Any great story is built around a strong protagonist. They take the initiative in most of the storylines and bring the show’s remaining characters together in fresh and fun ways.
However, there are situations when the supporting character in a series receives just as much praise and attention.
The term “deuteragonist” refers to a character who is “second in importance to the protagonist,” and they frequently add something to a movie or television show that the protagonist is unable to.
One thing is certain: well-written deuteragonists can have just as big of an impact as the protagonist, whether it be through a darker outlook, a new vulnerability, or even better elucidation of the tale.
Here’s a list of the top 10 deuteragonists in Anime.
| Deuteragonists | Anime Title |
| Genos | One-Punch Man |
| Arthur Boyle | Fire Force |
| Roy Mustang | Fullmetal Alchemist |
| Lisa Mishima | Terror In Resonance |
| Korosensei | Assassination Classroom |
| Yuno Grinberryall | Black Cover |
| Kawaki Uzumaki | Boruto: Naruto Next Generation |
| Katsuki Bakugou | My Hero Academia |
| Shinsuke Takasugi | Gintama |
| Killua Zoldyck | Hunter X Hunter |
What is Anime?
Anime is Japanese animation that can be both hand-drawn and computer-generated. Outside of Japan and in English, anime applies to Japanese animation alone.
Anime (a term derived from the English word animation) encompasses any animated works created in Japan and in Japanese, regardless of style or origin.
In contrast to Western animation, anime production frequently focuses on setting detail and the use of “camera effects” such as panning, zooming, and angle shots. Character measurements and characteristics can vary greatly, with large and expressive eyes being a prominent differentiating feature.
What are Deuteragonists?
The deuteragonist is the secondary main character in literature, cinema, and television.
They are the protagonist’s heir apparent and can behave as a partner to the main character or actively aid the protagonist’s mission. A deuteragonist is typically a friend, sidekick, mentor, brother, love interest, or tagalong (and more). They can also play the antagonist, opposing the main character.
Consider a film with numerous points of view. Take, for example, The Last Duel, which features two males as opposing deuteragonists to the lead heroine.
Genos (One-Punch Man)
Appearance
Genos is a mechanical cyborg who stands about as tall as a person. Made of synthetic skin, his face and ears have a human appearance, and his eyes have black sclera and yellow iris.
He has blonde hair that is spiky and blonde eyebrows (brown in Anime). His ears are likewise pierced.
Genos only wears street clothing, and all of his tops are sleeveless to make it easier for him to transform his arms.
He possesses numerous arm configurations, each with a unique set of skills and strengths. His different arms, which he used to fight Saitama in a sparring session, and the weapons he used to fend off the meteor are notable instances.
Personality
Genos is a rather somber figure who hardly ever cracks jokes. He continuously strives to get stronger, and he frequently asks Saitama for guidance on how to do so.
Genos has a deep respect for Saitama and has taken a protective stance since becoming one of his students (who he refers to as “master“).
Genos admires and envies Saitama, but it doesn’t stop him from being annoyed and incredulous about the routine training Saitama underwent to develop his abilities.
Arthur Boyle (Fire Force)
Appearance
Similar to Shinra, Arthur is a young man with average height, a muscular, lean frame, shaggy blonde hair, and blue eyes with white pupils.
To have a clearer field of view during a battle, he frequently wears his hair up in a ponytail.
When Arthur was first seen, he was dressed in a dark jacket with a cross-shaped button on the collar, a light shirt, dark slacks, a belt, and dark shoes.
Later, he received bunker gear, including a protective outer jacket and pants. Alongside him, Arthur has a scabbard in which he keeps his bladeless sword.
Some of his clothing has blue lines painted on it. In place of a helmet, Arthur wore a dark green pullover with a hood that he pulled over his head.
His protective jacket’s buttons are designed to resemble crosses. The “8” on Arthur’s clothing serves as a reminder that he belongs to the 8th Special Fire Brigade. He also puts on safety gloves and a neck protector.
Personality
As a Third Generation pyrokinetic, Arthur has a great deal of self-confidence. Because of this, he frequently comes off as haughty and conceited, especially when he refuses to address people with honorifics.
