In the name of psychoanalyzing myself over and over again until I implode, I’ve recently examined the anime characters I find, or have found, most aesthetically appealing.
These are not my favorite boys of 2026. They are my favorites as chosen by my younger selves throughout time and space. Also, because the anime I’ve watched lately have been in the single digits, my list stops short at, like, 2015. Let’s get scratchin’!
Gaara
WHY: He’s crawling in his skin
WANT TO: Both heal and make fun of him
It was the mid-2000s, and the Great Naruto Craze was upon us. Kids in the classroom whispered rumors of the timeskip and the mysterious character known as “Deirdre,” but here in the United States, that stuff hadn’t been translated yet. We still had the anime adaption of the Chuunin Exams arc, though, and what an exams it was.
At the time, I was remarkably bad at following narratives, or caring about narratives. I don’t remember getting particularly excited about any of the big moments—I just liked knowing that they happened and that it all gave me subject matter to talk about and riff on with friends and family. Is this…could it be…what some people watch sports for??
All that is to say that while my sibling eagerly followed the story in Shonen Jump (whenever our mom could be convinced to buy a copy), I tagged along thinking, “Ah, another cool fight.” Many kids experienced the story in patches, but mine were patchier than others.
So I had no coherent idea of what Gaara’s story was. I couldn’t tell you how he was introduced—I never could. I couldn’t say what weird vile things he did in the name of presenting himself as Naruto’s latest villain. But that’s fine. Only three things mattered:
- He had this one bomb-ass fight scene against Rock Lee.
- He had a tragic backstory.
- He wore interesting eyeliner.
Gaara is the first character I felt tragically compelled by. It sounded like a haunting and unsolvable problem: tormented by the literal beast in his soul, he could never sleep. (I think the “interesting eyeliner” was supposed to be like bags under his eyes…maybe?) Also because of that beast, he could never touch or be touched by others.
We’ve gotta fix him, guys. We’ve gotta put on our big oven mitts and give him the closest thing to skin-to-skin contact his evil spirit beast critter can tolerate without killing us with sand.
The Gaara fanfiction I concocted with my sibling was a story of redemption and healing, but mostly of making him a spineless dweeb because we thought it was funny. Yet this too was heartwarming. In our story, Gaara received his very own Pokémon companion: a Sandshrew named Araag.
When you boot up Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, you take a personality quiz to determine which Pokémon you are. I got Cubone and giddily named myself Gaara. Together with Vince the Treecko (surely named after the Recess character, since both were green and had square heads), I smoked that game and recruited one of dang near every Pokémon.
In fifth grade when a classmate came to the Halloween party dressed as Gaara, I died.
L
WHY: He’s got that look
WANT TO: Obtain permission to sit with my feet in the chair baby-bird-style like him
Also around fifth grade, I moved very close to a library and was thereafter glued to its manga section. One of the crown jewels of any manga section back then was Death Note. It hits a sweet spot in the world of, for lack of a better word, edginess. It’s not like ONLY teens and preteens can get interested in the concept, but I think “if you had a book that could kill anyone on the planet, what would you do with it?” is the kind of appealing hypothetical that transcends age, yet is obviously not appropriate for a toddler’s picture book. The execution is less grisly than it is nail-biting thriller, and it’s fairly smart too, with supernatural touches to keep you curious.
Death Note is probably the first manga I read that wasn’t battle-centric. It was also QUITE GOOD, and I KNEW it was quite good. The art was also amazing. Clean, with stark blacks and whites. Did I get swept up in the world or its cast? No; I don’t know if they were rich enough for that. Plus, they were all jerks, which was a point against them. Against all of them. All but Matsuda; he was too pure for that world.
They never made Edward Scissorhands into an anime, so as you can tell from this and the previous entry, I had to settle for the next best thing.
L is an asshole, but it hardly matters. When so much of the story is about solving the crime of the century, there’s not much time to focus on the lead detective’s superiority complex. There’s no chance to linger on his rapidly approaching Type 2 Diabetes. We can only linger on his POWERFUL LOOK.
A few years later, I briefly considered cosplaying as him, because it would be so easy and I wouldn’t have to buy anything. I already had bags under my eyes! But bags wasn’t enough. I would probably have to put on eyeshadow, and I don’t like constantly feeling as if my hand is about to slip and poke an implement into my eye. Eugh.
Arystar Krory
WHY: He is funnee
WANT TO: Make fun of him while we hang out every day after work
There’s so many great boys in D. Gray Man. In fact, that’s why the story was almost called “Thee Grayt Men.” (Maybe.)
