Behind every great anime protagonist is a mentor who shaped them. These teachers, masters, and father figures provide the training, philosophy, and emotional support that transform ordinary characters into heroes. The best mentors don’t just teach techniques—they transmit values, share wisdom, and often sacrifice everything for their students.
We’ve ranked the greatest anime mentors based on teaching effectiveness, character depth, relationship with their students, and lasting impact on the story.
The List
20. Kisuke Urahara
- Series: Bleach
- Student(s): Ichigo Kurosaki
- Teaching Style: Sink or swim with a playful smile. Urahara’s dangerous training methods work, but his habit of withholding information nearly gets everyone killed multiple times.
- Legacy: Without Urahara’s methods, Ichigo never achieves Bankai in time. His inventions save Soul Society repeatedly.
19. Izumi Curtis
- Series: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
- Student(s): Edward and Alphonse Elric
- Teaching Style: Brutal survival training combined with genuine maternal care. “A lesson without pain is meaningless.”
- Legacy: She taught the brothers that alchemy requires understanding life’s value—a lesson they desperately needed after their taboo.
18. Genkai
- Series: Yu Yu Hakusho
- Student(s): Yusuke Urameshi
- Teaching Style: Harsh, demanding, and deceptively caring. Genkai pushes Yusuke past his limits while pretending not to care about him.
- Legacy: Her Spirit Wave training becomes Yusuke’s signature technique. Her death affects him deeply, driving his growth.
17. Piccolo
- Series: Dragon Ball Z
- Student(s): Gohan
- Teaching Style: Abandonment in the wilderness, followed by genuine bonding. The demon king becomes a protective father figure.
- Legacy: Piccolo’s influence shapes Gohan more than Goku’s frequent absences. Their bond is one of Dragon Ball’s most touching relationships.
16. Korosensei
- Series: Assassination Classroom
- Student(s): Class 3-E
- Teaching Style: Personalized attention for every student, using assassination training to teach life skills and self-worth.
- Legacy: Every student in Class 3-E becomes successful because Korosensei taught them that being “failures” didn’t define them.
15. Joseph Joestar
- Series: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders
- Student(s): Jotaro Kujo (unofficially)
- Teaching Style: Leading by chaotic example. Joseph’s experience with bizarre situations guides the group even when his plans fall apart.
- Legacy: Joseph’s influence can be seen in Jotaro’s tactical thinking (hidden beneath the stoic exterior).
14. Shota Aizawa (Eraser Head)
- Series: My Hero Academia
- Student(s): Class 1-A
- Teaching Style: Brutal honesty and high expectations combined with quiet, absolute devotion to his students’ safety.
- Legacy: Aizawa repeatedly puts his body on the line for his students. His “rational” approach hides genuine belief in their potential.
13. Reigen Arataka
- Series: Mob Psycho 100
- Student(s): Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama
- Teaching Style: Entirely accidental. Reigen’s life advice, intended to manipulate his “employee,” accidentally shapes Mob into a kind person.
- Legacy: Despite being a fraud, Reigen’s influence prevents Mob from becoming a monster. His “lessons” about psychic powers being irrelevant to being a good person stick.
12. Silvers Rayleigh
- Series: One Piece
- Student(s): Monkey D. Luffy
- Teaching Style: Timeskip training that transformed Luffy from promising rookie to Haki-wielding threat.
- Legacy: Everything Luffy does post-timeskip builds on Rayleigh’s foundation. The right hand of the Pirate King trained the next one.
11. Might Guy
- Series: Naruto
- Student(s): Rock Lee (primarily)
- Teaching Style: Pure enthusiasm and the belief that hard work can overcome genius. Guy leads by example, pushing himself to the absolute limit.
- Legacy: Rock Lee would be nothing without Guy’s belief in him. Their bond is one of anime’s most wholesome mentor-student relationships.
10. Shanks
- Series: One Piece
- Student(s): Monkey D. Luffy (inspiration more than formal training)
- Teaching Style: Inspiring through action and sacrifice. Shanks gave Luffy a dream and a hat, then let him find his own path.
- Legacy: Everything Luffy does is to become worthy of returning Shanks’s hat. One act of sacrifice shaped the Pirate King.
9. Netero
- Series: Hunter x Hunter
- Student(s): Various Hunters, humanity as a whole
- Teaching Style: Creating challenges that force growth. The Hunter Exam itself is Netero’s teaching method for the world.
- Legacy: His final act—a bomb to kill Meruem—shows that Netero’s lesson was always about human determination, not individual power.
8. Askeladd
- Series: Vinland Saga
- Student(s): Thorfinn (unwillingly)
- Teaching Style: Brutal manipulation that accidentally creates a warrior while destroying a child’s soul.
