But What About the Women?

After my post about finding a common thread among someone's favorite anime characters, a good friend brought up the suggestion that I should make a list of the female characters I admire as well, to get a more complete picture. In truth I hadn't even noticed there were no women featured in the list, but this also brings up an irritation I have with anime in general.

Too many shows I've watched just don't have a female character with a strong enough story to make them believable--at least, to me. My friend certainly has a point that many of them just aren't old enough to have such a history behind them, while male characters are generally a little older and/or have a deeper backstory. Looking back on my previous "favorites" list, I noticed only one of them was under 20...and Sasuke has enough backstory to practically drown in.

Women in anime, in my opinion, are too often shown as being largely reactive to their environment rather than acting from something within themselves. I get the feeling this has a lot to do with what I mentioned above: that they're just too young to have that kind of personal revelation. It might be due to the fact that the most popular animes seem to feature high school life that there aren't more women over 18.

Those characters that do act from an inner strength and personal resolve tend to be portrayed as masculine, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the reality that she's a woman--except for the shots we see of her only half-covered. (Stand Alone Complex's Motoko Kusanagi comes to mind immediately.)

When they do have an interesting history (Scrapped Princess' Raquel, anyone? .hack's BT?) it isn't always given as much time as it should to be explored. As a result, there aren't many female characters I can really call a "favorite" for the simple fact that they rarely live up to my expectations.

That said, after thinking back to the animes I can remember watching, three characters in particular stand out in my mind as having been able to stand apart from the others, finding something to fight for (instead of merely reacting to their environment). In no particular order:

1. Saya, Blood +
If you've watched the anime, it's impossible to forget her name...especially since that single word makes up 85% of Haji's vocabulary. Now, see, this is what I mean--she has a pretty fascinating backstory, but she's also over a century old. Anyone is bound to pick up some baggage along the way. While I had some issues with the violence level in Blood +, I admired the fact she wasn't afraid to cry just as much as she wasn't afraid to fight.


2. Tohru Honda, Fruits Basket
Yes, I know. Strange that I would choose a character from a comedy as a favorite, right? Truth is, Tohru is kind of special to me. Back when my mother was having heart surgery and my family wasn't sure if she would live, I started reading Fruits Basket as a distraction. The way Tohru was able to stay so focused on moving ahead with her life, even when her world literally crashed down on her, was nothing short of inspirational.


3. Sakura Haruno, Naruto
Yet another Naruto character. Although she's fairly young at the start of the series, she's far from a "reactionary" character. This may be due to the fact that the Naruto series is long enough to devote entire episodes to her development. By losing the person she loved most, she ended up finding her inner strength by choosing her own path to becoming a ninja.


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Yes, But What Archetype Are You?

In one of the more animated (pun might be intended) anime discussions I've witnessed, it was suggested that someone's favorite characters may tend to fall in line with a particular archetype. In other words, if you find yourself choosing characters in various shows as your favorite and they all share something in common, you probably identify more closely with that trait than the traits possessed by other characters.

I'd given this some thought in the past, but never really sat down and made out a list of who I considered to be my truly "favorite" characters. Now that I have...I think there's a definite point to that discussion.

I present to you, in random order, my eight favorite anime characters. Let's play "Find the Archetype", shall we?

1. Amon, Witch Hunter Robin
Probably my first favorite anime character, since WHR and Wolf's Rain were the first two shows I was exposed to when I ventured back into the realm of animation. Part of an anti-witchcraft force, Amon trains the title character as his partner, and confronts the hidden truths behind the organization he works for.


2. Jin, Samurai Champloo
What we have here is a prime example of a wonderful, creatively written character left abandoned in an otherwise mediocre anime. Jin is probably the only bright spot in the show...relatively speaking. Forced to kill his dojo sensei and flee, he's technically one of the "last samurai" as the era is coming to an end.


3. Ran "Aya" Fujimiya, Knight Hunters/Eternity (Weiss Kreuz/Gluhen)
I've only seen the sequel, Knight Hunters Eternity, but "Aya" apparently has quite a history behind him--enough for me to list him as a favorite without having seen the original series. There were some copyright issues after the original Knight Hunters, which is why he looks quite different in Eternity (namely, brown hair in a braided ponytail rather than red); he's also an adult in Eternity, since several years have passed between the first and second series. And yes, there's a very good reason for the earring.


4. Alex Rowe, Last Exile
I didn't really think I would like Last Exile at first. But not only did I like it, I found myself fascinated by this character. Pilot-turned-marauder, Rowe lives only to exact revenge on the enemy who smiled as his friends died. How can you not love a character like that?


5. Tsuzuki, Descendants of Darkness (Yami No Matsuei)
Another representative of the "amazingly complex character in a confusing anime" category. Actually, the plot itself is very well done as the manga portrays it, but with only 13 episodes, the anime had to cram a lot of information into a short period of time. The result is a fast-paced ball of confusion, with occasional flashes of nothing less than sheer brilliance. Tsuzuki is a laid-back Shinigami (death god) with a voracious sweet tooth and a secret from when he was alive that could destroy him--and anyone in his path.


6. Haji, Blood +
Frankly I'm not sure there's a single girl out there who doesn't count him among their favorites (though their reasons probably vary.) The series itself was well done, except for the inordinate amount of violence and blood--although I suppose I should have seen it coming, considering the anime's title. Haji acts as the main character's chevalier, living through the long decades to help her fulfill her lethal vow while keeping silent about his own single desire (and generally being far too good to be real.) This video is different from the others; it was made by the show's creators both to showcase the animation as well as the classical piece that Haji usually plays.


7. Roy Mustang, Fullmetal Alchemist
It's my belief FMA became popular in the US mainly because Adult Swim featured it prominently for quite some time, just as it's doing with Bleach and (unfortunately) Death Note right now. In the beginning of the series Mustang seems harsh, arrogant and unusually demanding, but as the anime unfolds it becomes clear he has a reason for everything he does...and a past that can't leave him alone.


8. Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto
This one even surprised me. Naruto is still considered to be a show for children, but there's a great number of adults that enjoy it too. The reason's pretty simple: despite the focus on fighting and the annoying filler episodes, the main plot and several of the subplots have enough solidly written material to outdo the best primetime dramas on TV today. The same holds true for the characters, particularly Sasuke. As a foil for Naruto's character, going from bitter rival to teammate/best friend to sworn enemy and best friend (yes, at the same time) takes real talent to pull off, yet the anime's creators managed to do it--and do it well. Sasuke is the perfect example of what obsession taken to the extreme can do, and begs the question: what happens when you do all the wrong things for all the right reasons?


So, now that you've seen all eight characters, did you figure it out?

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