Anime is a visual medium so there is something but not all anime characters would be able to enjoy that aspect of it. Today, I want to take a minute to celebrate some blind anime characters. You occasionally come across blind characters in anime and they are often portrayed as having other senses and even powers to make up for it.
When I started to put this list together, I had all these characters in mind but when I actually went back to check, it seems a lot of them weren’t in fact blind. Maybe they have some type of altered or magical sight. Or maybe their eyes are glazed over but they can see no problem. It was surprisingly difficult for me to come up with my list but I’m quite happy with the ones I did remember!
5. Shunsuke Otosaka – Charlotte
I think I liked Charlotte more than most people did. I saw so much potential in that show and just for the possibilities, I’m always going to have a soft spot for it. And I’m going to have a soft spot for Shun.
Fact is, Shun is a very important character to the plot and I can’t go into too much detail. But I will say that his dwindling sight is integral. Shun’s blindness is both fantastic in how it relates to the story of Charlotte and mundane in how it is portrayed. He doesn’t get razor-sharp reflexes or superhuman hearing as a tradeoff, he just can’t see anymore and the human aspect of it was refreshing.
Of course, there is a heck of a lot more going on.
4. Nico – Dr. Ramune
This is another show that I feel I appreciated more than most people. And it actually has a fairly important character who is also completely blind. Although you might never know since he’s not letting that slow him down in any way.
Dr. Ramune is a show full of Yokai and supernatural elements. In fact, most people can’t see everything that’s going on, what with normal humans being so insensitive to the spirit world around them. At the end of the day, we all have blind spots and Nico’s are smaller than most.
3. Nunnally Lamprouge – Code Geass
Have I mentioned how much I like the name Lamprouge? I must have… Nunnally isn’t exactly an important character in Code Geass. Well, she is important but she isn’t on screen all that much. She’s more of a plot device in that all the characters want to save her. And making her blind and wheelchair-bound just highlights how fragile and vulnerable she is. But she doesn’t let that get her down.
Her condition may be difficult and the result of a traumatic past, but Nunnally is a warm and kind girl full of hope. If only her brother could have held on to some of that optimism.
2. Kagaya Ubuyashiki and Gyomei Himejima – Demon Slayer
I said it was difficult for me to come up with five blind characters and I have two from Demon Slayer. I guess demons go for the eyes! I’m kidding, I know Gyomei was born that way. And that’s actually kind of unusual. I often find that in anime, blind characters have their blindness as part of their backstory. Usually a traumatic part in some way. But here, we have a character that doesn’t think of blindness as a handicap since he’s never known anything else.
It’s a bit different for Ubuyashiki-sama. That man is difficult to decipher and seems quite at peace with himself and his fate si who am I to speculate.
In any case, you can’t always count on your sight when you’re fighting demons and as such, these are two of the finest demon slayers there were.
1. Komugi – Hunter x Hunter
It might be a bit late for me to say this but the characters are in more or less random order. To be more precise, they are in the order I remembered them in. And Kogomi is the first one I thought of. This might be because I really like Hunter x hunter and I think the Chimera Ants arc is one of the best. I got a bit emotional thinking about it again.
Komugi is an ordinary girl in many ways, which is an extraordinary thing to be in a show like Hunter x Hunter. And that is a big part of her charm. A charm that may have saved the world in the end. Her one remarkable skill is that she is a gGungi prodigy. I’m not sure if the game actually exists but from what I could see on the screen, it seems similar to shoji. And I know you can play shoji blind, a lot of people do (just like with chess), but I find it immensely impressive.
And these are the five blind characters I remember from anime. I think I can remember some extras to also may have not been able to see but I would have to look them up to make sure. I honestly thought I would have had too many characters to pick from when I thought up the idea for this list. Maybe I’m just not watching the right shows!
I thought of the blinded samurai, Irako Seigen.
Shigurui’s world isn’t a kind one. Its feudal system is corrupt, cruel & decadent. Bushido values like honor or loyalty are exposed as baseless shams — base lies covering even baser men. Human life is of little value, and the best one can do is quietly accept one’s place.
As the bastard child of a prostitute, Irako was born to the lowest station in society. But his resentment towards the monstrous men who shape his world knows no bounds. Blessed with good looks & natural talent, he’s determined to escape a fate that befits his station. Ambitious & ruthless, he rapidly rises through the ranks of his dojo. But his arrogance leads him to cross a line he shouldn’t cross. Robbed of his eyes, he cannot see that he’s become the very thing he loathes the most.
I’m not familiar with the character. Sounds epic. I hope they don’t do the old trope where his other senses become almost superhuman and his an amazing swordsman because he’s blind
Yes I really liked Charlotte, it seems to be an underrated anime!
I agree
That’s a really interesting point that blind anime characters are really unique in such a visual medium. Honestly two of my favorite blind characters are both from Dororo – Hyakkimaru is… technically blind at the beginning? I mean he was born without them, but eventually gets them back. And then there’s Biwamaru the acupuncture doctor. He’s more a minor character, but his insights were really cool to see.
Also I will always have a soft spot for Komugi – she’s just so… ugh. I love her so much.
Oh yeah, Dorororo did have some great blind characters. Good call
The difficulty is, writing a disabled character with consequences of that disability is hard. Yes, you can play Shogi just like chess. The rules are the same, but pieces and the board are modified for the blind players. Though you can get a chess board for blind relatively easily, getting a board for Shogi or Go is hard.
Thanks for a great list!
great list! It is really hard to find blind characters in anime, I recently noticed that when I noticed that more deaf characters are showing up in anime (yay!) but not other diverse characters.
It’s a slow process but I think anime is slowly diversifying