Well known for his appearance that resembles an ape or specifically a chimpanzee, Raimon Tarou, or more commonly referred to as Monta, is one of the most popular characters in the Eyeshield 21 series. Inspired by his catching hero, Masaru Honjou, Monta has devoted his life into the Way of Catching and joined the baseball club. Sadly enough, he was only good at catching while baseball requires a more well-rounded player. Monta was later dismissed from the baseball club because of his poor batting and pitching skills.

After a turn of events, Monta was approached by Sena offering him to join the American football club, as it requires players who are specifically good at one thing. He then joined Deimon Devil Bats and becomes its wide receiver. His determination and devotion is what probably made him such a popular character, as it was able to bring out the emotional quality of the series.

When Kakei Shun was in middle school in America, he played against what he refers to as the real 'Eyeshield 21'. Impressed with the player, Kakei returned to Japan and decided to join Kyoshin Poseidon in hopes that one day he will be able to play against the real 'Eyeshield 21', again. When he encountered Deimon Devil Bats' very own Eyeshield 21, he's determined to expose the so called 'fake Eyeshield 21'.

Having a lean and slender exterior, Kakei uses his height to his advantage in American football. Playing as the linebacker for Kyoshin Poseidon, Kakei was able to stop Sena Kobayakawa's signature run, the Devil Bat Ghost with his own signature technique, the Moby Dick Anchor during the Deimon Devil Bats vs. Kyoshin Poseidon game. With this, Kakei's character popularity amongst the Eyeshield 21 fans grew.

Akaba Hayato is the man behind the 'real Eyeshield 21' that was previously mentioned by Kakei Shun. As the captain and tight end for the Bando Spiders, Akaba is known to have a cool and quiet demeanor. His silence proved to be deadly as he was able to developed an effective blocking technique called 'Spider's Poison' through his sharp intellectual analytical skills. Akaba's extraordinary abilities and skills have definitely earned him a spot on the popularity list.

When Bando Spiders played against Deimon Devil Bats, Sena Kobayakawa decides to play as himself, removing his eyeshield and revealing his identity as the Eyeshield 21. Akaba eventually loses the matchup against Sena, and after the game he hands back Sena's eyeshield, claiming that he deserves to be called 'Eyeshield 21'.

Playing as a former running back for the NASA Aliens is Patrick Spencer, or Panther, with his trademark running style ‘Zero-Gravity Run’. Utilizing this running technique that Panther developed, he is able to run at great speed with extremely light footsteps without decreasing his speed. This unique skill is what made Panther so popular amongst the Eyeshield 21 fans.

After an incident during a match where Panther disobeyed his coach’s orders, his position as a player was then reduced to being a ball boy. But even then, he still endures the ill-treatment he receives from his coach, hoping that someday his coach will let him play on the field again. His teammates never stopped believing in him, even going as far as coming out with a play that utilizes Panther’s running, called the Moon Salto Formation.

Agon Kongo is basically popular being the ‘big bad wolf’ character of the Eyeshield 21 series. This character is what people call a genius on sheer born talent. Thanks to his natural talents, he becomes arrogant and treats everything and everyone else like thrash except himself. Despite having an elder twin, Unsui Kongo, his personality and character as a whole are miles away different compared to him.

Even in his own football team, the prestigious Shinryuji Nagas, Agon is considered a nuisance, as he underestimates everything. But he was excused and given a leeway by the coach due to his sheer talent and abilities.

Shin Seijuro is Eyeshield 21’s ultimate rival, playing as the linebacker for the Oujouu White Knights, he is regarded as the strongest and fastest linebacker in the history of Japan. As awesome as Shin is physically, he seems to be very poor with modern technology. This can be seen in the series when gadgets like camera were easily broken when it falls into his hands.

Unlike Agon on the previous entry of the list, Shin gained his abilities and skills from sheer determination and hard work. Throughout the series, Shin had been training hard, and with each passing episode, Shin trains even harder. At the awards ceremony in episode 87, Shin is seen winning the MVP title from the All-Star player nominees.

As Sena Kobayakawa’s childhood friend and mentor, Riku Kaitani is the one who taught Sena how to run. This was when he saw Sena getting bullied and decides to teach Sena about the importance of speed. Riku is easily provoked and loses his cool, as seen in episode 121 when Kamiya Taiga successfully taunts him and frustrates him during the game.

As the running back for the Seibu Wild Gunmen, Riku is very confident with his own abilities as a football player. Even though this made him become arrogant at times, he is kind–hearted and willing to help others in need, just like Sena with his running. Before moving away, Riku made Sena promise to use his speed in running to stop being bullied into becoming a lackey.

Being the son of a three-time Olympic gold medalist in pistol shooting, Kid manages to incorporate his marksmanship to American football. As a quarterback for Seibu Wild Gunmen, Kid’s technique, the Quick-Draw Pass, enables him to pass the ball with incredible speed and reaction time making him a formidable quarterback.

What makes this character so popular is his ability to stay extremely calm and not lose his cool. Despite his laid-back personality, Kid harbors a deep respect for his friend Jo Tetsuma. In episode 67, Kid was surprised that Yoichi Hiruma knew about his past and real name, Shien Mushanokoji. Kid revealed that Tetsuma was the only one that knew about his real name. Hiruma then purposely mocks Tetsuma to get Kid riled up as an act of manipulation before their game the next day.

As the main protagonist of the series, Sena Kobayakawa isn’t your typical valiant character. As a matter of fact, Sena’s personality completely strays off from that stereotype. Sena’s amount of courage corresponds with his small stature, and because of that, often times being bullied into being other people’s lackey and running errands for them. Initially, Sena wanted to join the American Football as the club manager, but after a turn of events, Yoichi Hiruma spotted Sena running and decided to ‘recruit’ him as the Running Back with the code name ‘Eyeshield 21’ for the Deimon Devil Bats.

As the series progresses, Sena went through an amazing transformation. Kudos to the authors of the series for its spectacular character development. This is one of the main reasons why this character is so popular, which is his development from an underdog to an ace. What’s even more interesting is that even though Sena has grown to be an ace for his team, he somehow still has his old habits of being a lackey. This can be seen in episode 79, as he is bowing pointlessly to the crowd after revealing his true identity of being Eyeshield 21.

Just like his devilish-like appearance, Yoichi Hiruma is as cunning as he is a genius. He is obsessed with winning and determined in achieving his goals which explains his high-risk and high-gain plays. One of the things that made this character so popular is the fact that he does things in an unorthodox way, often resorting to intimidation and blackmails using gathered information that he keeps in his ‘Devil’s Handbook’ which can be seen in episode 2 of the series.

As a result of his ‘ways’, he pretty much built a reputation for himself as the Devil. When people hear his name or even the American Football club, they would run away in fear, which can also be seen in episode 2. As a quarterback for the Deimon Devil Bats, Hiruma does his job extremely well. Making vital calls when things are critical, he and Mamori communicate with special sign languages from the sideline that only both of them understand, but behind his devilish ways, Hiruma secretly cares about his teammates. One such example can be seen when he kept Takekura ‘Musashi’ Gen's kick tee by not allowing anyone to touch it, believing one day Musashi will come back to use it once again.