Greedy Anime Characters (2024)

Anime is home to some truly wacky and amusing running jokes and archetypes, from himbos and hotheaded tsunderes to the "big eater" trope. Plenty of anime characters are known for their bottomless appetites, eating enough for several people in a single sitting. Sometimes, a hungry anime character's appetite might factor into their personal arc or even their abilities, but other times, it's just for humor's sake.

In the modern anime world, the "big eater" concept evidently came from Son Goku of Dragon Ball fame, and he inspired many more anime characters to have big appetites, too. Goku's hunger probably came from Sun Wukong eating food to power up in Journey to the West, and that concept is alive and well in anime. And even among big eaters, some anime characters are hungrier than others, with a few just eating multiple meals' worth of food at a time, and others cleaning out entire restaurants.

10 Sasha Braus Regularly Steals Military Ration Stockpiles

Overall, Attack on Titan has a well-deserved reputation for being a brutal, dark, and complex anime with horror and politics mixed in with all the action. Still, even Attack on Titan needs a little comic relief to entertain fans, and for a time, Sasha Braus delivered. She was introduced as a simple country girl who was ready to fight Titans – but not on an empty stomach.

More than once, Sasha Braus was seen swiping contraband food to snack on during training or active duty, all to fuel her eternal appetite. She never ate a comically huge amount at once, though, so Sasha ranks low among the hungriest anime characters who can eat a lot in one sitting. That said, Sasha is best known in the fandom for her love of meat and potatoes, which overshadows her actual character arc, funnily enough.

Attack On Titan

TV-MA

Action

Adventure

Original title: Shingeki no Kyojin.
After his hometown is destroyed and his mother is killed, young Eren Jaeger vows to cleanse the earth of the giant humanoid Titans that have brought humanity to the brink of extinction in Attack on Titan.

Release Date

September 28, 2013

Creator

Hajime Isayama

Cast

Bryce Papenbrook , Yûki Kaji , Marina Inoue , Hiro Shimono , Takehito Koyasu , Jessie James Grelle

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

4 Seasons

Studio

Wit Studios, MAPPA

Number of Episodes

98 Episodes

9 Rikido Sato Can Eat Endless Desserts to Fuel His Quirk

Some Quirks in My Hero Academia's world require an energy source or sample material to function, such as blood for Himiko's Transform Quirk or energy for Eri's Rewind Quirk. Meanwhile, two different class 1-A students need to eat food to power up their Quirks, those being Momo Yaoyorozu the genius and Rikido Sato. The latter has an even bigger appetite to fuel his Quirk, though Momo can also put away a large plate of food if need be.

Rikido and Momo were seen side by side eating regularly to train with their Quirks at the forest training camp. Rikido, in particular, was lifting dumbbells for hours on end while consuming sugary desserts for his Sugar Rush Quirk, and he showed no sign of slowing down or feeling full. In fact, Rikido decided to make desserts his hobby, and he was seen baking cakes and other treats in his dorm room.

My Hero Academia (2016)

TV-14

Action

Adventure

Izuku has dreamt of being a hero all his life—a lofty goal for anyone, but especially challenging for a kid with no superpowers. That’s right, in a world where eighty percent of the population has some kind of super-powered “quirk,” Izuku was unlucky enough to be born completely normal. But that’s not enough to stop him from enrolling in one of the world’s most prestigious hero academies.

Release Date

May 5, 2018

Cast

Daiki Yamash*ta , Justin Briner , Nobuhiko Okamoto , Ayane Sakura

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

6

Production Company

Bones

Number of Episodes

145

8 Mitsuri Kanroji Eats a Lot to Strengthen Her Muscles

Mitsuri Kanroji is the Love Hashira in Demon Slayer. She has a big appetite, though that's not what she is best known for. Instead, Mitsuri garnered a reputation for being incredibly strong, boasting powerful, dense muscles that can put any other demon slayer's physical prowess to shame. She also stands out with her whip-like Nichirin sword.

In a flashback during the Swordsmith Village story arc, Demon Slayer fans saw Mitsuri's appetite at work. It wasn't even a gag, either – Mitsuri's relationship with food altered her entire childhood. She faced rejection due to her unusual strength and big appetite, and her hair even changed color because of eating so much sakura mochi. Mitsuri dealt with personal insecurities for years because of all this until she vowed to be true to herself no matter what.

Demon Slayer

TV-MA

Anime

Action

Adventure

When Tanjiro Kamado returns home to find his family was attacked and killed by demons, he discovers his younger sister Nezuko was the only survivor. As Nezuko slowly becomes a demon, Tanjiro sets out to find a cure for her and become a demon slayer so he can avenge his family.

