I love shounen/seinen with heroes that win with brains, not brawn. You know, where they think their way out of a mess - or maybe they fight, too, but the main thing is that they're smart. Like, they think about tactics and strategies and have damn sharp heads on their shoulders, and could be chess champions if they tried.

Who are your favorite shounen/seinen heroes (or heroines) with smarts?

Please note that I do mean characters who, even if they fight physically, have their intelligence as their primary quality, and their intelligence and tactical thinking is the true key to their success.

Examples:

Griffith from Berserk, obviously. More villain than hero, perhaps, but HE'S TOO HOT NOT TO MENTION, SORRY.
Cesare from... um, Cesare.
Eumenes from Historie.
Furuta from Hyougemono.
Tenma from Monster.
Akiba from ES.
The guys from Sanctuary (that I have yet to read, but they do look smart).

I bet that plenty of detective manga also falls in this category.

Who's your favorite brainy hero? Shoot!

Brainy heroes?

Miria and Galatea from Claymore
Yuca from Immortal rain
Schniezel from Code geass

I totally second Griffith and Eumenes! *__*b
*Somehow Griffith reminds me of Isley though* XD

It's cool to have shounen mangas with Brains rather than Brawns. It offers uniqueness in the mainstream mangas.

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The Hidden Agenda=Gol.D.Ace

This Week's favourite:
DoLL (Okado Tatsuya)
Xp

I second Griffith of course.
Shame he's gone bad~

Kenji from Eden.
*fangirl eyes*

Makoto Kubota from Wild Adapter. Well, kind of.
He's got fists which he never hesitates to use...
*more fangirl eyes*


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Hrodulf and Bjornolfr, you will not be forgotten.

And if the world were black and white,
you would be my rainbow in shades of grey.

Click 'n Play!

If I had a fantasy self, it'd be a tentacle monster.

I never really considered him a tactical type of guy, given how he destroys anyone/anything in his way (except that one guy, but that's an exception), but that could just be me.

Shikamaru from Naruto is an obvious one, especially since he actually plays chess (shogi, but its essentially the same), though the concept of brains over brawn has been drastically downsized post-timeskip.

The Laughing Man, Kusanagi Motoko, and Daisuke Aramaki from the Ghost in the Shell: SAC series are all note-worthy characters, especially with the hacking abilities of the Laughing Man and Motoko.

And there's Hiruma from Eyeshield 21, the evil genius that he is.

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"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."
- Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain

The guys and girls from Spiral: Bonds of Reasoning and those from Spiral Alive too
Andou from Maou - Juvenile Remix
Light from Death Note (though he lost in the end)
Abe and Tajima from Ookiku Furikabutte
Lelouch from Code Geass; and Susaku too - remember how he uses his advantage of physical ability and speed a few times?
Edward from Kizoku Tantei Edward

Last edited by base_coat at 2:21 am, Apr 21 2009

I definitely second Shikamaru and Eumenes.

*scans through complete list* In the oneshot Emerald, the main female character who wins out the man who almost takes her. And I suppose that Death Note is just one big battle of brains.

gutts from berserk, naruto from naruto, luffy from one piece...
those are my favorite trios that wins with both brain and brawn...
borrowing a quote from iron man ... "is it too much to ask for both?"...

Well, he doesn't win every fight by brute force.


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Hrodulf and Bjornolfr, you will not be forgotten.

And if the world were black and white,
you would be my rainbow in shades of grey.

Click 'n Play!

If I had a fantasy self, it'd be a tentacle monster.

Dr. Stein from Soul Eater... well he is strong too
Deidara from Naruto.
Conan (Conan Edogawa) anyone?

I second Lelouch and Schneizel and such from CG... also i think all detective type stories require mostly brain power including the whole cat-and-mouse from Death Note, the previously mentioned Conan and so on...
I think i will add Sumeragi from Gundam 00.. being their battle strategist and doing only the planning/intellectual parts..

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All is Hitsuzen...

i second detective Conan and shikamaru and what about Nico Robin from one piece? she's quite smart to get a degree of architect at age 7. youngest scholar

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Nulla in mundo pax sincera
"Always go too far, because that's where you'll find the truth." - Albert Camus

Eumenes from Historie, of course!

I also like:
Akagi from Akagi
Askeladd from Vinland Saga
Mustang from Full Metal Alchemist
Ida from Jiraishin

Wish there were more of these kinds of heroes.

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Reading: Kingdom, Sangokushi, Historie

Robin from One Piece
Hiruma and Clifford from Eyeshield 21
Light (pre-timeskip), L and Near from Death Note
Shikamaru and Kakashi from Naruto
Shinichi from Liar Game
Mayuri from Bleach


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I think those guys are more brains + brawn type, cause they rely not only on brains but also on brawns (guns).
and we should consider the fact that some manga's characters are all brain-users (sounds epic xD).
Kaiji and Akagi of course.
and Munsu too, though he's more brain + brawn type.

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Akabara from Vampire Juujikai
The blind guy from Until Death Do Us Part. He's not stupid, and he's got brawn. I dunno, I just kind of find him smart.

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"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts." -John Steinbeck