The quality of anime’s male characters is crucial, as they can make or break an anime. The spring 2024 anime season has seen a variety of male characters with great personalities and writing, which improve with each episode. Many people fantasize about their favorite fictional characters, whether it’s a romantic partner or a friend. However, categorizing these characters can be challenging due to their emotional baggage.
Some popular fictional characters include good guys like Thor and Elliot Stabler, bad boys like Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or a mix of Stiles, Sherlock Holmes, and Magic Mike. It’s important to choose the characters you’d leave your man for, as a little crush on someone you could never get with is healthy and normal.
“I’ve put together an exciting list of the Top 10 Best Male Characters of 2024! These picks are sure to captivate you, and I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I do!”
Table of Contents
Ranma Saotome
Ranma Saotome, a 16-year-old martial artist trained by his father Genma, is destined to become a “true man among men.” He and his mother, Genma, fall into cursed springs in China, where they take the physical form of drowned people. Ranma and Genma move to Tokyo with Soun Tendo, expecting one of his daughters to marry him. Akane, Ranma’s sister, dislikes him due to her mistrust of boys and her dislike of her.
Ranma enrolls in Furinkan High School and meets Tatewaki Kuno, a kendo captain who falls in love with Akane. Ryoga Hibiki, Ranma’s childhood rival, seeks revenge on him. Ranma defeats Chinese Amazon Shampoo in his female form, leading Shampoo to pursue him as her fiancé. Ukyo Kuonji, Ranma’s childhood friend, seeks revenge on the Saotomes. Ranma uses his curse to his advantage, tricking Ryoga into thinking his female form is Yoiko. Ranma’s mother, Nodoka, learns that his father promised to commit suicide if he failed to raise Ranma into a “true man among men.”
Ranma, the main character in Rumiko Takabashi’s manga series Ranma 1/2, is a Japanese teenage boy who is cursed to turn into a girl when he comes into contact with cold water. However, he can return to a boy if he comes into contact with hot water. Ranma’s journey to overcome the curse is amidst obstacles from friends, enemies, rivals, and fiancées. The series was recently released in 2024 through a new adaptation, bringing it to younger anime watchers.
Hayato Suo
Hayato Suo is a first-year student at Furin High School and a member of Bofurin’s Vaisravana Unit. He serves as one of First-Year Grade Captain Haruka Sakura’s Vice-Captains, alongside Akihiko Nirei. Suo is a major character in CloverWorks’ Wind Breaker, characterized by his eccentric personality and defensive fighting style. Unlike Sakura, who is brash and aggressive, Suo is calm and assertive, displaying this in his dialogue and actions. He is a highlight of Wind Breaker, and it will be interesting to see how he continues to develop.
Suo is tall, brown-haired, and wears a Furin High uniform, changshan, loose black pants, and flats. He is known for his calm demeanor and sense of humor, often teasing his friends. Suo’s character resembles that of an aristocrat without entering into superiority, and his fighting style is influenced by his personality. He practices martial arts and claims to have an outstanding ability to manipulate people into doing favors or releasing information. Despite appearing like a gentleman, Suo is very serious when fighting.
Akira Toriyama
Sunrise’s Sand Land is an anime adaptation of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball short series, featuring the demon prince Beelzebub. The first half tells the story of Beelzebub being recruited for a mission to bring water back to the desert wasteland, while the second half serves as an official sequel to the original story. Toriyama’s writing is known for its simplicity and effectiveness in comedy and character writing.
Toriyama gained mainstream recognition for creating the manga series Dr. Slump, which earned him the 1981 Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen/shōjo. The series sold over 35 million copies in Japan and was adapted into an anime in 1997. From 1984 to 1995, he wrote and illustrated the Dragon Ball manga, which became one of the best-selling manga series of all time with 260 million copies sold worldwide. Overseas, Dragon Ball’s anime adaptations have been more successful than the manga and similarly boosted anime’s general popularity.
Toriyama also acted as a character designer for several video games, such as the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon. In 2019, he was decorated a Chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his contributions to the arts. In October 2024, he was posthumously inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame.
Toriyama was born in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, and drew pictures since a young age, mainly of animals and vehicles. He was initially drawn to anime and manga but took a break from it in middle school due to his interest in films and TV shows.
Goku
Dragon Ball Daima is a new series that brings back the beloved protagonist Goku, who was originally sent to Earth as an infant with the mission to destroy it. However, an accident alters his memory, causing him to grow up pure-hearted and later become Earth’s greatest defender and informal leader of the Z Fighters. Goku’s full name, Son Goku, is a Japanese name for Sun Wukong, the main protagonist in the Chinese legend Journey to the West.
