Kaburagi is introduced as an armor repairer who spends his days tending to the exterior of Deca-Dence, the dome-shaped fortress protecting the Tankers who like busybody worker ants support the Gears, the warriors protecting their society from Gadoll. Kaburagi used to be a Gear himself, but he’s now the strict and apathetic mentor to enthusiastic Natsume. Through Natsume he gets his mojo back, seeing her doing her best to join the Gear ranks, but then he goes further and some more, by betraying his secret mission of removing all bugs and becoming a bug himself. From system snitch to revolutionary, Kaburagi turned out to be one of the most interesting characters of 2020.

Leonardo is the weirdo who shows up uninvited and stays at your place forever. Well, not really, he does have his motivations but it takes a while until these are revealed. And Leo’s motivations are wholesome: a famous ballet dancer, heralded as a genius by the dance world and the media, he escapes a stressful and isolating lifestyle to Japan, where he ends up working as a ninja impersonator in a theme park. It was really moving when we found out about his past and the reason he ran away and devoted himself to Jotarou. Leo turned from random weirdo to best boy and won our hearts!

Jin Tachibana shows up towards the end of the show and turns Nana’s world upside down, revealing to her that the same story has been repeated several times. Students have turned against each other with fatal consequences and he’s the only one who survived the last killing spree among the Talented. Jin deserves to be on this list because he is a strong strategist, with the amazing skill of transforming into any creature, human or animal, and who knows that taking Nana out immediately would not benefit his goals. We are curious to see what happens next, so we are already catching up with reading the manga after this season’s finale!

Minare’s abrasive personality and loud voice, which usually puts her in trouble with her boss and the customers at her restaurant job, becomes her strongest asset after she gets discovered by a radio producer. Soon, Minare has her own late-night radio show where she gets to use her rant unleashing superpower and amuse audiences across Japan! We love Minare because she is an imperfect, relatable character who frequently messes up but manages to pick up her pieces and move on, after yet another legendary rant. Pro ranters unite!

Sayaka might not be an artist herself but she has a business-savvy attitude that would put a lot of adults to shame. She knows when she’s got a good deal, when it is the best time to strike, and how to time manage her more idealistic teammates. It’s clear that without Sayaka’s organizational and negotiation skills, Midori and Tsubame would not be able to complete their animation project. Sayaka’s matter-of-fact way of speaking and her relentless drive easily makes her the most unexpectedly interesting character of the year, since she is clearly not yet another school girl.