Roasting IGN's Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time List

[@Woodss33]

Putting Tanjiro higher than Guts is absolutely wild

[@janinebelleestrada7096]

They put tanjirow above dio which is insane

[@boxac2435]

@@janinebelleestrada7096they put tanjiro in which is insane

[@enseventealp]

Not arguing here and I'm only early in the video but it is an anime list not a manga list. Berserk had one good anime and one terrible anime.

[@TheInfiniteDraw]

Not really. Ask any modern casual anime fan and they probably know who Tanjiro is. Guts is more for the people deeper into the culture and so by IGNs own criteria, Tanjiro would be more important. The real crazy thing is all these hoity toity anime fans that immediately want to dismiss all shonen characters, with their pinkies raised in the air.

[@boxac2435]

@@TheInfiniteDraw it isnt just popularity, its also how good of a character he is, and tanjiro is overall pretty much nothing

[@ShadowNeo_2]

I love how Joey reviews top anime lists like he's The Anime Man or smth 😆

[@BBBrrrr]

no he is joey bizinger

[@joemakage1333]

he looks like the anime man tho

[@riChchestMat]

Only one of them watched Attack on Titan

[@acrsclspdrcls1365]

Looks like him though, they might be related

[@apaty15]

they do look alike. but I prefer watching Joey than The Anime man

[@thomasffrench3639]

Thank you for mentioning Astro Boy being overlooked. The anime community for some reason looks down on old anime for being “outdated” which is just so disrespectful to what they were trying to achieve with the anime, and just shows how much recency bias impacts the anime community more than any other community which have a lot of respect for the classics. Also yes Tezuka is one of the best mangaka of all time.

[@danielgwynne7266]

Yeah otherwise characters like yang and Reinhard from legend of the galactic heroes would be on here.

[@averygamerdude7911]

Well said. Most anime fans I've met have never heard of the older anime.

[@thomasffrench3639]

⁠@@danielgwynne7266maybe not. I can think of a bunch of old anime that can also be on the list.

[@shyguy5473]

​@@averygamerdude7911 Can you blame them ? Old anime are not available to watch on any streaming sites besides a few classics like Monster or Cowboy Bepop.

[@thomasffrench3639]

@@shyguy5473 this is just not True. Lupin, Gundam, God Mars, Akira, Rose of Versailles, and Fist of the North Star are on tons of streaming services.

[@alexirdesu9252]

Gon is hella underrated. The kid is basically a psychopath with no clear moral alignment who relentlessly pursues his goals with complete disregard for how it affects other people.

[@zerorequiem42]

Yeah, gon is almost the polar opposite of tanjiro or kenshin imo. Gon is pretty unique as a shonen mc imo.

[@dru_the_savage9157]

the growth of Levi got me dead💀bruv literally stayed the same height throughout the series🔸

[@Axelblaze1022]

You didn't watch the Ova's. Kenny even mentioned how much Levi has changed.

[@thelordoftheweebs9501]

​@@Axelblaze1022i think he's making a short guy joke

[@Axelblaze1022]

@@thelordoftheweebs9501 wow, I'm illiterate 😂😂

[@ryana5435]

@@Axelblaze1022 As a non-native English speaker, I got what point the original poster trying to make thanks to your explanation

[@droj7]

He even grew shorter at the end ... he's literally a PWD

[@kidcubi9675]

my favorite thing about these videos is that Joey exclusively judges these lists, with great commentary, but never makes his own version for us to judge. pls Joey, we want to pick your lists apart, too! lol

[@wevear]

Ed Elric for me is different from other Shonen main characters because he as the protagonist isn’t trying to be the best Alchemist nor trying to save the world. From the get go he’s trying to repair the damages he made at the start of the story. I can’t think of other Shonen main characters where they started a part of the problem in the story. I also think it’s original that at the end he sacrifices part of his identity to bring his brother back. It would’ve been too cliché if he had sacrificed his life for his brother. The solution didn’t feel forced because Hiromu Arakawa showed throughout the story how smart and creative Ed was to solve his problems. Other shonen characters seem to defeat their opponents with a new special move or by elevating their level. Quite different from Ed IMHO.

[@lemisho8186]

Ed is goated

[@hiborz9705]

Again... Ed is not even influential as a character.. FMAB ig being one of the best anime.. Still very less influential.. Let alone considering Ed

[@wevear]

@@hiborz9705 I agree with you that he hasn’t been influential yet. I’m just saying he’s different from the other Shonen main characters.

[@lemisho8186]

Does it really matter how influential it is? DBZ is influential, but if we're being honest it's not even top 10 all-time anime. Ed not being influential does not make him worse of a character. If you watch FMA 03 and FmaB you'll understand what im saying@@hiborz9705

[@stevenchen9852]

Yes but he shouldn’t be that high on the list definitely shouldn’t be above characters like goku. Because dragon ball came out and was all over the place. for me it was in china. goku literally taught kid like me and many other kids during the 90s about life. and whats right and whats gojng too far. When you look ed your like wow this character is really cool and I really like this character. But when you look at goku… dude is literally my second dad.. that’s why when toriyama died. It was such a big impact towards the world

[@animezingamejojoradio]

2:04 Astro Boy 4:44 Vash the Stampede (Trigun) 7:00 Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass) 8:23 Light Yagami (Death Note) 9:56 DIO Brando (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) 12:53 Gon Freecss (Hunter × Hunter) 14:57 Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell) 16:49 Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan) 19:24 Kakashi (Naruto) 20:44 Guts (Berserk) 22:55 Lupin III 25:04 Jotaro (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) 27:01 Roronoa Zoro (One Piece) 28:19 Tanjiro (Demon Slayer) 30:04 L (Death Note) 31:06 Kenshin Himura (Rurouni Kenshin) 32:31 Shinji Ikari (Evangelion) 34:33 Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon) 35:50 Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z) 37:12 Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop) 39:32 Goku (Dragon Ball) 40:37 Johan Liebert (Monster) 43:03 Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto) 44:18 Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) 46:36 Top 1 - Monkey D Luffy (One Piece)

[@tushartalkies1209]

Thanks

[@rd116s]

You are doing god's work

[@LegitHarpyHunter]

Looks like a list a tourist would make, their depth of knowledge is so shallow that bacteria would struggle to grow in it. That said, some of those characters do belong on the list, just not necessarily where they were placed.

[@SenpaiRetro]

Spoiler ass andy

[@bassmakouki2167]

Thank you

[@dogplayz3375]

The lack of Sakata Gintoki from Gintama is absolutely mind-boggling to me.

[@BiryaniLover365]

for real, it's weird how Gintama is popular and not popular at the same time, among the best anime I have ever watched

[@yellow8980]

​​@@BiryaniLover365 Gintama so weird man, it is very popular but so not popular at the same time 😂 Like I love Gintama, for me it is one of my favorite anime but whenever I ask my friends irl no one like Gintama, but Ain't no way Gintama un popular, they literally 300+ episodes (at that time) and have 2 movies (at that time), it is so weird 😂

[@FrcsWolf]

what about eren?

