Badass/Anime and Manga

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

"If anything happens to Yuki Nagato, I will unleash hell."

  • Killy from Blame! is a rare stoic version of this trope. The man has done it all, and done so without even a grunt of exertion. If there happens to be a problem he can't fix with his GBE, then it isn't a damn problem. Sana-Kan and Dhomochevsky from the same series may also qualify, but they get less screen time than Killy.
  • D.Gray-man
    • Cross Marian. While Allen and Lavi are struggling just to keep Tyki away from Lenalee and Chaozii, Marshall Cross swoops in and saves their sorry asses by simply shooting Tyki a few times with Judgement.
    • Allen, the Badass Adorable, Kanda, Mr. Tall, Dark and Snarky, Tyki Mikk, Lavi with his kickass hammer, and Lenalee and Road are very nice examples of female badasses.
  • Ladd Russo, Claire Stanfield and Firo Prochainezo of Baccano!! fit almost perfectly in Badass category, but they sure aren't the only ones. Rachel saves nearly six people from heavily armed terrorists with nothing but sheer grit, Jacuzzi demonstrates almost insane levels of courage under pressure, Graham can and probably will knock your head off with a monkey wrench, Nice will blow up anything and everything, Szilard can take machine gun fire while barely flinching, and Chane can deflect bullets.
    • The Light Novels add more examples, like Luck Gandor, who stabbed a guy in the throat with his own severed arm.
  • Kakashi, Gaara and Neji of Naruto In fact, most of the cast would qualify as badasses, simply because they're Ninja.
    • Naruto himself starts out as the Plucky Comic Relief, but through the wonders of Character Development, starts becoming a badass as well. His badassness starts reaching critical levels in Chapter 430.
      • Naruto even manages to have badasses in nearly every category.
    • This long without mention of Killer Bee and the RAIKAGE?! They alone are proof enough that the manga should've been set in Kumogakure.
    • Guy and Lee, indubitably. Lee especially; he's so badass that he doesn't even need any character changes for PTS. They just threw on a new vest and let him loose. He's like a nice wine of Naruto characters in that he matures perfectly fine as he is with no additions.
    • It's an informed trait, but apparently even Kirabi looked up to Yugito, which says a lot since he easily qualifies as one of the most badass characters in Naruto and is much older than she was, probably at least a decade.
    • Jiraya's perverted habits tend to make everyone forget just how incredibly badass he can be when he gets serious.
    • The Yellow Flash and the Bloody Habanero. Apparently Badassery runs in the family.
    • Konan. You know why.
    • As well as the Akatsuki memebers, especially Mad Bomber Deidara, Aloof Big Brother Itachi, shark-man Kisame, and Genius Bruiser Kakuzu. As well as other major villains, particularly Momochi Zabuza, and Orochimaru, who while creepy and disturbing, still took on Jiraiya and Tsunade at once, despite having no arms.
    • The Third Raikage takes to levels even Killer Bee and his son A can't compare to. How? He not only held off an Army of 10,000 Super Soldiers for 3 days before dying, but he is one of the few men to survive a confrontation with Bijuu, and WIN without the usage of any sealing techniques. And before that fight, there has NEVER BEEN A PERSON WHO SCARRED HIM! How did he get it? By his own technique. Not even a bijuu ball was able to scar him, or the FUUTON RASENSHURIKEN! POWERED BY A BIJUU SHROUD!
    • The real Madara is insanely badass. He is currently taking on all five Kages at once, and winning!
    • Sasuke.
  • Alucard, from Hellsing. In fact, many Friendly Neighborhood Vampires are Badasses. Then again, consider the origin of Badass Decay.
  • In Jormungand, Koko's whole squad applies, the band includes a sniper that can shot down the barrells of 3 different rifles in a sweep, a boy solider who can take a whole base by his lonesome and then we have Valmet that baddest of them all, She doesn't even need guns
  • Everyone in Burst Angel, especially Jo, and to a lesser degree, Takane and Sei.
  • Zaraki Kenpachi from the anime Bleach is perhaps the greatest example of this, relying solely on brute force and his insanely powerful Battle Aura while all others in the anime rely on magic and/or special fighting techniques. In one memorable scene, he allows an opponent he can't see or hear to stab him in the chest just so that Kenpachi can then grab him.
    • In another memorable scene, he's fighting a six-armed Espada armed with six giant scythes and purportedly unbreakable skin. Well into the fight, it looks like he's on the ropes, until he DECIDES TO HOLD HIS SWORD WITH BOTH HANDS. Quickly ending the fight.
    • Zaraki's 3rd seat officer Ikkaku Madarame also fits this trope. The fact that Zaraki was the one person he could find who was a bigger badass than himself is the main reason he even joined the 11th squad in the first place.
    • Really, any of the Shinigami Captains count as badasses; there is a good reason that Ichigo is told to run if he ever encounters one.
    • Hachigen Ushoda. Yeah, that big, fat Vizard. How Badass is he? Well, in the recent flashback arc, he one-shotted both the Captain and Lieutenant of the Ninth Squad (now turned into monsters)with binding spells. One of which was Level 99, without an incantation. And, he was the only one of the Vizards to really make any progress during that fight.
      • If the Dattebayo sub is to be believed, Hirako Shinji actually calls him badass after he does this.
      • To say nothing of how he comes back, and proceeds to play a Chessmaster game with Advancing Wall of Doom Barragan in who can one up the other in terms of badassery. Turns out Hachigen's level of badassery wins when he uses Kidou to cut off his arm and transport it straight it to Barragan, making him Hoist by His Own Petard at the end.
    • What about Retsu Unohana? A woman so badass that she scares the crap outta entire squads AND captains with her sole Mama Bear presence.
    • Ulquiorra. Officially the fourth strongest Espada, is a Vasto Lorde class Hollow, curb-stomps two Soul Reapers in less than ten seconds with one hand, has one really two awesome release form s, and, oh yeah, he killed the main character. Twice. If Ichigo had been anyone else, and if Kubo wasn't so cheap about killing good guys, he would have stayed dead the first time.
