NKDS

Excellent excuse to post a picture of Fate.

Megami has come up with a list of the top 10 anime characters, according to their readers. The list is as follows, along with my commentary.

1st: Akiyama Mio (K-On!)

My first reaction was “WHAT? NOT MY WIFE? WHAT SORT OF BLASPHEMY IS THIS?!?” Nah, actually I don’t mind Mio, just that I love Fate even more.  This whole K-On thing is a passing fad like Lucky Star and Haruhi, so we might as well let Mio have her spot in the sun while it lasts.

2nd: Fate Testarossa (Nanoha series)

Ah well, having my wife in 2nd place is somewhat acceptable I guess, especially when you consider the age of the Nanoha franchise. Fate will return to prominence next year thanks to Nanoha movie 1st. Doki doki.

3rd: Hirasawa Yui (K-On!)

If the #1 spot has to be occupied by a K-On! character, I would rather Yui take the position. Enough said. 

4th: Katsura Hinagiku (Hayate no Gotoku)

Another evergreen character with immense popularity. Popular enough to have an entire ending song dedicated to her, and arguably Itou Shizuka’s most well-liked character. I like Hinagiku too, and that scene that had her performing Cruel Angel’s Thesis will live long in my memory.

5th: Haramura Nodoka (Saki)

I am quite surprised that Nodoka made it into the list. So moe yuri+big boobs+mahjong genius is a winning formula. I like Nodoka, but I can’t bring myself to finish the Saki anime for some reason. Maybe I should make an effort to soon.

6th Takamachi Nanoha (Nanoha series)

To this day, I still find it faintly ludricrous that the title character of the series consistently lags behind Fate in popularity polls. I  am sure there are myriad reasons for this long-lasting phenomenon, and its not that I mind, but c’mon… if Fate ended up in 2nd position, Nanoha should get 3rd or something.

7th: Horo (Spice and Wolf)

In my opinion, Horo’s appeal stems entirely from Koshimizu Ami’s masterful portrayal of her. Had a less proficient seiyuu been casted for her, Horo might well have ended up as just another wolf-girl with a good business sense. I think the fact that Koshimizu Ami is credited with two characters in this ranking says something in itself. 

8th: Sakurano Kurimu (Seitokai no Ichizon)

A bit too early to enter this ranking. That’s all I shall say for now.

9th: Mikoto Misaka (Railgun)

Misaka is ok, but I find myself preferring her clones to her. Maybe I will like Misaka more as the Railgun anime continues, but that remains to be seen. As it is, I find myself paying more attention to Kuroko and her hopeless yuri fantasies rather than Misaka.

10th: Senjougahara Hitagi (Bakemonogatari) 

This one is a shocker. For the lead character of the anime that thrashed K-On! in DVD sales to be at a mere 10th place is remarkable. I expected Bakaemonogatari’s popularity to propel Senjougahara to the top… apparently its not happening though. Senjougahara herself is an appealing character, but once again, she very much owes it to Chiwa Saito’s voice-acting skills to pull off the complexities in her personality.

There are other characters that I think should enter the top 10, like Kotonoha (School Days) and Sheryl Nome (Macross F) for example. But what is the opinion of one when compared to the masses of otaku in Japan?

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.