Interest Stacks

Ouran Nakagawa

"oh no" - marina

Gamer, animanga addict, redpill distributor, and literally me. As an amusing comparison, I like to describe Ouran as an "evolved Konata Izumi." She has all the bizarre eccentricity, nerdiness, and also likes to roast her friends for fun, but she feels much more like a real person, partially because you get to see what she's like outside of situations common to a 4koma like Lucky Star, and her Internet poisoned brain is on full, uncompromising display. Ouran ACTUALLY talks like a walking 2chan thread - the accuracy is uncanny. In this sense, she projects an image of confidence, but has no real desire to do anything, resigning herself to the unstoppable sociopolitical tidal waves she lives in the wake of while trying to find ways to cope with her depression, usually in hilariously relatable ways to me. Unlike most of the weirdos online though, Ouran has a gentler, more serious side to her that comes out when joke time is over, and her earnestness when it comes to comforting her friends is super admirable, especially in how she shows undying love for Kadode. She seems to have a fairly well-defined moral compass, and as a result of being so disconnected from the collective consciousness, she gained an incredible empathy for those disadvantaged by society, most likely seeing how she could've ended up just like them if it weren’t for her parents working to support her and her brother Hiroshi, and her general distrust in those running things to provide such compassion. That's the part of her I relate to the most: she has an unparalleled sense of her place in the world, understands the fragility of the societal order she lives within, but doesn’t know what to do with all the information stored in her brain, serving also as a sort of holistic representation of the pros and cons of the Internet. She speaks to me as a fellow lost child raised on the World Wide Web. She speaks to a person who also wonders, if things had been slightly different, if I could have made some kind of change in the world. At the very least, she makes me feel like I still have an obligation to try.

"Watashi"

"i love brands" - connor malley

Ms. Mediator here is probably the only character on this list I would say I don't admire. She embodies a lot of my worst traits, from her extreme laziness, to her manipulative side, to her cynicism, to her anti-social nature. She can be occasionally kind, and she's undeniably one of the smartest characters, even bending the almighty fairies to her sugary will, but she's not a great person, often judging other people and closing herself off from emotional connections with them. But you know what? I EMBRACE MY EVIL! I love her exactly because of these vices. In a hopeless, dying world, she's exactly the kind of nihilistic outsider to take potshots at our dumb species. Her mannerisms are just so me, like her absurd mental breakdowns at the thought of social interaction or work. Maybe it's unhealthy to indulge like that, I dunno. Her school life backstory was also weirdly relatable, to the point where I felt like Romeo Tanaka was performing surgery on me.

Yui Hirasawa

"fun things are fun" - dionysus

Yui runs on a single fuel: fun. If fun does not exist, she will create it. If it does exist, she will enjoy the moment as long as she can. She doesn't even remember why she joined the light music club past a certain point. All she knows is it's fun, and she wants it to last forever. That's the kind of character she is. Not stupid, not even a traditional airhead, but rather, a lover through and through. She's my favorite of the K-On girls because she has no baggage. She's just pure love. She's high on the stuff. Really, what else is there to life other than the philosophy of Yui Hirasawa?

Battler Ushiromiya

"i only believe in science" - nacho

Everyone's hotheaded logic boy. In the world of Umineko, he is the sole force fighting for truth, and I was thusly rooting for him the whole way through. He's a sympathetic character, both in a meta and surface textual reading, as once you learn his reasons for sleuthing all of the mysteries, it's actually kind of depressing to think about. His relationship with Beatrice ends up being something incredibly beautiful, highlighting a romance within the clash between humanity and the depths of the unknown. Battler believes that, no matter what, all mysteries can be solved without resorting to spiritualism and voodoo magic, and I agree. I think one day we can solve the universe's secrets. Believing in God is the easy way out. However, it is true that many things will likely remain a mystery until the end of our species. That would be more due to our own faults bringing an early end to our otherwise limitless potential, but still, it may take millenia to figure some of this stuff out. And Umineko holds true to this, as by its conclusion, Battler figures out the entire truth of what happened on Rokkenjima, despite the complete absence of physical evidence. The only problem? He doesn't like what he learns. So, Battler decides to finally use spiritualism for the thing it's best at: coping, and artistic expression: the highest form of cope. It's a simple interpersonal lesson, but I've learned from Battler that sometimes, even while fighting for a world run by logic, the truth is best left unspoken.

Gintoki Sakata

"hello i am bjork and this is my tv" - bjork

Gintama as a series in general feels like it's for the jaded shounen fan. As someone in their 20s, I nonetheless feel that there are still worthwhile elements within this demographic's media, but it keeps dwindling every year. Gintoki represents these lingering nostalgic feelings of fondness within a jaded, older body. Gintoki is kind of a goober, like he's still a kid inside. He doesn't enjoy "adult things" like work, romance, respectfulness, or well balanced meals. Basically, the antithesis of a shounen protagonist. Despite this, he actually does have a sort of typical shounen protagonist backstory that rears its head occasionally, but I find it's utilized moreso to reinforce the universally relatable, positive messaging within shounen. Even as an adult, with boring, adult responsibilities, Gintoki has things worth fighting for. His friends. Ice cream. Memories. The next issue of Shounen Jump. Rather simplistic things. It may seem like (especially in Japan), when you become an adult, your golden years are behind you, but this couldn't be further from the truth. You can be in your 50s, read shounen, and still learn something you could use in your everyday life. Gintoki shows us there's a whole universe out there. A universe of media, of experiences, of knowledge, and there is nothing juvenile about wanting to live and learn, even if you hear those same messages over and over again.

