Top Ten Most Memorable Anime Characters - 2013 Version

I did a post on the Top Ten Most Memorable Anime Characters back in 2009. I've seen a lot of anime since then, so I thought it was time to do a new post covering the anime I've seen since 2009.

Like the first list, this 2013 version is a list of what are the top ten most memorable characters for me, as opposed to a top ten "best" list of some kind (best shonen heroes, etc.). So it's a very eclectic list that reflects what appeals to me or intrigues me personally. The list consists of three creatures, one man masquerading as a creature, two samurai, one gender-ambiguous person, one female and two paranormal warriors.

Oddly, many on the list are from just this past year. It’s been a great twelve months for anime.

10. Kamanosuke/Brave 10

Kamanosuke is possibly the most genuinely gender-ambiguous anime character ever. By the end of the 12-episode series you’re still not quite sure which gender s/he is. S/he’s a violent gang leader who joins Saizo and Sanada’s group, and is the receiver of much speculation throughout the series that s/he’s actually female, though s/he claims to be male.

Kamanosuke’s seiyuu is Motoki Takagi, who appears to be a male. There’s been no sequel to Brave 10, so I guess Kamanosuke’s sex will just have to be left a mystery. ;-)

9. Elizabeth/Gintama

Even if you don’t watch Gintama, you’ve seen Elizabeth (on the left, above) in pictures or merchandise from the series.

Elizabeth is actually a human man under that odd duck-like outfit. In numerous episodes you can see hairy legs peeking out from under his white cover as he walks. The Renho Arc in Season Four reveals Elizabeth’s true identity in Gintama’s take on Star Wars complete with a Renho version of Darth Vader, “Dark Vader.”

Elizabeth has his dramatic moments in Gintama, most notably in the Benizakura Arc. But for me it’s just his completely strange appearance that lingers in my mind (whether I want it to or not XD).

8. Don Valentino/Cuticle Detective Inaba

Don Valentino is an unforgettable villain. A one-foot tall miniature goat, Don tries so hard to be evil, but usually just winds up failing in the funniest ways.

Toru Okawa is Don Valentino’s seiyuu. Okawa usually plays authoritative adult roles like Roy Mustang in the first Fullmetal Alchemist series or Kondo in Hakuouki, but here with Don he gets to chew the scenery left and right. He even sings the deeply dramatic ending song. XD

7. Andy Hinomiya/The Unlimited – Hyobu Kyosuke

Okay, he’s hot. But I swear that’s not the only reason why Andy Hinomiya is on my list. ;)

As I wrote in a recent post on The Unlimited, Andy reminds me of a time when Americans were portrayed as fascinating, unique heroes in popular culture. American men in particular were looked upon by world audiences as being uncomplicated, sincere and manly, from a vast country that had just won World War II that many knew little about but found enthralling.

Andy has that same post-WWII kind of innocence to him, which added to his attractiveness for me, and provided a perfect counterpoint to Kyosuke Hyobu’s cynicism in the story.

6. Kamo Serizawa/Hakuouki Reimeiroku

In Hakuouki Reimeiroku, the prequel series to Hakuouki, the conflict between the Shinsengumi’s first leader Kamo Serizawa and Kondo and Hijikata is played out.

Violent and brutal, Serizawa nonetheless lived by his own samurai code to the very end, to the point of teaching Toshizo Hijikata a thing or two about courage. You may not like Serizawa, but you can never forget him.

5. Sloth (Namakemono)/Polar Bear’s Café

And here we come to the second of our three creatures – the slooow-moving Sloth of Polar Bear’s Café.

Sloth is responsible for some of the funniest and sweetest moments of Polar Bear’s Café. His slooow manner of speech and sleepy, happy-sounding voice are just a joy to listen to. Here’s Sloth singing his part in the Shirokuma Café Song:





If you listen to the full cast singing the song, you can hear Sloth as a vague echo in the background, singing along at half-speed. XD Kudos to seiyuu Kishou Taniyama. It’s literally impossible to think of Sloth without smiling. =D

4. Polar Bear (Shirokuma)/Polar Bear’s Café

And finally for the creatures – Polar Bear from Polar Bear’s Café.

Polar Bear’s Café features animals who live among humans just like humans themselves, with jobs and families and friends, going to karaoke, the summer matsuri and the beach. At the center of Polar Bear’s Café is Polar Bear himself, the café’s genial host.