- Legacy: Askeladd’s final lesson—dying on his own terms while saving what he loved—teaches Thorfinn what he was too full of hate to learn otherwise.
7. Koro-sensei
- See #16—ranked higher here for emotional impact
- Why higher: His death and the revelation of his past elevate him from quirky teacher to tragic hero. He taught students to kill him because he wanted them to succeed after he was gone.
6. Master Roshi
- Series: Dragon Ball
- Student(s): Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, many others
- Teaching Style: Unconventional training that builds foundations. Delivering milk, plowing fields—building strength through daily life.
- Legacy: Every Z Fighter’s basics come from Roshi. The Kamehameha alone shaped everything that followed. And in Dragon Ball Super, he proves he never stopped growing.
5. All Might
- Series: My Hero Academia
- Student(s): Izuku Midoriya
- Teaching Style: Inspiring through being the ideal, then teaching through vulnerability. All Might’s weakened form teaches Deku more than his powerful one.
- Legacy: All Might didn’t just train Deku—he gave him a dream, a power, and a legacy. Their relationship is the heart of MHA.
4. Kakashi Hatake
- Series: Naruto
- Student(s): Team 7 (Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura)
- Teaching Style: Harsh lessons about teamwork delivered with cool detachment hiding genuine care. “Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.”
- Legacy: That one line shapes Naruto’s entire ninja way. Kakashi’s trauma becoming wisdom for the next generation is powerful storytelling.
3. Biscuit Krueger
- Series: Hunter x Hunter
- Student(s): Gon and Killua
- Teaching Style: Demanding perfection while carefully managing psychological health. Bisky trains their bodies and minds simultaneously.
- Legacy: Gon and Killua’s Nen mastery comes from Bisky’s tailored training. She’s one of anime’s most effective teachers, period.
2. Jiraiya
- Series: Naruto
- Student(s): Naruto Uzumaki, Nagato, Minato
- Teaching Style: Goofy perversion hiding deep wisdom. Jiraiya teaches through adventure, letting students discover things themselves while quietly guiding them.
- Legacy: Jiraiya’s “Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi” literally names Naruto. His belief in peace through understanding becomes Naruto’s ninja way. His death reshapes the series.
The Pervy Sage isn’t just a teacher—he’s a father figure to a boy who never had one. His faith in Naruto, from the very beginning, gives the protagonist the emotional foundation to save the world. When Naruto finally understands Pain, he’s completing Jiraiya’s lesson.
1. Satoru Gojo
- Series: Jujutsu Kaisen
- Student(s): Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugisaki
- Teaching Style: Casual brilliance. Gojo teaches by pushing students into dangerous situations, trusting they’ll grow—while secretly managing everything to ensure they survive.
- Legacy: Gojo’s goal isn’t just to be the strongest—it’s to raise a generation that doesn’t need him. He’s actively trying to make himself obsolete, which is the mark of a true teacher.
What makes Gojo the best anime mentor is his self-awareness. He knows the jujutsu world is broken. He knows being the strongest alone can’t fix it. So he teaches, nurtures, and protects the next generation while subtly revolutionizing the system from within.
His students aren’t just strong—they’re independent thinkers who question the corrupt institutions Gojo grew up trapped in. He’s not creating disciples; he’s creating successors who will surpass him in ways that matter more than power.
And his absence during the Culling Game arc proves his teaching worked. His students stand on their own.
Honorable Mentions
- Yami Sukehiro (Black Clover) – “Surpass your limits!” motivation incarnate
- Bang/Silver Fang (One Punch Man) – Traditional martial arts mastery
- Gran Torino (MHA) – All Might’s mentor, brutally effective
- Shishou (Rurouni Kenshin) – Hiko Seijuro’s perfect swordsmanship
- King Kai (Dragon Ball Z) – Taught Goku the Spirit Bomb and Kaio-ken
- Lisa Lisa (JoJo’s) – Trained Joseph and Caesar in Hamon
- Shiroe (Log Horizon) – Teaching through strategy and patience
- Itachi (Naruto) – The twisted mentor who shaped Sasuke through hatred
What Makes a Great Mentor
Personalized Teaching: The best mentors adapt to their students, not the other way around.
Leading by Example: Actions teach more than words. Mentors who embody their lessons are most effective.
Appropriate Challenge: Pushing students past limits without breaking them requires careful balance.
Emotional Support: Technical training means nothing without believing in your students.
Letting Go: The ultimate lesson is not needing the teacher anymore. Great mentors make themselves unnecessary.
Anime mentors remind us that no one achieves greatness alone. Behind every legendary hero is someone who believed in them first—who saw potential and nurtured it. These teachers shape not just abilities, but character.
That’s why their deaths hit so hard. That’s why their legacies matter. They live on in every technique performed, every value upheld, every student who becomes a mentor themselves.