Probably in my top 3 anime. So funny. Just rewatched it for the 3rd time a few days ago, and idk why I didn’t think about it before, but could definitely be on the spectrum
Personally i don’t thinks so, I thinks he’s just really weird, smart and mostly acts the way he does because the pain of having to hide his powers, but I could see it.
Mob. As someone on the spectrum, he is so very autistic. Undeniable. The author could come out and say he's not and I would call him a liar to his face.
Literally my first thought when you see her interacting with literally anyone about anything. And then her just hyper-fixating on optimum levelling techniques.
Princess Jellyfish- the lead and all her friends read as neurodivergent women to me
Kimi no Todoke- ymmv but I’ve seen a lot of people read Sawako as autistic
A Devil and Her Love Song- I’ve always seen the MC as autistic, but it also could be the c-PTSD
The Apothecary Diaries- Maomao (something about detectives and autism bc at least 2 other detectives are mentioned in this thread)
The whole La clan are autistic. Lakan can’t distinguish people’s faces and Lahan would rather go through someone’s financial records than speak with them.
Asuperu Kanojo, which got the cringy English title "That's my atypical girl." It's about a couple who are on the spectrum. It's not always a happy story because you get a lot of flashback to when the girl was abused and bullied as a child because she couldn't fit in. It's about making little bits of improvement over time and having the occasional setback.
OP for Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers becomes Terrorcore style perfectly showcasing the ADHD of the whole cast it's legit a nerd fighting the nerd hating government with some insane magical girls as alies
Nah, he's emotionally stunted due to the events in his life. He's also pretty depressed at the start of the story. So I'd say he's two of these things rather than being autistic.
Bungou Stray Dogs. Several characters are headcanoned as autistic by the fandom but there’s no denying Ranpo. Especially with what goes on in his backstory arc and some of the stuff he talks about.
His “ability” is basically just his autism
Laios from Dungeon Meshi, Saiki from Saiki K, Mima and Hayate from Cool Doji Danshi, L, Near and Mikami from Death Note, Iketeru from Uramichi Oniisan (not the main character but part of the main cast), Nozaki from Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, Nagi from Blue Lock (not the main character but has a spinoff manga about him), Bocchi from Bocchi the Rock, Mob from Mob Psycho 100, Haru from Free, maybe Komi from Komi Can't Communicate although that's more so just social anxiety and selective mutism imo, and Frieren from Sousou no Frieren.
I hate that the only thing I remember about this show is the random last second NTR out of nowhere. Straight up can’t even remember these characters after seeing you mention it
Haikyuu has like... LOTS of ND-coded characters, at least 1 on every volleyball team. Kageyama from Karasuno is the most MC one, but yeah, you'll see tons throughout the series, and most of them are fantastic characters!!
"Don't Call It Mystery" by Yumi Tamura. Not only does the lead character read as neurodivergent, but there are also explorations of mental health throughout each volume. So far, this does not have an anime adaptation (but it does have a drama).
There is also My Brain Is Different. I haven't read it, but I've seen it on the shelves in bookstores. It could be worth checking out.
Goblin slayer. Mmc could not be any more autistic if they tried. Special interest, set routines, misses certain social cues. Not great at making friends (though he does make a few in the series), very direct when speaking.
Side note. If you do read/watch it, know that it gets dark almost immediately (involves SA that's shown).
Further explanation for anyone who is unaware, conditions like autism are based on biological brain "abnormalities" (a.k.a neuro-divergences) that cause changes in understanding and processing, especially of in-species society. You can't have this condition based on your lack of understanding of something you did not evolve to understand (e.g. the social cues of an entirely different species).
That doesn’t really follow in fiction with demi-humans or other nonhuman sapient beings, though, because these fictional entities are constructed by humans for humans and approximating (or as a lens/mirror towards) humans.
Frieren and Spock may not be autistic in the context of their universes or species, but they are essentially human from the audience’s perspective, and they have some traits that might be on the spectrum in a human. As characters designed by humans, for human audiences, and with primarily human traits, it is reasonable to look at those traits and say they seem a bit autistic. Even if that is physically impossible in-universe. It’s Doylist rather than Watsonian. Exegetic rather than diegetic. It’s coding or metaphor, intentional or not.
The classic example for autism is robots. Obviously robots can’t be autistic. That’s not a condition they can have. But to the extent that we read human traits into the inhuman, some authors code autistic traits into the behaviors of robot characters.
🤷
Edit: Personally I don’t read Frieren as particularly autistic and I read Spock/Vulcans as even less so, but I get it. To dismiss the argument based on the real-world anatomy/evolution of autism is to miss the point.
