“Red flag” characters are incredibly common in media, andanimeis no exception. Whether it’s a full-fledged romance story, something with a romance subplot, or even when it’s through the lens of general friendship, there will always be someone who anyone with common sense would try to ignore as much as possible.
Despite all that, many characters who are walking red flags will have their worst traits ignored with little to no explanation, and they will even be rewarded for them at times. That, unfortunately, is very true to life, and there are a few characters who especially embody how bad that can be.
10Shizuka Kuze (Takopi’s Original Sin)
Character From Enishiya’s Takopi’s Original Sin; Based On The Manga By Taizan 5
Shizuka Kuze is one of the main characters ofEnishiya’sTakopi’s Original Sin. After meeting a naive alien named Takopi, Shizuka finally has a means of fighting back against her bullies and everything else that’s been ruining her life, but she’s unfortunately quick to let things escalate to uncomfortable heights.
It was obvious that something wasn’t quite right with Shizuka when she was so happy about Takopi killing Marina. Things only got worse when she started manipulating her friends to take blame for her crimes and even engaged in violence and attempted murder. Shizuka was suffering from massive trauma, but that didn’t make her behavior any less problematic.
9Kikuri Hiroi (Bocchi The Rock!)
Character From CloverWorks' Bocchi The Rock!; Based On The Manga By Aki Hamazi
Kikuri Hiroi is a supporting character in CloverWorks’Bocchi the Rock!Kikuri positions herself as a mentor figure to Bocchi and other young musicians in the series. Though she does give good advice, it’s severely undermined by her being an alcoholic mooch who’s always looking for a way to bum off of someone.
Kikuri’s alcoholism comes from a tragic place, but it doesn’t change how toxic she is with her constant drinking and forcing her money problems on her friends. The nature ofBocchi the Rock!means it’s all played for laughs, but in a more serious setting, no one should associate with someone like Kikuri until she gets professional help.
8Rikako Muto (Ocean Waves)
Character From Studio Ghibli’s Ocean Waves; Based On The Novel By Saeko Himuro
Rikako Muto is the deuteragonist ofStudio Ghibli’sOcean Waves. The main protagonist, Taku Morisaki, has trouble getting along with Rikako due to her bratty and arrogant personality, and the two constantly butt heads throughout the film, yet despite it all, the two develop a strong bond that turns into something more by the end of the film.
From start to finish, Rikako is constantly manipulating Taku and being rude to him with little justification or excuse, and it even escalates to Taku slapping her in the climax. Even with that, the film still paints their relationship as romantic, but if things were realistic, then Taku would have tried to stay as far away from her as possible.
7Minoru Mineta (My Hero Academia)
Character From Bones Film’s My Hero Academia; Based On The Manga By Kohei Horikoshi
Minoru Mineta is a supporting character in Bones Film’sMy Hero Academia. Like much of the supporting cast, Mineta is a character largely defined by a few character traits, and in his case, it’s that he’s a cowardly pervert, although the story typically focuses on him being a pervert, more than anything.
While characters like Sanji, Jiraiya, and Master Roshi balance their perversions with fighting and other forms of comedy, Mineta rarely ever has that luxury, and it makes him come off as little more than a creepy weirdo. Those jokes do slowly get phased out, but it still begs the question of why Izuku is even friends with someone like Mineta.
6Mamoru Chiba (Sailor Moon)
Character From Toei Animation’s Sailor Moon; Based On The Manga By Naoko Takeuchi
Mamoru Chiba is the deuteragonist of Toei Animation’sSailor Moon. While Mamoru spent the early parts of the story bickering with Usagi, Mamoru inevitably found himself compelled to protect her as Tuxedo Mask, all of which stemmed from the two being the reincarnations of the star-crossed lovers Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion.
While Mamoru never does anything too bad in the manga, he’s incredibly problematic in the original anime due to being a college student dating someone in junior high and having his worst traits exaggerated to the point of becoming emotionally abusive. Much of that is becauseSailor Moon’s director hated Mamoru, and his reputation still hasn’t fully recovered from it.
