Yeager's mother was among those killed. This set young Eren on a plan to exterminate all the Titans that lived, ultimately culminating in several titanic battles against the Female, Colossal, and Armored Titans. All that changed once the truth of his father's findings was finally revealed.
Long story short about Eren? He's got the powers of Attack Titan, Founding Titan, and most recently in the anime, War Hammer Titan. That's quite a powerful trio in and of itself, but to him as a character he went from being a boy with murderous intent against an enemy that seemed all but invincible, to a man with genocidal ambitions.
A fall to villainy, in other words. Highly atypical of shonen anime protagonists.
5) Kusuo Saiki (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.)
Kusuo Saiki is a psychic from The Disastrous Life of Saiki K, who was born with psychic abilites. The problem is, being an awesome psychic with powers like teleportation caused more problems and ruined a lot of experiences in his childhood for him. He became introverted as a result, avoiding people and troublesome situations.
Saiki is unique in that he wants a quiet life, which is atypical for a shonen protagonist. Shonen anime protagonists usually want to be the best or have some kind of power boost, but Saiki wants neither. He's selfless at heart, and ultimately someone who prefers to be left alone.
4) Light Yagami (Death Note)
The son of a member of the Japanese Task Force, Light Yagami takes it upon himself to play God when he gets ahold of a mysterious book called the Death Note. He starts by killing a few criminals. Then graduates to FBI agents on his trail. He then continues to move along the line, killing task force members, petty criminals, and others on his tail even after being made part of the Task Force.
Light is infamous for being overtly villainous and far different than any other shonen anime protagonist that isn't Eren Yeager or seinen protagonist Lelouch vi Britannia. He's also quite possibly one of the smarter characters in terms of manipulation and having backup plans within backup plans.
3) Senku Ishigami (Dr. Stone)
Speaking of highly atypical, Senku Ishigami represents another unique thing rarely seen in shonen anime: valuing brains over brawn. He kind of has to, however, as Dr. Stone has a post apocalyptic world where nearly the entire population of Earth has been petrified. It's up to Senku and his friend Taiju Oki to cure humanity, using science!
This approach is extremely unique for shonen protagonists, as most are content to use physical strength or special powers to power through obstacles in their way. Senku cannot power through, he's just a guy. So, he has to rely on his genius intellect, his Eidetic memory, and aid from Oki and Kaskei in crafting.
2) Tanjiro Kamado (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba)
Once a simple boy in a charcoal mining family, Tanjiro Kamado's life changed forever when his family was slaughtered by Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji. Only Tanjiro's sister, Nezuko, was spared, albeit being turned into a demon. After having to survive demon and slayer attacks, he enlists in the Demon Slayer Corps all the while trying to cure Nezuko from her condition.
Tanjiro is patient, doesn't rush into fights, doesn't have inherent skills or special abilities, and his goal is literally just to live a normal life after curing his sister. He also stays positive no matter what the situation, doesn't have a true rival, and doesn't fight for its own sake, but only when needed. Very unique among shonen anime protagonists!
1) Gintoki Sakata (Gintama)
Gintama's main protagonist, Gintoki Sakata, had a lot going on as a samurai. His old academy burned down, and all but two of his fellow students were slain during the Joui Wars, and he eventually wanted to die for everything he'd been through, were it not for several kind acts by strangers. He founded Yorozuya alongside Shimura Shinpachi, Kagura, and Sadaharu to do errands and odd jobs for a fee.
Gintoki is already unique in comparison to the other shonen anime protagonists on this list for simply being an adult when the anime starts, rather than growing into one. He's also incredibly lazy, lounging around, blowing all his savings on random stuff, always reading Shonen Jump of all things and rather behind on his rent. Despite this, he always cares about his workers and friends, and tries to help them.