[@dogplayz3375]

@@FrcsWolf good protagonist, I like him, but in my eyes, not even close to Gintoki

[@Lucifer0407]

I am surprised they didn't include Gintoki from Gintama here. He is truly one of a kind character.

[@scytheflash2053]

Almost wrote a 5 page rant and then found this comment. True, he might not be one of the most popular character, but he's definitely one of Top 25 Most Well-written characters by far. If someone disagree then you 100% didn't watch the show.

[@Astropuppers]

Same. Easily a top 10 character for me.

[@chrollolucilfeer13]

gintoki deserved to be in top 10

[@PopeJones]

@@Astropuppers where is goku

[@fozza1051]

Brooo pikachu got robbed he’s so iconic

[@shyguy5473]

You know what? I can't disagree.

[@thomasffrench3639]

Just like Batman

[@andrewpappas9311]

I'm genuinely surprised there was no representation from Pokémon, considering just how influential the series is

[@thomasffrench3639]

@@andrewpappas9311 just like Cloud from Final Fantasy

[@andrewpappas9311]

@@thomasffrench3639 Yeah

[@leed1337]

It was surprising to see Yohan at number 4. Many people mention someone like Aizen or Madara as one of the best antagonists but are unaware of Yohan's existence. IGN is a well-known platform, and I hope that those who read this article will give Monster a chance.

[@janinebelleestrada7096]

Aizen and Madara aren't that deserving of a spot though. I think Kenpanchi can fit in there along with Ichigo. Yeah aizen good villain but not enough. I think something is missing

[@logicandemma8474]

I strongly disagree that Kenpachi possesses the same level of depth and complexity as characters like Aizen or Madara. While I don't find those characters particularly intriguing either, placing Kenpachi above them is simply incorrect in my opinion.

[@asthedreamfadesaway]

Yeah when I started watching the video I immediately thought of him, but I didn't expect they'd actually put it among so many mainstream characters.

[@EgoGranok]

@@janinebelleestrada7096The biggest diffrence is that naruto and ichigo are both still more "known" than their antagonist counterparts. Meanwhile Johann is 100% more known to people who have never read Monster than Dr. Tenma is.

[@ElderBaguette]

@@janinebelleestrada7096 Madara doesn't come close as a good villain while Aizen made a everlasting impact on later generations of anime just by him existing.

[@lemisho8186]

Comparing Ed to Tanjiro is crazy. If you think about it Ed is so different from any other shonen protagonist. He is talented, but not the most powerful alchemist (that’s Roy), his goal is to fix a past mistake, not to be the best at anything, he’s full of regret, guilt and etc cuz of the mistake he made, but he’s determined to fix it. He impacted almost every character in the show in some way. His character arc comes to a full circle in the end, he gives up the thing he always thought was the solution to everything because he realized it was not (that was also the thing that he was best at, even his dad was amazed when he realized what was Ed’s plan) + he is the only disabled protagonist in anime and so much more. He’s not even close to being a generic protagonist imo.

[@Sukenus]

Just a small nitpick here. There is no way Ed is the ONLY disabled protagonist in anime. From the top of my head I can only think of the main girl from "Josee, the Tiger and the Fish" and "A Silent Voice", but I'm sure there's a lot more (and a huge amount if we count being very stupid as disability xD).

[@lemisho8186]

I mean, bro doesn't have a arm and a leg and he's the mc. Im not trying to nitpick, im just saying that Ed is completely different from most shonen mc's. If you've watched Fma 03 and FmaB you'll understand what i mean@@Sukenus

[@thomasffrench3639]

Tanjiro isn’t the most powerful Demon Slayer as well

[@animusswtor4822]

there's quite a number of characters where the stuff you say here applies, too, but yeah, Tanjiro is most definitely not one of them xD

[@lemisho8186]

I wrote the comment at 6am and I couldn't really use my brain how I wanted to :/@@animusswtor4822

[@graymorality]

One context thing you might not be awarte of, Trigun was HUGE in america and was a big introduction anime to people. From what I understand, it wasn't as popular a show in Japan and other places

[@haganeelric98]

Yes, but this list is about characters that made an important impact, not series. Take for example Ghost in the Shell. It's a very important anime, but not because of its characters. What makes it memorable is the story, how it is told and the world around it. Trigun might perfectly fit the same way.

[@graymorality]

@@haganeelric98 I mean Vash is also an amazing character. But I am explaining why it would be seen as more influential than it might from an outside perspective. And IGN is based in US and would have that perspective

[@haganeelric98]

​@@graymoralityI see your point, and yes, IGN being an American channel might have based this top on the influence in North America. Another example that comes to my mind is Watchmojo channel. Sometimes they upload videos about tv shows or cartoons from the 90's and I don't watch it because I might not even know a few of them because this channel, along with it's content, is American, and I am not.

[@skarbone1]

As an American, Hellsing, and Cowboy Bebop were my gateways on Toonami or whatever back in the day. Never saw Trigun.

[@kotorandcorvid4968]

​@@haganeelric98i disagree, The Major is the first thing people think of when they think of GitS

[@chikichikiu]

Tanjiro was literally "who invited my man blud" Also the lack of any Bleach characters was shocking

[@Dylan_4133]

Tanjiro over Guts gave me an aneurysm and no bleach like you said crazy

[@crowing3886]

There are not any interesting bleach characters outside of maybe aizen.

[@chikichikiu]

@@crowing3886 insane cap lmfao

[@Dylan_4133]

@@crowing3886 Aizen, Ulquiorra and Ichigo both clear all Demon Slayers cast it’s not funny

[@crowing3886]

@@Dylan_4133 ichigo is literally just another shonen mc lmao. Bland af. Also, nobody said anything about demon slayer. Neither should be on the list 😅

[@Geddn]

My hot take is that Astroboy is there for IGN to try and validate themselves by saying "Hey we put this character that few people would mention and that means that our takes should be taken more seriously" Notice how most characters afterwards are the more clear and obvious characters that were not surprised to put there eventhough its almost just a protagonist list and not an actual character list.

[@Sukenus]

Obviously the protagonits are the most common in the list. They are the most influential characters of their anime usually.

[@bananamutnuffin1667]

Agreed.

[@bananamutnuffin1667]

@@Rizzistor347Mars is he wrong though?

[@animecuteify]

Not even ONE Rumiko Takahashi character is crazy. She's literally one of the best selling manga artists of all time with so many iconic characters like Lum, Ranma, and Inuyasha that have impacted both Eastern and Western fandoms greatly. Mind-boggling how not even one made it, even at the bottom 5.

[@markwatson8714]

Have to admit, I took one look at the list and thought "Darling, you IDIOT!"

[@Persewna4]

Absolutely agreed, an egregious oversight.

[@thomasffrench3639]

49:36 I love how you always mention every classic anime except for Gundam. Never change Joey.