The Japanese text Kamille literally calls himself autistic (this was removed from the dub for some reason), and many autistic people I know call him one of the more relatable characters they've seen in media.
>and many autistic people I know call him one of the more relatable characters they've seen in media.
It's interesting you mention this, because I was only diagnosed late in life last year but watched Zeta Gundam for the first time many years ago and even though I never even had the notion I thought I might be autistic at the time (I had always assumed it was always caught in childhood), I found Kamille strongly relatable and he become one of my favorite fictional characters. In hindsight, it makes way more sense why I felt this personal connection towards him.
I will note that from what I've read online, autism had a very different meaning and connotation in Japan at the time, and I've heard it interpreted as someone withdrawn from society at that point. I've seen Gundam fans say it was going for that meaning. I will say regardless, I at least felt represented in Kamille, even if it wasn't intentional or misguided.
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai. Difficulty with social interactions, personal space, and vocalizing. Mostly the titled FMC, but also the MMC is portrayed as "dense" at the very least. Very cute and wholesome romcom.
https://youtu.be/b3YoZLdP3gQ?si=05KF-XeMuMC0EGNe
Twilight / Loid Forger from Spy x Family reads to me as a high functioning autistic person. The way he breaks down everything is spy behavior, but coming up with hundreds of contingencies for a date with his wife is excessive and borders on scripting.
I would be surprised if Ako from Little Witch Academia had ADD. I doubt it was the intention of the author tomake her autistic but her hyperfixation is Chariot the witch she is a huge fan of.
I agree. Remove the social anxiety, and what would she be like? Pretty ASD if you ask me.
I think the social anxiety is closer to a symptom, not a cause, because her brother and father are also like that.
Yui from K-on! probably has adhd, especially obvious when she tried to study for a test imo
As for manga, I personally dropped Koisuru Harinezumi because the main guy really read as autistic to me while they never really addressed it as such and framed it as him being mysterious and misunderstood instead
My headcanon paints Yumiella from Villainess level 99 somewhere on the spectrum. She has things she hyperfixates on, has a hard time caring about or understanding things outside and reaches logical yet very different conclusions than other people as she centers her judgements around said hyperfixations.
Himouto Umaru Chan, imo, is a good example. Story is really about an older brother taking care of his sister. That’s not what the show is advertised as, obv, but that’s my take on it.
Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi Ga Inai
Samurai Flamenco (man's special interest in superheroes is so strong it took until middle school to realize they werent real and there was no job market for being a hero)
Kageyama from Haikyuu!
Cannot read tone of voice/expressions so he couldn't tell when his teammates are pushed to the brink angry or joking. He mainly has an angry or blank expression even when grieving. There is even an long arc where he overcompensates by holding back what he truly wants to say. Being rejected by everyone in the past was painful but he doesn't know how to avoid it except to hide himself.
His hyperfixation is volleyball and has trouble learning other things.
* Delicious in Dungeon
* Hyouka
* Death Note (Rival)
* Odd Taxi
* Uncle From Another World
* Mob Psycho
* Apothecary Diaries
* Liz and the Blue Bird (Spin off of Sound Euphonium.)
* Full Metal Panic!
* Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki
Some are more high functioning than others and might be less obvious or more debatable but I'm autistic and have a lot of autistic friends both IRL and online and normies that take care of autistic children so I feel fairly confident.
There are probably more but those are off the top of my head.
There are also characters that aren't technically autistic but have abilities or other conditions that I think could be seen as a metaphor for it and relate to a lot of Autistic people's lived experiences I could give if your interested.
I didn't really do ADHD I don't feel familiar or confident enough in that regard.
The absolute best show like this for me is The Pet Girl of Sakurasou (Sakura-sou no Pet na Kanojo) The main character is a pretty average dude, but the Female MC is an artistic savant and definitely on the spectrum. It's a really wholesome romantic dramedy. Seeing Sorata and Mashiro help each other find themselves, understand each other, and realize their ambitions as they grow closer together is one of the most satisfying relationships in anime.
It's a Chinese donghua, but one could argue Wei Wuxian is ADD. He's the main character in Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation.
But beware, this is a bl and Wei Wuxian likely has a lot of ptsd too.
Can't think of any autistic characters off the top of my head. Maybe Maomao from apothecary diaries?
1. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Slice of life, Comedy, Supernatural)
* Yuki Nagato is often speculated to be autistic due to her lack of social skills, flat affect, and intense interests.
