Everyone knows the difference between good and evil, lawful and chaotic, passive and aggressive. In TV and movies its quite easy for us to pick out who the hero or villain is based on his/her actions, but what about the small percentage of characters who walk ‘the grey line’? In anime and manga there are heroes, there are villains, and then there are the neutrals; the third-party characters who walk the grey line, and can swing to either side. No matter what title you may have watched over the years, somewhere along the line you’ve come across these ‘wild cards’ of the anime universe. In this Top 5 selection we’ve got for you on this post, we’re highlighting five neutral characters from various shows that play the part – no matter the side!

Number 5: Beerus

If you ever heard of the title ‘God of Destruction’, you’d think of a villain with god-like powers capable of destroying any world, or any universe that dares to get in their way. Even though he carries this title (and uses it proudly) Beerus is actually a neutral character who observes Goku and the rest of the Z Fighters, and doesn’t get involved in any of their squabbles or affairs with other baddies. Why? Because he’s not supposed to.

Needless to say, if he doesn’t get the opportunity to eat anything (or treat) his heart desires, then Beerus WILL blow up a planet. He’s not evil…he’s a God of Destruction.

Number 4: Panty and Stocking

Believe it or not they don’t call em’ the Anarchy sisters for nothing! These two fallen angels fit the bill of being Chaotic Neutral; meaning that they play by their own rules and do whatever they want, when they want to – even if it causes collateral damage. It’s interesting how this series depicts good and evil on a biblical scale, but in this case the roles (and stereotypes) have been reversed; making the Demon sisters look like saints compared to the chaos and anarchy Panty and Stocking bring on a regular basis.

Number 3: Itachi Uchiha

The infamous brother of Sasuke, and the main reason behind everything he did. The Uchiha Clan was once one of the mightiest clans in the Hidden Leaf Village (and was also the village’s policing force), but some bad stuff went down, leading Itachi to kill his own mother and father – but not because he wanted to. He was forced to.

Sometime before Shipudden’s end, it was discovered that Itachi did not like the dark path that his younger brother was walking on. He even told him the real reason why he killed his parents as well as his own clan, and that’s because he was tricked (forced) into it. Although he carried a cold persona about him, he had to so his brother couldn’t see how he really felt about his own actions. Itachi’s not evil, just misunderstood – and might need a lot of therapy.

Number 2: Spike Spiegel

Bounty hunters come from all walks of life; some are carving out their own brand of justice while trying to rewrite their wrongs, while others are ‘hired-guns’ for the big baddies of the world. Spike Spiegel is an exception with the fact that he was a former member of a gang, but faked his own death in order to get out of it. Now he’s his own man who travels through space as a space bounty hunter with his own crew, of course being a neutral character, he’s not pro or anti. Spike does what Spike does, and no one’s gonna tell him otherwise.

Number 1: Vegeta

The Saiyan Prince was a proud product of what being a saiyan is all about! Vegeta is a classic example of a neutral character who used to be on Frieza’s side, now he finds himself fighting androids, super-powered bug creatures, and various other baddies that Goku and the crew have to face. Although he doesn’t really care for humans or the world (that much) Vegeta accepts the fact that this is now his home and has a family; but still plans on being better than Goku/Kakarot no matter how long it takes him.

And there you have it! Neutral characters make things interesting in spite of the fact that many of them are bland because of being neutral. These ‘wild cards’ can sometimes become the hidden ingredient inside a plot twist or surprise ending. Neutrals spice things up when the storyline needs a little ‘excitement’ to keep the mood going, so if you have a favorite neutral character, let us know in the comment section below.

There’s more filler posts to come later this week, so stay tuned! 😉