When Yukagure slowly changed into a tourist destination rather than a Shinobi village, Hidan went out and killed his neighbours, became a cultist, and even joined the criminal organisation, Akatsuki. Influenced by the cultish teachings of the religion of Jashin, Hidan’s already sadistic tendencies were given the means to grow and he became a fully-fledged murderer with no regard for the people he killed. Long story short, Hidan was insane.

Hidan’s sadism, blatant disregard for courtesy of any kind towards anyone already make him someone most shinobi would want to avoid, and due to the requirements of his curse ritual, he’d inflict pain and injuries on himself, sharing the pain with his victim, enjoying it. He displays this strange ritual when fighting Asuma, explaining to an incapacitated Asuma that the best part of the fight is “experiencing the pain” of his opponents and taking that pain into his own body. The thought of this causes him to laugh hysterically, highlighting his sadism as he laughs at the premise of torturing his opponents, but at the same time, highlighting his severe masochism as he laughs at the premise of experiencing the same pain as his opponents. 

How do you go about telling your crush that you are a strangely resilient, pain-loving pervert? You don’t. Instead, you do what Sadou Tarou did and enlist the help of the Volunteer Club’s highly skilled, highly-rated problem solvers to help you. Unfortunately (or is it?) for you and for Tarou, members of the club don’t pull any punches when administering their anti-masochism treatment!

After being slapped by a female classmate in middle school, Taro Sado experienced a strange feeling of bliss brought about by the pain, openly requesting for more abuse, to the disgust and dismay of his classmates. Now in high school, Tarou wishes to be cured of his hardcore masochism, but the road to recovery is difficult and painful… just how he likes it. Every time he is punched, kicked or berated it transports him to a world of bliss. How could Tarou not get turned on when suffering at the hands of a beautiful girl?

If humans could experience each other’s physical pain in the exact same way, what would become of interpersonal relationships? That is the question the Kizuna Project seeks to answer through the connection of seven teenagers who share the same sense of pain: that is, should one experience physical pain of any degree, the others do as well. These seven individuals are known as the Kiznaivers. For the protagonist, Katsuhira Agata, being a Kiznaiver isn’t an earth-shattering problem, since he is incapable of experiencing pain, nor is it a problem for the seventh Kiznaiver, Hisomu Yoshiharu, due to “personal” reasons.

What kind of reason would anyone have to not feel flustered upon hearing that they share pain with other people? Hisomu’s reason is straight-forward - he enjoys the pain. Unfortunately for the other Kiznaivers, there is a masochist among their ranks, a person who derives pleasure from some of the most sobering of physical pain and agony. With every injury, he lets out squeals of delight, and, should the pain be intense enough, Hisomu loses himself, or “blisses out”. This is made apparent when, in order to apprehend Hisomu, Katsuhira jumps off a bridge into moving traffic. The result: a concussed Katsuhira and a very, very happy Hisomu. Imagine having to share ouchies with someone who finds happiness in their own pain, it definitely takes the feelings of contempt people have for group projects to a whole new level!

One of the creepier characters on this list, Shirosaki is Usa Kazunari’s perverted roommate who is turned on by literally anything. Despite his somewhat shocking perversion and heavy masochism, Shirosaki wouldn’t hurt a fly (he’d greatly appreciate it if it hurt him) and he has made a strict rule to only show interest in women 18 and up, keeping a good portion of the public fortunately unaware of the Kawai Complex’s pervert.

Apart from the perversion and masochism, Shirosaki is a pretty normal guy. Being the masochist that he is, Shirosaki found himself a steady supply of… punishment from Nishikino Mayumi, a woman who suffers heavy mood swings and revels in bullying both Shirosaki and Usa – a mutually beneficial relationship in which she can get rid of stress in various violent ways and Shirosaki can get his, um, fix.

In a world where humanity has a natural predator in the form of the Ghouls, humanity has lost its place at the top of the food chain. Like in all food chains, each factor has a role to play and various organisms have varying relationships. That, class, brings us to our next masochist, member of the Aogiri Tree and Jason’s right-hand punching bag (read “man”), Nico.