You’ve got Allen Walker, the protagonist and son of Doug Walker. That’s like your default boy. He’s polite and has a cool jacket, but what else does he have to offer?
Kanda is the hottest of these boys, but he’s also mean. As I got a little older, I started to turn away from these mean boys, knowing I would never want to hang out with them.
The dude with the white beret is also hot, but he mostly stands in the background…as far as I know from the first handful of volumes. I was happy to make him my menu character in Jump Ultimate Stars. (Thanks, Dad, for your service in importing Japanese video games. Super Stars and Ultimate Stars made middle school so much more bearable.)
Then there’s Lavi. That’s just an AMAZING boy. He has such a nice smile and pleasant hair color. Huh, red hair…it’s almost like he’s Gaara but not.
But then I hit Krory’s arc and all that shit went out the window. He was way funnier as well as way stoopider than any D. Gray Boy that came before him. The characters who take themselves very seriously are typically the ones who are most fun to knock down…to write fanfiction about, perhaps.
And the ones who take themselves most seriously are often cackling villains. In this case, Krory begins as one, complete with a vampiric castle, but joins the side of good. I forget why at this point. Anyway, he joins Gaara in the Reformed Villains Club, but unlike Gaara, he doesn’t become bland and boring immediately after.
Okay, this next entry is questionable. So questionable that I need to preface it, preface it again, and then add five big line breaks directly after this, so that you can understand how hesitant I am. How disappointing the world can be.
Leeron
WHY: Yeah, um…I dunno. When you’re 13, you think Leeron is epic and funny.
WANT TO: Become him but in a completely neutered, PG way
There were two big robot anime of my middle-school years: Neon Genesis Evangelion and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
Evangelion tried its damndest to get me with its various boys, but it failed. First of all, Kaworu only appears in one episode, and he gets shit-all to do, as far as I was concerned. Second, Shinji is not the best or EVEN the worst, but merely the neutral boy of all time. Not only is he overshadowed by Asuka as well as the superior girl Rei, he’s also PUMMELED by his more humorous friends Toji and Kensuke. Toji…you can’t beat that tracksuit.
Gurren Lagann was more inconsistent, and less powerful for me, but it had a huge cast and was bringin’ the funnies. Well, a lot of that was debatable funnies. For instance, even back then, the hot springs mini-arc in particular was bad. Universal dry eyes in that house the night those episodes played.
But you know what? You could always get a good, wholesome chortle from Attenborough, the dude with the clown nose, a loud voice, and…maybe one personality trait. And with Leeron, you could……….actually, I don’t know what you could with Leeron.
Nobody can defend this man. Maybe it’s more accurate to say nobody can defend the scriptwriters who wrote the jokes for this man? The whole gag is that he’s gay. If you just said “that’s not a gag,” you’re right, but don’t worry. He’s also a predator. (NOTE because this is the internet: when I said “don’t worry,” I was being sarcastic. Being a predator is not a gag either. Be very worried about this.)
I could not have explained to you back then why I liked Leeron, except by saying “I think he is funnee.” But it’s a general fact that 99.9999999% of children born ever are bigots, don’t realize it, and will go through life never realizing just how bigoted they are unless they’re forced to confront it. By “forced,” I mean you have to do the equivalent of plunging our heads repeatedly into a bucket of water before we know the meaning of the word “homophobic.”
When I was 13, I roleplayed as Leeron in an IRC chat. Fortunately it was PG. No children were involved. Well, he did go to high school. He was still in his 20s, though.
…Huh, he’s got nice fashion and a nicely shaped head.
Axel
WHY: He is funnee
WANT TO: Make fun of him and follow him on his latest misadventures
Who is the greatest boy of Disgaea 2? Well, it cannot be the literal boy, the one who’s like eight years old. Besides, Taro may have sweet cow horns and a funny attack where he drinks the milk, but what else does he have to offer? Not much. Certainly not an exposed runway of stomach.
The real contender (despite no stomach) is Adell. That’s just a dependable hero right there. He’s got nice, Gaara-like hair, attire befitting the nephew of Doug Walker, and his tie suggests that if we get married, I won’t need a job. For similar reasons, Fred Flintstone and Donkey Kong also appear on this list. (Maybe.)
But in the end, his rival ADH Axel Dark Hero is just way stoopider and funnier than him. That’s always the clincher. Also, he’s got a whammin’ theme song I would listen to on loop. As of January 2026, they’ve still got the original YouTube video up.
