In the universe of Anime, most of the characters have light skin tones. Anime characters can be easily distinguished from each other by their skin color. It might be challenging for you to name dark-skinned anime characters. Even diehard anime fans will find it difficult. This article lists black anime characters, which means dark-skinned male and female characters, from several comics that gained worldwide recognition. Every person who loves to illustrate characters has at least tried once to draw an anime character. Their appearance inspires the names of most of these anime characters. Some of them are human; others are extraterrestrial beings. It is a small attempt to inspire you to draw popular dark-skinned anime characters.
So, without any further delay, let’s take a look at some of the people’s favorite characters of all time having dark skin tones.
Most Iconic Drawings Of Black Anime Characters
Kaname Tousen
During Aizen’s rebellion, Kaname Tousen captained the 9th squad of Gotei 13. He consists of a dark brown skin tone and has long braids which reach his shoulders. His eyes are pupil-less and lavender in color because of his blindness since birth. He often wears a black shihakusho, a black colored hakama, along with white boots. Over that, the character wears a white sleeveless coat. Tousen always carries his Zanpakuto with him. He is a master of sword fighting and is considered a Shunpo expert, Kido expert. The name of his best friend was Sajin Komamura.
Afro Samurai
Afro Samurai is the universally loved protagonist of the anime series having the same name. This samurai is an assassin who can murder someone anytime, anywhere. He came into this profession after his father was murdered in front of his eyes. He laughed a lot when he was a child, but he forgets to do so as an adult. Afro Samurai will kill anyone who will come in his way. He has white-colored long hair and wears black colored shades. Afro Samurai mostly prefer an all-black outfit.
Sister Krone
Sister Krone is one of the most famous black anime characters across the world. Krone was born in the year 2019 and was brought up in an orphanage. Though she is a female, she possesses a muscular physique. Krone always maintains a dominant facial expression and always has a warm smile on his face. Due to her origin, she has a short black afro hairstyle and dark skin tone. On her neck, the number 18684 is tattooed. Usually, she wears a black dress over a white blouse, and on top of that, she often puts on a white apron.
Coffee (Cowboy Bebop)
Coffee first appeared in the Mushroom Samba anime series. She is a female bounty hunter. She is pretty tall as a woman; her height is 5’ 11”. Coffee meets Ed, who is also a bounty hunter, and they chase a mushroom farmer together. As an African American woman, her eye color is dark brown, and she has black-colored hair. Coffee prefers grenade launchers over any other weapon. From her appearance, it can be predicted that she is in her mid-20s.
Radical Edward
Radical Edward is the daughter of Mr. Appledelhi, who is a cartographer. He was born in future Earth, and when her father forgot to pick her up from daycare one day in 2064, she spent the next two years in an orphanage. There she met her best friend named Tomato. Slowly Edward made a name in the field of hacking. Currently, she is 13 years old. Edward always wanted to be a part of a ship known as Bebop. He has red-colored hair, and his eyes have a rare amber coloration.
Atsuko Jackson
Among all the black anime characters in the list, Atsuko Jackson is an African American woman who is a policewoman. She sports a blonde colored afro hairstyle, and the color of her eyes is grey. She was brought up in the same orphanage where Michiko Malandro spent her childhood. Though she and Michiko were best friends, she became one of the main reasons behind Michiko’s arrest. She and Michiko share a love-hate relationship. Though she tries to bring Michiko in, she also helps her to get out of bad situations.
Bob Makihara
Bob Makihara comes from South Africa, and that’s why this young man is often called ‘the foreigner’ in the anime series. He has blue eyes and is considered one of the strongest characters in the Manga comics. The name of his girlfriend is Chiaki Konoike. One of the most attractive features of this character is his long dreads. Bob is a highly-skilled fighter, and very little is mentioned about his past in the comics. He is a part of the Junken club, but he often doubts his skills and abilities.
