Shonen Jump Main Characters, Ranked by Intelligence (2025)

Shonen Jump is famous for having main characters that aren't exceptionally bright. The more intelligent characters are usually reserved as antagonists or rivals, like Itachi or Vegeta.

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However, the popular collection of manga under Shonen Jump is versatile to produce some genuinely thoughtful main characters. This is especially true in recent years, where thestyles of character archetypes in anime and manga have begun to become a bit more malleable. When analyzing intelligence in Shonen Jump anime, which so often are about combat, it's important to factor in both scholarly intelligence and intelligence on the field of battle.

Goku

The protagonist of Dragon Ballis the classicstereotype of the genre, and in the eyes of many fans, he embodies that persona to a fault.

Goku features an extreme lack of basic book knowledge, to the point of not understanding core parts of human anatomy. However, Goku's decision-making is so pooron the battlefield that his lack of intelligence on a bookish level doesn't seem like a very big deal. Whether he sits with his mouth agape as his opponent takes hundreds of seconds to transform or he hands his opponent a senzu bean for a more fair fight, Goku is the king of boneheaded anime protagonists.

Naruto

The harborer of the nine-tailed fox and protagonist of Narutois known for being as incredibly simple as he is incredibly powerful.

On an academic level, Naruto was a complete failure at every stage in the anime. He didn't do well on the written test portion in the Chunin Exams, and he was famously a bad student in his early academy days. While Naruto had some clever uses of his shadow clone technique throughout the series, his battle tricks weren't quite on the level of other Shonen protagonists to make up for hisfaults.

Gon Freecs

The protagonist of Hunter x Hunter, Gon is a self-professed idiot and the youngest of the popular Shonen Jump protagonists.

With almost no formal education or street smarts to speak of, Gon often has to rely on the other members of his team like Killua and Leorio to do almost anything.He often takes matters into his own hands when he could leave plenty of fights to characters more powerful than Gon.His stubbornness aside, Gon actually does have some clever battle tactics. His plan to manipulate the boulder card in his fight with Bomber was a shining example of Gon's creative abilities.

Monkey D. Luffy

Luffy, the protagonist of One Piece, has been going strong for 20 years and isn't done yet. Luffy has many of the more simple bone-headed tropes of early anime protagonists, but they're often used purely in comedic moments.

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Luffy hasn't quite had the education that other Shonen Jump characters have gotten, and most of his time is spent out adventuring. He can have his clumsy and thoughtless moments, like walking into blatant traps or challenging Kaido, but Luffy also has moments ofimprovisation and good performance on the field of battle. Finding out Crocodile's weakness and coating his fists in water is an example of Luffy using his brain alongside his brawn.

Yuji

Itadori Yuji, the protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen,is best known for his incredible athletic ability. After eating a finger of the king of curses, Ryomen Sukuna, Yuji is conscripted to Jujutsu High to become a vessel for Sukuna and absorb all of the curse's fingers.

Yuji has proclaimed himself an idiot and has been frequently called one by classmates Nobara and Megumi. However, Yuji has areas where he shines above other Shonen Jump protagonists. Not only does Yuji have a formal high school education, but he's also quite the pop culture and film buff thanks to Gojo Satoru's training. In terms of battle, Yuji is quick to sync well with various partners like Todo and mastered using Black Flash after a short lesson.

Ichigo

Bleach's protagonist was justa normal guyuntil the day Rukia bestowed the powers of a Soul Reaper upon him. After that day, Ichigo did his best to balance high school life with slaying hollows and being a hero.

Ichigo wasn't known for being an academic genius or for drastically outplaying his rivals, but he wasn't exactly known for being a simpleton or falling face-first into danger either. Among all Shonen Jump protagonists, he sits firmly as the most average in terms of intelligence. Despite heroic deeds and Ichigo's numerous encounters with death, he's just atypical high school student.

Tanjiro

Kamado Tanjiro, the inheritor of the long-lost sun breathing technique, became a demon slayer after demon progenitor Muzan slaughtered his family and turned his sister Nezuko into a demon.

Demon Slayer's protagonistdoesn't have much in the way of education, but his understanding of nature and his craft is high. The sun-breathing wielder is also shown to be incredibly creative in battle. When Tanjiro was struggling against Daki with the pain sun-breathing was causing him, he used half of his old water breathing technique mixed in with the sun breathing to let him create a less powerful but more versatile combination attack. This new style, invented on the fly, allowed him to hold his own against Daki and save Tengen Uzui's wife.

Yugi

Yugi Moto is the appropriately named protagonist of the popular card game anime Yu-Gi-Oh!After solving a strange puzzle given to him by his Grandfather, Yugi becomes the host for the mystical spirit of a nameless Pharaoh.

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Yugiis a studentand is often seen visiting sights like museums. Not to mention, Yugi's grandfather is a retired archeologist and a historian, hobbies Yugi seems to have picked up from his grandpa and guardian. When playing Duel Monsters, Yugi is an expert strategist. Defeating the pharaoh in the final duel of the series and going toe-to-toe with the protagonist of the following series, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, are just two feats that show Yugi's level as a player.

Midoriya

The lead ofMy Hero Academiawas gifted the power of One For All, the world's strongest quirk, after being born without a power of his own.

Midoriya is considered to be a bit of a nerd by his classmates. Midoriya came fourth in his class in test results and has an ongoing record of professional heroes and their abilities that he analyzes and learns from. In terms of combative intelligence, Midoriya is exceptionally skilled at figuring out how the powers of his team go best together. With Mineta and Asui's odd quirks, Deku was able to create a plan for the three of them to take down a group of villains in the first season of the series.

Light

The boy genius and protagonist of Death Note himself, Light Yagami gave himself the name Kira after acquiring the Death Note's power. With hopes to bring a sense of justice back to humanity and create a better world, Light loses himself in diabolical schemes and overwhelming power.

Light is the only true genius among the protagonists of Shonen Jump. Not only does he excel in school, but his intellect as a detective and mastermind is unparalleled. The way Light convinces Naomi that he needs her identity to refer her for a job in the fight against Kira, only to use that identity to get her real name for the Death Note, is an early example of Light's diabolical genius.

Next: Death Note's Main Characters Ranked by Character Arc