The actions of the hero in anime can cover a lot of ground, from the altruistic to downright evil. Sometimes, they cross the line into outlaw territory when they break the law on a regular basis. Yet, fans forgive them all the same.
They scheme, they steal, and sometimes they even kill, and it’s usually for their own interests. Still, anime heroes always have that compelling quality that makes audiences come back for more. These anime heroes keep getting away with breaking the law.
10 Lupin III Gets His Thrills From Pulling Heists (Lupin III)
Lupin III is a classic hero-thief who is completely unashamed of his status as an outlaw. In fact, he brags about it. His biggest thrill is pulling off a big cash or jewel heist. The fan-favorite master thief has been breaking into banks and private safes for his own profit since the early 1970s. What sets him apart from the rest is that he’s not a violent killer, and he’s not a heroic type either. He’s an unabashed criminal who lives off his wits.
9 Jing, King Of Bandits, Claims He Can Steal Anything (Jing, King Of Bandits)
Jing is just a kid, but he's already known as the King of Bandits. He takes his skills as a thief on the road with his faithful sidekick, a talking albatross by the name of Kir. As he travels the world, he looks for the treasures of legend and runs into adventures along the way. He stages spectacular heists and slips away from his foes with the skill of a seasoned pro. In the later series Twilight Tales, he doesn't always manage to pull of his grandiose schemes.
8 Kaito KID Stages Elaborate Heists That Confound Shinichi (Detective Conan)
Kaito Kuroba doesn't discover his true heritage as the son of the original Kaito Kid until he was a second-year high school student. But, after finding his late father's secret room, he vows to take up the Kaito Kid mantle again, and become a master thief himself to draw out his father's killers. That turns into the quest to find and steal the red Pandora gem and then destroy it in revenge for his death. He becomes so skilled he's able to pull off incredible heists that seem almost impossible.
7 Thieving Duo Isaac Dian And Miria Harvent End Up As Accidental Immortals (Baccano!)
They may be thieves, but Isaac and Miria are nonetheless kindhearted in the world of Baccano!. The series follows several stories that gradually come together, and Isaac and Miria connect the various people and stories together.
Isaac is the brains of the duo, although neither of them is a genius. Like virtually everyone else in the series, the two thieves are connected to organized crime, and they are wanted criminals, but they still have good hearts and end up as accidental immortals.
6 The Kisugi Sisters Turn Into Art Thieves At Night (Cat’s Eye)
Sisters Rui, Hitomi, and Ai Kisugi run a café called Cat's Eye by day, but by night, they become a trio of highly skilled art thieves. The artworks they steal are generally those that once belonged to their father, Michael Heinz, who is missing. Hitomi's fiancé, Toshio Utsumi, is a cop, but he's not so great at his job. He can never seem to figure out the Kisugi's sisters' double life secret, even unwittingly giving the sisters intel about security at their next heists.
5 Nami Steals From The Villagers As Her Way Of Saying Good-Bye (One Piece)
Cat Burglar Nami is the Straw Hats' navigator and the adoptive sister of Nojiko. She actually first joined the Straw Hats with the intention of stealing from them and buying her village back from Arlong. In the world of One Piece, Nami is such a skilled thief that she can take just about anything from anyone without them noticing. When she leaves her home island, she takes all the villager’s wallets in a last-minute dash as her unique way of saying goodbye.
4 Robès Redondo Becomes No-Face The Thief Out Of Boredom (Kiba)
In Kiba, a 15-year-old boy called Zed is transported to a different world of magic users and war called Templar. One of the more striking characters in that world is Robès Redondo, a rich man who loves to host parties.
On the surface, he's a wealthy playboy-type who likes to flirt with women and is skilled with both his rapier and shard magic. He is also, as it turns out, a phantom thief known as No-Face, a hobby he said he started out of boredom.
3 Nicholas Brown & Worick Arcangelo Take On The Worst Jobs (Gangsta)
Nicholas Brown and Worick Arcangelo are handymen in the world of Gangsta. They take on the most dangerous jobs, and the criminal syndicates that run the city have come to rely on them. Because of the fact that they keep their heads and have a code that they crime by, the cops will also contract them for difficult jobs. While they’re on a contract with the payout in mind, they still look out for the little guys.
2 Spike Spiegel Is A Likeable, Lovable Rogue (Cowboy Bebop)
A galactic bounty hunter is already a sketchy gig, but Spike Spiegel also has a horrible criminal past that he’s trying to put behind him. He’s also not above robbing the occasional old lady or putting other people's lives at risk on his impulsive quests or while looking for Julia. He's also prone to laying an extra vicious beating on someone when he's in a bad mood. Yet, he's still a charming and charismatic fan-favorite hero all the same with a good heart beating deep within him. It's that combination of qualities that makes him such an interesting anti-hero.
1 Giorno Giovanna’s Ambition is To Become A Gang-Star (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
As the illegitimate son of DIO, created from Jonathan Joestar’s stolen body, it was probably inevitable that Giorno Giovanna should immediately take to a life of crime. His first goal is to join Passione, the most powerful gang. Next, he’s set to climb the ladder to the top. However, he wants to take over the criminal underworld in order to make the world a better place. With an abusive childhood, he begins as little more than a vicious thug, but the friendship of an older gangster whose life he saves changes him for the better. However, he’s still prepared to kill and scheme his way to Gang-Stardom.