In certain ways Shoko Komi – yes, she of Komi Can’t Communicate – is another of the easiest characters in anime to figure out, and it’s because of the way she’s built. Remember the simple formula f…
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Character Analysis: Legoshi
Whoever dreamed up Beastars dreamed up something that is like the perfect storytelling cookbook. Stop me if you’ve heard this one: “No conflict, no drama.” (George Bernard Shaw)…
Character Analysis: Ritsuko
One of the ways you can tell what the target audience for some media message is is to look at the main character. Right? As a rule one…
Character Analysis: Kino
I liked Kino’s Journey even though the main character, Kino their own self, was so … well … neutral is the best way I can describe them, that…
Character Analysis: Frieren
There are some things to like about Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and some things not to like. For instance, after a couple good ideas the plot jumps the…
Character Analysis: Roanapur
It seems a little odd to describe a locale or setting as a character. I mean, in college, it could get your paper marked “-5 Anthropomorphism” or something…
Introducing Character Analysis
Welcome to the Character Analysis category, where we take a deeper look at some of the most compelling and complex characters in anime! In this section, I’ll explore…
Character Analysis: Edward
Sometimes when you’re just walking around thinking about nothing you think of something. Like, I mean, think about Ed from Cowboy Bebop, right? What a great character! Why…
Character Analysis: Fushi
Look, there’s a lot to like about Yoshitoki Oima’s work. Don’t just take my word for it. Take a look at her list of awards. They include an…
Character Analysis: Rea Sanka
You know, in a certain way Rea Sanka, the titular character of Sankarea, is one of the saddest characters in anime. Sure, there are characters who are supposed…
Character Analysis: Tsukimi Kurashita
Princess Jellyfish is one of those things that’s just so cleverly constructed that you have to wonder whether it was planned or it just worked out that way,…
Character Analysis: Misaki Nakahara
Welcome to the NHK is a classic, and it’s a classic for a couple reasons, I suspect. One, I’d guess, is the love story between Tatsuhiro and Misaki,…
Character Analysis: Tomo Aizawa
Okay, I’m going to say it right up front: Tomo-chan is a Girl is pretty damned dumb. The hero, Tomo Aizawa, is dumb, the boy she’s hot for,…
Character Analysis: Ryuji Takusa
It seems bizarre that one of the anime I write about a lot is Toradora. I mean, compared to Neon Genesis Evangelion or Cowboy Bebop or The Melancholy…
Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Toradora!
Character Analysis: Momoka Oginome
As weird as it is, there is A LOT A LOT to like about Penguindrum. The main trio of characters, Shoma, Kanba, and Himari, are really well-constructed characters…
Character Analysis: Shinji Ikari
It’s easy to dislike poor Shinji. He’s passive and males are supposed to be aggressive. He’s supposed to love Rei but he’s fascinated with Asuka. He’s supposed to…
Character Analysis: Ai Hoshino
There are a couple stories where a character who is the real driving force in the plot is behind the scenes for most or all of the series.…
Character Analysis: Yui Ikari
Happy holidays to everyone who is celebrating a holiday anywhere. May the season be kind to you. Certain storytelling techniques absolutely fascinate me. One is meta, the use…
Character Analysis: Taiga Aisaka
I think Toradora is a really well-constructed story, and I think I’ll write about why sometime in the not-so-distant future. But here’s part of it: it’s a classic…
Character Analysis: Toph Beifong
There’s a meme making the rounds these days that says – and this is an exact quote – “If a show was released today where a disabled girl…
Character Analysis: Yasu Takagi
Nana’s one of those things that just about everyone knows about and has an opinion about. Since it’s supposed to be the best-selling shojo title in history (yeah,…
Character Analysis: Eikichi Onizuka
I tell you no lies: I was watching Great Teacher Onizuka on a relatively unknown streaming service when it dropped on a much larger and more famous service.…
Character Analysis: Haruko Haruhara
Warning: This post contains spoilers for FLCL: Grunge and FLCL: Shoegaze. If you haven’t seen them, read on at your own peril. The advent of two more seasons…
Character Analysis: Zero Two
Darling in the Franxx is one of those things that popped onto the radar because it tried to do something we’d seen a million times – a mecha…
Character Analysis: Marin Kitagawa
All right, you know who Marin Kitagawa is. She’s – depending on how you look at it – the Dress-up Darling of My Dress-up Darling. You can fight…
Character Analysis: Isaki Magari
