In most anime, the protagonists are always on the receiving end of a cruel fate. They are usually orphaned at a very young age, or their parents do not pay any kind of attention to them, which makes their lives extremely difficult.
However, a few lucky protagonists get to experience the love and affection of a parent. The role of a father in the life of an anime character is often overlooked, but they are responsible for shaping the persona of their kids. With different contenders, the question arises— who isthe best anime dad?
Updated July 08, 2025, by Mark Sammut:TheWinter 2025 anime seasonhas a couple of characters that could eventually make the grade forbest anime fathersever, once their runs are done. While the anime is not quite on the same level as the manga, Sakamoto Days' Sakamoto is nevertheless an awesome parent. From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated’s Kenzaburou is also charming and funny, even if he does not share all that much screen time with his daughter.
Two anime dads from older shows have been added to this discussion.
While only appearing in a handful of episodes throughoutOuran High School Host Club, Ryouji leaves a generally great impression, with his love for Haruhi shining through in every one of his scenes. Working at a cross-dressing bar, Ryouji embraces the importance of being true to yourself, something that rubs off on his daughter, who also does not adhere to gender norms. Admittedly, he does, at times, try to get Haruhi to dress in a way that does not 100% reflect her preferences, but it is never forceful.
Due to being a single parent, Ryouji is pretty much constantly working, although he tries to connect with Haruhi whenever the opportunity arises. Also, like pretty mucheveryOuran High School Host Clubcharacter, thislovable anime fathercan be downright hilarious.
As the father of Death the Kid and Asura, Lord Death is a relatively important figure inSoul Eater, although his biggest contribution to the story is the fact that he is Death Weapon Meister Academy’s headmaster. While getting a couple of opportunities to interact with Kid, the Grim Reaper takes a backseat throughout most of the anime, with his role being more supporting than taking the front lines. However, he does play a far more direct role when Asura is introduced as a major villain.
Tending to act silly and lighthearted at times, Death is a positive presence in most situations, and he is a pretty great headmaster AND father. When dealing with Kid, Death tries to guide his son in the right direction, all the while letting him make his own mistakes. That said, he does not hesitate to punish Kid when he does wrong.
Jotaro Kujo is the father of Jolyne and one of the main supporting characters inJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean. Initially, he came off as a man who did not care about his family, but it became increasingly obvious that this was untrue. Jotaro sacrificed himself. Not once but twice to save his daughter from danger.
The first time was in prison, where the two were attacked by Johngalli A. and Whitesnake. The second time was in the fight against Enrico Pucci. Jotaro got an opportunity to finish off the priest, but in exchange, he would have to let his daughter die. Despite being a rational man, Jotaro decided against killing Pucci if it meant sacrificing his daughter. Given his sacrifices, Jotaro is definitely amongthe best anime dads.
Kotetsu is among the main characters ofTiger & Bunny. He spent most of his time devoted to his job, which led to his daughter having feelings of resentment towards him. She believed that her father was a liar who didn’t care about her. But when the truth about his real job came to light, she realized that he had been carrying a massive burden.
On many occasions, Kotetsu openly displayed feelings of affection towards his daughter. He tried his best to balance his work, life, and personal life. Apart from being a good father, Kotetsu is also an incredible human being who always looks after others. He even keeps his own feelings locked up if it means troubling those around them.
Twilight, betterknown as Loid Forger, is the main protagonist ofSpy x Family. He is the most talented agent in WISE, which is why he ended up receiving the organization’s big mission to save the world. To complete his mission, Loid was ordered to get a family. He started by adopting Anya as his daughter.
While Loid did not have any experience raising kids, he did a remarkable job with Anya. Loid tries to fulfill Anya’s every wish, even going out of his way many times. Despite only adopting Anya for personal reasons, Loid is extremely protective of her, and he loses his cool if someone bothers his daughter.
Rei and Kazuki are two of the main characters fromBuddy Daddies. Both of them work as assassins, and to make things easier, they split their duties. Kazuki is in charge of obtaining information, organizing, and carrying out the assassinations.
Rei is also an exceptionally talented assassin who excels at shooting and is very strong physically. Aside from being expert assassins, Rei and Kazuki are excellent dads who show their affection for their daughter, Miri, in their own unique ways. Despite being a recluse, Rei worries about Miri when she gets sick and tries to take care of her. Kazuki is more lively than Rei, and during his first encounter with Miri, he lets her eat the cake that he had baked for his mission.
Tetsuo Tosu is a regular dad with a loving family. He enjoys his life, but things change when he finds out about his daughter’s new boyfriend, Nobuto. Tetsuo is shocked to learn that his daughter Reika is being physically abused by her boyfriend.
Angered by his discovery, Tetsuo starts to dig deeper into Nobuto’s past, only to find out that the latter has a history of killing girls. Tetsuo murders Nobuto and hides his body with the help of his wife. Tetsuo’s extreme actions entail serious consequences, and he is targeted by Matsuri, a yakuza boss. While Tetsuo’s decision may be radical, it shows how much he loves his daughter and how far he is willing to go to protect her.
Byakuya Ishigami is the father of Senku, the main protagonist ofDr. Stone. He was an extremely supportive parent, going as far as selling his car to buy the apparatus that Senku needed for his experiments. Byakuya was even willing to work harder just to be able to help Senku in his pursuit of knowledge.
Byakuya was also kind and would always attempt to help other people in need. Furthermore, he was honorable and daring. With such amazing personality traits, it is no wonder that Byakuya is among thebest anime dads.
Naruto Uzumaki is the main protagonist of theNarutoseries. Towards the end of the series, he became the Hokage and married Hinata Hyuuga. With Hinata,Naruto had two kids, and one of them, Boruto, is the main character ofBoruto: Naruto Next Generation.
Naruto has a tough time juggling the responsibilities of being the Hokage and a father to his kids but has grown accustomed to the job with time. Naruto tries his best to be there for his kids, and he also takes care of people like Kawaki, who are not even remotely related to him. As Naruto knows all about the pain of having no one to look after him, he tries his best to help everyone.
Joichiro Yukihira is the father of Soma. He has taken care of Soma on his own for most of their lives. Yukihira was a prodigy in the kitchen. He kept his past hidden from his son as he did not want to force his son into doing the same thing as him, but Soma shared his father’s passion for cooking, which made Joichiro very happy.
As Soma grew up, he started to feel the pressure of managing a restaurant and Joichiro was aware of the situation, so he tried to calm his son by reassuring him that he was doing a great job. Furthermore, Joichiro also told him how to overcome the problems that are associated with being a chef.
