Top 10 Anime Characters Going Through Intense Psychological Struggles

Trauma is an integral part of humanity. As insignificant as they are, traumatic experiences leave a positive or negative imprint on the life of the individual, and the same applies to anime characters. The ability to convey the emotional complexity of anime characters is an understated part of anime and is often not highly regarded, which is due to excessive familiarity with these characters.

However, there are quite a few such characters whose stories directly reflect the complexity and emotional turmoil of the human mind. These characters are desperately struggling with inner demons, moral intersections and life-changing experiences. These mental struggles often indicate a transformative character development, more convincing storylines, and sometimes an even darker psyche.

1. Lucy (Elfen Lied)

Lucy, also known as Kaede, is the main protagonist of the Elfenlied series. She is a contradictory figure of a character with severe mental struggles, as she is oppressed and oppressive.

Lucy was abandoned by her parents after birth and placed in an orphanage. As a child, other children constantly picked on her because of her visible diseases, until they began to consider her an insensitive shell. Driven to a nervous breakdown by the endless cruelty around her, all this becomes the basis for the sadistic individual, which she becomes later in the series.

2. Eri (My Hero Academia)

Eri is a minor character in the My Hero Academia series. Abandoned by her mother after giving birth, because she made her father disappear into nothingness, Eri’s childhood began in the worst way. She remains in the care of her grandfather, who then becomes terminally ill. As if all this were not enough, she spends her life being subjected to brutal experiences by Kai Chisaki, an experience so traumatic that she is dominated by fear and the belief that she can only harm others.

Since she is still a child, the circumstances of her life burden her so much that she develops severe anxiety. Having never experienced kindness before, she cannot smile, a sign that alludes to the depth of her mental struggles and only slightly improves after her rescue.

3. Homura Akemi (Madoka Magika)

Akemi is one of the main protagonists of Madoka Magika and a magical girl. Homura illustrates the importance of sacrifice for loved ones and shows through the series what can happen if such a sacrifice has a very high price. With the ability to travel to the past after seeing his friends die, Homura travels to the past to correct this again and again.

Having to relive the cruel and twisted fate of her friends over and over again has an immense mental impact on Homura, which makes her seem unemotional when she is not. Unable to accept his losses, Homura uses his abilities as many times as necessary to change his fate.

4. Gaara (Naruto)

Gaara, a central supporting character in the Naruto series, is a prime example of a complicated life and severe trauma. Notoriously known as Gaara from the Sand Waterfall, after the loss of the two people who loved him, Gaara became a being who hated the existence of others and wanted to do harm in every possible way.

Unable to trust anyone or relate to him correctly, Gaara is struggling immensely with himself internally, and this increases significantly, since he is the Jinchuriki of One-Tail, Shukaku, who tormented him at every opportunity and almost drove him crazy. After being defeated by Naruto, Gaara seeks a life of salvation, which becomes a fundamental development for him and the series.

5. Lelouch vi Britannia (Code Geass)

Lelouch is the central character of the Code Geass series and a figure of conflicting opinions. After the murder of his mother, Lelouch is rejected and disregarded by his father, the emperor of Britannia, along with his sister, which arouses a deep hatred for the empire and his father. His feelings of hatred turn into world conquest and evolution when he gains the power of Geass.

In order to create a peaceful world for his beloved sister, Lelouch takes on the burden of the world’s hatred. However, the price for this, in addition to Zero’s cold, cruel and calculating veil, is the constant inner turmoil, spiritual loneliness, moral ambiguity and bleak personal relationships that put a huge strain on Lelouch’s mind, turning him into the ruthless egomaniac that he is becoming.

6. Subaru (Re: Zero)

Subaru is a character that symbolizes intensity in all forms. The protagonist of the Re: Zero series, Subaru’s trials and mental struggles are the core of the series. Suddenly transported into a fantasy world, Subaru soon discovers that he can rise from the dead and essentially rest in time for every time he dies. Although this ability seems beneficial, Subaru is plunged into an endless cycle of despair and pain.

Subaru, constantly and endlessly facing death, begins to lose his mind and suffers a serious trauma, because he constantly lost those who are dear to him. His inability to communicate his problems to those around him further exacerbates his already steep emotional struggles, and he is constantly haunted by the burden of his failures and regrets. However, his inner turmoil becomes a compelling experience due to his uncompromising determination towards those he cares about, which often drives him to the brink of insanity as he struggles to cope with the consequences of his actions and the weight of his experiences.

7. Guts (Berserk)

The iconic protagonist of the Berserk series, Guts, embodies intense battles. Throughout the series, Guts goes through a harrowing and unforgiving physical and mental journey that begins from childhood. The trauma of his past developed into the core of his psychological turmoil. At the beginning of his life as a child soldier, he was subjected to severe physical, sexual and emotional abuse and betrayal by someone he loved.

These events became the basis of a complicated and complex individual who would embody negative emotions to the extreme. Even after his confrontations with the supernatural and the scarring caused by the nature of the victim, the inner conflict of Guts in relation to his humanity becomes a central point in the narrative of the story. Throughout the series, his mental state and struggles have shaped the development of his character, making him one of the most compelling and thought-provoking characters in the anime.

8. Thorfinn (Vinland Saga)

The characterization of Thorfinn as the main character of the Vinland Saga series is marked by deep psychological struggles. Consumed by rage and revenge, Thorfinn spends his entire childhood on the battlefield with the only thought to take revenge on Askeladd, his father’s murderer. His relentless desire for revenge leads him on a path of blood and carnage, which becomes a constant internal struggle for identity and destiny. As the story progresses, his mental stresses also develop.

After Askeladd’s death, he is torn between moral issues and the feeling of revenge. He realizes that his revenge comes at the expense of his humanity, which leads to a profound personal development and puts him on a path of salvation. Still plagued by an overwhelming sense of guilt, he struggles for his salvation.

9. Naruto Uzumaki ( Naruto)

The hero of the Hidden leaf, who turned into Hokage, Naruto, did not always have such a positive life. He is orphaned at birth and the bearer of the nine-tailed demon Fox. Naruto lived a life of exclusion and contempt from everyone around him.

Despite his always cheerful attitude, he carried a heavy burden of acceptance and self-esteem. Naruto always finds the determination to never give up and pushes everything forward, regardless of the enormous mental burden that his circumstances mean to him.

Ken Kaneki is the central character of the dark fantasy series Tokyo Ghoul and a prime example of a character with obvious psychological struggles. Initially an ordinary college student, his life changes after falling victim to a ghoul attack, from where he becomes a half-ghoul. Neither human nor ghoul and with one leg in both worlds, Kaneki is shaken by an intense internal identity conflict.

He struggles to reconcile his human morality with his macabre instincts, reflecting the constant clashes between his mind and his soul, a struggle symbolized by his half-mask. Throughout the series, Kaneki experiences various traumatic events and betrayals, which further aggravates his already condensed state of mind. Kaneki’s psychological struggles are crucial for the series and leave a deep impression on the viewers.