Welcome to the next edition in my series of posts about the MBTI types of anime characters. Today we’re discussing the ENTJ: extraverted, intuitive, thinking, and judging. This means that ENTJs derive energy from interactions, think innovatively and abstractly, make decisions using strict logic, and prefer an organized lifestyle. The cognitive functions for ENTJ are Te, Ni, Fe, and Si. This type is sometimes called “The Commander.”

ENTJs have sharp minds, strong wills, the desire to lead others, and the ability to inspire them. Compared to their closest cousin, the ESTJ, people of the ENTJ type are usually less traditional and practical. But since they boldly think outside the box, they are excellent problem-solvers. They often want to help others maximize their success. On the flipside, ENTJs can be critical, arrogant, stubborn, and ruthless. They hate incompetence and weakness.

The stereotypical ENTJ is a harsh and/or bossy leader. In anime, ENTJs are often villains. However, there are also many cases of ENTJs on the “good side.” With all that in mind, here is my list of ENTJ anime characters, each with notes of varying levels of detail. Enjoy!

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Asuka Langley Soryu
(Neon Genesis Evangelion)

An iconic tsundere, Asuka is a famous female anime character who also happens to be an ENTJ. She is one of the few children who can pilot an Evangelion mech unit. There’s no question that Asuka is an emotionally turbulent girl with serious psychological issues. She’s extremely bossy, critical, and attention-hungry. However, Asuka also shows some admirable traits common to the ENTJ. These include decisiveness, bold thinking, and unwavering courage.

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Balalaika (Black Lagoon)

The grandaughter of a USSR military commander, Balalaika is a strong, no-nonsense leader willing to do anything to move herself and her group ahead. As the boss of a large crime syndicate called Hotel Moscow, she ruthlessly destroys her enemies and silences the incompetents. Even though she’s an antagonist in Black Lagoon, many fans admire this fearsome lady.

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Biscuit “Bisky” Krueger (Hunter x Hunter)

Bisky is a powerful fighter who trains young hunters to improve their Nen (basically the magic system of the Hunter x Hunter world). During the Greed Island arc, she trains Gon and Killua. Although a large, vocal portion of the fandom thinks Bisky is annoying, I absolutely adore her and find her character very refreshing. Like many ENTJs, she is bossy, sharp-tongued, and quick to point out mistakes in others. However, these are not bad traits for a Nen trainer who wants her students to survive.

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Erwin Smith (Attack on Titan)

Erwin is the leader of the Scouts / Survey Corps, whose job it is to fight and research titans while taking back the lost land. A job like that demands a creative thinker and a decisive, commanding person. Nobody is better for the task than Erwin. He’s highly intelligent, innovative, charismatic, and resolute. Sometimes called a demon for causing so many soldier deaths, Erwin will use even the most costly and risky plans to achieve his ambitions and help humanity. He is the closest you’ll see to a perfect example of a mature and “good” ENTJ in anime.

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Gilgamesh (Fate/Zero)

Once a great king, Gilgamesh is now a Heroic Spirit who can be summoned by mages to fight for them in the Holy Grail War. His main ENTJ traits are his overflowing confidence, his need for power, and his bold, intelligent mind. Gilgamesh will not be held back by tradition, propriety, or morality. His one unshakeable value is his belief in his complete superiority.

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Griffith (Berserk 1997)

Griffith is an iconic anime character whose morality and alignment are grey rather than black or white. He rose from humble beginnings and became a general of an independent army. Griffith’s men adored him as he was both charismatic and understanding – a strong savior. But Griffith’s life of rising to greatness through amazing leadership did not last forever. A series of tragic and cruel events transpired, leaving Griffith a broken invalid. So, he gave in to demonic power and became a ruthless demon. He’s a sad case of an admirable ENTJ who eventually chose evil.

There is a famous but controversial saying in the anime community: “Griffith did nothing wrong.” I disagree, since Griffith did a lot wrong, including sexual assault. However, I agree with the sentiment that what happened to him before that was absurdly unjust. Abusers sometimes begin as victims. That’s my two cents.

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Kirari Momobami (Kakegurui)

At Hyakkaou Private Academy, gambling is encouraged and the richest student is in charge. There are many systems at play to punish the losers and the poorer students. In this setting, Kirari is the powerful and enigmatic student council president. Although she doesn’t tend to harm people directly, Kirari is a “socially acceptable sociopath” who has no moral values and believes herself superior to everyone else. It doesn’t seem like Kirari has a grand goal at the end of the road. She simply wants to be entertained. That’s why she created the unethical system in the academy.

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Light Yagami (Death Note)

Light is the frighteningly intelligent and determined antihero of the classic anime Death Note. If Erwin is the best example of a mature and admirable ENTJ, Light is the best example of a petty and evil ENTJ, at least according to most. (I suppose there is also a pro-Kira group of edgy teenagers somewhere in reality.) Whether he is entirely evil or not, Light is impressive with his amazing mind and ability to win people over. Although Light is regarded by many as an INTJ, I think ENTJ is a better fit due to his direct and constant use of Te (extraverted thinking).

