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Anime is full of stories where heroes must overcome character-defining hardships; however, there are others who experience countless unimaginable trials or enemies. Whereas some of these heroes face a single major event or turning point they must push through, others have little other choice but to shoulder repeating cycles of loss or pain. These characters often survive experiences that dwarf anything their enemies experience.
Despite everything, these tragic heroes never lose sight of what they’re fighting for. No matter what genre of storytelling they come from, heroes like these endure unimaginable hardships that reshape how they see the world around them. While some may crack under pressure, others continue to persevere, bearing burdens that the villains could never withstand if the roles were ever reversed.
Future Trunks (Dragon Ball Z)
Future Trunks was first introduced after the Frieza Saga in Dragon Ball Z. Initially, he stood out as a mysterious new Saiyan who effortlessly defeated Mecha Frieza and his father, King Cold. As the story continued, it was revealed that he was a half-Saiyan from a devastated future where Earth’s greatest defenders were all slain by two powerful Androids, 17 and 18. With the help of his mother, Trunks traveled back in time to warn the Z Fighters about the upcoming threat.
This warning allowed the Z Fighters to train in preparation for the Androids’ arrival, effectively saving the main timeline from the same devastating events that Trunks endured in his own. While he saved one timeline, there was little left of his own to salvage. When he does defeat the Androids of his time, the peace is short-lived. In Dragon Ball Super, he was forced to endure more tragedy, including the erasure of his entire timeline.
The hardship Future Trunks lived through makes him one of Dragon Ball’s most tragic heroes. Every success he achieved only came after massive, devastating sacrifices, and his every chance at happiness and peace was eventually met with another catastrophe beyond his control. While the villains responsible for his suffering relentlessly pursued their own ambitions, Trunks was forced to endure repeated losses and ultimately failed to fully save his timeline.
Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Shinji Ikari is the protagonist of the classic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. He’s introduced as a 14-year-old withdrawn teenager who is recruited by his estranged father, Gendo, to pilot the Evangelion Unit-01. He’s tasked with defending his world from mysterious, world-ending beings known as Angels, despite never wanting the responsibility. Alongside other young pilots, Shinji has little choice but to endure immense trauma and suffering.
This trauma extends beyond the battlefield as well, as Shinji is repeatedly manipulated by the adults around him and carries burdens that no child should carry. With little support and a distant father who only sees him as a means to an end, Shinji is constantly forced to bear the weight of every horrific death and psychological attack largely on his own.
Rather than becoming stronger after everything he experiences, Shinji gradually cracks and unravels. He emotionally withdraws and is manipulated to become isolated from those around him, making him one of anime’s most tortured characters. In comparison, many of Neon Genesis Evangelion’s antagonists chase their own objectives with a sense of conviction, leaving Shinji to carry the burden of every major conflict on his own.
Ken Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul)
At the start of Tokyo Ghoul, Ken Kaneki is just an ordinary college student whose life is completely upended after a near-fatal ghoul attack. After surviving his encounter with Rize Kamishiro, Ken Kaneki has her organs transplanted into his body, turning him into a half-ghoul. Caught between the world of humans and the world of ghouls, Kaneki has little choice but to learn how to navigate his new life and the dangers that come with it.
After becoming a half-ghoul, he struggles with insatiable hunger for human flesh, loses people who are close to him, must survive encounters with the Commission of Counter Ghoul and terrorist ghoul groups, and endures unimaginable torture by Yamori that permanently changes him. Even though Kaneki survives these horrors, he continues to struggle through brutal battles and internal crises.
By the end of his journey, he’s completely unrecognizable from the man he was at the beginning of the series. Every traumatic experience he endured altered who he is and how he views the world. Kaneki’s perseverance is admirable; however, he never sought out any of the misfortunes that befell him, making him one of anime’s most tragic characters.
Subaru Natsuki (Re:Zero – Starting Life In Another World)
Subaru Natsuki is the main character of Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World. He’s an ordinary teenager from modern Japan who unexpectedly finds himself transported into an unfamiliar kingdom. Initially, he expects some kind of fantasy adventure that he was only ever able to dream about, but reality quickly proves to be much less idealistic after discovering a supernatural power that allows him to Return by Death.
This power proves itself to be a horrible curse as Subaru is brutally killed in countless, terrible ways. He is forced to repeat timelines over and over, watch as friends and allies die, and endlessly relive those tragedies until he can find a path that leads him forward. What makes this burden heavier is the fact that he can’t share the source of his knowledge from past timelines or share his Return by Death ability without involving the Witch’s curse, which causes him immense pain.
Those endless cycles of death fundamentally change who Subaru is as a person. His confidence is repeatedly broken and rebuilt, and he has cracked under the pressure more than once. Even so, with the help of those close to him, he overcomes his fears and insecurities, turning his unnatural ability into a tool that saves the lives of those he cares about along his journey, repeatedly surviving and overcoming the worst deaths and fates imaginable.
Guts (Berserk)
Guts is the protagonist of the dark fantasy manga and anime Berserk. He’s someone who has known violence for as long as he has been alive, as he was raised by mercenaries and grew up surrounded by abuse and bloodshed. When he eventually joins the Band of the Hawk, Guts experiences camaraderie for the first time and seems to set out on a path that would break the cycle of pain and suffering that followed him all his life.
Instead, everything he had hoped for was destroyed during the Eclipse, where Griffith, a leader he deeply respected and looked up to, sacrificed his comrades to ascend as a member of the God Hand. Guts was not only forced to witness the massacre of his closest friends, but also lost his arm and an eye while watching as Griffith assaulted Casca, his lover and a fellow commander. Guts becomes branded with the Mark of Sacrifice, condemned to battle against demons every night and becomes consumed by vengeance.
Guts’ life is marked by endless battle, tragedy, and bloodshed, making him one of anime’s most tragic and tortured heroes. While revenge becomes his sole driving force after the Eclipse, he eventually shifts his priorities to protecting Casca and the companions who came to stand beside him. There are incredibly few anime heroes who have endured as much hardship as Guts has, making him stand out among countless anime heroes as one of the most unforgettable protagonists ever made.