Guy From Eyeshield 21 Who’s Always Combing His Nice, Fresh Hair
WHY: He’s got nice hair
WANT TO: Make fun of him endlessly
Apparently, this is Koutarou Sasaki of the Bando Spiders football team. I think he’s conceited or something. According to the Eyeshield 21 wiki, “He has the longest legs out of all of the Eyeshield 21 characters.” He’s got like one chapter.
In your general common-and-garden sports manga, there’s going to be no shortage of aesthetically appealing sporty youths. Slam Dunk was the first sports manga I showed a little interest in, but even though Hanamichi Sakuragi is objectively one of the great anime boys of our era (so much so that I still remember, and can never forget, his full name)…I’m sorry, I just couldn’t get through more than four volumes because normal basketball is too boring. And then Prince of Tennis was both too boring and too laughable.
Enter Eyeshield 21, which I would go on to read cover to cover (very rare for me). Again, it has no shortage of cool and cute American footballers. This time, there’s outrageously good humor and art, along with fantastical touches that feel right at home next to battle manga. It’s an extremely fun read.
There’s just one thing holding the heroes’ coach Hiruma back from being a great boy, and that’s the fact that he’s not great in any way. He again has a powerful look, but most of his personality is tormenting his team. That makes for great comedy, but I won’t get his number. I know he has a sensitive side, but he shows it for five seconds every full moon.
So he’s like a distant third place for the greatest Eyeshield 21 boy. The second place is Kengo Mizumachi. All I remember him doing is looking brainless and running his hands through his hair. I guess I have a track record of liking what the kids call “himbos,” but strictly speaking, if they don’t have brawler builds, do they become “himbims”? Look, I don’t make the rules.
Justy Ueki Tylor
WHY: He’s not only funnee, but wildly successful
WANT TO: Join his spaceship crew and watch his escapades from a safe distance
We all mature in life, and often maturity comes in stages. First we realize that there’s more to greatness than just having a tortured backstory, a twisted mind, and a hand on the pulse of today’s gothic fashion trends. Then we realize that while bumbling around may give laughter to the soul, it doesn’t mean you’ll make a reliable husband.
Tylor may be “irresponsible,” but secretly he’s a living spark of greatness. The conceit of the show is that while his happy-go-lucky nature gives his boss grief and routinely jeopardizes the whole space fleet he’s in, it’s also leading the entire galaxy to peace. It’s a character type we’ve all seen before, par excellence. Also, keep in mind I haven’t watched this show in forever and I only watched about three episodes, so my summary’s really bad.
Still, I remembered him forever after, and as mentioned in another blog post, he really made me think, “I too should wear a huge paper bag of a coat with a smiley face button on it.”
Kaiji
WHY: Interestingly shaped geometric face
WANT TO: Stare at him
He gambles, he cries, he gambles, he cries, and then he gambles some more. It’s Kaiji!
I don’t think this is necessarily an amazing character. Rather, the style of the mangaka and of the anime his work inspired were unlike anything I’d seen before, and very compelling. From there, blunt and powerful social commentary, a wicked soundtrack, and more exaggerated visual metaphors than you can shake a stick at make Kaiji’s first anime season a captivating watch. On top of that, he has a really nice coat. You can’t even see it in that image up there. No, that’s just his nice shirt. Yeah. That’s right. Now you’ve gotta learn more.
Season 2 is worse because he loses the coat. Well, no, it’s worse because the pachinko machine they call “The Bog” is a really boring opponent to face for the entire second half of the thing.
I would have included another character from the same creator’s library here, but he’s not an anime boy. He’s a manga man. The Strongest Man Kurosawa deserves a spot in my heart. However, I can never marry him because he’s homeless now. That’s the only reason. If HE ever gets an anime, we’ve gotta support him. We’ve gotta start Kurosawa’s Gofundme.
But Kaiji can’t be the greatest anime boy. If he weren’t thrown into so many life-or-death debt holes, he would just be a random pervert loser, though I guess he would still be fashionable. We need to find someone with some real moral fiber, whose hair is taller…
Vash the Stampede
WHY: He’s the dork of the desert, but he can also kill evildoers by blinking. He wouldn’t do that, though, so you’re safe
WANT TO: Systematically destroy all of his friends one by one until I am the only one left standing
This boy is the kindest, the most polite, the tallest, the one also with tallest hair, and also with tallest collar, and the most orange glasses, and the most beautiful mark on left cheek. He is the greatest. There should never have been any doubt.
