Anime with larger ensemble casts are not out of the ordinary, but some shows seem to have too many characters. These anime don't necessarily have to have the most characters. They just need to have too many characters for their story. While there are anime that can handle a large cast, others have too many characters for audiences to keep track of them all.
Too many characters in a show can bog down a story with introductions, which can cause background characters to be deemed unnecessary to the story's plot. Other anime with too many characters just have too many people, leading to an underdeveloped cast. Whatever the reason, anime with too many characters can turn fans away from otherwise great shows.
10 Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Bladeworks Has A Lot Of Players In The Holy Grail War
Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Bladeworks is one in a series of Fate properties about Mages and Heroic Spirits embroiled in a war to find and win the Holy Grail. However, this particular show has a lot of players who do not necessarily follow the rules set forth for earlier Holy Grail Wars.
While some old characters return for this series, there are many new characters that fans must remember. Most of the Heroic Spirits are different from earlier shows, yet some are new. There are new and old Mages for fans to keep track of, as well. With so many characters, it is hard for fans to remember what people are fighting for and who's still in the fight.
9 Tokyo Revengers Has Past & Present Characters To Remember
Tokyo Revengers is a time-traveling anime about a man named Takemichi Hanagaki who discovers he can travel back and forth between his present as an adult and his past as a middle schooler. When he learns about the present-day death of his middle school girlfriend, Takemichi vows to change the past to save Hinata Tachibana's future.
Because the show has events that take place both in the past and present, it can be hard to keep track of who everyone is. On top of this, the many gang members and leaders tend to get jumbled around in fans' minds — especially when some are only talked about and not initially seen. Time travel is usually hard to follow, but it is harder to comprehend with so many characters involved.
8 Kaguya-sama: Love Is War Becomes Crowded
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is a great show with an ensemble cast that initially handles its characters well. However, in the most recent season, the show begins to add numerous background characters who are hard to remember and have little impact on the story.
The show does a fabulous job of giving its core cast motivations and character development. However, with the addition of all the other side characters, the story begins to get a bit muddled. Audiences hope that future seasons will stick to following the Student Council and their friends as they fight in the battle for love.
7 Yuri!!! On Ice Asks Fans To Remember The Other Skaters
Yuri!!! On Ice follows Yuri Katsuki as he works toward reentering the world of competitive figure skating. With the help of his coach, Victor Nikiforov, Yuri hopes to medal in his upcoming competition. However, it's the competition where character introductions begin to overwhelm fans.
Understandably, the creators would want to establish the other skaters in the competition. Unfortunately, there were too many introductions in only a few episodes before Yuri's big skate. While the other skaters are charming, it was difficult for fans to feel attached to many of them.
6 Food Wars! Has Many Opponents
Food Wars! follows the adventures of Souma Yukihira as he strives to rise to the top of the prestigious Totsuki Culinary Academy. The school's policy is to solve all disputes through Battle Royale-style cooking competitions. Yukihira easily dispatches many of them, yet with so many competitors, it's hard to keep track of them all.
As a talented yet cocky diner cook, Yukihira makes many enemies during his time at Totsuki. As such, he is constantly competing with many other chefs hoping to dethrone him. Invariably, a lot of the challengers become allies as the show progresses. However, with so many of the students switching over to Yukihira's side, fans are dizzy with the number of characters that he encounters.
5 Assassination Classroom Is Full Of Students
Assassination Classroom is the story of a class of down-on-their-luck students who are tasked with killing their new teacher after he blows up the moon. While they never waver in their mission, they end up learning a lot more than they expected. This show is unexpectedly heartfelt — and bursting with characters.
Overall, the show does a pretty good job of developing its characters, but there are so many students that it's hard to keep track of everyone. New students and teachers are added throughout the show, making it that much more difficult to remember everyone. Assassination Classroom is a great show that everyone should watch, but it does have a lot of characters.
4 Attack On Titan Consistently Introduced New Characters
Attack on Titan began as the story of Eren Yeager and the 104th Training Corps. As the tale unfolds and the trainees climb the ranks, more and more characters are added. While this is oftentimes necessary to grasp the scope of everything, it does start to become confusing after a while.
Furthermore, Attack on Titan's penchant for killing-off characters makes it that much harder for fans to remember who's alive and who isn't. The show does keep focus mostly on Eren and others close to him, but many fans found themselves trying to remember all the side characters who reappear and disappear throughout the show.
3 My Hero Academia Features Dozens Of Heroes & Villains, Both Young & Old
My Hero Academia is unique in its storytelling, as it shows heroes both in the field and in training. However, since it features so many heroes and villains, things can start to get muddled. Many fans appreciate the different perspectives the story offers, but there are a lot of characters to remember.
Additionally, due to the vast cast, some characters are inadvertently pushed to the side in terms of development for the sake of the central cast. This is disappointing for audiences since many side characters are fan favorites. Viewers find themselves hoping that future seasons will feature more of those excellent characters in My Hero Academia.
2 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Spans Several Countries
Whenever an anime features a war, there's bound to be an extensive cast of characters. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a truly amazing show about the Elric brothers as they search for a cure to their afflictions amidst governmental tension. Along the way, the brothers fight and befriend many people.
Because of this, the longer Brotherhood continues, the more new characters are introduced. While watching this show, fans find themselves having to remember a complex web of alliances and betrayals. The large scale is perfect for the story the show is trying to tell, but it can be overwhelming for fans upon the first watch.
1 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Has A Large Family Tree
The Joestar family is extensive enough for five seasons to be made about each subsequent generation. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure follows different members of the powerful family as they fight various ne'er-do-wells throughout time. Each new descendent encounters new and old characters, tying the seasons together.
However, this makes for a large web of characters for fans to remember. The Jojo's Bizarre Adventure adaptation is undoubtedly fascinating in the way it weaves everything together across time. Still, some fans may have trouble recognizing where all the characters fit in the timeline.