      • Bonus points for beating Ichigo in twenty seconds with two moves and killing him with the third in their first fight. Bonus bonus points for doing it after taking Ichigo's strongest attack head-on and merely getting his jacket ruined.
    • Recent chapters has Ichigo turn into an awesome hollow form and then proceed to rip his opponents arm off. And many consider his inner hollow to be badass as well.
      • It doesn't stop there, hollow Ichigo then throws Ulquiorra's severed arm back at him at enough speed to cause him serious damage, then Ichigo easily cuts his opponent in half AND stomps his head with one foot WHILE firing a cero at point-blank-range blowing Ulquiorra's waist off.
      • Ulquiorra gets some more Badass points for surviving that.
    • Wow all this time with no mention of Grimmjow himself, I'm surprised. He's made use of practically every moment of his screentime just to showcase how badass he is. What other character can say they made the main character their personal punching bag on their first meeting?
      • Responding to the above, Byakuya can, actually. He completely destroyed Ichigo the first time they fought (and calling their encounter a "fight" is a stretch, seeing how badly it turned out for said main character). And Strawberry would probably have bled out if it hadn't been for Urahara's clean-up job. But yes, Grimmjow is pretty badass too.
    • Oh Isshin, you comic reli- wait! Did you just send Aizen flying with a finger poke! And are you able to fight him on equal terms? You are? Well, you offically qualify for badass right there then.
    • What about Ururu? Yes, I'm talking about the little girl that works with Urahara. Why is she badass? She PUNCHED THE 15TH ARRANCAR IN THE FACE TEN TIMES IN A ROW. And it drew blood. Yes, Ilforte's not that strong in comparison to, say, Nnoitra, but still, she managed to draw blood fighting an Arrancar, while Renji couldn't do a damn thing at first.
    • Yoruichi, Urahara, Gin, Harribel, Byakuya, Toshiro, Starrk, Neliel, Yamamoto, Renji, Shunsui, Hisagi, Hiyori, Soifon, Rukia, Matsumoto, and... Ah, you know what? Just say that Bleach is a World of Badass and leave it at that.
  • Makoto Shishio, one of the main villains from Rurouni Kenshin, seems to be a combination of a Badass and a Diabolical Mastermind. The man single-handedly and effortlessly defeated (and made fools of) several of the most powerful swordsmen imaginable, despite having been burned alive and shot in the head. Hajime Saitou and Kenshin (when he sheds off his Obfuscating Stupidity) are pretty badass on their own, too.
    • Obfuscating Stupidity might work for Kenshin, but hardly Saitou. The guy is a badass of the first order.
    • How has Hiko Seijurou NOT been mentioned? The man is badass incarnate on a level no other RK character can match.
  • However, in Peacemaker Kurogane it is Toshizou Hijikata and Souji Okita who get to be the baddest badasses in The Shinsengumi.
  • Mugen from Samurai Champloo is very clearly a badass. He lives for battle, and has performed such feats as cutting a thrown toothpick in half blindfolded, defeating countless highly trained and armed ninjas barehanded, and surviving numerous experiences that would have easily killed anybody else. His badassery is to the point where after double-crossing a dangerous gang leader, he tells him, "If you're gonna send somebody to kill me, make sure it's the toughest bastard you can find." When the gang leader refuses, Mugen actually comes after HIM. Jin from the same series is also a badass, and their interactions are mainly focused on their badassery.
  • Cowboy Bebop's Spike Spiegel is the baddest ass around, in spite of the fact that he somehow always loses his bounty.
  • Broly from Dragon Ball Z takes this trope to absurd levels, effortlessly defeating the most powerful warriors in the universe single handedly at the same time. The cast is made of badass. From main character Goku, all the way down to fat guy Yajirobe. Guy wasn't a joke character when he killed one of Piccolo Daimao's warriors in one blow, nor when he cut off Vegeta's tail.
  • Fist of the North Star makes it a main priority to showcase just how much of a badass Kenshiro is. He is a walking death machine with an almost instinctual knowledge of every pressure point on the body, which he uses to annihilate entire armies in some of the most spectacular and gruesome ways possible. Don't even get me started on his Made of Iron qualities as well.
    • The only other person who possibly outstrips Ken in this regard is his brother Raoh. A man so incredibly badass that, after he died, a real-life funeral was held for him.
    • No mention of Toki? The man orginally chosen as successor over both Raoh AND Kenshiro. He was so powerful he was on par with Raoh while DYING OF RADIATION POISONING!
  • Nougami Neuro from Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro is an example. From the many ways he tortures his slave Yako, to how he brutally tortured the new bloodline member DR.
  • Ranma from Ranma ½, many examples of Bad Ass, including punching out a Phoenix King, destroying mountains, defeating through sheer brilliance a century-plus aged Supernatural Martial Arts Old Master despite having the strength of a child, and not being able to learn a technique simply because it requires him to complain too much. Oh and having nearly every pretty girl in a mile radius wanting to marry him.
  • Though sadly often passed over or ignored, all of the other characters have gotten at least one Badass moment. Genma Saotome, who otherwise is content to loaf around and make Ranma handle his problems, proves that even he has his limits when he uses his Battle Aura to turn into a giant version of himself to take on Happosai. Soun Tendo, a wimp who normally uses his Demon Head trick to bully the more capable Ranma into taking care of his household, tells an oni possessing his eldest daughter to take his body instead. Akane Tendo has several, but the first one is taking on the Orochi at Ryugenzawa. Shampoo, in the first Non-Serial Movie, saves Ranma from a messy death at the hands of a martial artist using Razor Floss, then tells him to go and save her enemy Akane, despite the fact Ranma openly considers her an Unwanted Spouse. And those are just some examples.
    • My personal favorite example of non-Ranma badassery is when Ranma's been depowered, and being assaulted by all his rivals, save one. Ryouga. Ryouga then proceeds to parry all the weapons they're using against Ranma, and send ALL the other rivals flying off into the distance. With only one swipe of his umbrella. All because he couldn't stand his former greatest foe being reduced to "A shadow of your former self" as he calls it. Unfortunately, its ruined when he sends Ranma flying as well in his grief.
