'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
It is not unusual to see one’s favorite anime characters to be unlucky in love. Most of the romance anime features “love-triangle” stories, where at least one person gets hurt because of unrequited love.
Be it Naruto Uzumaki from Naruto or Jean from Attack on Titan; they have been set aside by their love interests, albeit by their unconditional loyalty. Nonetheless, these characters become memorable due to their unique character sketches and their role in progressing the plot. This list talks about 10 friendzoned anime characters from various anime.
From Rem to Naruto Uzumaki, here's a list of 10 anime characters who were friendzoned
1. Oshi Asioko- A Sign of Affection
Trending
A Sign of Affection created quite a stir among A Silent Voice fans when it was released earlier this year. It follows the life of a university student, Yuki, with congenital hearing loss. This anime is an exploration of young individuals’ love life.
Yuki and Oshi Asioko were childhood friends and studied at the same university. Although he never voiced his affection to Yuki, he clearly liked her. Oshi knows sign language and helps Yuki whenever he can.
Oshi is quite protective of Yuki and often gets worrisome. He shows clear jealousy when he finds out Yuki is going out with Itsoumi Nagi. However, his affection is not reciprocated, and he stays by Yuki’s side as a friend.
2. Ami Kawashima- Toradora!
Ami Kawashima from Toradora! is a famous name among friendzoned anime characters. Toradora! is a story of high school life problems with the characters’ identity crises.
Ami is a childhood friend of Yasuka Kitamura, Taiga’s initial love interest. She is the only character among the five main characters who shows maturity and takes quick action.
As the lives of 5 characters intertwine, the plot progresses towards a complex love story. Ami noticed Ryuuji and Taiga’s mutual affection and often instigated them to convey it to each other, albeit liking Ryuuji herself. Ami understood her affection could not be reciprocated, so she stayed as a friend to them and hid her feelings.
3. Rem- Re: Zero
Rem from the 2016 anime Re: Zero is one of the most popular female anime characters. Even after winning Crunchyroll’s “Best Girl” award, when the writer made Subaru reject her, fans started the trend- “Blue-haired anime characters stay single.”
Initially, Rem does not trust Subaru and kills him twice; later, when Subaru saves her, she expresses her feelings for him. Subaru rejected her saying he likes Emilia. Even after this, Rem chose to stick by his side as a loyal acquaintance.
Even though in Arc 3, Subaru admits he likes her and can take her as a “second wife” only if Emilia accepts, she is still a second choice and practically friendzoned.
4. Naruto- Naruto
Among the list of friendzoned anime characters, the never-giving-up Naruto Uzumaki can stand at the top. Even though Sakura only saw him as a friend, Naruto has been fascinated with Sakura since his childhood.
Naruto and Sakura share a close friendship and care for each other. However, she never saw Naruto as anything more than a good friend. Knowing that she loves Sasuke, Naruto never comes between them and later falls in love with Hinata.
Although, in the end, both of them find love matches, we cannot discount the fact that Naruto has been friendzoned for a long time.
5. Satoru Fujinuma- Erased
The 2016 Sci-fi thriller anime Erased is famous for its thrilling plot and the cat-and-chase between Satoru Fujinuma and a serial killer. Satoru gained the power of going into the past through “revival” and was transported 18 years back after his mother’s murder.
Satoru tries to stop the killings and befriends all the victims to protect them. During these incidents, he started liking Kayoka Hinazuki, a victim.
After Satoru wakes up from the coma, he finds that Kayo has married Hiromi Sugita. Kayo apologizes to Satoru for leaving him behind and leading a normal life while he has faced the ordeal, trying to save her and others. Nonetheless, Satoru was clearly friendzoned.
6. Yasushi Takagi- Nana
Nana O. and Yasu’s relationship can be a topic of debate among anime fans. Nana follows the lives of two women named Nana, who accidentally met during their journey to Tokyo.
Nana Osaki, the former vocalist of Blast moved to Tokyo to start her journey to create a band. Nobu, another member of Blast follows her and they find Shin, however, they can’t find a drummer. Nana’s friend and Blast’s former drummer Yasushi Takagi comes to Tokyo leaving her law farm to look after Nana and joins their band. Throughout the anime, Yasu safeguards Nana and stays by her side, mostly when her boyfriend Ren leaves her.
Yasu’s over-protectiveness towards Nana transcends the limit of friendship and develops into love, but he never imposes his affection on Nana, knowing that she sees him as a friend.
7. Naoka Ueno- A Silent Voice
The 2016 anime movie A Silent Voice was a sensation among anime watchers and movie geeks alike. “Guilt conscious” of the main characters is the driving force behind the plot.
The movie follows the life of Shoya Ishida, from his elementary school to his high school years. It features multiple characters with intertwined backstories. Naoka Ueno was one of his childhood friends who seemingly betrayed him.
Ishida suffers from guilt consciousness for ill-treating Shoko Nishimiya and learns sign language to apologize to her. Ishida tries to gather all of his childhood friends to make things right. However, the plot gets more complicated with Shoko, Ishida’s self-hatred, and Naoka’s unrequited affection for Ishida and not accepting Shoko. Ultimately, all the characters learn to accept their true selves and desires. However, Naoka stays as a friend to Ishida.
8. Hanabi Yasuraoka- Scum's Wish
The 2017 anime Scum’s Wish is an in-depth exploration of the main characters’ identity and desire. The plot revolves around a complicated love story shared among Hanabi, Narumi, Mugi, and Akane.
Narumi Kanai and Hanabi are childhood friends and neighbors. Narumi has been helping Hanabi since childhood after her father passed away. This helped Hanabi start loving Kanai and be dependent on him.
However, her feelings are not reciprocated. Narumi is in love with Akane, making Hanabi only a friend or a sister to Narumi.
9. Tsubaki Sawabe- Your Lie in April
Your Lie in April follows the life of young piano prodigy Kosei Arima, and his struggle to overcome the trauma of his mother’s death. Tsubaki Sawabe and Ryota Watari have been supporting Kosei and helping him out since that incident.
During high school, Kosei meets Kaori, who makes him start playing piano again. Kosei and Kaori share a mutual affection for each other, but Kaori hides it.
On the other hand, Tsubaki was in love with Kosei and stayed by his side throughout the series. However, Kosei could not see her as anything more than a friend. Even after Kaori’s death, Trubaki didn’t leave Kosei and helped him counter it.
10. Jean Kriesten- Attack on Titan
A famous name among friendzoned anime characters is Jean Kriestein from Attack on Titan. For Jean, Mikasa was love at first sight, and he held onto his feelings until the end of the series.
There isn’t much scope for a romance in the plot of Attack on Titan. However, Eren and Mikasa’s underlying mutual affection for each other was evident from the very start of the series. In Eren and Mikasa’s love story, Jean is just a friend-zoned guy. Although some fans might disagree with Mikasa and Jean getting married after Eren’s death, it is not factually proven either in the anime or the manga.
Even though Jean and Mikasa’s future can be a topic of debate, there’s no denying that Jean wanted a normal life with Mikasa, and supported her throughout the series while putting himself in danger.
Final Thoughts
Be it Toradora! or Nana, anime tends to portray the difficulty of young adult life and the complexities of being in love. Therefore, romance in anime is always difficult. All the characters struggle to overcome their insecurities and disagreement with reality.
The friendzoned anime character is a common trope in romance anime, it adds realism to the plot. Most netizens have faced rejection at least once in their life, therefore watching their favorite anime characters overcome the same situation can make them hopeful about their lives.