Nico’s past, ambitions and other personal details are all a mystery, but coupled together with his seemingly flamboyant personality is a perversion nothing short of disturbing. It takes a special kind of masochist to be able to take what Jason dishes out and Nico does it well, once gleefully being stabbed in the gut by Jason’s kagune and telling him with a bloody smile that he “should wait until they got home”. Another mutually-beneficial relationship.

Everyone has their quirks. Even people in positions of leadership like the Student Council at school have various traits, whether common or uncommon which they either keep under wraps for the sake of appearances, or they wear them on their sleeves. Literally. Ira Gamagoori is a prime example of a blatant masochist, literally parading his masochism in the uniform he wears.

Gamagoori’s Goku Uniform is a three-star uniform which in battle, changes into the seemingly uncomfortable, BDSM-influenced Shackle Regalia. In battle, Gamagoori is often heard saying things like “Punish me more”. The nature of Gamagoori’s Shackle Regalia allows him to endure his opponents’ attacks and store them as power for the possibility of unleashing the Scourge Regalia, a powerful explosive attack powered by the damage experienced by the Shackle Regalia. If you are a masochist, Gamagoori is an inspirational figure: you too can become a great leader. If you don’t, he will punish you.

In a show filled with some of the most eccentric characters, some would feel that it would just not be complete without the type of pervert everyone seems to hate: the masochist. Takanashi Souta’s eldest sister, Kazue, sure knew how to pick ‘em when she married the series’ only masochist, Minegishi Tooru.

All credit; however, goes to Minegishi for marrying someone who is able to offer the various forms of abuse a masochist needs to survive. Minegishi knows how to push his wife turned ex-wife turned wife’s buttons and it’s as a result of this knowledge that their first marriage ended. Minegishi is the perfect example of a masochist who found happiness and is the inspiration of masochists everywhere. Salute!

What happens to us when we die? That question has tugged at the minds of generations of people and is still without a definite answer. For this dog-spirit; however, the afterlife has been spent haunting Ichimatsu Kohina. Inugami haunts Kohina because he harbours memories of being picked up by her when he was still a living dog. Little did Kohina know that the dog she picked up would become an obsessive, perverted little dog-spirit with a taste for punishment.

Inugami is a masochist capable of gender-bending and despite his apparent obsession with Kohina, the thought of having her hate or punish him excites him. The contrast between the normal need for affection characteristic of a dog and his masochism makes him quite the interesting pain-lover. Who’s a good dog? Clearly not this guy.

When Binbouda Momiji says “jump”, he says “how high”. Enlisted by Momiji to help her steal Sakura Ichiko’s good fortune, Inugami Momoo is a dog god with the ability to shapeshift from dog to human, which often happens when he experiences extreme pleasure, innocent or otherwise.

Staying true to the trend of dog spirits being the worst of masochists, Inugami Momoo revels in the pain and abuse inflicted upon him by Momiji, as a result, he lingers on her every word, following her the way a dog follows its master. Upon finding out first hand that Ichiko herself is quite vicious and vindictive, he begins to heckle her for attention, hoping that he’ll receive beatings from her too.

Being one of only five males in the entire student body of a formerly all girls school is a daunting statistic. After being caught peeping on the girls, Andre and his friends were all sentenced to the prison within their very own Hachimitsu Private Academy, run by the Underground Student Council. Under the iron fist of the Vice-President of the USC, Andre’s masochism was given a place to flourish.

Andre’s masochism is to the extreme, extreme to the point where he becomes a husk: losing ample amounts of weight in addition to literally drying up when he doesn’t receive some sort of punishment for an extended period of time. He revels in all forms of abuse and dehumanisation, often asking the USC members to beat him, spit on him and even make him lick their boots. Andre is fuelled by abuse and as a result, the USC have found a way of punishing him that he does not enjoy: they don’t punish him at all, a fact which breaks him mentally.