The anime protagonist is a reminder that not everyone has it easy. The past of a character is the most important part of the plot. A character’s personality and behavior depend on how they were raised. A lot of animes have the main Protagonist who has a horrendous past that motivates them to keep going. In this article, we will know about Anime Protagonist With Dark Past. So let’s get started.
Protagonist with tragic backgrounds always fascinates fans more than average characters. When these tragedies originate from a hellish background filled with torture or uncontrollable circumstances that render them hated, fans are unable to help but sympathize. A number of these protagonists have achieved happy endings since then, but others have not been so lucky and have gained a bad ending.
Here is a list of The 10 Anime Protagonists With a Dark Past Where Protagonist has a Dark Past. With a human experiment as their background or simply living a lonely life, all of these things will make anyone insane/nervous/constantly scared and depressed. Meanwhile, other protagonists can turn their darkness and misery lives into happiness.
10. Nico Robin (One Piece)
One Piece’s main female protagonist, Nico Robin, is a fictional character created by manga artist Eiichiro Oda. The character first appears in the 114th chapter of the manga series, which was published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on November 22, 1999. (Nico Robin) in one piece anime Protagonist with a dark past.
As a child, she was bullied by other children on the island of Ohara, the only place she felt safe was in a library, with those who attended it. Sadly, the only place she felt safe was taken away from her, along with her mother and her friends. When Robin was just eight years old, the marines attacked her home, killing her mother, her fellow archeologists, and Saul.
Robin then spent two decades running from the World Government. During her time running, she fell in love with a man she soon came to trust, but he later turned against her. Until she met the Straw Hats, Robin’s life was utter misery.
9. Kaoru Hanabishi (Ai Yori Aoshi)
Hanabishi Kaoru, also called Honjo Kaoru, is the leading male protagonist of Ai Yori Aoshi. He is the fiancée and later the husband of the main female protagonist, Aoi Sakuraba.
As a child, he loses his father and is absorbed into the Hanabishi Clan, forcibly separated from his mother. As a result, he flees to Tokyo, all alone with no family to hold onto, though that changes after he meets up with Aoi.
University student Kaoru Hanabishi is the son of Yūji Hanabishi and is set to take over the Hanabishi Zaibatsu after his father retires. Both he and his mother, Kumi Honjō, were never married, making life difficult for them.
8. Hyakkimaru (Dororo (2019))
In Dororo Series, Hyakkimaru is the main protagonist. He is a ronin who searches for his body’s stolen parts, and fights said demons. The demons stole his body parts as a pact with his father and archenemy. However he is described, Hyakkimaru was always destined to suffer from the ruthlessness of his father. From the day he was born, his father offered Hyakkimaru as a sacrifice to many demons, looking to make his land prosperous.
As a result, the demons take everything away from Hyakkimaru, including his skin, limbs, eyes, voice, and spine as well. His father orders him abandoned, but he is later saved by Jukai and given artificial prosthetics so he can lead a normal life. Hyakkimaru endures a fate worse than death because someone else’s ambition is driving him to suffer.
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7. The Elric Brothers (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Edward and Alphonse Elric, who grew up without their father, lived happily with their mother, Trisha. When Trisha died due to an illness, they became distraught, and Ed resented his father. The brothers had become desperate to get their mother back, so they committed the ultimate alchemic taboo and transmuted their mother. But unsurprisingly, as a result of their attempt, a disfigured monstrosity was born and then died.
Even worse, Edward lost an arm and a leg in the attempt, while Alphonse lost the remainder of his body. From that moment on, Edward and Alphonse went through a long and emotionally painful recovery process.
6. Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia)
He is the star of Kōhei Horikoshi manga and anime series My Hero Academia, where he is known under the moniker Shoto Todoroki. Todoroki vomited and repeatedly cried when he was being beaten by his father (Endeavor). When his mother tried to defend him, Endeavor would hit her.
His mother was once incapable of raising her son due to mental instability. After seeing Shoto’s left side, which evoked memories of Endeavor, she snapped and threw boiling water at him, causing a scar over his left eye.
5. Lelouch Vi Britannia (Code Geass)
It’s impossible to deny that even royalty can have tragic lives. Lelouch vi Britannia was witness to his mother’s assassination, which left both him and his sister disabled, and later banished from Europe and abandoned by his father in Japan.
The tragic circumstances of his childhood have led Lelouch to hate both his father and the Britannia Empire in equal measure. Having received the power of Geass, he adopts the alias Zero and seeks to end Britannia’s rule over Japan. Sadly, he becomes the very thing he sought to destroy when his desire for revenge eclipses his desire for justice.
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4. Lucy (Elfen Lied)
Kaede, whose original name is Lucy or Nyu, is the main protagonist and anti-hero of Elfen Lied. She is Queen Diclonius, an evolutionary offshoot of the human race, as well as the love interest of the deuteragonist, Kouta. She is voiced by Sanae Kobayashi in the Japanese version.
In an orphanage, Lucy suffered bullying and neglect from her caretakers and was the only child in the residence. Her only friend was a puppy, which she looked after in secret. After showing the puppy to a fellow orphan, it was revealed to Lucy’s bullies that she had a puppy.
After watching her only friend be beaten to death, Lucy lashed out with her weapons and slaughtered her tormentors. Later, Lucy is captured and imprisoned in a government facility, and this further strengthens her hatred of humanity. From a lonely child, Lucy became a vicious killer after her encounters with humans.
3. Hänsel & Gretel (Black Lagoon)
In anime, Hänsel and Gretel, whose identities are unknown, have one of the most horrific pasts. Romanian twins, born and raised in a state-run orphanage, were taken into the hands of a gang after the death of Nicolae Ceaușescu and the fall of communism in the country. Abandoned at a young age, Hänsel and Gretel were forced to appear in snuff films. As a result, the twins became serial killers by being instructed to kill other children or risk being violated and killed themselves. The abuse and horrors they witnessed pushed the twins into embracing violence and turning them into serial killers.
According to the twins, who thought themselves to be vampires, they could live forever as long as they took lives. Unfortunately, after they tortured and slaughtered Balalaika’s men, the twins met their end.
2. Itachi (Naruto)
During Itachi’s early childhood, he faced death and destruction resulting from the Third Shinobi World War, which traumatized him and led him to become a pacifist. He trained non-stop until he became a ninja among ninjas to erase fighting from the world. Afterward, Itachi Uchiha vowed to create a world without violence. Years later, he discovered the contempt and hatred within the Uchiha clan. He secretly allied with the Hidden Leaf to stop the coup d’état.
His best efforts could not prevent the execution of his clan members. The only survivor was his brother Sasuke, whom Itachi was able to convince to loathe him so that he could avenge his clan members. Itachi’s ability to carry this burden alone for so long is quite remarkable.
1. Guts (Berserk)
There is no competition when it comes to anime’s most heartbreaking backstory. Guts, the protagonist from Kentaro Miura’s Berserk, has a past filled with sorrow. He was born from the corpse of his mother and raised by Shisu. As he grew up, Guts witnessed Shisu succumb to the plague.
As Guts’ luck continued to deteriorate, Gambino sold him to another mercenary, who attacked him. Eventually, Gambino became physically handicapped and began abusing him, both physically and mentally. Gambino attempted to kill Guts, but Guts overcame the attack and killed Gambino.
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