[@JustaRandomAnimeFan653]

Maybe he hasn't read/seen ut

[@thomasffrench3639]

@@JustaRandomAnimeFan653 that’s what I’m saying. Bro lives in Japan and hasn’t seen a Honda ad

[@JustaRandomAnimeFan653]

@@thomasffrench3639 have u seen it?? Is it good cuz I was thinking of watching the newer ones like the witch from Mercury or something like that but then I got to know that it is connected to the older one, so do tell me if it is worth watching

[@PyroX792]

@@thomasffrench3639 not a Burger King ad xD

[@Axelblaze1022]

I think in Japan,when people think about Gundam They think about the figures more than the anime or manga. I think Gundam makes more money from merch than Dragon ball and One Piece

[@nararanaraiii2022]

Might be my Latin American soul speaking but in no world i wouldnt put Goku at #1. Moms around here still call any anime people see "Goku", "My son's watching Goku rn" type beat lmao. I'd say thats a bigger legacy than most anime can claim. It might be latin America specific tho

[@Sukenus]

@@AJ-lq3jz That would be the case for the "most influential shounen characters of all time" list. Not for this one. You can't just disregard other factors than influence and other genres.

[@WieldMyWord]

​@@Sukenus Even from a "most influential shounen characters of all time" Luffy wouldn't be in top 3. When it comes to popularity no one knows about luffy outside of anime community compared to Goku or Ash ketchum or Motoko, etc.

[@Sukenus]

@@WieldMyWord Generally that's true for now. Non-anime kids mostly don't know Luffy. But with the Netflix adaptation, he's slowly getting there and the upcoming generations of kids will prolly know Luffy more than Goku or even Ash (since he's already replaced in the anime).

[@eddiesal4685]

​@@WieldMyWord As of me writing this Luffy has gotten much more popular and will continue to get more popular with the One Piece live action on Netflix. Luffy will be the most popular character if not already.

[@TheKnicks2012]

We need YOUR top anime characters Also sucks to not see Gintoki

[@sadhinn]

Tanjiro made the cut, but not gintoki?! 😭😭😭

[@TheKnicks2012]

@@sadhinn really is a shame

[@FrcsWolf]

what about eren?

[@TheMetalfreak360]

I would like to see them only doing 1 character for each series, think it makes it too easy to just list up several characters from 1 single show that is very influential.

[@TalesTheDude]

I think the omission of Yusuke Urameshi is an absolute travesty. Yusuke's growth throughout YuYu Hakusho was top tier, and that isn't because of his fighting skill. His personal growth is some of the best written stuff ever. You get to see the duality of humanity very well in Yusuke. From his brashness from his upbringing, to the kind selfless person that was willing to sacrifice half of his life early in the series to help both Kurama and Shuichi's mother, for no reason other than he didn't want to see either of them have to suffer the loss of the other...is just impossible to forget. Not to mention, how many shows have had a dilenquent character that is deliberately copying Yusuke's personality? A lot.

[@makotoisme]

Yes, my thoughts exactly

[@Sukenus]

They should have just put Yuusuke there instead of Gon.

[@lostdomlover]

Agreed! YYH is always getting overlooked, but Yusuke is such an amazing main character. He had a really growth from the beginning to the end. He's definitely my favorite anime character.

[@Persewna4]

I agree, definitely should have had Yusuke on here instead of Gon. I would still support having a different HxH character on the list instead of Gon (agreed with the video that Killua or Hisoka both would have been better options), whereas, while Yusuke is not ny favorite YYH character, he is very much the center of his story, in a way that Gon is not. I cannot imagine having an arc of YYH where Yusuke is completely out of commission and the rest of the cast is tasked with carrying the weight of the story without him, as happens with Gon in the Election arc. The strength of the rest of the HxH cast meant that, even without Gon, the story could go on. I do not see Kuwabara, Botan, Kurama, Hiei, and the rest doing the same without Yusuke around.

[@Sakuya727]

THIS!!!!!!!!! It IS a travesty that Yusuke and other YYH characters aren’t on the list, YYH is the GOAT

[@Shonen_Shadow]

I think the reason Jotaro is so high is because he and Star Platinum are basically the first thing most people think of when thinking of JoJo, think of all the non-jojo media that uses the star platinum ora ora ora as a gag jojo reference, he might not be the best character but he is the most influential to the series

[@fizzicalbrute]

I had the same thought whenever I think of jojo it’s always jotaro and star platinum ora ora ora

[@vidarye5859]

if we were going best, it’s without a doubt among dio, johnny, and gyro

[@bluehood3453]

As a Brazilian, the lack of Saint Seiya characters is really wild to me because Saint Seiya was THE anime of the 90's here. Everyone born around that time can tell you who was their favorite Gold Saint. I don't know how popular the anime was in Japan or other countries around that time though so I guess it makes sense. But for us (born in the 80s and 90s) Saint Seiya does have a special place in our hearts

[@Amunny]

I love that Black Rock Shooter pfp.

[@lFurinl]

Watch to number 6 while reading comments section and finding my fav anime all time is not on the list? That’s wild. Saint Seiya basically what makes me started watching anime😢

[@thatsinteresting3415]

Saint Seiya wasn't aired in the US, when it was aired in the rest of the world, so we missed out on the hype.

[@KegOfMeat]

It is absolutely ridiculous how overlooked Astro is. It is one of the most important and influential anime’s of all time and so few people have ever watched one of the series. The majority of people who watched Pluto had no idea it was based on an Astro Boy story, even when the trailers said “BASED ON AN ASTRO BOY STORY”.

[@TheFlashzie]

This guy did not understand Gon's character, comparing Tanjiro to Gon is wild lmao

[@FrcsWolf]

EXACTLY 😂😂😂😂😂 joey flexing his trash taste

[@Loscyfi]

I think Joey just compared the "generic shonen protag" thing which moat shoonen anime have.

[@Christian-yv6cw]

@@Loscyfi gon is anything but generic man

[@abhiram-oi9vt]

​@@Christian-yv6cwgon is not the good thing about hunter x hunter killua and kurapika are more interesting Gon is compared to Tanjiro because of some same character actions and pretty similar character imo

[@Christian-yv6cw]

@@abhiram-oi9vt that being good hearted and optimistic? Imo killua wouldn’t work that well without gon

[@BobaBushido]

I always liked Edward because he never had insane power buffs. Its so easy for writers to give their characters extra "forms" but in FMA characters just have to strategize more rather than buffing their strength

[@CheetosStainedLips]

I think characters like Char, Captain Harlock, Maetel, Totoro, any of the top three girls in Evangelion would have been good on this list. Even Saint Seiya. Heck Tsubasa Oozora from Captain Tsubasa makes sense. That dude inspired kids all over the world to want to play Soccer. Goes to show everyone's top 25 is going to be very different. Now that I think about it, Pikachu sounds like he belongs on this list too.

[@zeroghostdog5641]

We need a top 20 of this made by Joey(maybe with Garnt?). I think that could be very interesting.

[@itskenlang]

There’s no way they just disrespected Bleach. 2 death note characters and not 1 Bleach.

