Chloe Peterson
15 Anime Characters Who Have Lived Through Centuries
Some anime characters are so powerful, so mysterious, or so cursed that a single lifetime simply isn’t enough to contain them.
These legendary figures have walked through history for hundreds or even thousands of years, watching empires rise and fall while the world changed around them. Their long lives come with incredible wisdom, deep scars, and stories that span generations. Get ready to meet 15 unforgettable anime characters who have truly stood the test of time.
1. Sebastian Michaelis — Black Butler
Behind that polished butler’s smile hides something far older and far darker than any human could imagine.
Sebastian Michaelis is a demon who has existed for centuries, serving masters and collecting souls long before young Ciel Phantomhive ever summoned him.
His charm and flawless manners make it easy to forget what he truly is.
Every task Sebastian handles with eerie perfection — cooking, combat, even playing the piano — all because centuries of existence have sharpened his every skill.
He views humans almost like interesting little puzzles, fascinating but fleeting.
His ancient nature gives the show a deliciously creepy edge that fans absolutely love.
2. Alucard — Hellsing
Few characters in anime history carry the weight of centuries quite like Alucard from Hellsing.
Originally the infamous Vlad the Impaler, this vampire has survived wars, betrayals, and countless battles stretching back to the 15th century.
He is not just old — he is practically a force of nature wrapped in a red coat.
Alucard works for the Hellsing Organization, hunting down monsters with terrifying glee.
His power is so overwhelming that enemies rarely stand a chance.
What makes him fascinating is the quiet sadness beneath all that brutality — a soul that has seen too much and forgotten what peace feels like.
3. Yato — Noragami
Calling himself a god of war, Yato from Noragami has been around for centuries — though you would never guess it from his goofy, tracksuit-wearing personality.
He used to be a far darker deity, worshipped through bloodshed and fear.
Over the ages, however, he has slowly tried to reinvent himself as a friendlier, more helpful god.
Yato scrapes together five-yen offerings just to stay relevant in a world that has largely forgotten him.
His ancient past creeps back in uncomfortable ways, reminding viewers that beneath the jokes is a being shaped by violence and loss.
That contrast between humor and heartbreak is what makes Yato so compelling.
4. Frieren — Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Time moves differently for an elf, and nobody illustrates that better than Frieren.
Having adventured with a hero’s party over a thousand years ago, she now wanders a world where all her human companions have long since died of old age.
What was a decade-long journey to them was barely a blink for her.
Her quiet, sometimes emotionally distant personality is not coldness — it is the result of watching everyone she cares about eventually disappear.
Frieren is slowly learning to appreciate the short lives of those around her before it is too late.
Her story is bittersweet, beautiful, and surprisingly moving for a fantasy anime.
5. Sesshomaru — Inuyasha
Born a full-blooded demon lord, Sesshomaru from Inuyasha carries himself with the cold confidence of someone who has dominated the feudal era for centuries.
Unlike his half-brother Inuyasha, Sesshomaru has no interest in becoming human — he sees it as a weakness.
His power and his pride have been refined over hundreds of years of existence.
What surprises fans is how a seemingly emotionless character gradually reveals genuine care for those around him, especially the human child Rin.
Centuries of arrogance slowly give way to something warmer.
His long life has shaped him into one of the most layered and beloved characters in anime history.
6. C.C. — Code Geass
Somewhere around 500 years old, C.C. has lived so long that death itself no longer frightens her — in fact, she has spent centuries desperately searching for a way to finally end her immortal existence.
Her contract with Lelouch in Code Geass is partly driven by that ancient, bone-deep exhaustion with living forever.
Despite her weariness, C.C. is sharp, witty, and endlessly intriguing.
She has watched empires collapse and ideals crumble, making her deeply skeptical of anyone claiming to change the world.
Yet something about Lelouch gives her a flicker of hope she had long since buried.
Her centuries of loneliness make every rare smile feel genuinely earned.
7. Rory Mercury — GATE
Do not let the gothic lolita fashion fool you — Rory Mercury from GATE is 961 years old and one of the most fearsome warriors in her world.
As an apostle of the god Emroy, she has spent nearly a millennium fighting, judging, and collecting souls on the battlefield.
Her cheerful attitude toward violence is equal parts hilarious and terrifying.
Rory is almost an immortal god herself, waiting for the last few decades until she fully ascends to divinity.
She finds modern Japan absolutely fascinating, and her culture-clash moments with the JSDF soldiers are comedy gold.
Underneath the bloodlust, though, she carries the quiet loneliness of someone who has outlived everyone she ever loved.
8. Senku Ishigami — Dr. Stone
Technically speaking, Senku Ishigami did not live through centuries — he was frozen in stone for over 3,700 years.
But when he woke up in a world reset to the Stone Age, his mind was as sharp as ever, carrying the entire weight of human scientific knowledge across millennia.
