My Favorite Character from each of my Favorite Anime

Hi! I’ve done a few separate posts about my top 10 anime and my favorite anime characters, but I decided I’d combine those ideas into one post and try and pick out my favorite character from each of my favorite anime. This is going to be hard because I know I have multiple favorites for most of these, but I will do my best. Let’s go!

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood- Hohenheim

I usually cycle between Ed, Hohenheim, and Mustang being my favorite character, but recently it’s been Hohenheim. I think he’s both under appreciated and misunderstood by the FMAB fandom. Long story short, I love characters riddled with guilt (not sure what this says about me lol). If you’re interested, I’ve already written a whole post about how much I love him!

Revolutionary Girl Utena- Utena

I always shift between Utena and Anthy being my favorite, but I really have loved Utena from the start. I find it very compelling how she hides her internal anguish behind her cheerful, positive persona.

Toradora- Taiga

I’ve already written so much about Taiga (in this post, spoilers) so there’s not much else to say besides that I’m the number 1 Taiga defender. I love her, she reminds me of myself in some ways, she’s great. I think she’s the perfect example of a ‘flawed’ protagonist.

Chihayafuru- Chihaya

Chihaya is such a ray of sunshine, comic relief, and a total fuck up, and yet she is an incredible karuta prodigy and the protagonist of the show. She is also one of the most realistic neurodivergent-coded characters I’ve ever seen. I think it’s fun how she defies expectations as well; she has the appearance of a beautiful cool model, but as soon as other characters talk to her they realize how much of a nerd she is.

March Comes in like a Lion- Hina

There are a lot of sub-plots and semi-important characters in this show, but the side character that I was always the most interested in was Hina. I think the way she is so open about her emotions is inspiring, and as she goes through hardships it’s nice to see how she matures while also maintaining her cheerful attitude.

Your Lie in April- Tsubaki

I haven’t watched this anime in a long time, but I do know that when I first watched it my favorite character was Tsubaki for sure. Her unrequited love plot line was heart wrenching and compelling.

Love is War- Ishigami

I also cycle between a few favorite characters in Love is War (I adore both Shirogane and Kaguya of course) but at this point in the story in the anime, Ishigami is my favorite. I think he is such a realistic portrayal of an insecure, awkward teen, and I love how noble and selfless he is behind the scenes.

Haikyuu- Kageyama

What else is there to say, truly? I loved Kageyama the second he was introduced. His dynamic with Hinata is what makes the show, and his stubborn, cold personality is something I tend to be drawn to when it comes to my favorite kinds of characters.

Madoka Magica- Homura

Sayaka is a really really close second, but after finishing the series for the first time I couldn’t get Homura’s story out of my head. Her determination and willpower are honestly unmatched, and each new watch of the show makes me appreciate her more.

Monster- Dieter

I feel like Dieter may seem like an odd choice for a favorite; as you may expect, Tenma (many people’s favorite I’d assume) is probably a close second for me. But I think I liked Dieter so much because he was proof that love and support are capable of saving even the most traumatized individual. He was so cute and I loved how much he loved Tenma.

If you made it through this whole thing, thanks for reading! Also, I highly recommend watching all of these, I’ve linked my spoiler free reviews in the titles if you haven’t watched them and are interested in finding out more.

Thanks for reading!

-threecheersforinking

Anime that DON’T take place in a high school!

If you watch a lot of anime, it’s not hard to notice that the majority of shows you come across either take place in a high school or have teenagers as the protagonists. And sometimes you just want to watch someone other than a 14 year old save the world for once. So, here are some of my favorite anime that either take place after high school or have non-teenage protagonists!

Run with the Wind

If you’re looking for an anime that takes place in college, Run with the Wind is a really wholesome short sports anime that you’ll definitely enjoy! This show focuses on an avid runner who is attempting to turn his entire friend group into a competitive cross country team.

Monster

Monster is about expert surgeon Kenzou Tenma who gets way in over his head after refusing to perform surgery on a well-known official, opting to save a young boy who was admitted first instead. This show is a psychological thriller mystery that you won’t want to miss!

Baccano

Baccano is an action murder mystery story taking place in the early 20th century that involves a convoluted timeline, immortals, train antics, and tons of twists and turns. This show has a large cast of characters, the majority being adults.

Barakamon

Barakamon is a comedy show about a hot-headed calligraphy artist who gets exiled from the craft after punching a judge in the face. He ends up traveling to a remote island to learn more about himself and his art.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Rakugo is a centuries-old comedic Japanese performance art. This show focuses on a former criminal who wants to become a professional Rakugo performer, as well as the life story of his mentor.

