anime characters | Animated Observations

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

It’s been a while since I talked about “One Punch Man” at any serious length. Now, it’s not that I have not wanted to, but rather I just have not had much of a reason. But now that I have this mini-series, I figured now would be as good a time as ever to revisit both Saitama and what makes the show so great.

I think most had the impression that “One Punch Man” would be just a one trick pony comedy show without much to offer beyond just a few laughs in the first couple of episodes. Now, if “Kaguya-Sama” as taught me anything, it’s that an interesting enough story can carry one joke pretty far.

Indeed, “One Punch Man’s” story definitely qualifies as interesting enough. At the center of that story, though, is Saitama. Arguably one of the most populist heroes in media, Saitama gains his immense strength through nothing but his hard work and famous workout routine: 100 push-ups, 100 squats, 100 sit-ups, and a 10km run, Every. Single. Day.

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How extreme this sounds probably depends on one’s current workout schedule, as, at least for me, I do not know if I could do this at my current level. However, someone who works out consistently 3-4 times a week probably would not have much of a problem with this.

Regardless, the point is that Saitama is a hero that most people can relate to, because everything else about him is average. He lives in a normal downtown apartment, has to go grocery shopping, and loves to get sales.

Saitama also famously does hero work for fun, rather than as a job, which is what most other heroes work for. His main mission is simply to find an opponent who doesn’t lose in one punch.

To be such an average guy in so many different ways while also being this unstoppable force creates and incredibly funny juxtaposition. This continuous juxtaposition in turn keeps the show funny even past it’s initial episodes.

Saitama may not be the best hero overall, but he is certainly the funniest. His struggle to find a worthy opponent is both encouraging because of his relatability, but demoralizing because he always wins so easily.

How do you all feel about Saitama? Let me know in the comments.

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Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

Anime is a medium with a ton of variety in its stories. As such, it makes sense that it also brings with it a lot of interesting characters. Whether they be the protagonist, antagonist, or even just a random side character, the addition of a really interesting character can increase the quality of a show dramatically. Today, I want to share five of the most interesting characters I have found in my time watching anime. Let’s get started.

Rei Kiriyama (March Comes in Like a Lion)

Those who are new to Animated Observations probably are not aware of just how much I talk about “March Comes in Like a Lion.” Spoiler alert, it is a lot. One of the reasons I do that is because of the show’s main character, Rei Kiriyama.

First, Rei is a shogi prodigy. After the rest of his family died in a horrific accident, Rei was taken in by his dad’s friend, who just so happens to work for the national shogi association in Japan. His adopted father wanted one of his kids to be a shogi champion, and thus had his three kids, including Kyouko and Kouda, compete, with Rei coming out on top.

Apart from his journey as a shogi player, Rei also has a lot of mental health issues that he deals with throughout the series. These includes things like dealing with his abusive sister, having to live up to the expectations of his adopted father, opening up to the Kawamoto sisters, and trying to make new friends despite not being a great communicator. Rei’s struggle throughout both seasons of the show is probably one of the most compelling stories in anime, and speaks to a lot of the same feelings that young people in every country have about their mental health.

Hachiman Hikigaya (My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU)

Now, I am no psychology expert. Not even close, in fact. However, if I were to give a lecture about self-destructive behavior, I cannot help but feel like I might default to showing some clips from this series. Specifically, a lot of those clips would feature Hachiman Hikigaya and his various actions throughout the cours of “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU.”

At the start of the series, Hachiman’s teacher forces him to join the Volunteer Service Club, a group focused around helping students with their problems, after writing an essay which mocks modern relationships. Hachiman at this point is pretty isolated from the rest of his peers, not really tuned into their emotional wavelength, nor his he especially tuned into this own.

As a result, his solutions to other students problems usually involve some sort assholish behavior in attempt to save face for others. His evolution over the second season, and likely the third season as well, is what makes him such a remarkable character to watch.

Shuuichi and Yoshino (Wandering Son)

It is not often that the LGBT community gets a lot of positive representation, especially when it comes to anime. It is even less common to see positive representation about transgender people. However, “Wandering Son” appears to be one of the lone exceptions on this front. Adapted from a manga of the same name, the series focuses on two characters, Yoshino and Shuuichi.

Yoshino is girl who identifies as a boy, and Shuuichi is a boy who identifies as a girl. The two become friends after Yoshino transfers into Shuuichi’s class. Most of the story focuses on their struggle for acceptance among not only their peers but also their friends.

However, it is not just their gender identity that makes the two of them interesting. Shuuichi’s romantic feelings toward Yoshino, along with their growing awareness for just how little acceptance there is for transgender individuals and their need to mature rapidly gives the story a ton of depth, and takes the story from just being an LBGT one to a great one.

Altair (Re:Creators)

“Re:Creators” is a show that, from what I can tell, fell under the radar of a lot of people, even when it first came out. A lot of this was probably due to being locked behind an extra paywall on the part of Amazon, which is a shame because it arguably produced one of the most interesting antagonists in all of anime.

“Re:Creators” story focuses on a world where the characters of various anime, manga, and video games suddenly start coming to life. The reason behind this is Altair, a character created for a music video gains consciousness only to find out that her creator Setsuna Shimazaki was driven to suicide because of hate comments on the internet. Because of this, she vows to take revenge on the world of the “gods” by bringing to life various characters and having them rebel against said gods.

Altair’s very existence serves as reminder of just how much art can imitate life, as Altair’s arc feels very reflective of Setsuna, in the way that she wishes to take revenge on those who wronged her. Many of the characters in the series are like this, but what makes Altair so unique is how, even despite literally trying to destroy existence, her anger somehow feels justified.

What are some more interesting characters you can think of? Let me know in the comments. Also, did you enjoy this post? I am really trying to experiment with the content I make, so any kind of feedback would be greatly appreciated.