“Gon is the least interesting character in Hunter x Hunter”: Anime fans discuss which main character is grossly outshined by the supporting cast in online thread filled with hot takes

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Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor
Jan 30, 2025 5:00 PM EST

We all know an anime like this: the world building is rich; the plot progression has you on the edge of your seat; the antagonist is absolutely diabolical yet somehow endearing; the side characters are incredibly well-developed and feel like real people, but the face of the show is totally bland. What's worse is that he's on all of the merch, and it's even difficult to find objects featuring your favs. His forgettable visage and design are inescapable, and they pale in comparison with the supporting cast. This isn't uncommon in shonen anime where protagonists are indeed written to be as relatable — and thus, generic — as possible. If you want to read some hot takes on the topic, scroll down and read the discussion below. Some answers are pretty predictable — Bungo Stray Dogs, for example, is known for its forgettable MC, but there are some opinions that will get dedicated fanboys and girls heated.

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  • 01

    What anime do you like but you don't like the main character?

    The anime itself and the side characters, antagonist, etc The main character imgflip.com
    via u/Spiritual_Affect_553
  • 02
    Hero_1337 De th Note. NOT because Light is a bad character, no, he's very well written. It's simply because I am an L fanboy, and I was rooting for him for the entire series lol.
    via u/Hero_1337
  • 03
    Obviously, though, De th Note's charm comes from its villainous protagonist, and I found the dynamic between Light and L to be the best I've ever seen in an anime.
    via u/Hero_1337

  • The dynamic between Near and Light was not nearly as compelling as the one between Light and L because they never got as close. There was so much tension because L wanted to see Light as a friend despite knowing he was Kira. 

  • 04
    Aka69420 Tbh I didn't like the dynamic between near and light. It just felt kinda boring like history repeating itself.
    via u/Aka69420
  • 05
    wigsgo_2019 Not a hot take at all, they should've had the same ending with L solving it, if L is the smartest in the universe how can some guy we never hear about named near all of a sudden pull it off.
    via u/wigsgo_2019
  • 06
    Gen_Zed1_0 I think somewhere along the line you're supposed to root for L (or against Light)
    via u/Gen_Zed1_0
  • 07
    RKO-Cutter You say that, and it might be true, but I've never agreed with an editorial change more than the OVA where Ryuk re-tells the events of the series to a shinigami but stops once Light gets the victory over L because he decided that's a better point to end the story
    via u/RKO-Cutte
  • 08
    Del-Skatto-Drako The beginning of re:zero, I really didn't like Subaru but grew to love him as the story went on.
    via u/Del-Skatto-Drako
  • 09
    Neither-Page3834 Yeah, Subaru was pretty much hard to watch in the beginning, especially in castle. But with more arcs he became one of my favourite Mc's
    via u/Neither-Page3834
  • 10
    dude123nice Yeah, Subaru grows on you. But at that point, it's the world and the story that you should grow to hate, for torturing him non stop.
    via u/dude123nice
  • 11
    Environmental_Bee219 Honestly IMO that's the point, to show how flawed he is and etc
    via u/Environmental_Bee219
  • 12
    Qbra1337 dont know but i feel like there are people that will say mushuko tensei
    via u/Qbra1337
  • 13
    HuntResponsible2259 I like Rudeus for what he is... A flawed character... My mind after all always just likes well written character more than likeable one... It is why I despise characters like... Sasuke.
    via u/HuntResponsible2259
  • 14
    Bingo8712 Rudeus is good character. good character =/= good person
    via u/Bingo8712
  • 15
    Revolutionary-Pace-2 Not JJK. Yuji rocks
    via u/Revolutionary-Pace-2
  • 16
    Daddy Chil101 Yeah, I don't get the Yuji hate lol. Though I haven't read the manga.
    via u/DaddyChil101
  • 17
    Adorable_Apricot_804 I hated Yuji in the anime. He felt bland to me. Then I picked up the manga couple of months after I saw season 1. I love Yuji
    via u/Adorable_Apricot_804
  • 18
    RevengerRedeemed Something that's really interesting to me: In older anime, there was a trope of "well the side characters need to be really interesting and distinct, especially because many of them will have limited screen time", and especially for villains or supporting characters you're going to kill off. The problem was that the main character is usually meant to be more versatile, and usually intended to be "less offensive" or "less distinct" so they can appeal to a broader audience.
    via u/RevengerRedeemed
  • 19
    This leads to the main character (sometimes unfairly) being seen as boring, unlikable, or bland, by comparison. Some people call this the "Rogues Gallery" issue because it also has happened in super hero comics fairly often (a lot of people see batman, superman, and Spiderman this way during certain shows or runs of the comics). A lot of people see Naruto this way, for example.
    via u/RevengerRedeemed
  • 20
    But I feel like modern anime has done a pretty good job of moving away from that trend. JJK, Chainsaw Man, Mob, One Punch Man, MHA, Demon Slayer, Frieren. I feel like all of these anime do a good job making likable and mostly distinct main characters.
    via u/RevengerRedeemed
  • 21
    Serves You Rice If I dont like the MC I usually dont like the whole show because it's never a case of a single badly written character (all characters are written badly even if some of them are more likeable). Although I have to give props to the MC of School days, regardless of how bad the anime was, he was even worse lol
    via u/ServesYouRice
  • 22
    borrrikkk HunterxHunter. I do not hate Gon but even with the things, that happend in the chimera Ant arc and the nuance he has, he is still the least interesting or engaging character in the whole show.
    via u/borrrikkk
  • 23
    Beneficial_Dark7362 What makes Gon so interesting to me is that he's a literal psychopath, but the show kinda portrays him as a good natured boy. Like he will blow his arm off to prove a point and threaten to kill someone so casually. Once you realize that, he becomes much more interesting to watch.
    via u/Beneficial_Dark7362

