Indeed, if you are considering where to find a comprehensive list of ISTJ characters in anime, look no further. I have created a comprehensive list for that very purpose. This list was methodically created, cross referenced, and peer reviewed by anime scholars all across the internet. It is hardly the slipshod work of the lesser minds that composed these ESFJ and ENFP “listicles”. Those lists, one can only assume, were researched with emotional methodology; meaning that they were composed based on what the author felt was correct rather than what cold, hard data indicated. This list prescribes to no such notions, and I am certain the reader will find it sufficiently logical and an enlightening. Why one would wish to known the “personality type” of a fictional cartoon character is beyond me, but that is quite beside the point. So, in an effort not to mince words, let us begin.
Mikasa Ackerman
Mikasa Ackerman is a, dare I say it, textbook example of an ISTJ anime character. She is reserved, frank, and logical. She does not use emotional reasoning to achieve her goals, but instead follows the orders of her commanding officers as well as her own logic-based intuitions to carry out missions. She is reliable, practical, and able to stay grounded in stressful situations. Her considerable physical skill in combat not doubt helps her remain ration and cool-headed, but I would argue that perhaps her mind and body are working synergistically. She remains calm, which allows her to use her body efficiently, and the efficient movements of her body allow her to maintain that calm in a sort of positive feedback loop. Often panic makes a person act without thinking, and people in a state of panic lose their ability to utilize their fine motor skills as the body’s “fight or flight” response causes the body to put more energy into performing gross motor skills. This is all well and good for our primordial ancestors, who needed to run and jump and climb in order to escape from danger. But for a solider wielding an advanced technology such as ODM gear, one needs all of their fine motor skill in tact in order to efficiently operate the complex machinery. Mikasa’s ability to remain collected allows her to be a model soldier. Some of her hot-tempered squad mates could certainly learn a thing or two from her.
Jet Black
Another character that favors logic over emotional reasoning, Cowboy Bebop’s Jet Black is a perfect example of the “Logician” personality type. Granted, Jet is certainly more emotional than the previously mentioned Mikasa Ackerman (unless of course her brother/lover Eren Jaeger is threatened, but that is an incestuous matter that we will shelve for another time) but that does not disqualify him from the ISTJ category. Indeed, ISTJ people are not without emotions (I certainly get angry when my assistant fails to organize my ballpoint pen collection correctly) but rather their emotions do not tend to dictate their decisions. Jet often makes logical, self-preserving decisions despite his emotions. When Spike runs off with a harebrained idea about finding Julia, Jet often rebukes him and stays behind. He is a man who does not act without a plan, because Jet of all people knows the sort of terrible things that can happen to a person when one is caught unawares. In his younger years, Jet failed to see that his comrades in the police department were conspiring to assassinate him for meddling in the affairs of high level crime syndicate activity, and Jet paid a heavy price: he lost an arm. Jet refuses to be caught off guard again. However, his love for his comrades still gets the best of him sometimes, and he often comes to Spikes rescue against his better judgement.
Megumi Fushiguro
Indeed, Logician type personalities are not without love in their hearts. Why, just last year I wished my assistant a “happy birthday” and purchased a rather thoughtful card from the Hallmark company for him. Megumi Fushiguro is no exception to the rule. While the young man primarily tends to act utilizing logic, he has deeper emotional reasons for choosing to become a jujutsu sorcerer. He walks the sorcerer’s path because of his younger sister, Tsumiki Fushiguro. Tsumiki was cursed by a high level cursed spirit, and remains comatose because of it. While Megumi Fushiguro does not speak of his sister often, one can infer that he chooses to do battle against evil spirits in order to someday break his sisters curse. Despite his deeper emotional reasons to fight, he remains ever the tactician in combat. His cool-headedness allows him to remain quick witted, and he often employs subterfuge and other “dirty tricks” in order to get the upper hand on his opponents.
Haruhi Fujioka
Another character with a wellspring of love in their heart, Haruhi Fujioka is indeed a chip off the old ISTJ block. Haruhi favors pragmatic solutions to problems, and often doesn’t understand the erratic actions of her more emotional Host Club companions. Haruhi does however excel in emotional reasoning and “theory of mind” based thinking, which is a technique in which one runs a sort of “algorithm” of a person that they know well, and is able to make educated guesses as to what course of action that person may take in the future based on their personality. While baffled in the day to day by the silliness of thier friends, Haruhi is often able to deduce their deep seated feelings using her considerable emotional intelligence. Haruhi also logical prefers instant coffee over any of the longer brewing types. It’s simply more efficient (and the only kind I allow my assistant to make for me). A person after my own rational heart.
Violet Evergarden
Violet Evergarden is a fascinating sort of combination of character traits from this list. Like Mikasa and Fushiguro, she is cool headed in stressful situations, which allowed her to be a devastating force on the battlefields where she once served as a young soldier. However, she also employs emotional reasoning in the manner of Haruhi in order to adequately perform her duties as an “auto-memory doll”, a sort of ghost writer for people who are not skilled at putting complex emotions into words. While she is not as skilled as Haruhi (especially in the beginning of her training) she becomes much more competent as the series progresses. She does however tend to make emotional decisions when her former commander Gilbert is concerned, often acting without thinking due to her blind hope that he may still be alive. This causes her quite a bit of emotional duress, and tends to hinder her in her performance of her duties. I tell my assistant all the time, if I am ever killed on the field of combat or in a bizarre copy machine accident, he must not cry for me, but bear up and complete his duty resolutely. There are still many more anime characters to assign pop-psychology personality traits to. The reasoning escapes me, but, to paraphrase the immortal words of Tennyson: it is not my place to question why. It is my place to do or die.
Image credit: MAPPA
