Shonen anime's 10 most misunderstood characters

Shonen anime and manga are both full of characters who are often easily misunderstood by fans. Whether via authorial intent being misunderstood or not explained properly, or just fan interpretation going awry, many have tended to misconstrue character motivations and development a lot.

This usually means that these misunderstandings can go on for years without any correction. It gets worse when these misconceptions become the only thing that fans remember or otherwise perpetuate. These are only 10 of shonen anime's most misunderstood characters, with a couple of manga ones thrown in too.

Disclaimer: This list is subject to the author's opinion. It will also contain spoilers for all the shonen anime discussed.

10 shonen anime characters that fans misunderstand

1) Gabi Braun (Attack on Titan)

To fully contextualize Gabi Braun's actions as well as the overblown hate against her, shonen anime fans must remember a few key facts. The first is that Gabi Braun is an Eldian in Marley, part of the brainwashed and ostracized minority who are duped by propaganda into believing they're devils. Her extreme hate for the people of Paradis is due to that propaganda being shoved at her from such a young age.

Next was the fact that she was a child soldier, and felt that her only contribution and way to get ahead was to become the very thing she's prosecuted for: cannon fodder for Marley. She acted the same way any fanatically indoctrinated child soldier would and that included killing Sasha as one of the "devils" she was told so much about.

Much like Reiner, Gabi did come around after realizing just how warped the propaganda fed to her was. Such a development is actually rare in shonen anime.

2) Sakura Haruno (Naruto)

Sakura Haruno (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Sakura Haruno, without a doubt, is responsible for Naruto and Sasuke's survival. Without her healing powers as well as the ability to keep Naruto's head straight, the titular shonen anime character would've died many times over. Though shonen anime fans recall Sakura being ultimately useless, that's an overblown meme that only has any story prominence in the Land of Waves mission at the very start of Naruto.

To wit, Sakura was responsible for saving Naruto and Sasuke in the Forest of Death. She constantly tried to get them both to stop fighting when they were younger, and even tried to stop Sasuke multiple times. Even the more misconstrued elements, like her trying to get Naruto off of Sasuke's trail by saying she loved him, was an attempt to help him get out of his funk.

She helped Kakashi fight Kaguya and was instrumental in sealing her too. Her exploits in Boruto count as well, as she's not only physically stronger but more adept at healing, as she saved Boruto's life multiple times.

3) Ash Ketchum (Pokémon)

Ash Ketchum, world Champ (Image via OLM Inc)

Many Pokémon fans, especially game fans, have gone after the main protagonist of the main shonen anime more than once. Picking any one misunderstanding would be fruitless, so this will be a combination of them. The idea that Ash is somehow a horrible or incompetent trainer is just wrong, especially considering that Ash started out with only a very disobedient Pikachu and ultimately gained many Pokémon that were better and helped him out.

Not only did Ash help save the world many times, he also had plenty of hard-fought League battles. He finished in the top 20 in Kanto and consistently gained top 10s, and even top fives in later seasons. He finally won a league in the Alola region and finally became World champion in Galar. He's a far cry from the scrappy kid that started off in Kanto.

This does not even take into consideration the number of Legendaries he has helped or befriended.

4) Gohan (Dragon Ball Z/Super)

For fans of the shonen anime Dragon Ball Z, the way the series treated Gohan was quite frustrating. Some people have stated that he's lost most of his prowess among the Z fighters. Here's the thing about that though - Gohan never really wanted to train and fight, he was forced into it after Goku's death.

Even if Gohan did lower down in prowess, so did every non-Saiyan character. Krillin grew weak enough to be hurt by bullets, Yamcha and Chaotzu were basically out of action after the Buu saga, and while Tien still has his moments, he doesn't last long.

Gohan on the other hand stood up against Ginyu and Golden Frieza, and lasted a relatively longer times in the Tournament of Power even after 5 years of not fighting between Z and Super.

5) Rukia (Bleach)

There is a popular misconception about Rukia from Bleach being a useless or terrible fighter. A lot of things are wrong with that. For starters, she gave power up to Ichigo and didn't get them back until the end of the soul society arc. When fighting Grimmjaw, she didn't have any experience against arrancar, so of course she got trounced.

