There are many different kinds of anime heroes, and not all of them can live up to the standard of a major character. Typical heroes are honorable, outgoing, talented, inspiring, or hoping to make the world a better place. There are a few exceptions, though. Some heroes are so powerful that they seem careless, while others are actually completely unconcerned and rely on their skills just to get by.
Even if they need a little extra nudge to get out of bed, these characters are heroes regardless of how uninspired they are. They always show up when people need them the most, but not in the way one might expect a hero to operate.
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Shikamaru is one of the most well-known anime slackers due to his lack of caring and energy in stressful situations. Even ninja in Naruto want to live an easy life, and Shikamaru does that by using his intelligence to help him maneuver through life's obstacles in a nonchalant manner.
Shikamaru is frequently criticized for being too lazy, but his friends and rivals quickly discover that his lack of concern is really a mask for his true intelligence. Shikamaru's brains allow him to succeed in missions and battles in a way that makes him appear as if he isn't trying. It's an impressive strategy for a ninja because he is usually underestimated.
9 Spike Spiegel Works Hard For The Money (Cowboy Bebop)
Cowboy Bebop is a stylish and popular Japanese anime from the '90s that follows a crew of bounty hunters in a post-modern space western setting.
Spike Spiegel, the main character, is the epitome of cool, and he can often be spotted sleeping, drinking, or lounging in an iconic '90s aesthetic. If he isn't relaxing, he is most likely pursuing a bounty to make his living. As a bounty hunter, it's clear that he's only interested in making money and has no interest in anything else.
8 Usagi Is Lazy When She Isn't Saving The World (Sailor Moon)
When things get tough, Usagi from Sailor Moon often feels like giving up. Usagi has numerous quotable lines thanks to her nature of being shamelessly listless. Quotes like, "Lazy is such an ugly word. I prefer the term selective participation," and, "I'm told my best subject is sleeping, but I think it's eating," are just some of her memorable lazy lines. In the very first episode, Usagi is late to school and even gets locked out of her house by her mother when she comes home with poor grades. She really could not care less about school, but when it comes to saving the day, that is a totally different story.
7 Yajirobe Never Reached His Potential (Dragon Ball)
Yajirobe from Dragon Ball is the epitome of careless characters who don't have their chance to shine. When the audience meets Yajirobe for the first time, he accuses Goku of taking his breakfast and even fights him over it.
Yajirobe shows great emotion over things like food, but when his friend Goku is killed, he is asked to train to fight and shows almost no desire at all. Yajirobe begins his training with reluctance, yet he still spends most of his time eating. He finally gives up on battling invaders such as the Saibamen and Nappa and instead gets interviewed by journalists while enjoying free city food. He shouldn't be underestimated, though. He has a power level of 970, and if he had continued to train, he could have been one of Earth's strongest humans.
6 Lady Tsunade Can't Be Bothered (Naruto)
Most people think of a Hokage as honorable, hardworking, kind, cautious, and so on, but this isn't always the case. Lady Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village in Naruto, initially comes off as uninterested and rude toward Naruto and Jiraiya. She withdrew to a life of booze and gambling after a war. She's also known as the "legendary sucker" since she gambles a lot, isn't very good at it, and has a lot of debt. She even rejected the offer to become Hokage at first.
5 Saitama Got Bored Of Heroism (One-Punch Man)
One-Punch Man's main character, Saitama, originally had the intention to be a superhero and help people simply because he wanted to. What could be more honorable than that?
After training and defeating enough bad guys, Saitama's goal did not seem important to him anymore. He became bored of being a superhero because defeating enemies with one punch got old. This left the audience to believe that he never cared about being a hero since he got bored of it so quickly.
4 Gintoki Sakata Lacks Motivation (Gintama)
Gintoki Sakata, the protagonist of the long-running comedic series Gintama, appears to have little drive to progress in life and seems to just go with the flow, whether it's fighting aliens or lazing on a couch reading Shonen Jump. He's a typical broke guy with a calm demeanor and a constant blank expression on his face. His redeeming trait may be his dedication to his business, although that is simply to take odd jobs for money to get by.
3 Kuro Did Not Choose The Vampire Life (Servamp)
Servamp is a supernatural action comedy that stars a diverse cast of vampires. Kuro is the servamp, or vampire servant, of Sloth. He is the eldest of the servamps and surprisingly the strongest, but nevertheless lives up to his "sloth" title. Kuro believes that it is better to give no effort in anything rather than assert oneself and make things worse. He spends most of his time sleeping or playing video games. He seems pretty laidback, but his past is another story.
2 Kiyotaka Ayanokoji Wants To Be Regular (Classroom Of The Elite)
Classroom of the Elite follows a quiet and seemingly regular boy named Kiyotaka in an elite government-sponsored school. Viewers are often unable to determine if he is just exhausted or simply so much better than everyone else that putting effort into anything seems pointless.
Kiyotaka recognizes that those in the spotlight are under more pressure to achieve goals, so he ensures that no one can accuse him of being a useful member of his community. Even when it comes to making friends, he claims to want them but never puts any effort into connecting with people.
1 Oreki Houtarou Is Purposely Mediocre (Hyouka)
Oreki Houtarou, from the mystery series Hyouka, is a Kamiyama High School student who values energy-saving above all else. His grades are purposely mediocre, allowing him to go under the radar with no one noticing him. Throughout the show, he rarely shows even the tiniest bit of interest in anything, so when he does, his friends assume he's sick. He gets more than he bargains for when he receives a letter from his sister inviting him to join the Kamiyama High School Classics Club.