Shounen anime is the most popular genre of all time, with some of the most well-known protagonists, but a lot of them can be pretty underrated. This is because of the vast amount of shounen media out there, leading to most getting overshadowed.
So we have decided to talk about some of the most underrated main protagonists from lesser-known shounen anime throughout history.
Shounen Anime Protagonists Who Are Underrated
Inuyasha (Inuyasha)
Rumiko Takahashi’s Inuyasha series used to be really popular and talked about in anime circles a decade ago. But now it has almost been lost to time; meanwhile, most shows from that era still linger in everyone’s minds.
The shounen series even got a sequel anime, but it really did not live up to the potential of the original one. This is really unfortunate because Inuyasha from the show is really one of the most underrated protagonists of all time.
The half-human, half-dog protagonist is one of the two sons of a really powerful demon who goes on an adventurous quest to collect the powerful Jewel shards. Inuyasha is stubborn but learns to better himself with the help of numerous friends he meets along the way.
Train Heartnet (Black Cat)
When we talk about Shounen Jump, our minds usually bring up the most popular anime of all time, such as Dragon Ball or One Piece. But the magazine has a rich history that spans a lot of amazing manga, most of which will stay underrated forever.
One of them is the Black Cat series from a decade back, which centers around assassins. It revolves around the character of Train Heartnet, a name that has been lost to time. He retires from his assassin organization to become a bounty hunting Sweeper.
The title of the show comes from the original codename Train had as an assassin, Kuro Neko, which translates to Black Cat.
Ban Midou (Get Backers)
Get Backers is an anime that revolves around a duo of protagonists who are involved with odd jobs, hence the name of the series. It is one of those shows that fell out of popularity, but is really sought after by its niche fanbase.
The show features some of the most well-written shounen characters with really good visual design, as well as power systems. One of them is the underrated Ban Midou, a main protagonist.
His abilities include the superhuman strength of ‘snake bite’ and the ‘evil eye’, which has limited uses but can trap his enemies in powerful illusions. But beyond that, the Ban’s design can even give some of the popular characters from Bleach a run for their money.
Allen Walker (D.Gray-man)
D.Gray-man could have been one of the most popular shounen jump shows, standing right beside shows such as Bleach and Naruto. But it met with the unfortunate fate of being lost to time due to the degrading health of its creator.
It follows a cast of fun characters in a very interesting and dark fantasy world. One of them is the underrated shounen protagonist Allen Walker, who used to appear on the cover of Shounen Jump volumes once upon a time.
He joins the exorcist organization called Black Order to fight the Millennium Earl and his army, who are set to destroy the world. Allen is an interesting character as the creator based his design on the character of Robin, the protagonist of the comic named Zone.
Kiyo Takamine (Zatch Bell!)
As we said earlier, Shounen Jump is the manga magazine that was the home of way too many amazing shounen manga. But not all of them can come out of the thick and become insanely popular.
This is something that happened with the Zatch Bell! series that has a hardcore niche fan following. It follows an underrated protagonist who is a 14-year-old genius named Kiyo Takamine. His life turns around when he meets Zatch Bell.
Kiyo now he finds himself in the middle of a tournament that is going to determine the next ruler of the Mamudo world. He slowly grows out of his introverted life into a powerful tactician who wants to become the kind King.
Kosuke Ueki (The Law of Ueki)
It is always astonishing to remember that The Law of Ueki was never one of the popular shows that people talk about. It had the makings of everything that was necessary for a great shounen series. An intriguing power system as well as a protagonist whom everyone can like.
Kosuke Ueki is an underrated protagonist and someone who embodies the very motif of the show, which is environmentalism. He participates in the world-altering tournament, which will determine the next celestial king, in order to ensure the power does not fall in the wrong hands.
Yoh Asakura (Shaman King)
Shamna King is another one of those shounen anime that were once talked about a lot but fell off as soon as the anime stopped airing. Even though the series still keeps getting new releases, with an anime remake that aired recently.
The world of Shaman King is very underrated, as it revolves around the concept of shamans having actual tournaments to determine who is the best of them all. At the center of all of this is our protagonist, Yoh Asakura, who must prove his mettle and become the Shaman King.
What makes Yoh stand out is his unique design, which takes from popular tropes but does not shy away from adding its own exaggerated flavors. Much similar to what One Piece does with its characters and the world.
Recca Hanabishi (Flame of Recca)
Long before Naruto was the sole shounen anime to bring ninjas to the height of popularity, there was a show that was doing it. This was Flame of Recca, starring the underrated protagonist, Recca Hanabishi.
Flame of Recca at first glance looks like any other show with supernatural abilities, boastful tournament arcs, and it is just all of that. There is no special gimmick to the anime, and sometimes that kind of normalcy is fine.
However, Recca himself has the potential to become your next favorite main character in an anime. His fate spins around some interesting string of events, including traces back to a ninja clan and the ability to wield flames.
Kenichi Shirahama (History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi)
The History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi series is also called ‘Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple’ in some iterations. The basic plot of the show can be guessed from the title itself; it’s about a normal school kid who trains himself hard enough to become the strongest martial artist.
Kenichi finds his place as an underrated protagonist on our list for being the literal embodiment of perseverance. The anime starts with him being a normal klutz who is constantly bullied and has to seek self-help. But by the end of it all, everything turns around as he wants to train to protect everyone.
Tsunayoshi Sawada (Katekyo Hitman Reborn)
Tsunayoshi is another tropey high school shounen character who started off his journey from episode one as the joke of the show. Katekyo Hitman Reborn was created by Akira Amano, and it presents an interesting premise with the Italian mafia having supernatural elements.
By the end of the anime, Tsuna turns into one of the strongest shounen protagonists around. His fate leads him to become the leader of the next generation of Vongola mafia family, gathering important allies and fending off world-altering events.
