Anime characters represent a broad spectrum of fictional character tropes and diverse personalities. Like real-life individuals, many of these characters have a hidden side or two, an aspect that they hide either out of shame, embarrassment, or for their own unique reasons. These characters may have a rogue or punkish streak that no one ever saw coming.
While some characters wear their hearts on their sleeves, others bottle up their inner angst, rebellious feelings, or their love of all things goth or counter-culture. While certain anime characters are known for their outward angst, others keep it hidden, and only show it to a few trusted friends and associates, or maybe not at all. Who might they be?
10 Izumi Miyamura, Decked Out In Tattoos And Piercings (Horimiya)
Izumi Miyamura is the co-lead of this popular new rom-com animated series, based on a manga series of the same name (which in turn is based on a web comic). The story's theme is: everyone has a hidden side that they don't necessarily show to others.
Izumi Miyamura embodies that theme with his gentle, warm personality, contrasting with his gloomy exterior in school. He's also expressive with his body, collecting stylish tattoos and piercings like the king of punk rock. He'd blend right in at a Sex Pistols or Ramones concert.
9 Meliodas, The Demon King's Tortured Son (The Seven Deadly Sins)
Meliodas commands The Seven Deadly Sins who, despite their group's name, fight for good. Meliodas is introduced as a rambunctious and fun-loving fellow, and he's a bit rough around the edges but otherwise likable. Then his true nature is unveiled.
Meliodas is an ancient demon, and he is tormented by the fate of his lover, Elizabeth the archangel. Meliodas has seen his lover die and be reborn countless times, and it weighs on him heavily. He's liable to snap at any moment.
8 Yuki Sohma, The Not So Perfect Abused Prince (Fruits Basket)
Many anime series (especially shojo titles) feature a "perfect prince," an ultra-popular guy who draws in the ladies at school with his personality, wit, and devastatingly good looks. On the outside, this describes Yuki Sohma perfectly. But he's got a secret.
Like the other cursed Sohmas, Yuki bears an animal of the Chinese zodiac, the Rat, and he endures constant verbal and emotional abuse from his mother and Akito Sohma alike. He's far from perfect; in fact, he's suffering imposter syndrome, and fears that he will never truly belong in society.
7 Ken Kaneki, The Half-Ghoul Who Lives In Two Worlds (Tokyo Ghoul)
Later on, Ken Kaneki the half-ghoul would start showing off his ghoulish side with glee, being edgy on the inside and outside. At first, though, Ken strove to hide his true nature and try to keep himself in the human world.
Ken struggled to stay in the human world, since his ghoul half demanded flesh and violence. Ken was in total anguish, but he dared not show this to his good friend Hideyoshi. For a time, he did his best to hide that pain and continue life as an "ordinary" college student.
6 Kakashi Hatake, Haunted By Deaths Of The Past (Naruto)
At first, the jonin Kakashi Hatake appeared to be talented but quite goofy and eccentric, like Jiraiya the toad sage. Kakashi read X-rated books during training exercises and fell for the juvenile "falling eraser" trick, making an awkward first impression.
In reality, Kakashi is in mourning, having watched Obito Uchiha's apparent (and false) death as a young ninja. He's also in anguish that his father had made a good decision and was made a pariah for it. Kakashi is hurting a lot more than he lets on.
5 Kyoka Jiro, The Queen Of Punk Rock (My Hero Academia)
Arguably, Kyoka Jiro of class 1-A is more cool than edgy, since she was born into a family of enthusiastic musicians who bleed punk and attitude. Kyoka grew up surrounded by trendy street fashion, hefty guitar amps, and rock instruments of all kinds.
Kyoka loves rock music, but she also felt the need to hide this passion from her classmates, fearing being laughed at for it. Good news: her classmates think that this side of Kyoka is really cool, not lame, and they joined Kyoka to form a class band for the school festival.
4 Rohan Kishibe, The Ruthless Manga Artist Who Licks Spiders (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
The world knows Rohan Kishibe as a polite and hard-working young man who puts pen to paper to make a fine manga series. It's true that Rohan is a passionate young artist, but his methods are not suitable for the public sphere.
Rohan is a haughty loner who relies on his Stand, Heaven's Door, to raid the memories of other people and write their experiences as serial manga chapters. He will also lick things, even spiders, to understand them, and he makes no apologies for any of this. Many creative people have their odd side, but Rohan takes it to a new level.
3 Taiga Aisaka, Who's Not So Tough At Home (Toradora!)
Taiga Aisaka is an example of two things: the tsundere archetype, and characters who are secretly edgy due to their circumstances, rather than their personality. On her own, Taiga is a tough tsundere, but her family life adds some edge to her character.
Taiga's family relations are strained at best, and the underage Taiga lives all alone, in a huge apartment that's nearly empty except for some furniture and heaps of trash. She's also stubborn about all this, refusing to get help.
2 Takumi Usui, Who Belongs To A Wealthy But Troubled Family (Maid-Sama!)
Takumi Usui is the "popular prince" type like Yuki Sohma, but his family life will remind viewers more of Taiga Aisaka. On the surface, Takumi has it all: good looks, athletic ability, good grades, popularity and boundless courage and confidence.
Takumi would trade all this for a normal, happy family life where everyone is together and trusts one another. His family is mixed between Japanese and British heritage, and this comes with more than a little emotional and political baggage that Takumi would much rather do without.
1 Saitama, The Depressed Hero (One-Punch Man)
Saitama, the caped baldy, is a deceptively dark take on the idea of a superhero. Once a salaryman, this fellow resolved to become a crimefighter for fun, and he trained hard to become strong. Too strong, actually, since he's too powerful to get a fun challenge out of anything.
So, Saitama is sinking deeper into depression and despair, since his ideal hobby is turning out to be rather empty. Saitama is slowly winning over the crowds with his world-saving power, but on the inside, he's in anguish.