10 Popular Anime Characters With Bad Reputations

Even in the world of anime, a hero isn’t promised a good reputation, with characters thinking they have some dark agenda or seeing them as scapegoats.

Even in the world of anime, a hero isn’t promised a good reputation, with characters thinking they have some dark agenda or seeing them as scapegoats. Now, there are different ways a character can have an undeserved bad reputation: they could be thought to be a villain, a coward, a lucky idiot, or a fraud. And the list goes on.

However, some heroes like to cultivate a bad reputation since it helps them hide just what a real threat they are to their enemies. On the other hand, some critics go a little too far with their gossip and might just turn the world’s last hope into the villain they thought they were all along. Of course, there are also times when the villains are the ones behind the press, too.

10. Attack On Titan: Eren Yeager Isn’t Too Popular Outside Of Paradis Island

People who don’t live on Paradis Island tend to think that Eren Yeager is trying to destroy the world. This is sometimes used to justify declaring war against the area.

In all fairness, he actually isn’t too against the idea of destroying life outside of Paradis Island, but this is treated more as forces pushing him into this than his secret agenda all along.

9. One Piece: The Straw Hats Don’t Have The Best Press But They Don’t Mind

While the Straw Hat Pirates have fought a variety of villains, there are a few reasons that don’t have the best reputation in their story. For starters, the fact that they are pirates seems to already paint a bad picture for some people.

But the real issue is the World Government, who would rather have people believe their forces are the ones helping the world at large, as well as covering up the times their forces are the real villains. For their part, the Straw Hat crew doesn’t seem too concerned with having such good press.

8. Black Jack: This Doctor Has Creepy Ways Of Helping Patients

Black Jack’s face, clothes, and even name can cause people to think he’s some sort of villain, but appearances can be deceiving. In reality, he’s a surgeon who cares very much for his patients.

He does like to keep up the appearance of being scary if he thinks it will help his patients. He also doesn’t have much of a sense of humor, as well as something of a bad attitude, which doesn’t help with his reputation, either. He’s also been known to do some creepy things, like hypnotizing patients, in order to teach them a lesson or help them follow a treatment, although he always means well.

7. Kimagure Orange Road: Madoka Fights Bullies So People Think She Is One

In this classic 80’s series, Madoka Ayukawa is feared as a delinquent, especially by her classmates, and is treated as an outcast at the start of the series. In reality, she earned her reputation by defending people from actual delinquents and bullies. She also has a reputation for being a flirt, thanks in part to having a few male friends and close male relatives.

Children seem to like her, suggesting they know better than others when it comes to judging people by appearances. That said, she can be fearsome when she gets angry.

6. Berserk: Guts Gets Turned Into A Scapegoat As The Black Swordsman

Authorities and the regular populace fear Guts as the Black Swordsman. The main issue with him is that the demons he fights tend to turn back into humans after being killed, making it look like he attacked innocent people. And people who tend to know better usually end up either dead or in hiding, so there aren’t many people around who’ll stick up for him.

In all fairness to his naysayers, innocent bystanders have sometimes gotten caught up in his fights, but the situation isn’t as black and white. In general, he’s turned into a scapegoat more than he deserves.

5. Black Clover: Being A Devil Host Isn’t Easy For Asta

Asta’s dark energy, anti-magic properties, and even a demonic appearance when in his Black form don’t help his reputation. As a devil host, his power source is demonic, so forces like Damnatio and the Magic Parliament blame him for the elves’ attack against the Clover Kingdom.

The fact that he’s a peasant also doesn’t win him many friends with the aristocracy at large and his status as an orphan had him grow up treated as an outsider. His work with the Black Bulls does help his reputation somewhat.

4. Sailor Moon: Even The Other Sailor Senshi Wanted To Take Down Saturn

Generally, the Sailor Senshi are regarded as heroes, if not anonymous celebrities, in their universe, considering all the merchandise they get in the series. Sailor Saturn is a bit of an exception in that, while she’s not really known to the general public, the other Outer Senshi fear her, with Uranus and Neptune wanting to take kill her before she comes into her powers.

This is because Sailor Saturn is the Sailor Senshi of Death, with powerfully destructive powers. That said, she ultimately proves herself to be very useful to the heroes, being able to easily take down planetary threats like Pharoah 90. It also doesn’t help her case that she keeps getting possessed by real villains, from Mistress Nine to the occasional genius loci.

3. Princess Tutu: Fakir Is More Well-Meaning Than He Comes Off

Fakir spends most of the early episodes keeping Mytho under lock and key, although it eventually comes to light that he’s only trying to protect him as Mytho tends to get himself in trouble trying to help others.

When Mytho becomes tainted by the Raven’s blood, and becomes something of a villain himself, he takes advantage of Fakir’s reputation to frame him for pushing him out of a window.

2. One-Punch Man: Saitama Was Thought To Be A Joke & It Just Got Worse

Saitama is initially seen as a joke, but then things get worse, as people soon start to believe he fakes being a superhero and steals credit from other heroes. The truth is that he has actually saved mankind on multiple occasions.

To some extent, he cultivates the image of being a fake since he doesn’t want to distract from the other heroes. Eventually, even the Hero Association seems to have taken notice that he probably isn’t what the gossip has made him out to be.

1. Dragon Ball Super: Even Goku Gets A Bad Reputation

Goku of the Dragon Ball franchise is probably one of the most famous heroes in all of anime and manga, but things are sometimes a little different in the series’ universe. In Dragon Ball Super, when it turns out that he gave Zen-Oh the idea for the Tournament of Power, in which losing universes will be destroyed, he finds himself being labeled a villain by various beings throughout the universes.

It also probably doesn’t help that, much like Saitama, he isn’t usually too invested in making sure he gets credit for saving the world, usually allowing someone else, like Mr. Satan, to get the glory.