Good day to you and thanks for coming to read here at Anime Rants. As you may know, I will post an article about the MBTI of anime characters every Wednesday. That is, until I’ve covered all 16 types. Today, we’re looking at the ESFJ. In anime, I often get annoyed with characters of this personality type. However, I don’t hate them, so I think I can be balanced. The ESFJ type is sometimes referred to as “The caretaker” or “The Host.” The cognitive functions for an ESFJ are: Fe, Si, Ne, and Ti.

ESFJs are often social butterflies. They love attention and they need a lot of friends and admirers to be happiest. They’re confident, responsible, and deeply caring. An ESFJ wants to take care of their loved ones as the capable mother figure or the dependable older sibling figure. Sometimes, their love can be unwanted, smothering, or intrusive. It’s the same with their strong sense of propriety and the way they think things should be. They often preach and scold, even if it’s none of their business. Usually, ESFJs love physical comforts, sensory experiences, aesthetics, and “nice things.”

A healthy ESFJ (known as the assertive variant) is warm, helpful, and caring. Their strength, elegance, and morality are admirable. But an emotionally unstable or unprincipled ESFJ (the turbulent variant) isn’t nearly so amazing. They are hypersensitive to criticism, too focused on being socially accepted or loved by others, overbearing, arrogant, and manipulative. Most of the ESFJs on this list are assertive, but I included a few villains and turbulent ones as well.

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Asuna Yuuki (Sword Art Online)

Hailing from the popular anime Sword Art Online, Asuna is a strong, brave, and very caring female knight. She can be a little intense, but she’s amazing.

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Elizabeth Midford (Black Butler)

Elizabeth is motivated by her strong love for her betrothed, Ciel, but you can definitely see how she’s smothering and over-the-top with her care and attention. She loves stylish clothing, expensive jewelry, and good social etiquette. Elizabeth is also a graceful ballroom dancer with a secret ability to wield light swords.

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Leda (Casshern Sins)

An antagonist from the obscure anime Casshern Sins, Leda cares deeply about her companion Dio, but also emotionally manipulates him at times. Though not much of a fighter, she is a confident leader who summons an army of followers. Leda’s ultimate goal is immortality, so she can enjoy the fine things in life forever.

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Leorio Paradinight (Hunter x Hunter)

Look at that face. Is possible for anyone to dislike Leorio? I can’t. This young man firmly believes that money makes the world go round, and making money his #1 goal. However, the real reason for this is that he needs money for medical school. Leorio wants to be a doctor who cares for people and saves lives. Additionally, he is a caring friend and someone who loves to have fun and a little mischief.

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Maka Albarn (Soul Eater)

The ESFJ I like most on this list is Maka, the female protagonist of Soul Eater. What I love most about her is how assertive, confident, and stubborn she can be when she’s convinced she is in the right. She will stand up to anyone, no matter how intimidating. Maka’s top trait is definitely extraverted feeling, as she is people-oriented and empathetic, with a strong desire to help others. My favorite Maka moment was when she risked her life and sanity to bring Crona, a troubled young enemy, over to the good side.

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Makoto Tachibana (Free!)

An emotionally healthy and sweet-natured ESFJ, Makoto is an admirable young man. He wants to become a swim teacher or coach and help younger people learn and improve their abilities. ESFJs are well-suited to be trainers and teachers, as long as they can deal with being criticized sometimes. For Makoto, the finest, most elegant and beautiful thing in the world is the art of swimming.

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Mami Tomoe (Madoka Magica)

Mami isn’t my favorite character by any means, but she might be the best example of an ESFJ on this list. She’s dazzlingly beautiful, well put together, and a strong fighter who saves lives. Additionally, she’s a perfect hostess and a kind mentor full of good, practical advice. On the other hand, Mami is also overly sensitive and deeply emotional, with a powerful need to be loved and admired. She can also be stubborn and self-righteous, refusing to negotiate with anyone she believes is wrong.

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Mayuri Shiina (Steins;Gate)

Mayuri is the adorable and ditzy childhood friend of Okabe, the main character of Steins;Gate. She has a good sense of fashion and loves dressing in cosplay and designing outfits. Though Mayuri is a bit of an airhead and doesn’t always understand things around her, she is quick to speak out when something is wrong or she is uncomfortable. What Mayuri wants is for everyone at the lab to get along and have a good time. She is like the cute big sister for everyone there.