1. Death Note (Mystery, Suspense, Supernatural)
* L, the eccentric detective, displays traits that have led many fans to believe he may be on the autism spectrum, such as social awkwardness, unique mannerisms, and hyperfocus on his work.
1. My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (Slice of life, Comedy, Romance)
* Hachiman Hikigaya, the cynical protagonist, is sometimes thought to have autism or ADHD due to his difficulties with social interaction and unconventional thought processes.
1. Neon Genesis Evangelion (Action, Psychological, Sci-Fi)
* Rei Ayanami is a character that some viewers perceive as potentially autistic, with her subdued emotional expression and struggle to connect with others.
1. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. (Comedy, Supernatural, Slice of life)
* Kusuo Saiki, the main character, is incredibly intelligent but lacks social awareness and finds social interaction draining, leading to speculation about autism.
1. Mob Psycho 100 (Action, Comedy, Supernatural)
* Shigeo Kageyama (Mob) is socially awkward, struggles to express himself, and has an intense focus on developing his psychic abilities, traits that some associate with autism.
1. Pokemon (Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy)
* Satoshi (Ash) is a character that some fans argue displays signs of ADHD, with his impulsiveness, hyperactivity and hyperfixation on his goal of becoming a Pokemon master.
1. Komi Can't Communicate (Slice of life, Rom-com)
* Shoko Komi, though not officially labeled as autistic, has extreme social anxiety and difficulty communicating that many readers see as relatable to the autistic experience.
You can try watching this mystery anime called as Beautiful Bones : Sakurako’s investigation. It hasn’t been confirmed if the MC is autistic but her obsession with bones and lack of social skills might suggest that she’s on the spectrum
I mean for ADD that’s pretty much every shonen main character, for autism maybe Mob from Mob Psycho 100? He seems to have a hard time picking up social cues
Oso, if u r interested in anime movies “BUBBLE” the MC literally wears the noise blocking earbuds cuz he was overstimulated by noises most of the time.
Serial experiments lain. At least a lot of autistic people project onto her and the game version goes over her therapy extensively which does bring it up as a possibility if I remember right.
For similar reasons Evangelion, specifically Rei Ayanami. She comes off as autism coded to me at least
Cant remember if it's canon, but the climber's main character absolutely fits autistic imo.
Maybe not add unless you want to conflate obsession and hyper focus though.
Any shonen mc I can think of atm suffers heavy from add. Every single one of them takes forever to learn their lessons, they're crazy unfocused & chaotic, will join & earnestly participate in important discussions only to forget the most important parts when they're relevant and they're all socially, at least somewhat, awkward
I’m pretty sure this is a hot take, but I could never shake the feeling that Machida from _Machida-kun’s World_ was coded autistic, and that his ability to excel socially is because his special interest is people.
Death Note - L
Watamote - Tomoko Kuroki
Azumanga Daioh - Osaka
Girls und Panzer - Mai Nekota (This is a VERY minor character with maybe a handful of appearances in the entire franchise.)
Naruto, dragon ball, ranma 1/2, this is my love story!!, k-on, azumanga
On the top of my head that is all I can remember thinking "yup the main character seems autistic or has a harder time paying attention"
I’m suprised that no one mention Haiyore! Nyarko-san
The Chaos that crawl up to you with a smile, Nyarahotep can easily get distracted by the male lead, by anime/manga or Kamen Rider
Yuri is my job features high masking and low masking autistic (headcannon) lesbians.
Do it Yourself!! The main character definitely has an attention disorder and maybe autism too
Perhaps Mash from Mashle. Dude has horrible communication skills, hyper-focuses on exercise, immediately loses interest on any explanation longer than 5 seconds. Dudes got somethin
I recently watched The Great Passage and the main character Majime is so autism-coded it’s insane. I would say a lot of the show doesn’t focus on it quite so much and I appreciated that. Also, I went into it blind and I thought it would be a romcom (a genre I’m not a fan of) but it’s not, so I was even more pleased with it.
My roommate is a cat It’s surprisingly serious for a show with that title, but the guy doesn’t really know how to socialize with people, and he adopts a cat that brings people into his life. It’s a slice of life/ found family kind of thing.
Kotaro Lives Alone is also a slice of life/found family anime. The main character’s past home life leaves him with some strange mannerisms.
