3 Superhero Underdogs to Know in Anime

Heroes, there’s so many to find in the anime community, whether it be a timid character gaining the confidence to protect those he cares about or a passionate character simply wanting to help others, fans can’t help but enjoy them. One of the most enjoyable types of hero characters to watch however, are the underdog characters.

Those characters that who try their hardest and want to help but end up receiving the short end of the stick. These types are the ones that the audience want to cheer for and support, especially when the hero holds a certain strength yet is still being pushed down but the circumstances of their story. Now while the hero type of character is something that is developed, what about for those stories that contain actual superheroes yet one of them is still an underdog?

The following listed are the top 3 characters that as the title states, are the underdogs of their story. How does this work? While the character may hold a desire to help people and even become actual superheroes from it, the hero community of their respective story still pushes them down for not meeting their standards. Yet even with this these characters brush it off and continue wanting to be heroes, endearing them to the audience

3. Boku no Hero Academia – izuku Midoriya

Out of the three heroes, this hero of didn’t have the best of beginnings, born in a world where 80% of the people developed super powers known as “quirks”, Izuku dreams to become a hero only to have no quirk to speak of. But with his timid nature and quirk, he ends up as the target or many bullies.

But this aspect of him learning what it is to have these abilities and becoming a hero is what makes the audience want to root for him. With his earnest nature and eagerness to learn everything there is to being a hero with his classmates, Izuku places third on this list.

2. One Punch Man – Saitama

While certainly not an underdog in terms of abilities, Saitama does earn the title of underdog in terms of the situation he ends up in. From an unemployed man to the physically strongest “hero for fun” in the world, Saitama lives in a world where monster attacks and heroes saving the day is considered to be a normal thing.

Day after day Saitama would defeat monsters with a single strike, searching for an enemy he would be able to go head to head with, and yet never received any recognition, praise nor gratitude for his actions.

When he does attempt to seek recognition by officially registering as a hero, the standards of the hero society ends up pushing him down. For while he may hold a strength that would easily make him off as a top rank hero, due to the standards of the organization, he is written off as a mediocre hero simply because he didn’t have enough smarts to get the required grade in the written portion of the examination.

In addition to this, even when he does defeat monsters, he is considered as a fraud and attention-seeker by the community and is generally hated by the majority. Yet even with these odds against him, Saitama simply brushes it off and continues to defeat all enemies he encounters. So while he may not be the smartest one of the bunch and presents an indifferent personality, his unexpected moments insight, endearing humility and hilarious traits earn him second place on this list.

1. Tiger & Bunny – Wild Tiger/Kotetsu T. Kaburagi

If there is one way to describe Kotetsu as a hero, it is as “a man with a big heart but got the short end of the stick”. Known as the “Wild Tiger” by the media, Koutetsu is what is considered in the hero community as an “old-school” hero in a community where current heroes do their jobs not only to help people but to mainly gain points in order to be crowned as the “King of Heroes”. So hings like saving civilians, capturing and arresting criminals has become a sort of reward system to hero community.

In addition to this, heroes are also being scrutinized by the people on how well they do In front of the camera. For Kotetsu however, the points and fame mean nothing to the veteran hero who wants nothing more than to be a “real hero”. This ideal however, while something that would be considered endearing by the viewer, has brought nothing but trouble for Kotetsu.

In the years that he has been a hero, Kotetsu has earned himself the negative nickname of “Crusher for Justice” due to his impulsive nature in battle leading to a large amount of destruction. Thus with all this hanging over his head, even as good intentioned as he is, he holds no respect from his nor the community especially with how disagreeable he is with the main media for the hero community.

Yet even with the negativity over him as hero, with his goofy nature hiding an interesting depth and deep humility over his work even with the bumps that he faces in life, he earns number one on this list.