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Milly Ashford (Code Geass)

A supporting character from Code Geass, Milly is a likable ESFJ. She is caring, strong-willed, and loves nice things. Though she does really enjoy teasing others in good fun, she isn’t typically overbearing or possessive. As a confident and hard-working extravert, Milly chooses a career as a public weather forecaster on TV.

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Mion Sonozaki
(Higurashi no Naku Koro ni)

The heir to the rich, mafia-like Sonozaki family, Mion is the twin sister of Shion Sonozaki. The twins are the same age, but Mion takes on the role of older sister and has a take-charge attitude in general. Though she can be a little bossy and pushy, she loves her friends deeply and will do anything to take care of them.

Part of what makes Mion great to me is that she isn’t as “girly” as most of the female characters on this list. She definitely has a feminine side, but in daily life, she has a brash and boyish way of interacting with others. I think she is both cool and cute!

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Nanami Aoyama (The Pet Girl of Sakurasou)

Nanami is a determined, capable, and self-reliant girl with a sweet and sensitive nature. She is more accepting than most ESFJs, with less of a need to be admired or popular. As long as she can pursue her dream of becoming a voice actress, Nanami will shoulder any burden and move forward with confidence.

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Ochako Uraraka (My Hero Academia)

Since I’m not the biggest MHA fan and have only seen about 2 seasons, I’m probably not qualified to talk much about Uraraka. But according to the Personality Database’s most recent consensus, this character is an ESFJ. From what I do recall, Uraraka was confident, capable, and determined. She’s also sweet, cute, and a little ditzy.

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Ragyo Kiryuuin (Kill la Kill)

The main villain of Kill la Kill, Ragyo is a servant of the original Life Fiber, which seeks to parasitize and ultimately consume humanity. Despite being beautiful and charismatic, this woman embodies pretty much every trait I dislike. She is a great example of an ESFJ villain. Possessive, manipulative, and abusive, Ragyo always believes she is right, acting in the name of her twisted love and her desire to serve the Life Fibers.

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Reiner Braun (Attack on Titan)

“Everybody’s big brother,” Reiner is responsible, warm, and caring. He is also an extremely complex character who deals with identity confusion, dissociation, and PTSD. Though Reiner’s actions led to the deaths of thousands of people, he is still a very sympathetic character who had no real choice in the matter. Due to his good people skills, practicality, and helpfulness, I think Reiner is an ESFJ.

Some have suggested that by the final season of AOT, Reiner is the most tragic character. There’s definitely an argument to be made there, since Reiner has always been a sweet person whose mind was broken by war and bloodshed. Even when he believes he should die to atone for his wrongs, this young man resists death’s call and instead helps his friends until the very end.

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Sakura Haruno (Naruto)

Although I personally don’t enjoy Naruto, I still respect it as a classic shounen anime. One of the show’s main characters is Sakura, a skilled Kunoichi who fits the ESFJ type. Like most of the women on this list, Sakura is pushy and stubborn, but motivated by her desire to help and care for others.

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Seryu Ubiquitous (Akame ga Kill)

Seryu is a skilled soldier who works under General Esdeath, the most fearsome villain of Akame ga Kill. This character is a great example of what happens when an ESFJ becomes toxic. She is so self-righteous and convinced she is right that she never realizes she’s on the wrong side of history. As the show progresses, Seryu shows more of her turbulent side: she is irrational, petty, and cruel – full of hatred for the ones “in the wrong.” Although it’s easy to hate Seryu, I think she’s fascinating from a psychological standpoint.

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Tamaki Suoh (Ouran Highschool Host Club)

The leader and founder of the Host Club, Tamaki is a dazzling “prince” who loves attention, being popular, and living in luxury. He can comes across as arrogant and ignorant, though he’s never consciously trying to put others down. Tamaki truly and deeply cares for his friends. He wants what is best for others – but he also believes he knows what’s best for others better than they do. Thus Tamaki can be nosy, preachy, and overbearing.

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Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon)

As I have not yet seen any version of Sailor Moon, I can’t comment on Usagi’s character. She was included in this list because she is an ESFJ according to the consensus on the Personality Database app.

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Yutaka Kobayakawa (Lucky Star)

Within this anime’s universe, Yutaka is the female host of a popular variety show. Despite being adorable when the camera is rolling, she is actually a turbulent-type ESFJ with serious anger issues. When the camera isn’t on her, Yutaka is harsh, fussy, and just plain mean to her co-host. She exemplifies what happens when a moody ESFJ is overworked and feels underappreciated.

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Thanks so much for reading! I hope it was interesting.

(Original post edited on July 10th 2023)

PATREON