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The main protagonist of an anime is often the most popular character in the series. However, that's not always the case. There are several instances where another character (usually a rival) is far more exciting to watch than them, typically resulting in the character having a larger fanbase.
This article will highlight examples where the main protagonist falls short compared to another character in the same series.
All anime characters are eligible for this type of list. The only important thing is that they have to be noticeably more popular than the main protagonists of their anime in some sizable communities (either online or in official polls).
8 examples of anime characters who were more popular than the main protagonist
1) Hiei (Yu Yu Hakusho)
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90s anime fans should remember how influential Yu Yu Hakusho was. It's easy to forget that it was extremely influential in inspiring some more modern works. For example, Masashi Kishimoto (the Naruto mangaka) once stated that Hiei inspired Sasuke and his infamous Sharingan.
Hiei has regularly topped Yu Yu Hakusho's popularity polls by a landslide, and it's not as if the other characters in the series aren't interesting. It's just that Hiei is the perfect prototype for a rival character who has some edgy yet interesting qualities about them.
His roasts of Kuwabara are always entertaining, and he's just a fun fighter to watch in every scene where he's present.
2) Sasuke (Naruto)
Naruto is an incredibly popular main protagonist. He predictably dominated the early official popularity polls, but from the fifth poll onward, Sasuke would start to become more popular. Sasuke became number one on the fifth and sixth polls, although he would eventually lose to Naruto again in the seventh official poll.
That said, there are certainly some vocal fanbases online that vastly prefer Sasuke over Naruto. Their heated rivalry often involves slurs and insults that can't be mentioned here, but it's quite clear that some Sasuke fans vehemently love him and prefer him over the main protagonist.
3) Bakugo (My Hero Academia)
Like Hiei, Bakugo has consistently been number one on the official My Hero Academia character popularity polls. From the second poll onward, he's left Midoriya behind in the dust. The main protagonist of this series even fell behind Todoroki by a landslide in the fourth poll, whereas Bakugo remained number one.
Even though Bakugo might have a noticeable hatedom among some online communities, there is no denying that he's extremely popular. Some people find Midoriya to be too much of a goodie-too-shoes who cried a lot in the beginning, making him seem beta by comparison.
4) Tōshirō Hitsugaya (Bleach)
Ichigo is an incredibly popular main protagonist, but there have been a few instances when Tōshirō Hitsugaya overshadowed him in sheer popularity. He was ranked first in the fourth official popularity poll, with his Zanpakutō also outranking Ichigo’s in the fifth official poll.
This fan favorite is a child prodigy who has a good mastery of ice-based powers (a common trait with other popular characters like My Hero Academia's Todoroki). He's also one of the more likable characters in the series, with his non-romantic relationship with a character like Rangiku Matsumoto being a good highlight of his character.
5) L (Death Note)
When one thinks of the Death Note anime, chances are, they're thinking of L. He's the more easily recognizable character compared to the main protagonist, Light Yagami. It's not as if Light is unpopular, either, it's just that L is arguably the better-written character with the more unique design.
According to Ranker, L is more liked than Light while also being almost half as disliked. Death Note is an anime where the main protagonist is clearly not a good guy (especially compared to the other protagonists on this list), so it's not hard to see why some fans would prefer the likable L by comparison.
6) Rem (Re:Zero)
Sometimes, it's just one supporting character that manages to overshadow the main protagonist. In Re:Zero's case, Rem is undisputedly more popular than Subaru. In the "World's Largest Re:ZERO Character Poll," she scored 49.5% of the total vote, whereas second place (Subaru) only got 12.8% of the total vote.
That's a gigantic discrepancy, especially since other characters on this list usually don't get such massive differences regarding how likable one character could possibly be.
Many of her fans find Rem to be cute, with a terrific amount of character development that also helps make Subaru more likable, by extension.
7) Killua Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)
Gon Freecss is the main protagonist for most of the Hunter x Hunter anime. However, he's noticeably overshadowed by Killua Zoldyck in terms of sheer popularity. Killua Zoldyck has consistently been number one on the official polls, and usually by a solid margin too.
He is a deuteragonist who could believably be a better protagonist than Gon. It helps that he's easy to relate to, comes from a cool assassin family, and undergoes some good character development.
8) Vegeta (Dragon Ball Super)
Historically speaking, Goku has been the more popular anime character than Vegeta. However, a recent poll by Viz Media showed that Vegeta is more popular than Goku. Like many of the previous characters on this list, there are bound to be people who vastly prefer Vegeta over Goku due to their different personalities.
Vegeta is one of the most recognizable anime characters of all time, so the result shouldn't be too shocking. Dragon Ball Super has done a lot to help make him more popular, but it's worth noting that he's not always more popular than Goku in these types of polls, only sometimes.