[@hanksilman4016]

RIP to Tenchi and Gundam, two of the grandfathers to their own sub genres- not even a whisper

[@DarkSide0121]

I dunno about a Tenchi Muyo rep when it should be a Rumiko Takahashi character, most likely Lum

[@hanksilman4016]

@@DarkSide0121 Now I 100% agree there should also be Inuyasha rep, but I consider it a different lane than Tenchi: OP Protag with harem vs. Isekai Romance. But one cold argue that the two are combined a lot in modernity, like with SAO or something.

[@YULIE-M8]

But what does Inuyasha have to do with this? The other person who replied is correct, Rumiko Takahashi's works had a significant impact in the industry. Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2 both got released way before Tenchi. Ataru was a lecherous/perverted guy that wanted to have his own "harem" but failed miserably at it. He still interacted with the "beauties" and somehow got into "tricky" situations (just not as he would have liked it). Now, as for Ranma, this protagonist did not show much interest in others but almost every girl he met would end up falling in love with him, including guys because he had the ability to change his sex (curse). Takahashi influenced heavily the harem genre we see today (reverse harem included). She introduced to us the tsundere (Akane was a major case tsundere), "oujo" stereotype (more comedic sense) and the prototype of a yandere (Shampoo was obsessed with Ranma, stalked him. Shampoo wanted to kill those who got in her way). Not only that but Takahashi also helped making the "trap" concept more popular (Nagisa Shiowatari and Ryūnosuke Fujinami).

[@hanksilman4016]

@@YULIE-M8 Rumiko Takahashi’s most prolific work in the United States is Inuyasha. And this list was made from that bias perspective. While you could find ways to watch some of the earlier anime adaptations of her works, Inuyasha was the first that broke into the zeitgeist and is her most successful work worldwide (I understand Ranma is bigger in Japan itself). Anyway, I didn’t need the* history lesson personally. Just explaining why I said Inuyasha and not the others. As iconic of a design as Lum is, I doubt many outside of Japan know her by name. For the record, if I had made this list then I’d agree with you. Put Lum and Astro Boy both in the top five… and probably Goku stays lol, if only for the representation of Toriyama’s style.

[@groofay]

I'm glad Astro Boy was on the list, even at 25. Tezuka-sensei deserves the recognition and respect, and he shaped the landscape on which the rest of the list was built.

[@thomasffrench3639]

He’s also just one of the GOATs. He’s respected because his stuff is excellent

[@groofay]

@@thomasffrench3639 Absolutely, did not mean to imply otherwise

[@thomasffrench3639]

@@groofay yeah, it’s just I feel that people only place value on old stuff because they influenced the stuff they like, and not because they are great on their own. Sorry about that.

[@fantasticmrnox]

When you got a city that uses astroboy as a mascot and a train line uses the theme song as a train signal. It shows how intrumental astroboy was with japanese culture

[@Nikogus]

dio’s complexity is overlooked so often, while he is just evil to be evil that doesn’t get in the way of his complex philosophy explored in stone ocean. dio while not my favorite jojo villain is still a great villain with some really interesting writing, he def deserves that spot as you said.

[@Sukenus]

Let me guess. Your favourite Jojo villain is Kira.

[@Nikogus]

@@Sukenus wrong!

[@Sukenus]

@@Nikogus Dang it! xD Kira's usually the fan favourite.

[@Mikupigeon]

I grew up watching Japanese anime and my earliest memory go back to late late 70s and early 80s, there are quite many memorable characters I can remember. If we have talking about influential ones, maybe characters from Captain Tsubasa, Doraemon, totoro, original Gundam, Detective Conan, Saint Seiya, sailor moon, Gintama. fist of north stars, Slam Dunk, Neon Genesis Evangelion or more recent anime such as Jujutsu Kaisen etc are eligible to be on the list as well.

[@moominsean]

I probably would have thrown Inuyasha on this list, as well. If there is one anime character that pretty much every female I knew at the time was in to, it was Inuyasha. That character and show I think really helped to make anime more popular in the US, Sure, it doesn't really stand the test of time, but I think it really boosted anime culture more than most any other show at the time, aside from maybe Bleach. When I think of the "greatest", I don't really think it's always the best, but the characters that have made the biggest impact on anime and the scene. Yeah, they are all kind of obvious, but there is a reason they are the "greatest".

[@sheliesawake]

As a big Astro Boy fan I appreciate Joey's stance on the fact that he should be higher so so much

[@harujiyamaru1783]

I feel like I should have saw Lain from Serial Experiments Lain, Kazuma Kuwabara from Yu Yu Hakusho, or Naraku from Inuyasha on that list. Also, not sure how people feel about it but as my favorite Shonen, I also wanted see Reborn from well KatekyoHitmanReborn... but it's not that popular in the states so...

[@picture_of_j]

No offense, but I'm very curious why you would pick Kuwabara over every other Yu Yu Hakusho character?

[@Sukenus]

I can't agree with your choices. While Serial Experiments Lain is a great show, I don't think it's very influental and Lain as a character even less so. And Reborn has not a place on the list either. Maybe top 100, but definitely not top 25. As for Kuwabara and Naraku, they are not even the best or most impactful characters of their anime/manga, but I do agree we should have seen a Yu Yu Hakusho or an Inuyasha character on the list. I'd probably put there Yuusuke and Kagome, because a lot of protagonits were inspired by them.

[@Persewna4]

​@@Sukenusyeah, I for sure thought Inuyasha would at least make the list, as a series if not the character himself (a Kagome inclusion would at least have added a third female character to the list) but it's clear the list makers barely venture beyond the confines of shounen series...

[@drchristophe207]

The Johan choice surprised me too and I love it. I will say Luffy being above Guts, and Goku is pretty crazy to me, and it’s even more crazy to not see Yusuke Urameshi or Gintoki on the list. Tanjiro being on the list is just plain crazy tho, that’s like putting on Natsu, or Kirito.

[@jutzo8869]

Atom (aka Astro Boy) is a great character in general. He's literally an android version of Pinocchio. His backstory with Dr Tenma and Tobio is kinda sad and shapes him as a person. The best new example would be in "Pluto" but, I'd say the 2003 series handles him better (in the japanese dub at least). He's essentially a prototype for Gon from "Hunter x Hunter", childish but, smart af and extremely dangerous. The difference being that Atom is a little more mature than Gon and better at reading social cues.

[@rafacastillo9611]

Most of these you have to see them in the perspective of people that grew up with anime in the west, specifically the US. You can tell by some of the odd choices that its based on people who started by watching toonami in the late 90s-2000s.

[@LLori496]

I would love for you to make your own list similar to this! I understand the risk of getting attacked by anime fans, but it would be really interesting to see your side of things in terms of the characters you think are the most influential or are in a league of their own!

[@_nishan_das]

How tf Tanjiro made it, but not Gintoki is beyond me.

[@grumpy-kun996]

I disagree with some of your opinions of your list but don’t apologize. That’s what makes anime great, you like what you like, I like what I like. Different characters may have a deeper meaning to you because you dig the anime series while I might think it’s blah. So there’s no right or wrong answer. My say is Spike is not like Lupin, Akira should be on it, Jojo is meh,Motoko is bombastic & Astro Boy is one of the OGs so it should be top 5.