  • Guts from Berserk is an example (I don't think that it's possible for a character named "Guts" to not be badass). The Brand of Sacrifice on the back of his neck acts as a beacon for The Legions of Hell. He's had it for two years and counting, and he's still alive. And despite losing an eye and having to have his left arm replaced with a mechanical one after having to cut off the original himself (and that's not even counting his ridiculous number of scars), he's not going to lay down and die anytime soon. The man's nickname is "The Hundred-Man Slayer", and he earned it honestly.
    • Also qualifying is the Skull Knight from the manga series. This guy has been fighting the Godhand for years CENTURIES, is more than a match for the Apostles himself, and can even face down a monstered-out Zodd on equal footing. And anyone who can defy the Godhand themselves to save Guts and Casca from a horrible death during the Eclipse qualifies as a serious badass. Then there's the matter of what the Skull Knight does to Behelits. He eats them.
  • Domon Kasshu and Master Asia from G Gundam - they can defeat giant mechas with their bare hands (or sash/bandana), but they reach true badass levels when they have to escape a tunnel that is covered by a a small skyscraper, they summon all their strength and just kick the building out of the way.
  • Prospective Getter Robo pilots need to prove their badassitude before being allowed anywhere near the titular mecha (unless they hijack it, which is in itself proof of their badassery). This typically involves being attacked by mafia assassins, cyborgs, oni or dinosaurs while completely unarmed, or in Gou's case, a humongous mecha when all he has is an assault rifle. Then once they've proved themselves, the real action begins.
  • Maki from Airmaster - built like a brick outhouse, able to defeat 90% of the series' antagonists, capable of learning from all of them so she can beat the other 10%, and female. Don't try to bring up her past in front of her friends, though. You'll be pulverized.
  • Akagi. Breaks minds and bones with ease. Just don't fuck with him. It's even said that you should not look him in the eye if you're in a group of less than five people.
  • If you have a name in Black Lagoon, you will, at some point or other, be a Badass. Yes, even if you're the Non-Action Guy, or the twelve-year old kid. And if you're female, odds are good you'll do even better.
    • That said, the scene in the "El Baile De La Muerte" arc of the manga where Roberta stops one of Shenhua's blades with her teeth, and then bites right through it, deserves to be on this page.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure--
    • Jotaro Kujo, (young) Joseph Joestar, and the whole Joestar family. Jotaro is the most memorable example, who often beat his opponents with his brains more often than his fists (although he does enjoy enjoy wailing on the enemy any chance he gets).
    • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is arguably the most GAR anime/manga series there is. Other badasses include Dio, Stroheim, Gyro Zeppeli (or any other Zeppeli for that matter), Weather Report, and many, many more. In fact, nearly every major character has at least one Crowning Moment of Awesome.
      • Per fight
  • The Major from Ghost in the Shell, also an example of a female badass.
    • The brutal efficiency of the group enables any Section 9 member to be badass. Batou, however, does get the lion's share that isn't Motoko's.
  • Leona from Dominion Tank Police. A female police officer that drives a tank and thinks it's completely viable to blow up half a city to catch a jaywalker if needed. Also Commander Britain from the same anime classifies here, having a lifetime subscription to "How to Kill" magazine and all.
  • Simon and Kamina from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann are the most GAR-badass characters ever created: thanks to Simon's massive power and Kamina's unstoppable bravado, they both manage to pull the strongest, most awesome moves ever seen in anime. For keeping Simon on the ropes throughout their whole fight and continuing to prevail even without his 'mech, Lordgenome clearly has a spot in GAR-halla too. In fact, every character that goes out with a Heroic Sacrifice Takes A Level In Badass as his last act.
    • Kittan too. This picture [dead link] says it all.
    • I'd say absolutely every member of the Gurren Dan. Doesn't matter if you can fight or not, being a crew member of a ship/giant mecha that intends to combat a cosmic horror is simply raw badass.
      • In Gurren Lagann, much of the technology even operates on fuel grade badass. They call it spiral power, but what is badass if its not running on Rule of Cool?
    • Lordgenome has a spot on GAR-halla!? He discovered ETERNAL LIFE, DESTROYED a MECHA with his BARE HANDS and stopped a BIG BANG POWERED energy beam while being A CLONED SEVERED HEAD which DEVELOPED A BODY by the power of manliness, aside from FULLY DESTROYING HIS OWN ARMY when he discovered the truth about Spiral Power GAR-halla exists because of him.
    • Yoko, a Badass Normal Action Girl with a BFG! She's probably one of the most badass anime women ever!
    • Even Leeron was badass in his own ridiculously FABULOUS way.
  • Vash the Stampede from Trigun acts goofy... but this is Obfuscating Stupidity. When something draws his wrath and he puts on the Scary Shiny Glasses, all hell is about to break loose -- and if he ever gets into "Eyes of the Diablo" mode, you are completely fucked. One of the few Technical Pacifist badasses. As well as Nicholas D. Wolfwood, only without the pacifism.
    • And while he's more sensitive to pain than most of the other male characters, Million Knives has a macho complex, which is partly the origin of the problem. Add some steroids, overly huge cannons 'n blades and a fierce hatred for humanity and you have a badasser than badass son of a bitch version of Vash. Members of the Gung-ho Guns such as Legato (the man who can slaughter a whole gang through the power of his mind over a food incident and bend a guy into two or three while being tetraplegic and eating a steak with his chin in his plate) and Elendira the Crimsonnail have their own special flavour of badassery too.
  • Bean Bandit, in both Riding Bean and Gunsmith Cats.
  • Too many characters from Inuyasha. It is almost impossible to not be impressed by some of the characters' exploits in the story, such as Sesshomaru not flinching from having his arm ripped off, Naraku eating Moryoumaru out from the inside out (along with... everything Naraku does), Sango digging herself out of her own grave, Kagura slaying entire army of demon wolves with a couple blades, Inuyasha defeating the foe his father died fighting, Inuyasha being able to completely break the state of full-demon he became from losing Tessaiga and much more for every character.
