Summary
Someanimecharacters just stick with us even after the credits roll. Often, it’s their compelling backstories that make them so unforgettable. Their tales and tragedies help us relate and connect to them on a deeper level.
Only after knowing what they have been through do we understand why they are the way they are, be it the protagonists,the antagonists, or even the supporting characters. This is why anime creators invest significant effort in crafting memorable personalities, knowing that the most heart-wrenching stories often leave the most lasting impressions.
8Violet Evergarden (Violet Evergarden)
Raised As A Living Weapon
Trained as a living weapon, Violet Evergarden knew nothing but war and orders. Being left emotionally numbed, she found purpose in Major Gilbert’s command to live and be free. Violet felt lost in a world without war after losing her arms and the Major in a big fight. She had a hard time understanding her feelings and figuring out who she was.
As an Auto Memories Doll, she learns to convey others' feelings through letters, gradually uncovering her humanity. Violet’s journey from a tool of war to an empathetic young woman is a poignant exploration of post-war trauma and self-discovery.
7Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)
The Boy Who Lost His Body
The gentler half of the Elric brothers, Al’s sad story is all about losing what makes him human. When he and his brother tried to bring their mom back to life, things went terribly wrong. Al lost his entire body.
Now a soul bound to a suit of armor, he can’t eat, sleep, or feel physical sensations. This makes his tough situation even sadder. His journey to regain his body, fraught with dangerous battles and moral dilemmas, is proof of the unbreakable bond between brothers and the high cost of tampering with nature.
6Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)
A Prodigy Forced To Play Villain
Killing his entire family was the price Itachi Uchiha paid for peace. As a kid, he saw war and dreamed of a world without fighting. But his clan, the Uchiha, plotted to take over the village.
Itachi became a secret agent to stop them. In the end, he had to slaughter his whole family, sparing only his little brother Sasuke. He made Sasuke hate him, thinking it would make his brother tougher. For a long time, Itachi acted like a bad guy while secretly keeping safe everything he cared about.
5Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
Endless Time Loop Of Heartbreak
Love drove Homura Akemi to break time itself. Homura used to be shy and weak. Then her life turned into a never-ending nightmare. Stuck repeating the same month over and over, she kept seeing her friends die. Every time she went back, Homura became colder and more willing to do anything. All she wanted was to keep Madoka safe from the terrible future that magical girls faced.
Her evolution from a meek, bespectacled schoolgirl to a detached, time-bending warrior is a gut-wrenching saga of devotion, self-sacrifice, and the crushing burden of foreknowledge. Homura’s story reveals the depths one might sink into for love.
4Todoroki Shoto (My Hero Academia)
The Boy With Scars
Shoto is the youngest son of Endeavor (Enji Todoroki), the second (later first) highest-ranking hero, and Rei Todoroki. Endeavor’s ambition to surpass All Might, the number one hero, drives him to create a successor capable of inheriting his will and power.
This ambition leads him to engage in a quirk marriage with Rei, who possesses an ice quirk that complements his own fire quirk. As a result, Shoto’s childhood is marked by severe emotional and physical abuse at the hands of his father.
Endeavor is obsessed with training Shoto to be his successor, often pushing him to his limits without regard for his well-being. Shoto’s mother, Rei, suffers from the emotional and psychological strain of living with Endeavor, eventually leading her to a breakdown. In a moment of distress, she burns Shoto with boiling water, scarring his face.
3Denji (Chainsaw Man)
The Poor Boy Who Became a Devil Hunter
Life never gave Denji a break. As a kid, he lost his parents and was forced to pay off his dad’s loan to the Yakuza. He had to sell body parts and hunt devils just to eat, and his only friend was Pochita, a devil dog.
When the mob killed Denji, Pochita saved him by fusing with his heart. Now half-devil, Denji fights for the government. He longs for the most basic things, like good food, a roof over his head, and a genuine human connection. Denji’s story shows how a boy can keep going even when life is cruel and dreams are small.
2Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan)
From Thug To Humanity’s Greatest Soldier
The underground forged Levi into humanity’s sharpest blade. Born in the slums, Levi lost his mother at a very young age and turned to crime to survive. But soon he caught Erwin Smith’s attention and joined the Survey Corps to make up for his past. There he finds new purpose and friends in Farlan and Isabel, only to watch them get brutally killed by Titans.
Though he seems cold, Levi cares deeply for his comrades, silently carrying the weight of every life lost. His journey from desperate thug to humanity’s greatest hope shows how tragedy can forge an unexpected hero.
1Guts (Berserk)
The Definition Of Pain
Guts from Berserk stands out as one of the most tragic heroes in anime history. Found as a baby by his dead mom, he grew up fighting as a child soldier. He was severely abused by his guardian, Gambino, who then sold him to a soldier. Just when Guts thought he’d found friends in the Band of the Hawk, his hopes and trust were shattered.
He is forced to watch as his friend, Griffith, sacrifices his comrades to demons and forces himself onto his lover, Casca. Guts survives but with a curse that makes monsters chase him every night.
