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Strong characters are a dime a dozen in the world of anime, which is why it's so impressive when characters are able to compete with near-demi gods sheerly thanks to their intellect. While a lot of shows are about a strong character, or a character getting strong, smart characters have their own place among anime's elite. Characters like Shikamaru from Naruto are so smart, that they're able to overcome the biggest problems by simply using their brain. Other characters like Ayanokoji from Classroom of the Elite still use their intelligence, albeit for less noble means.
Intelligent characters in anime are always hard to understand. They're thinking a few steps ahead of everyone in their own series, and the viewer as well. It takes a lot of skill to write a character so smart that they're in a league of their own. Whenever an anime series does feature an extra-smart character, they're probably one of the most influential in the series, either pulling strings like a puppet master or helping their friends using their wisdom.
10 Loid Forger
Spy x Family
Cast Takuya Eguchi , Atsumi Tanezaki , Saori Hayami , Alex Organ , Megan Shipman , Natalie Van Sistine
Release Date April 9, 2022
Seasons 1
Writers Kazuhiro Furuhashi , Ichirō Ōkouchi
Directors Kazuhiro Furuhashi , Takahiro Harada
Creator(s) Tatsuya Endo
Loid Forger, a.k.a. Agent Twilight, is easily the smartest character in Spy x Family. Sure, when Anya grows up she might be just as smart as him thanks to her mind-reading capabilities, but even she can't always understand what her adoptive dad is thinking. Loid is the best spy in all of Westalis and probably his enemy nation of Ostania as well. He's always at least a few steps ahead of whoever he's tracking down and he can even think of clever ways to get out of the tightest situations.
His organization, WISE, entrusted him with their most important mission in Operation Strix. It's Loid's mission to get close to Donovan Desmond, the chairman of the National Unity Party and a key figure in the potential war between the two nations. Thankfully, Loid is succeeding in his mission as much as he can. He doesn't let his tragic backstory (arguably one of the most heartbreaking in Spy x Family) get to him and instead uses it to fuel his missions and help his family.
9 Bulma
Dragon Ball
Cast Masako Nozawa , Ryou Horikawa , Hiromi Tsuru , Hiroko Emori , Shigeru Chiba , Naoko Watanabe , Mayumi Tanaka , Naoki Tatsuta , Yukimasa Kishino
Release Date April 26, 1989
Seasons 9
Writers Akira Toriyama , Takao Koyama
Directors Daisuke Nishio
Creator(s) Akira Toriyama
Bulma has always been the smartest character in Dragon Ball that isn't a Divine Being. From the very first series, she was the first woman Goku ever met and the first person to introduce him to a more civilized way of living, or at least she tried. She's the genius who came up with the Dragon Radar, the device the main cast uses to track down the titular Dragon Balls and make their wishes. As the daughter of Dr. Briefs, Bulma has all of Capsule Corp at her hands and she makes better use of the technology than anyone.
Bulma has been impressively smart throughout the series. In Dragon Ball GT, she came up with a way to artificially make Vegeta a Super Saiyan 4, something even he could barely believe. Now in Dragon Ball Daima, Bulma is able to fix the Supreme Kai's old spaceship, so the group can head to the Demon Realm and get Dende back.
8 Miyuki Shirogane and Shinomiya Kaguya
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
Cast Makoto Furukawa , Aoi Koga , Konomi Kohara , Ryōta Suzuki , Miyu Tomita
Release Date January 12, 2019
Seasons 3
Shirogane might have tested a little higher than Kaguya, but they're pretty much equals in the war of intelligence. They're the smartest characters at their school, and they're always pushing each other to get even smarter. While neither is an expert in love, they're both geniuses in their own right. Not only are they two of the smartest characters in anime, but they're also two of the hardest workers. Shirogane proves that if someone works hard enough, anyone can achieve their dreams. Unless they're trying to ask someone out, that is.
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Kaguya is a little better than Shirogane in their war of love. She's able to pull the strings a little bit better than him, but that's only in front of the President. Behind closed doors, she's a bumbling mess when she, or anyone, brings up Shirogane. There aren't many better moments in the series than when Kaguya is too sick to hide her true feelings, revealing just how much she really does like the President.
