Gakuen + Shoujo = Wheeeee!

There are so many gakuen (school life) + shoujo (girls) animes this season, many of which are adapted from very famous and/or popular manga. Which would you – the shoujo anime lover – choose, I wonder?

Here, I’ve gathered three popular shoujo + gakuen animes this season and made a comparison between them. Because I’m a very character oriented person, this post would be concentrating on the comparison of the main characters; ie. The heroine and the hero(es) of the anime. Everything is based on the first episode, so there wouldn’t be any much manga spoilers.

The three animes are, in alphabetic order: Itazura na Kiss, Special A, and Vampire Knight.

PS: Because I am naturally a very biased person, please do not expect objective opinion.

Female Leads

Best Character Design: Yuuki, Vampire Knight
Not much of a contest here. Yuuki, with her big Studio Deen animated lively eyes, wins by a big margin over the other two, although Hikari from Special A wins by a beyond gigantic margin over Kotoko of Itazura no Kiss (she’s just not pretty, much less beautiful. I don’t even find her attractive. Marginally cute, I guess). Hikari, at least, has beautiful hair, and even with her long, skinny limbs, is athletic and has a great smile.

Highest Kick Ass Factor: Hikari, Special A
In the first episode, Hikari kicked the asses of three delinquent students as easily as she yawns. Sure, she did it in conjunction with Kei, but it’s easy to see that she could do it just as easily alone. Yuuki comes in second, for the cool pose she did with her extendable weapon (staff?). From what I’ve read from the manga (not more than 20 chapters, I think) it isn’t anything more than as a useless prop, but hey, that scene was cool. The subsequent scenes were not cool, considering that she is rescued by someone else(s) again, but more on that later. As for Kotoko, well, she did lecture the arrogant Naoki despite her leaking tears, although the effect is less than stellar when the only reaction Naoki has is to smirk.

Most Accomplished: Hikari, Special A
The girl is in Special A. What more do you need? Academically, she is number 2 of the cohort. Yuuki is always sleeping in class and staying back for extra lessons, which I don’t think mean she is scholarly inclined. As for Kotoko. F class, anyone? In terms of physical accomplishments, that’s even less of a contest.

Strongest Personality: Hikari, Special A
Hikari comes in first for both her integrity and capabilities, as well as the strong fiber of her spine. Kotoko comes in second for standing up to Naoki and for facing her lack of success in the matters of love. Yuuki comes in last because boy, the one thing I dislike about Vampire Knight is how useless the girl is. She is the biggest damsel in distress since Otoro of Basilisk, but fortunately she isn’t as irritating. And she’s prettier. But seriously, will you STOP getting rescued again and again and AGAIN? (Ok, this is influenced by manga reading. So far in the anime she has only been rescued twice. TWICE in 20 minutes.)

Kawaii-est: Yuuki, Vampire Knight
Poor Kotoko. Yes, you didn’t get a single first. But I’ll rank you second here because despite your old school design, you are pretty cute. It’s a tough fight between you and Hikari, though. She’s quite cute with the faces she made at all the kya~~~~ her schoolmates utter… But oh well. She’s only occasionally cute, while Kotoko is cute as a rule. Yuuki though, she has the advantage of great character design, and in her chibi form, those big, round eyes just turn people into mush.

Most Suitable Voice: Kotoko, Itazura na Kiss
Finally I can give you one in good conscience. To be honest, all of the seiyuus for the three main characters are suitable for their characters. But Kotoko, voiced by Mizuki Nana (Hinata from Naruto, Moka Akashiya from Rosario + Vampire), brings the less than stellar character design alive. If I continue on that anime, a lot of it would be because of how the seiyuu brought Kotoko to life. Gotou Yuuko (Hikari) and Horie Yui (Yuuki) are both spectacular in their portrayals as well.

Male Leads

Best Character Design: Zero, Vampire Knight
It’s a close fight between Kaname and Zero, but because Kaname is so lushly bishounen and vaguely androgynous, I’ll go for the more manly Zero. Kei is bishie, but well, what’s with those two beetle antennas on the top of his head? As for Naoki, sure, he’s a vast improvement over the original manga, but… he can’t really stand against the others, all of whom are the top of bishie-ness.

Coolest: Kaname, Vampire Knight
I’m tempted to put Zero, but he was quite impulsive in the first episode, and his seizures at the bathroom and garden isn’t all that cool. At least, not yet. Kaname, on the other hand, has everything under control. I didn’t like Kei for this because of his blushing at the end of the first episode; that together with the half opened mouth and stunned look on his face is so completely uncool. And Naoki. … … … Who is Naoki, again?

Most Accomplished: Kei, Special A
No contest, here. With more insights on Kaname, he might be up for this (because I’m betting he can kick everyone’s and anyone’s ass), but we don’t know much of him so far. Naoki is a contender because of his academic achievements, but Kei is both academically and physically accomplished. Zero is at the bottom of his game right at this moment, so he’s last.

Most Attractive Personality: Zero, Vampire Knight
Kei comes in second because it’s so obvious he’s in love with Hikari, who is just as obviously ignorant of that fact. The trust he shows her, as well as the way he defends her even as he believes in her capabilities to take care of herself. However, his attitude of superiority is irritating, which is why he loses to Zero, who is trying so hard to control himself, and succeeding. Not to mention the fact that Zero is quite funny at times, which is a good contrast when we all know how tragic his life has been. Kaname is cool and not much else, as far as the first episode goes. As for Naoki… … … who? I don’t remember any arrogant, elitist (although mildly funny) bastard.

Most Suitable Voice: Zero, Vampire Knight
I’m trying so hard to make it non-monopoly, but I’m not succeeding. *chagrined* Kishio Daisuke (Kaname) was a close one, but Mamoru Miyano (Zero) is ranked better because there is more range for him to perform, as oppose to Kaname who remains constant. Fukuyama Jun (Kei) is a great seiyuu, but IMO I didn’t like his performance in Special A that much. That might because I thought Kei’s voice should be more… firm and less… gentle. More like, say, Lelouch than Itsuki (Rental Magica). As for Hirakawa Daisuke (Naoki), his voice seems a bit too deep for Naoki. But he didn’t have a lot of lines, so I’m reserving judgement.

Final Verdict

Personally, I enjoyed Vampire Knight the most, but I really don’t think much of the female lead except for the fact that she’s really pretty. Still, it has the best male lead, so I’ll be watching it. Special A is interesting, but somehow it’s a lot more shoujo-ish than I thought, what with the sparkling stars and rosy tints. It’s giving out the same vibes as Ouran High School Host Club, except that Ouran doesn’t take itself seriously, while I’m not sure whether the sparkles in S.A. are to be made fun of or not.

Itazura na Kiss is old school, and I think that no one can say that it doesn’t lose out in terms of design and animation. Still, the story is interesting, and it is a classic. I’m still not sure if I’ll be watching it or not, though. Just not my cup of tea, especially when I never did like slice of life.