15 Anime Characters With The Most Pride And Self Respect You'll Ever See

Pride isn’t always a bad thing. But when you overdose on it, your self-esteem gets clobbered over the head.

Making you overly emotional, arrogant, and difficult to deal with.

On the other hand there’s pride in the sense of feeling good about who you are, your values and your accomplishments.

In this post, I’ll highlight anime characters who fit both extremes (and even more) when it comes to pride and confidence.

Anime Characters With The Most Pride:

1. Nana Osaki (Nana)

Credits to artist (couldn’t find them).

Nana is the kind of woman who won’t allow another man to make her dependent. Or anyone for that matter.

She’s fiercely independent and self-sufficient, willing to do whatever it takes to take care of herself without needing to rely on others.

This stems from Nana’s strong sense of pride, values and inner-confidence.

It’s what makes her a realistic character.

2. Bakugo Katsuki (My Hero Academia)

Bakugo Katsuki is the ugly example of what happens when pride is taken too far.

Usually because your whole life you’ve had people stroke your ego and treat you like a king.

Bakugo, until he becomes a part of the MHA squad, believes he’s the best fighter on the planet. Believing everyone is below him, shunning the thought of someone being worthy of challenging him.

And then reality smacks him in the face and his pride takes a punch to the stomach.

It’s because of Bakugo’s ridiculous pride that he’s a hated character, but to me this is what makes him interesting.

Giving him tons of potential for character development.

Read: The Best Life Lessons From My Hero Academia

3. Satsuki Kiryuin (Kill La Kill)

Satsuki (or lady Satsuki) has enough pride to never lower her standards, but not so much that she’s blinded by her own actions and limitations.

She believes in doing the right thing and striving for nothing more than greatness. Anything less isn’t tolerated.

These are the traits I like most about Satsuki. It’s why she’s such a memorable character.

4. Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z/Super)

You can’t talk about pride without mentioning the Saiyan prince, Vegeta.

By nature the Saiyan race has enough pride to fill a universe. And being a prince from a royal bloodline, Vegeta has a lot to live up to.

His damaging childhood and desire to become stronger is where his pride stems from.

In Vegeta’s eyes, if you’re not improving then you’re getting weaker. Hence why he takes pride in his ability to work hard, get shit done and reach new levels most assume is impossible.

And as flawed as it might be, he’d rather die than beg for his life and cower in fear.

Even if that means staring death in the face with a smile.

Related: Dragon Ball Z Merchandise

5. Zouroku Kashimura (Alice & Zouroku)

Zouroku is a florist in the mysterious supernatural series: Alice And Zouroku.

If there’s one thing his pride won’t tolerate, it’s anything that’s dishonest, corrupt or shameful.

He’s a hardworking man who earned everything he’s got, with too much self respect to lower his standards or sell himself short.

6. Frieza (Dragon Ball Z/Super)

Frieza is probably the most corrupt, sadistic villain to have ever been created in anime. And as is always the case, with power comes a bloated sense of pride.

All of sudden you feel like you’re the shit, and everybody else who dares try to compete with you is nothing but a cockroach who deserves to be crushed at the bottom of your feet.

This is how Frieza is, and even in the face of death he still refuses to face the truth, because his arrogance won’t allow it.

7. Byakuya Kuchiki (Bleach)

Byakuya Kuchiki has a deep sense of pride. The “male” version of Erza Scarlet you could say.

He always takes pride in his actions and stands by his morals 100%.

Because of this his confidence is mistaken for arrogance, when in reality he’s self assured and always thinks one step ahead.

8. Erina Nakiri (Food Wars)

Erina comes from a wealthy background, born into money. Similar to Bulma from DBZ.

But unlike Bulma (at least in the dubbed version) Erina comes across as arrogant and “too good” for anyone.

When you peel pack her pride and look at the root cause, it’s clear to see she fears competition. Because of what it’ll do to her ego.

9. Karma Akabane (Assassination Classroom)

Karma is more of a “delinquent” in the beginning of Assassination Of Classroom. A delinquent with a lot to prove, and the pride to go with it.

It’s not until he loses for the first time in his life that his pride takes a punch to the gut.

Helping him grow into a better, more capable student as the anime progresses.

10. Alice Nakiri (Food Wars)

Alice, like Erina, comes from a wealthy family in the food business. So she grew up surrounded by the best food prepared by the best chefs in the world.

This is where her motivation and pride comes from.

It’s not the “arrogant” type of pride you’d expect from her back story. But more a pride that stems from ambition, pushing herself to the next level, and acknowledging her accomplishments.