    • Fighting in his weakened state within Hakurei's purification barrier, Sesshomaru throws his sword Tokijin backwards at Suikotsu, who's holding his beloved Rin, while leaping forward to thrust his hand (he has only one hand) into his other enemy Jakotsu's chest. Tokijin hits Suikotsu's chest, only inches away from Rin's head. Jakotsu and Suikotsu don't die from this, but the move is badass.
  • Gen Shishio of Kekkaishi.
    • Kaguro from the same series counts as well.
  • Numerous characters from One Piece, most notably Sanji, Luffy, and Zoro.
    • Actually, it's hard to name a single sympathetic character who isn't a Badass Determinator to some degree.
    • A true stand-out and rarity among badasses is Mr. 2 Bon Clay, who exudes absurd amounts of badassery while also being quite flamboyant.
    • And then there's Whitebeard. He's called the world's strongest man for a reason.
    • There's also Shanks, Mihawk, Crocodile, and Rayleigh.
  • Akasaka is the badass in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, even if he sure took his sweet time to level up. Just watch.
    • Just to set the record straight, the people Akasaka beats up are a group of highly trained counter-intelligence mercenaries. Akasaka is that tough.
  • Fullmetal Alchemist has quite a few; Ed pulls off the most blatant feats of badassery through the series, though Hohenheim and Roy Mustang make a strong case. However, the reigning champion Badass for the series is Izumi, who routinely wallops everyone she meets even though she is missing large chunks of her internal organs.
    • Greed is a piece of pure Badass, and Bradley, whose seven-swords technique oozes Impossible Manga Feats. They owe a lot of this to Father. Kimblee is one badass psychopath. Lin/Ling and Ran Fan/Lan Fan got trained since childhood to be kick-ass fighters. Sig/Sigu is Izumi's counterpart, the one and only man who can survive being her husband (they routinely throw knives at each other casually while working). Riza Hawkeye is also so skilled and fierce with firearms that she terrifies her fellow soldiers including Roy. In the manga, Olivia Armstrong could easily rival with Izumi. And Alex Louis Armstrong is... well, badass in his own very peculiar way.
    • And Scar. Just look at the guy and try to claim that he doesn't instill fear. If looking at him isn't scary enough, remember that he makes Your Head Asplode just by touching it.
    • The scene that really sold Roy Mustang as a badass was episode 19 of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, where after getting stabbed in the his waist and having his ignition cloth gloves ripped up by Lust, he manages to cut a transmutation circle into his own skin and close up the stab wounds with the flint from a cigarette lighter, then proceeds to walk on over to Lust and blow her and kill her. The author herself has said that she planned this to be Roy's Crowning Moment of Awesome from the start of the series, and made Havoc a smoker solely so that he could provide Roy with a lighter in this scene.
    • Al, who normally plays second fiddle to Ed, decided to remind everyone recently that walking suits of armour are inherently Badass, by taking on Pride and Kimblee at the same time. And not only coming out alive but on top. And then, there's the battle between Scar and Bradley/Wrath. The world almost imploded from the sheer level of concentrated Badass involved.
    • And then there's May Chang, the cutest little martial artist you'll ever meet, Darius and Heinkel who are every bit as Badass as the whole Chimera thing suggests they should be, Hughes, who took on Lust and Envy with paper cutters and damn near won, Fuu, the oldest bodyguard in the business, yet still lethally effective, Buccanneer and the rest of Olivia's troops, Mustang's team of Badass Normals and last but not least, Basque Grand from the Ishbal flashbacks who was obviously Hughes' and Roy's inspiration for their own feats of Badass-ery. FMA is a World of Badass.
  • The Pokémon Special manga is full of badasses. From Giovanni (yes, THAT one, he's unbelievably awesome in the manga), to Blue, Silver and Ruby in the final battle, just to name a few, right down to Mewtwo, who, despite his slight power downgrade compared to the anime, can still use his psychic powers to split a building in two.
    • Add Koga to the list. When fighting Agatha's Arbok, which received strength from the markings on its stomach, Koga had his Golbat suck a large amount of blood from his arm to throw over the marks, nullifying them. Considering how vicious Golbat can be with its blood lust, and that Koga has no hesitation in ordering it to do this, it's awesome and resourceful.
    • For the Pokémon side, there's Ash's Charizard. His Establishing Character Moment in his very first official battle? Flying out of a pool of lava to hundreds of meters in the sky, and delivering his first Seismic Toss by effortlessly throwing his near-helpless opponent to the ground.
    • Treecko and Buizel would follow in Charizard's footsteps later...the former possibly surpassing Char in awesomeness, and the Weasel Mascot standing his ground very well.
  • As for that other monster show, the cast of Digimon Savers is probably the baddest of the badass. Both Masaru and Ikuto will fight Digimon barehanded, Satsuma is a big damn hero and it's up for debate whether Touma is a Genius Bruiser or Badass Bookworm. Even The Chick Yoshino gets one really good moment where she smashes an evil pseudo-Digimon with a barrel, and the Bridge Bunnies have motorcycles.
    • Beelzemon from Digimon Tamers also deserves a mention. Demonic appearance, black leather biker clothes, only existing creature that can control a destructive living motorcycle named Behemoth, who moped the floor with the heroes including Megidramon every time they fought and fared fairly well against Gallantmon. He suffered no Badass Decay from his eventual Heel Face Turn.
      • Gallantmon really deserves to be mentioned if we're talking Tamers as well. Red dragon-esque knight with a lance, massive shield, and flowing cape, who smacks down Beelzemon in their fight, even doing an unflinching walk out of flames his own attack produced. Then, in the grand finale, he upgrades and takes it even further, destroying what's an omnicidal digital god of death.
    • Wargreymon and BlackWargreymon are both very badass, both in design and in exploits. Also, the Frontier cast. All of Takuya's, Kouji's, and Koiuchi's forms are badasses.
