2026-03-30 44933 瀏覽General Discussion

Anime Side Characters More Popular Than the Protagonist — These Supporting Cast Members Are Way Over the Top

Machine-translated from Traditional Chinese

I put together the results of a popularity poll from a Japanese site, and I noticed that in a lot of series the side characters are more popular than the main character. Let me share this interesting phenomenon.

**Top 20 Popular Side Characters**

1. Detective Conan — Tooru Amuro
2. Jujutsu Kaisen — Satoru Gojou
3. Bungo Stray Dogs — Osamu Dazai
4. Hunter x Hunter — Killua
5. Attack on Titan — Levi
6. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Zenitsu Agatsuma
7. Neon Genesis Evangelion — Asuka Langley Soryu
8. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure — Bruno Bucciarati
9. Naruto — Kakashi
10. BLEACH — Toushirou Hitsugaya
11. Yu Yu Hakusho — Hiei
12. Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World — Rem
13. Dragon Ball — Son Gohan
14. My Hero Academia — Katsuki Bakugou
15. Fullmetal Alchemist — Roy Mustang
16. One-Punch Man — Sonic
17. Yu-Gi-Oh! — Seto Kaiba
18. KONOSUBA -God's blessing on this wonderful world! — Megumin
19. Medaka Box — Misogi Kumagawa
20. Eyeshield 21 — Youichi Hiruma

**Personal Observations**

These side characters tend to be popular for a few reasons:
- They're powerful but flawed, which makes them feel more real
- They get little screen time, but every appearance is a highlight moment
- Their looks or character design really stand out
- Their backstories have depth, making you want to know more

Do you guys think this list is fair? And which side characters do you think are underrated?

回覆 (8)

手

手辦攝影師2026-04-03

LMAO, Megumin is really exploding in popularity, Explosion! 🔥

老

老番推薦達人2026-04-03

It's alright, but I think Okita Sougo from "Gintama" is also quite worthy of being on the list; he's actually very popular.

日

日本代購達人2026-04-03

Bucciarati truly is the embodiment of the Golden Spirit. I still remember his line, "This is the end," to this day; long-time fans all know how moving that scene is.

三

三集定律信徒2026-04-03

Rem!!! YYDS!!! Back then for her I saved three months' money to buy a figure, who understands😭

季

季番雷達站2026-04-03

May I ask if the OP has a source for the data? I'd like to see the full voting results and am curious about which characters fell off the list.

動

動畫產業研究員2026-04-03

Satoru Gojou really is the popularity king—even my friends who don't watch anime know him, while the protagonist Itadori isn't as well-known outside the fandom.

BD收集狂魔2026-04-03

Actually, this phenomenon is quite normal. Supporting characters are usually designed to be more charismatic; they don't have to carry the burden of the protagonist's growth and can be more self-indulgent.

漫

漫畫cafe常客2026-04-03

Honestly, there are some characters on this list who are overrated... but I agree with Killua being ranked fourth; he really is the soul of Hunter x Hunter.