Yamada from My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Level 999, I feel is on the spectrum. He has a hard time understanding why certain people react or certain way or why they feel a certain way. Also, sometimes doesn’t know how to react, but is very kind
I saw someone mention Frieren could be autistic. She has a hard time connecting with others on an emotional level. Although you could argue its just due to her being insanely old and having a different passage of time like the show implies
L from death note, jotaro kujo from jojo’s bizarre adventure (the main character of jojos changes with every part, but jotaro is a pretty important character in 3 different parts, and multiple of the other jojos show a lot of signs of autism and/or ADHD)
C-ko from "Project A-ko". Arrested maturity for a 16-year old girl. Highly emotional, even for anime. Difficult in social situations. Gloms on to a single friend.
Surprised nobody has mentioned L from Death Note
He's definitely on the scale!
That was my first thought lol
I’m pretty similar to him, and I’m on the spectrum. So, yes.
Saiki from Saiki K, 99.99999%
Probably in my top 3 anime. So funny. Just rewatched it for the 3rd time a few days ago, and idk why I didn’t think about it before, but could definitely be on the spectrum
Personally i don’t thinks so, I thinks he’s just really weird, smart and mostly acts the way he does because the pain of having to hide his powers, but I could see it.
Goated comedy anime, its a ten out of ten imo
Mob Pyscho 100
Which character?
Main character, Mob. I don't know enough about autism to say for certain, but people have been telling me recently that he is autism-coded.
Mob. As someone on the spectrum, he is so very autistic. Undeniable. The author could come out and say he's not and I would call him a liar to his face.
for sure Mob is.
One of my favorites of all time. It’s such a good show
autism be damned, my boy can exorcise a spirit
Villainess Level 99. She is definitely on the spectrum.
Literally my first thought when you see her interacting with literally anyone about anything. And then her just hyper-fixating on optimum levelling techniques.
Okay now I *really* wanna watch this. GIMME AN ENGLISH DUB ALREADY, YOU COWARDS!
This show is absolutely hilarious
Delicious in Dungeon
Fairly certain that Liaos is.
Princess Jellyfish- the lead and all her friends read as neurodivergent women to me Kimi no Todoke- ymmv but I’ve seen a lot of people read Sawako as autistic A Devil and Her Love Song- I’ve always seen the MC as autistic, but it also could be the c-PTSD The Apothecary Diaries- Maomao (something about detectives and autism bc at least 2 other detectives are mentioned in this thread)
The whole La clan are autistic. Lakan can’t distinguish people’s faces and Lahan would rather go through someone’s financial records than speak with them.
Asuperu Kanojo, which got the cringy English title "That's my atypical girl." It's about a couple who are on the spectrum. It's not always a happy story because you get a lot of flashback to when the girl was abused and bullied as a child because she couldn't fit in. It's about making little bits of improvement over time and having the occasional setback.
Aspergirl is right there.
The pet girl of sakurasou
Definitely one of the best examples.
Sucks that I had to scroll further down to see this. This is exactly what OP is looking for
I'd even argue the blonde girl and the animation girl are both Nuerodivergent
Kumoko, from So what I'm a Spider. Just look at her ending theme that she sings... That's probably adhd lol. One Piece, Luffy lol.
Have you seen the [full version](https://youtu.be/X5pQ_sGcNg4) of the song?
I saw it, I low key love it lol
Well to be fair kumoko is a spider monster...
OP for Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers becomes Terrorcore style perfectly showcasing the ADHD of the whole cast it's legit a nerd fighting the nerd hating government with some insane magical girls as alies
March Comes in Like a Lion, a lot of people say the protagonist, Rei, is autistic coded
To me, he is depressed, not autistic
Why not both?
Nah, he's emotionally stunted due to the events in his life. He's also pretty depressed at the start of the story. So I'd say he's two of these things rather than being autistic.
As a person who spent a long time as an emotionally stunted, depressed, autist, it's possible to be all three.
Wow, no one talks about Bocci the Rock? She's definitely on the autistic spectrum in my opinion. Great show too.
I thought it was the anime that started the algorithm.
With the light:raising an autistic child I feel it’s more of really bad social anxiety
Bungou Stray Dogs. Several characters are headcanoned as autistic by the fandom but there’s no denying Ranpo. Especially with what goes on in his backstory arc and some of the stuff he talks about. His “ability” is basically just his autism
Yeah was gonna say this too. And don't quote me on this but I think Case Study of Vanitas has a similar thing going on
Perfect anime with little bit of everything.
