Since the world of an anime is one of the main things that draws me in, it isn’t surprising that most of the anime on this list are also some of my favorites overall. I am basing this list off of three things. Creativity and aesthetic appeal, memorable locations, and usage of the world with the way things work in that anime. So here are my seven favorite anime worlds.
While Angel Beats! is one of many anime set in a school, it takes a neat spin on it that makes sense with the situation of the story. The school is more or less a purgatory called the Afterlife where children who died and suffered a tragic life are sent. Towards the end, the main objective is being able to be content with their lives so they can move on. Some of the main locations include the cafeteria, the classrooms, the gym, an underground base where The Guild works, and the most focused area is a club room called the Anti-Angel Headquarters where the SSS discusses all of their activities.
The first thing that normally draws me in to an anime is it’s world. A good example of this is my love for One Piece. While One Piece does indeed have several good qualities, none are as impressive as it’s world. Eiichiro Oda did a brilliant job with mapping out the world and being creative with each aspect of it.
2.) Relatable Characters
When watching not only anime but anything, it is interesting to view characters who have similarities to us. This is because we can put ourselves in their shoes and feel more emersed in what we see. In some cases we can even understand exactly where a character is coming from, allowing us to feel more emotion towards him or her.
3.) Unrelatable Characters
It was necessary to separate relatable and unrelatable characters because they both bring a completely different feeling to the viewer. Unlike relatable characters, unrelatable characters normally bring up something new within us. Often times they cause a change in us to occur so that we want to try and accomplish something we haven’t before. Maybe something that previously seemed impossible now seems within grasp.
4.) Animation
To go along with a world, the animation is something that will draw you in before you even watch a show. Studios like Bones and Madhouse are so good that most people watch all of their shows just because it was animated by them.
5.) Music
Music is essential in almost all forms of entertainment. In anime, since most of them focus on getting good animation, it’s harder to find good music in anime. While this isn’t a great thing, it also means that the ones with good music shine out above others.
Not your typical anime, Highschool of the Dead(HOTD) tries to accomplish a lot of things at once without enough focus on anything.
It is an extremely popular anime, ranking 37 in popularity according to MyAnimeList. Over 800,000 people have watched it. So why is a show this popular not getting better reviews? Or better yet, what draws people to this anime if not for the reviews.
As many may know, HOTD is not exactly appropriate for children. And this is not simply because of the zombies getting their heads chopped off. It’s also because this is one of the most erotic anime out there. Sadly, this is what caused the disruption in focus throughout this show.
Almost every anime tries to give the viewers at least a little taste of action, comedy, and romance, with a bit of fan service here and there. They give these things along with something else to make it their own. HOTD goes for too much in it’s attempt at a great anime. You’ll be left feeling very awkward and confused while the show jumps from serious to comedy to ecchi to horror then to romance in the same scene.
While not all of the characters were necessarily likable, it is worth mentioning that they were all made to be unique from one another. Even the main character Takashi Komuro is fairly interesting albeit being somewhat of a generic main protagonist. Another thing that was done well with the characters is making it easy to understand where their heads are at. Many characters lose most of their sanity throughout the story, which isn’t surprising in the zombie apocalypse. Still it’s a good thing to see interpreted into the show.
I cannot however finish talking about this anime without discussing the animation itself. Madhouse studio is known for producing amazing animation. This holds true for their work on HOTD as well. While not my favorite work by them, it still manages to be the shining point of this anime.
Overall HOTD is a fine anime with quality animation and pretty good character creation. On my personal MyAnimeList account I have rated this anime a six out of 10. It could have easily been an eight out of 10 or even higher had the story been fleshed out over a 24 episode series rather than 12 episodes. Anyway, these were my thoughts on the anime, let me hear your’s in the comments.
Although Lord Boros has one of the coolest designs in anime, he is surprisingly simple. Boros didn’t get as much screen time as many would have liked. All we know is that he has tremendous power and traveled from planet to planet searching for an opponent who would be a challenge. While these things already make Boros an interesting antagonist, it’s not what put him on this list. He is here because unlike most other villains who have never lost and end up losing, he doesn’t complain. Boros respects Saitama for being able to beat him and even understood that Saitama wasn’t using his full power.
A truly fearsome adversary. Cell is my favorite villain from Dragon Ball Z because of his intelligent yet psychotic attitude. When first introduced he even brought in some horror elements to this show that was previously so upbeat. Cell is also partially responsible for bringing out the Super Sayian 2 transformation in Gohan Son, albeit not in a pleasant way.
Originally from the hit game Persona 4, Tohru Adachi is a sly, psychotic villain who was blessed with power. He is originally seen working in the police force but is secretly working against them. The animated version of Persona 4 did Adachi justice, having him lurk in the shadows up until the end. The fact that he wasn’t revealed as the villain until the last few episodes was impressive. Small hints and clues pointed towards him being the antagonist the whole time but nothing to completely give it away.
Chrollo Lucilfer is the definition of someone who does things by actions rather than words. As one of the strongest characters in Hunter x Hunter, Lucilfer is an extreme threat that never shows weakness. He always and only acts with precision and complete knowledge of a situation. From his extremely enjoyable fighting style to his amazing intelligence, Lucilfer is always a joy to watch.
A king with everything the world has to offer. Gilgamesh is a very popular character from an extremely popular series. His cool design, his always calm demeanor, and his incredible strength are some of the things that make him so entertaining to watch. Gilgamesh also has one of the coolest Noble Phantasms in the series called the Gate of Babylon. He took out several of the strongest servants in the Holy Grail War without taking so much as a scratch. Anything Gilgamesh wants, he shall receive.
