No, Natsu is not my himegimi.
The recent launch of the Himegimi Honbu got me thinking about who my own favourite anime characters are. I’m usually pretty detached when it comes to watching anime, and as such it’s very rare for me to really fall in love with a character. Off the top of my head, the only female character that I love is Kasuga Ayumu, and thinking a little bit harder yielded me the name Chidori Kaname.
Then I got to thinking, why did I like these characters? Osaka is just Osaka, she’s awesome, there’s no questioning her. I even had the phrase “What? You don’t like Osaka? Let’s take this outside.” in the signature of a forum I visited frequently. The way I love her is very different to the way I love Chidori though. If I ever met Osaka in real life, I’d probably be really creeped out by her, and get annoyed by her quite frequently. She’s awesome as an anime character, but I’ve never for a second thought that she would be awesome to be friends with in real life.
Chidori, however, I feel like I can fall in love with. She’s a very well crafted and complicated character. I admire her strength and determination – in The Second Raid, even though she felt lost and exposed after Sousuke’s departure, she nevertheless remained composed and found within herself the strength to defeat a professional assassin. Moreover, she crossed an ocean and went to a war-torn city to cheer up Sousuke. It’s a strength that’s supple and resilient, in contrast to Sousuke’s brittle strength that shattered easily when he was forced to work in Hong Kong against his will.
Another thing that made me like her is her interaction with Sousuke. Throughout Fumoffu, there are numerous moments that gives me a feeling that I find hard to describe in words. Perhaps tender, or sweet, but neither of these words seem sufficient in describing the feelings I get whenever I watch those scenes at the end of episode 2, 3, 4, and 10. Especially episode 10, the date-hunting episode. These tender moments are all impossible without Sousuke, and they add a lot more charm to Chidori’s personality. It’s just like that saying: a girl in love becomes more beautiful.
(As an aside, it’s at moments like this here that I really rue my own ineloquence.)
Perhaps most importantly, I can’t shoehorn her into some ‘moe’ type. She’s not ‘tsundere’, she’s not ‘loli’, she’s not a ‘dojikko’. And because of this, she feels real. She doesn’t feel like something poured out of a mould with little extra features attached just so she would seem slightly different from the 20 other tsundere in the current season’s shows. She was built from the ground up and developed around certain qualities, and those qualities makes her a compelling and loveable character.
Since this ties in neatly with something that Impz asked me to write, I will address that issue here now as well.
However, I despise characters that are defined by their ‘moe characteristic(s)’. It results in a two dimensional character, segments the market of viewers and commercialises story telling. What you end up liking isn’t a character, but a set of pre-defined characteristics that are designed to be marketed. I don’t mind so much liking a set of pre-defined characteristics, it’s how we judge everything, but ‘moe’ just makes for lazy writing and boring and flat characters. Art is one thing that should never be left to marketing executives, but that’s what it all too often feels like when moe is involved.
That probably explains to some extent why I rarely become attached to anime characters, and why I dislike the harem genre so much.
Loading ...
15 Comments
Hey man great post. The hard part about anime is a lot of the character names are recycled and sometimes it’s hard remembering which Hikari you like from which show for whatever that’s kind of annoying but such is life.
Chidori is one of my favorite characters personally like you said she’s strong willed but also has a soft side to her!
Its to see an anime that can have memorable characters, as there have been a lot of anime’s produced and having something memorable is special and what keeps you as a fan in the art.
Take care!
tl;dr: Lupus is tsundere for 2D girls, so anyone he likes will have to go through tons of justification in order to make the cut.
As an amateur writer, I resort to using stereotypes as a base for crafting characters. Unfortunately, trying to create a character with no point of reference is actually a lot harder to do that what it seems.
I’ll concede to you that stereotyping characters makes for some boring but highly marketable characters, but stereotypes make creating an original character a lot easier. Once you pretty much have laid the foundation, you can go about creating truly memorable characters.
And no, Tsukasa is not dojikko. She is not always portrayed as ‘clumsy’. In fact, she is hardly portrayed like that.
Himegimi gives me this:
“Fatal error: Call to undefined function: get_rolling_page_dates() in /home/mellowsp/public_html/himegimi/wp-content/themes/unsleepable/rollingarchive.php on line 24″
Whatever that means.
Anyway, it’s hard to define exactly what I like in characters. In fact, I like a lot of characters. The list can grow really long if I think about it. However, there are some outstanding characters out there that I have grown fond of.
Male characters… Sagara Sousuke comes into mind. After watching the anime, my curiosity led me to read the novel. Sousuke is truly an amazing character. His unshakable determination to protect Chidori and his friends is admirable. Despite his protective nature, he will resort to his mercenary nature and calmly calculate every move, its benefits and harm, to carry out that goal of protecting his friends. It is more apparent during the novel “Burning One Man Force” which is not animated yet, where more of Sousuke’s nature is revealed. Sousuke is so damn resourceful… he’s the man.
