Summary
A character’s backstory can make or break them, and they enable the viewers to understand them on a deeper level. It’s important in any medium, andanimeis no exception. The vast number of anime out there means that there are thousands of characters with different backstories.
Each unique backstory allows the characters to stand out from the crowd. Across different series, many suffer from a troubled past, which plays a key role in shaping their personalities. Though they come from several different shows, the characters below all have histories that tug at viewers' heartstrings.
Updated on Jun 16, 2025, by Suzail Ahmad:In the last decade or so, the importance of a character having a good backstory has greatly increased. Previously, manga authors could skip over background stories by using other means, but now it has become an absolute must.
A backstory does more than reveal the parentage of an individual; it shows the most important events that have taken place in their life. These events often end up shaping a character’s personality, setting them down a certain path. This is why many anime characters with thesaddestbackstoriesend up going down the road filled with all sorts of evils.
Todoroki is among the main characters of My Hero Academia. He is the son of Endeavor, one of the strongest pro-heroes in the entire world. From a young age, Todoroki was subjected to mental and physical torture, all because his father wanted to turn him into the strongest weapon.
Todoroki grew up with a lot of trauma, and it affected his personality to a certain extent. He wasn’t trusting of his classmates and preferred to remain aloof. What makes it worse is that Endeavor didn’t feel any remorse for his son until much later.
Kafka Hibino is the main protagonist of Kaiju No. 8. He comes off as a cheerful and funny person, but under the surface, there is a great deal of sadness. Kafka does not have many good memories from the time when he was a kid, which is hardly surprising considering the strength of the Kaiju.
When he was still very young, Kafka’s town suffered a major Kaiju attack in which his parents died. This propelled him to try and join the Defense Forces, but he repeatedly failed. Due to this reason, he ended up losing contact with his childhood friend.
Nagato was among the few surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan. He lived happily with his parents, but his world was turned upside down when some ninjas killed them. Nagato was traumatized by their deaths, and he became so enraged that he avenged them by murdering the culprits.
Shortly afterward, Nagato left his house and roamed the battlefields. Eventually, he met Konan and Yahiko. After staying with them for a while, he was happy once again. However, fate had other plans for him. Yahiko killed himself right before Nagato’s eyes for the sake of maintaining peace. Following his friend’s death, Nagato shouldered the pressure of changing the world.
The Seven Deadly Sins
Escanor was a member of the Seven Deadly Sins, a group of knights who protected Britannia from all kinds of harm. To most people, he was the epitome of pride, but those who were aware of his past knew that there was more to him.
Escanor was born as a prince of the Kingdom of Castellio. His older brother used to pick on him, which understandably made Escanor sad. But when his power awakened, he accidentally broke his brother’s arm. Eventually, he was banished from his own kingdom. Wherever he went, people hated him, and they wouldn’t hold back and let their opinions be known. It wasn’t until Escanor joined the Seven Deadly Sins that he felt better.
Gyutaro and Daki were the main antagonists of the Entertainment District arc. The two together formed Upper Rank Five. Gyutaro and Daki were not equal in terms of strength, and it was mainly the brother who did the heavy lifting.
Before being turned into demons, Gyutaro and Daki were humans who lived in extreme poverty. He was treated horribly by his mother, who wanted him dead at all costs. Following her death, Gyutaro was left to fend for himself and his sister. He would eat insects and mice, as he couldn’t afford anything else. The other members of society frowned upon his ways, and they would abuse him at every chance they got. Like her brother, Daki also had to endure hardships at the hands of her mother and other people. At one point, she was burned alive by a samurai and left in a near-death condition.
Bartholomew Kuma used to be an officer in the Revolutionary Army, but he was forced to give up his role to protect Bonney. Not only did he sacrifice his ambitions, but he even gave up his consciousness for the sake of his daughter. Bartholomew Kuma agreed to be the subject of various experiments for the World Government just so Bonney would be healed.
If his adult life wasn’t bad enough, in the past, Kuma was treated as a criminal. As a member of the Buccaneer race, Kuma was considered a threat to the authority of the World Government. Kuma and his parents were taken to Marijoa, where they were treated worse than animals. This led to the death of his parents. Once Kuma found another person worth living for, she was taken away from him. The next interaction between the two came during her death.
The Fruit Of Grisaia
Amane Suou is a third-year student at Mihama Academy who is extremely caring. She also has a tendency to make dirty jokes, but it’s purely for laughs. Anyone who takes a look at Amane would think that she must have a great life, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.
Amane was involved in a serious crash when she was only 13 years old. There were only a few survivors, Amane being one of them. With help seeming out of the question, the survivors turned on each other. Her friends sacrifice themselves to save Amane, but things get worse for her after she is rescued. People started to speculate that she ate other people. This leads to constant bullying, which causes her immense grief. Amane is left with survivor’s guilt, and her life becomes miserable.
Fate/stay night
Sakura Matou had a terrible life without any respite. She was abandoned by her real family and given to a close friend of her father, who wanted to use her for his own gain. Sakura was put through a great degree of torture, which caused her to turn into an emotionless husk.
At one point, she was fed to special worms, which worsened her condition. However, the tragedies don’t stop there. Sakura’s foster brother, Shinji Matou, abused her physically many times. Needless to say, her life was extremely messed up, and all these events affected her personality.
Before being turned into Narehate, Mitty used to be a normal human girl who had a very positive attitude toward life. She would always try to remain optimistic, even when things weren’t going well. This often annoyed people around her, but Mitty won them over with her cheerful nature.
Sadly, her entire life was ruined by Bondrewd, who took her down to the fifth layer along with other children. Brondrewd experimented on her, which caused her to be afflicted by the Curse. Mitty’s body completely changed, and she lost her intelligence as well. Mitty begged her best friend to end her life many times, but none of the methods worked.
March Comes in Like a Lion
Rei Kiriyama is the main protagonist ofMarch Comes In Like A Lion. As the central figure in the story, Rei is constantly involved in all the episodes. He tried his best to blend in with the others, but Rei’s traumatic past often led to problems. As a child, he was severely bullied, and he couldn’t communicate with the other kids.
Rei suffered a huge setback when his parents and sister died in a gruesome accident. He was left all alone until his father’s friend took him in. After a few years, Rei felt responsible for the negativity in his foster home, so he left to live by himself.