In some episodes the main focus, in others the silently supporting figure in the background, Polar Bear never fails his friends—and everybody is his friend. His dry humor, love of ridiculous puns and acceptance of animals and humans just as they are—make him not only “human” but actually better than most humans. ;)

3. Aika Fuwa/Blast of Tempest

Blast of Tempest not only had a great story and two strong lead characters in Mahiro Fuwa and Yoshino Takigawa, but two equally strong and impressive female main characters in Hakaze the Mage of Genesis and Aika Fuwa, Mahiro’s adopted sister—and Yoshino’s secret girlfriend.

At the beginning of Blast of Tempest, Aika Fuwa has been deceased for a year, murdered by a person or persons unknown. As the story involves time travel and magic I can’t say too much more about the plot without spoiling things, but Aika is featured prominently toward the end of the series.

I’m seldom captivated by female anime characters. I would like to be, but most of them are weak, stereotypically “girly” and/or uninteresting compared to the male leads. Aika Fuwa is none of those things. She’s amazing—and what’s more—she’s not only strong and fascinating but also deeply feminine and saucy and self-possessed, making world-changing decisions with a shrug and a smile and keeping Mahiro and Yoshino guessing till the very end.

By the end of the series, I wanted to see more of Aika. I would have loved to have seen Blast of Tempest told from her point of view.

2. Kyosuke Hyobu/The Unlimited – Hyobu Kyosuke

I’ve written enthusiastically about The Unlimited and its lead character Kyosuke Hyobu a lot lately, but I have a few additional thoughts.

What makes Kyosuke Hyobu so memorable for me are his relationships, particularly with Andy Hinomiya and with his “queen,” Kaoru. In Andy, Hyobu sees his own innocence as a boy, his trust in his team leader Captain Saotome that was so brutally betrayed. This is why he can forgive Andy’s betrayal and the two become true allies later on. Seeing Andy’s change of heart in a sense heals Hyobu’s old wound and leads to his more humane decisions toward the end of the story.

With Kaoru, whom Hyobu sees as his future Queen in the esper vs. human rebellion, it’s easy to say he’s a loli (when they met, Kaoru was a child – she’s now in junior high) – and maybe he is. ;-) (But not an abuser – he’s keeping his hands off her until she’s an adult.)

Hyobu is not only pinning all his hopes on the prophecy coming true—that he and Kaoru will lead the esper rebellion—but there is a real romance to his waiting long years for Kaoru to come of age, while quietly watching from afar. In traditional romance novels, one trope is where the guardian eventually marries his ward. Those stories aren’t for everybody – I don’t particularly care for them myself – but here it truly works. I can feel Hyobu’s longing for Kaoru and there’s something almost sweet about it. It’s another side of a very complex and fascinating character—Kyosuke Hyobu.

And finally… my number one most memorable anime character…

1. Gintoki Sakata/Gintama

And I’ve written a lot about Gintama as well, and its main character Gintoki. But just a few more thoughts. ;)

In some ways, Gintoki is the typical shonen hero. He’s a samurai, an incredible fighter, has a somewhat dark past and usually a ready physical response for the bad guys.

But he’s also—despite being a team with Kagura and Shinpachi—a loner, someone who assesses situations on his own before acting, again often on his own.

Gintoki is sometimes like Kagura and Shinpachi’s irresponsible big brother and at other times their teacher, always showing by example.

Paradoxically, although he’s a loner, Gintoki has gained a community of loyal friends in Edo, due not only to his forthright courage and fighting abilities but also to that “peculiar charisma” that Tae-chan mentions in the Kintoki Arc. There’s an essence to Gintoki that can’t be possessed by anyone else, even those closest to him. Perhaps it’s that he was an orphan, or that his teacher who was like a father to him died in the war that their side eventually lost. Each of Gintama’s opening credit sequences features a moment where Gintoki stares off in the distance, seeing something only he can see.

In the past four years of anime-watching, Gintoki Sakata is the one character I would never be able to forget.

What Makes a Leader of Men?

I was thinking about this recently while watching Brave 10. What makes a man a leader of men? What qualities do men and women instinctively gravitate to and trust implicitly?

Consider Sanada Yukimura of the Warring States era.



(I usually use the Western order for Japanese names, but it's almost impossible to do that with certain Japanese figures. So I'll call him "Sanada Yukimura" because that order is just etched into my brain, lol.)

In Brave 10, Sanada Yukimura is the warlord who gathers a band of misfits to be his "ten brave warriors." Based (obviously) on the historical Sanada Yukimura (and obviously very loosely ;)), he doesn't so much recruit each warrior as he simply attracts him in - just by his charismatic presence - beginning with the main character, Saizo.