Arthur often responds to individuals by saying, “Hmph,” which comes off as obstinate or dismissive.
Arthur tends to leave people with a negative impression due to his attitude and carefree personality.
But like the other firemen, he was shown to be unconcerned by people’s antics, and Arthur is typically unconcerned even when he is fighting.
Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Appearance
Roy is a young man with clean-shaven skin and black eyes. Roy’s dark hair is typically left uncombed and falls over his eyes, perhaps in keeping with his persona.
However, he is known to wear it neatly pulled back in more formal or solemn settings.
Mustang, who enjoys wearing elegant clothing, is rarely seen outside of uniform (and even then, he frequently dons additional accessories, such as a long, black overcoat and white formal-wear gloves).
Personality
On the surface, Roy appears to be a shallow, conceited, and unrepentant womanizer who is notorious among many of his coworkers and subordinates for the egotistical and narcissistic vibe he exudes.
Colonel Mustang is an ostentatious person who often acts out of self-interest rather than any sort of altruism. He is as conceited as his young protégé Edward.
He gives the impression of being a kind of cocky layabout to most people, shirking most of his responsibilities and handing off his paperwork to assistants while sitting idly at his desk and procrastinating.
However, he is quick to act when it seems like there is glory and military notoriety to be gained.
Lisa Mishima (Terror In Resonance)
Appearance
Lisa is a young woman who is of average height and appears fragile and pale.
She has brown eyes and short, jet-black hair. She frequently appears dressed in dresses or feminine attire.
Personality
Lisa is a shy girl who experiences bullying frequently because of her inept actions and reclusive personality.
Because of her introversion, she tends to harbor grudges toward the outside world and keep her troubles to herself.
She senses a bond with the Sphinx couple and a similar sense of alienation from the outside world among the three of them.
She continues to live despite her first setbacks and the risky operations she performs as a result, displaying great courage and tenacity.
She seemed to be pretty clumsy as well, dropping and scorching meals as well as unintentionally touching the detonators on smartphones.
Korosensei (Assassination Classroom)
Appearance
In his original form, Korosensei resembled a person with a pale complexion, small black eyes, and short dark hair.
He would dress in dark colors while acting as an assassin, generally in black or brown.
Korosensei, the experiment subject, took on the appearance of a yellow bipedal octopus. He stands around three meters tall, with a big, bulbous head, a big smile, and small, beady eyes.
He walks with the remainder of his tentacles and uses two of his feelers as arms, each with two fingers.
Korosensei claims that despite having incredibly small nostrils when they are discovered, it appears like he has four eyes.
Personality
He grew up “where anybody could easily betray one another to the extent that one could only trust oneself,” like setting.
He decided to become an assassin to withstand these trials.
Despite having an apprentice, he merely considered him as a tool for achieving his objectives, which led to the latter betraying his master in the end.
But after meeting Aguri Yukimura, he finally understood what compassion meant, and he started to be much kinder and more sympathetic.
Yuno Grinberryall (Black Cover)
Appearance
Yuno is a tall, thin young man with amber eyes, unruly black hair, and an average body. His primary clothing comprises a black shirt with long sleeves and a high collar.
The wrists and upper arms of the sleeves are covered in brown leather. He has brown belts that cross each other across his waist and is dressed in light brown pants that end just above his knees.
Personality
Yuno talks only when it is necessary to express his opinions and maintains a calm, emotionless posture.
People frequently misunderstand what he means because of the way he speaks.
Despite his cold demeanor, Yuno has a burning desire to become the Magic Emperor that he nurtured while spending his formative years with Asta.
Furthermore, Yuno feels such a strong sense of rivalry toward him that he will stop at nothing to prevent anyone from endangering Asta.
Additionally, he goes out of his way to make Asta appear admirable in the eyes of others. For instance, he attacked Asta with his strongest magic even though he knew Asta would repel it.
Kawaki Uzumaki (Boruto: Naruto Next Generation)
Appearance
Kawaki has a black undercut with blonde sides that are shaven, the roman numeral IX beneath his left eye, and two hooped piercings under each eyebrow.