Something about how the Trigun anime unfolds and peels off the layers of Vash’s identity and backstory is really intriguing to me. If I’m being honest, I find a lot of the rigamarole of him fighting off the evil organization (usually one dude at a time) kind of tedious. But the core conflict of the thing, and the story of the planet and how it’s intertwined with him and his big scary rival, kept me watching. I don’t really care about The Killing Joke, but give me Vash and Knives sticking their guns in each others’ faces.
Also, damn…it’s so sad that he’s got, like, a sewer grate on his chest. They really don’t have better cyborg parts than that on whatever dustbin Wild West planet he lives on, huh? This is like that part in Qualia the Purple where the girl starts screaming, “SHE REPAIRED ME WITH A JUNGLE GYM!” It just brings a tear to your eye. Once Vash and I get married, I’ll go find him some fresh intestines.
I think that with Vash, this list has come full circle. As Trigun goes on, you realize that he is kind of crawling in his skin, like Gaara, and so extremely powerful that it threatens the ones he loves, like Gaara. But he’s also wacky, like about fifty thousand other people on this list. And if Kaiji lived in outer space, he too would be forced into dire straits that replace half his chest with a stainless-steel colander.
Honorable Mentions
- I didn’t care as a kid, but whenever I look back at classic Yu-Gi-Oh, I think, “Damn, the dub really named this character Duke Devlin.” They knew. They KNEW! This is the greatest Yu-Gi-Oh man with the hottest name (though I think it doesn’t fit him at all), and he’s way cooler and better than Kaiba, with hair that is much better than Yugi’s because Yugi’s hair gets messed up every time he goes to bed whereas Duke just has to comb it a little.
Joey Wheeler, though, is the second-best one because he’s the stoopid one. Again, I can’t go back to pre-dub names. I can’t ever go back to “Jonouchi.” Sorry.
- Kite from Hunter x Hunter got a nice hat
- Yusuke Urameshi is the YuYu Hakusho member with the freshest style, but Kuwabara is the greatest of the gang. Kurama and Hiei are so far in the background of my rankings they don’t even count.
- Sunny is the greatest of Toriko’s Four Heavenly Kings, if only because Coco is too boring. His multicolored hair just seems like a bad idea design-wise. And he’s conceited, meaning he’s, again, easy to make fun of.
- You may have noticed there are no JoJo characters here, at all. It’s shocking. It’s disturbing. I was literally reading scanlations in my middle school classroom, in clear view of other students who felt both confusion and embarrassment. I drew Jotaro’s hat like some kids drew the Cool S.
If I had to pick one character, though, the choice is predictable, given the rest of this list. We have to go with Narancia. He can’t do math.
Runner-up: Johnny Joestar. He has an interesting cap with interesting hair.
What Have We Learned?
Hardly anything. And yet I feel there are a few takeaways here:
- This list contains NO ROGUES. NO SCALAWAGS. Gaara reforms. Axel is an increasingly ineffective rival, not the main villain; even he’s got a good heart. When I look at this list, I see one glaring omission: Spike from Cowboy Beepbop. He has fresh, effortless, timeless style, and he’s a hero. With minimal effort, I could maybe coax my hair to look like his. But there’s two problems. One: he smokes, and we can’t have tobacco in the house. Two: he’s a scurrilous bounty hunter. Vash is as far as I’ll go down that route.
- This list is REALLY PASTY. I don’t even think any of these characters have tans. Part of the reason is because most of the manga I’ve read have only 1.5 darker-skinned characters. But come on. Where’s Chad from Bleach? What about the guy from Eyeshield 21 who they named…um…Panther, of all things? Slim pickings doesn’t mean no pickings. I need to broaden my horizons and branch out in my reading/watching. When I actually read/watch again.
- DO WE WANT TO BE THEM OR BE WITH THEM? Think about it…hm…
- ANYONE CAN DETERMINE WHICH FICTIONAL MEN I WILL FIND APPEALING WITH ALMOST MATHEMATICAL PRECISION. Pump this list into a machine, weight it in reverse order, and then feed the machine any given cast of characters across any media. You can try it at home! It’s a party game!
Thank you for reading what might be my most profound blog post yet!!!!! And if applicable, Patrons, thank you for Patreonning.
For more televised fun, check out my countdown of every single Super Sentai theme song, ranked (except for like 10 newer, inescapably boring ones). Or read about my story with a catgirl (and some other people) in it. Alternatively, take a break…or read about taking a break, if that floats your boat.