Saizo is known as "the Iga Ninja," a lone and deadly killer. In the first few episodes we watch as Saizo begins to get pulled in by Sanada's appeal despite his own cynicism and world-weariness.

In the most recent episode, Saizo finally puts it all together, realizing he's found what he didn't even know he was looking for, in a beautiful moment proclaiming in battle that he's not the Iga Ninja but "Sanada's warrior." In protecting Isanami, the shrine maiden, and in serving Sanada Yukimura he's discovered the part of himself that can live for others.

Sanada Yukimura is easygoing, serious when need be but humorous the rest of the time. He flirts outrageously with Ana, the worldly blonde ninja, while being gentle and kind to the innocent Isanami. He accepts each of his warriors, quirks and warts and all, with a kind of genial bemusement.

In episode 7, entitled "Sword and Fan," Sanada humiliates his arch-rival Masamune Date by besting him in a duel - not by using a sword - but with fancy footwork and a rather unbelievably sturdy fan for defense.

The last of Sanada's "brave ten" joins the group in episode 8. On board his own ship, rogue pirate Jinpachi Nezu brags to Sanada how free he is. At sea, he has no ties to anyone or anything and he is his own man.

Sanada's response is brilliant. "Those who are bound are bound no matter where they go, and those who are free are always free. Whoever you serve and wherever you live, if they are your own choices, you are free. Your heart can never be bound." Even though Nezu sees the trap, he laughs and gives in - because Sanada is literally irresistible.

It doesn't hurt that Sanada is played by Toshiyuki Morikawa, he of the rich baritone voice, probably best known as Sephiroth in the Final Fantasy games and veteran seiyuu of a hundred animes. (And also known informally as the "Boys Love King," for his numerous yaoi drama CD performances.) His easy confidence as Sanada makes it believable that eight men and two women would choose to join their futures with his.

Confidence, ultimately, is what the best leaders exude. Not ego masquerading as confidence, or bluster or aggression or conceit - but real confidence, the kind that knows when talk is important and when silence is better, and when action is required. We admire characters like Brave 10's Sanada Yukimura and rightly so. Much can be learned from observing men like him.

Brave 10 - A Review

Tell me if you've heard this one before: a taciturn tough guy, loner to the core and with an as-yet unexplained dark past, is reformed by wanting to protect a young woman who believes in him.

A cliche? Only when it doesn't work. When it works, it's entertainment you can sit back, relax and enjoy without reservation.



Saizo Kirigakure, a ronin ninja, stumbles across a frantic miko (priestess) named Isaname on the run from assassins. The killers have murdered everyone at her temple and are after her for some unknown reason.



Saizo reluctantly saves Isanami, and then becomes caught up in warlord Sanada Yukimura's plan to assemble ten brave warriors to intervene in Japan's civil war.

As Saizo proclaims he doesn't need a master, his new fellow warrior Kakei Juzo replies that when he finds someone he wants to protect, he'll be a changed man.

Does any of this sound familiar? Of course - all of it does. It's the same plot as any number of "lone warrior is saved by committing himself to a cause (while also rescuing a good woman)" stories we've seen. The difference with Brave 10 is in the execution.

The script and direction are good. I particularly like how the dramatic and comedic moments are balanced. So often in anime the humor in an otherwise dramatic (and bloody) storyline comes in jarring moments, or in scenes that take you out of the story. Brave 10, so far, has handled this seamlessly, giving you sustained dramatic tension and then - a laugh, just when you need it.

But it's really the seiyuu that make Brave 10 so engaging. Saizo is played by Daisuke Ono and Isanami by Rina Satou, each of whom is letter-perfect. The silent macho type is harder to portray than one might think: the role is mostly defined by the character's lack of reaction, so when the character actually speaks it really has to count - and Ono makes it count.

As for Isanami, this is the kind of female character that usually barely registers with me: the girl or woman who needs to be rescued (and rescued... and rescued again). But Rina Satou is charming, and it helps that she uses a normal voice instead of that affected and artificial high voice you hear with many female seiyuu that always irritates me. She plays Isanami as naive and bratty, but there's strength there as well.

The two have the best male-female chemistry I've seen since Spice and Wolf. I usually don't find the man-as-protector and woman-as-saver-of-man's-soul tropes overly compelling. It's been done to death, but I have to admit that when it works, there's something very satisfying in it.

In short, Brave 10 is much better than it needs to be - if that makes sense. ;) There's nothing very original about it, but when the execution is this good, it hardly matters.