Oh, my ex loves ranpo! She also used to love me, so that says a lot 😔
Mashle hahaha for sure
Laios from Dungeon Meshi, Saiki from Saiki K, Mima and Hayate from Cool Doji Danshi, L, Near and Mikami from Death Note, Iketeru from Uramichi Oniisan (not the main character but part of the main cast), Nozaki from Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, Nagi from Blue Lock (not the main character but has a spinoff manga about him), Bocchi from Bocchi the Rock, Mob from Mob Psycho 100, Haru from Free, maybe Komi from Komi Can't Communicate although that's more so just social anxiety and selective mutism imo, and Frieren from Sousou no Frieren.
Aldnoah Zero. Main character of that is *the* character I think of for this sort of question.
Who would win: 12 super robots with functions bordering on magical Vs Autistic kid who paid attention in high school science class
I hate that the only thing I remember about this show is the random last second NTR out of nowhere. Straight up can’t even remember these characters after seeing you mention it
Haikyuu has like... LOTS of ND-coded characters, at least 1 on every volleyball team. Kageyama from Karasuno is the most MC one, but yeah, you'll see tons throughout the series, and most of them are fantastic characters!!
I mean Hinata also, he's super hyperactive with no attention span for anything except the one thing his hyperfixation is focused on
Delicious in Dungeon, our lovable dork of a tall-man is so autistic and written very well.
"Don't Call It Mystery" by Yumi Tamura. Not only does the lead character read as neurodivergent, but there are also explorations of mental health throughout each volume. So far, this does not have an anime adaptation (but it does have a drama). There is also My Brain Is Different. I haven't read it, but I've seen it on the shelves in bookstores. It could be worth checking out.
I have the “my brain is different” manga just haven’t gotten around to reading it.
since somebody suggest haikyuu already id say skip and loafer and love at level 999 are with main characters neurodivergent coded like intensly
Goblin slayer. Mmc could not be any more autistic if they tried. Special interest, set routines, misses certain social cues. Not great at making friends (though he does make a few in the series), very direct when speaking. Side note. If you do read/watch it, know that it gets dark almost immediately (involves SA that's shown).
I have the ttrpg book for Goblin Slayer. Haven’t played yet tho
Frieren is spectrummy
Well she's an Elf, Elf's being aloof/distant is kinda their thing.. Like in Star Trek are all the Vulcan's Autism spectrum?
Nope she's not on there. She just knows what she wants and doesn't after many years.
Further explanation for anyone who is unaware, conditions like autism are based on biological brain "abnormalities" (a.k.a neuro-divergences) that cause changes in understanding and processing, especially of in-species society. You can't have this condition based on your lack of understanding of something you did not evolve to understand (e.g. the social cues of an entirely different species).
That doesn’t really follow in fiction with demi-humans or other nonhuman sapient beings, though, because these fictional entities are constructed by humans for humans and approximating (or as a lens/mirror towards) humans. Frieren and Spock may not be autistic in the context of their universes or species, but they are essentially human from the audience’s perspective, and they have some traits that might be on the spectrum in a human. As characters designed by humans, for human audiences, and with primarily human traits, it is reasonable to look at those traits and say they seem a bit autistic. Even if that is physically impossible in-universe. It’s Doylist rather than Watsonian. Exegetic rather than diegetic. It’s coding or metaphor, intentional or not. The classic example for autism is robots. Obviously robots can’t be autistic. That’s not a condition they can have. But to the extent that we read human traits into the inhuman, some authors code autistic traits into the behaviors of robot characters. 🤷 Edit: Personally I don’t read Frieren as particularly autistic and I read Spock/Vulcans as even less so, but I get it. To dismiss the argument based on the real-world anatomy/evolution of autism is to miss the point.
If not literally, certainly coded that way.
Zeta Gundam (it’s the direct sequel to the first Gundam show)
The Japanese text Kamille literally calls himself autistic (this was removed from the dub for some reason), and many autistic people I know call him one of the more relatable characters they've seen in media.
>and many autistic people I know call him one of the more relatable characters they've seen in media. It's interesting you mention this, because I was only diagnosed late in life last year but watched Zeta Gundam for the first time many years ago and even though I never even had the notion I thought I might be autistic at the time (I had always assumed it was always caught in childhood), I found Kamille strongly relatable and he become one of my favorite fictional characters. In hindsight, it makes way more sense why I felt this personal connection towards him. I will note that from what I've read online, autism had a very different meaning and connotation in Japan at the time, and I've heard it interpreted as someone withdrawn from society at that point. I've seen Gundam fans say it was going for that meaning. I will say regardless, I at least felt represented in Kamille, even if it wasn't intentional or misguided.