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Louis / Rouis (Beastars)

Louis is a young red deer admired by many at Cherryton Academy. He shows the ENTJ strengths of good leadership, academic and social intelligence, determination, confidence, and resilience. Louis also has the flaws of an ENTJ: he’s overly critical, stubborn, prone to anger, and holds himself and others to absurdly high standards. The greater plan in Louis’ mind is to become the next Beastar and make the world a better place for herbivores.

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Medusa Gorgon (Soul Eater)

Medusa is an antagonist in Soul Eater and an example of a female villain who happens to be an ENTJ. An argument can be made that not all witches in this universe are bad; however, Medusa is undoubtedly dangerous. She harms many different characters, but what I can’t forgive is how she was emotionally abusive to her child, Crona. Like many ENTJs, Medusa is clever, charismatic, bold, and confident. Her greater goal is to help awaken Ashura, an insane and chaotic being capable of bringing down Lord Death and his entire order.

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Miyuki Shirogane
(Kaguya-sama: Love is War)

A popular male character from recent anime, Shirogane is the student council president at a private academy for insanely rich students. Unlike the other school leader on this list – Kirari – Shirogane shows no signs of cruelty and has a healthy system of morality. He can still be a little harsh at times, holding himself to impossible standards and having high expectations for others.

ENTJs are stubborn and do not like to seem weak. Thus, Shirogane views love as a contest where the person who confesses their feelings first is the loser. With that mindset, he’s determined not to lose the game with his crush, Kaguya. Shirogane is a great example of an ENTJ who, aside from being filthy rich, is a fairly normal highschooler.

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Mori Ogai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

This clever and socially suave man is the boss of Yokohama’s crime syndicate, the Port Mafia. One could argue that Mori is an INTJ because he’s more private and introverted than most of the others on this list. However, I would still argue that ENTJ is a better fit. Mori is the typical ENTJ antagonist in that he’s somewhat admirable and not purely evil in all cases. Depending on who you ask, he’s the perfect leader. Also, I happen to think this character is hella sexy.

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Muzan Kibutsuji
(Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba)

Muzan is the main antagonist of the wildly popular dark shounen anime, Demon Slayer. I have only seen two seasons, and can barely remember this character’s appearances. Still, based on what I do recall, ENTJ would be an appropriate type for Muzan as the ruthless leader of demons.

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Nona (Death Parade)

Nona is the manager of the Arbiter System of the afterlife, where special beings called Arbiters judge the souls of deceased humans. She is very assertive, but also conversational, fun, and good-natured. Nona’s goal is to rise to the top of the afterlife system and become the next God.

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Roy Mustang
(Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

Let me go ahead and admit I’m one of those anime heretics who never paid much attention to Roy because I never found him all that likeable or amusing. I don’t dislike him, either, but I haven’t studied his character. I plan to re-watch FMA: Brotherhood in the near future, and will pay more attention to this character. Roy is an ENTJ according to the Personality Database.

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Squealer/Squeera (From The New World)

Although he’s from a much more obscure anime, Squealer is easily as complex and profound as Griffith from Berserk. Although their personalities are quite different, they are the same MBTI type, and share a similar grey morality. Like most examples on this list, Squealer is an excellent leader and keenly intelligent, but utterly ruthless against his enemies.

Squealer is ultimately an antagonist, waging war on the dwindling humankind to wipe them out. However, many viewers, including myself, see him as “good” – or at least, on equal footing with the humans. Explaining the history would take too long, but Squealer’s species has been horribly mistreated by the humans for several centuries. Thus, his goal is to free them from oppression.

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Togame (Katanagatari)

It’s been at least 6 years since I watched Katanagatari, so my memory is hazy. But I do recall loving the female protagonist, Togame. She is on a journey with Shichika, a sword who can take human form, to avenge the murder of her father.

Clever, strategical, and innovative in her thinking, Togame is a strong user of Ni (introverted intuition). Even stronger than that is her Te (extraverted thinking) that makes her logical and analytical almost to a fault. In the classic ENTJ way, Togame may be domineering, but she’s an admirable and effective strategist with plenty of natural charm.

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Toshio Ozaki (Shiki / Corpse Demon)

As the physician for a tiny rural town in the mountains, Ozaki is intelligent and dedicated to his work, keeping high expectations for himself. Though he’s not a cheery social butterfly, he knows everyone in the town and can smoothly communicate with most of them. He always gets right down to business and has a commanding presence.

When corpse demons start taking over the town, preying on his patients, Ozaki becomes ruthless in his quest to exterminate them. He will do anything – no matter how inhumane or underhanded – to defeat the demons. Although I often have mixed feelings about Ozaki’s cruel actions, I still regard him as a protagonist trying to do the right thing to protect people.

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Thank you for reading~

(Original post edited on June 29 2023)

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