Fear of a certain object, person, animal, activity, or situation is generally described as “phobia”. A person with a phobia either tries to avoid the thing that triggers the fear or endures it with great anxiety and distress. This applies in the anime world as well where we come to encounter some very peculiar and strange phobias in anime developed by popular characters.

The root cause of a certain phobia can be anything; it can be either due to some past trauma or it can even just be a strange quirk that causes events to unfold in a slightly different manner than expected. While some phobias and fears that are shown within anime serve as a way for the character to grow and develop, others are arguably more difficult to relate to.

And, in today’s article, we’ll take a look at some of the very odd phobias in anime which sounds strange but are really true! So, without any further ado let’s get started.

Misty from ‘Pokémon’ (Entomophobia – Fear Of Insects)

The Pokémon universe has different types of creatures ranging from Grass-type to Fire-type. While Misty is very much attracted to the Water-type Pokémon, she doesn’t like the Bug-type a single bit. Her fear of bugs or insects is referred to as Entomophobia and Misty is no exception to this case. She completely becomes paralyzed after encountering a Bug-type Pokémon.

Whether it was the first interaction with Ash’s Caterpie or the trip to Murcott Island, Misty’s phobia doesn’t do her a favor. Although she has a deep-rooted fear of them, she somewhat finds herself comfortable with “cute” types. However, Misty’s fear lessens over the course of the series – but not to the point where she’s totally gotten over it.

Celty from ‘Durarara!!’ (Xenophobia – Fear of Strangers or Foreign Things)

Celty Sturluson, also known as The Black Rider or The Headless Rider, is an Irish fairy called a Dullahan who came to Japan looking for her stolen head. Despite her bizarre backstory, Celty’s personality is, ironically, one of the most normal and down-to-earth compared to most of the other cast.

However, this doesn’t stop her from developing an odd phobia of aliens, attained through her love of watching movies and playing video games. Her genuine fear of aliens is often poked fun at by other characters, with it being used for comic relief throughout the series.

Josuke Higashikata from ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’ (Herpetophobia – Fear of Reptiles)

Josuke Higashikata serves as the main protagonist of the fourth part of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure franchise. Being a descendant of Joseph Joestar, he’s extremely skillful and talented. His stand, Crazy Diamond allows him to restore any object or person it hits. It also provides him with super strength, super speed, and precision to hit his opponent.

However, there is one thing that can’t be covered by Josuke’s stand and that is, the fear of reptiles. As powerful as he is, Josuke is terrified of reptiles, particularly turtles. He even tried to touch a turtle to get rid of his fear. But, that doesn’t mean he completely hates them. Once, he saved a turtle from the upperclassmen who were tormenting the little creature.

Death the Kid from ‘Soul Eater’ (Symmetrophobia – Phobia of Symmetry)

Death the Kid is kind of a prodigy in his own universe however, he also suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Described as being “too much of a perfectionist”, he initially obsesses over having things in his life be symmetrical. Kid has been known to go berserk and release his full power if something in perfect symmetry is broken.

Lack of symmetry can appall and distress Kid to the point that he will be physically sick eventually preventing him to fulfill his duties. As a consequence, he takes extreme measures to make sure things are either equal or perfectly aligned in order not to break symmetry even in the middle of a battle or at the expense of his mission.

Tsunade from ‘Naruto’ (Haemophobia – Fear of Blood)

The legendary Sannin and the former Hokage of Konoha Village, Tsunade also fall in the category of characters with phobias in anime. She suffers from Haemophobia which is quite an abnormal phobia of blood. The person with this disorder gets paralyzed after seeing the blood of any living being. Tsunade developed this phobia during the great war when she failed to prevent Dan’s death due to excessive blood loss.

This resulted in her leaving Konoha for quite some time as well. But, thanks to the efforts and sheer persistence of Naruto, Tsunade was able to overcome her fear of blood. She’s a great example of how a person in real life as well can get over his or her fear as all it takes is the will and courage to break the mental blockage.

Mikasa Ackerman from ‘Attack On Titan’ (Thanatophobia – Fear of Death)

Thanatophobia is a very peculiar form of phobia where a person has an extreme fear of death or the dying process. This might be related to his/her own death or the death of a loved one. In Mikasa’s case, she fears losing her loved ones which basically includes Eren and Armin. Particularly for Eren, she can go beyond any boundaries to protect him at any cost.

The cause of her phobia generates from the fact that she has lost her family twice and now the only person she thinks of as a family is, Eren. As a result, Mikasa tries to not let that happen again and constantly insists to stay close to Eren making sure he’s safe with her. In other words, it can also be called “love” rather than a phobia.

Goku from ‘Dragon Ball’ (Trypanophobia – Fear of Needles)

Suppose you’re the strongest being in the universe, which basically means you won’t be hurt by any kind of calamity, right? Just think again because even the most overpowered anime character like Goku doesn’t fall in this category as he’s afraid of needles! Despite being the invulnerable Super Saiyan of Universe 7, Goku suffers from Trypanophobia i.e. the fear of needles.

Generally, it’s not such a pleasant moment to get stabbed with a needle however, imagining Goku in this state sounds kind of hysterical. The guy who shows no fear of going up against the likes of Vegeta, Frieza, and Beerus almost falls to pieces when he becomes aware that there are needles in his presence. Simply put, Goku’s phobia serves as comic relief for the fans.

Yato from ‘Noragami’ (Athazagoraphobia – Fear of Being Forgotten)

Athazagoraphobia is a pretty long name to pronounce and can’t be remembered for long. The way it sounds is associated with a fear of forgetting someone or something, as well as a fear of being forgotten. In simple words, the person suffering from this disorder develops a fear of being forgotten or replaced.

Yato, the self-proclaimed “Delivery God” in Noragami has this phobia because of his constant worry that Hiyori will definitely forget about him. Being desperate to make sure she doesn’t, he always keeps a look on her. Sometimes, he feels jealous when Hiyori is around other boys instead of spending time with him, but that’s obviously love.

Doraemon from ‘Doraemon’ (Musophobia – Fear of Rat)

Generally, cats are the biggest enemy of rats as they tend to eat them most of the time. Ironically, for a robot cat like Doraemon, this fact is completely the opposite. The titular character of the Doraemon franchise suffers from Musophobia which is the fear of mice or rats. However, unlike other characters with phobias in anime, there is a traumatic experience behind Doaremon’s fear.

Doraemon originally had a yellow color scheme, but due to a robot mouse attacking him and chewing off his ears, he ended up drinking a “sadness” potion that resulted in his present blue color scheme. Since then he holds a deep hatred against rats and constantly tries to overcome his fear with the help of his 4th-dimensional pocket.

Levi Ackerman from ‘Attack On Titan’ (Automysophobia – Fear of Being Dirty)

The hottest anime guy, Levi Ackerman goes around by the name of “Humanity’s Strongest Soldier” and his calm personality perfectly suits his title. Other than his fierce swordsmanship, Levi is also known in the community for being a “clean freak”. Scientifically, this sort of behavior is termed as Automysophobia which is defined as the fear of getting dirty.

He strives to stay clean at all times and takes extra measures to make sure that his weapons are clean in addition to himself. Indeed, Levi has automysophobia but he doesn’t let his obsession prevents him from going berserk in the battles suggesting that his phobia is not as bad as it could be.

Which one of the following odd phobias in anime is the most strange? Feel free to comment down your thoughts and make sure to recommend some other characters like the ones listed above, also don’t forget to share this article with your fellow otaku friends.

For daily anime and manga news, make sure to follow us on Instagram. You can also check out our anime ranking page for more articles like this.