[@gluttonyfang6674]

So Cowboy Bebop is a very good, cultural, revolutionary anime that is not much known to Japan (It's country of origin) but is very popular in the west. So you mean to tell me, is that Cowboy Bebop is the Dark Souls of anime?

[@TheVenom-y6m]

Aizen and Ichigo from Bleach deserved to be here in this list.

[@steveb552]

Kenpachi over Aizen for me but at the very least Ichigo should have made the list especially since a lot of anime had two characters in it

[@sungod9797]

Honestly Yugi Mutou and Satoshi/Pikachu should’ve been on this list because of the impact of Yugioh and Pokémon

[@lawanimeshorts]

Joey you gotta keep reading One Piece, if Sanji is already your favourite character, then you're in for something, he gets a whole arc dedicated to his character (Whole Cake Island) and an extended backstory. I wasn't the biggest Sanji fan, but after Whole Cake, he was easily my favourite, and in my opinion the best written character in the series.

[@Thomas-bi5zi]

I think Joey defo has read Whole Cake Island since he mentioned once that he was still catching up on Wano before that arc. Plus, he wouldn't have said Sanji before that arc since he didn't have as much depth or impact as in Whole Cake Island.

[@lawanimeshorts]

Even before Wholecake, Sanji constantly polled in the top 3 most popular characters. And he has always had more depth than Zoro. So everything Joey said here would still be valid. Anyways, from every recent clip it seems like he hasn't even finished Punk Hazard yet.

[@Thomas-bi5zi]

@@lawanimeshorts Na, I am 100% certain Joey has witnessed Whole Cake since he mentioned catching up on Wano due to Gear 5 being over all over twitter.

[@IgnorantWeed]

​@@lawanimeshortsif you prefer sanji thats cool but Zoro is written much more like luffy. He is confident, ignorant and consumed by his dream and he could easily be main character of the show. His development is a lot more subtle.

[@denismollanji6922]

Sailor Moon was the anime that all the boys in my country watched, but no one said they did

[@danta________3986]

Joey can u pls make a top 100 anime character senses for the community (I would, but i dont have reach)

[@BamielTherabbitking-hf1dh]

Pls I really hope he does. I think he might have before, but I'm not sure. I do know there was the top manga.

[@kaossyfin3712]

Musashi - Vagabond on top for me

[@blankblank1483]

Mines Gutz, basic answer, but I can't think of anyone else

[@danta________3986]

@blankblank1483 I'm not sure who mine is. Gotta think it over, I've read too much.

[@jacegarcia3255]

We're not gonna brush off the fact that they did not add ASH KETCHUM or even PIKACHU?!?! The list was still good, but it would have been better if they added a rule of "only 1 character for each anime".

[@TsukiSamaX]

No Bleach characters here just goes to tell that Bleach is so underrated and underappreciated

[@janinebelleestrada7096]

It's not underappreciated it's a good shounen but in bleach imo, the only interesting person they have worthy of best character of all time is Ichigo himself and his sword

[@shyguy5473]

Even any character from Yu Yu Hakusho is not here.

[@TsukiSamaX]

@@shyguy5473 fr I forgot about that, so many animes that inspired the new gen are missing but who expects anything from IGN 😂

[@TsukiSamaX]

@@janinebelleestrada7096 they have luffy and Naruto here (also you seem to have misguided knowledge about bleach there are several characters that are more appreciated than Ichigo)

[@blazesven8325]

How tf was Aizen not here. Aizen is literally one the best Antagonists from older shounens

[@Gaara11990]

Bebop fan here and I can relate to the thought you had here. He obviously has his own unique bit but he is following another trope. Spike isn’t the main reason to watch the show. That show is so huge cause it had everything else. Look at the use of cgi backgrounds, the art style, the music alone puts it on a whole other lvl. I mean I know you are ‘The Anime Man’ but Joey you broke this down so perfectly.

[@Whyalwaysm3]

Joey seem to confuse influential characters with well written characters.

[@thomasffrench3639]

You seem to mix up greatest with something as narrow as writing.

[@enagah]

Yeah, he was constantly flip-flopping between well written characters and iconic characters.

[@whjdbgsbukyhx8395]

??? Writing is the most important aspect of a character in a show...@@thomasffrench3639

[@theotherguy9397]

Exactly

[@tpsam]

​@@enagahprobably because more than one person had a saying on the list

[@rotomRASENGAN]

40:51 I wonder who did he say whose name is Johan but last name isn’t Liebert.

[@Sixaona]

"Hating Luffy is just like hating fun. And who hates having fun?" Well said Joey. Well said.

[@Sukenus]

One thing is for sure. A lot of ppl hate seeing others have fun. I can see those hating Luffy.

[@vipkanudo]

@@MagicDragonfictioncry more 😂 luffy’s personality inspired Goku nothing else he is way better than goku

[@djshrinjan]

@@MagicDragonfiction I gotta disagree with you. Yes there are similarities between Luffy and Goku but their thought process is quite different. Also, there is development of Luffy throughout the show such as after the Marineford arc. That’s where the time skip comes in because it’s the crew becoming stronger because they know that as they were, they couldn’t take on the new world.

[@thomasffrench3639]

@@MagicDragonfictionsure they start off in a similar way, but Goku at the end of DBZ and Luffy now are very different characters. Goku is a father who learns to accept himself and his son, and Luffy is filled with righteous rage at the world government. They are completely different, and Goku is more mature

[@kotorandcorvid4968]

​@@MagicDragonfictionThat's cringe

[@trebor2485]

Where's your video talking about catching up to HxH? I can't find it on your channel

[@thomasffrench3639]

It’s called “I finally did it”

[@trebor2485]

Thank you, I found it@@thomasffrench3639

[@finalbreath15]

Astroboy is the OG. It kinda makes me sad that a lot of people dont talk about the 60s-70s anime much. I remember watching astroboy on TV in the US as a kid, it brings me so much nostalgia just seeing images of him ❤ Also better name for this list, is "impact on fandoms" and its a prime example of a vanilla anime fan's list of anime characters lol primarily shonen, being characteristic.

[@oakfieldmassive7687]

You could say the same for Elvis. I'm never going to listen to an Elvis album of an evening. There's a lot more artists that have a lot more impact on people.

[@thomasffrench3639]

@@oakfieldmassive7687 well you shouldn’t because he’s a singles artist. I would personally recommend greatest hits because back in the 50s albums only existed to promote singles and pretty much was mostly covers.

[@Jackie535]

37:48 I didn’t know that but he’s still cool and a Jeet Kune Do fighter…..by the way, is Spike at no.5 or no.6?

[@rupt_]

Insane how they made a list like that and didn't include Joe Yabuki or Char, I guess anime before the 90's doesn't exist

[@thomasffrench3639]

It’s insane how many anime fans don’t watch anime until after the golden age.