Hope you enjoyed this rec list! Feel free to reply with any others you’d recommend. Thanks for reading,

-threecheersforinking

Anime Rec List: Seinen

Most people are familiar with the anime genres of Shounen and Shoujo, but Seinen is another genre generally aimed at older (male) audiences. This often means that there’s more violence, adult themes, or that the topics are more serious. Here are some of my favorites!

(note: these are all seinen according to MyAnimeList. If you don’t think some of these should count as seinen, take it up with MAL not me)

Monster

Mushishi

March comes in like a Lion

Parasyte: The Maxim

Erased

Kaguya-sama: Love is War (apparently)

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you watched any of these because of my recommendation. I hope you enjoy!

-threecheersforinking

Anime Review: Monster

**spoilers ahead!!!!** (spoiler free recommendation post here!)

I’m a huge nut for mystery novels, Agatha Christie specifically. If you’re familiar with Christie’s work, you’ll know that you basically can’t trust anyone, ever, no matter how much of an alibi they have. Everyone, even the narrator, has the potential to be the killer.

This paranoia definitely carried over in my brain when I was watching Monster; despite how much I loved his character, I really genuinely did not trust Kenzo Tenma. I was very suspicious of the fact that he didn’t have an alibi for the murders of the hospital director and others, and inspector Lunge’s hypothesis that Johan didn’t even exist made me very concerned that Tenma was behind it all.

This didn’t check out, of course; Johan made many connections with individuals that Tenma hadn’t met, and Nina’s existence and memories made it clear that Johan was a real person. Still, I couldn’t shake that idea, and while I was ultimately relieved that Tenma was really just a good person who got caught up in a huge mess, I do think it would’ve been an interesting plot twist.

Something I think Monster does incredibly well is weave in minor characters. While watching, I would joke about how every time a new character was introduced they were likely to die within the next three episodes. That happened quite often, however every single character, even the ones who died within the same episode they were introduced, were just as relevant to the plot.

Overall, Dieter was probably my favorite character; besides Nina, I think he was the best representation of how love and support are capable of saving even the most traumatized individual. His relationships with Tenma and Nina were adorable and I was relieved that he got a happy ending playing soccer and living with Dr. Reichwein (another great character).  I also really loved Mr. Grimmer, despite his tragic end.

Tying into the situation with Grimmer, something else about Monster that I really loved was the overall theme of names, and how they connect to identity. Nina felt fully comfortable being named Nina Fortner because of how much she loved the Fortners. She felt no real need to find her real name, nor did she feel a sense of emptiness or loss. Meanwhile, Johan wasn’t named by anyone who loved him, and he spent formative years being essentially tortured in an orphanage where no one had a true name, which solidified the ‘monster’ within him.

Johan was a very compelling villain; he was unpredictable, and had interesting motives that were difficult to comprehend until the very end. Not gonna lie, I did have to watch some youtube video essays to fully understand that ending; but what I’ve concluded is that it’s up to interpretation.

Please let me know your thoughts on Monster, and who your favorite character was!

Thanks for reading,

-threecheersforinking

**in case you were scrolling from the bottom, this post contains spoilers!!!**

WYSW: Monster

*Why You Should Watch*

**this review is spoiler-free!**

Psychological Thrillers are some of my favorite anime to watch, and whenever you see a list recommending anime psychological thrillers, Monster is almost always on the list. However, I hadn’t heard many people talk about the show, especially recently; it came out in 2004 and isn’t exactly popular with young anime fans today. So, I’d like to make a case for it in this post.

I really don’t want to say much pertaining to the plot, but you need at least something to go off of, right? Here’s my synopsis:

Kenzo Tenma is a brilliant Japanese surgeon living and working in Germany in the late 80s. His moral sense of right and wrong is challenged every day, as he is forced to work with corrupt doctors and hospital directors who insist he use his skills on only the wealthiest and most important patients. One day, Tenma decides to go against the wishes of his superiors, a decision that will ultimately lead him to go on a long journey rife with murder and mystery.

The show is 74 episodes and took me quite a while to get through, but it was definitely worth it. This show introduces a large amount of characters, some proving to be relevant for the entire show and others only showing up for an episode or two, however they are all equally important and weave perfectly into the story. Tenma is a very complex and fully fleshed out protagonist, as well.

Even though it is an anime, I actually think Monster would work well as a live action show. Not that I’m advocating for a live-action series to exist of course; I just think that might give you a good idea of the type of story that Monster is. It is very grounded in reality, and while I do actually like the animation, it’s very realistic and not fantastical in the slightest. This would be a good show to watch with someone who is unfamiliar with anime.

Something else to note is that the show deals quite a bit with medical procedures, murder, guns, abuse, and trauma, so if any of those things are disturbing to you I would proceed with caution.

If you have seen Monster and were curious about my unfiltered thoughts on it, here is my spoilery review.

Thanks for reading!

-threecheersforinking