Females… the list is indeed long, but if “obsession” is what defines the girl characters I like, then Shana and Haruhi falls into that category, followed by Suiseiseki. In fact, Kaname trails really closely. Why is my list like so? I really can’t say why it is so. First off, Shana is really cute, or moe, if you’d like to put it that way. She’s also got that tsundere nature that everyone’s talking about. The same with Haruhi. Haruhi is very outgoing and somewhat obnoxious at times. It seems she was designed to be “perfect” in every aspect of her abilities, but that’s not what I only like about her. I like how Haruhi is adamant about reaching her goal of… finding aliens, almost to a fault, stubbornness. However, I like that passion.
I guess I like characters with a little bit of… well, a tsun tsun characteristic. I fail to resist it. Call it superficial if you may, but I can’t get enough of it.
Kaname… she is indeed a deep character. Like you, I wouldn’t classify her into any of the common stereotypes like moe, tsundere, etc. I would hardly say she is always aggressive towards Sousuke, nor is she always doting on him, but it is apparent she likes Sousuke. Their interactions are very entertaining. Another thing about Kaname is she can stand on her own. Of course she needs help against “professionals” who kidnap her, but she can surely put up a fight and remain calm… shows intelligence and strength of character. This goes to show how fearless and adaptive she is. Shouji Gatou, the writer of FMP, has surely done a great job designing her character.
O, and Suiseiseki. It needs moar desu. No exceptions.
Crap, himegimis means only females or something? *Shrug* I wrote about Sousuke, but that’s ok.
After, hitting “Submit comment” I’ve come to realize that this topic can go on forever. I didn’t write all I want to say and it sounds rather disjointed, but I’ll just leave it at what I wrote up right above, for the sake of saving time. Not enough time for an essay of a comment, right now. I have to study. -_-
I’ve always wanted a discussion like this and I’ll add on later, perhaps.
I, too, think Chidori Kaname is awesome. She’s well-crafted, has depth, and is realistic. She is a great, believable character. Hard not to like. As far as moe goes, I’m definitely not a fan. It’s so stereotyped and cliche, it annoys the hell out of me. So, it’s become harder and harder for me to find new anime that I can watch as of late. I’m sure the fad will eventually die out sooner or later. I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.
I have come to dislike the moe trend… It seems way too much like trying to make a character cute and marketable instead of writing the characters as people.
sexyflanders: I don’t really have that problem of remembering which character I like, but sometimes there are embarassing situations where you’re talking with someone else, and only after 5 minutes do you realise that you’re talking about different Akira’s.
Owen: What makes you think this is justification? I’m simply pointing out why I like a character. I’m perfectly content with liking something or someone yet not being able to precisely say why I like it. I still can’t exactly pinpoint why I think Darker than Black is awesome.
Drm: It is indeed difficult to create a good character, but then that’s what makes it so, well, good. Rincewind (of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld), for example, is a very two dimensional character, yet he is interesting and likeable because there are all these little details about him that we get to see. He’s very unique as well, as a protagonist.
Basing your character off a stereotype is fine, but when your character IS the stereotype it makes for nothing be boredom and predicatibility.
Kyokii: I’m looking forward to seeing what else you have to add.
BrikHaus: Unfortunately, I’m afraid moe is as much a part of anime as animation, and it’s not going anywhere. However, there are a lot of really well writen anime that doesn’t depend on it, and I guess that’s the draw card of anime – there’s such a wide variety of style and subject, there’s bound to be something you like.
i: I don’t despise moe in itself. A character can be well created yet still exhibit some moe characteristics. For example, Yin has the whole silent-loli thing going for her, yet she has still exhibited great depth as a character.
Same difference. But you don’t have to get all defensive about it (although that might be considered moe; see Kagami)!
This topic is very good…
It’s got me questioning my beliefs about various characters.
I ask: what defines a deep character? Is it a character with a complex history? Is it character with a unique personality? Or is it a character’s whose actions separates them from the rest of the crowd?
What do you think Lupus? I’m unclear. You said:
“Chidori, however, I feel like I can fall in love with. She’s a very well crafted and complicated character. I admire her strength and determination – in The Second Raid, even though she felt lost and exposed after Sousuke’s departure, she nevertheless remained composed and found within herself the strength to defeat a professional assassin. Moreover, she crossed an ocean and went to a war-torn city to cheer up Sousuke. It’s a strength that’s supple and resilient, in contrast to Sousuke’s brittle strength that shattered easily when he was forced to work in Hong Kong against his will.”
Is it what a chacracter does?
“Another thing that made me like her is her interaction with Sousuke. Throughout Fumoffu, there are numerous moments that gives me a feeling that I find hard to describe in words. Perhaps tender, or sweet, but neither of these words seem sufficient in describing the feelings I get whenever I watch those scenes at the end of episode 2, 3, 4, and 10. Especially episode 10, the date-hunting episode. These tender moments are all impossible without Sousuke, and they add a lot more charm to Chidori’s personality. It’s just like that saying: a girl in love becomes more beautiful.”
