Highlights

• Deaf anime characters like Yuki and Bojji prove that strength and kindness can shine through overcoming disabilities.
• Characters like Shoko and Nicolas show how forgiveness and resilience can help overcome past traumas.
• Hyakkimaru and Princess Hinoto demonstrate that disabilities do not define someone's ability to protect and communicate.

Although the world of anime is huge, there are hardly any characters with disabilities. The industry is slowly making changes to include more characters in it, but it may be some time before they are seen regularly. It is even rarer to see deaf characters, but anime shows and movies like Classification of Kings and A silent voice have proven that it can be successful.

There are very few deaf characters in the anime world, and even fewer who have made a big impact. But these characters show that just because they can't hear doesn't mean they aren't strong. They don't let their hearing impairment stop them from showing how strong they are or showing kindness to others who haven't been kind to them.

Updated on May 18, 2024, by Sarah Prado: There are very few anime characters with disabilities, and few of them have major roles in their shows or movies. However, this small pool of characters is slowly expanding, and more of them are starting to appear. Deaf anime characters, in particular, are part of a small group of characters with disabilities, but some are main characters in their respective animes. They overcome their disabilities in a variety of ways, such as communicating through sign language, texting, writing on a notepad, or lip-reading. While there may be a few issues here and there when out in public, these deaf anime characters do not let their disabilities stop them from living their lives.

7 Yuki Itose (a sign of affection)

A sweet girl who opens up after making friends at university

Yuki Yuki is a shy 19-year-old girl with congenital hearing loss. Although she wears hearing aids, she uses sign language to speak, lip-reading, and texting to understand what others are saying. Despite her shy nature, Yuki attends a public university at her mother's urging. She struggled to fit in at first, but has made some friends through it.

After meeting Itsuomi Nagi, Yuki feels the urge to explore the world more. She begins to open up a bit more and helps Itsuomi learn Japanese sign language by drawing a guide for him. While she still needs help in most situations, Yuki doesn't let that stop her from getting a job and hanging out with her friends regularly. Overall, Yuki is living a pretty normal life and has a healthy social life, with friends who support her and help her whenever she needs it.

6 Bojji (classification of kings)

A boy who sets out to prove that he is strong despite being deaf and mute

This small but mighty hero proves that an anime can have a deaf protagonist and be successful. Due to his small size and because he is deaf, many people believe Colors is not fit to rule the kingdom and that his half-brother should take the throne. Bojji does not let this affect him and still dreams of being a great king like his father. He is known to be kind and can read lips, so he knows what people are saying. He is hard-working, intelligent and empathetic, and would have made a great king.

However, many in the kingdom believe he is stupid and voted for his brother to be king because of his disability. Even though he was heartbroken, Bojji did not let this stop him from embarking on a journey to prove himself. He has proven that he is more than fit to be king and is much stronger than he looks.

5 Shoko Nishimiya (A Silent Voice)

A kind girl who forgives her bully and helps him with his own problems

When it comes to deaf characters in anime, Word is probably the first one that comes to most people's minds. She was often the victim of the other main character, Shoya, when they were in elementary school. They meet again in middle school when Shoya wants to return a notebook he left behind. Even though he bullied her to the point that she had to transfer, Shoko was more than happy to be his friend.

She falls in love with him as they get to know each other and realizes that he truly wants to repent for the bullying he put her through. Shoko shows that she forgives him and helps Shoya on his journey to forgive himself. It has been a long and difficult road for them, but Shoko and Shoya have helped each other overcome the trauma of their past and stay together on the path to recovery.

4 Nicolas Brown (Gangsta)

A man who gets angry with others for not knowing sign language

This is a man who definitely doesn't let his hearing impairment stop him from being a handyman for the Mafia. While most of the characters see his disability as an inconvenience and apologize to others, Nicolas makes it clear that he finds the people he talks to a nuisance because they don't know sign language. He hates having to accommodate others who can't sign for him, even though he can read lips.

Having grown up in a difficult environment, Nicholas often keeps to himself and seems aloof, even to those closest to him. He is easily angered, but he is not a terrible guy. Nicolas performs small acts of kindness, such as playing Nina and helping Alex, and occasionally teases others with a dark but good sense of humor.

3 Princess Hinoto (X)

A blind, crippled and deaf princess who uses her powers to communicate

• Release year: 2001
• Number of episodes: 24
• Gender: Action, Drama, Dark Fantasy
• Studio: Hospice

Princess Hinoto is a psychic who is not only deaf, but also blind, mute, and crippled. The only way she can communicate with anyone is through her telepathic powers. With her psychic powers, she sees the future in her dreams and the events always come true. She has a dark side that takes control of much of the series, but the dark side has a good reason for this possession.

After seeing her own death at the hands of Kamui, the dark side wanted to destroy him and the Dragons of Heaven. However, Hinoto herself stopped her dark side in the dreamscape, but this meant killing herself. This was the only way to end the dark side's possession of her, showing that she was willing to sacrifice herself to save everyone around her.

2 Hyakkimaru (Dororo)

Defends others with his enhancements, despite not having any of their senses

Hyakkimaru was unfortunate enough to be born to a lord who had made a deal with demons. In exchange for the safety of their lands, Hyakkimaru's body parts were given to them. As a result, he had no skin, eyes, nose, arms, legs, or ears. Fortunately, he was saved by Jukai, who became his father figure and made new body parts for him. Although he could not hear, Hyakkimaru's Soul Vision and Telepathy abilities were more than enough for him to be able to see and hear others.

He regains his ears and hearing, but at first it is overwhelming for him. Having never heard anything his entire life, the sounds can be a bit too much for him and cause him to lose control. But he learns to control himself and adapts to having them back, along with other parts of his body. It is understandable that regaining any of his senses would be a shock to him, since he has never had them before.

1 Nao Saito

A young woman who can feel the emotions of everyone around her

• Release year: 2010
• Number of episodes: 13
• Gender: Horror, Mystery, Supernatural
• Studio: Bee Train

Yakumo's young cousin. No Nao has been deaf since birth and lives with her adoptive father, Isshin, in a Buddhist temple. Although she cannot hear, Nao has the special ability to sense the feelings of everyone around her. She is also one of the few people Yakumo feels comfortable with, as many make fun of him because of his eyes.

After Isshin's death, Nao is taken in by Kazutoshi (one of the main characters) and his wife. Since he and his wife Atsuko were unable to have children, they separated, but Nao helped mend their relationship and the three became a loving family.