10 anime where the protagonists rarely interact with the villains

The key part of the character development of an anime protagonist is his interaction with the antagonist. Still, despite all this, there are anime where the protagonists rarely interact with the villains, but this doesn't affect their character development.

This could be the personal choice of the author who doesn't want to spoil the fun for the fans regarding the final showdown or these specific protagonists are too busy polishing their skills that they don't have to interact with the main villain.

This article will compile 10 such anime series where the protagonists hardly interact with the antagonists. While some of these are pretty popular among the fandom, some are hidden gems and offer character development much better than normal series.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man, One Piece, and 8 other anime where the protagonists rarely interact with the villains

1) Chainsaw Man (Denji and the Gun Devil)

Denji (left) and the body parts of Gun Devil (Image via MAPPA)

Denji is the main protagonist whereas the Gun Devil is one of the central antagonists of Chainsaw Man. The anime has revealed the body parts of Gun Devil, which are bullets, that are attracted to his main body. But this colossal devil has not made an official appearance in the anime.

However, in the manga, during the last part, Gun Devil appears in battle against Makima, the central antagonist, and is reduced to a fiend who takes over the body of Aki Hayakawa. This fiend then goes to Denji's residence and tries to kill him. Even though Denji crossed paths with the Gun Devil in his fiend form, these two never interacted in person.

2) One Piece (Monkey D Luffy and Imu)

Imu (left) and Luffy (right) (Image via Toei Animation)

The final antagonist and the Supreme leader of the World Government, Imu, has surprisingly never interacted with the anime's protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy. Even though the protagonist has been on the dead list of the World Government, Imu hasn't stepped forward to take care of him.

On the other hand, the Straw Hat Pirate is soaring through the Grand Line, defeating one enemy after another. With the final war now in full flow, it could be high time for these two to cross paths.

3) Fate Zero (Kirei Kotomine and Kiritsugu Emiya)

Kiritsugu (left) and Kirei (right) (Image via Ufotable)

In the battle for the Holy Grail during the Fourth Great Holy Grail War, Kirei Kotomine acts as the central antagonist, and Kiritsugu Emiya as the central protagonist.

Although there is no such concept of two evil sides in this anime, as different sides fight with each other for the Holy Grail, Kirei is the antagonist as he robs people of their servants. He has never crossed paths with Kiritsugu Emiya, who is adamant about taking every measure to establish peace and demanded the same thing from the Holy Grail.

4) Monster (Dr. Tenma and Johan Liebert)

Johan (left) and Tenma (right) (Image via Madhouse)

With the anime being the chase of the protagonist for the antagonist, Monster follows the story of Dr. Tenma, the protagonist, and Johan, the central antagonist, as the former struggles to save the monster he saved from death years ago when Johan was just a little kid.

Although Tenma has been pretty close to meeting and capturing Johan, these two have hardly interacted and have crossed paths once or twice during the series. But despite this, whenever they cross paths, their conversation gets deep.

5) Jujutsu Kaisen (Itadori Yuji and Kenjaku)

Itadori (left) and Kenjaku (right) (Image via MAPPA)

Jujutsu Kaisen showcases a protagonist, Itadori Yuji, who hardly interacts with one of the major antagonists, Kenjaku, throughout the span of the series. These two are only involved in a fight and dialogue exchange during the Shibuya arc when Kenjaku made preparations for the Culling Games arc.

Even though Sukuna is the ultimate antagonist of the series, Kenjaku also has key importance as an antagonist. Not only did he steal the body of Geto by fooling Gojo Satoru, but he also managed to seal the Honored One inside the Prison Realm.

6) Hunter x Hunter (Gon Freecs and Meruem)

Gon (left) and Meruem (right) (Image via Madhouse)

Meruem is one of the smartest anime villains in the media and Gon is also one of the strongest protagonists. Despite both of them being the main cast members, they never interacted with each other.

Where Gon is busy taking revenge for his subordinates, Meruem is taken care of by Netero. Meruem does live after the fight against the strongest hunter, but he still doesn't interact with Gon until the villain dies.

7) Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World (Natsuki Subaru and Satella)

Subaru (left) and Satella (right) (Image via White Fox)

Satella is mentioned in the first episode of Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World. She is the ultimate villain of the series and Subaru is the protagonist. Satella has never interacted with Subaru, except in the last part of season 2, and has hardly ever made an appearance in the anime.

She summons Subaru into the fantasy world and despite giving him answers about his summoning, she just witnesses Subaru's suffering as he fails, gets killed, and is brought back to life.

8) Babylon (Ai Magase and Seizaki)

Seizaki (left) and Ai Magase (right) (Image via REVOROOT)

Ai Magase is the central antagonist and Seizaki is tasked to capture her as the protagonist of Babylon. The antagonist is the bewitching beauty that makes others kill themselves by just her voice, which is also the main premise of this anime.

Seizaki, a detective, is assigned to stop Ai from her evil doings but these two have never interacted face-to-face. Ai tortures Seizaki's close companion to make him give up so that she can continue with the agenda to make suicide legal in Japan.

9) Spy x Family (Loid Forger and Donovan Desmond)

Loid (left) and Donovon (right) (Image via Wit Studio and CloverWorks)

The story of a detective capturing a criminal by creating a fake family, Spy x Family follows the story of Loid Forger, the protagonist, and Donovan Desmond. The latter is one of the contributing personnel to the school where Anya, Loid's adoptive daughter, is studying.

The detective is assigned the case to slowly close in on him and catch him by surprise. Surprisingly, these two have only interacted once throughout the series. With Anya closing the gap between her and Donovon's son, Damian, Loid is trying his best to make as many opportunities as possible to meet Donovon.

10) Terror in Resonance (Seven and Nine, and Five)

Seven and Nine (left) and Five (right) (Image via MAPPA)

Five, Nine, and Seven are three of the genius students held at the Athena project to create children with the highest IQs. Due to a malfunction, the facility that students are being kept in is destroyed.

Nine and Seven escape and become the protagonists who seek revenge against the world. On the other hand, Five is saved by the U.S. Army and becomes the antagonist who helps the army capture Sphinx, an alliance of Seven and Five. These two sides only interact during Five's last moments.

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Edited by Meenakshi Ajith