Games and anime appear to be inextricably linked; many anime characters from popular anime love to play video games.
Anime characters from all parts of life have fun playing video games at home, in arcades, and even in computer cafes.
While some are stereotypical lonely outcasts with few social or practical skills outside of gaming, others excel at everything in their personal and professional lives, making games just another world to conquer.
There are a few characters who have bypassed the rules of real life by becoming captured within a game and deciding to take over the virtual world.
The anime world is full of strong and attractive characters who enjoy gaming or are a part of a video game in their real lives, Here we have picked ten of the best anime characters who love to play video games!
Bonus: Gabriel Tenma (Gabriel Dropout)
Imagine that you are an extremely talented angel. They send you to Earth to study among humans to become a full-fledged angel and somehow, you end becoming a video-game addict instead. That’s literally what happened to Gab.
Although she has become extremely lazy, she still has the qualities her friends highly appreciate: friendliness, loyalty, and kindness.
10. Konata Izumi (Lucky Star)
Konata scores really high when it comes to popularity among anime lovers. She is the 2nd most popular green-eyed anime girl & the 6th most popular loli according to MaL.
She is a hardcore otaku gamer who loves RPG games and visual novels and is particularly fond of adult video games. This is mainly due to her father’s influence.
Despite looking like a cute small loli, she is actually 17 (and later in the series 18) years old.
9. King (One-Punch Man)
King, an S-Class Rank 7, is thought to be one of the most powerful heroes in the One-Punch Man universe. But the truth is that he is a complete fraud who just happens to be in the right place at the right time when it comes to being a hero.
King does, however, have one talent: he is a master of video games. He’s proven to be the best player in the Blizzard Group, even defeating Saitama and Suiryu’s martial art skills thanks to his virtual abilities.
8. Tsukihito Amanuma (Yu Yu Hakusho)
Tsukihito Amanuma, also known as “Gamemaster,” is a Sensui Seven member who wields the power of territory, which allows him to bring video games to life.
Unfortunately, he has felt like an outcast his entire life, which explains why he plots to exterminate humanity.
One downside to Amanuma’s abilities is that even when brought to reality, the video game rules still apply. This is actually worrisome for him because it means that if he loses the game, he will die. When this happens, Koenma is willing and capable of reviving Amanuma, despite the fact that this is part of the enemy’s plan.
Regardless, Amanuma’s classmates notice his video game skills now that he’s been given a second chance at life, and he finally makes friends.
7. Misaki Suzuhara (Angelic Layer)
Misaki Suzuhara is inspired by the white angel Athena to participate in the Angelic Layer games.
She also hopes to show that gaming can be enjoyed by people of all sizes, despite her being short and unathletic to the point of appearing much younger than she is.
Misaki quickly proves herself adept at the games after creating her angel, Hikaru, and is able to devise strategies on the fly.
Of course, Misaki’s talent may run in the family, as she discovers a surprising connection to the game’s undefeated champion, who happens to be none other than Athena’s player: Misaki’s long-lost mother, Shuko Suzuhara.
In fact, the angels were created as a prototype to assist Shuko in regaining her ability to walk in the anime.
6. Karen Tendou (Gamers)
Karen Tendou is the president of her high school’s video gaming club, which she founded. The series begins with her inviting a gamer, Keita Amano, who declines, resulting in a series of misadventures.
Karen enjoys games, but her preference for sadistically cruel ones leads to her being mislabeled as a masochist.
She also has a competitive streak (and not just when it comes to games). Karen Tendou, on the other hand, is most likely a pun on Nintendo.
5. Umaru Doma (Himouto! Umaru-Chan)
On the surface, Umaru Doma appears to be a nice girl who is modest, athletic, and a good student.
In her spare time, she is not only an avid gamer but also one of Japan’s top players. Even local arcades are afraid of Umaru’s ability to win inexhaustible amounts of money, as it threatens to bankrupt them.
Umaru almost effortlessly manages to have the best of both worlds. She appears to physically transform between her indoor and outdoor personas, the former being rather short and hamster-like.
Umaru’s problem is that she’s incredibly lazy when it comes to anything other than keeping up her appearances and playing video games.
4. Suzuki Satoru (Overlord)
A popular game in Overlord is about to be shut down. Satoru, one of the game’s players, decides to stay logged in even after the game has ended, despite his fellow players abandoning him.
Even though the servers were supposed to shut down, he finds himself still fully conscious in this popular virtual reality game, playing as Momonga, his powerful avatar, and alter-ego.
Other characters in the game find it impossible to challenge Momonga in this part of the game, which says a lot considering he tries to downplay his power and doesn’t have much in terms of pure combat ability.
Momonga is trapped in a VR game with NPCs who develop their own personalities after refusing to log out before the servers shut down for good. On top of that, Momonga is a fully leveled, powerful guild leader who can annihilate almost any foe he encounters in this fantasy world.
3. Kirigaya Kazuto (Sword Art Online)
Kirito is an MMORPG prodigy who uses gaming to escape reality.
After being trapped in Sword Art Online, he quickly improves his skills.
Kirito quickly rises to the top of any game in which he participates.
He managed to defeat the game master of SAO, not to mention mastering near-impossible skills in the virtual world. Kirito’s skills in this area are likely to have been honed by spending two years straight in the virtual world.
2. Shiro & Sora (No Game No Life)
Shiro and Sora, the genius gamer sibling duo are among the most popular anime characters who play video games. They are literally undefeatable when playing together in any possible game you can think of. Hell, they even defeated the god of games in a chess match!
Shiro is an 11-year-old genius loli who is crazy smart. She can calculate even people’s decision-making using math. Shiro can outsmart most modern computers, which goes way beyond what’s possible.
Sora, on the other hand, is a master at reading people’s minds. He also has a super-genius IQ like Shiro but instead of relying on calculations, he heavily relies on his deductive and observational skills.
Whether up against elves or gods, Blank—the online game username and account shared by the siblings—NEVER LOSES.
1. Keima Katsuragi (The World God Only Knows)
Keima Katsuragi devotes all of his spare time to video games. He even gets away with playing video games at school because he somehow manages to pay attention and ace every test.
Keima can master any game, whether it’s a dating game or a role-playing game. He also manages to run the “God of Conquest,” a gaming blog.
When Keima receives an email from Hell requesting his assistance in capturing the runaway spirits who hide within the hearts of troubled young women, his abilities attract the attention of supernatural entities.
Honorable Mentions:
- Moriko Morioka (Netoju)
- Asuna Yuuki (SAO)
- Kirino Kosaka (Oreimo)
- Kou Yagami (New Game!)
- Ryouta Sakamoto (Btooom!)
- Kaito Yashio (Robotic;Notes)
Guest post by Rachel (owner of No Filler Anime).
She may not always watch the most popular anime on the shelf, but she’s watching what intrigues her, and she thinks that’s the beauty of anime – there’s something for everyone.
