Guys, girls, it doesn’t really matter. There’s something that I find particularly charming about someone who has those blankout moments just a bit more often. And anime is absolutely full of many characters that fit the bill. They’re very genre spanning, hitting everything from rom-coms to shonen, to even some very serious shows. And because of that, some top picks may even be from not so good shows. Airheadedness can often come from purity, leading them to just not get a few things that worldly characters do – or sometimes their last two brain cells are fighting each other for dominance. Whatever the cause of the affliction, let’s stop thinking about it and just dig into some airhead cuties!
15. Aoba Suzukaze
Anime: New Game! Aoba is an enthusiastic youth right out of high school who’s just very excited to work on games. But despite her enthusiasm, her youth definitely causes her innocence to show. Though thankfully in the professional environment, her lack of knowledge rarely causes any serious problems. Even still, she’s the most naive of the dev team – and it often shows. Although her drive to help and positive energy always makes up for her lack of knowledge.
14. Akihisa Yoshii
Anime: Baka and Test This is an absolute goofball of a man. He’s often considered to be the… not smartest of the school. And that makes sense, considering he’s the titular “Baka” referred to by the series. The poor boy is so misled that for a long time, he thought that he could break a brick of ramen in half to infinitely eat. As you’d expect? It didn’t quite work out for him. Though clearly his friends all still care about him despite that.
13. Misa Amane
Anime: Death Note Misa Misa stands in as Light’s girlfriend for the majority of the series. Although it’s still not clear whether the relationship was ever two ways, Misa clearly loved Light. This idol is pretty oblivious, however, and her role in the mind games that prevail throughout the show are usually over her head. But even then she’s still a pivotal part of the series – even if it is mostly being used as a pawn by Light.
12. Yuuko Aioi
Anime: Nichijou Aioi is lazy. Probably the most lazy girl in the entire show. She doesn’t like to do homework, often forgets things, and constantly tries to be the “funny girl” in the group. Yet despite her attempts, her jokes are often funny because of the fact that they’re not funny. She holds a personal special place in my heart. And her brand of comedy fits so well in such an already funny show.
11. Astraea
Anime: Heaven’s Lost Property This is a big blast from the past, as Heaven’s Lost Property is actually one of the first anime that I ever watched. Astraea left an impression. She’s the one who made me love the trope. Though she’s initially dedicated to foil many plans throughout the show, her airheadedness usually causes her to fail spectacularly – creating some of the funniest moments. Eventually she just ends up joining the team in their hijinks – but she’ll always be my favorite girl in the show.
10. Inosuke Hashibira
Anime: Demon Slayer Oh Inosuke. Such a poor boy. He was raised by animals and knows very little about much other than a swordsmanship that he created himself. He’s loud, brash, and very aggressive. At the end of the day, Inosuke always wants to prove himself against Tanjiro, but oftentimes his straightforward approach to problem solving doesn’t always work out for him. In fact, his aggressiveness often gets him into far more trouble than needed if he were to just think it over like his fellow Demon Slayers. Either way though, I love this boy and will protect him with my life.
9. Usagi Tsukino
Anime: Sailor Moon As one of the all-time icons of anime, Usagi is still to this day one of the cutest airheads you’ll find in all of anime. And even though she’s the head of the Sailors, she’s not the brightest bulb. In one of her most famous lines, she has no idea how to work a computer – and that isn’t where her ditziness ends. And she’s also one of the goofiest members of the team consistently. I’m sure many people found their first airhead crush in Sailor Moon.
8. Mina Ashido
Anime: My Hero Academia Mina is one of the cutest girls in My Hero, and has probably one of the most useful powers of Class 1-A… buuut despite that, she still has some issues “innovating”. She has some of the lowest grade scores in the class – and because of that, she firmly falls into the airhead category alongside Kaminari. The two of them are such an adorable pair of goofs.
7. Senpai
Anime: Magical Sempai The Senpai of Magical Sempai fame. She’s a master magician, as long as no one’s looking at least. But the second she has a crowd, she seems to be unable to pull off even some of the most simple of magic tricks. And even when she’s not doing magic, there’s constantly moments where she’s just unaware of the suggestivity of some of the things that she’s doing.
6. Emilia
Anime: Re:Zero They say you fall into one of two categories: You’re either a Rem or an Emilia stan, and I fall into the latter group. Emilia’s just too undeniably cute for me not to choose her. The poor sheltered girl was convinced that hand holding could get you pregnant, and that’s someone you must protecc.
5. Mugen
Anime: Samurai Champloo Mugen is definitely someone who thinks with his sword before anything else. Much in the same way as Inosuke from Demon Slayer. Compared to his colleagues, Kasumi who is usually a voice of reason and Jin who’s far more precise with his fighting style and generally just thinks more, Mugen comfortably falls into the airhead role of the group. But that’s okay, Mugen. You’re best boy anyways.
4. Mako Mankanshoku
Anime: Kill la Kill Mako takes the energetic airhead trope and turns it up to 20. Though that can be said about almost every character who falls into a trope in Kill la Kill. Mako is the unwavering best friend of Ryuko, and will cheer her on about every single aspect of her life – even the ones that are best left unannounced. She’ll defy death just to make sure that her bestie has every bit of a moral boost that she can offer. Even if it doesn’t always work out for her.
3. Yuuki Judai
Anime: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX While he is the main character of my personal favorite of the Yu-Gi-Oh series, Judai is not the brightest. Yet regardless of his smarts, he manages to prove his talent time and time again. He has an unabashed enthusiasm for dueling, and just seems to be a natural at it. He doesn’t overthink things, but knows just how to work with his deck to make it work out the best. Though the innocence of his enthusiasm wavers in later seasons, he always seems to find his way back to the heart of the cards.
2. Monkey D. Luffy
Anime: One Piece Luffy has to be one of the biggest examples of the airhead shonen protagonists, along with contemporaries Goku and Naruto. But Luffy shines through the most to me. Luffy cares about 3 things primarily: Food, becoming king of the pirates, and his friends. This often causes him to have a very one track mind. But even with such a single-mindedness, his antics and drive push through everything make him a reliable leader – even if he needs some help from the smarter crew members from time to time.
1. Aqua
Anime: KonoSuba You can call me a follower of the Axis cult, because it’s true. The one true goddess is that of Aqua-sama from KonoSuba. This blue haired cutie may be a goddess, but that doesn’t mean she’s omnipotent. Far from in fact, as she’s pretty clueless about almost everything. She throws her worries away and just revels in everything that she can, no matter how much debt it gets her (and her party) into. So the objective best girl of KonoSuba (don’t @ me) and best anime airhead simply had to be this party tricking, beer chugging, debt-riddled, useless goddess.