Release Date

April 6, 2019

Creator

Koyoharu Gotouge

Cast

Natsuki Hanae , Zach Aguilar , Abby Trott , Yosh*tsugu Matsuoka

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

3

Studio

ufotable

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu , Amazon Prime Video , Netflix

7 Choji Akimichi Needs Big Meals to Power Up His Jutsu

Many ninja clans in the Hidden Leaf Village practice unique hiden techniques, or jutsu that only a certain clan knows how to perform. The Akimichi clan practices the expansion jutsu, with Partial Expansion Jutsu being a common move in battle. Most Akimichi clan members are large people, but Naruto only showed Choji Akimichi getting bullied for it.

Choji endured constant mockery because of his weight and size growing up, but at least his good friend Shikamaru Nara accepted him for who he was, as did Naruto Uzumaki. Eventually, Choji became somewhat more secure about his image and didn't mind eating lots of barbecue and other food in front of others, since his friends would never judge him for it. Choji can eat a lot of barbecue or potato chips in a setting, all to maintain his weight and strength as a melee-oriented shinobi.

Naruto

TV-PG

Action

Adventure

Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous adolescent ninja, struggles as he searches for recognition and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the village's leader and strongest ninja.

Release Date

September 10, 2002

Creator

Masashi Kishimoto

Cast

Junko Takeuchi , Maile Flanagan , Kate Higgins

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

1

Production Company

Pierrot, Staralis Film Company

Number of Episodes

220

6 Allen Walker Says He Needs Constant Food to Maintain His Innocence Weapon

Once in a while in the D.Gray-Man anime, protagonist Allen Walker would comment on his mingled love and need for immense amounts of food. Being a big eater didn't shape his character arc that much, but the fact remained that Allen needed to eat lots of food to keep his parasitic Innocence power, Cross, fully powered up. He explained this to the other members of the Black Order shortly after joining that group.

Amusingly, official D.Gray-Man trivia makes it even clearer that in his downtime, Allen Walker is all about food. His favorite mitarashi dango, possibly a tribute to the author's Japanese origin, while he has no food that he dislikes. Allen also feels most at ease in the Black Order's cafeteria, where he can dine on personal favorites like dango and spicy ethnic food.

D.Gray-man (2006)

TV-14

Action

Adventure

Young Allen Walker, an exorcist, fights Akuma to save the world.

Release Date

October 3, 2006

Creator

Katsura Hoshino

Cast

Todd Haberkorn , Shizuka Itou , Sanae Kobayashi , Mark Stoddard

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

1

Producer

f*ckashi Azuma

Production Company

TV Tokyo

Number of Episodes

104 Episodes

5 Minerva Orland Can Out-Eat All the Men In Her Wizard Guild5

Early in the Fairy Tail anime series, the fire wizard Natsu Dragneel made a strong impression with his huge appetite, which helped establish him as a Goku clone. However, Natsu isn't Fairy Tail's single biggest eater, even if he and Happy can devour many bowls and plates of food. Instead, that distinction goes to Minerva Orland, of all people.

For the most part, Minerva was a serious and dangerous character in Fairy Tail, and she was an antagonist at first. Despite all that, Minerva amused Fairy Tail fans with her massive appetite, able to out-eat all the men in her guild in eating contests. Even after countless plates, Minerva didn't get a food belly, nor did she show any sign of being full. On a related note, Minerva is noted to be an excellent cook. All that makes her rank in the middle among anime's biggest eaters.

Fairy Tail

TV-14

Action

Lucy, an aspiring Celestial Wizard, becomes a friend and ally to powerful wizards Natsu, Gray, and Erza, who are part of the (in)famous wizard guild, Fairy Tail.

Release Date

October 12, 2009

Cast

Cherami Leigh , Todd Haberkorn , Tia Lynn Ballard , Colleen Clinkenbeard , Newton Pittman , Brittney Karbowski , Monical Rial , Brina Palencia

Main Genre

Action

Seasons

9

4 Yoruichi Shihoin Devoured Many Meals to Speed Up Her Recovery

Bleach only lightly dabbles in the "big eater" trope, and protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki, who's no Goku clone, has an average appetite. The anime did amuse fans with Orihime Inoue's bizarre home cooking early on, but the real big eater didn't show up until later: Yoruichi Shihoin, a rogue Soul Reaper and martial artist.

Early in the Arrancar arc, Yoruichi helped Ichigo fight off a pair of Espadas with her martial arts, but Yoruichi hurt herself by kicking and punching her foes' iron-like skin. To recover, and possibly just for fun, Yoruichi ate a vast amount of food in one sitting to recover, with bowls and plates stacked high around her. She acted satisfied but not overly stuffed after that, ready for more action. The anime, in particular, made a show of Yoruichi eating one bowl of delectable treats after another.

