The realm of Japanese animation is home to thousands of colorful characters of all shapes and sizes. They can often be grouped according to not just their personalities or their superpowers, but also their outfits and taste in clothing. With a few exceptions, all anime characters wear clothes and their wardrobe can reveal a lot about them.

Some anime characters wear official military or school uniforms, while others deck themselves out in superhero costumes or villain costumes, and others simply wear ordinary street clothes, such as hoodies or jeans. Meanwhile, there are some anime characters who are known for wearing one particular color above all others and there are plenty of anime characters who tend to dress mainly or entirely in black.

10/10 Tomura Shigaraki Has A Dark Villain Costume (My Hero Academia)

shigaraki and usj from my hero academia

Aside from his bright red sneakers, which are oddly reminiscent of Izuku's own shoes, My Hero Academia's supervillain Tomura Shigaraki tends to dress in dark colors, primary black, when wearing his simple villain costume. He wears a dark blue V-neck shirt, black pants, and a black hoodie, in addition to his severed hands.

Tomura's dark outfit represents his closeness to his terrifying mentor, All For One, who wears a Darth Vader-style black helmet and a black suit with a white shirt. Tomura doesn't need a mask and he's not really into suits, but otherwise, he's all about black clothing.

9/10 Kirito Is The Black Swordsman (Sword Art Online)

kirito SAO

With a few exceptions, Sword Art Online's video game hero Kirito tends to wear a black outfit, which earned him the nickname "the black swordsman." His nickname might even be a reference to Berserk's gritty antihero Guts, who has a black cape and an oversized sword.

Kirito isn't nearly as dark as Guts, though he is sometimes moody and isn't terribly charismatic. Still, he will fight hard to free everyone from Aincrad and other digital worlds. Kirito can even wield two swords at once to take down the game's toughest boss battles.

8/10 Azami Nakiri Wears A Black Suit (Food Wars!)

azami nakiri food wars

The main antagonist of the culinary anime series Food Wars! is the insidious Azami Nakiri, the cold and calculating father of the lovable tsundere Erina Nakiri. Unlike his daughter, Azami dresses in very dark colors, no matter the weather. He even wears black gloves.

Azami is usually seen in an all-black ensemble, from his dark gray shirt and dull tie to his black suit jacket and black coat, which matches his black hair and equally dark eyes. Everything about his appearance screams "villain!"

7/10 Misa Amane Favors Goth Outfits (Death Note)

misa amane screenshot

Throughout Death Note, Light's ally Misa Amane began wearing more colorful outfits, such as during the battle against Near and Mello. In the first major story arc, though, Misa dressed almost entirely in black; she was quite fond of Goth pop culture imagery and attire, such as a batwing purse and Tim Burton-style stuffed animals.

In those days, Misa tended to wear lacy outfits and fancy chokers to play up her Goth theme, which contrasted sharply with her patron shinigami, Rem. Misa sometimes even wore lace sleeves and striped leggings and she kept it up until L was vanquished. Then she overhauled her wardrobe.

6/10 Saki Hanajima Prefers All Black (Fruits Basket)

hanajima in fruits basket

Fruits Basket'sTohru Honda likes to dress in colorful outfits, while her eerie friend Saki Hanajima dresses in all black Goth outfits, similar to Misa Amane. At school, Saki will wear the standard girls' uniform, but the moment she gets home, she'll swap it out for the darkest clothes she can find.

Saki dresses in all black to represent her self-isolation and her fear of her own supernatural abilities. It's her way of atoning for her past wrongs and she even has black nail polish to match. Tohru is used to all this, but anyone who meets Saki is off put at first.

5/10 Kankuro Is A Master Of Puppets (Naruto)

kankuro from naruto

Naruto's Kankuro hails from the Hidden Sand Village and despite the desert heat, he always wears all black, including a hooded hat with cat-like ears on it. Kankuro doesn't seem to mind the heat of this getup, though he does occasionally change his violet face paint.

Kankuro is best known for using puppet jutsu, a rare form of ninjutsu that allows the user to control deadly puppets made of wood and metal which are loaded with weapons. He even finished off Sakon and Ukon of the Sound Four with his puppets, to Kiba's astonishment.

lan fan with mask

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood'sLan Fan is one of prince Ling Yao's two bodyguards, with the other being her grandfather, Fuu. They aren't alchemists, but they did receive extensive training as assassins and they both gladly faced the homunculi in battle along with their Amestrian allies.

Lan Fan wears a mask, black clothes and armor into battle, complete with black boots and fingerless gloves, and Edward Elric actually thought she was a man until she was unmasked. Later, Lan Fan lost an arm and received an automail replacement in time for the final battle.

3/10 Tatsumaki Wears A Black Hero Costume (One-Punch Man)

Tatsumaki (One Punch Man)

One-Punch Man's petite but powerful Tatsumaki ranks 2nd among the Hero Association's S-ranked heroes, which says a lot about her prowess as a superhero. Despite her bratty tsundere attitude, Tatsumaki is wholly dedicated to saving the world from monsters and villains and she has a minor rivalry with Saitama, who keeps stealing her thunder.

Tatsumaki wears an all-black dress with a high collar and a slit up the side, along with dark high heels and little else. Tatsumaki's outfit isn't the most memorable hero costume, but her actions speak far louder than her words or clothing ever will.

2/10 Zeref Dragneel Tends To Wear Mostly Black (Fairy Tail)

Zeref from Fairy Tail smiling

Fairy Tail's villainous wizard Zeref Dragneel is actually Natsu's long-lost brothe, and he wants more than anything to reunite his family, even if everyone else has to pay the price for it. Natsu is all about family, but he can't agree with Zeref's methods, so the two of them must fight.

Zeref's outfit is primarily black in color, including a high-collared coat and black boots which match his dark hair. His outfit does have some yellow and white features, but it's definitely one of anime's darker outfits.

ayato kirishima tokyo ghoul

Touka Kirishima's brother Ayato fully embraced his ghoul nature, and unlike his big sister, he saw no need to blend into human society at all. Instead, Tokyo Ghoul's Ayato ended up running with the Aogiri Tree ghoul organization and he clashed with Touka and Ken at one point as a punkish antagonist.

Ayato cleaned up his act later in Tokyo Ghoul:re, but he still favored black clothes. Ghouls tend to favor dark clothes and punkish fashion trends and Ayato is definitely a part of that trend. He even wears black face masks in battle.

NEXT: Naruto: 10 Best Outfits of Shippuden, Ranked