[@bubbasgotback431]

Couple of characters I think should’ve been on this list: Ippo (Hajime no Ippo), Madoka (Madoka Magica), Ash Ketchum (Pokémon), and Saber (maybe Rin, Fate Stay/Night). This list is about influential character to anime and these were just a few off the top of my head who I’d consider having changed the landscape of their respective genres. I actually DO think Tabjiro belongs on this list (probably not as high) exactly BECAUSE Demon Slayer got so big. It introduced a large portion of new fans to anime. To them, Tajiro is a breath of fresh air because of how openly empathetic he is as a person. Yeah if you’ve been into anime for an awhile you’ve probably seen many characters like him, but I think you’re underestimating just how influential the show is to NEW fans.

[@royalfun1031]

Light is a way more interesting character, L is just fun

[@shyguy5473]

I agree with that. People like L more than Light because he is morally a better character.

[@shyguy5473]

I agree with that. People like L more than Light because he is morally a better character.

[@royalfun1031]

@@shyguy5473 fax

[@Axelblaze1022]

Agreed. Even though I don't like Light he was definitely more interesting than L even though L was the more likeable and fun character.

[@royalfun1031]

@@Axelblaze1022 W

[@wolf1nsoul]

It’s been 7 months and i still haven’t forgive them for not including Thorfinn or Askeladd

[@lpesic1159]

Glad Vegeta and Goku got their due respect. I’m genuinely very surprised that Joey has a thing against Bulma tho. 😶

[@mishrak]

Whilst I do agree with most of your takes you also need to take into consideration that they specifically stated that part of their reasoning behind this list (outside of their lasting impact and their place in anime history) was just how much the writer loved the characters themselves. If I may quote the article "Each character has been selected for their lasting impact, their place in anime history, and, of course, how much we love them here at IGN.; you seem to completely ignore that last part when invalidating their picks which seems like a dishonest thing to do. I do not want to end on a negative note so I do want to thank you for your insightful additional information on why certain characters could've made the list; I especially appreciated you explaining the importance of Astro Boy.

[@JudahWild]

Hey Joey, just a thought but could you bring back the old BGM you used for videos back in the day for this kind of video? Would be nostalgic for old fans 🙌🙌🙌

[@aku_mado]

you mean persona 5 bgm

[@aku_mado]

you mean persona 5 bgm

[@shankarasrinivasan8881]

no characters from yu yu ? the anime that actually inspired the group dynamic for many animes

[@thomasffrench3639]

Lupin III should totally be on here. Lupin is just a super great character. Miyazaki started with Lupin, which is very telling to how great Lupin is. Edit: speaking facts on Spike being too high because Lupin should be higher.

[@vickerfinal]

I mean, I put Spike higher because he had a complete story with an ending, and went out with a bang. Yea Lupin is too good, but Spike character felt "satisfying".

[@PetarBladeStrok]

I cannot believe you compared Gon to Tanjiro! Why?! How?! Did we watch the same Hunter x Hunter? 😭 Don't get me wrong, I love Demon Slayer, but there's no way you can call Tanjiro a modern age's Gon. Gon is one of the best written & most complex characters of all time!

[@visiblehuman3705]

HxH is my second fav series of all time and while I like gon in the story, think he is decently written within it, and don’t really think he is too similar to tanjiro, I really don’t think he deserves to be on this list. He just seems generic as shonen MC getting overexcited about a lot of things, and a lot of the changes in his temperament and personality seem unreasonable, he just seems childish throughout much of the show despite going through events that one would expect to mature him beyond his years mentally. I like killua, Kurapika, Chrollo, meruem, and other characters more than him just to name a few but gon just doesn’t stand out to me as a character even within HxH (which again is my 2nd fav series, so I get the general love for it/him) try not to conflate the quality of the story and surrounding characters with the quality of gon as a character

[@PetarBladeStrok]

@@visiblehuman3705 dude, sings about Gon not being right in his head were there since the start of the manga/anime. Please reread, rewatch or watch Aleczandxr's character analyses.

[@visiblehuman3705]

@@PetarBladeStrok I agree, he is disturbed and doesn’t have proper emotion reactions to things (either extreme or none) but I don’t think that particularly makes him a good/influential character

[@blazesven8325]

The fact the Tanjiro,shinji and Gon is here in this list but not any of the Bleach characters is crazy

[@faristont4561]

Gon is a thousand times better written than any bleach character. lol

[@blazesven8325]

@@faristont4561 Hxh has a great story and Togashi is a good writer, but to say Gon is a better written character then ALL of bleach characters? Idk if you're just children sniffing creep or just braindead. A good show doesn't necessarily always have the best protag and Gon is extremely uninteresting.

[@ryana5435]

38:00 I just wonder there is any interview about Shinichirou Watanabe answering this question or the similar question?

[@constantinebratanata]

Classic lGN. Imagine putting Lelouch and Shinji but not Amuro (from whom Shinji and every reluctant mecha pilot protagonist owes inspiration and Char whose archetype is literally named after him). You'd think it'd be a shoe-in if the characters are still showing up in commercials selling cars decades after their original appearances. Not to mention the building sized statues of their machines around the country people went through the trouble of putting together.

[@thomasffrench3639]

To be fair all of those characters should be on the list. But for some reason Joey refuses to watch Gundam, so he never mentions it even though he’s read Hunter x Hunter which has way more content. Lelouch is a hugely popular character pretty much everywhere and he’s well written enough to be on the list. Shinji resonates with a lot of people and in all honesty probably deserves it more than Amuro imo. Like Luffy is just Goku, but he’s also just a great character

[@i_tachikoma]

I agree with Amuro Ray but I came here to advocate for Char. With his backstory from The Origin he’s one of the best written anime antagonists of all time

[@Sukenus]

I guess the main reason Amuro is not on the list is the fact that Gundam, or even the mecha genre itself, is relatively niche in the west, especially nowadays. Basically building gunpla is more popular than the shows.

[@thomasffrench3639]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@Sukenusit is not niche in the west, that is straight false. Some of the most popular anime are mecha. Even Gundam has a pretty big following. I just think that there’s a decent amount of fans, but a lot of them aren’t really interested in anime, so they only watch Gundam.

[@genericcartoonreactionchan3890]

They should have put both Hello Kitty and Ash Ketchum up there… for different reasons like Hello Kitty is Like a Famous Mascot in Japan to my Knowledge… and Ash put himself in the Anime History books By winning that Championship on the Japanese Time square… they don’t just do that for any one!

[@lugasalexander4852]

Would love to see a trash taste episode where you guys compare top anime characters.

[@ryana5435]

34:35 IGN even messed up with the order of name of character and the name of a series they set

[@gegeji6442]

Y'know considering they had some older characters on list i think they should have added char aznable considering how often he's even being parodied or referenced by other shows constantly and even created an entire trope.

[@aaronmontgomery2055]

While as a gundam fan I wish I could agree with you, I say just put the Rx-78-2 on there as it's own character.