Or is it just a feeling that you can’t describe?
Of course, I’m saying these things to boost discussion, perhaps. I know exactly what you mean when you say stereotypes become bland, especially when the execution is half-hearted and dry.
Back to what I stated as my favorite character, in as far as female characters go. I said my favorite character of all time is Shana. What makes her so appealing to me? She fits the mold of several stereotypes: loli, tsundere, moe, you name it. But it is what I like about her. Is there something wrong with that? Maybe, maybe not.
She’s got a particularly confusing history, like she trained on a floating island (wtf??) with a maid, and she’s new to the human world and human interaction. It gives her this naivety that I adore.
When she entered the human world, her demeanor was cold at first, but then she started to familiarize and herself with people and “warm up” to people at her school and the main character (tsundere?)… though her interactions are awkward, like with Yuuji’s mom.
As the story progressed, she learned the “value” of “torches” and developed a sense of humanity, whereas before, she just said “Oh well, there goes another torch.” She changes when she decided to protect Yuuji after he displayed such a strong will to live; Shana changes dramatically from being cold-hearted to empathetic to Yuuji’s situation and stays with him.
Now that I think about it, I conclude that a stereotype is fine ONLY depending on the execution. If done properly, a character can appear more 3d instead of flat. Not that I am accusing Shana of being a poor stereotype or
flat (No, not that kind of flat).
I probably sound like I’m trying to justify my love for Shana. She inevitably fits the mold of too many stereotypes and the fact that this article explicitly raises that point.
But Never will I abandon Shana. Shana is love. I can’t betray it. Nor did I ever second guess myself.
And harem stereotypes? I don’t even want to get started on it.
Bah, I’ll put my 2 cents in about harem characters, short and sweet:
Harem characters… they tend to like idiot male leads. What is a harem stereotype to me? I find one common characteristic, ignorance. Of course I say that in jest, but I often fail to see why the main character is “so kind and nice” or attractive to the girl in question. Most of the time, the male lead is a total clown.
Of course, it depends on the story and how it is done. Sometimes, it is enjoyable.
I forgot to conclude my rant about Shana, since I rambled on and on… LOL.
So to top it off, Shana is my favorite character because she’s got an interesting history and personality. Despite being a “typical” tsundere, loli, and what not (I personally would not accuse her of that, even though I can see how these claims can come about), she’s just… an awesome character. Her design was executed well. Maybe that’s exactly why she is so popular.
Bwahahaha I think.. when it came to choosing my characters I merely picked the ones I liked. I’m not a moe fan myself and I think my list reflects that.
I’ll concede that Kaname is probably one of the best-developed and most interesting female characters in anime. However, note that she seldom runs counter to her basic archetype (the hot-tempered heroine); she’s simply the result of “3d-ifying” that archetype by applying some thought as to what forces actually drive a girl like that. I rather like the result, though!
As for the current season, I think Nanako-sensei is my personal favourite. I find her extraordinarily likeable partly because she doesn’t swing to any of the extremes that are common in stereotypical teachers, especially in gag shows. (Contrast with Nyamo and Yukari. Hell, contrast with Nozomu if you like.)
She’s obviously got a good heart and a sense of responsibility, but she’s not uptight or strait-laced – she really does know how to have fun (as long as it doesn’t affect her bedtime
. She’s not perfect either, but her little quirks, foibles and troubles are endearing (even, I think, if applied to a real-life woman) rather than annoying. Oh, and she groks a lot of geeky cultural references without being an obvious geek-magnet type (contrast with Nagi, Maria, Konata, Patricia, etc).
Seriously, I tend NOT to prefer (1) blonde hair, especially bleached, (2) pantsuits, or (3) lack of glasses, but Nanakon is… special. It doesn’t hurt that she’s hot, either
Actually, I think himegimi can be classified into several subtypes:
- you want to have her as your younger sister (feeling of protectiveness; “moe”)
- you want to have her as your elder sister (feeling of dependability; “amaeru”?)
- you want to have her as your best [platonic] friend (fun to be around?)
- you want to worship her as your Goddess (guess who!)
- you just want to get into her pants (…)
- you want to have her as your girlfriend/wife (differs for each guy, but for me, strength of character and kindness are big draws)
I suspect that if that last category overlaps with any of the others, it says a lot about your own personality… For instance, out of the Touhou series, I feel like it’d be nice to have Youmu as my younger sister, Aya as my best friend, and Keine as my wife. (No, I do not have a teacher fetish, even though I work at NIE. Sumpah.) I guess Keine would fall into the “big sister” category as well, although really there aren’t many Touhou characters (if any) whom I feel would make a good elder sis.
@5parrowhawk: I love the points you bring up:
“Actually, I think himegimi can be classified into several subtypes:
- you want to have her as your younger sister (feeling of protectiveness; “moe