Naruto: 10 Anime Characters Who Are Just Like Shikamaru

Naruto is a world that’s all about ninjas, and these crafty warriors rely on more than brute strength to win. A proper ninja can use cunning, traps, forethought, and elaborate battle strategies to fool and outmaneuver the enemy and get the job done, and Shikamaru Nara is a battle strategist like no other.

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Ever since his big debut in the Chunin exam arc, Shikamaru has been able to think his way out of nearly any situation, even when facing stronger or downright immortal enemies. He’s also patient, deliberate, cautious, and has leadership qualities, and a number of anime characters out there are reminiscent of this ninja. Who might they be?

10 Sokka (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Sokka of the Water Tribe wasn’t born with the gift of bending, but then again, he does have a mind that can bend in all kinds of creative ways when a mission is underway. Like Shikamaru, Sokka has limited offensive power on his own, but he can shape the entire battle to his advantage.

It was Sokka who thought up the plan to invade the Fire Nation, making use of submarines and a solar eclipse. Sokka is also cautious; he’d rather not run off and find adventure for the sake of it. Shikamaru can relate to that.

9 Asami Sato (The Legend Of Korra)

In some regards, Asami Sato is meant to be the next Sokka, though they have their differences. Still, Asami is appreciably similar to Shikamaru where it counts, including her sharp tactical mind and her ability to juggle many responsibilities at once.

Like Sokka and Shikamaru, Asami lacks a reckless streak, though she is brave and bold when it counts. Rather, Asami likes to plan things out ahead of time, to slowly and surely build up her business while taking calculated risks, rather than make reckless leaps. That’s Shikamaru’s style, too.

8 Uryu Ishida (Bleach)

Uryu Ishida is a Quincy archer, which gives him more offensive power than Shikamaru has. But in other ways, these characters have overlap, such as their role as the cool-headed companion to the fiery main character (Ichigo Kurosaki or Naruto Uzumaki).

 RELATED: Naruto: 5 MHA Characters Shikamaru Could Defeat (& 5 He’d Lose to)

Also, like Shikamaru, Uryu is always able to keenly observe a battle and figure out the perfect strategy and execute it perfectly, capitalizing on the enemy’s weakness. Uryu is strong alone, but he’s strongest when fighting with a trusted ally.

7 Momo Yaoyorozu (My Hero Academia)

Shikamaru Nara is a brilliant, crafty support ninja, and that describes Momo Yaoyorozu as well, except “ninja” is swapped out for “hero.” Momo is a trainee hero who works best in a support role since she lacks a powerhouse Quirk like One For All or Dark Shadow.

Momo is a genius who can ace any test and understand the inner workings of any item, and this allows her to create nonliving items from her skin and use them in combat. She once outsmarted Shota Aizawa in battle and subdued him with a catapult and a duplicate of his capture-ribbon.

6 Armin Arlert (Attack On Titan)

Although Armin Arlert doesn’t have a strong body or sharp reflexes, he does have a sharp mind, and he is usually the one who develops battle plans, rather than execute them. It didn’t take long for the rest of the Scouts to realize that Armin should be kept far away from the front lines.

RELATED: Naruto: 5 My Hero Academia Characters Stronger Than Shikamaru Nara (& 5 Weaker)

Armin helped Mikasa and Eren engineer the plan to retake Tost, and after some false starts, the plan was a stunning success. He even made use of rifles, seemingly outdated weapons, to get the edge on the Titans. Armin is patient, detail-oriented, and cautious, much like Shikamaru.

5 Merlin (The Seven Deadly Sins)

Merlin is the support wizard of the Seven Deadly Sins gang, as her name suggests, and she can even do her dirty work herself if the need arises. Merlin was born a genius, learning and casting spells of all kinds from a young age.

Now, Merlin tends to hole up in her lab, where she can experiment on magic and bodies alike to find new ways to defeat enemies of the Liones Kingdom. Like Shikamaru, Merlin is confident in her strategic mind and can turn around a bad situation in a hurry.

4 Levy McGarden (Fairy Tail)

A wizard guild like the Fairy Tail guild needs support mages to back up front-line warriors like Natsu Dragneel and Gajeel Redfox, and Levy McGarden is ready to help. She isn’t much of a fighter herself, but her Solid Script magic can totally reshape a battlefield in all kinds of creative ways.

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Levy is bookish and has amassed all kinds of knowledge about different types of magic and abilities, and she can use all kinds of effects with her magic. As long as someone protects her, Levy can support her allies and outmaneuver her foes with ease when she starts writing in the air.

3 Near (Death Note)

Near is a brilliant kid who was (along with Mello) chosen to succeed the original L as the world’s top detective, and it’s easy to see why. Near is logical, patient, analytical, and insightful, and he figured out all kinds of ways to uncover Kira’s identity piece by piece.

That sounds a lot like how Shikamaru operates, and like Shikamaru, Near has little time for reckless moves or emotionally charged outbursts. Near isn’t the type to make an arrest in person, though; he’d rather sit back and allow a cop to handle that.

2 Leone Abbacchio (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Leone Abbacchio is a part of Bruno Bucciarati’s squad, and he generally serves in a support role. He was once a cop, but now he is a gangster, and he has a Stand named Moody Blues that has a remarkable ability. It can read an area, then replicate the actions and voice of anyone who was there recently.

This makes it easy for Abbacchio to figure out the enemy’s next move, based on what they had been saying and doing recently, and Abbacchio is a calm and serious Stand user who exercises caution during battle. He’s not at all unlike Shikamaru, all things considered.

1 Senku Ishigami (Dr. Stone)

Senku Ishigami isn’t a fighter at all; instead, he is a brilliant high school student who ended up trapped in stone like everyone else that fateful day. Senku broke free 3,700 years later, and he’s using his boundless wits to rebuild technology and engineer a cure for the petrification process once and for all.

Like Shikamaru, Senku serves a support role to his mission, despite being the main character. He can think up a strategy and tool for absolutely any situation, and he’s bold, but not reckless, and he never lets emotions or selfish interests get in the way. He’s a man with a plan.

NEXT: One Piece: The 10 Smartest Characters, Ranked

Next 10 Times Naruto Met His Match (But Won Anyway)

About The Author Louis Kemner (1626 Articles Published)

I graduated high school in Kansas City in 2009, then earned my Associate’s in Arts in 2011 at MCC Longview, then my BA in Creative Writing at UMKC in 2013. I have a passion for creative fiction and I’ve studied and practiced my craft for over ten years. Currently, I’m expanding my resume and skill set with jobs such as SEO writing and journalism.

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