[@thomasffrench3639]

He’s referenced in Honda ads 50 years later as well

[@sarahthomson878]

I've just started collecting and reading Monster, only 1 volume so far, and I'm loving it. I'm so interested to learn more about Johan, even more now after hearing you sing his praises.

[@JoseGrips]

top 25 anime characters of all time and they add demon slayer 💀 none of the cast is even top 100

[@EpiDot52]

I think Cowboy Bebop does the unspoken and mysterious parts of Spike's character so much better than his archetype of character usually is handled. It doesn't feel like he's just a plot device to drive the story forward, and yet the story drives forward anyway. He elevates the whole archetype. I agree Lupin is higher, but that's because Lupin is 1. Spike and Faye both deserve top 10.

[@Jmyers5090]

My one disagreement here is with Joey's take on Gon. Anyone who's made it through the Chimera Ant arc should know that Gon is anything but a normal shonen protag, he's actually one of my favorites ever. The way his behavior throughout the story highlights the dangers of having that obsessive personality that's glorified in most shonen series, it's really special and interesting, and a major reason I love the series. I can definitely get how people would see him as boring, but the Chimera Ant arc helped me more fully understand retroactively what Togashi had been going for with his character, since it was his biggest emotional climax. I don't want to write a whole essay here, but there are a lot of great videos on what makes Gon so special as a shonen protag, specifically.

[@acrsclspdrcls1365]

As he said, it was the Chimera Ant arc that did it for Joey, but BEFORE THAT he was a run-of-the-mill shonen protag. He doesn't seem any different to previous shonen heroes at the start. If you had to wait UNTIL that particular arc for him to get interesting I understand how some people wouldn't give Gon a chance.

[@danta________3986]

@acrsclspdrcls1365 thing is he wasn't, though. That's literally how Togashi made it look if u glossed it. But the hint was Killua, if u observe Killua and his mentality, and then check what Gon is doing when Killia shifts every time. It hints Gons' true personality every single time. Killua has been doing that since the first arc, so Gon has been showing it the whole time. Gon is literally the opposite of every main shounen mc. Killua is honestly the shounen MC, but he was messed up by his family. While Gon is the reverse, he's more your typical villian, but his upbringing makes him behave the reverse, but he lets it slip out every arc. This is why Gons' most similarities in the show are all villains and why all the villains seem to like him or see a resemblance. From the beginning from Hisoka to the Phantom troop to Meruem. Gon is linear to all of them, unlike Killua, who is a mirror to them, meaning the reverse. It's why Chrollo gets so annoyed at Gon when he ask him the question. Cause chrollo was exactly like gon. Unlike most Mc like Naruto, who looks over his darkness and tries to do good, Gon literally has the opposite response to every arc. And if u removed Mito, gon would full on be a villain. This is also implied that Gon takes Mitos words to such a regard cause he rejected his mother but focuses on his father all due to the influence of Mito

[@yush6277]

​@@acrsclspdrcls1365you already got a good response but I felt the need to add something. You can say that all characters suck if you're not taking into consideration the arc where they got most of their development from. I think saying "he sucks at this except when he doesnt" is just a poor excuse for justifying a bias.

[@aaronmontgomery2055]

​@@yush6277 I mean Gon isn't really interesting. He is just a shoenen protagonist with psychopathic tendencies. Not saying he is bad as he fits the narrative for the story and I do like him and love hunter. It is just as a character he is boring compared to characters like Johan, Reinhard von Lohengramm, Griffith, or especially Porco Rosso. Now iconic is different of course but for interesting shoenen characters generally fall because of how underdeveloped they tend to be. It's like how Luffy is the same from episode 1 to whatever we are on now. Not a single mental change.

[@bloodnessx]

During the talk with the man in the restaurant and with the camoleon, it was many times hinted that gon is contradiction of ya typical shonen mc, togashi Wanted gon to have a unmoral Grey mc that is too selfish to be around

[@ryana5435]

31:36 I don’t much about Rurouni Kenshin but are this manga and Demon Slayer based on the same or near history era?

[@jorgieboy5076]

Ichigo not being on this list but seeing tanjiro on the list hurt me so much

[@blazesven8325]

FR Ichigo despite being a shounen protag has so many fucking range insane how Gon an Tanjiro is here but not Ichi

[@ashwong3266]

Why No Doraemon?! thats a legendary character right there just because its not famous in the west doesnt mean it deosnt make abig impact

[@danta________3986]

Joey, u need to re read HxH. He is literally shown to be psychopathic and a mirror to Killua and a parallel to Meruem. it's subtle, but its there from the beginning

[@bimapriambada1098]

He's already read it and still catching up.Just watch his video about reading HxH in this channel

[@danta________3986]

@bimapriambada1098 I already did. I am disagreeing with his take on Gon, not with the fact that he has read it, hence "RE READ". Either or its not that deep, I'm not some Omega HxH fan, honestly i think it's just OK, I'm just clarifying that he should read again because he missed something that was fairly obvious to see and he might of missed it.

[@Sukenus]

@@danta________3986 I can't blame Joey. We tend to miss a lot of details about characters we didn't like from the get-go.

[@danta________3986]

@Sukenus I don't think it goes as deep as him not liking Gon ( I could be wrong) I also find it odd. Since he likes Tetsuwan, Kid Goku and Aang. Who are just more simple version of Gon.

[@Sukenus]

@@danta________3986 Which also means they deserve to be on the list more than Gon, since he's the character being influenced by them (well, not Aang).

[@iElimiinatezHD]

My top 25 in any order based on the shows I've watched so there's a reason certain characters aren't on there: Eren, Thorfinn, Johan, LeLouch, L, Shouya (Silent Voice), Okabe, Meruem, Violet, Bondrewd, Ainz, Anos, Shin (86), Ginko, Asuka, Subaru, Levi, Kazuma, Echidna, Kumoko (I'm a spider so what), Light, Fushi, Ayanokoji, Bojji, Houtarou (Hyouka), Askeladd

[@joejoestar7812]

Kakashi walked so Gojo could run😣👌🏽💯

[@Nemesis_T-Type]

That blue eyed twink is probably one of the most overrated characters in recent memory

[@logicandemma8474]

​@@Nemesis_T-Type I disagree gojo is kakashi done right.

[@Amunny]

@@Nemesis_T-Type Sure he's incredibly popular, and you could argue overrated if you want, but he's definitely incredibly well written and in my opinion the best sensei in modern shonen. Gojo takes the good aspects Kakashi and makes them even better. For one thing, his entire ability being a representation of who he is in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen and of the way he seems hmself compared to others is very well done.

[@WieldMyWord]

@@logicandemma8474 Gojo is just a generic humor reference character.

[@WieldMyWord]

​@@Amunny He makes cringe jokes which always is some reference humor, and he is a gary sue character. He is one of the worst JJK characters, and even Gege himself says he hates him and regrets making that character given its just a female bait character.

[@SomeoneElse-]

I really don't think I'm being a fanboy when I say that there ain't no way Goku is not number one. None of the characters above him feel "greater" or "bigger" than him (especially not Edward!). Luffy maybe, but I'd still say Goku.

