8 Characters Found in Every Shonen Anime

What's up guys! Welcome to Off The Grid. Well, it's Dan. It's Mike. Dude, have you seen the recent Fairytale episode? Yeah, you know I always stay up to date on my shounen animes. Speaking of shounen animes, there are always those stereotypical characters. Yeah, and for those who aren't big anime fans, shounen anime is a genre of anime that is usually geared towards the young male demographic. But it can also be very popular with the female demographic. Yeah, young male demographic like us, right? Yeah, exactly. Love it! Yeah. It often consists of a lot of action scenes mixed with humor and main protagonist is typically a guy. These are some of the most common types of characters you will find in shounen anime. So first we have the innocent main character. This character's main characteristics are headstrong, eager, and happy-go-lucky. The very best! Like no one ever was! Yeah, are you crazy? I can be the very best! Next we have the tough guy main character. This character tends to be viewed as the delinquent that does not follow the rules and doesn't listen to others. Excuse me! Um, you should not be dyeing your hair blonde. It's against school policy. You wanna fight? Then, of course, we have the anti-hero. This character suffers from a sad past and grows up to be an angered youth. Usually it involves everyone that the character holds close dying and him usually losing faith in humanity. Then, several years later, when he's all grown up, he goes about exacting his revenge, fighting, and getting in the main character's way. Hey you! I hear you're the man around here. Let's fight! Eventually he loses, rethinks his life, and eventually sides with the main character. The main character always needs a sidekick. The first type is the fighting sidekick. This character usually doesn't get along with the main character at first but then ends up becoming really good friends with the main character. Often this character is looked down upon by others and needs to prove him or herself. Where is your boss? I'm not telling you where my boss is. Fight me! You are too weak and can be easily defeated. That's it! I want to fight your boss! Do not underestimate my powers! I will take you down! Secret fighting technique! Stomach tickle! Gaming resistance! Secret technique! Cheek pinch! Another type of sidekick would be the comic relief sidekick. This is pretty self explanatory. I love you! Will you marry me? Who are you? Sometimes there's an ex-character. This character's identity is usually hidden by a mask. They don't seem important at first but then as the story progresses, you learn all about this character's complicated past that turns out to be integral to the plot. Oh, and we can't forget about the typical female characters. There is the weak girl. She's frail and needs to be protected. Help me! Hands off! Thank you, my savior! Wow, you're really short, huh? And last, we have the strong girl. This female character is usually really strong, cool, and kind of like an older sister figure. Alright kid, give it up. Give me all your lunch money right now. Get out of here! Go pick up someone your own size. Hey, you okay? Wow, you're so awesome. Boy, who do you think I am? I'm in love. Alright guys, there you go. Those are some of the most common characters you will find in shonen anime. You know what I love at the end when the characters do the post-celebratory poses? Yeah? Show us your best one. Okay, check this out. Boom! That was pretty good. You like that? That was pretty good. You like that? Like when you started doing the... That was like a combination of tai chi and like ha-yu-ken. I don't know where you were going with that, but that was awesome. Mine's always like the simple one where he just pulls the peace sign out of his back. Oh, it's like, it's like, it's hidden. Yeah, you don't know what it is. There you go! Yeah, and he just goes, and he goes, he goes, Yeah, look what I got behind my back! Oh, it's a peace sign! It's like, drop! Yeah, and he's like, ah! Like he thinks he might be giving you something, but he's giving you the, yeah! Well, let us know what your favorites are. And if you want to see more of us, definitely check out... Don't forget about the Double Chen Show. All right, guys. Thanks so much for watching. See you! Peace! What? Ah, I'm waiting. You're waiting? Yeah. Ah, I'm rolling. I was rolling. Oh, you're rolling? And I said the same, and you understood what I said. Okay, I'm rolling.