Miyako

"no thoughts, head full" - cirno reimu

I know I said before that Yui Hirasawa isn't stupid, and I do believe that. However, K-On does make a convincing argument that she is not conventionally intelligent. Ask her basic history or science questions and she'd crumble, y'know? Miyako from Hidamari Sketch is an interesting case, because especially when her mannerisms are compared to Yui's, she's not at all what you'd expect. She's an actual genius. She has no trouble with her school's curriculum, and in fact, has already forged her own unique, abstract art style. She gives genuinely helpful advice. Her knowledge of seemingly random things appears endless. If I asked her to list off the digits of pi, I'd be surprised if she ever stopped. Yet, she’s also a spontaneously funny girl who seems driven entirely by impulse. Perhaps the reason she appears this way is because she’s already thought about everything to the point where thinking is boring to her. If I had to paint Miyako in a personal light, she’s my role model; everything I aspire to be. A natural entertainer, helpful, smart, creative, and an amazing friend. Also, she's probably gay. Extra points for that.

Guts

"pressed" - nicki minaj

To me, Guts is essentially the apex of masculinity. He's just raw human instinct, but like, not in the traditional animalistic sense. He has a complex empathy that exemplifies what our species is capable of, manifesting as either violence or kindness and warmth. Causality is a bitch, but through the struggle, he transforms into a beautiful person who learns to trust, to love, and to find meaning in life. Whenever I feel down, I just imagine Guts at his absolute lowest points and tell myself it's never over.

Yang Wen-li

"but the people are retarded" - osho

Humanity's weakest democracy defender. He isn't blind to its faults, and even hilariously admits that people like Donald Trump can be a product of it, but that's a hill he's willing to die on, because at least it's one we all accepted to die on together. Also, I know this is kind of dudebro reasoning, but he genuinely seems like he'd be super chill to hang out with. He's a war hero, but he just acts so humble it's impossible not to love him. I WISH HE WAS MY DAD FRFR. I generally like how he's written in the context of the story, too, because it sometimes seems like he has invincible god plot armor, but whenever you get reminded that's not the case, it can hit hard because he feels like the most down to earth guy in the series. Maybe I'm just saying that because I agree with most of his political takes. Still, that makes him realer than most anime characters to me.

Togata

"it's fucking fiction" - tyler the creator

If there's one belief of mine that will never waver, it's that media, that is, art, makes life worth living. Togata is this idea taken to its absolute extreme. I get him. If I lived for thousands of years, consuming all the media in the world might be the only way for me to maintain sanity. It's kind of sad to me that I won't be able to see all the art out there before I die, but what would be even sadder to me personally is if I never make a worthwhile piece of art myself, but who knows if I'll be able to find my own Fire Punch. I hope so. Togata represents that, even when there is nothing left, everything is in ruin, the art we created on this planet will outlast all of us and be humanity's ultimate legacy. Live. Live to tell that story one more time.

Nana Hiiragi

"i don't know dude i just drink blood dude" - richard

Some of us are not so morally lucky. I can remember a point in time when I held a lot of weird opinions as a result of growing up in a religious, conservative environment. Sometimes I would even flirt with straight up Nazism. I'm not proud of this fact, but it's been many years, and I've grown. In this way, I see a mirror within Nana Hiiragi. She's also a victim of fascism, and seeing how she unquestionably believes things like "predicted kill count" is all too real for those who still suffer from the mind virus of xenophobia and racism. A part of this cult-like behavior is inducting those who are disadvantaged or going through some personal grievance. In Nana's case, she lost both of her parents, and the government subsequently took advantage of this by acting as her surrogate "father," further enhancing control over her mind. I love the way the series leads the audience to believing Nana is doing the right thing along with her, as it made me recall my own personal journey once again, with all its bittersweet feelings. In the same breath, her eventual development towards empathy was quite bold, and I particularly enjoyed her dynamic with Michiru and its wholesome "exposure therapy" energy. Most people would write Nana off as an unrepentant force of evil who deserves to be punished, but the series rather presents her conflict as a sociopolitical matter, one not entirely within her control, and therefore gives her a potential path to redemption. Seeing her self-hatred manifest as a result was too real. Even when you think fascism is gone from your mind, its lasting venom can still sting years later. How can someone like her expect to be forgiven? How can she disappoint the only people who acted as her parental figures? How can she turn her back on everything that led her to this moment? It isn't that easy to throw away something that wedged itself in to become part of your identity, and maybe that's why so many people believe it’s not possible to change. Nana and I are the counter evidence.

None of this is to mention that I generally love Nana and think she's such a fun character to watch, especially her interactions with autist king Kyouya. Thanks to the strong dialogue writing, she comes off as genuinely clever in her schemes, which makes it easy to root for her sometimes as long as you don't think about the broader context too much lol. Oh yeah, and learning that she played chess when she was younger was a nice detail, and also made her more literally me.