That counts as living through centuries in the most dramatic way possible.
Senku approaches rebuilding civilization with jaw-dropping enthusiasm, treating every discovery like an exciting experiment.
His cheerful confidence and 10 billion percent determination make him irresistible to watch.
The idea that one brilliant mind could bridge thousands of years of human progress is both wild and wildly inspiring.
9. Master Roshi — Dragon Ball
Master Roshi has been kicking around the Dragon Ball universe for over 300 years, thanks to a magical treasure that grants him eternal life.
Known as the Turtle Hermit, he trained some of the greatest fighters in the series, including Goku and Krillin, passing down techniques that have shaped entire generations of warriors.
He plays the role of a goofy old man brilliantly, hiding genuinely extraordinary power behind bad jokes and questionable magazine subscriptions.
But when things get serious, Roshi proves he has earned every one of those centuries.
His fight during the Tournament of Power reminded the whole fandom exactly why this ancient master still deserves massive respect.
10. Meliodas — The Seven Deadly Sins
Looking like a teenager but carrying the soul of someone far, far older, Meliodas from The Seven Deadly Sins has been alive for over 3,000 years.
He is the captain of the Seven Deadly Sins and the son of the Demon King himself.
A curse placed on him by the Demon King forces him to keep reincarnating whenever he dies, trapping him in an endless cycle of loss.
Every time Meliodas is reborn, Elizabeth — the woman he loves — also reincarnates, only to die again before his eyes.
Thousands of years of that repeated heartbreak have left deep cracks in his cheerful exterior.
His story transforms what looks like a fun action anime into something genuinely heartbreaking and emotionally powerful.
11. Yamamoto — Bleach
As the oldest and most powerful captain in the entire Soul Society, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni has protected the spirit world for over 2,000 years.
He founded the Gotei 13 himself, building the organization that has kept both the living world and Soul Society in balance across countless centuries.
His age is written into every scar on his body.
Yamamoto wields fire-based abilities so devastating that his released sword can literally evaporate the ocean.
What is remarkable is that despite his fearsome reputation, he carries deep grief for every soldier he has lost over two millennia.
His final battle in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc is one of Bleach’s most emotionally charged and legendary moments.
12. Zeref — Fairy Tail
Cursed by the god Ankhseram over 400 years ago, Zeref Dragneel was forced into immortality as a punishment for loving life too deeply.
Everything around him dies involuntarily whenever his emotions slip — plants wither, animals collapse, and people perish simply from being near him.
Centuries of accidental destruction have left him hollow and desperate for death.
Zeref created the Etherious demons, including the powerful E.N.D., partly in hopes that one of them would eventually be strong enough to kill him.
His connection to Natsu Dragneel adds a painful personal dimension to his villainy.
Behind the dark magic and the centuries of suffering is a young man who simply wanted to be loved.
13. Jibril — No Game No Life
At roughly 6,000 years old, Jibril from No Game No Life is the youngest of the Flugel race — and still ancient beyond comprehension.
Created as a weapon of mass destruction during a great war, she has since redirected her obsession toward collecting books and knowledge.
Her enthusiasm for learning is charming, even if her past is absolutely terrifying.
Jibril joined Elkia’s library as a prize after losing a game, and she genuinely loves serving Sora and Shiro because they challenge her intellectually in ways nobody has in millennia.
Fun fact: her race was literally engineered to kill gods.
Somehow, she ended up as a cheerful bookworm instead, which is perhaps the best character glow-up in all of anime.
14. Kaname Kuran — Vampire Knight
Ancient, aristocratic, and carrying secrets that stretch back to the very origin of vampires, Kaname Kuran is one of the most powerful beings in the world of Vampire Knight.
As a Pureblood vampire and the ancestor of the Kuran family, his existence predates most of vampire civilization itself.
His calm, composed demeanor hides an ocean of grief and carefully calculated plans.
Kaname’s love for Yuki is both tender and tragic, tangled up in thousands of years of sacrifice and manipulation.
He has made choices across centuries that haunt him deeply.
His arc is less about power and more about the impossible weight of living so long while the people you love remain heartbreakingly mortal.
15. Van Hohenheim — Fullmetal Alchemist
Van Hohenheim has been walking the earth for over 400 years, carrying a burden that would break most people within a single lifetime.
Transformed into an immortal philosopher’s stone containing the souls of hundreds of thousands of Xerxesian people, he has spent centuries trying to find a way to free them and undo the catastrophe that created him.
His relationship with Edward and Alphonse is complicated by all those years of absence, but his love for his family never wavered — it was always driving his choices from a distance.
Hohenheim is proof that immortality is not a gift but a responsibility.
His quiet dignity and deep remorse make him one of the most emotionally resonant characters in all of anime.
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