One of the most common tropes that you’ll see in just about 90% of the anime that you watch is a character (or main character) that is always underestimated. They possess traits and skills that are unique and make it appear to others that they’re meaningless and that they’ll never amount to anything, but when the time comes for them to shine, they end up blowing our minds! The funny thing about it is that a lot of us see ourselves as that character; the one who always got looked down upon because he didn’t possess the same level of talent or skills as his/her peers did, and then BAM! We do something that completely changes their whole perception of us. There are a lot of anime characters out there who feel underestimated, but these five in particular speak to many of us in this day and age…

5. Bell – DanMachi

A top favorite series in our books and hopefully in yours too! In the series DanMachi, Bell is an adventurer in an RPG-ish world who soon becomes a part of the “Hestia Familia” alongside Hestia; his goddess. As a main character of the series you can kind of tell he’s the underestimated protagonist, but he suddenly shows what he’s truly made of when he comes face-to-face with a sword-wielding Minotaur on the 9th floor.

4. Ikki Kurogane – Chivalry of a Failed Knight

Honestly, this series deserves a little more credit than its been getting over the last couple of years. The show follows the story of Ikki Kurogane, who has been labeled as “The Worst One” by the academy of his peers, that is until he fought against some of the most elite knights in the school – especially Stella Vermillion.

3. Deku – My Hero Academia

Well of course HE was going to be among our Top 5 picks! We all remember back in the first episode of season one, where the one called Deku wanted to be a hero, but was born without a quirk. Now two seasons later he is not only a hero, but a rising main character who still finds himself underestimated at times, but knows that there are some battles that he can’t fight on his own.

2. Naruto Uzumaki – Naruto Shippuden

Since the early 2000’s we’ve watched this Hidden Leaf shinobi grow up right before our eyes, and now he’s finally achieved the dream of being Hokage. We’ve all seen the many times he’s been underestimated (which is pretty much every single battle he’s ever been in), and now with all of the skills and jutsu that he’s learned over the years, Naruto has become what it means to be a hero – a ninja hero!

1. Gohan – Dragon Ball Z

The moment Gohan headbutted his evil uncle Raditz during the Saiyan Saga, he became an instant favorite among Dragon Ball Z fans. From there we watched his power grow to incredible heights, and the peak of that was when he faced Cell during the Cell Games. As Super Saiyan 2, Gohan put everything on the line into one final Kamehameha blast with the help of his father from beyond the grave. Even though he fell off after the Cell Saga (and the Bojack Arc via the movie), this is the moment Gohan fans will never forget.

There are so many other characters out there in the anime verse who are viewed as ‘underestimated’ to many of the villains or adversaries that face. Nevertheless it also gives them a chance to show them (and the audience) what they’re truly made of!

That’s it for now, but there’s more to come! 🙂