Shonen anime series are usually targeted at male audiences while being characterized by action-filled plots. With that being said, not every Shonen anime has a strong protagonist. Whether they are weak in body or in body and mind, weak protagonists who stay weak exist.
Weak Shonen characters are often considered the weak link in the anime series they are portrayed in, as they do not contribute much to a fight. If the hero of an exciting story is a wimp, what happens? That's great news for Shonen anime because even characters with limited abilities bring a lot to the table.
6 Hanagaki Takemichi
The popularity of the Tokyo Revengers anime has been on the rise recently. The series' fame among anime fans can be attributed to its gang conflicts and iconic battles. Takemichi Hanagaki, the series' protagonist, is a weak and whiny hero, despite the show's widespread popularity. Takemichi's tenacity is a strength, but it doesn't help him much in a head-on assault.
Due to the prevalence of gang fighting in the anime, Takemichi's frailty has become a defining characteristic of the character. Tokyo Revengers' other legendary characters—Mikey, Draken, and Hanma—make up for the protagonist's flaws, and they've won over the hearts of the series' fans.
5 Nezumi
Nezumi is exceedingly frail, both physically and psychologically, despite being the victor of the Junni Taisen, a combat of warriors with the names of the 12 members of the Chinese Zodiac, in the anime series of the same name. For him to win the Junni Taisen, he needed a special ability that allowed him to exist in different realities at once. Despite Nezumi's propensity for jumping from one reality to the next and back again, he was able to win the Junni Taisen on his 100th attempt.
But, he was not successful due to his own doggedness or physical prowess, but rather because he took advantage of openings that were made available to him by others. A wish is awarded to the victor of the Junni Taisen tournament. Once Nezumi won the tournament, he asked him to erase all memory of it because remembering it was too much of a burden.
4 Senku
After being petrified for 3700 years, Senku was the first character in the Dr. Stone anime series to be de-petrified. He decided to use his tremendous intelligence to rebuild a world that had fallen back to the Stone Age because of the absence of human life and activity. Senku's plan was to transform the planet from its prehistoric state into a scientifically advanced kingdom in a few years.
While he had some positive qualities, strength was not one of them. Due to his weakness, he often needed the help of others to accomplish tasks that required physical strength.
3 Hiro
Before meeting Zero Two, the protagonist of the Darling in the Franxx anime series was an excellent pilot. In a post-apocalyptic future where Klauxosaurs have attacked the earth and intend to destroy all humanity, Darling in the Franxx tells the story of Hiro and Zero Two as their destinies become entwined. Boys and girls get together to fight the Klauxosaurs; the boys are called stamens and the girls pistils.
Since ingesting Zero Two's half-Klauxosaur blood when they were younger, Hiro has been unable to fly with other pilots in the anime series. The downward cycle of diminished confidence and emotional fortitude that followed was inevitable. The majority of the Franxx robots' care was left in Zero Two's capable hands, so even after Hiro regained his flying talents at his side, he was still seen as a weak link.
2 Ganta Igarashi
Ganta Igarashi, the protagonist of the Deadman Wonderland anime series, was framed by the "Red Man." While he was still in class, the Red Man came in and slaughtered everyone else there before implanting a red crystal in him. As the lone witness to the atrocity, Ganta was falsely accused and then convicted. He was transported to Deadman Wonderland, a jail that also serves as an amusement park, where inmates perform dangerous acts and activities for the public's delight.
Ganta was one of the weakest of the many deadmen who gained similar abilities. Overall, he was a weak protagonist who was motivated largely by fear. His sidekick was the little girl Shiro, who underwent an experiment that gave her extraordinary abilities. Ganta's life was in grave danger throughout the series, yet with her by his side, he narrowly avoided death on numerous occasions.
1 Yukiteru Amano
It's a common cliché in Shonen anime for the protagonist to start off as an extremely weak character before gradually becoming more powerful. Yukiteru Amano is an exception to this rule, though. In the anime series Future Diary, Yuki is first portrayed as a cowardly wimp, and he remains that way throughout. Yuki manipulates his obsessive stalker classmate, Yuno Gasai, in order to stay alive in the battle royale survival game he ends up in.
When confronted with danger, Yuki always runs for cover, making him further reliant on Yuno. Yuki is perceived as physically and intellectually feeble due to his timid and subservient nature. But he wins the game at the expense of Yuno, because he depends on her a lot during the battle royale.