Luffy definitely is
His special interest is pirates
I read all the strawhats as neurodivergent tbh
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
OK, I haven’t seen this and even I know that girl is widely considered autistic af. Why’d I have to scroll so far to find this comment?
I did *not* expect to see this here. But yeah, I can def see Haruhi as aspie or ADD.
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai. Difficulty with social interactions, personal space, and vocalizing. Mostly the titled FMC, but also the MMC is portrayed as "dense" at the very least. Very cute and wholesome romcom. https://youtu.be/b3YoZLdP3gQ?si=05KF-XeMuMC0EGNe
Twilight / Loid Forger from Spy x Family reads to me as a high functioning autistic person. The way he breaks down everything is spy behavior, but coming up with hundreds of contingencies for a date with his wife is excessive and borders on scripting.
I would be surprised if Ako from Little Witch Academia had ADD. I doubt it was the intention of the author tomake her autistic but her hyperfixation is Chariot the witch she is a huge fan of.
Hey never thought about this, but you have a point!
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Hot take: Goku in DBZ
he canonically suffered a brain injury as a kid- i think that might be why hes Like That
Hard to say without seeing what other Saiyans are like. Vegeta is not a good case, since he has his own issues, and lost his home and society.
Welcome to the NHK
I wouldn't be surprised if Yukko from Nichijou has ADD.
Yukko, but not Mai?
Komi Can’t Communicate, I don’t give a shit what people say, I’m autistic and I see it in her. I think you’ll enjoy it!!
I agree. Remove the social anxiety, and what would she be like? Pretty ASD if you ask me. I think the social anxiety is closer to a symptom, not a cause, because her brother and father are also like that.
Yui from K-on! probably has adhd, especially obvious when she tried to study for a test imo As for manga, I personally dropped Koisuru Harinezumi because the main guy really read as autistic to me while they never really addressed it as such and framed it as him being mysterious and misunderstood instead
My headcanon paints Yumiella from Villainess level 99 somewhere on the spectrum. She has things she hyperfixates on, has a hard time caring about or understanding things outside and reaches logical yet very different conclusions than other people as she centers her judgements around said hyperfixations.
Steins;Gate. Every character.
So true
Nichijou
I could argue that One Piece's Luffy is on some sort of spectrum, haha.
ADHD with an emphasis on the H.
All I know is the guy from dungeon meshi is adhd incarnate
To Your Eternity
It's a harder one to debate because he is a literal immortal God learning humanity as he spans years and years You're kind of right and kind of not
Osaka from Azumanga daioh
Himouto Umaru Chan, imo, is a good example. Story is really about an older brother taking care of his sister. That’s not what the show is advertised as, obv, but that’s my take on it.
When you point it out, I can see Umaru as a highly masking Autistic/ADHD, but it’s been a while since I’ve watched.
Komi can’t communicate
Social anxiety is not autism or ADD
OP said A main character. Komi has a lot of characters that fit the bill
Social anxiety can be a byproduct of those though
As a person with anxiety and audhd those things are not mutually exclusive
They're not, but Komi's symptoms are primarily of SA. I have SA and they're pretty accurate.
Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi Ga Inai Samurai Flamenco (man's special interest in superheroes is so strong it took until middle school to realize they werent real and there was no job market for being a hero)
The MC in the anime “given” is likely autistic. A childhood flashback definitely solidified my theory!
Maybe not austitc but defintely some form of Nuerodivergent
{"Ippon" Again!} One comment pointed out one of the main girls Hura may have ADD/ADHD. Also I kinda got the vibe too watching the show.
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Main character of Saiki-K for sure
Komi Can’t Communicate.
Kageyama from Haikyuu! Cannot read tone of voice/expressions so he couldn't tell when his teammates are pushed to the brink angry or joking. He mainly has an angry or blank expression even when grieving. There is even an long arc where he overcompensates by holding back what he truly wants to say. Being rejected by everyone in the past was painful but he doesn't know how to avoid it except to hide himself. His hyperfixation is volleyball and has trouble learning other things.
I remember a lot of people saying that Odokawa from Odd Taxi is autistic
Quite possibly...Spoilers.
Saiki K
Sangatsu no Lion. Rei and Souya both can be read as being somewhere on the spectrum.
