10 video game protagonists who'd be great anime main characters

Video game protagonists do pretty well as anime main characters and Cyberpunk is a prime example of such an example. However, there exists a vast amount of other video game protagonists from games of different origins that might do extremely well, be it in case of popularity or financial profit for a production studio, but have little chance of getting adapted.

Some of these video games already have a build-up story that an anime studio could straight-up adapt and some of them have elements that could be adapted into an anime series and have the potential to mark its name in history. This article lists 10 of the most interesting and lore-worthy video game protagonists who might work out as anime main characters.

Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed in this article solely belong to the author.

Lara Croft, Kratos, and 8 other video game protagonists who'd be great anime main characters

1) The Hunter (Bloodborne)

The hunter as seen in the video game (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Bloodborne is a 2016 action game where a terminally ill person, the Hunter, travels the streets of Yharnam looking for the mysterious Paleblood. While Hunter's reasons for obtaining the Paleblood are unknown, his actions in the series are controlled by the player.

This makes him one of the video game protagonists worthy of becoming an anime main character as a singular route of his journey could be adapted into an anime. This would be very similar to the adaptation of visual novels like Clannad where a lot of routes exist but the anime adaptation focuses on a singular one.

2) Laurence Barnes, a.k.a. Prophet (Crysis)

Laurence Barnes as seen in the video game (Image via Crytek)

The man whose urge for peace soon robbed him of his humanity, Laurence Barnes's story started with him using a nano suit as a primary weapon to soon realize its importance in the era he was fighting in. In Crysis 2, he became biologically linked to his suit at the cost of healing him from the Ceph virus.

However, he passed his suit to his friend because he considered the suit's existence more crucial than his life, all for the war against aliens. Barne's deep connection with the suit soon had him coming back to life as a consciousness inside the suit. After realizing he had lost his humanity, he went all out against the aliens, and the suit rebuilt his body at the end, vanishing from existence.

With the game showcasing themes from Monster (Johan) and lore from Parasyte (Shinichi and Migi), Prophet might be one of the video game protagonists who might give the current anime main characters a run for their money.

3) Kratos (God of War)

Kratos as seen in the video game (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

One of the most famous video game protagonists known for his tragic life, Kratos from God of War might work as one of the most moving anime main characters. Born as a Spartan, Kratos loved his family but was slowly robbed of his close ones, becoming a ruthless fighter.

After this, he joined the gods by killing the God of War and becoming one. Unfortunately, he started facing betrayal and eventually whipped the entire Greek civilization. Returning to the battle with his son Atreus in God of War: Ragnarok, Kratos discovered that his son was Loki in reality. After the Ragnorok concluded, Kratos parted ways with his son as he became a kind god and a great father.

The story might be a direct parallel to Makoto Yukimura's Vinland Saga taking place in a similar era (the Viking Era). Just like Kratos, Thorfinn slowly lost his lust for war and became forgiving. Hinting that the former might be one of the few video game protagonists who could work as one of the best anime main characters in an anime adaptation.

4) Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)

Lara Croft as seen in the anime (Image via Netflix)

Tomb Raider follows the story of Lara Croft born into the family of aristocrats as she diverts from her lineage and takes up the profession of an archeologist due to her love for exploring the world and uncovering mysteries.

Lara Croft's journey could be considered similar to Riko from Made in Abyss with the latter media following a much sinister storyline. The video game has already received an anime with a simplified storyline and below-par animation. However, if it is done justice, Lara Croft might be one of the few video game characters who could become one of the brightest anime main characters.

5) Marcus Michael Fenix (Gears of War)

Marcus Fenix as seen in the video game (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

The video game following the apparent theme of war, Gears of War has more than just to its name and all due to its protagonist, Marcus Fenix. Forced to take an academic future, Marcus followed his interest and joined the military (Coalition of Ordered Governments). However, he soon faced the locust that could annihilate the entire population of Earth due to which he left his post.

Facing imprisonment for his negligence, he was later saved to fight the locust and won at the cost of his father who died while saving humanity. The video game combines themes from Attack on Titan and other similar anime, making its protagonist one of the video game protagonists who might work out as one of the most loving anime main characters.

6) Zagreus (Hades)

Zagreus as seen in the video game (Image via Supergiant Games)

Zagreus was the son of the God of the Underworld (Hades) in Hades. He had no idea about who his mother was so he rebelled against his father and fought the Underworld to reach her. The interesting thing about his fight was that he had to start from his house whenever he died, making the gameplay more engaging.

As some fans might have already noticed, the video game grabs the Return By Death element of Re: Zero but doesn't go too far with it. This, with some other interesting ideas of the video game, might make Zagreus one of the few video game protagonists who would make one of the most classical anime main characters.

7) Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil)

Leon Kennedy as seen in the video game (Image via Capcom)

One of the most interesting video game protagonists from the Resident Evil franchise, Leon Kennedy's journey started in Resident Evil 2 where he was introduced as a police officer. As he kept solving cases and completing missions, he soon became known as one of the most professional investigators in video games.

His route in life was similar to some of the classic anime characters like L from Death Note (renowned detective) and Sohma from Food Wars (renowned chef). Combined with the engaging story from Resident Evil, Leon might be one of the few video game protagonists who could become one of the most interesting anime main characters.

8) Link (The Legend of Zelda)

Link as seen in the video game (Image via Nintendo)

Link is one of the most iconic video game protagonists known for his character design and deeds for the Land of Hyrule. He was first introduced in The Legend of Zelda where his role was to protect Princess Zelda from the evil Ganondorf, a role he followed in the sequel video games.

Link represented one of the Triforce elements (courage) and protected Zelda so that Ganondorf couldn't obtain all the Triforce elements and destroy everything. His heroic acts make him the closest to some classic anime main characters like Naruto from Naruto.

Moreover, the video game series follows similar themes to the Fate franchise (with the Holy Grail paralleling the Triforce elements, combining which would let the user gain ultimate power). Given the success of the Fate franchise, Link might also become one of the video game protagonists who could become one of the few anime main characters who have more than what meets the eye.

9) Samus Aran (Metroid franchise)

Samus Aran as seen in the video game (Image via Nintendo)

Samus Aran's parents died when she was little when she was adopted by a mysterious alien-like bird. The bird gave Samus her iconic suit and after the bird was killed by Space Pirates, Samus' journey started as a bounty hunter who visited different planets to hunt Space Pirates.

What makes Samus Aran one of the few video game protagonists who could do well as anime main characters is her lore where she adapted to her surroundings after losing her parents (similar to Asta from Black Clover). Moreover, her profession as a bounty hunter might also work as different arcs featuring her invasion of different planets.

10) Leon Belmont (Castlevania)

Leon Belmont as seen in the video game (Image via Konami)

The first Belmont to own the Vampire Killer whip and start vampire hunting, Leon Belmont might be one of the few video game protagonists who could work well as anime main characters. He got his hate from Vampires when Walter Bernhard kidnapped his wife and turned her into a Vampire.

After killing Walter, Leon mourned the death of his wife and swore to fight against the evil vampires. His story follows similar themes to anime series like Demon Slayer and Bleach (where two sides fight each other). Leon also received a cameo in the Castlevania anime but a whole prequel on his origins might work wonders.

Final thoughts

Not being featured in a series/movie doesn't mean that video game protagonists don't have enough lore and this list is a prime example of this.

The video game protagonists mentioned here have similar lore to some classic and ground-breaking anime series hinting that they might work out as anime main characters in a series solely focused on their stories and what they are known for in the gaming world.

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Edited by Ameen Fatima