Which Blind Anime Characters Appear In Popular Manga Series?

Whenever I read through long-form manga I get fascinated by how blindness is used as a storytelling device, and a few characters really stuck with me. Take Kaname Tosen from 'Bleach' — his blindness is part of his identity from the start, and the author uses it to complicate themes of justice and justice’s cost. He sees the world differently, literally, and that visual limitation is tied to his moral blindness in a chilling way.

Contrast that with Hyakkimaru in 'Dororo' — his lack of sight is not ideological but existential. Born missing eyes, he learns to perceive the world via other senses and spiritual awareness; his journey is both physical (reclaiming body parts) and metaphysical (discovering what it means to see). Then there is Guts from 'Berserk', who loses an eye and adopts a more brutal, survival-first identity; the missing eye becomes a scar that echoes the manga’s themes of sacrifice and the human cost of struggle. Reading all three together made me appreciate how blindness can be written across genres — from tragic morality play to mythic quest to visceral survival epic — and how authors use it to deepen character and theme. It’s one of those motifs that never gets old for me.

Waking up excited to talk about this one — there are some really memorable blind or visually impaired characters across big manga that stuck with me. For a classic that always gets my heart, there's Hyakkimaru from 'Dororo': he’s born without eyes (and a bunch of other body parts) because of a pact his father made, so for much of the story he navigates the world using heightened hearing and spiritual perception. The series treats his blindness as both a physical obstacle and a source of eerie, poetic strength; his arc about reclaiming body parts is quietly heartbreaking and oddly hopeful.

Another heavy hitter is Kaname Tosen from 'Bleach'. He’s expressly portrayed as blind and uses spiritual senses to fight — that blindness informs his moral code and tragic arc, turning him into one of the more interesting morally gray villains. Then there’s guts from 'Berserk', who isn’t totally blind but loses an eye and becomes one-eyed; that partial loss is shot through with symbolism about sacrifice, trauma, and the price of survival. I also like noting Zatoichi — the blind swordsman who appears in many adaptations and even manga spins; he’s a different tone (gritty, cinematic) compared to the supernatural epics above. If you’re into how disability is woven into storytelling, these characters are fascinating case studies and leave me thinking about resilience and identity long after I close the book.

Let me toss in a quick, more casual take: my favorite blind characters in popular manga are Hyakkimaru ('Dororo'), Kaname Tosen ('Bleach'), and the one-eyed Guts ('Berserk'); each approaches limited vision differently. Hyakkimaru’s blindness is literal and tied into the supernatural premise; Tosen’s is integral to his worldview and tragic turn; Guts’s lost eye is emblematic of the scars he carries. I also like mentioning Zatoichi as the archetypal blind swordsman who’s been retold across media, including manga adaptations. They all show that losing sight can be written as weakness, power, or a complex mix of both — and that ambiguity keeps these stories haunting and memorable for me.