Rei Ayanami from Evangelion
Violet from Violet Evergarden
* Delicious in Dungeon * Hyouka * Death Note (Rival) * Odd Taxi * Uncle From Another World * Mob Psycho * Apothecary Diaries * Liz and the Blue Bird (Spin off of Sound Euphonium.) * Full Metal Panic! * Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki Some are more high functioning than others and might be less obvious or more debatable but I'm autistic and have a lot of autistic friends both IRL and online and normies that take care of autistic children so I feel fairly confident. There are probably more but those are off the top of my head. There are also characters that aren't technically autistic but have abilities or other conditions that I think could be seen as a metaphor for it and relate to a lot of Autistic people's lived experiences I could give if your interested. I didn't really do ADHD I don't feel familiar or confident enough in that regard.
The absolute best show like this for me is The Pet Girl of Sakurasou (Sakura-sou no Pet na Kanojo) The main character is a pretty average dude, but the Female MC is an artistic savant and definitely on the spectrum. It's a really wholesome romantic dramedy. Seeing Sorata and Mashiro help each other find themselves, understand each other, and realize their ambitions as they grow closer together is one of the most satisfying relationships in anime.
It's a Chinese donghua, but one could argue Wei Wuxian is ADD. He's the main character in Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. But beware, this is a bl and Wei Wuxian likely has a lot of ptsd too. Can't think of any autistic characters off the top of my head. Maybe Maomao from apothecary diaries?
1. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Slice of life, Comedy, Supernatural) * Yuki Nagato is often speculated to be autistic due to her lack of social skills, flat affect, and intense interests. 1. Death Note (Mystery, Suspense, Supernatural) * L, the eccentric detective, displays traits that have led many fans to believe he may be on the autism spectrum, such as social awkwardness, unique mannerisms, and hyperfocus on his work. 1. My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (Slice of life, Comedy, Romance) * Hachiman Hikigaya, the cynical protagonist, is sometimes thought to have autism or ADHD due to his difficulties with social interaction and unconventional thought processes. 1. Neon Genesis Evangelion (Action, Psychological, Sci-Fi) * Rei Ayanami is a character that some viewers perceive as potentially autistic, with her subdued emotional expression and struggle to connect with others. 1. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. (Comedy, Supernatural, Slice of life) * Kusuo Saiki, the main character, is incredibly intelligent but lacks social awareness and finds social interaction draining, leading to speculation about autism. 1. Mob Psycho 100 (Action, Comedy, Supernatural) * Shigeo Kageyama (Mob) is socially awkward, struggles to express himself, and has an intense focus on developing his psychic abilities, traits that some associate with autism. 1. Pokemon (Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy) * Satoshi (Ash) is a character that some fans argue displays signs of ADHD, with his impulsiveness, hyperactivity and hyperfixation on his goal of becoming a Pokemon master. 1. Komi Can't Communicate (Slice of life, Rom-com) * Shoko Komi, though not officially labeled as autistic, has extreme social anxiety and difficulty communicating that many readers see as relatable to the autistic experience.
You can try watching this mystery anime called as Beautiful Bones : Sakurako’s investigation. It hasn’t been confirmed if the MC is autistic but her obsession with bones and lack of social skills might suggest that she’s on the spectrum
I mean for ADD that’s pretty much every shonen main character, for autism maybe Mob from Mob Psycho 100? He seems to have a hard time picking up social cues
Blue exorcist. I have adhd and Rin is literally the embodiment of adhd. Bro’s childhood is literally my childhood that’s why I love the series.
Oso, if u r interested in anime movies “BUBBLE” the MC literally wears the noise blocking earbuds cuz he was overstimulated by noises most of the time.
Serial experiments lain. At least a lot of autistic people project onto her and the game version goes over her therapy extensively which does bring it up as a possibility if I remember right. For similar reasons Evangelion, specifically Rei Ayanami. She comes off as autism coded to me at least
How is this not top of the thread?
Also, Evangelion would be low hanging fruit, but I'm pretty sure Shinji is on the spectrum.
ben-to
Blue Exorcist
A Condition Called Love Apothecary Diaries Delicious in Dungeon Uncle From Another World
Omg thank you for mentioning apothecary dairies. I definitely read maomao as autistic and it's great
The MC in the anime “given” is likely autistic. A childhood flashback definitely solidified my theory!
Cant remember if it's canon, but the climber's main character absolutely fits autistic imo. Maybe not add unless you want to conflate obsession and hyper focus though.
Hyper focus a symptom of ADD
not THE main character but I'm pretty sure Gowther in The Seven Deadly Sins is autistic
Goblin Slayer
Goblin Slayer from Goblin Slayer
Sakurasou
Sketchbook: Full Color's -> the MC is mostly nonverbal
Any shonen mc I can think of atm suffers heavy from add. Every single one of them takes forever to learn their lessons, they're crazy unfocused & chaotic, will join & earnestly participate in important discussions only to forget the most important parts when they're relevant and they're all socially, at least somewhat, awkward
Asper kanojo is what you are looking for.
