Smart anime characters

Key takeaways

• L is a master spy who outsmarts Kira in Death Note, using their personalities against them.

• Bulma is a teenage scientific genius in the Dragon Ball who created the Dragon Radar and Time Machine at the age of 16.

• From Attack on Titan, Armin excels at strategic planning, becoming an important member of the Titans.

Who are the smartest characters in anime? With so many different shows, from psychological thrillers to the greatest shonen anime, there are always prodigies to excel in their world. Sometimes they use this knowledge for the good of others, sometimes they use it to pursue their own personal desires.

Which anime characters are always at the top of their game? From spies trapped in their childhood bodies to scientists trying to reshape the world as we know it, these are eight smart anime characters.

8

L – Death Note

It was okay to die

In the world of Death Note, there is a mysterious detective known as El. Everything about him is a mystery to the world, from his identity to his origins. However, when he is interested in solving a mystery, he will show it.

L is one of the smartest anime characters because he can piece together every clue that Light Yagami leaves behind. Although Light has a notebook that can kill without his own presence, L manages to identify him as a possible suspect. He knows how to use Prakash's personality against him as a way to make him reveal more.

7

Bulma – Dragon Ball

Use science to make life easier

There are seven magical dragon balls scattered around the earth. They can be anywhere from the tallest trees to the depths of the ocean. For your average human, it can take an entire lifetime to get your hands on something. However, Bulma is so smart, she managed to reverse this process at the age of 16.

With the creation of his Dragon Radar, Goku and his friends are able to use the Dragon Balls. He is also shown building a working time machine from scrap and reverse-engineering a spaceship to take flight to Namek.

6

Armin – Attack on Titan

Brains on Brown

Armin is originally introduced in Attack on Titan as the weakest of the three. He has pacifist ideals that threaten him, and he's not as skilled in titan-killing techniques as Eren or Mikasa. However, when his skills finally improve, it is his mind that becomes his greatest tool.

Armin is a genius when it comes to taking down Titans or planning an attack on an enemy stronghold. When everything seems hopeless, Armin always has a plan to bring himself and his friends back to life. Although he needed encouragement to get there, Armin became an irreplaceable member of the team.

5

Korosensei, Assassination Classroom

A teacher with every skill

Korosensei aims to destroy the world in a year's time. Until then, he becomes a teacher for a class who is tasked with finding a way to kill him before he does.

However, Koro sensei becomes an excellent teacher who is not only physically enhanced due to his mutation, but also incredibly intelligent in all matters. It covers academic subjects as well as personal subjects that help the 3-E class mature into strong and capable students.

It's safe to say that when the students finally get the chance to take down their teacher, it's not as satisfying as they initially thought because they've grown to care about their mentor.

4

Shinichi Kudo – Detective Conan

The world's greatest spy is trapped

Shinichi Kudo is a 16-year-old prodigy who has solved many cases that have stumped even the smartest detectives. After coming into contact with a black organization, he is poisoned and left for dead. However, instead of drinking the poison, he turns into a child.

Stuck in this body, he must get to the bottom of the organization's plans and find a way back to normal. Along the way, he solves several murders and mysteries that surround him. His biggest challenge is keeping his identity a secret from the people he cares about the most. Like any superhero, it's to stop the black organization from coming after them.

3

Lloyd Forger – Detective X Family

The master of espionage faces an even greater challenge

Being a spy isn't easy when your job is to keep the peace between two neighboring nations. Fortunately, Loid Forger is also the greatest spy known as Agent Twilight. He has excellent tactical skills when it comes to infiltrating any organization or crime group. With quick thinking and stealth skills, he can pose as anyone or anything.

However, his biggest challenge comes when he is tasked with becoming a father to get closer to his next goal. Being a father and a husband is something he has to learn. Fortunately, he does a great job at it, even if his fake family is oblivious to the other secrets he harbors.

2

White Kaiba – Yu-Gi-Oh!

The pinnacle of business and technology

When White Kaiba is first introduced in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime, he is the world's greatest dueling prodigy. Despite being defeated by Yugi and devoting his life to becoming a top duelist once again, he does more than just play card games.

Seto Kaiba is the head of the Kaiba Corporation and has developed a technology seen throughout the series that allows monsters to appear on the field as holograms. With the development of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Jet, VR games, and portals to the afterlife, no one goes harder than White Kaiba when he sets his mind on a goal, not even Yugi himself.

1

Senku Ishigami – Doctor Stone

Creating a world of science

When the entire population of the world finds itself terrorized in stone for thousands of years, Senku Ishigami reawakens on a post-apocalyptic planet Earth. Everything made by man is disappearing due to time. Fortunately, Senku has the knowledge and ambition to bring technology back to the New Stone Age.

Senku is a brilliant mind who gravitates towards everything scientific. What he lacks in physical strength, he makes up for with knowledge of mathematics, chemistry, and medicine. This allows him to shape the future and work his way to finding out what happened in the past that initially scared everyone.