Michiko Malandro
Michiko Malandro is a criminal who is on the run. She grew up in an orphanage where she met her arch-rival, Atkuso Jackson. The character escaped from prison at least four times in her lifetime. Once she escaped from jail, Michiko saved Hana Morenos from her abusive foster parents. Both of them then try to find Hiroshi Morenos, who is the father of Hana. At first, they only fought with each other but soon realized how much they needed each other. The character has dark brown colored hair and grey eyes, which complements her dark brown skin tone. She and Hana both have a mysterious tattoo on their belly.
Kilik Rung
Kilik Rung is one of the most intimidating black anime characters. He is a 13 years old, hot-headed boy who often puts his life on the line for his friends. Kilik has dark-colored eyes and has short black dreadlocks on the top of his head. He has a well-built physique and wears square-rimmed glasses. The character is highly skilled, and two of his most potent weapon partners are fire and thunder. Most of the time, he wears a white half sleeve t-shirt. He is currently affiliated with Death Weapon Meister Academy.
Fourth Raikage A
A who is the son of Third Raikage trained himself to become Fourth Raikage. When he was a child, there was only one child who matched his power and abilities. Then he was named B, and they formed a team together. A is an unfriendly character who speaks from his heart. With age, he became more humble. He cares immensely for his adopted brother and his father. He has a well-built, dark-skinned body along with white hair and a goatee on his face. The character doesn’t wear a shirt and puts on a heroic. On his shoulders, he has Fuma Shuriken tattoos.
James Ironside
James comes from a poor background, and he lost his mother at an early age. He joined the US Army as a Lieutenant Colonel during World War II. After a close encounter with death, James became a Chevallier and started considering Diva as his mother. He has two forms, one is the human form, and the other one is the Chiropteran form. James is more than 75 years old but holds the appearance of a boy in his late 20s. He has jet black hair and dark brown eyes. The character always wears a naval officer’s uniform. When he transforms into a chiropractor, his body gets covered with spikes, and horns appear from the side of his jaws.
Muhammed Avdol
Whenever strong black anime characters are discussed, one of the first names that come to our mind is Muhammed Avdol. He is an Egyptian man with a well-built physique. The character always stands for what is right and also remains loyal to his master. He wears a long overcoat and puts on a scarf over his neck. His face consists of two identical scars on both cheeks. He puts on a headband around his head which is covered with black-colored ponytailed hair. Muhammad wears several jewelry pieces such as long medallion chains, engraved with an Egyptian symbol known as ‘Ankh.’
Kaz Kaan
Kaz is an eligible bachelor who is a part-time demon slayer. He is the official Caprese boy in the Netflix animated series Neo Yokio. Kaz cares a lot about his aunts, and he forms a friendship with Gottlieb, Lexy, and Cathy. Kaz is outspoken by nature but often comes out as a self-obsessed person. Among all his family members, Kaz is the only dark-skinned male. He has purple-colored eyes, and he sports pink locks. His signature attire is a blue blazer which has Yellow-colored buttons and Beige colored trousers.
Yoruichi Shihouin
Yoruichi captained the Gotei 13’s 2nd division. She is a slender woman who has dark skin coloration and black waist-length long hair. Yoruichi ties them in a ponytail. Her eyes are golden in color. She mostly wears a black backless undershirt, and on top of that, she puts on an oversized orange t-shirt. With this, she wears black stretch pants. She can transform herself into a black cat. In this form, she speaks in a male voice. It is mentioned that she comes from the Shihoin clan.
Miyuki Ayukawa
Miyuki used to live with his grandfather when his family moved away when she was a child. She spends most of her childhood with Dan. Since then, she developed a strong feeling for Dan. She cares for Dan and also loves to take care of the BigFoots. She trained the BIgFoots in her team to make them more agile and also to improve their reflexes. Miyuki is not a Basquasher, but she is considered an integral part of her team. She wears an oversized jacket on top of a white tank top. Under that, she wears khaki pants with black belts. She has afro-styled black hair and dark brown colored pupils.