Goku’s design was based on Tanton, Toriyama’s prototype manga Dragon Boy and Tongpoo, from his other manga The Adventures of Tongpoo. Toriyama initially planned to make Goku full monkey to make it faithful to Journey to the West, but later wanted to make him a full human dressed in sailor clothes and riding a flight mecha instead of the Flying Nimbus. His family is all named after root vegetables (burdock, negi, radish, and carrot).
Son Goku is a Buddhist name meaning “The Child Aware of Emptiness” and comes from his character development based on Sun Wukong from Journey to the West. The name “Goku” means “awakened to emptiness”; the Go syllable means “Enlightenment” and the Ku syllable means “Sky or Emptiness”. Son is also a common Chinese surname.
Goku is known for his cheerful, energetic personality, love of competition, and remarkable intuition at seeing the good in others. He has a simple, practical view of the world and is somewhat naive to the world around him. His most remarkable ability is his will to succeed, his tenacity, and persistence. He is pure of heart, possessing no negative feelings or thoughts, and is portrayed as innocent as a child.
Kraft Lawrence
Passione’s Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, a reboot of the original anime, stars Kraft Lawrence as a 25-year-old traveling merchant who meets Holo, a harvest goddess who takes the form of a wolf-like girl. The two agree to travel and do business together while Lawrence helps Holo return to her homeland.
Lawrence, a mature character, excels in business and shares his extensive knowledge with Holo, who is a quick study. He takes his word seriously and keeps his promises, especially with Holo. However, Lawrence is also socially inept, knowing little about human nature but being knowledgeable about contemporary society and social institutions. He often gives lectures about trading and business to Holo, who sometimes needs to be taught by him.
Lawrence is an anti-hero, often coming up with schemes to make massive profits. He often trusts the wrong people, leading to further trouble. Despite this, he strives to get things done in a scrupulous and moral way, and is polite and personable on a personal level. He resorts to methods like blackmail when he catches someone trying to scam him first.
As the series progresses, both Lawrence and Holo demonstrate growing affection towards each other. Lawrence rarely shows different facial expressions, but he truly cares for Holo, showing his affection through his actions, such as when Holo gets captured by the Church and panics. The reboot’s close adherence to the original anime has helped maintain the character’s appeal and keep the story interesting.
Okarun
Dandadan is a highly acclaimed anime that features a main male character, Okarun, an alien fanatic who uses Turbo Granny’s powers to overcome paranormal obstacles. Okarun, who is socially awkward and has a deep interest in aliens and cryptids, has been living an introverted school life. He meets Momo Ayase after a bet and forms a friendship. Okarun’s interest in the paranormal stems from his childhood experiences of bullying and his belief in his inability to fit in with others. Despite making friends with Momo, Okarun still struggles with self-esteem and makes assumptions about others’ judgment.
Okarun is an altruistic person who offers help when needed and is protective of those he has formed a bond with. He initially doubts the existence of spirits but later learns that spirits do walk among the living. Okarun is formal, only addressing his friends or allies politely, except for Jiji, who will ignore him. His heedlessness to formality is evident when he shifts to his Turbo Granny form.
Taiyo Asano
Mission: Yozakura Family is a Silver Link manga series that follows Taiyo Asano, a young boy who discovers his childhood friend and crush, Mutsumi Yozakura, comes from a family of deadly spies. When Mutsumi’s brother tries to kill Taiyo, he must marry her to protect himself and become a spy to continue protecting the new life he has entered. Taiyo is known for his proactive nature and his ability to make his own decisions, making him a strong protagonist.
Taiyo is a fair-skinned young man with medium-length scarlet-red hair, eyes scarlet-colored like his hair, and a noticeable scar over his left eye from his family’s accident. He wears his navy blue high school uniform and the Yozakura Family’s Loungewear Suit during his spy missions. After a 5-year timeskip, Taiyo now dresses in a black hooded overcoat and loungewear suit.
After losing his family in a car accident, Taiyo undergoes a dramatic personality shift, fearing emotional connections and interactions. He slowly regains some of his former personality and becomes more open and sociable. His most defining personality trait is his compassion, which is noted for its remarkable use of nonlethal force even against enemies he despises.
Taiyo is warm and generous to both friends and family, even convincing Nanao to stay in school when he had almost given up on a life of normalcy. Due to the infamy of the Yozakura family, Taiyo has developed a level of paranoia about assassins, constantly searching for hidden explosives and spy cameras. His close relationship with Mutsumi causes Taiyo to become intensely jealous and annoyed when flirting with her, as well as to enter a bloodlustrous state of pure rage when someone attempts to harm or threaten her.