  • Gon himself is not so interesting, but his relationship and dynamic with Killua is heartbreaking! 

  • 24
    Aggressive-Check-101 Ngl, same. It would be so good if Kurapika became the MC. He fits in this world alongside Leorio (personal favorite characters of HxH)
    via u/Aggressive-Check-101
  • 25
    EducationBig7758 Shinji (neon genesis Evangelion) I didn't really like the anime and the protagonist contributed a lot to that. Angelo (91 days) isn't that he's bad, it's just that every other character has more charisma than him, especially the antagonist, who I even root for more than the protagonist himself. Eren (Shingeki no kyojin) very incoherent, he keeps saying he wants to be free, but his actions don't demonstrate this, among other things, but this irritates me a lot.
    via u/EducationBig7758
  • 26
    Shin-Kami Shinji isn't a bad character, he is one of the few that aren't complete a h les. The problem is rather he is to young and inexperienced so he lets everyone walk all over him which is at some point just annoying to watch.
    via u/Shin-Kami
  • 27
    VarrikTheGoblin My Hero Academia. The whole anime would have been significantly better if Mirio had been the main protag. If they had kept the season one character framework of overcoming obstacles because Midoriya has been studying heroes his whole life so he thinks his way through encounters the anime would have been great. Instead it slowly became "Well then I'mma just punch even harder!"
    via u/VarrikTheGoblin
  • 28
    _Kamikaze_Bunny_ That is unfortunately how most shonen end up. Remember when Naruto was about ninjas with tactical fights and unique techniques? It turned into Energy Mechs shooting lasers at mass produced super soldiers.
    via u/_Kamikaze_Bunny_
  • 29
    Radio4ctiveGirl Bungo Stray Dogs... main is so forgettable I can't even recall his name.
    via u/Radio4ctiveGirl
  • 30
    ChloeDaPotato Fun fact, a LOT of people think Dazai is the protagonist, my boy Atsushi is just THAT irrelevant
    via u/ChloeDaPotato
  • 31
    Niinyyuwu Black. Clover.
    via u/Niinyyuwu
  • 32
    DaddyChil101 Naaahhh Asta is great... if you read the manga
    via u/DaddyChil101

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hero nerds anime hunter x hunter villains fandom discussion reddit story naruto japanese entertainment jujutsu kaisen Japan manga reddit thread Reddit weeb otaku
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