Darui
Darui has a strong connection with one of the characters mentioned in the list. He works as the right-hand man of the Fourth Raikage and the third Raikage trained Darui. He possessed the unique skill of black lightning. In short, Darui is tall, dark, and handsome. He has long white hair, and on his face, the most noticeable thing is the bulbous nose. Often he wears loose-fitting pants with a vest. Most of the time, he wears a flak jacket on top of the vest.
Omoi
Omoi works as one of the protectors of Fifth Raikage. He has spiked short white hairs. The man has dark-colored eyes which are covered with curved eyelashes. He wears a dark-colored oversized t-shirt with a hood. The character protects himself with a forehead protector and skin guards. For fighting purposes, he always carries a long sword on his back. He often works with his teammate Karui. He is thoughtful and plans his every action.
Andrew Gilbert Mills
Andrew Gilbert Mills is one of the most favorite black anime characters known as Agil in Sword Art, Aincrad Arc. He is a highly experienced ax wielder, and Andrew also owns a shop in Anglade. In real life, he manages Dicey Cafe with his wife. Andrew is an African American guy and has a bulky physique. He sports a brown colored goatee and has similar colored eyeballs. The character is bald and wears earrings on both ears.
Canary
Canary works as a butler of the Zoldyck family. She is a loyal worker. Although she pretends to have no feelings at all, she is gentle and soft-hearted. Canary’s age is not well known, but by her appearance, it can be predicted that he is in his early 20s. She has grey irises and kept her purple-colored hair in small bunches. Mostly she wears a traditional butler outfit. Her face is round with a little nose and thick lips.
Nils Nielsen
At present, Nils Nielsen is known as Nils Yajima. He currently works as a chief engineer, but previously he has worked as a bullfighter. His father was an eminent detective, and his mother was a martial artist. In the beginning, when the character was first introduced, he dedicated his whole life to science. He participated in the Gunpla Battle just to study Plavsky Particles. Nils has only one aim in his life, and that is to win the Gunpla World Tournament. He is a teenage boy with a dark skin tone having long black hair.
Carole Stanley
Carole lives in Alba city. She is a 17 years old orphan girl who does several part-time jobs for survival. She wants to become a musician. This girl plays Piano and Keyboard well. She always tries her brown mid-length hair into a ponytail. She wears a pink-colored outfit with brown shoes. Carole is a skinny girl who only wears earrings as accessories. Her eyebrows and pupils also have a dark brown color.
Claudia Lasalle
Claudia La Salle works in the SDF-1 Macross fortress located in space. There she works in the weaponry and navigation department. Her best friend is one of her co-workers, Misa Hayase. Roy Focker is her love interest in the Super Dimension Fortress Macross anime series. She has dark brown skin and sports short reddish-brown colored hair. Almost every time she wears a green blazer on top of a lavender colored turtleneck. It is her office uniform. The most attractive part about this character is her big dark brown eyes.
Casca
Casca previously worked as a unit commander of the Band and the Falcon. The character was born in a low-income family, and nothing is known about her family. She has several names such as Elaine, Big Sis, Black Witch, etc. Casca has shoulder-length black hair and a dark brown skin tone. She loves one of the band members called Guts. She changes her outfits according to the situation. Casca has a long nose and small lips.
Lord Helles
Lord Helles is often considered the most mysterious black anime characters. She hates ugliness and loves beauty. She wears several pieces of jewelry and an Egyptian-styled outfit. Like any of her fellow Hakishin, she can destroy an organism to maintain the universe’s balance. She has a toned body. Helles has bright blue-colored eyes and a small nose with red-colored lips. Most of the outfit of Lord Helles has white, orange and green colors.
Kuzan Aka Aokiji
Kuzan, who is popularly known as Aokiji, has worked as a Marine Admiral. This character is an antagonist in the Marineford Arc. He is very tall and a muscular hunk, but he is still short compared to the other two admirals. He has curly short black hair, which goes well with his tan-colored skin. Most of the time, he wears a white vest, and on top of that, he puts on a long-sleeved navy blue shirt. Other than that, he also wears a yellow tie and a sleep mask on his forehead.
