Among all the anime favorites and characters that the masses seem to be divided on, every now and then, there are those characters that seem to get all the hate. Whether it be for their design, voice, morals, personality, or lack of talent or charisma, fans just seem to always find fault in them no matter what.
While some of these characters may be irredeemable or simply too detestable, there are a few characters that got tossed in with the rotten apples too hastily. Here are a few notable characters that seem to be hated by their fandoms, but might not truly deserve what they get.
Disclaimer: Spoilers ahead!
7 Zenitsu Agatsuma — Demon Slayer
There are a few reasons why Demon Slayer fans may not be too fond of Zenitsu. He's a bit of a crybaby (maybe more than just "a bit"), he's girl-crazy, loud, cowardly, and rather obnoxious at times. Zenitsu may have his fair share of flaws, but that doesn't mean he's too far gone. It may take a bit of digging but Zentisu does have his redeeming qualities.
He may be a bit of a coward at times, but his loyalty to his friends bars that sense of fear he has when danger arises. Even when Inosuke tried beating him to a pulp to get to the box Nezuko was hiding in, Zentisu stood his ground, simply because he knew the box meant a lot to his good friend, Tanjiro. On top of his hidden sense of loyalty, Zentisu makes up for his cowardice with his unique fighting style of unconscious combat. Perhaps one-day Zenitsu will finally feel confident in himself and his abilities on the battlefield.
6 Sakura Haruno — Naruto
Poor Sakura has been the butt of endless jokes and memes across the Naruto fandom; even some anime fans that haven't even watched the series are well aware of her unpopularity. Sure, Sakura maybe didn't pull her weight at the beginning of the series, but she eventually unleashed her true potential (regardless of the fact it took literally hundreds of episodes to get to that point).
Sakura was a young girl that got a lot of hate, simply because she excelled at something that wasn't combat-oriented. It's often forgotten how intelligent she is and how she often acted as the brains of the iconic trio. It's important to remember that Sakura was only about twelve years old when the series started. In all fairness, she handled the pressure of school, the threat of Orochimaru, and her unrequited love for Sasuke, as well as anyone else could.
5 Shinji Ikari — Neon Genesis Evangelion
Sometimes, the sci-fi and fantasy elements of anime can sweep the audience up and away into a world that glosses over much more mundane details. Shinji is rather infamous for being a disliked protagonist, but it's a bit uncertain if he was deserving of all the hate he received.
Throughout Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shinji had his fair share of mistakes and moments where he was difficult to understand or flat-out unlikeable. But it's important to remember that Shinji was only fourteen years old when he was thrust into a position of power. Allowing someone to be in charge of millions of lives at such a young age is incredibly harrowing; not to mention the trauma of his upbringing as well. Shinji may be unlikeable, but his age and dire circumstances of being abused and exploited should grant him some leniency with audiences.
4 Kazutora Hanemiya — Tokyo Revengers
In the first season of Tokyo Revengers, Kazutora didn't exactly make a good impression on fans. He actually takes the role of an antagonist for most of the first season. However, he's not all bad; after all, he was one of the original founding members of Toman.
Kazutora clearly had issues with misdirected anger and had a tendency to panic in bad situations, ultimately leading him to push blame onto others. However, by the end of the ordeal with Baji and Valhalla, Kazutora finally has his well-deserved moment of clarity and understands that he was responsible for the events that had unfolded. When he finally admitted he was at fault, it was a glimmer of hope that his character would be in for growth and development in future seasons. Hopefully, Kazutora can prove that Baji's sacrifice didn't go to waste.
3 Endeavor (Enji Todoroki) — My Hero Academia
Any My Hero Academia fans that have a burning hatred (no pun intended) for Endeavor are definitely justified in their opinion, as he has been guilty of problematic and abusive behavior. The way he treated his family in the past is definitely grounds for being labeled as an antihero rather than the number one he actually is. But in the darkness, there is a glimmer of hope.
What gives Endeavor's journey the gravity it has is how realistic and non-romanticized it is. Members of his family still don't forgive him, the general public doesn't recognize him as the number one hero. Yet, he makes the effort to change his ways nonetheless. Although he's done hideous things in the past, he now understands his wrongdoings and wishes to atone for his mistakes, a step that many people don't ever reach. Endeavor deserves to be recognized as the person he is trying to become. Though they shouldn't erase his past, fans should recognize him as a person on their way to redemption.
2 Hayase Nagatoro — Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro/ Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san
Anime fans that have caught wind of the infamous Miss Nagatoro have been fairly divided on her character. Many outsiders looking in may see a terrible bully that simply wishes to torment her Senpai to her heart's content — and for the first few episodes, it's true.
However, after some digging, Nagatoro begins to warm up and very slowly shows her true colors (and feelings) about Senpai. Deep down, Nagatoro is a young girl who doesn't exactly know how to deal with her feelings and (unfortunately) chooses to show her affection in rather bizarre ways. Start the series and detest her bullying, but stay for the rest and it'll be easy to see that Nagatoro truly cares about her Senpai and enjoys her time with him.
1 Boruto Uzumaki — Boruto
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To many original fans of the original Naruto series, no one could ever live up to Naruto's legacy. It's difficult to be the next in line after such a prolific series. Boruto was almost doomed to fail from the beginning; not because of any specific detail about his character, his design, or even his strength. It was simply due to the legacy that came before him that had fans hesitant to like him right from day one.
Many fans were already against the poor boy from the moment the series was announced. Boruto doesn't have anything fundamentally wrong with him, it's the nostalgia glasses that OG fans have on that make him seem pale in comparison to his father. It's important for fans to remember Naruto's younger days were filled with just as many hiccups and that young Boruto deserves a second chance too.