But during Hueco Mundo she was able to slay the head arrancar after letting go of severe guilt. When she got into the thousand year blood war she was able to fight against a god-powered Quincy without much difficulty. The point is, she's not terrible. She has plenty of experience and is a tactical fighter.

The problem is that she mostly fights with the equivalent of an arm tied behind her back in one way or another.

6) Ashito Aoi (Aoi Ashi)

A very recent example of a shonen anime is the soccer anime Aoi Ashi. In it, main character Ashito Aoi is a bit of a self-centered jerk who thinks he's the only person that's needed to win games. That first impression is the only impression fans have, and they therefore think that he needs to be dropped as the main character.

Much like Bakugo later on, Ashito's whole point is that his ego needs to be checked. He's gifted, but he needs to learn to not only work together with his team but also understand the mechanics of each role. In other words, a deconstruction of the solo type of player who becomes a prima-donna.

7) Junpei Manaka (Strawberry 100%)

Romance manga have the unfortunate side effects of having multiple ship wars. Shipping wars can get excessively messy, especially in shonen anime fandoms. Junpei Manaka of Strawberry 100% is no exception, since he had no less than three girls in love with him, and many fans feel like he chose the wrong one.

Here's the problem with thinking Aya or Satsuki would be better than Tsukasa: He had no real romantic interest in either of them. While Satsuki was physically attractive and very forward, she was his closest friend and he didn't want to jeopardize that. Aya likewise was always kept to herself and was incredibly timid.

In both cases, Junpei felt it was better to be honest with them than string them along. Frankly, that's far more ideal and admirable than anything else.

8) Jolyne Cujoh (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean)

Expand Tweet

Of the many odd complaints that come out of the Jojo fandom, the idea of Jolyne being the weakest and/or worst Jojo makes very little sense. The entire line of protagonists are all gifted in some way, either from upbringings, Stands, or just their friend groups keeping them in check. Jolyne, by contrast, was arguably the most normal of the line.

Not only was she arrested and jailed for a crime she never committed, but she had to learn as she went along in incredibly horrifying and stressful situations like being incarcerated and dealing with people trying to kill her. Not exactly the same as Jonathan's aristocratic upbringing or Jouske's life or even Giorno.

That said, she has shown wit that rivals Jouske's, and has better planning than Joesph at times. All in all, a good Jojo needs a good team and even the inmates of the prison like Ermes and FF serve that role well.

9) Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia)

Recall Ashito's entry and magnify it by a hundredfold, and you get the deconstruction character Katsuki Bakugo from the superhero shonen anime My Hero Academia. To put fan misconceptions of Bakugo into words, many people feel like he's too big a jerk to be a hero and almost see him as villainous at several times, especially since he bullied Izuku for a good portion of his childhood.

There are a few reasons why this is a misconception from shonen anime fans. Despite his success at the Sports Festival, Bakugo still failed the licensing exam and has been called out multiple times for his attitude. It comes from an inferiority complex stemming from being saved by someone he considered weaker than him, and his quirk while definitely flashy, isn't the big fish it used to be after Deku developed One for All further.

Basically, Bakugo has not only gotten much better but is firmly against the villains. He was even determined to fight his way out of their hideout before All Might and the police raided it.

10) Light Yagami (Death Note)

Expand Tweet

When shonen anime fans discuss manipulation, Light Yagami is usually just behind Aizen in ranking. This has gotten to the point where many fans of the thriller shonen anime Death Note have elevated Light Yagami to literally god-level intelligence and greatness. This is despite the fact that he's more reliant on the Death Note and contrivances than anything else.

This isn't knocking the shonen anime villain protagonist down a peg at all. He just so happened to find the Death Note - he's not the chosen one, and frankly his antagonists made everything much better. The FBI tracked him down, L had suspicions and was on his case much harder than anything else.

In other words, if Light didn't have the Death Note with him, he would've either ended up in jail or been just a regular high schooler. The Death Note itself is more an equalizer than anything else.

Edited by Upasya Bhowal