7 Examples of INTJ Anime Characters

Anime is rife with examples of the INTJ characters. Although, frequently, INTJ characters get written into the same villainous trope over and over again, making the potential examples somewhat redundant. Our goal with this article is to find a range of examples, so you can see some different ways this personality type can manifest. Of course, we haven’t seen every Anime out there. (Who has?!) So, you may know of some better examples of INTJ characters in Anime, which you’re welcome to share in the comments. In the meantime, we’ll be discussing the 7 INTJ Anime Characters that stood out to us. Let us know what you think!

7 INTJ Anime Characters

1. Aqua Hoshino from Oshi No Ko

“I’ve already thought of everything.”

Aqua Hoshino is fairly realistic example of an INTJ, who’s trying to figure out his life path while simultaneously seeking the truth about his mother’s death. Being the son of an idol, Aqua spends many of his early years on movie sets, which gives him some opportunities to act. While his acting in and of itself is overall unremarkable, Aqua excels at reading the director’s intent, and understanding the meaning behind each scene. At one point, his acting is described as being very well studied and meticulous. His tendency to carefully strategize scenes and leverage his environment allows him to gain some fame, opening up potential opportunities in acting. However, he shows little interest in pursuing an acting career until he realizes it will aid his investigation into his mother’s death.

Aqua is good at planning ahead and manipulating the physical environment to get what he wants. For instance, he doesn’t want his sister to become an idol, in spite of it being her dream. So, after failing to convince her otherwise, he places continual roadblocks in her path, thinking of every possible way to ensure her failure. While it may seem terrible, he genuinely believes that he’s doing what’s best for her. Eventually, however, Aqua begins to see her side of things, and starts using his intellect to help her succeed. He helps recruit members for her group, prepare the group for their performances, and even publicly cheers them on to show his support.

2. Oreki Hotarou from Hyouka

“I couldn’t tell you how I made those deductions. Honestly, that’s the real mystery here.”

Oreki Hotarou is an example of a smart, but unmotivated INTJ. Above all else, he’s striving to conserve energy, which makes him come across as sluggish, average, and apathetic. However, in spite of this, he excels at deduction, often getting flashes of insight that he can’t trace back. During the show, he reluctantly begins solving mysteries with a High School classmate. Whenever he hits an obstacle in these investigations, he doesn’t attempt to shift theories. Rather, he buries deeper and deeper into the deduction trail that he’s on. In the end, this results in a huge amount of conjecture and assumptions based off of very little initial information. In spite of appearances, he’s both efficient and disciplined, ensuring that he always plans ahead in order to achieve his ultimate goal: to do nothing.

Hotarou’s lower two cognitive functions also get put on display rather well. As a tertiary Fi user, Hotarou stubbornly adheres to his motto, being reluctant to change or adapt anything about himself. It’s also implied that he’s uninterested in introspecting much on his identity. In addition, he struggles with concepts like passion and empathy. Furthermore, as an inferior Se user, he doesn’t immediately tie his conclusions to concrete information, and often gets overwhelmed by too much activity. (This, of course, plays into his deep desire to plan ahead and conserve energy.)

Read More about this INTJ Anime Character: Hyouka: Oreki Houtarou (INTJ)

3. Kurisu Makise from Steins Gate

“No offense but you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to looking at the bigger picture.

Kurisu Makise is an example of a focused scientist with an eye for the bigger picture. When Okabe finally approaches her for help, Kurisu helps him weed through all the details and see the bigger picture. She helps him deduce what must be true based on what’s happened, and chastises him for placing too much weight on any singular detail. Throughout the show, she places value on what is rational, logical, and realistic, which is important given the context of the show. She initially dismisses the idea of a time machine, calling it wishful thinking. Among the core group, she tends toward blunt speech and taking charge of her surroundings, which can make her come across as bossy.

Kurisu’s lower two functions also get reasonably demonstrated. As a tertiary Fi user, Kurisu relatively easily puts down her own emotions in favor of what is rational and fair. Displaying personal emotions is not an easy thing for her, beyond being reasonably friendly and amiable. In addition, Kurisu has deeply ingrained values. Although as an extremely private person, she is not quick to share them. When it comes to inferior Se, amusingly, Kurisu is shown to outlet her inferior function via cooking. Inferior functions are often used in safe, playful ways, and Kurisu does this by experimenting with food in weird ways. (Naturally, this provokes others to groan and complain about it.) Kurisu declares things like “normal salads are boring” and continually tries to combine odd foods together.

Read More about this INTJ Anime Character: Steins Gate: Kurisu Makise (INTJ)

4. Lelouch Lamperouge from Code Geass

“If happiness had a form, what would it look like? It might be something like glass, because one doesn’t notice it normally. However, it is actually there. As proof, if you look at it from a different angle, the glass will reflect light. It will state it’s presence and existence more eloquently than any other thing in this world.”

Lelouch is an example of the stereotypical INTJ genius villain, which is why he’s referenced on every list of INTJ anime characters that’s out there. He excels at subterfuge and making plans within plans within plans. In addition, he has all the standard marks of a Te user, being straightforward, blunt, and oftentimes cold. Throughout the series, Lelouch has a singular focus or goal, which is to fix the empire. He perceives a path towards this end, and narrows in on that one and only solution, doing everything in his power to force it to happen. He believes that the end justifies the means, which is demonstrated in his willingness to sacrifice his morals and even some of his sanity. This includes murdering his younger sister in order to keep his overall goal intact. (While he cares for her deeply, Lelouch had made a critical error which could only be corrected by her death.)

