In the world of Japanese anime, the power of friendship is a big deal, and in series like Fairy Tail, that power is quite literal. Anime of all kinds depict the many benefits and virtues of true friendship, no matter the characters' ages, occupation, or lifestyle. Even shy or lonely characters will end up with a friend or two eventually, and that might be the main focus of the story.
But there are still some anime characters who have absolutely no friends at all, not even casual friends to hang out with or talk to about their problems. Either for the whole story or just a part of the story, a friendless character will be all alone, even if they have co-workers, roommates, or classmates all around them, and that might not always be a bad thing.
10 Shoko Komi Had 0 Friends At First (Komi Can't Communicate)
In the first episode of the shojo-style shonen Komi Can't Communicate, the beautiful dandere student Shoko Komi had absolutely no friends at all, and it had been that way all her life. On the plus side, she has a healthy and happy family, but she can still feel the loneliness gnawing at her from the inside.
Finally, Shoko resolved to make 100 friends at school, and thus began the anime's main story. Soon, Komi befriended the kind Hitohito Tadano, and she quickly started adding more names to her official list. She'll hit 100 well before graduation at this rate.
9 Light Yagami Called No One His Friend (Death Note)
The dark antihero of Death Note is the sinister Light Yagami himself, a brilliant high schooler who will use the notebook to rid the world of crime as Kira, the new bringer of justice. Light is also an excellent actor, able to convince anyone that he is warm and friendly when he is really anything but.
Light gets along with his parents and his little sister, Sayu, but otherwise, he's all alone. Everyone else is a tool or a fool in his eyes, from Touta Matsuda the young cop to his fake girlfriends Misa Amane and Kiyomi Takada. He and L said that they were friends for a time, but both of them were lying.
8 Kaori Fujimiya's Memory Made Friendship Impossible (One-Week Friends)
Like Shoko Komi, Kaori Fujimiya is a charming young lady who is ideal friendship material, but the hard part is making friends with anyone to begin with. Instead of a communication disorder, Kaori has a memory disorder that makes her forget all her friends every Monday morning.
So, Kaori decided to quit making friends and resolved to be all alone, even acting like an ice queen so no one would bother approaching her. That's how she did things early in One-Week Friends, but eventually, she found true friendship with Yuuki Hase and confronted her own personal demons.
7 Thorfinn Karlsefni Had No Interest In Friendship (Vinland Saga)
In his boyhood, Thorfinn Karlsefni was fond of his father's friend Leif, an explorer who had visited North America and returned to tell the tale. But during the Vinland Saga anime's main events, Thorfinn had no real friends of his own, and he barely even had allies, either. He was totally alone.
Thorfinn reluctantly traveled with his father's killer, Askeladd, and learned from him while also preparing for their final duel. Thorfinn also met new characters like Prince Canute and the mighty Thorkell, but he certainly didn't befriend them. He had his mind on revenge and nothing else.
6 Akito Sohma Has Servants, Not Friends (Fruits Basket)
Unsurprisingly, a variety of anime villains have no friends at all, often since they scorn the idea of sentimentality or because no one finds them likable enough to be a genuine friend. Such is the case for the Sohma family head, the verbally abusive Akito. She relies on the curse, not friendship, to keep the family together.
Akito was close to Shigure and Kureno, but those were not real friendships by any means, especially since Shigure and Kureno are family. What is more, Akito almost never bothered meeting anyone outside the family compound, denying herself a chance to even try and make real friends.
5 For A Time, Shoya Ishida Had No Friends (A Silent Voice)
Few anime protagonists are friendless for their entire lives. Rather, they have a stretch of time, often a few years, where they have no friends. For the story's sake, they might make new friends or mend ties with previous ones. Such is the case for Shoya Ishida, the reformed bully.
Shoya had friends in 6th grade, but he alienated them and everyone else when he crossed the line by bullying the hard-of-hearing Shoko Nishimiya. For years, Shoya was totally alone, to the point he couldn't properly connect with or acknowledge others. He didn't think he was worth being anyone's friend at the time.
4 Tanya Degurechaff Doesn't Want Friends (Saga Of Tanya The Evil)
The isekai antihero Tanya Degurechaff gladly admitted to being a selfish, twisted person as a Japanese office worker, and that is what drove Being X to teach him a lesson in humility. Now the man has been reborn as the youthful Tanya Degurechaff in an alternate world Germany.
Tanya was forced to join the German Empire's military, and she plans to gain a high rank and thus avoid dying to enemy fire. And while Tanya will cooperate with anyone who can help her, she will not make friends, even though friendship is more or less permissible in the German army. The mission comes first.
3 Sawa Nakamura Refuses To Connect With Anyone (The Flowers Of Evil)
The dark drama series The Flowers of Evil received an iffy anime with strange animation techniques, but in either format, it's clear that the character Sawa Nakamura is a troubled youth. Sawa doesn't want any friends, and she thinks no one is worth the effort. She crudely looks down on everyone as shallow, empty creatures obsessed with sex.
Sawa later forms a "contract" with protagonist Takao Kasuga, but it's hardly a real friendship. Sawa torments Takao, treating him like an experiment of sorts, and just when they're about to become real friends, they end up getting driven apart. Takao meets Sawa again years later, but any hope of friendship is gone for good.
2 Orochimaru Cut Ties With His Childhood Friends (Naruto)
In his youth, the talented Orichimaru was more or less friends with Tsunade and Jiraiya, but that didn't last long. By the time he fled the Hidden Leaf Village, Orochimaru had abandoned his few friends and started acting entirely out of self-interest. He has many allies and subordinates, but not genuine friends.
The medical ninja Kabuto Yakushi was kind of like a friend to Orochimaru, but not really. Kabuto was more like Orochimaru's most trusted and dependable assistant, and Orochimaru gave him all kinds of special privileges and authority in his labs. But in the end, the power of friendship is no match for the dream of immortality.
1 Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi Has No Time For Friends (Bleach)
Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of squad 12 isn't truly a villain, but he often acts and thinks like one, being a reclusive researcher who crosses all kinds of lines to get what he wants. He was an antagonist in the Soul Society story arc, then became a loose ally of Ichigo and the other heroes of Bleach.
Mayuri cleaned up his act somewhat and began treating Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi better, but even so, he wasn't sentimental enough to actually form any friendships at all. Science is his one true love, and he has no time for anyone or anything else.