This post is part of The 30 Day Anime Challenge Series alongside the Cosmic Anvil Kickstarter campaign. Click here to read the introduction, and click here to check out and support the campaign to help us fund the printing and distribution of our first collected volume of our manga-inspired comic series, Age of Revolution.
Why are all anime characters made to be so attractive? Goddamn it! Once again I’m really struggling to pick just one character that I admire, but I think I’ll go with Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Not only is he short like me, but he’s also caring, sensitive, and a bit of a bad ass with alchemy.
Edward Elric, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Honorable mentions: Light Yagami (Death Note) and Kirito (Sword Art Online)
I’m a definitely a sucker for a pretty face in anime. I don’t really find beefy amounts of muscle that attractive (Sorry, Goku), but I also tend to also have a weakness for the tortured, lone-swordsman types too. A guy who can wield a blade but also has outstanding cheekbones – is that too much to ask?
Because my crushes kind of come and go in phases depending on which anime I’m watching at the time, I’m going to pick my current biggest crush from the series I’m currently watching: Nicolas Brown from Gangsta.
Nicolas Brown, Gangsta
I’ve been avidly reading the manga of Gangsta for a couple of years now, and was super excited when I heard it was being adapted into an anime – an adaptation which has not disappointed in the slightest so far. Nicolas is your standard moody and emotionally unavailable modern-Samurai archetype; but that’s not to say he doesn’t have secretly sensitive side he let’s out every now and again:
*THOSE ARMS*
Okay, so he’s romanticised stereotype. But something that does truly make Nic especially different is that he’s a deadly mercenary with a disability: Nic is deaf. But he certainly doesn’t take neither shit nor sympathy from anyone about it, which is another reason why I think he’s such an admirable character. It’s so rare to see disabled people represented at all in pop culture, and rarely are they also represented as physically superior to most able-bodied people as Nic is. I discussed this issue in a post about ‘Disability Visibility in Comics and Manga’ a while back on my own blog, and found that other examples in manga/anime are few and far between, with most disabilities being represented as undiagnosed mental health problems such as the sociopathic tendencies of Light Yagami in Death Note, or the severe depression of Shinji Gendo in Neon Genesis Evangelion. The most well-known physically disabled character is probably the blind and wheelchair-bound Nunnally Lamperouge in Code Geass, and like Light and Shinji, her disability is unfortunately both her defining characteristic and the root of endless suffering.
Nunnally Lamperouge, Code Geass
Rather than allowing him to be defined and/or held back by disability, his creator, Kohske, chose to make his superhuman abilities and his ‘Fuck You’ attitude his central characteristics, whilst his disability is just an extra layer of intrigue. Interestingly, this decision may have been self-reflective, as I recently discovered that Kohske suffers from a chronic illness called Idiopathic Eosinophilia, which basically makes her body attack itself, and means she has to be hospitalised every so often. This post on a fan-run site reveals her obstinate refusal to let this disabling illness affect her work:
‘It’s also important to keep in mind that Kohske is a woman who doesn’t fuck around with responsibility. If anything but a frequently disabling illness were to possibly cause her to miss a deadline, she’d put her tablet pen in her teeth and draw it all with her head if she had to. The only times GANGSTA. has taken breaks during its run were when Kohske physically could not finish a manuscript in time.’
Wow. Talk about dedication! Learning this about Nic’s creator suddenly makes his attitude to his disability appear as less of a politically correct choice and more of a semi-autobiographical mouthpiece. And what a good-looking mouthpiece he is…
Nic showing some skin.
Honourable mentions: Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach), Sebastian Michaelis (Black Butler), Haruka Nanase (Free!), Kanda Yuu (D-Gray Man), Takumi Usui (Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama), Gray Fullbuster (Fairy Tail), Howl (Howl’s Moving Castle).
There are a lot of sexy women in anime, as we all know. But there is only one that I have had a genuine crush on, and that’s Aisha Clan-Clan from Outlaw Star.
Aisha Clan-Clan, Outlaw Star
Yes I know she’s a cat-girl (leave me alone!) but I can’t help but crush on her – she’s amazing. Aisha is a Ctarl-Ctarl (an alien race in the Outlaw Star universe) and former officer of the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire. Charged with the task of searching for the Galactic Leyline, Aisha hunts would-be outlaw, Gene Starwind, but later develops a friendship with him and his crew, and becomes a temporary member.
She’s funny, brash, proud, clumsy, hot-tempered, and loves to eat (Just like me!) She’s also super confidant with herself as well, even when she’s been kicked out of the Crarl-Ctarl Empire and is working at a fast food place, she still boasts about her importance, strength, and ability to survive. But not only that – she’s buff! I crush on buff girls, don’t ask me why… If this was a comic book list, She-Hulk would be here for sure.
God damn.
Aisha isn’t buff for no reason though – she kicks ass and possesses superhuman strength, and just like the other members of her race she can transform into a wild beast in the full moon. She also has adorable moments that make me crush even more, but I have to be honest, the main reason for the crush is how fun she is – I think we’d get along like a house on fire… and then make out (fingers crossed).
Fun Fact: She was the first anime character that I saw show her boobs on TV. I mean there was the Chun-Li shower scene, but that was a film, and Outlaw Star was on Toonami!
Honorable Mentions: Nami (One Piece), Nico Robin (One Piece), Bulma (Dragon Ball/Z/GT), Mirajane Strauss (Fairy Tail) and Android 18 (Dragon Ball Z/GT).
Written by The Cosmic Anvil Team.
Check out our own Welsh-manga (or ‘Wanga’) series, AGE OF REVOLUTION on our official site and Comixology! And if you want to join the fight to get the AGE OF REVOLUTION Volume printed check out our Kickstarter page!
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