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The world of anime always needs compelling and exciting protagonists to lead a story, and legendary heroes such as Naruto Uzumaki, Monkey D. Luffy, and Ichigo Kurosaki are all shonen stars with huge fanbases. Of course, any hero needs friends and supporting characters to back them up, but sometimes, the roles could stand to be reversed.
Some sidekick or supporting characters are so fleshed-out, so well-rounded, and so dynamic, they easily could have been the hero of their own spinoff story or even the protagonist of the original story in which they appear. The story, if told from the point of view of these characters, could have been much deeper, and the side character’s perspective could have greatly enriched the narrative.
10 Kyo Sohma Was The Heart Of The Story All Along (Fruits Basket)
Fruits Basket is a classic shojo manga series, and such stories tend to have a female lead, and for good reason. From a purely story-based view, however, it would make even more sense to appoint Kyo Sohma as the protagonist instead, with Tohru being a major supporting character in his place.
Kyo’s struggles with his family and himself are highly compelling, and he embodies the themes of the story quite nicely. He is also much more dynamic than Tohru, especially since he’s a lovable male tsundere. Yuki could have taken over the role, too.
9 Megumi Tadokoro Had A Lot More To Prove (Food Wars!)
Protagonist Soma Yukihira is exciting to watch since he is a fun-loving and creative chef who responds well to a wide variety of serious challenges throughout the story. On the inside, though, he is fairly static, while his good friend Megumi Tadokoro is a totally different story.
Megumi is talented, but she struggled at first to assert herself. She overcame her insecurities and shyness, and she blossomed into a popular and accomplished student chef later on. That would make her a compelling heroine for sure, and her backstory would be deepened, too.
8 Asuna Yuuki Was Much More Compelling Than Kirito (Sword Art Online)
The original protagonist, Kirito, is an example of a self-insert power fantasy character, being a generic high school boy who plows through his enemies with little effort and attracts an entire harem of girls and a circle of loyal friends. Such ideas are worn out by now, and Kirito isn’t very exciting aside from his sword-based abilities and flashy fights.
In contrast, his good friend Asuna Yuuki is powerful and likable, from her compassionate motherly side to her troubling family dynamics. Asuna could have been Sword Art Online‘s heroine, and her character would have been explored in much greater depth.
7 Mikasa Ackerman Is Tough But Likable, Unlike Eren (Attack On Titan)
Eren Yeager started off as a classic shonen protagonist, but he eventually became the greatest villain the world had ever seen, which was quite the twist. Still, perhaps Attack on Titan would have been best told from Mikasa Ackerman’s point of view instead, so her thoughts on Eren would be even clearer and more heartfelt to the viewer.
Eren would be ten times scarier as a villain if he was seen entirely from the outside, through Mikasa’s eyes, making him inscrutable. The viewer would share Mikasa’s confusion and anxiety as Eren descended into evil, and Mikasa could become Paradis’ greatest hero as she tried to redeem her rampaging friend.
6 Making Raphtalia The Heroine Would Add An Element Of Mystery (The Rising Of The Shield Hero)
Isekai anime series typically focus on the character who ended up in another world, but The Rising of the Shield Hero could have experimented with the formula by telling its story from the viewpoint of a local character, such as the demi-human Raphtalia.
By doing so, the isekai genre would feel fresh all over again, and viewers would be introduced to Raphtalia right away while meeting Naofumi Iwatani a bit later. Why does he use only shields, and why is he so bitter and alone? Raphtalia and the viewers could slowly and surely uncover the mysteries surrounding him, and see what makes this antihero tick.
5 Chitoge Kirisaki Would Be An Unforgettable Narrator (Nisekoi)
Tsundere characters such as Chitoge Kirisaki are usually explored from the outside, to slowly reveal their true thoughts and feelings over time. In this case, though, Chitoge Kirisaki could have been more compelling as the heroine, and replace the generic Raku Ichijo as Nisekoi‘s narrator.
“Unreliable narrator” is an intriguing storytelling device that few anime series capitalize on. Instead, most make use of plain, everyman characters like Raku to tell things as they are. Chitoge, however, would add a lot of zest and flavor to the narrative, since she has a much more exciting and distinct personality than Raku does.
4 Taro Kabakura Would Be More Dynamic If He Were The Lead (Wotakoi: Lover Is Hard For Otaku)
All of the major characters of Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku take turns being the star of the series, but arguably, Narumi Momose is the main narrator, and while she is fun to follow around, this seems to come at the expense of Taro Kabakura and a few other supporting characters.
Taro Kabakura gets relatively little character development, aside from his love of anime waifus, his stern personality, and his background as a high school volleyball player. He’s actually a bit unlikable the way he is, but if he were the lead, his sympathetic side could have been fleshed out. And it would be fun to view Narumi through his eyes.
3 Hayase Nagatoro Would Also Be A Fun Unreliable Narrator (Don’t Toy With Me, Ms. Nagatoro!)
In the original Don’t Toy With Me, Ms. Nagatoro! story, the meek but artistically talented Naoto Hachioji was the protagonist, and he was on the receiving end of Hayase Nagatoro’s constant antics. He’s a good kid, but he’s not much fun to follow around as the protagonist.
Like Chitoge, Nagatoro makes things happen, rather than wait for things to happen to her, and hearing her endless internal dialogue describing the story’s events would have been a lot of fun. There’s not much to Naoto to explore with internal dialogue, while Nagatoro is a different story entirely.
2 A Rewritten Zentsu Agatsuma Would Be An Electrifying Protagonist (Demon Slayer)
If Zenitsu Agatsuma were much less annoying and cowardly, then he could have been a highly compelling protagonist for Demon Slayer, especially if his backstory got fleshed out much more thoroughly and sooner. Tanjiro Kamado is a wonderful shonen lead, but he is also a bit formulaic.
Meanwhile, Zenitsu is the true underdog, and if he were the star, then he would be forced to ask himself the tough questions and answer them right away: why does he fight? How will he catch up to the hardworking Tanjiro? How can he master his lightning powers without needing to sleep? Will he ever win Nezuko’s heart? If he were the lead, he could do more than be overblown comic relief.
1 Chizuru Mizuhara Is Much More Interesting Than Kazuya Kinoshita (Rent-A-Girlfriend)
The protagonist of this series, Kazuya, is easily mocked for being indecisive and passive, while his friend Chizuru Mizuhara is a bit bolder and much more talented and interesting than he is. It could even be argued that someone like Kazuya doesn’t deserve the harem of lovely girls that he ended up with.
Instead, with Chizuru as the protagonist, viewers could get to know her and her motives much more intimately, and explore the harem concept from an unexpected angle. Chizuru is a smart girl with complex thoughts and emotions. All she needs is a chance to express them more often.
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