[@Musikchic47]

Even though I have never been a fan of Astro Boy, I love other series done by Tezuka such as Black Jack and Dororo

[@manishsigdel824]

Watching black jack as a kid was amazing ... Never heard anyone talk about it anywhere

[@Ken_Mochi]

agreee, I love Black Jack and Dororo

[@MissesWitch]

Lelouch is amazing! It's been so long since I watched it .. and it really left a lasting impression on me! anddd I just reminded myself what he did to that princess after 13 years after seeing a picture of him...aaaaa

[@user-qr8pq4hk5r]

Watched code geass when i was 12 Currently am 17 and dont remember shit Guess i gotta rewatch it

[@snapwilson316]

I feel like you're wrong about Shinji. Asuka and Rei served as archetypes for typical anime love interests, but Shinji was a more interesting character than either of them, and one of the more multi-layered and realistic characters among anime protagonists that we've seen in the genre. He's defiant for his father, yet starved for his approval, and yet even further wants to move on from his past. He's socially distant with abandonment issues, filled with self-loathing, temperamental and sexually confused. He has deep, complicated relationships with Misato, Rei, Asuka and Nagisa. You can write a good thesis on Rei and Asuka's impact as archetypes in anime, but Shinji is a novel in himself. He may not be the coolest or most likeable character, but that's entirely the point.

[@kotorandcorvid4968]

If you think Rei and Asuka are just archetypes for love interests, you haven't been paying attention. Both, despite commonly being labeled as just an angry bitch and a emotionless robot, are very deep (like most EVA characters). Also, the criteria was character quality and the impact they had on other anime. Despite Shinji having good character writing, he is hated by more than half the fandom and his influence isn't nearly as strong as that of Rei and Asuka.

[@snapwilson316]

@@kotorandcorvid4968 I didn't say they weren't deep, and I think either character has a case for making this list. And Shinji being "hated by half the fandom" (specious, but whatever) didn't hurt Evangelion's popularity, a show whose very framework and themes were centered around Shinji's relationships with the supporting cast. And as for Shinji's legacy, if the argument is that he's too distinctive to be easily mimicked and therefore can't be "great," I think that's a silly argument. And in any case, I believe he was if not the first, then the earliest visible complicated and decidedly non-heroic protagonist, a legacy carried on by those like Lelouche, Eren, Subaru, Light, and Kiritsugu, who show that not every main character has to be a simplistic crowd-pleaser.

[@kotorandcorvid4968]

@@snapwilson316 Anno got inspired to make Shinji by Amuro Ray, the protagonist of mobile suit Gundham. I am not denying that Shinji has influenced other characters, it's just that the influence of Rei and Asuka is much higher.

[@gamerookie09]

I think Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho not being featured on this list is kind of crazy to me.

[@KeiichiGreen36]

Clearly IGN are the masters of compiling a list like this. 😅

[@ryana5435]

sarcasm? TBH, I think this list is kind of fair and based but some picked and order are messed up (IGN messed up with the order of the name of character and the name of a series they set before)

[@WieldMyWord]

@@ryana5435 this list is far from fair, you have to think about every anime show that exist which can fill these spots as some of these picks are overrated

[@House.Of.Pain.]

Damn, no Ichigo?! That’s crazy! Did I miss him because I fast forwarded through some parts or something?

[@haschwell2757]

I feel like Ichigo not being on the list is kind of wild. Even if you hate Bleach it doesn't change how insanely popular it used to be. Plus series like JJK and Demon Slayer which are probably the most popular new gen shonen are both heavily influenced by Bleach. I would have 100% put Ichigo somewhere in here.

[@triplesharigan]

Bleach was only ever popular outside of Japan and even then it was the 3rd place at the time behind One PIece and Naruto and when Fairy Tail came it became even worse. Don't get me wrong I loved Bleach. But even when I would pick a character of bleach it would be Urahara. The one thing I give Ichigo is that he's a lot smarter/level headed than any other anime protagonist i've seen.

[@WieldMyWord]

​@@triplesharigan Bleach was very popular in Japan and at one point it beated both One piece and Naruto in sales for a week, ofcourse it wasn't consistently but it stayed around top 3 and top 2 for a long time in the shonen category, it was only after the anime ended it started to drop in rankings (this happened to naruto too when the anime ended). Also this IGN list is the "greatest of all time" its not exlusively japan.. Still today after all these years the manga is still in top 13th best selling manga of all time, Jojo is 14th (its on the IGN list) and has been ongoing since 1987 to present.. Joey said himself its wierd why there weren't anyone from Bleach on the list, because if it came to character with diverse personality and character growth Ichigo should have atleast been there. It might be because this top list is an IGN author top list rather than objectively top list as it might be only characters from shows this author have seen.

[@matthewpaquin9946]

Johan is a huge W, Monster is my highest rated anime

[@thomasffrench3639]

Jotaro is the face of JoJo. By your standards he should be on the list over other JoJo characters.

[@LymLevolveon]

Yeah whenever someone says JoJo, he comes to mind immediately, not my favorite JoJo character tho

[@josephjoestar4633]

I disagree. Dio is the face of jojo

[@lordtouchme77]

​@@josephjoestar4633 nah, jotaro is basically the face of jojo since part 3 was popular (cause of stand introduction). Dio are more interesting sure but most average people always remember jotaro when they think about jojo.

[@onceyouwheeinyoucantwheeout]

@@josephjoestar4633agree. I remember dio way more but probably because of the memes 😂

[@afellownerd]

Gon is absolutely in the same tier as characters like Meruem and Killua. And I strongly disagree with Gon being boring in the early half of HxH. There are so many instances of Gon's true nature being hinted at in the earlier arcs which gradually became more and more revealing until it was on full display in Chimera Ant. Gon's break down wouldn't have been nearly as effective without the slow drip feed build up of Gon's darker nature.

[@martowo303]

I think some characters were soooo obvious for everyone watching. Joey, I think you should do one of this of your own (you can ask us our opinion if you want) because I am so mad so little female characters appeared on this list: Sakura is really popular here on the west, Kagome or Nanami even. Plus, even worse than that, no Slam Dunk or Hajime no Ippo characters whatsoever! How could anyone deny the influence Hanamichi, Ippo and Takamura have had????

[@WieldMyWord]

Sakura from Naruto? Nah she is not that interesting compared to other female character, although I agree they could have put a few more females in this. Yeah Hajime no Ippo is amazing when it comes to character chemistry, such a underrated anime/manga.

[@martowo303]

@@WieldMyWord well I must admit I am a little biased in that case, she's my favorite character from Naruto and I don't think she deserves all the hate she receives. But yeah, I think some of these choices did not really make sense

[@felix4790]

Great video and interesting to see you break down this list, cheers man!

[@Draco9052]

I love it when public figures and organizations talk about subjective topics objectively 😂 I also love how he doesn’t really look into ign’s reasoning for each placement, or at least doesn’t talk about it.

[@Guzuda]

The way this list was going, I thought for sure they were gonna throw Kirito in one of those top 10 spots.