    • Omegamon/ Omnimon. In his very first battle of all time, he destroys well over a million mega level Digimon(Just a single one was able to take down Metalgarurumon and Wargreymon for a frame of reference) in only a few attacks.
      • In his second appearance, he stabs an enemy through the head and fires his cannon down his throat a few times for good measure. It didn't quite work, but for a series that usually sticks to Never Say "Die", it was a pretty awesome scene.
    • Shoutmon from Digimon Xros Wars is probably the badass lead Digimon in the ENTIRE FRANCHISE. He's probably the most Hotblooded digimon, if not, character, in the whole franchise, and in just his base form alone, is able to take down a bunch of Mammothmon, of which are usually ultimate level digimon, and can fuse with other digimon to become a Humongous Mecha. Then there's OmegaShoutmon and Shoutmon X7.
  • Tsukihime's Nanaya Shiki. For one thing, he's an amoral sociopathic killer split personality of the protagonist, which is just cool. But then, he has insanely skilled killing abilities and instincts, and the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, which let him kill virtually anything with a fruit knife. To top it off, he easily slaughters some of the most powerful beings on the planet (who are nigh-unbeatable) while laughing, speaking poetically, and only feeling a mixture of amused enthusiasm and contempt.
    • Nanaya Shiki does not actually have the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, He is more a 'What if' Tohno Shiki, Instead of the actual one. This means he does all that running on sheer, utter, skill. Yes, He cuts through bone with only a fruit knife because he is SKILLED.
    • Tohno Shiki, the protagonist, is only slightly less badass. His utter pwnage of Nrvnqsr has yet to be topped by anything.
      • Really? Killing a staircase to catch Roa off guard and kill him in one move? Maybe killing Gaia (i.e. The EARTH) just so Arcueid can't kill him in the Ciel route?
    • His freak out against Akiha. That was essentially a preview of Nanaya Shiki with the eyes, And that in itself is sheer awesome.
    • There are, however, a lot of other badasses around Tsukihime. Arcueid's normal badassitude is much hurt in the main story because she's regenerating from a brutal backstabbing by the aforementioned Nanaya, but it should still be remembered that this is a girl who slaughtered what amounted to the most powerful supernatural race on Earth singlehandedly. And then there's also The Ojou Akiha Tohno, whose badassitude is mostly off-camera in the original novel... but then showed (and how!) in the manga, driving the point home that the head of the Tohno might be a young girl, but she's not someone you should fuck with.
    • Satsujinki, who is just a possible future Tohno Shiki. IMO, he is even more badass than his Nanaya persona.
      • He's just way to manly to exist, as of yet anyways. Hopefully...
  • The other Shiki is also incredibly badass.
  • Absolutely every single character in Vinland Saga is GAR personified.
    • Even Father Waribald, a priest, is pretty hard core. You'd have to be to drink a hall full of Vikings under the table.
  • Nanoha Takamachi from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Do not let the "Magical Girl" part fool you. This is a lady who casually walks Out of the Inferno, grabs energy blades with one unprotected hand, and frequently instills the very fear of God into her enemies with the sheer power she possesses. Her most popular name amongst fans is "The White Devil" and you'd be hard-pressed not to think it as fitting while watching her in action. Not to say that Fate and the Wolkenritter aren't badass either.
    • In fact, it's hard to decide if there are mages who aren't badass. Yuuno's far from being as wimpy as the stereotypical Non-Action Guy. However, Signum might still be the most badass of them.
      • Signum and Nanoha had two sparring matches in the manga, both of which ended in a draw. Apparently, even the writers can't decide who among the two is more Badass
    • Fate is an interesting case, since she is the living proof that the tropes Badass and Woobie are not mutually exclusive.
    • If ever there were any prepubescent girls deserving of the title GAR, It would be the cast of Nanoha.
    • It's easy to explain Nanoha's badassery. She took part in SaiGAR, a tournament created to determine the most badass manly anime character. She even won a round.
    • Even if most of the Huckebein family's victories over the heroes have been questioned and gained the scorn of the fans for the methods they used to win, one can't deny the badassitude displayed by their leader, Curren Huckebein, when she enters the scene for the first time managing to defeat easily two characters who already received their Mid-Season Upgrade, simultaneously and without even abusing the aformentioned "methods" used by her comrades. Badass indeed.
    • Vivio earned her badass points when she took five simultaneous starlight breakers and was still conscious afterwards.
  • Mahou Sensei Negima has tons: Rakan, Takamichi, Nagi, Rakan, Kaede, Setsuna, Rakan, and Mana all qualify, but the most extreme example is Little Miss Badass Evangeline, who has taken down a superpowerful demon god in one (massive) shot. Oh, and did we mention Jack Rakan?
    • Also Negi himself, after obtaining Black Magic. Just read chapter 219.
    • as of the most recent chapter, Nodoka certainly qualifies, according to the "A character who gets away with outright insane stunts that would never work in real life" definition. [1] Imagine if she actually had combat training...
  • Code Geass has several, most notably Kallen, Toudou, Cornelia and, Suzaku.
    • In one of the Spin-Off mangas, Zero himself. Instead of having Mind Control powers, his suit gives him super-strength, allowing him to go toe-to-toe with Lancelot, without being inside of a Knightmare himself.
    • Jeremiah just BAMF! and turned completely badass from R1 Turn 25 onwards.
    • Lady of War Cornelia, who, as of the Battle of Narita, can win against Lelouch and two other Knightmare Frames, with both hands tied behind her back. She is so badass she has to be mentioned twice.
    • The Magnificent Bastard himself, Lelouch Lamperouge. Granted, he's not as combat heavy as the rest, but, despite all the competence held by Toudou and Kallen, they'd be nothing without Lelouch's planning, and his spectacular skills as a Chessmaster in episode 16? Or his wicked grin at the end of the first episode? Truly, the mark of a badass.
    • C.C.! The Femme Fatale, Magnificent Bitch who's always at Lelouch's side, and always manages to be every bit as badass as him.
