The Best Bishounen Animes + Beautiful Characters

In this article, we will see a list of the best bishounen animes that feature beautiful male characters. Animes that sometimes focus on attracting the female audience in some way, sometimes with fanservice. We will also see a ranking of handsome characters.

Bishounen (also known as bishie) is a combination of the Japanese terms bi [美] which means beautiful and pretty, along with the word shounen [少年] which means boy. In other words, literally a beautiful boy.

These “beautiful boys” are famous in real life for their feminine features and style, having a large space in Japanese pop culture as boy bands, rock stars, actors, and models. Who could blame the female population for courting these beings?

Now imagine having these aspiring One Directions in animes? You have all the aspects of your favorite anime, with the addition of a handful of ridiculously handsome boys. Bishounen animes often have sweet love stories that can enchant any girl.

Which animes usually have bishounen characters?

Any anime can have one or another bishounen character to attract the female audience. Whether it’s a shoujo, shounen, seinen or any other anime. However, some animes seem to focus on handsome male characters. Generally, these animes are:

• Idol Animes;
• Reverse or Inverted Harem Animes;
• Shounen Ai Animes;
• Shoujo Romance Animes;
• Music and Band Animes;
• Vampire Animes;
• Butler Animes;
• Sports Animes;

Most of the types of animes mentioned above have handsome male characters. The list is really extensive, many of these animes are generic, made only for fan service for girls. Therefore, we will not give them much attention.

Many of these animes showcase these men shirtless or even without anything, some even lean a bit towards homosexual romance. In other words, the directors and authors do not only sensualize female characters to attract the audience.

Bishounen Animes that are actually Shounen

Some animes have many bishounen characters, but are actually aimed at a male audience or a general audience. They do not abuse fanservice for women, they just have characters considered crushes and eye candy for women.

Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch

The anime tells the story of a protagonist who, besides being handsome, is super intelligent; he intends to overthrow the government that dominates the world, using only war strategies and a power that allows him to give one order to anyone.

One of the best animes of all time features handsome characters that enchant girls. Set in the future, Code Geass offers thrilling battles of young and attractive soldiers. Look into Lelouch’s eyes and succumb to his power.

The art style of the anime is not the best, but it has its own style and charm. In this anime, what really stands out are the male characters, while in most other shounen animes, the girls with big breasts take charge.

Kuroko no Basuke

Another super popular sports anime that enchants both audiences. Although romance is scarce, this basketball anime has charismatic characters that charm both girls and boys. Its focus is to enchant both audiences.

Even without focusing on female characters, this anime manages to win over a large part of the boys with its story. Why is it a bishounen? Surreal basketball skills, muscular young athletes, and beautiful faces. Do I need to say more?

Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler)

A very interesting anime about a badass butler who does everything for his master. This anime is considered a shounen, has a lot of action and a quite dark atmosphere, but it is mainly popular among girls. Why is that?

If you like aristocrats and butlers in tuxedos, you will love this anime! It has an incredible story and a great soundtrack. This anime is one of those that keeps you hooked from start to finish.

K

Shiro is an ordinary student at Ashinaka High School. His life takes a turn when one day, a classmate asks him to do a task. Shiro is attacked by a group of people, not understanding what is happening.

A video is shown, depicting him killing someone and claiming to be the “Seventh King.” The story is really interesting, but the character design is so good that girls will probably focus on the hot guys in the anime.

The anime and manga series [K] is for all genders, some focused on the shoujo, seinen, and shounen audience. Few girls are present in this anime, which makes one think that the focus of this work is mainly on girls.

Animes with Bishounen Characters Made for Girls

Akatsuki no Yona

Although primarily aimed at a female audience, Akatsuki no Yona fits perfectly as a well-crafted action anime with high-quality characters and plot. The anime focuses much more on the plot than on romance.

Princess Yona lived her whole life in luxury and goodwill in her kingdom until now. She has everything she ever wanted and needed, and a childhood friend she has always had a crush on. One fateful day, on her 16th birthday, everything changes drastically for the worse.

Her life follows a journey trying to survive and find other characters who are handsome men forming a harem. Fortunately, this is an anime focused on the story, with little fan service, but it enchants many girls.

Vampire Knight

What if the hot guy you fall in love with at school is a vampire? Would you learn more about him or would you run away? If you like mysterious boys, Vampire Knight is the right anime for you.

The anime shows a boarding school that divides two isolated elite classes during the day and at night. The night class is full of beautiful vampires, where Yuuki and Zero act as guardians, protecting the secrets of this night class.

Can vampires and humans coexist, even in the strict setting of Cross Academy? Although it seems like a shounen anime, it is actually an anime aimed especially at the female audience.

Kamigami no Asobi

Kamigami no Asobi is filled with fun and attractive characters. The plot of this series thickens as the viewer goes through it episode by episode, leaving girls in love with each protagonist.

The high school girl Yui Kusanagi is chosen and forced by Zeus (director of a Forbidden Academy) to teach the values of humanity and love to the other young gods. The story starts here and goes much further. Another reverse harem full of bishounen.

Brothers Conflict

Brothers Conflict tells the story of Ema Hinata, a girl who lives with her father, who decides to remarry, and the girl gains a new family of 13 amazing brothers. In other words, this anime has 13 handsome men for all tastes.

Ema wants to get along with everyone, to live in peace, but the boys cannot define her as a sister, thus forbidden issues like love begin to disturb this new family. Reverse harem, handsome characters, and forbidden romance? Hmm…

Free! (Free! Iwatobi Swim Club)

A group of friends decides to create the Iwatobi High School Swim Club to swim together. The anime is full of main characters appearing shirtless in swimsuits most of the time.

Although aimed at girls, many men also found the anime and the story interesting. Made by Kyoto Animation, the character designs are brilliant and make any girl drool over those muscles.

Other Animes with Bishounen Characters

There are many animes with bish characters. To conclude, let’s leave an extensive list in order of popularity, with the most popular bishounen character animes of all time. From shounen animes to shoujo.

• Hakkeden;
• Owari no Seraph;
• Haikyuu;
• Nanbaka;
• Katsugeki Touken Ranbu;
• Bungou Stray Dogs;
• Dance with Devils;
• Uta no Prince-Sama;
• Norn9;
• Hakuoki;
• 07-Ghost;
• Shounen Hollywood;
• Miracle Train;
• Ouran High School Host Club;
• Bakumatsu Rock;
• Kamisama Kiss
• Inu x Boku
• The Prince of Tennis
• Pandora Hearts
• Maid-Sama!
• Rainbow Days;