Sakamoto daysanime based on Yuto Suzuki's manga, revived the popularity of hitmen. Highly skilled assassins, these characters have always captivated anime fans.
As we will see in this list, there are several assassins who have made their mark in anime history and whose stories deserve to be remembered. However, we will focus on the assassins who were the main characters, leaving aside the characters who appeared in supporting roles and other supporting characters.
10
Taro Sakamoto – Sakamoto days
A retired hitman who now wants to live in peace with his family
It makes sense to start with Taro Sakamoto, pay homage to him and take advantage of the current popularity Sakamoto days. With the anime's second season on the way and its live-action adaptation set to premiere in Japanese cinemas, Taro Sakamoto is the hit man of the moment.
When he was still active, before he retired to work in the store, Taro was an accomplished assassin. Those who knew him were torn between fearing him and seeing him as the closest thing to a killer god. His skills were unmatched and impossible to beat. Once he was retired, other assassins tried to take him down but failed. In his battles, he is able to regain his former athletic figure, but the food eventually returns him to an overweight form.
Unlike other hitmen, Taro Sakamoto is happy in his retirement and does not seek revenge. The only thing he could desire besides time with his family is redemption. For this, he follows the rules set for life with his wife.
9
Duke Togo – Golgo 13
A legend from the past that has outlived its author and continues to be published
A typical killer, the most classic in the world of manga and anime. Created by Takao Saito, he has not only achieved legendary status among assassins for hire, but also has the honor of being in the Guinness Book of Records. The reason is that his manga, Golgotha 13holds the record for the manga with the most volumes published continuously since its inception in 1968.
Its 220 manga volumes have inspired several anime series in which we can see Golgo 13 in action. This assassin never fails and accepts any job without letting his feelings get in the way. However, his services are often requested to eliminate members of the mafia or various dangerous individuals. This leads to many trying to take Golgo down.
8
Ryo Saeba – City Hunter
He works as a detective, a protector or an assassin, but only for good reasons
The romantic and fun-loving image of Ryo Saeba projects inside most of the time City Hunter he can make us forget that he is actually a very skilled assassin. Although he currently offers his services as a protector to those who need him, he also provides his services as an assassin to take down all sorts of bad guys.
Ryo Saeba's code of conduct and honor means that he does not use his fighting skills and one-hole shooting technique lightly. There must be good reasons for Saeba to take the job and use his Colt Python .357 Magnum to take someone's life. It is also important to note that Ryo was a guerilla in his youth. At this time in his life, he had already faced the necessity of murdering men on the opposite side.
7
Hikaru Gero – Marriage Toxin
A hitman who needs to get married as soon as possible to help his sister
One of the latest anime shows to premiere with characters that fall into the hitman category. Hikaru Gero is the protagonist, an assassin who specializes in using poison. Unlike other anime, in Marriage toxineach assassin specializes in a certain type of skill. This gives the series more variety and freshness as the action sequences don't just consist of action scenes or gunfights.
Clearly, there is no limit to Hikaru Gera's mastery of poisons. This allows him to use poisons in different ways depending on the demands of the job he is doing. Although the anime doesn't revolve around the main character's job, but rather focuses on his search for a wife, the whole aspect of surrogate families is very interesting.
Why you should watch Marriagetoxin, the new Shonen Jump anime
A murderer who has never had a girlfriend needs to get married as soon as possible. It will be an almost impossible mission.
6
Yor Forger – Spy x Family
He knows he has to continue his work for an important reason
Yor is one of the most complex characters in the Spy x Family universe. While the anime is a comedy with family elements and plenty of action, it also offers a deep and thought-provoking perspective that encourages analysis of the life of a hit man.
Her job as a shadow assassin requires Yor Forger to eliminate critical targets for security or political reasons. She is not a ruthless killer who likes to kill, but she believes that she must do it so that others can live more peacefully and without worries. She is an assassin shaped by circumstance, but her second life reveals that she has much more heart and feelings than other assassins. thanks to her Spy x Family contains some of the best moments of the anime.
5
Hei – Darker than black
Maintaining a double life isn't always easy for the Hitman
In the 2007 anime Darker than black aired, which caused some controversy due to its setting, but introduced great characters over the course of 25 episodes. The main character is called Hei and he is a hitman who lives a double life. While posing as an exchange student, Hei is also an assassin with electrical powers.
As in other cases, he is a killer with a good motive for killing targets: to find his sister. He started out as a hitman in his childhood to protect her, and now he is relentless in his search for her. He's a different kind of assassin because he has more emotions than other typical anime characters. The presence of the powers marks a change from other assassins, but he remains an interesting character and even without the powers he would be able to eliminate his targets.
4
Reborn – Reborn!
He uses his time and energy to teach, but he is a great hitman
He looks like a child, but Reborn is much more. In the past, he was the most ruthless and powerful killer imaginable. No one could outmatch him and his targets quickly fell victim to his CZ75 pistol shots. However, the curse returned him to a child's body and this changed his position in the world of mafia families.
Although he remains incredibly powerful and difficult to defeat even in his child form, he was much more powerful in the past. He is strict and inflexible, and as an assassin he has always shown little compassion for his victims. It could be said that Reborn was one of the most underutilized characters in the anime, missing the opportunity to give his story more prominence. Still, she is one of the most interesting shonen characters of her generation.
3
Brandon Heat – Gungrave
The Hitman who comes back from the dead is stronger and has more weapons
Based on the video game of the same name Gungrave was an anime packed with gunplay, action, and explosive storytelling, all delivered with Madhouse's signature brilliance. Its main character was a highly skilled assassin who rose to the top of the criminal organization. Along the way, he was betrayed by his former best friend.
After nearly dying, Brandon returns to life as Beyond the Grave and seeks revenge. He does so much more with weapons and destructive power, yet retains his feelings and humanity. Although his new nature distances him from the state of life, Brandon continues to protect those who have supported him throughout his life. The anime has 26 episodes and is an ideal complement to the various games released in recent years since the series debuted on the PlayStation 2.
2
Heartnet Train – Black Cat
A tragic past forced him to leave everything behind
Between 2005 and 2006, the anime Black cat made a huge impact in Japan and became a hit. This was partly due to the charisma of its main character, Train Heartnet, who was surrounded by death and the world of killers since childhood.
Trained from a young age to be a great assassin, he has amassed a long list of enemies and targets over the years. However, his life comes to a standstill and he decides to leave his organization. After meeting another important character, he begins to see life differently. Even though he is an assassin who no longer kills like some of the other characters in our article, he still has impressive abilities such as 100% shot accuracy. Among other things, he can shoot back bullets fired by his enemies with his revolver.
1
Lin Xianming – Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens
The tragedy changes his life forever
without a doubt Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens is one of the animes we most regret only having one season. It aired in 2018 and had only 12 episodes. Still, it was weeks of fun thanks to the chemistry between its two leads. One of them is Lin Xianming, an assassin who has undergone rigorous training to become an assassin.
His goal, like the other assassins on this list, was to find his sister. However, his life is more tragic than anyone can imagine, and that's what makes the story of the anime so compelling. One of his defining characteristics is that he is a cross-dressing assassin, a trait that gives him an edge over many of his rivals.
