They say that anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad. Father’s Day is for celebrating the dear old dads in our lives; however, not every father is worthy of this holiday. Put away the khaki shorts and new backyard grill, because here is a short list of some of the worst fathers anime has to offer.
1. Enji Todoroki (Endeavor) from My Hero Academia
The most recent season of My Hero Academia has begun redeeming Endeavor, and frankly, I hate it. This man is an abusive ego maniac. Fuyumi and Natsuo meant nothing to him because they weren’t born with the superpowers he wanted, and when Shoto did have those powers, he treated him more like a programmable machine than a child. He knew that he himself would never be good enough to surpass his rival, All Might, so he molded his son into someone who would be strong enough to be the best. SO petty. And Shoto wasn’t even the first child he tried to turn into his little super solider: he tried the same thing with Touya first. I don’t care that he told Touya to give up on becoming a hero for his own safety; he was the one who planted that idea in Touya’s head to begin with, only to rip his dreams away from him. People can change, yes, but the trauma they inflicted on others doesn’t just disappear.
2. Ging Freecss from Hunter x Hunter
A particular exchange from the 2017 Lego Ninjago Movie has become a meme audio on Tik Tok. When the character Lloyd accuses his father of ruining his life, the father responds, “How could I ruin your life? I wasn’t even there!” Ging and Lloyd’s dad have that in common. When Gon was just a baby, Ging up and left, and Gon has spent his life chasing after him. He doesn’t resent him for never being there, though: on the contrary, he idolizes him. It hurts me to see such a pure-hearted kid care so much about a man who barely spares him a thought. I would almost prefer that Gon did hate Ging, but it’s just not in his nature.
3. Grisha Jaeger from Attack on Titan – SPOILER WARNING!!!
It’s impossible to highlight Grisha’s crimes without touching major spoilers; after all, his horrible parenting affected two sons, and we don’t even find out that Eren has a brother until season 3. Aside from keeping secrets from young Eren, Grisha also violently injected him with a serum that would turn him into a Titan Shifter and significantly reduce his lifespan. Not cool, Dad. But at least he wasn’t always an awful parent to Eren, and gave him a relatively happy childhood. Zeke, on the contrary, was used as his parents’ puppet for most of his early years. Grisha literally enlisted him as a child soldier and then was disappointed when he didn’t perform as physically well as he wanted, even though he was there against his will. I really don’t blame Zeke for snitching on his parents to the government.
4. Kyo’s Father from Fruits Basket
It’s traumatizing enough that Kyo lost his beloved mother to suicide at such a young age, but to make matters even worse, his father insists that her death was Kyo’s fault. But his father didn’t just start hating him after his mother died: he was disgusted with Kyo from the very moment he was born. Instead of supporting or even pitying his son for inheriting a curse that would inevitably turn his extended family against him, he loathed Kyo, and actively supported locking him up in a lonely room for his entire life. Thank goodness Kyo was able to find a real father figure in Kazuma.
5. Shou Tucker from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
If you know, then you know. If you don’t know… Well, everyone who’s seen Fullmetal Alchemist has a visceral reaction to the mere mention of this man for a good reason. He physically altered, and ultimately caused the death of, his innocent little daughter to satisfy his own sick, twisted scientific curiosities. Not to mention he also involved the family dog in his disgusting experiment. There’s a special place in Hell for this psychopath.
