While some shows give characters enough time for five separate flashbacks and at least seven monologues about friendships, other characters only get an episode or two to tell their stories. And some of them are pretty darn interesting. So we’re covering all those characters that have obvious potential, but never get the time to fully flesh out on-screen.
12. Denki Kaminari
Anime: My Hero Academia Kaminari was the first one that popped into my head, simply because I still can’t believe how irrelevant he is. Even though he has a really cool design, a lovable personality, a powerful and flashy quirk, and decent audience appeal, he has the same screen time as Toru. You know Toru: the character that is literally invisible. My Hero Academia has a few more examples of underutilized characters too.
11. Merlin
Anime: The Seven Deadly Sins Even though the show is called The Seven Deadly Sins, some sins definitely get a lot more love than others. Characters like Ban, Meliodas, Diane, and King seem to be in every scene. While Gowther, Merlin, and Escanor pop up here and there. But at least Gowther and Escanor get the occasional badass scene, while Merlin is on the side lines. Which is a shame. Because not only is she an absolute babe, but she could have been fleshed out to be an even bigger badass than she already is. I mean, how did a girl that double crossed literal gods not get at least a few prequel episodes?
10. Itachi Uchiha
Anime: Naruto: Shippuden Itachi was hands-down one of my favorite characters in the series. And I’m pretty certain that a lot of people feel the same way. And at first it made sense why he was only known as “Sasuke’s brother”, being that they wanted to build up the hype and everything. But why did we not get more Itachi content after his past was revealed? The man had an entire highly-acclaimed spinoff manga, and yet the best we could get was him coming back from the dead and participating in one fight? My boy deserved way more than that.
9. Tatsumaki
Anime: One Punch Man Of all the non-Saitama heroes that were introduced in season one, and even more so in season two, Tatsumaki definitely had the most protagonist potential. Characters like Mumen Rider and King were amazing additions. But how did they get more screen time than a tsundere Pain? She honestly feels like a Saitama spinoff, being that her power is near absolute, but her attitude is a major hurdle. Yet instead of swatting away flies, she occasionally stabs someone a couple dozen times while in a drunken phase. Which is just as entertaining, in my opinion!
8. Ram
Anime: Re: Zero The Rem/Ram combo was an instant hit for the show. I mean, who wouldn’t like twin maids that cutely insult you the second you wake up? But as Rem got more character development, Ram largely fell to the side and just became “the mean one”. Which sucks, because her history would make for a really good and interesting kuudere character. The second part of the second season remedied this a little. But I feel like she never got the same attention that her sister got, even though she absolutely should.
7. Sasha Blouse
Anime: Attack on Titan It feels weird putting Sasha on here, as I’ve always thought that she was an iconic character. But when you actually look back at the series, you realize that she doesn’t show up nearly as often as one might think. She gets the occasional gag scene where she fights off a bear for a piece of ham, but that’s about it. Well fair warning, spoilers ahead: The strangest thing is to then see what an impact her introduction had on Reiner, and how much everyone mourned her loss. Just imagine how heavy that scene would have been if we had just gotten to see her around a bit more!
6. Itsuki Kawasumi and Ren Amaki
Anime: The Rising of the Shield Hero I want to mention these two for the same reason that I mentioned Merlin. The show has four central heroes, and yet only two ever get fleshed out. Sure, we learn that Naofumi is playing the game on hard mode, and that Motoyasu is a complete simp. But that’s about it. I honestly feel like I learned more about the slave dealer than I did about two heroes! And considering they’re far more likable than the Spear Simp, not to mention they look pretty badass in battle, it is a shame that the first season never gave them any time to shine.
5. Ryoutarou Tsuboi
Anime: Sword Art Online If the sentence “come back when you’re a main character” means anything to you, then you already know why Klein had to be on here. Because of the way he was introduced, I was certain that he would become Kirito’s rival or valuable ally. But he just remained “that guy” for quite some time. Even though he already had some friends in the game with him, as well as a healthy dose of charisma, likability, and samurai armor, he was destined to forever live in Kirito’s shadow. Even though he’s far more likable in my opinion.
4. Tsukasa Shishiou
Anime: Dr. Stone This one might seem a bit odd, considering that he’s the main antagonist, but hear me out. I was instantly hooked on Tsukasa as the bad guy, as he wasn’t evil for the sake of evil, but rather had a very cruel and unforgiving ideology. He and Senku have their crash, and then we don’t see the guy for dozens of episodes. He’s only mentioned here and there, as if even the show knew that we might forget about his existence. I’m all for building hype, but you can’t give me a character as interesting as Tsukasa, and then give him ten minutes of screen time for a season and a half!
3. The Phantom Troupe
Anime: Hunter x Hunter (2011) The Phantom Troupe was the Akatsuki of the Hunter x Hunter universe. And yet it feels like they were barely present in the series. The mere fact that we had to wait for the Chimera Ant arc to see some of them fight for the first time is evidence enough of how mistreated the troupe was. How can you create someone like Feitan, and then only have him fight some no-name Chimera Ant? Speaking of the Chimera Ants, they had so much screen time that I felt like I watched a personal documentary about every foot soldier and fodder character… and yet the Phantom Troupe couldn’t even get one serious battle?
2. Pannacotta Fugo
Anime: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind Although he is a main character, the show literally forgot about this man. He was just kind of always there, never contributing much, and hardly ever even getting the chance to use his Stand. Which made no sense to me, considering how cool his Stand was! The man had a living biochemical weapon at his disposal, and yet the gang parted ways with him shortly after we finally got to see him fight. And it truly is a shame, as the character writing for the show was so on-point that I can’t help but wonder what they would have done with Pannacotta had they kept him around for a little longer.
1. Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki
Anime: Boruto I know I speak for a lot of us when I say that the only reason I’m even watching Boruto is to see Naruto and Sasuke. But since they’ve been downgraded to just supporting characters, I have to get through a whole lot of Boruto whining, and Jugo saving birds, in order to get what I came for. I’m aware that making Sasuke and Naruto central characters would kind of defeat the purpose of the show. But then again, at least the new show would have an average rating higher than 5/10. That’s right, I went there!