Garp
One Piece, a popular anime series, had an incredible run in 2024, with the Egghead arc being a significant part of the story. One notable male character during this arc was Monkey D. Garp, also known as “Garp the Fist,” a legendary Marine Vice Admiral and Luffy’s grandfather. Garp was a major figure during the times when Gol D. Roger, the “Pirate King”, was still alive. He gained immense notoriety and prestige for his feats as a Marine soldier, including his actions during the God Valley Incident. Garp was offered the rank of Admiral several times throughout his career but refused due to his deep hatred and contempt for World Nobles.
After Ace’s death at the Summit War of Marineford, Garp became a Marine Instructor to train new recruits. Despite being considered retired, Garp still retains the rank of Vice Admiral. During his mission to rescue Koby from the Blackbeard Pirates, Garp was badly injured and imprisoned on Hachinosu.
Garp was introduced during the Diary of Koby-Meppo Cover Page Serial and could be considered the main antagonist of the Post-Enies Lobby Arc and a supporting antagonist in the Marineford Arc. He is eccentric but righteous and caring, loyal to both his criminal family and the Marine Headquarters. He is loud, boisterous, exuberant, and acts in a similar manner to his grandson, but can be very serious if the situation requires it.
Garp takes pride in being a Marine despite the corruption and hypocrisy of the Marines under the World Government. He believes that as long as there is no open bloodshed, even if there are social discrimination and political corruption, he can call it peace. Garp does not believe that a person’s lineage determines their path or that being labeled a criminal necessarily makes someone a bad person.
Tanjiro Kamado
In Spring 2024, Ufotable’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba returns with the return of Tanjiro Kamado, the protagonist of Koyoharu Gotouge’s manga. Tanjiro is the oldest son of a late charcoal-seller, Tanjuro, and his family is massacred by Muzan Kibutsuji. After witnessing Tanjiro’s skills in battle and Nezuko’s unwillingness to devour her brother, Giyu Tomioka sends the siblings to Sakonji Urokodaki on Mt. Sagiri to become demon slayers.
Tanjiro learns the “Water Breathing” sword-style after passing a test and becomes a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. He learns the Hinokami Kagura technique, which merges the original breath style, the Sun Breathing, to create a more sustainable fighting style. After the Demon Slayer superiors accept him to continue working, Tanjiro starts seeking the origins of his Hinokami and whether his Tanjuro was related to such a group of slayers.
In the final battle against Muzan, Tanjiro is poisoned by the enemy and has a vision of one of his ancestors and encounters Yoriichi Tsugikuni, who developed the original fighting style passed down through generations of the Kamado family. With the knowledge he obtained during his vision, Tanjiro leads the counterattack against the enemy.
Gotouge created Tanjiro following a suggestion from their editor to have a bright main character who would stand out in the dark narrative. His caring nature and relationship with his sister make him a beloved character in the series. Tanjiro has won multiple awards for his caring nature, strong fighting abilities, and strong relationships with his siblings.
Kafka Hibino
Kaiju No. 8 is a manga series that follows the protagonist, Kafka Hibino, a Defense Force officer and former worker for the Professional Kaiju Cleaning Company Monster Sweeper Inc. Kafka is turned into a humanoid Kaiju with shapeshifting abilities after a small kaiju entered his body. He was previously a member of the Third Division, led by his childhood friend Mina Ashiro, but was recently transferred to the First Division. Kafka is tall, dark brown, and has dark brown spiky hair. He wears a grey coverall with a red Monster Sweeper logo on the chest.
Kafka’s Kaiju Form is mostly covered with coal-black scales and plates, with cyan energy sometimes glowing from between the cracks. His head, spine, and clavicles appear to be made from exposed bone, resulting in contrasting white features. His eyes have black sclera with a cyan iris, and he has several cracks in his left eye.
When out of control, some of the Kaiju Form’s features become more pronounced, such as general size relative to people, elongated horns, more predominate dorsal plates, mouth extending further down his neck, and eyes turning entirely cyan. The anime features four extensions on the back positioned in a cross shape, a greater height forcing a crouched posture, and cyan energy turning red.
Final Thoughts
The quality of anime’s male characters is crucial, as they can make or break an anime. The spring 2024 anime season has seen a variety of male characters with great personalities and writing, improving with each episode. Many people fantasize about their favorite fictional characters, but categorizing them can be challenging due to their emotional baggage.
Popular fictional characters include good guys like Thor and Elliot Stabler, bad boys like Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and a mix of Stiles, Sherlock Holmes, and Magic Mike. It’s important to choose characters that you’d leave your man for, as a little crush on someone you couldn’t get with is healthy and normal. An exciting list of the Top 10 Best Male Characters of 2024 is available to captivate viewers.
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