There are many perceptive characters featured in anime, and their great perception helped them survive tough situations. Some of these characters are often also extremely smart, to the point of acting like they have eyes on the back of their heads.
Sometimes their intelligence and great perception of everyone and everything possible intimidated both foes and allies. Their great perception became a huge advantage for them, whether it be for the sake of winning a battle, exposing a heinous criminal, or using their abilities to help their friends and allies through tough situations.
10 Meister Kirisaki Kept Close Tabs On Yukino And The Rest Of Pantasia (Yakitate!! Japan)
Meister Kirisaki was the General Manager of the bakery chain Pantasia, specifically for its main store. Despite his flamboyant looks and rare public appearances, he kept a very close eye on other bakery chains, including the South Tokyo Branch where the protagonist, Azuma Kazuma, worked.
Kirisaki also kept a close eye on Yukino Azusagawa and almost successfully exposed her sabotaging the Pantasia Newcomers Tournament semifinals. Even though he was technically an ally to Pantasia for most of the series, many other characters noted that he was so mysterious to the point of being unpredictable, including him using his pet peacock Coo to spy on the other bakery employees.
9 L Was Extremely Perceptive And Almost Caught Kira (Death Note)
L almost caught Kira in Death Note. Even though he ultimately failed to unmask Light Yagami as Kira, he managed to pinpoint Kira's location and get very close to revealing his true identity multiple times. L was prepared for most situations despite how unpredictable they might be. This included L telling his own assistant Watari to press a kill-switch button that deleted all of the data at the Task Force Headquarters if anything strange happened to Watari. Watari ended up doing so when Rem killed him through a heart attack.
8 Catarina Claes Used Her Knowledge Of Fortune Lover To Save Everyone And Prevent Her Own Doom (My Next Life As A Villainess)
Catarina Claes lacked insight into realizing that most of the other characters were romantically interested in her. However, she used her knowledge of the game "Fortune Lover" from her past life to save herself and help out many of her friends and acquaintances from their dooms, after realizing that she was reborn as the designated villainess of that game.
Not only did she successfully avoid her doom at the end of the first season, but she also helped the rest of the main cast come to terms with their hardships and even saved Sirius Dieke from being consumed by revenge.
7 Sebastian Michaelis Was Prepared For Nearly Any Situation (Black Butler)
It is nearly impossible to catch Sebastian Michaelis by surprise, and he proved this countless times throughout his run in Black Butler. One instance of this is when Noah's Ark Circus troupe tried to kill the Phantomhive Manor staff. However, Sebastian revealed that all of them were personally handpicked by Ciel and Sebastian with their unique abilities, and all of the staff easily destroyed the circus members that went to the manor that night.
Additionally, Sebastian faked his death during the Book of Murder and disguised himself as a detective, only giving away his identity to Arthur Conan Doyle after the murder mystery was already solved. Granted, his abilities as a demon helped him, considering the depth of his many powers.
6 Akira Shiroyanagi Could Easily Read The Room And Adapt To Most Situations (Battle Game In 5 Seconds)
Akira Shiroyanagi, the protagonist of Battle Game In 5 Seconds, was extremely smart. He easily destroyed a monster that tried killing him in the premiere episode by using an abandoned building to his advantage. He later used his new ability (copying anyone else's ability as long as the target believed in it) to defeat many of his opponents. Despite how manipulative and cold he seemed to some viewers, he was very smart with how he could read the room and predict what sort of upcoming situations might happen according to how his allies and enemies reacted.
5 Leon Caught Onto Chairman Rose's Plans Before Everyone Else Did (Pokémon)
Despite Leon lacking a sense of direction, he is incredibly perceptive. It is noted that as the undefeatable champion, he stated that he took every battle as a learning opportunity, hence why he never lost a battle.
He was one of the first characters that caught onto Chairman Rose's plans to awaken Eternatus, the Darkest Day, in the anime adaptation. Not only did he use the opportunity to investigate Galar's Energy while flying around Galar and defeating Gigantamax Pokémon, but he also fought Eternatus after it did successfully awaken. Even though Leon failed to defeat Eternatus himself, his perceptiveness helped the others catch on to Rose's plans before Galar could be in much worse danger than it was.
4 Kyoko Kirigiri Was The Ultimate Detective For A Reason (Danganronpa)
In Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Kyoko Kirigiri was known as the Ultimate Detective. Her sharp observation skills helped her and her classmates figure out who murdered each other. It also helped that she stayed calm in most stressful situations, She even helped prove Makoto's innocence in the opening episodes, after singer Sayaka Maizono was murdered. Makoto would eventually return the favor and try to prevent Kyoko's death in the final episodes, and Kyoko worked with the rest of the surviving classmates to uncover the true mastermind.
3 Phoenix Wright Is An Ace Attorney For A Reason (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
No matter how hopeless the case was for Phoenix Wright, he always managed to turn it around in his defendant's favor. This included defending Maya Fey from accusations of murdering her older sister and Phoenix's mentor, Mia Fey.
Even though the anime adaptation of the Ace Attorney games was not as good as the games themselves, many fans agreed that they nailed portraying Phoenix Wright's intellect, keen observation, and attention to detail. This great perception made him as successful in defending his clients in the anime as he did in the games.
2 Freya Is Extremely Observant (Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon!?
Freya was renowned as the photogenic goddess of beauty, but she was also extremely perceptive. Despite committing some heinous actions, she mostly stood back and observed Bell Cranel. Her obsession with Bell led her to observe him and the Familia he was part of. However, she also kept a close eye on other gods, their Familias, and their plans.
After the Ishtar Familia targeted taking Bell for themselves, Freya stormed the Ishtar Familia's area and destroyed Ishtar herself. Even though this act was out of jealousy towards Ishtar for trying to take Bell, Freya also technically saved Bell and any other future victims of the Familia from being harmed since Ishtar's death resulted in the Ishtar Familia disbanding.
1 Sailor Pluto Knew The Consequences Of Using Her Abilities (Sailor Moon)
Sailor Pluto, also known as Setsuna Meiou, was extremely observant. Her attacks were based around time, the underworld, space, and darkness, as befitting of her titular planet. Despite not appearing much in the anime adaptation save for a few arcs, she often seemed to know everything that was happening.
This included her bringing the garnet orb and already knowing that it was the third and last Talisman required to make the Holy Grail appear, despite not necessarily knowing of Uranus, Neptune, and the rest of the Sailor Scouts confronting Eudial when she tried taking Uranus and Neptune's pure hearts at the time. She also was aware of the Sovereign of Silence, Mistress 9, eventually appearing in the future and tried working with Neptune and Uranus to find her.