Laying back and taking it easy is a universally enjoyable experience, regardless of where one lives. But when lazing about takes up a majority of the day, it might be time to reevaluate how best to spend time. Some people (and anime characters) eventually figure out how to be a bit more productive, but there are just as many characters who are defined by their laziness.
It might be because they're a bit antisocial and want to avoid people, or it might be because they actually hate working. Other characters are lazy in their off time after working really hard at their day jobs, while some are simply enjoying their youth. Whatever the reason, there seems to be no shortage of lazy characters in anime.
Updated on April 4th, 2022 by Sarah Martin: Some anime characters are so lazy, the most effort they exert is towards doing the bare minimum. Some of these characters certainly have the potential to apply themselves and achieve great things, but they choose not to. Others are just childish and would rather complain instead of getting up and doing something productive.
15 Atsushi Murasakibara Is Childish & Lazy (Kuroko's Basketball)
Atsushi Murasakibara from Kuroko's Basketball is undeniably lazy, childish, and even whiny. Aside from his impressive 6'10 stature, Atsushi doesn't display many desirable qualities in a basketball player. Atsushi only seems to consume junk food, and his teammates say he blows all of his money on all kinds of sugary snacks.
He refuses to apply himself at all and claims he only plays basketball because he's naturally good at it. Atsushi also claims to hate those who passionately play the sport. Always obedient to Seijuro's commands, Atsushi often doesn't appear to think for himself.
14 Karma's Laziness Doesn't Seem To Impact His Academic Performance (Assassination Classroom)
Despite his best efforts at doing absolutely nothing, Karma Akabane from Assassination Classroom still comes out with impressive grades. As a member of Class 3-E, he and his peers have the lowest ranking among the school's other students. Despite having impressive assassination skills, Karma's delinquent behavior and underhanded attitude continue to affect his rank.
Although he's intelligent, Karma simply doesn't apply himself as often as he should. It seems like a lot of his behavior stems from arrogance. However, one thing is certain: Karma's laziness, surprisingly, doesn't seem to impact his academic performance.
13 Usopp Wasn't Always A Reliable Crewmate (One Piece)
At the beginning of One Piece, Usopp solely served as comic relief. He was the laziest member of the Straw Hat Pirates and preferred underhanded schemes to trick his enemies, though these plans were never well thought out.
Instead of making meaningful contributions, Usopp would often make up some ridiculous excuse to get out of doing something productive for the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates. Luckily, Usopp has grown exponentially, becoming one of the Straw Hats' best members. However, it's hilarious to look back and reminisce on his old behavior.
12 Snorlax Only Cares About Something If There's Food Involved (Pokemon)
Snorlax is a massive Pokémon who can force his way through a crowd of enemies because of his colossal size, but he's so lazy it's almost impressive. Unless there's food involved, Snorlax isn't interested in the slightest.
Snorlax can consume eight-hundred and eighty pounds of food in one helping, and still have enough room for seconds. He's also infamously sleepy. Snorlax can sleep for hours, even during inconvenient situations that require all hands on deck. The only thing that will awaken Snorlax from his slumber is food.
11 Daiki Aomine Became Lazy & Arrogant (Kuroko's Basketball)
Daiki Aomine was the Generation of Miracles' ace in Kuroko's Basketball. Though he was initially a friendly person who genuinely loved basketball, Daiki quickly grew bored of the sport because none of his opponents stood a chance against him. As a result, Daiki became arrogant and lazy, started skipping practices, and arrived late at games.
When Daiki would play basketball, he'd slack off and perform cheap, underhanded plays to humiliate his opponent. Daiki was shown rolling around on the floor when he was introduced in the series, whining about his boredom and wanting to eat bread. Luckily, Seirin High gave Daiki a slice of humble pie after beating him during the Winter Cup.
10 Hotaro Is Dedicated To Energy Conservation (Hyoka)
When Hotaro Oreki talks about prioritizing energy conservation in Hyoka, he doesn't mean for the planet; rather, he means conserving his own energy. Hotaro is a brilliant kid who can seemingly figure out anything he puts his mind to... but the trick is getting him to spend energy on it.
His classmate Eru Chitanda typically goads Hotaro into solving various mysteries over the course of the series, much to Hotaro's dismay. Ironically, Hotaro sometimes ends up expending more energy than he needs to in his attempts to avoid wasting energy.
9 Hachiman's Loner Mentality Keeps Him Inactive (OreGairu)
In OreGairu (also known as My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU), Hachiman Hikigaya's role is to be as anti-social as possible. He doesn't like to rely on anyone but himself and his rebellious, loner mentality distances him from others.