He is dressed in a green blouse with a long, sleeveless jacket over it, black jeans, and black sandals.
Karma, a black diamond-shaped seal, can unfold and move up his left arm to his face. It is located in the palm of his left hand. He becomes crimson when syncing with Boruto’s Karma.
Personality
Kawaki is initially antagonistic to new individuals he encounters as a result of years of torture at the hands of his birth father and Kara.
He speaks to people in an impolite manner and frequently uses foul language. He also speaks extremely bluntly and directly.
Kawaki had developed a self-emptying mindset as a result of Jigen’s emotional abuse, but after meeting Naruto, he changes his perspective.
In addition to his tendency to be harsh, Kawaki can also be incredibly stubborn at times, which irritates others who try to communicate with him.
Katsuki Bakugou (My Hero Academia)
Appearance
Young Katsuki has a fair complexion, a thin, muscular frame, and an average height. His sandy blonde hair is short, and spiky, and has choppy bangs that hang over his eyebrows.
He doesn’t wear the customary red tie when he’s at school and dons the typical U.A. uniform. He is dressed in a white collared shirt with the top few buttons undone underneath his blazer.
Even though he is wearing a belt with them, his pants are loosely fitted and sagged at the ankles.
Personality
As a result of his bad conduct that dates back to his early years, when he was known to bully a young, quirkless Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki tends to come across as unheroic.
He frequently boasted about the strength of his explosion quirk and even boasted that he would defeat his entire middle school class, demonstrating that he was highly haughty and contemptuous to those around him.
He openly displayed hostility toward Izuku, primarily because of his previous guiltlessness, and would frequently dismiss his aspirations of becoming a hero despite not possessing a quirk.
He also gave him the derogatory moniker “Deku” (meaning useless and unable to achieve anything).
Shinsuke Takasugi (Gintama)
Appearance
Takasugi has short, black hair with dark purple highlights, which in some photos often appears to be pure dark purple.
He has a bandage covering his left eye and forehead. He typically wears a yukata, the style of which depends on the medium, and occasion a matching haori jacket.
He frequently uses a thin pipe known as a “kiseru” to smoke when looking out the windows of his boat. He has also been seen sporting a sedge hat and playing the shamisen.
Personality
Takasugi’s persistence and genuine desire to end the world define him. Because of his charisma, all of his warriors voluntarily put their trust in him and help him achieve his goals.
Takasugi is said to be slightly unstable and deranged despite his men’s assurances to the contrary, and he is aware of this. He is motivated by resentment and guilt, which are evident in all of his deeds.
Takasugi is prepared to kill his subordinates if they disobey him or get in his way, even unintentionally.
Takasugi rejects the change in the world and refuses to see anything other than the path of destruction. Those that are aware of him generally fear his chilly nature.
Killua Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)
Appearance
Killua has blue eyes, a very pale complexion, and silvery-spiky hair. His eyes take on different shapes depending on how he’s feeling; when he’s in assassination mode, they become sharper and narrower.
Due to his early physical training under torture and continual physical conditioning, Killua is fairly lean at the beginning of the series. He gets stronger and more toned with time.
Killua’s eyes in the Nippon Animation version of the Manga are changed to green during the OVAs.
Personality
At first, Killua is presented as a person who resembles Gon: cheeky, upbeat and brimming with naughty plans.
Killua, in contrast to Gon, may be quite impolite to others, especially strangers and the elderly.
He is most known for his sweet tooth; he enjoys all things sweet and spent nearly 200 million dollars on snacks while he was at Heaven’s Arena.
This video ranks the most likable Anime deuteragonists to date:
Conclusion
- Deuteragonists add more than showing the protagonist’s development in a story.
- They often play just as large a role in the plot as the protagonists.
- Deuteragonists go through their character arcs, grow, and conquer challenges.
- Some of the best deuteragonists in the Anime world are Kawaki Uzumaki, Killua Zoldyck, and Shinsuke Takasugi.
Other Articles
- Hunter X Hunter: Top 10 Strongest Types of Hunters, Ranked
- Favorite Anime Of All Time (Nostalgic Memories)
- Top 10 Educational Anime (Hidden Gems)
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