Fictional characters are often more proactive and more exciting when they have faith in themselves and the cause that they fight for. Strong-willed heroes and villains alike in anime change the whole world and fight to the bitter end, all while clinging tightly to their beliefs.
Convictions can take all shapes and forms. Often, someone's strongly held worldview, opinion, or belief is based on judging others positively or negatively, fighting for a subjective cause, or perhaps the character's own sense of justice and righteousness. When a character has formidable power and a strong will as well, their conviction may soon become a reality at last.
10 Izuku Midoriya Fights For The World's Justice
My Hero Academia
In My Hero Academia, pro heroes like All Might and Mirko fight for much more than paychecks or sheer survival. These costumed heroes are expected to uphold society's lofty ideals of justice, fairness, and righteousness, risking their very lives for something bigger than themselves.
This means that the most successful and inspiring heroes fight for heroic convictions, and that includes Izuku, too. This green-haired boy fully subscribes to the same convictions that All Might fights for, and Izuku will never compromise his convictions, even to save his own life.
9 Eren Yeager Believes In The Eldian Cause
Attack On Titan
The antihero Eren Yeager once fought for the sake of his walled city, determined to slay the man-eating Titans that threatened humanity. Then Eren learned the truth of this world and its politics, so he radically shifted his position and started using Titan power to fight for the Eldian restoration movement.
Eren now strongly believes in the Eldian cause, ready to fight anyone, including former friends. Eren is certain that the world will not have true peace or justice until the Eldians are freed and given a safe, secure place to live in the face of Marley aggression.
8 Rimuru Tempest Has Faith In Unity & Tolerance
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime
Some isekai heroes fight only for their own glory and gratification, and others, such as Yuji in My Isekai Life, don't have any obvious convictions or motivations at all. But the OP slime hero Rimuru Tempest is a different story. He's a more benign Eren Yeager, fighting to give others a place to live in this dangerous world.
Rimuru's methods are more constructive than Eren's, even if they have similar convictions. Rimuru is an optimistic hero who believes in the power of unity, tolerance, and friendship among all monster races, and he worked hard and fought hard to make those dreams a reality.
7 Avatar Aang Always Believes In Peace
Avatar: The Last Airbender
The animated hero Avatar Aang can be described as an ENFP, or the Campaigner, a person who loves to inspire others while clinging tightly to their own convictions about peace, justice, and the law. As an Air Nomad, Avatar, and good person in general, Aang will say or do whatever he must to defend his heroic convictions and ideals.
Never once, for any reason, did Aang compromise his pacifistic convictions during the Hundred-Year War. He refuses to take human lives for any reason, not even that of his worst enemy, Fire Lord Ozai. The brutal Ozai thought Aang was foolish, but he underestimated the true strength of Aang's conviction.
6 Senku Ishigami Believes Science Can Save Society
Dr. Stone
The teen scientist Senku Ishigami isn't nearly as sentimental or charismatic as Izuku Midoriya or Aang, but he does have unshakable convictions, and that makes him an empowering hero to watch in Dr. Stone. Senku is certain that civilization is worth reviving, and only science can get the job done.
Senku knows the odds are against him in this new Stone Age, especially with Tsukasa Shishio running around, but he won't compromise his science-based convictions to save his own skin. He was ready to die for science, and that is why the new Stone Age and its people need him.
5 Tohru Honda Sticks To Her Guns
Fruits Basket
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Tohru Honda can't throw a punch or build an invention with Stone Age tech, but she doesn't have to. This inspiring shojo heroine has absolute faith in her mother's worldview, with Tohru being certain that forgiveness, second chances, and empathy can change anyone's life for the better.
Tohru faced a lot of pressure, most of all from Akito Sohma, to back off from the cursed Sohma family and mind her own business, but Tohru refused. Tohru knew that the Sohmas needed her as struggling human beings, and her conviction led her to not just fix their lives, but seek to destroy the zodiac curse itself.
4 Soma Yukihira Knows What Cooking Is Really About
Food Wars!
Plenty of student chefs at the elite Totsuki culinary school have clear-cut motivations, such as to open their own restaurant someday or work in the kitchen at a five-star hotel. Meanwhile, the troublemaker chef Soma Yukihira has a more personal principle backing up his own cooking.
Soma knows that love really is the secret ingredient, and he is certain that this sentimental viewpoint is the only way for any chef, regardless of talent, to realize the true potential of their recipes. Soma is often doubted or laughed at, but he won't change his mind on this. He knows something the other Totsuki students don't.
3 Light Yagami Is Convinced That He Is Justice Personified
Death Note
Many characters in the crime thriller anime Death Note have strong convictions to back up their actions, since this series has prominent themes on the subjective meaning of justice and even the law itself. Soichiro Yagami and L put their faith in the law and traditional – mainstream justice, while the brilliant Light Yagami has other ideas.
Light Yagami has utter conviction in his own vision of justice, something that he made up for himself. This motivates him to keep fighting as Kira, the new god of justice, and eventually, Light convinced most of the world to see things his way and share his conviction. It all came crashing down later, though.
2 Goku Believes Humanity Must Be Defended
Dragon Ball Z
The Saiyan shonen hero Son Goku is almost like Superman, a powerful humanoid alien who made Earth his adopted home, and Goku will fight to the death to defend this planet and its innocent human citizens. Many other Saiyans look down on humans, but Goku never will.
Goku's conviction is stronger than any of Frieza's forms. He is certain that humanity is noble and worth protecting at all costs, and while he loves fighting in person, Goku always favors peace over war in the grand scheme of things. He knows what's worth fighting for and will never give up on it.
1 Tanya Degurechaff Fights For Her Empire & Survival
Saga Of Tanya The Evil
On a practical level, the isekai antihero Tany Dagurechaff fights for her own survival, paradoxically joining the Empire's magical steampunk army and fighting pseudo-France to protect herself against Being X's designs. Tanya might as well fight for the cause while she's at it.
As an isekai hero, Tanya has few personal memories of this Empire and its history, but that doesn't matter. Tanya is now loyal to the Empire's cause, fighting with absolute conviction that this nation is destined to rule the entire continent someday and win this endless war.