Tier Halibel
Tier is an Arrancar who has olive-colored skin. His eyes are aqua green in color, which is paired with thick eyelashes. On top of that, she sports messy short golden colored hair with three braided locks. She mostly wears a high collared white jacket. To cover his hands, she puts on black hand gloves. The chain of the jacket covers most of her face; only her eyes are visible. There is an Espada tattoo near her right breast, and there is a hollow on her lower abdomen. In the future, her womb will be there.
Mila Rose
Mila Rose works as an Arrancar in Sosuke Aizen’s army. She is a dark-skinned woman who is pretty tall. She has long brown colored hair and huge breasts. Mila wears a mask that is divided into three pieces and looks like a crown. Her attire, which is a combination of multiple armors, is very similar to an Amazon warrior. She also dons a white skirt underneath the armor before a large lioness with a dark brown skin tone.
Riley Freeman
Riley Freeman has a long history in the TV series named ‘The Boondocks.’ He is the grandson of Robert Freeman, and one of his brothers is Huey Freeman. Like his brothers and grandfather, he is also an expert martial artist. He is often called Young Reezy and also Riley Escobar. Riley mostly wears a white vest and track pants. He has a dark skin tone. Both his irises and hair are brown. He sports an afro American hairstyle. Despite his being only eight years old, he has an exquisite physique.
Rock Lock
The real name of Rock Lock is Ken Takagi, who is a Pro Hero. Ken is an average heightened guy who has a dark skin tone having curly hair. Most of his costume is covered with dark green and yellow colors. He wears a yellow mask to cover his face. He often wears padlock earrings as a part of his outfit.
Along with that, he also wears a red necklace. Five keys hang from that necklace. His hero suit also consists of white high ankle shoes and a brown colored belt. Rock lock’s fingerprints are also unique.
Uub
Uub is one of the students who took martial arts training from Goku after fighting him in the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament. Uub is a young man with a dark skin tone. He sports a black-colored mohawk hairstyle. Sometimes he is also presented with a shaved head. He was very short and often wore traditional robes.
Along with that, he also wears white trousers and a white belt. When he gets angry, his eyes turn red. When he became a part of Goku’s Turtle School, he wore a blue and orange colored uniform.
Conclusion
All these are a few examples of black anime characters who appeared in anime series. Every one of them has a different origin story and looks utterly different from each other. The idea of “The Black is Beauty” has been the latest progressive trend that celebrates people of dark complexion, and you may be a part of this too by sketching these amazing anime characters. It is guaranteed that you will gain fun drawing all these unforgettable anime characters who have already made their mark on several people’s hearts. So, what are you waiting for? Take any one of the characters out of this list and start drawing it to ignite the fire of creativity inside of you. Who knows? You might be the next prominent character designer in the world of anime.
FAQs
Q: Who are some of the best black anime characters to draw?
A: Some of the best black anime characters to draw include iconic characters like Yoruichi Shihoin from Bleach, Killer Bee from Naruto Shippuden, and Usopp from One Piece. These characters showcase unique designs and personalities that make them great subjects for drawing.
Q: Why is representation of black characters important in anime?
A: Representation of black characters in anime is crucial as it promotes diversity and inclusivity. It allows for a wider range of stories and experiences, enriching the anime and manga landscape. Characters like Yoruichi Shihoin and Killer Bee serve as role models and inspire viewers with their strength and depth.
Q: What are some notable black women characters in anime?
A: Notable black women characters in anime include Yoruichi Shihoin from Bleach and Michiko Malandro from Michiko & Hatchin. They are celebrated for their strong personalities and significant roles in their stories, making them great representations of black women in the medium.
Q: What impact do black characters in anime have on viewers?
A: Black characters in anime can have a profound impact on viewers by providing relatable role models and fostering a sense of belonging. They can inspire viewers to embrace their identity and appreciate the diverse world of anime and manga.
Q: What are some examples of black characters in popular manga series?
A: Examples of black characters in popular manga series include Killer Bee from Naruto, Yoruichi Shihoin from Bleach, and characters from the series Black Lagoon. These characters are often well-developed and are integral to their respective stories.