There’s something about a good gangster story that really draws in the viewers. Unfortunately there aren’t a huge number of anime that deal with the mafia or gangsters and even then, most of my favourite characters in those stories aren’t actually in the mafia, so this list was a little tricky to put together. Ultimately though I’ve picked my top 5 anime characters in the mafia and I’d love to know who some of your favourites are.
Number 5: Nero Vanetti from 91 Days
Nero is an interesting choice because he’s a character I find hard to get a read on and yet I enjoy watching him. He’s carefree to a point and brash but he’s also very loyal to his family. Avilio abuses his trust and uses him and yet when the betrayal is revealed Nero struggles with it because of his loyalty to his friend, even if it isn’t returned. Ultimately Nero is just an interesting character to watch and while he makes many mistakes he comes back from them each and every time.
Number 4: Jolly from Arcana Famiglia
Alright, I’m not a huge fan of La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia as an anime feeling there were a lot of wasted opportunities and plenty of potential left languishing. However, there were some great characters scattered about being utterly deprived of a half-decent plot. One of those characters is Jolly. He makes only sporadic appearances in the story but his impact and influence on the rest of the cast is clear to see. Jolly might be the right hand man in the family but his personal agenda and his experimentation put the rest of the members on edge and this makes him fascinating to watch.
Number 3: The Fourth from Kamisama no Memochou
The Fourth, or Souichirou Hinamura, is full of surprises. While on the surface he seems the typical gangster running his group, he’s got an interesting skill set including repairing stuffed toys. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t an incredibly dangerous character to try to get close to and don’t even think of trying to betray him. While The Fourth is a peripheral character in Heaven’s Memo Pad he gets some substantial character development including his own back story and he remains one of the most interesting members of the cast.
Number 2: Claire Stanfield from Baccano
So many great characters in Baccano it was hard to narrow it down to one for this list, but ultimately I had to go with Claire. The incredibly talented murderer definitely dances to the beat of his own drum but has an interesting personal morality that plays a part in all his decisions about who to kill and who to leave alive, even if he leaves them emotionally scarred for life. In a zany cast of larger than life characters Claire managed to leave a definite impression.
Number 1: Oda from Bungo Stray Dogs
Again, the Port mafia is full of a lot of incredibly interesting characters but the one who has had the greatest impression on me is actually one we only saw for a handful of episodes as part of an extended flash back. Oda’s story is tragic to be sure but it left a lasting impression on the audience and on the other characters. It certainly left a lasting impression on Dazai. I know it is too late but can we please have more Oda, I loved watching his story unfold and just got so drawn into his character.
That’s it from me but as I said before I’d love to know who your top picks would be for anime characters in the mafia.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James
The Fourth has a charming characteristics that is certainly on par
* with those of the main character. And Oda, is just one of the kind!
I liked Raku Ichijo from Nisekoi. And it has nothing to do with Chitoge Kirisaki or Kosaki Onodera.
Well, it might have a little to do with them…
I still chuckle when I remember the story of how Ichijo saved Onodera’s little sister, but she remembered it completely wrong!
Shout out to Reborn from Hitman Reborn.
I loved Jolly!! Definitely my fave from that series. An Oda of course. 😍 This was a fun top 5.
It was fun putting it together though it was really hard picking some of the characters from their shows because Oda had a lot of competition.
Wait, where’s Giorno Giovanna or Bucciarati?
I know that he is just in manga and not anime sadly but I have to shout out to my guy Ken of Sun-Ken Rock. Cause he was not only a savage mafia boss but, one with a really kind heart.
Also about Baccanno every character is just amazing in their own right. My personal is Jacuzzi, but rail tracer is just one of those characters that is just a lovable killer.