This would be such an easy post to just pick an annoying character and call it a day given there are a number of characters that would fit the description of anime boy you find incredibly annoying.
But I decided instead I wanted to pick a character that doesn’t seem like they should be annoying, but when thinking about spending time with them in the real world, you realise they’d be really annoying. That may be over complicating what should be a simple category but I didn’t want to have a post devoted to Zenitsu from Demon Slayer.
The Anime Boy You Find Incredibly Annoying
Bell Cranel
Alright, if you’ve followed my blog for some time you will know I actually really like Bell as the protagonist of DanMachi. He’s the super nice protagonist who helps all the girls and is devoted to his goddess that manages to continually improve his strength and speed in order to become his ideal hero. He’s a great character. However, if you take him out of the anime and have this as the guy in your workplace, Bell’s going to be the kind of guy who annoys me to tears.
Reason One: Groundless optimism.
This isn’t a Bell unique trait by any means. So many anime protagonists have optimism that stems seemingly from nothing other than their own desire for something to be so. In Bell’s case, he wants to be the kind of hero he read about as a child. He wants to defeat the monsters, save the girls, fall in love, and never really suffer a defeat or a loss. Against all odds or reason he will persist if it is the right thing to do.
While that makes him a great protagonist to follow as he’s always striving for an ideal and reaching higher, in real life the cynic in me just knows that I’d probably be trying to ground some of that optimism in realism. Working with Bell on a project would be tiring because he’d be hoping things work out if you just put in enough effort rather than looking for real and practical solutions or work-arounds. Honestly, it would be exhausting.
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Reason Two: Severe over-reactions to mundane things.
Seriously, this hero can face down a minotaur and take on a goliath but having an actual conversation with a girl about his feelings is beyond him. Forget having a conversation with his goddess about them. Bell’s comical over-reactions might be entertaining enough in the anime (it is one of my least favourite parts) but in reality this would just be completely annoying to the point where you’d almost want to give him a good shake.
Reason Three: He’s a little on the self-destructive side.
How many times has Bell had his armour broken and ended up seriously injured relying on potions or magic to see him through an ordeal? If Bell were actually someone you worked with he’d have you anxious every time he went to use the paper shredder because somehow that would become an epic battle and I can almost definitely see Bell coming out on the losing side of that. With Bell around a first aid kit is a must have item and while your busy putting safety labels on literally everything, Bell is blithely stirring up trouble through quite innocent means elsewhere.
Let me reiterate – I really like Bell as a character. However, he’s the kind of character that only works in the context of his story. He is not the kind of guy I want to be around in the real world because honestly he would just be incredibly annoying.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James
Asta of Black Clover. I’m sure it’s a very good series. It certainly intrigued me. But I had to drop it because I canNOT listen to that boy scream at the top of his lungs for 25 minutes at a time. Nope. Can’t do it. If he showed up in my RL and I found him completely unavoidable, murder might ensure. I can see myself cheerfully pounding him with a brick. WHAP. I’ll GIVE you a reason to SCREAM. WHAP WHAP WHAP.
I’m with you. I made it 13 episodes and that was enough. No more Asta. But he’s annoying in show as well as real life so it seemed (much like Zenitsu) too easy a choice and for whatever reason I like to make things difficult on myself.
Did I miss a good story? It was getting intriguing when I quit but I just could not take it anymore. Maybe if I watched it on mute…
I don’t know. I didn’t mind the story set up but was so annoyed by Asta I couldn’t really f o cu sz on plot.
I am seriously impressed you had the fortitude not to pick Zenitsu! He didn’t annoy me after a while, but I remember your reviews!
I figured just picking someone who was plain obnoxious was just too easy.
Absolutely! This was a lot more fun to read! 🙂