Let’s be frank here: Insomniacs After School is so sweet it could be named High-Fructose Corn Syrup. That’s not necessary a bad thing. When you’re making an anime…
Character Analysis: Honey Kisaragi
Let’s start with this: Honey Kisaragi, the android star of Cutie Honey, is an artifact of her age. She was born back in ’73. That was a turbulent…
Character Analysis: Ringo Oginome
You may or may not like Penguindrum – it’s certainly weird, that’s for sure – but as I watched it I was struck by how many characters with…
Character Analysis: Usagi Tsukino
Yeah, it’s taken me a long time to get to Sailor Moon. There are a couple reasons for that. I’m overage … I don’t have time enough left…
Character Analysis: Fuu Kasumi
I have said it before and I will say it again: one of the things I like about Shinichiro Watanabe’s work is that he treats female characters with…
Character Analysis: Haruko Haruhara
Haruko from FLCL is another character who is really easy to analyze. She’s a Look at Me woman. Boop. That’s it. That doesn’t make her a bad character,…
Character Analysis: Madoka Kaname
What can you say about Madoka Kaname? She’s obviously the central character of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, so much so that the show is named after her. But…
Character Analysis: Anthy Himemiya
Like Revolutionary Girl Utena generally, there’s a lot going on with Anthy Himemiya. ‘Cuz she’s a symbol, like a lot of things in Revolutionary Girl Utena. I don’t…
Character Analysis: Rikka Takanashi
There was something powerfully cute about Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions. It’s about kids with delusions of having super powers (yeah, chunibyo), which puts them on the extreme…
Character Analysis: Lisa Mishima
I’ve generally liked the way Shinichiro Watanabe handles female characters. He seems to find a way to avoid simple tropes. Cowboy Bebop: Faye Valentine is seriously hot but…
Character Analysis: Angela Carpenter
One of the cool things about Carole and Tuesday is that the three major characters are all tropes. So are a whole bunch of the others; it’s almost…
Character Analysis: Hayase Nagatoro
Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro is one of those things that I wouldn’t ordinarily bother to write about. I mean, it’s an older, smuttier version of Teasing-Master…
Character Analysis: Yui Hirasawa
My writer friend Kate (look, she’s a girl and a friend but she’s not a girlfriend) declared a comic book and comic book movie weekend. The object is…
Character Analysis: Kaguya Shinomiya
Kaguya-sama Love is War is one of those shows that knows what it is and isn’t any more than that. Dude it’s a rom-com, with emphasis on the…
Haruhi Suzumiya Character Analysis
A character study for the infamous and eccentric Haruhi Suzumiya.
Character Analysis: Sawa Nakamura
Flower of Evil is one of those things that when I read a summary of the manga I said, “I got to get me some of that.” Now,…
Character Analysis: Asako Yaeshima
Sweat and Soap is one of those things that when you describe it to someone sounds either sickly sweet or more than a little creepy. I mean, it’s…
Character Analysis: Kanna Kamui
Look, as cute as it is, there’s a fundamental problem with Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. Put simply, Tohru and Kobayashi form a complementary pair of characters that’s too…
Character Analysis: Faye Valentine
I have said before and will say again that Shinichiro Watanabe treats his female characters more fairly than just about any director either of us can name. Well,…
Character Analysis: Gene Starwind
You know, there are characters that are hard to figure out, and you can stare at the screen for hour and hours saying, “Wow. This is working and…
Character Analysis: Takeo Goda
If you look at My Love Story!!, the first temptation is to look at the main characters, Takeo Goda and Rinko Yamato, as a pair. For instance, she…
Character Analysis: Toshiko Tamura
Okay, yeah, I know you never heard of Toshiko Tamura. Let me lay down some backbeat here. If you ain’t heard of Osamu Tezuka, you’re probably reading the…
Character Analysis: Lili Hoshikawa
I didn’t have this one ready for Pride Month. Sorry about that. But I wrote it during Pride Month. Does that count? One of the things that routinely…
Character Analysis: Tohru Honda
Okay, I admit it: Fruits Basket is an anime I could easily have found to be annoying and Tohru Honda is a character I could easily have found…
Character Analysis: Akira Fudo
Devilman Crybaby is one of those things a lot of people like. I should like it, too, because it’s for grown-ups. I mean, it’s explicit in its explicitness,…
Character Analysis: Hotori Arashiyama
And Yet the Town Moves is one of those silly little slice of lifers built around a slice of the life of Hotori Arashiyama, and her friends, family,…