Top 10 Anime Heroes That Always Lose
These guys just can't catch a break. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we are counting down our picks for the top ten anime heroes that always lose.
For this list, we'll be looking at the protagonists in anime who more often than not always end up getting the short end of the stick in combat. Even when they find a way to win, there's usually another defeat just waiting around the corner. As a result, you can expect a fair few spoilers down the line as we delve into each of their losses!
#10: Chad
“Bleach” (2004-12) Sure, Chad is a real nice guy who is all too eager to help his friends when the Hollows come a-calling, it’s just that for all his strength he sure ends up getting wrecked a lot. Which doesn’t make much sense, the guy is built like a brick shithouse and has super-powered fists, and yet when dealing with both Shinigami and Arrancar, he’s got an embarrassing amount of losses to his name. We know you’ve kind of got that whole pacifism thing going for you there Chad, but come on! At this rate even kyon is going to have a bigger kill count!
#9: Mai Valentine
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“Yu-Gi-Oh!” (2000-04) She’s a skilled duellist who has both broken and played by the rules in order to get what she wants, and yet when it comes to that last hurdle her Harpy Ladies always manage to let her down. In Duellist Kingdom, she lost to both Yugi and Joey (who happened to be a novice at the time), then when it came to the Battle City Finals she ended up losing her soul to Yami Marik in a shadow game. She’ll forever be the series’ resident femme fatale, but its hard to believe the hype when she loses every goddamn duel!
#8: Denki Kaminari
“My Hero Academia” (2016-) All pro-heroes have to start somewhere, and while many have managed to push themselves forward since starting U.A High, Kaminari…hasn’t. Not for lack of trying mind you, with his Quirk allowing him to let loose millions of volts from his body, you would think he would be one of the deadliest heroes-in-training. He would be, if not for the fact his power often short-circuits his brain when busting it out. If that wasn’t bad enough, he also appears to be struggling with both grades and the ladies. When Mineta has one up on you, then your heroic career is definitely looking bleak…
#7: Kazuma Kuwabara
“Yu Yu Hakasho” (1992-94) It’s fair to say that out of Yusuke’s crew, the only most likely to find themselves getting pummelled from a fight is this big lug. Even before they were battling demons, Kuwabara often found himself getting thrashed in brawls with his best frenemy. Then he got himself a spirit sword and was tasked with protecting the world of humans alongside his bros…only to constantly get himself mauled. There are too many incidences to count, but our favourite has to be the time he stepped up to take on lil’ Rinku. Nothing says failure like a ring-out.
#6: Portgas D. Ace
“One Piece” (1999-) We love Ace, he’s one of the most beloved characters in the series, but you can’t deny that throughout his time amongst the living, he suffered his fair share of losses. He brawled with Jinbei for days on end and only squeezed out a draw, then he tried and failed to beat papa Whitebeard, and ended up being defeated by Blackbeard. Of course the one loss everyone remembers is his short-lived battle against Akainu. With his flames doing little against the likes of a magma user, Ace met a fiery in a death in order to protect his little brother.
#5: Dik Dik Van Dik & Wally Tusket
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“Ultimate Muscle” (2002-06) Seriously, if your name wasn’t Kid Muscle or Kevin Mask, then you needed to leave the ring, because chances are you’ll be down for the 3-count. That being said, these two were definitely at the bottom of the wrestling barrel. They may have had a couple of victories between them, but for the most part the antelope and the walrus were nothing more than punching bags for stronger opponents. Truth be told, they’re the biggest jobbers in the IWF.
#4: Genos
“One Punch Man” (2015) Poor, poor Genos. He’s undoubtedly the best disciple you could ever ask for, and in any other series he would be an unbeatable lead character. Unfortunately for him, he shares the screen with the strongest man in the world, and every villain he meets ends up managing to crush his cyborg body to pieces. Hell, even Tatsumaki got in on the action. As the super-villains and monsters keep getting tougher, we’ll undoubtedly see Genos get flattened into a pancake again and again. Good thing he’s easy to repair.
#3: Eren Jaeger
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“Attack on Titan” (2013-) Ever since the humanoid monsters known as Titans killed his mother and destroyed his home, this young man has vowed to slaughter every last one of them. Cursed with the power to transform into the one thing he despises, as well as being a prominent member of the Survey Corp, you’d think Eren would be well on his way to completing his bloodthirsty dream. Well…yes and no. He’s certainly squashed a few random Titans in his time, but put him in front of an actual antagonist and he tends to lose his head. Literally in some cases.
#2: Yamcha
“Dragon Ball Z” (1989-96) Has there truly been a more useless character in the entire Dragon Ball franchise than this guy? Sure, he knows martial arts, but in a series where even the tenth strongest character can blow up the planet, what chance does he have? It wouldn’t be so bad if he put up a decent fight once in a while, but ever since that Saibaman sent him to kingdom come, Yamcha has remained the lowest of the low Universe 7 has to offer. The Saiyans, the Androids, Cell, this supposed master of the Wolf Fang Fist has flopped every time a threat has come to Earth.
#1: Ash F’n Ketchum
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“Pokemon” (1997-) Every. Damn. Time. In spite of gathering all those badges, defeating all those filler trainers, blasting Team Rocket off again and again, what does this guy do when he’s on the border of a championship win? He shits the bed. Given sheer amount of opportunities he’s had claim victory in some of the biggest competitions across the Pokemon world, Ash’s win/lose ratio is clearly in the latter’s favour. We can appreciate how he still wants to be the best that ever was, but at this rate he might want to look into a new career.