5Zenitsu Agatsuma (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba)
Character From Ufotable’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba; Based On The Manga By Koyoharu Gotouge
Zenitsu Agatsumais one of the main characters in Ufotable’sDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Zenitsu is a massive coward to the point that he had to be forced to become a Demon Slayer, and he’s so perpetually scared of everything that he has to be asleep or knocked unconscious to fight.
It’s one thing for Zenitsu to be a loud and obnoxious coward, but what’s truly troubling is his stalker-like obsession with Nezuko that he’s never called out on.Demon Slayer’sfinalerevealed that Zenitsu and Nezuko did become a couple, but even now, it’s hard to explain how someone as problematic as Zenitsu got an ending like that.
4Takumi Usui (Maid Sama!)
Character From J.C.Staff’s Maid Sama!; Based On The Manga By Hiro Fujiwara
Takumi Usui is the deuteragonist ofJ.C.Staff’sMaid Sama!After discovering that Misaki Ayuzawa, his school’s uptight student council president, secretly works at a maid cafe, Usui becomes a regular to get to know her better, leading to an ever-developing relationship between the two that quickly becomes romantic.
WhileMaid Sama!depicts Misaki and Usui’s relationship as largely wholesome, Usui not only tends to be possessive of Misaki, but also to be perverted with her to the point of sexual harassment. Usui rarely ever gets in trouble for that, however, and it’s made him one of the most divisiveshojocharacters of the past decade.
3Chizuru Mizuhara (Rent-A-Girlfriend)
Character From TMS Entertainment’s Rent-A-Girlfriend; Based On The Manga By Reiji Miyajima
Chizuru Mizuhara is one of the main characters of TMS Entertainment’sRent-A-Girlfriend. Chizuru works for a rental girlfriend service when she is rented by series protagonist Kazuya Kinoshita, and while they don’t get off on a good foot, various circumstances force them to fake a relationship that slowly becomes real.
While Kazuya and Chizuru start off with a decent will-they-won’t-they dynamic, Chizuru’s inability to commit while simultaneously stringing Kazuya along quickly becomes insufferable and borderline toxic. Kazuya is also problematic, but Chizuru causes far more problems between them, and that won’t change unless Chizuru is willing to commit or one of them finally gives up on the other for good.
2Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto)
Character From Studio Pierrot’s Naruto; Based On The Manga By Masashi Kishimoto
Sasuke Uchiha is one of the main protagonists of Studio Pierrot’sNaruto. After witnessing the death of the Uchiha clan at the hands of his brother, Itachi, Sasuke devoted his life to killing Itachi, and his quest to do so led to Sasuke falling further and further down the path of villainy and slowly making enemies of everyone around him.
As traumatized as Sasuke may be, it’s an increasingly poor excuse for his constant acts of violence and willingness to hurt the few people he cares about. It makes the way Naruto and Sakura never gave up on Sasuke outright baffling at times, and to this day, Sasuke remains one of the most divisive characters in anime, by far.
1Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z)
Character From Toei Animation’s Dragon Ball Z; Based On The Manga By Akira Toriyama
Vegeta is the deuteragonist of Toei Animation’sDragon Ball Zand its subsequent sequels. Once a ruthless member of the nigh-extinct Saiyan race, Vegeta developed a rivalry with Goku when they fought in the Saiyan Saga, and Vegeta’s desire to settle the score slowly led to him having a change of heart and becoming a genuine ally to the Z-Fighters.
For the majority ofDragon Ball Z, Vegeta is completely unrepentant about his murderous and selfish actions, much of which he continued to do after allying with the Z-Fighters, yetno one ever holds Vegeta accountable for his actions, and Bulma even marries Vegeta and has a child with him.
Vegeta does get some of the best character development inDragon Ball, but it’s baffling that he was let off the hook for his actions for so long, as he’s probably the anime character who best embodies a red flag.