7 Kazuya Souma
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom
Cast Yûsuke Kobayashi , Inori Minase , Ikumi Hasegawa , Reina Ueda , Kazuyuki Okitsu , Moe Kahara , Masaaki Mizunaka , Show Hayami , Makoto Furukawa , Kenji Nojima , Yuka Nukui , Seiichiro Yamashita , Yui Horie , Yutaka Aoyama , Marika Kouno , Taisuke Nakano , Taiten Kusunoki , Taku Yashiro , Jun Fukuyama , Akinori Egoshi , Kanehira Yamamoto , Tetsu Inada , Ayaka Asai , Hiroki Maeda , Shoya Chiba , Yuta Aoki , Jun'ichi Yanagita , Mugihito
Character(s) Kazuya Souma , Liscia Elfrieden , Aisha Udgard , Juna Doma , Hakuya Kwonmin , Tomoe Inui , Poncho Panacotta , Narration , Ludwin Arcs , Julius Amidonia , Serina , Gatsby Colbert , Excel Walter , Marx , Kaede Foxia , Sebastian Silverdeer , Georg Carmine , Halbert Magna , Castor Vargas , Wodan Udgard , Glaive Magna , Gaius Amidonia , Yuno , Priest Chief , Dece , Febral , Tolman , Albert Elfrieden
Release Date July 3, 2021
Kazuya Souma is the most realistic version of an isekai character there is. He was transported to a new world and was about to be sold off to another nation when he had an idea. He was about to go into university when he was summoned to Friedonia, and thanks to his studies, he was able to negotiate a deal with the former king of the nation. He goes on to become a huge force for good for the people of Friedonia, acquiring new territory and installing new infrastructure to save the kingdom.
The title Realist Hero couldn't be better, as Kazuya is about as real as it gets, if the hero was incredibly smart. By using level-headed thinking, basic logic, and the memories of all the books he read while on Earth, Kazuya is able to lead the people of Friedonia to a much brighter future than they could have ever imagined.
6 Senku Ishigami
Dr. Stone
Cast Aaron Dismuke , Brandon McInnis , Felecia Angelle , Matt Shipman , Ricco Fajardo
Character(s) Senku Ishigami , Gen Asagiri , Kohaku , Chrome , Taiju Oki
Release Date July 5, 2019
Main Genre Sci-Fi
Senku Ishigami is so smart it's hard to understand. When his whole world was petrified, he maintained his sanity by counting every second he was trapped. He ends up counting to a whopping 116,763,120,000 seconds, never losing track for over 3,700 years. It's an absurd feat by an equally absurd character. Senku's goal is to revive everyone who got petrified and bring life back as he knew it, and he's pretty good at it.
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With the help of a few important friends, Senku is able to use his brain power to recreate all sorts of inventions found in his previous life. At first, he makes simple tools and clothing, like a grass skirt, stone tools, and even rope basically by himself. As the series progresses, he's able to make fur clothing, soap, and even a crossbow from the materials that just naturally sprung up around him.
5 Sora and Shiro
No Game No Life
Cast Yoshitsugu Matsuoka , Ai Kayano , Yoko Hikasa , Scott Gibbs , Ying Huang , Sara Ornelas , Caitlynn French , Yuka Iguchi
Character(s) Sora , Shiro , Stephanie Dola , Miko , Chlammy Zell
Release Date April 9, 2014
Seasons 1
Sora and Shiro were almost too smart for their own good. They're two of the smartest step-siblings in anime (yes, step-siblings), and they're so good at video games, that they couldn't find anyone worth competing against. While most characters in isekai shows have a hard time adjusting to their new world or constantly want to find a way to head home, Sora and Shiro couldn't have found a better new world in Disboard. It's a world where games rule everything, and the God Tet found his match in the two step-siblings.
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Sora and Shiro beat unbeatable odds constantly. They're put up against a variety of beings with powers seemingly beyond their comprehension, but unfortunately for their enemies, there really isn't anything beyond their understanding. Thankfully for the people of Immanity, the race Sora and Shiro represent, they have two of the smartest characters in anime on their side.