Since he doesn't like to get caught up in others' affairs, Hachiman has adopted a low-energy view on life and doesn't spend time doing any activities that demand more from him than he's willing to give. But over the course of OreGairu, Hachiman slowly opens up to others and develops a little compassion.
8 Shikamaru's Laziness Made Him Famous (Naruto)
Maybe it's because he's super-intelligent, but Shikamaru Nara's aversion to doing anything that requires a lot of effort made him stand out in Naruto. He's annoyed by "troublesome" responsibilities he needs to take on and was frequently seen lazing about in his younger years.
Shikamaru would rather work smarter and not harder, meaning he's always looking for the solution which requires the least amount of energy expenditure possible. But just because he's lazy doesn't mean Shikamaru won't work hard when it's needed — proving his worth many times over during the series.
7 Gintoki Balances Laziness With Passion (Gintama)
Although he's most likely to be seen lazing about on the couch reading Shonen Jump (and maybe even picking his nose), Gintoki Sakata is still a man dedicated to his business. Gintoki founded the Yorozuya in Gintama with the intention of taking on any kind of odd job, no matter how absurd, and he takes his tasks pretty seriously.
But when he's not devoting himself to various odd jobs, Gintoki is usually found with a blank expression on his face, telling jokes, and arguing about silly things so his younger employees can have a carefree life.
6 Konata's So Lazy That Her Grades Suffer For It (Lucky Star)
One of the more intriguing aspects of Konata Izumi's personality in Lucky Star is her barely average grades despite her above-average intelligence. If it's interesting or related to her otaku hobbies, Konata is surprisingly sharp. When it comes to academics, she's always cramming before school tests so she can scrape by with the bare minimum grades and avoid taking extra classes. She's also quite athletic but refuses to join any sports clubs at school since it'll prevent her from keeping up with her favorite anime.
5 Yui Joined The Light Music Club Thinking It Would Be Easy (K-On!)
Forgetful, lazy, and uninspired, Yui Hirasawa spent her days in K-ON! whimsically carefree. But when it came time to choose a club for high school activities, Yui chose the one club that sounded like it'd take the least amount of effort: the Light Music Club.
Yui was surprised to discover the true nature of the club, but it benefited her in the long run since and introduced her to her passion for guitar. Even when it comes to playing guitar, though, Yui doesn't put too much effort into theory and plays intuitively instead.
4 Umaru Regularly Lazes About At Home (Himouto! Umaru-Chan)
Posing as a seemingly normal high school girl while out of the house, Umaru Doma transforms into an incorrigibly lazy girl indoors. The entire plot of Himouto! Umaru-chan hinges on Umaru's double life as an exemplary high school student and a hopelessly indulgent otaku.
To emphasize her laziness, Umaru is drawn in a chibi form while at home, underlining her childish aversion to chores. She's frequently whining and binging on junk food while indulging in her favorite otaku hobbies, activities which never cease to wear out her older brother Taihei.
3 Aizawa Is Never Too Far Away From His Beloved Sleeping Bag (My Hero Academia)
While My Hero Academia's Shota Aizawa definitely knows how to work hard when it matters, he'd still rather exert as little energy as possible. His dedication to taking it easy is so strong he's even brought his sleeping bag with him on the job... and climbed in while teaching class. But despite his efforts to expend as little energy as possible, Aizawa is still a great U.A. mentor who has his students' best interests at heart.
2 Spike Doesn't Like Getting Himself Worked Up (Cowboy Bebop)
If there's one word that accurately describes Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop, it's "cool." Spike is a guy who lives and breathes Bruce Lee's philosophy to "be like water" and flow with everything with as little effort as possible.
When he's not chasing a bounty, Spike is most often found lazing about the Bebop with Jet. He's rarely shown expressing excitement for anything, although he's known to get pretty worked up while chasing down a bounty. Maybe that's why he spends the rest of his time conserving energy.
1 Usagi Is A Typical Lazy Teenager (Sailor Moon)
Although she's the leader of the Sailor Scouts, Usagi Tsukino is also an incorrigible crybaby whose traits often lean towards laziness and clumsiness in Sailor Moon. She avoids doing schoolwork and enjoys goofing off, reading manga, and eating snacks.
But despite those traits, she's a pure-hearted and principled leader who believes everyone has some good in them, even when they're at their worst. Eating, sleeping, reading manga, playing video games, and shopping are listed as her personal favorite hobbies — most of which require very little effort.