    • Recent chapters of Code Geass: Nightmare Of Nunnally shows Zero channeling Master Asia and slaughtering Knightmares (with his bare hands!) while still being the magnificent trickster we know him to be.
  • Inner Moka from Rosario + Vampire can unleash a Curb Stomp Battle on any monster that pisses her off.
  • Chiyoko from the Akira manga - she specializes in Foe Tossing Charges and can take down a small army all by her lonesome. While badly wounded.
  • Yankumi from Gokusen personifies this, when she's not pretending to be a floozy ditz to keep her students in the dark about the fact that she is the sole heir to the feared Ooedo Yakuza group. Single handedly takes on Yakuza gangsters, thieves and at one point her entire class of punkass gakuran. Also takes down Man Mountain Tetsuru with two fingers straight up the nose to prove a point about strength. Combined with her tendency to go into yakuza mode at the slightest and most inappropriate provocation she is a 24/7 badass who will surely hold all of Tokyo in her iron grip when her grandfather finally croaks.
  • Asuka Langley Soryu from Neon Genesis Evangelion could be considered a deconstruction of the Badass, fighting fiercely and acting all Tsundere to hide her vulnerability and insecurity. Fanfic usually plays hers straight or reconstructs it after Epiphany Therapy.
    • And then the terrifying happened. Rebuild of Evangelion came around and while Asuka remains badass, she is badass in an Ace Pilot way, as far as being the "most skilled." Rei Ayanami performs seperate states of badass through sheer determination. And oh God, Shinji. Shinji Ikari rose to levels of badassery that Kamina and Archer should fear. What men will do when pushed to their limit is nothing short of amazing. Shinji entered Evangelion a boy. He left it a man.
    • With both Shinji and Rei, as well as several of the returning Angels having taken several levels in Badass in Rebuild, its little surprising that the new addition to the cast, Mari Makinami, turned out to be a walking mass of awesome. Usually, she's a rather nice, if slightly weird young girl, but once she gets into an entry plug, she becomes a fearless, bestial Blood Knight willing to try any sort of dangerous stunt to succeed.
    • Also, Misato Katsuragi. That is all.
  • Lucy from Elfen Lied was psychopathic (though she had a decent Freudian Excuse), but some of the things she can do with her vectors can only be described as this.
  • Natsuki Kuga from My-HiME, this trope is you. That sweet ride of yours certainly helps your image. Now, if you'd only come to school more than once in a while...
  • Mikura from Mezzo DSA and Mezzo Forte is almost insanely badass. Just watch the bowling alley fight from episode one of Forte, and be amazed.
  • Samurai 7's Kyuuzo masterfully wields two katana, wears red and black, and fits the criteria for "nosebleed-inducing male character" with his damn good looks and icy personality. Not to be confused with his mildly friendlier movie incarnation, though that Kyuuzo is just as badass.
    • Actually the rest of the group could classify as well, considering that in this world even a single samurai is apparently already a veritable One-Man Army even against an actual army of Humongous Mecha.
  • Manji from Blade of the Immortal
  • Bobby Margot, battleship helmsman from Macross Frontier also deserves a mention, made even more badass by the fact that normally he acts very campy, and used to be hair dresser and makeup artist.
  • Kakuri from Bokko is a short, bearded warrior-monk who specifically goes out of his way to aid defenseless cities in times of war. With his strategy, wisdom and badassery he has helped countless small cities win against the odds.
  • Marlene Angel from Blue Gender most definitely qualifies. Aside from her feat of fighting the Blue in or out of her Humongous Mecha, at one point in the movie she kills a giant armor-plated worm by throwing her mecha's bayonetted rifle into its mouth.
  • Chances are, if you're at one point a main fighter in Yu Yu Hakusho, you're a badass. Yusuke has the balls to get cocky with even those who far outclass him, and back up his smack-talk to boot. Kuwabara can survive even the most vicious beatdowns without falling, and tends to turn fights completely around despite said injuries. Hiei absolutely doesn't play around in his fights, and will cut you to shreds in split-split seconds before you can even comprehend the fact that you've been cut. The biggest badass of the heroes? The Bishonen Kurama, shockingly enough. See that cut on your face he just gave you? Too bad, because at this point, you'll be dead within seconds due to a demon plant he's sewn into your wound. Are you immortal, and don't fear death? You're still not safe, for your immortal body will be tied to a tree that will paralyze you, and force you to suffer your worst fears for eternity. Chances are, at this point, Kurama is your biggest fear. Kurama's so badass, even Hiei fears him.
  • Sosuke from Full Metal Panic!. Ok, so he has a hard time in normal social setting: he has No Social Skills. But God forbid you do anything he considers a threat, especially to Kaname. He can out-negotiate anyone. He will do anything and everything to save Kaname, and that is not an exaggeration. He knows and can do everything about battle, from hostage situations to first-aid, from wielding a shotgun in a hilariously cute mascot suit (after kicking some ass without a weapon in said suit) to successfully taking on hordes of baddies with his bare hands. To top it all off, he pilots a Humongous Mecha when he's not kicking ass with nothing but a pistol. Just dealing with the often extremely pissed off (mostly because of him) Kaname on a day-to-day basis cements his place as a badass. Plus, there's also the fact that he can somehow be both Bishonen and manly at the same time.
    • Even Kaname herself can be called a badass. Not content with the "damsel in distress" role often dropped on her shoulders (leading her to be rescued by Sosuke), despite her civilian status, she often comes up with and thinks of things that even Sosuke and his comrades miss. She's always somehow involved in the counter-attack that takes place following her capture, even if it's in a non-combat role. And her status as a "Whispered" has even saved Sosuke's hide a few times in battle. Plus, there's also the fact that she beats the shit out of Sosuke, a trained mercenary, on a regular basis because of his antics. Face it, he doesn't even fight back because she's so badass.