4 Shikamaru Nara
Naruto
Cast Junko Takeuchi , Noriaki Sugiyama , Chie Nakamura , Kazuhiko Inoue , Hidekatsu Shibata
Release Date October 3, 2002
Seasons 5
Writers Masashi Kishimoto
Directors Hayato Date
Showrunner Masashi Kishimoto
Creator(s) Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto has his Rasengan, Sasuke has the Chidori, but all Shikamaru needs is his absurd intelligence. Shikamaru was the smartest character in Naruto from an early age, with the only character possibly rivaling his intelligence being his father, Shikaku. He's able to outsmart his opponents constantly, making up for his lack of strength with keen analysis and expert-level tactics. With Choji and Ino, the trio are able to pull off some of the coolest combinations in the series thanks to Shikamaru's quick thinking.
One of Shikamaru's most impressive feats was killing Hidan, one of the few immortal characters in Naruto. After Hidan and Kakuza killed his master Asuma, Shikamaru formulated a plan to take them down. He tricked Hidan, using his Shadow Technique to bring Hidan with him to a forest, before burying him alive forever in a hidden pit Hidan could never escape.
3 Light Yagami and L Lawliet
Death Note
Cast Mamoru Miyano , Brad Swaile , Vincent Tong , Ryō Naitō , Trevor Devall
Release Date October 21, 2007
Seasons 1
Light Yagami and L Lawliet were arch rivals. They are the two smartest characters in Death Note and easily some of the most intelligent in all anime. Light used his Death Note to kill a ton of the world's criminals. When the police started to suspect him, he was able to evade them for most of the series thanks to his intelligence. If it wasn't for the equally smart L Lawliet, Light might not have ever been caught. The two play one of the most intense games of cat-and-mouse in all anime within Death Note.
L is constantly suspicious of Light from the beginning, and Light knows it. He has to keep killing while also monitoring both who he's killing and who's monitoring his kills. It's a stressful, uber-intelligent show that pits two geniuses against each other in a real game of life or death.
2 Lelouch vi Brittania
Code Geass
Cast Johnny Yong Bosch , Yuri Lowenthal , Kate Higgins , Karen Strassman , Rebecca Forstadt , Amy Kincaid , Kim Mai Guest , Julie Ann Taylor
Release Date October 6, 2006
Seasons 2
Franchise(s) Code Geass
Writers Ichirō Ōkouchi
Directors Gorō Taniguchi
Creator(s) Gorō Taniguchi , Ichirō Ōkouchi
Lelouch Lamperouge, or Lelouch vi Brittania, is a powerful character in anime even without one of the most broken abilities in anime history. He's the smartest character within his own series, and if it wasn't for his Geass malfunctioning when he needed it most, he probably would have gone on to dominate the entire world. When Mao says C.C.'s name, Lelouch is able to quickly come up with 14 potential suspects and even finds the right one. He's a master at chess and is always willing to prove his skills.
Lelouch comes up with plans like a general. He's an expert strategist who might have been the perfect person to inherit the Geass. With his powerful tool, he molds the world in his own vision, eliminating problems before they can ever truly interfere with him. His Geass allows him to command anyone to do anything, planting an idea in their mind they can't help but do. It's a tyrannical power that Lelouch uses better than most, thanks to his incredible intelligence.
1 Ayanokoji Kiyotaka
Classroom of the Elite
Character(s) Ichinose Honami , Hirata Yousuke , Kikyo Kushida , Sakayanagi Arisu , Kiyotaka Ayanokoji , Ryuuen Kakeru , Ken Sudo , Horikita Manabu , Suzune Horikita , Chabashira Sae , Ike Kanji
Release Date July 12, 2017
Creator(s) Shogo Kinugasa
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka is the smartest character in anime. He thinks so many steps ahead of everyone else at his high school that there's no point in even counting them. He's so smart, it might be easier to think that he can just see the future. He's able to manipulate the people around him like a puppet master pulling the strings, and his so deceptive that the puppets think that they're in control the whole time. Ayanokoji likes to sit back and watch as things unfold, rarely taking a spot in the limelight and letting everyone think he's a lot dumber than he really is.
Coming from the White Room, Ayanokoji had a brutal childhood that left him basically emotionless. His only real goal is to find someone smarter than him, which is why he went to Advanced Nurturing School in the first place. Not only is he a genius, but he's also an expert fighter who was able to take several people on at once, defeating Ryuen so painfully that he broke his enemy's body, mind, and spirit all at once.
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