Bleach

TV-14

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Bleachrevolves around Kurosaki Ichigo, a regular always-grouchy high-schooler who for some strange reason is able to see the souls of the dead around him.

Release Date

October 5, 2004

Creator

Tite Kubo

Cast

Masakazu Morita , Fumiko Orikasa , Hiroki Yasumoto , Yuki Matsuoka , Noriaki Sugiyama , Kentarô Itô , Shinichirô Miki , Hisayoshi Suganuma

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

17 Seasons

Production Company

TV Tokyo, Dentsu, Pierrot

Number of Episodes

366 Episodes

3 Toriko Once Ate a Giant Alligator Overnight

The Toriko anime is all about gourmet hunters, exotic ingredients, and big appetites, which is all embodied in the protagonist, known simply as Toriko. He is an obvious Goku clone with his orange outfit, energetic himbo personality, emphasis on martial arts, and his huge appetite. It's little wonder Toriko was seen alongside Goku and Luffy in a crossover event some time ago.

Toriko, like all gourmet hunters, is a man on a mission to find the most wonderful ingredients in the world. Toriko has a hands-on approach in every sense, exploring the wild up close and killing giant animals with his bare hands. He made a strong impression early on, when he defeated a giant alligator and ate nearly the entire thing overnight because he couldn't help himself. He failed to deliver any leftover meat to his client, meaning the mission ended in failure, but the good-natured Toriko didn't mind.

Toriko

TV-PG

Action

Adventure

A master chef travels the world in search of ingredients to make fantastic dishes.

Release Date

April 3, 2011

Creator

Isao Murayama

Cast

Todd Haberkorn , Romi Park

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

1 Season

Producer

Makoto Seino, Naoko Sato, Takashi Washio

Production Company

Toei Company

Number of Episodes

149 Episodes

2 Son Goku Can Clean Out an Entire Restaurant With Room For Dessert

Author Akira Toriyama helped launch the entire "big eater" trope with his classic Dragon Ball franchise in the 1980s. The protagonist, Son Goku, clearly took many cues from Sun Wukong, from his extending staff and flying cloud to his monkey theme, and that made Goku a memorable Saiyan warrior. Goku also took after Sun Wukong in comedic ways, mostly in terms of food.

In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong powered up when he ate some fruit, but Goku eats a lot just because he likes it. Training is how he gets stronger, and food is how he fuels up for a Saiyan-caliber workout. Even as a tween, Goku could clean out an entire restaurant on his own and still claim to have room for dessert, which shocked and exasperated everyone else around him, even the people who knew him well. Bulma kept count, and determined that Goku downed 57 full-course meals all on his own.

Dragon Ball (1986)

TV-14

Action

Anime

Son Gokû, a fighter with a monkey tail, goes on a quest with an assortment of odd characters in search of the Dragon Balls, a set of crystals that can give its bearer anything they desire.

Release Date

February 26, 1986

Creator

Akira Toriyama

Cast

Masako Nozawa , Jôji Yanami , Stephanie Nadolny , Mayumi Tanaka , Hiromi Tsuru

Studio

Toei Animation

1 Monkey D. Luffy Eats Meat to Recover From His Injuries

Author Eiichiro Oda no doubt took many cues from Akira Toriyama when designing his protagonist in One Piece. Luffy is Goku on the high seas with a rubbery body and a good heart, though his personal arc is certainly different than Goku's. Luffy's main goal is not to save the Earth, but roam the high seas with total freedom while striving to become king of the pirates.

Luffy is known for many things, including his immense fondness for meat of all kinds. In fact, it's sometimes a serious plot point that Luffy is too hungry to face the villain, so his crewmates must procure a meal for him and get him in fighting shape. Luffy can eat the most out of any anime hero in one sitting, as his adventure into Impel Down showed. After exhausting himself fighting off Magellan's poisons with Ivankov's help, Luffy ate several days' worth of Ivankov's group's food like a human vortex. Luffy had a massive round bulge after eating so much, only to absorb it all and get back into fighting shape.

One Piece (1999)

TV-14

Animation

Action

Adventure

Follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew in order to find the greatest treasure ever left by the legendary Pirate, Gold Roger. The famous mystery treasure named "One Piece".

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Creator

Eiichirô Oda

Cast

Mayumi Tanaka , Akemi Okamura , Laurent Vernin , Tony Beck , Kazuya Nakai

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

1

Studio

Toei Animation

Production Company

Toei Animation

Number of Episodes

1K+

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu , Funimation , Adult Swim , Pluto TV , Netflix