Lelouch is frequently seen making strategic movements off of vague or assumed information. However, while he will take risks (which is common for high Ni users), Lelouch won’t take blatant ones, which supports him being an inferior Se user. For instance, during a chess match between Lelouch and Schneizel, Schneizel makes a move on the board that would allow Lelouch to win. However, Lelouch doesn’t seize the opportunity to win, because he feels like something isn’t right. Instead, he withdraws his own king to safety.

Read More about this INTJ Anime Character: Code Geass: Lelouch vi Britannia (INTJ)

5. Neji Hyuga from Naruto

“The curse represents a mark of the bird in a cage… It is… the symbol of being tied down to an inescapable destiny.”

Neji Hyuga is an example of the INTJ who initially feels trapped by fate. He spends a lot of the early parts of the series lamenting his lot in life, which is why many try to label him an ISTJ. However, Neji leans heavily into metaphorical language and views things in terms of symbolism. He views himself as a bird trapped in a cage, seeing no outcome in which he can escape. In many ways, his circumstances reinforce his thinking, because he is literally trapped into a specific life path, with the threat of instant death (via an automatically-activated curse mark) hanging over his head if he defects in any way. In spite of this, Neji eventually manages to move forward, finding a way to forge his own path in spite of his circumstances.

In the Naruto series, Neji demonstrates himself to be one of the more level-headed characters, able to assess different situations and come up with a solid plan based off of his deductions. He is very disciplined and blunt, claiming himself to be a genius who cannot be matched by someone else through hard work alone. There are times in the series where he gives answers that seem unrelated to the question; it often takes further questioning in order to understand how the answer even relates to what was being asked.

Read More about this INTJ Anime Character: Naruto Series: Neji Hyuga (INTJ)

6. Dracule Mihawk from One Piece

“I must ask you, why have you challenged me? Could it be your courage, or is it simply your ignorance?”

Dracule Mihawk is an example of the solitary loner archetype. While many like to equate inferior Se with being physically weak or incapable, Mihawk is the exact opposite. In the world of One Piece, he’s renowned for being the world’s strongest swordsman, able to defeat anyone he crosses paths with. However, as an INTJ, he’s often shown analyzing people’s motives mid-battle, and even inquiring about them. He doesn’t typically take things at face value, instead constantly reading between the lines. For instance, during a duel, Mihawk continually asks his opponent, Zoro, why he is doing what he is doing. Mihawk asks why Zoro doesn’t just give up, why turn around and face him, why not step back, etc. He ultimately determines that Zoro must be carrying some great weight on his shoulders, and asks about that well.

Mihawk is cold, harsh, serious, and judgmental. He possesses the characteristic arrogance that’s often associated with INTJs, being quick to call people foolish, weak, or any other descriptor that strikes his fancy. Other people’s feelings are never factored into the equation, nor does he have any qualms speaking his mind. During the aforementioned fight with Zoro, Mihawk belittles him for the entire battle. However, Mihawk does hold certain ideals and standards, which are not only a basis for his harsher judgments, but a means through which others (including his opponents) can earn his respect.

Read More about this INTJ Anime Character: One Piece: Dracule Mihawk (INTJ)

7. Shoto Todoroki from My Hero Academia

“It’s not your fault. We’re just playing on different levels.”

Shoto Todoroki is an example of an INTJ who had a lot of expectations placed upon him, resulting in resentment and rebellion. As an INTJ, Todoroki prefers to always have a plan before launching into action. Although, in his line of work, he frequently has to think on his feet. However, whenever given the opportunity, he internally strategizes, rather than engaging in split-second improvisation. Beyond planning ahead, Todoroki’s Ni also manifests in the way that he arrives at conclusions. He is one of the very first people to recognize the secret connection between Midoriya and All Might, although he can’t pin down exactly what it is. He even realizes the identical nature of their abilities, commenting that their powers “feel” the same. All in all, Todoroki spends less time paying attention to people’s actual responses, instead focusing in on body language, people’s reactions to questions, and how they’re phrasing their responses.

Todoroki is efficient, rigid and structured in his everyday life, which is especially demonstrated in the way he remodels the entire space in one day to fit the specifications that he wanted. In addition, Todoroki is blunt and confrontational, rarely taking into consideration if his wording is going to offend someone. He frequently makes statements that are arrogant (without saying them in an arrogant way). For instance, Todoroki will inform others that they can’t beat him because he is simply on a different level than they are. He tends to naturally take the lead when working in teams, to the point where he completely forgets to ask for their input if they don’t volunteer it.

Read More about this INTJ Anime Character: My Hero Academia: Shoto Todoroki (INTJ)

Other Examples of INTJ Anime Characters: Frieza from Dragon Ball, Merlin from 7 Deadly Sins, Light Yagami from Death Note, Kirei Kotomine from Fate Zero, Kurapika from HunterXHunter, Miyuki Shirogane from Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Sasori from Naruto