17 Anime Characters Who Are Extreme Introverts

Death Note's L has spent nearly his entire life in seclusion. While some of this is due to safety and time constraints — he's an extremely busy detective who needs to keep his identity a secret — L's introverted nature is also a personal choice. At 25, L claims that Light Yagami (AKA the serial killer L is chasing) is his first friend ever.

While some fans believe that he only says this to provoke a reaction from Light, it's also pretty clear that L doesn't really desire social interaction. 

Hōtarō Oreki of Hyouka finds social experiences draining. The character isn't shy — he has no trouble talking to people if the situation requires it  — but he doesn't actually enjoy the company of other people. Oreki's primary drive is to find ways to conserve energy, so he's not going to go out of his way to be sociable unless he has a good reason. 

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU features Hachiman Hikigaya, a particularly interesting example of an introverted anime character. Hachiman is perfectly happy spending all of his time alone; he interacts with others as obligated, but never really considers the possibility of making friends. Hachiman sees most social interaction as disingenuous, status-building nonsense, and he wants no part in the farce.

While Hachiman has a hard limit on the amount of social interaction he can tolerate, he still wants to connect with others. To achieve his dream, he needs to push past the snark, sarcasm, and feelings of intellectual superiority that normally helps him avoid the pain of rejection. Hachiman's journey to emotional maturity is deeply complex, and the character's often-antithetical headspace comes across as touchingly human. 

Hinata Hyuuga of Naruto is a sweet, unassuming, anxious girl; all surprising character traits for a powerful ninja who can reliably win dangerous battles. ​​Hinata prefers to keep to herself, in part because of the way she was raised. While Hinata is eventually able to come to an understanding with her repressive family, she retains her introverted nature even after establishing independence.

Her attitude contrasts starkly with the playful demeanor of her husband, Naruto Uzumaki, who is probably one of the most extroverted anime characters ever to exist.

At the start of Angel Beats, Kanade Tachibana is seemingly unable to socialize outside of her role as Student Council President and "Angel." Her position's main duty is to help her classmates (who are all teenagers struggling to accept their deaths in the afterlife) find peace and move on to the next plane of existence.

She typically achieves this goal through violence,  and there are quite a number of people fighting to take her down. While Kanade does eventually accept Otonashi's friendship, the protagonist usually has bigger concerns than her lack of meaningful friendships. 

Shizuku Mizutani of My Little Monster doesn't explicitly dislike socializing, but she also doesn't feel a pressing need to make friends. Her top priority is her schoolwork, and keeping her grades up requires a lot of time and attention. When others try to interrupt her studies, she usually ends up frustrated with them, especially when it's Haru, her eccentric classmate who she kind of has a crush on.

Like most introverted people, Shizuku does need some human interaction, she just doesn't go out of her way to seek people out.