    • He may be an Ax Crazy murderer with pedophilic tendencies towards Sosuke, but Goddamn if Gauron ain't a badass. Just watch episodes 15-17, wherein, shortly after effortlessly killing one of Sosuke's squadmates, he introduces himself to Sosuke and his compatriots like the badass he is, ("Hi. Mind if I join your little party?") moments before he proceeds to eliminate Sosuke's entire squad by himself over the course of these three episodes, even wiping out entire enemy Arm Slaves with just the flick of his own Arm Slave's hand. Some see these as his Moral Event Horizon crossing episodes as well, so you be the judge.
  • Ashitaka, from Princess Mononoke. Cursed with Awesome by a boar god that he killed (single-handedly). When San and Lady Eboshi are fighting for the first time in his presence, he immediately bends someone's katana with one hand, Foe Tossing Slow Strides his way through the circle of people, grabs the combatants and stuns them both (one hand each), before calmly walking away. On his way out of town, he gets shot through the lung and keeps walking, then, while dripping blood, opens the door that "it takes ten men to open" (yeah...Cursed with Awesome...) and quietly leaves town, thanking the villagers as he goes.
  • Fujioka in Minami-ke isn't actually a badass but is labelled one by Kana. Kana's older sister, however, is a LEGENDARY BADASS
  • We've come this far and Gundam hasn't made the list? For shame! Just to list a few...
    • Mobile Suit Gundam has Ramba "This is No Zaku" Ral, as well as arguably the most famous Gundam badass: Char Aznable. Amuro Ray, the original Gundam pilot, starts out as a wuss, but through Character Development becomes one of the biggest badasses ever, able to fight Char on an even footing.
    • It seems anyone the climbs into a Gouf is sure to be a badass. From 08th MS Team, Norris Packard went on one of the most epic rampages in Gundam, holding off a squad of limited production Gundam ground types while annihilating a trio of Guntanks to try and ensure his comrades can make it into space safely. At one point he uses the main character's Gundam as a shield, managing to pull all of this with zero backup.
    • Gundam SEED gives us Mu La Flaga, as well as Magnificent Bastard Rau Le Creuset. Kira Yamato, the badass main character doesn't do too badly either, nor does his ex-best friend Athrun. And then there's Colonel Badass Andrew "The Desert Tiger" Waldfeld, and Athrun's teammate Yzak who solos two Super Soldiers in the finale...
    • Gundam SEED Destiny: He's a whiny little bastard, but Shinn Asuka is every bit as Badass as the rest of the series' main characters.
    • Gundam 00 has all four Gundam Meisters, as well as Soma Peries, Sergei Smirnov and GRAHAM AKER. Villainous badass "Prince Ali" al-Saachez too.
    • What do you do when your Gundam has a Crippling Overspecialization in the form of a Wave Motion Gun and not much else? Well if you are Garrod Ran a whole lot of Badass stuff. This is the first, and so far only, pilot who was able to beat a Monster of the Week with only his vulcans.
  • King Gid of To LOVE-Ru, who despite looking four years old theatens, quite seriously, to destroy the Earth. In fact the reason he looks like he does is because he recently conquered the universe. He is currently trying to pawn his throne off to his daughter's soon-to-be husband so he can play around and chase girls.
    • Yami-chan is also a certified Badass.
  • Every major character in Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple. Except for maybe Nijima, although even he has pulled some ridiculous stunts.
  • Baki the Grappler is filled to the brim with these, but most especially the titular characters father Yujiro Hanma. He stops an earthquake by puching the ground, beats up almost every single VERY Badass martial artist in the series SIMULTANOUSLY, and beats America in Vietnam by himself barehanded as a teen, to the point America SURRENDERS to him. And this is just the anime which is nowhere NEAR where the manga is.
  • Hei: Known as the Black Shinigami. Can instantly kill you if he even touches you. Took down loads of Contractors even before he got superpowers. Wears a Badass Longcoat that is only bulletproof when he wears it, because apparently no one else is awesome enough. Can appear and disappear with no warning. Has leveled a city block on accident. Dear lord, where does the awesome end? No wonder fans call him "Chinese Electric Batman."
  • Otcho, to the extent where he sometimes seems to live in a slightly more cartoonish world than the rest of the cast.
  • Nearly everyone in Fushigi Yuugi is one kind of Badass.
  • Although everyone is either a Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass or a Bunny Ears Lawyer, the characters from Gintama are damn badass...sometimes.
  • Everyone in Sengoku Basara, since it's based on a badass video game. You see.
  • Slayers. Every character gets their own moment of badass, even Phil. Lina Inverse, the main character, is a rather short and flat-chested female character that doesn't look that impressive at first glance. However, that belies the fact that she's one of the most terrifying magic-users of the entire series, fully capable of nuking anything in her way. Bandits and pirates will scream in terror once they know Lina's in the area, villagers worry that she'll wipe them all out and Dragons will try to avoid fighting her. Her most Badass moments are when she's facing down truly dangerous threats. Gourry is a human who has no magical abilities at all, is mostly (in the anime) an idiot, and yet will jump headfirst into danger armed with nothing more than his magic sword, which he loses mid-way through the series and has to fight with a normal sword until he gets a replacement. Amelia will charge enemies head-first and is willing to punch freaking Shabranigdo! Zelgadis, man, Zelgadis is easily as skilled as Lina is with magic, a Flying Brick and enjoys a reputation as a heartless, demonic swordsman. The biggest Badass moment has to go to Sylphiel though. She's a barrier maiden who, at first, could use no offensive magic without it being comically weak (Flare Arrows looked more like carrots). Her White Magic is unparalleled compared to most of the world, so, how is she Badass? She manages to use a Dragon Slave to damn near kill one of the most powerful beings in the world where everyone else couldn't even scratch the guy.
  • Most of the guys from Katekyo Hitman Reborn either are Badass or become one.
  • Seto no Hanayome has several of these, most obviously Lunar's father, who's essentially The Terminator with blond hair. Nagasumi also has numerous Badass moments (such as suplexing a shark) when he finally gets fed up with all the crap he has to put up with.
  • Yusei Fudou of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. The rest of Team Satisfaction and Sherry LeBlanc are pretty impressive, too.