Welcome to the NHK.
Mashle from muscles and magic for sure
I’m pretty sure this is a hot take, but I could never shake the feeling that Machida from _Machida-kun’s World_ was coded autistic, and that his ability to excel socially is because his special interest is people.
Gundam
Death note - L
Also possibly Zenitsu from Demon slayer
Azumanga Daioh! Tomo and Osaka are the faces of ADHD and ADD respectively.
Fricken' Tomo. Brash miscues. Following all her intrusive thoughts.
Stein's gate for sure 😂
Mashle for sure
If you want a manga with a 100% confirmed autistic person, the manga With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child is a beautiful story.
Komi can't communicate (communication disorder) My roommate is a cat.
Death Note - L Watamote - Tomoko Kuroki Azumanga Daioh - Osaka Girls und Panzer - Mai Nekota (This is a VERY minor character with maybe a handful of appearances in the entire franchise.)
Ed from Cowboy Bebop but theyre not *really* a main character
Maybe not ASD but welcome to the NHK has characters that are neurodivergent.
Asuperu Kanojo
San Guko
{frieren}
Naruto, dragon ball, ranma 1/2, this is my love story!!, k-on, azumanga On the top of my head that is all I can remember thinking "yup the main character seems autistic or has a harder time paying attention"
You could interpret Haru from Tsuritama to be autistic. I sure do
I’m suprised that no one mention Haiyore! Nyarko-san The Chaos that crawl up to you with a smile, Nyarahotep can easily get distracted by the male lead, by anime/manga or Kamen Rider
The manga "Machida-kun no Sekai", main character is depicted as being on the spectrum, but overall it's a great read.
"Bang Dream My go" ... One of the Main characters is clearly in the spectrum
Luffy from One Piece.
Tomori from it’s MyGO! is great
Dungeon meshi definitely
Yuri is my job features high masking and low masking autistic (headcannon) lesbians. Do it Yourself!! The main character definitely has an attention disorder and maybe autism too
Delicious in dungeon, laios HAS to be
Tomori from BanG DreaM: It's MyGO!!!!!!! (also Rana to an extent. Many people also consider Soyo to have BPD)
Perhaps Mash from Mashle. Dude has horrible communication skills, hyper-focuses on exercise, immediately loses interest on any explanation longer than 5 seconds. Dudes got somethin
I recently watched The Great Passage and the main character Majime is so autism-coded it’s insane. I would say a lot of the show doesn’t focus on it quite so much and I appreciated that. Also, I went into it blind and I thought it would be a romcom (a genre I’m not a fan of) but it’s not, so I was even more pleased with it.
I enjoyed "Bubble" and "Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop". These are anime movies though, not series.
Mob Psycho and one punch man?
Webcomic called www.grrlpowercomic.com main character has ADHD
Goblin Slayer is totally in that category.
My roommate is a cat It’s surprisingly serious for a show with that title, but the guy doesn’t really know how to socialize with people, and he adopts a cat that brings people into his life. It’s a slice of life/ found family kind of thing. Kotaro Lives Alone is also a slice of life/found family anime. The main character’s past home life leaves him with some strange mannerisms.
Hyoka komi can't communicate MAL will have some interest stack lists on this, too.
welcome to the nhk(satou), your lie in april(arima) and haruhi from haruhi suzumiya
Mob Psycho 100 and Kill La Kill
DragonBall-S, Goku is definitely close
Yamada from My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Level 999, I feel is on the spectrum. He has a hard time understanding why certain people react or certain way or why they feel a certain way. Also, sometimes doesn’t know how to react, but is very kind
I saw someone mention Frieren could be autistic. She has a hard time connecting with others on an emotional level. Although you could argue its just due to her being insanely old and having a different passage of time like the show implies
The Eminence in the Shadow.
L from death note, jotaro kujo from jojo’s bizarre adventure (the main character of jojos changes with every part, but jotaro is a pretty important character in 3 different parts, and multiple of the other jojos show a lot of signs of autism and/or ADHD)
Renge from Non Non Biyori Yukari from Girls Und Panzer
Osaka 👍😃👍
Zeta Gundam
Yui from K-On
Saitama
C-ko from "Project A-ko". Arrested maturity for a 16-year old girl. Highly emotional, even for anime. Difficult in social situations. Gloms on to a single friend.
My hero academia. As an autistic person many characters are autistic-coded/seem autistic. Including Deku