In anime, it's fairly common for characters that have incredibly tragic backstories to end up as villains. After all, if it seems like the entire world is against them and there's no one else they can count on, why not seek to make their mission in life world destruction or domination? The cruel realities of life can oftentimes be too much for people to handle, and it's not rare for those who can't to end up seeking solace in the darker, more morally corrupt side of life.
However, there are those who can understand perfectly how cruel and corrupt the world can be and still opt to be heroes instead. These kinds of characters often make for the best and most powerful heroes, as they've already hit their lowest points and can use that understanding to help continually propel themselves forward.
10 Attack On Titan: Levi Grew Up As A Thief On The Streets With Nothing To His Name
When fans are introduced to Levi in Attack On Titan, he's a highly adored and respected captain within the Survey Corps. It can be easy to look at how talented he is and assume that he's been that way his entire life, with a cushy upbringing to nurture his skills.
This couldn't be further from the truth, as Levi actually grew up as a thief, forced to live within the slums. It's only after being captured by the Survey Corps that his lot in life starts to change, and even then other members ostracize and look down on him because of his past.
9 Fullmetal Alchemist: Edward And Alphonse Spiral After Being Abandoned By Their Father And Losing Their Mother
Edward and Alphonse are alchemic prodigies in Fullmetal Alchemist who are considered some of the best of the best at what they do. And while they do manage to help others and grow into better people themselves along the way, their journey is actually fueled by how incredibly difficult their childhood is.
Their father walks out on them when they're still quite young, and their mother dies of illness not long after. They become permanently traumatized after failing a transmutation to bring her back to life, and carry their burdens with them throughout their journey.
8 Naruto: Naruto Originally Doesn't Have Anyone To Care For Him, And Is Unfairly Hated By Everyone
While Naruto does end up becoming Hokage and getting both the recognition and support system he always wanted, his life isn't always so positive. He starts out with neither a mother or a father to care for him due to the circumstances of his birth.
These circumstances also cause him to be unfairly judged by others and hated before he's ever even given a chance. It takes a long, painful road of constantly fighting to be recognized for Naruto to make steps in the right direction.
7 Soul Eater: Liz And Patty Grew Up On The Streets With No One But Each Other To Rely On
Liz and Patty are daughters of a prominent prostitute in Soul Eater and are abandoned not long after their birth. The only people they have to rely on are each other, and they're able to use their weapon shape-shifting abilities to hold others up in order to secure food, money or other various necessities to survive.
They're eventually found and taken in by Kid. Their rough upbringing explains their personalities, as Liz is older and more serious since she takes on the burden of raising them both. Meanwhile, Patty keeps much of her childlike charm due to being younger and having no formal education.
6 My Hero Academia: Todoroki Is Cruelly Molded Into A Human Weapon By His Father
Todoroki is a great example of a character in My Hero Academia who, at the beginning, is entirely shaped by his circumstances. He's the child of a couple who are only brought together in the name of what's known as a Quirk marriage, and he's raised isolated from others and trained to use his power by his father.
However, Shoto also sees how his father treats his mother, and is afraid that because he's his son and inherited his powers that he'll also end up as someone who hurts others. He's able to start to see past this and grow for the better with Deku's help.
5 Naruto: Kakashi's Ever-Calm Exterior Is Only Present Due To The Weight Of His Past
Kakashi seems calm and relatively laid-back, but this is really only a way for him to cope with how much he's been through during his life throughout Naruto. He becomes a ninja at only five years old, at an age where anyone else should still be playing tag with their friends and naively enjoying their childhoods.
The tragedies in his life begin when his father is ostracized and ends up taking his own life, leaving Kakashi alone. It isn't long afterwards that his teammate Obito is supposedly killed, and he's then forced to kill his other teammate as well.
4 Soul Eater: Crona's Childhood Shaped Them Irreversibly In The Manga And Nearly Did In The Anime
This point mostly focuses on the Soul Eater anime version of Crona, who's able to start building a better life for themselves doing heroic things for the DWMA. Their manga counterpart is so traumatized by Medusa that they actually end up snapping and murdering her.
After seeing Crona's backstory and how they were only brought up by Medusa to be viewed as and used as a tool, it isn't hard to imagine how that's possible. Thankfully, in the anime, Crona is able to start moving forward after Maka helps them, and they start walking a road that can be viewed as more heroic. Even in the manga, their final moments can still be considered a heroic act of self-sacrifice despite them having committed more heinous deeds.
3 Kill La Kill: Ryuko Is Only Born As A Test Subject, And Her Father Is Killed For Secretly Housing Her
Ryuko seems to have a hard enough life as it is when Kill La Kill starts and it's shown that she's trying to solve the mystery behind her father's death. It becomes even more tragic when that mystery is revealed to both the audience and to Ryuko herself.
In short, Ryuko is only born as a test subject and is discarded by her mother after a Life Fiber infusing experiment fails, leaving Ryuko to be presumed dead. It's actually a success and she lives, being rescued by her father who adopts an alias in order to secretly care for her. But as soon as Ragyo discovers his location, she orders Nui to kill him, sparking the journey that ends up leading Ryuko right to them.
2 My Hero Academia: Deku Dreams Of Being A Hero In A World That Constantly Crushes His Spirits
Although Deku begins to spring up pretty quickly after meeting with All Might and absorbing his powers in My Hero Academia, his childhood is still far from ideal. His tight-knit friend group and the one he admires most, Bakugo, end up turning on him after the latter obtains his Quirk and an ego to match from always being praised.
Not only this, but everyone in Deku's class picks on him for not having a Quirk, and Bakugo goes as far as to destroy one of the hero notebooks that he's so proud of. Even his own mother tells him that she's sorry things can't turn out differently, which is the final nail in the coffin for him until he meets All Might.
1 Sword Art Online: Sinon Is Ostracized By Her Mother And Deeply Traumatized After Saving Both Of Their Lives
Sinon's home life within Sword Art Online is partially why she finds so much comfort in escaping into MMOs. After the tragic loss of her father, her mother shuts down, and things only get worse when her and Sinon - along with all of the other victims inside - get held up by a robber at a post office.
Sinon is able to wrestle control of the gun from the man despite being so young, and as she's desperately afraid for her life, she fires and kills him. Her mother becomes terrified of her after this, and Sinon actually ends up having to live on her own far away from any of her family.