  • Yuno of Mirai Nikki most certainly counts. A 14 year old juggernaut, not much can stop her when Yukki is in danger.
  • Gunnm. Three words : Gally. Panzer kunst.
  • Ken Sugisaki from Student Council's Discretion is a badass by Harem Male Standards.
  • The Fairy Tail badass award has to go to Erza, who still has the power to curbstomp the hero and can fight anyone else in the guild apart from Makarov or Gildartz on even footing at least. In the first real story arc (Phantom) she took down an S ranked Air mage who was beating Natsu effortlessly while he was wearing a power limiter in a single hit after said limiter was removed. Also after taking a Wave Motion Gun to the face. And then she still held off the Big Bad of the arc until Makarov could arrive.
  • Gantz is FILLED with badasses, but 2 specific examples are Kurono, for jumping into a 50-foot tall monsters head, shooting it from inside it's head, then getting out by kicking out one of it's teeth, and Katou, for killing the last alien in the Temple Mission, an alien with acid that could melt you faster than you could say "Fuck!", swords that it could use to chop you into pieces before you blink, and had single-handedly taken out everybody with a suit except Katou and Kurono, who also had lost an arm and a leg in the fight.
  • EVERYONE from Durarara!! qualifies as a badass. Special mention to Shizuo AKA Gartender, Izaya and Mikado in the novels hence his nickname becomes Bosskado.
  • Being a boxing series, Hajime no Ippo is naturally filled with badasses. Two examples tower above everyone, however. Takamura, easily one of the manliest characters to ever grace anime and manga and best boxer in the series and Takeshi Sendo, Bully Hunter who's not above flipping the fuck out and utterly destroying his opponent if he gets pissed.
  • Belldandy, if earlier arcs didn't prove this to you, then the current Manga arc, the Demon Rebellion arc should finally cement her as a true badass, especially after her epic Duel with Thrym, the super strong demon with an invincible fist, turns out our heroine earned a Valkyrie certification in her spare time.
  • Kamina Ayato borrowed some awesomeness from his namesake, that's for sure.
  • Utena Tenjou from Revolutionary Girl Utena. Awesome duelist, but even outside of duels, she's a really tough chick both in personality and in physical ability. She can jump, she can punch, she's a demon on the basketball court, and she can beat trained duelists with broken swords, bamboo practice swords, and a pitchfork. And let's not get started on the truly epic move she pulls in the last episode...
  • Saeko Busujima from Highschool of the Dead is probably the most badass Yamato Nadeshiko ever.
  • Cobra from Space Adventure Cobra. Sure, he acts like a goofball a good amount of the time, but it also works as a strategy to fool his enemies. He also has a Psychogun hidden in his left arm and he smokes cigars that also work as special gadgets (like helping him breath under water).
  • So many of the characters on Gun X Sword are badass that it would be easier to list the ones who aren't (Wendy, we're looking at you!) than to list all the ones who are. Van is a badass Anti-Hero who has support from a whole Badass Crew. Then we have Michael, Fasalina, and the rest of the Original Seven, who make up a villainous Badass Crew.
  • Shana from Shakugan no Shana, in SPADES. Arguably the most badass loli ever.
  • X 1999 has Fuma, Arashi, Kusanagi, Subaru, Kigai, Kamui, Sorata... Oh, screw it. This series is just one big World of Badass.
  • Ai of Mahou Shoujo Ai, very much so. When most hentai "heroines" get the Naughty Tentacles treatment, they break completely. When Ai gets tentacle raped, it means the rapist has just signed his own death warrant.
  • Akemi Homura of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, for taking her combat pragmatism to extreme levels, as she shows in Episode 11, where she unloads a barrage of military-class weaponry (ranging from rocket launchers to a stadium filled with landmines) to take down Walpurgisnacht. Too bad it doesn't work, but you still have to give props for the effort.
  • Tatsumi Oga from Beelzebub
  • Cadis Etram Di Raizel can take on Body Horror inflicted abomination that punches through wall with just his words. Oh, and all of his fights ends in Curb Stomp Battle, but it never comes up as God Mode Sue, but more as Showy Invincible Hero.
  • Sakigake Otokojuku:
    • It seems that any Major Character who enroll in the Otokojuku will definitely become a total Badass.
    • Taken to obscene height with Edajima Heihachi. The first one, when his beloved students is taken hostage by other school and the captor ask for ransom, what does he do ? He made a Badass Boast and shout loud enough that the telephone on the other side brokes. Then, he ride a Battle Tank to the location while wearing Samurai outfit while carrying a Battle Spear, doing a Dynamic Entry, and fool the police by saying that he is a director who is in the middle of shooting a Movie. then, after a failed attempt at shooting the cannon, He delivers a Curb Stomp Battle at the whole crowd Bare Handed(yes he dont even use his spear to do all the crazy stuff). Then he Ride the Tank and slam it to the building. Whoo talk about Badass (Its Crazy Enough to Work)
  • Light Yagami of Death Note, mostly through his intellect. He did such a good job of manipulating the world's population into worshipping him while dealing with equally intelligent enemies out to hunt him down, all while remaining awesomely stoic and continuously finding novel ways of allowing his plan to follow through.
    • L, Near, and Mello, Light's enemies who are just as badass--if not more so--than he is. After all, they don't have a magic book doing half the work for them.
  • Two word. TETSUYA TSURUGI. Sure, he Wangst a lot, but when you see his legendary Big Damn Thunder Break, you know something awesome will happen. After all, theres a damn good reason why Ankoku Daishogun consider him a Worthy Opponent.
  • Unless you're a Muggle or a Mook, if you're a prominent member of the cast in High School DxD, chances are you will be a Badass. From the Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass protagonist, to the main heroine who can decimate you with her power of destruction, there's someone in this series who can kick ass. Especially the protagonist; he has at least FOURTEEN Badass tropes. The only one who has almost the same amount of Badass tropes at this point is Yuri Lowell.
Back to Badass
  1. ↑ She stands up to a Reality Warper, steals his weapon, interrogates him to find out how it works, and uses his own Reality Warper power to teleport away.
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