The world of anime is populated with a huge variety of characters who have different kinds of jobs, lifestyles, and hobbies; a character’s favorite hobby can reveal a lot about them. For example, a handful of anime characters are known for their passion for video games, trading card games, or board games, including classics and modern titles alike.
In fact, some of these hardcore anime gamers are known almost entirely for their love of games; It may be the only thing they think about all day long or perhaps it’s their primary “fighting style” in the series. There are many skilled and successful gamers in the world of anime.
10 Karen Tendo Loves Video Games & Running (GAMERS!)
True to its name, the short and sweet slice-of-life anime series GAMERS! is all about high school students who love playing video games and that includes the charming blonde Karen Tendo. She absolutely adores video games, but she also balances this hobby with regular morning jogs.
That helps Karen maintain a balanced lifestyle and real-life gamers might follow her example by training their video game skills and their bodies alike. Karen makes video games look healthy and fun and that’s a winning combination.
9 Terrence D’Arby Plays Games To Steal Souls (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
During JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s Stardust Crusaders Story arc, Jotaro and his allies went up against the gaming brothers Daniel and Terrence, who could both steal souls with their Stands if anyone lost to them in games. But while Daniel was more about cheating in games of chance, Terrence was more of a traditional gamer.
Terrence challenged Jotaro and the others to a few video games inside Dio’s castle and when Kakyoin lost to him, Terrence captured his soul with his Atum Stand, which seriously upped the stakes. Fortunately, Jotaro managed to cheat with Joseph’s Stand and turn the tables on this deadly gamer.
8 Hikaru Shindo Plays A Mean Game Of Go (Hikaru No Go)
Hikaru Shindo, the protagonist of the hit gaming series Hikaru no Go, is no ordinary boy. This young board game enthusiast is guided by the spirit of a Go champion of ages past, Fujiwara no Sai, and together, they can take on any opponent in this classic Chinese board game.
Hikaru is an aggressive Go player, preferring quick and determining moves while having little patience for slower, more methodical players. He may not always win, but he is a true child prodigy at this game and it’s always a thrill to see his plans come together on the board.
7 Kirito Wilds Two Swords (Sword Art Online)
Kirito is a dedicated RPG player who takes part in ultra-realistic MMORPGs, including the game worlds of Aincrad, ALFheim Online, Gun Gale Online and more. Some say that Sword Art Online is the first modern isekai anime, but it’s really a gamer anime with some isekai elements thrown in.
Kirito quickly made a reputation for himself as a skilled survivor of a gamer; he also carries two powerful swords. He can slay any boss battle with those weapons, though he might sometimes need the aid of his best friend and lover, Asuna Yuuki.
6 Yumeko Jabami Always Wants A Fair Game (Kakegurui)
Some games of chance are truly luck-based, such as slot machines, but other games require much more skill since the player can control some aspects of the game. Poker, blackjack, and even rock paper scissors call for some skill and Kakegurui’s Yumeko Jabami has plenty of that.
Yumeko is the wild new transfer student at Hyakkou academy. She expertly blends her love of random chance with her razor-sharp skills to play risky but fair games against a wide variety of opponents, from Mary Saotome to the student council’s members. Her strategic skills and insights are astonishing.
5 Ryota Sakamoto Is Japan’s Top Explosive Player (BTOOOM!)
The R-rated anime BTOOOM! is the opposite of Sword Art Online, where a video game becomes all too real for its best players. Ryota Sakamoto was Japan’s #1 player of the explosion based BTOOOM! game and he’ll need those elite skills to survive a real-life version of that game.
Ryota and a handful of other players found themselves on a remote island armed with small grenades. The goal: to blow up all the other players with unique grenade types and earn the right to escape the island as the blood-soaked winner.
4 Keima Katsuragai Can Play Any Game & Win (The World God Only Knows)
The World God Only Knows has elements of the magical girl genre, but it’s primarily about video games. The young hero is Keima Katsuragi, a reclusive but brilliant boy who is absolutely obsessed with games, especially dating simulation games.
At home, Keima has an entire room dedicated to gaming, with every single available game console found inside, from the PlayStation 3 to the Wii to the Xbox 360 and many more. Keima can play a dozen games all at once and get perfect scores in all of them.
3 Yugi Muto Will Become The King Of Games (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Yugi Muto is rather similar to Hikaru Shindo, being an otherwise ordinary boy who has the spirit of an ancient game master on his side. In this case, the Pharaoh is Atem, who is likely to guide Yugi’s hand during a difficult game of Duel Monsters.
Yugi and Atem can defeat almost any foe, especially when Yugi’s friends and family are counting on him. Yugi also ranks among the most famous and most skilled of all anime gamers and he is an iconic part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise today, even after multiple successors arrived to take his place.
2 Hirotaka Nifuji’s Skill Is Immeasurable (Wotakoi)
The rom-com anime series Wotakoi is all about modern geek culture, from video games to boys’ love manga series to trendy anime series and the wonderful world of cosplay. The main characters of Wotakoi are all experts in different fields and while Hanako is an expert cosplayer, Hirotaka is the ultimate gamer.
Hirotaka has been obsessed with games since his boyhood and they define his life outside of work. No one can beat him in online RPGs or Super Smash Bros and the manga’s bonus pages rate his gaming skill at 53,000 out of 10.
1 Blank Is A Brother/Sister Team (No Game No Life)
No Game No Life is a true game-based isekai anime series, as opposed to Sword Art Online, and the protagonists are quite compelling. In real life, the seemingly invincible gamer known only as “Blank” is actually a brother/sister team, Sora and Shiro. Together, they can dominate in any game.
Sora and Shiro pool their talents to outwit anyone they cross in online games. Once they end up in a game world where they must play to survive, they realize that they are truly in their element.
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