Almost all of the other characters on this list are likable in a maniacal sort of way. That is not quite the case for Meruem. While the first impressions of him are as evil as one can imagine, killing women and children without remorse, most will still end up feeling for him in the end. Meruem is also one of the few antagonists you will see find love. Perhaps one of the reasons he isn’t in my number one spot is because it’s hard to see him as an antagonist, despite the atrocities he’s committed.
Everything a villain has to offer is expressed through the character of Donquixote Doflamingo. He is smart, strong, privileged, and straight up psychotic. His character design is also very interesting as well as his “Ito Ito no Mi”devil fruit, which he has full mastery over. Doflamingo is also the first person in the show to completely show off an awakened devil fruit. It is rare to see him without a smile on his face, albeit a psychotic one that only grows the angrier he gets. Doflamingo also shows a large amount of love towards his crew which is nice to see because it makes him seem slightly more humane. However, easily my favorite part about him is the fact that he spouts more impactful quotes than anyone else on the show. Every time a word comes out of his mouth, expect it to have meaning behind it.
“Pirates are evil? The Marines are righteous? These terms have always changed throughout the course of history! Kids who have never seen peace and kids who have never seen war have different values! Those who stand at the top determine what’s wrong and what’s right! This very place is neutral ground! Justice will prevail, you say? But of course it will! Whoever wins this war becomes justice!” Doflamingo said during the war at Marineford. This is easily my favorite quote in all of One Piece and further signifies why I think Doflamingo is the best anime antagonist.
This is a list of my top 11 anime Deuteragonists. These are characters that drive the story the most aside from the main character. This list is purely based off of my opinion and my knowledge of the anime that I have seen. Also since it isn’t spelled out who is and isn’t a deuteragonist, so these characters all represent qualities of a deuteragonist even if they may not be one.
Rin Tohsaka is a very popular character from the hit Fate series. She is a star student at her school, a mage from a famous family, and a love interest to the main protagonist Shirō Emiya. While Emiya isn’t the worst protagonist in his own right, Tohsaka seems to severely outshine him. Growing up, she had lost both of her parents at a young age and was separated from her only sister. Both Tohsaka and Emiya were thrown into the great Holy Grail War where they were both meant to kill each other and others. However neither ever had intent to kill the other and Tohsaka consistently grew closer to Emiya. They teamed up together to end the war and came out on top. She saved Emiya’s life multiple times throughout the story, even bringing him back from the dead. Tohsaka is my personal favorite character from the Fate series.
Hestia is a goddess who has come down to earth to start a “familia” or rather a clan of sorts. The first person to join her familia is the main protagonist Bell Cranel. While she is a goddess, she is small in stature, rather unsuccessful, short tempered and often looked down upon. The two main things that make her such a likable character in my eyes are her endless energy and her endless devotion to help Cranel in any way she can. While she may not be much of the sidekick type since she doesn’t accompany Cranel as much as some other characters, she is the perfect support for Cranel.
Karma Akabane is friends with the main protagonist Nagisa Shiota. He is a troublesome kid who causes several problems for everyone. He is one of the smartest kids in his school and also an impeccable fighter. Even though he is good friends with Shiota, they get into several fights. Karma is an interesting character because he shows signs that a character in his position usually doesn’t have. He is good at everything and shows jealousy towards Shiota when Shiota does something better than him.
Fino Bloodstone is possibly the only character that I can confidently say completely makes an anime all by herself. Nobody else in this anime feels as alive as Bloodstone. She is the daughter of the deceased demon lord and decided to live a normal life after his death. Being raised by the demon lord, she lacks normal common sense and is rather rude even when trying to be nice. Raul Chaser is the main protagonist of this anime, and while he and Bloodstone play off of each other with great chemistry, she is certainly the one that stands out with her quirky attitude and rambunctious behavior.
For two complete opposites, I can’t think of two main characters who have better chemistry than Emi Yusa and the main protagonist Sadao Maou. These two live in a different world called Ente Isla where Yusa is a hero and Maou is the Demon King. The two of them and some others end up going through a portal to modern day Japan. As the story unravels Yusa starts to see a change in Maou and they end up in some sort of friendship.
Gohan Son is perhaps the most well-known character on this list. He is the son of the main protagonist Goku Son. Both Goku and Gohan are some of the strongest beings in the universe. During the Cell Games arc, Goku trained Gohan so that he would be strong enough to take his place as Earth’s protector. The reason Gohan is one of my personal favorites is because Dragon Ball Z actually follows Gohan’s journey just as much if not more than Goku himself. Gohan is four years old when the series starts off, and by time the story finishes he is shown in adulthood with a child. He also had one of the most epic scenes in all of Dragon Ball when he transformed into a Super Saiyan 2 for the first time. It is also worth noting that the creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama, actually planned to have Gohan become the main character at one point but went back on the idea.
The right hand man of the future pirate king in One Piece, Roronoa Zoro is another extremely well known name in the anime community. Also known as “Pirate Hunter” Zoro, he used to be a very successful bounty hunter before being saved by the main protagonist Monkey D. Luffy. Zoro and Luffy formed a fierce alliance that started the Straw Hat Pirates. Zoro is likable because aside from Luffy he has the largest ambition of any of the main characters. He aims to be the best swordsman in the world. My favorite thing about Zoro though, is his loyalty to his captain and understanding of what’s right to do. While Zoro would do anything for his captain, even almost losing his life for him, he has also been there to toughen Luffy up on more than one occasion if Luffy is too soft on the crew.
Like Fino Bloodstone, Shana is certainly the driving force of her respective anime. In fact as the story progresses, it can be argued that Shana becomes the main protagonist by the third season. However the first two seasons follow the life of Yuuji Sakai. Shana is a Flame Haze who fights off monsters called Crimson Denizens. The most compelling aspects of Shana are her fighting abilities, the aesthetics that make up her appearance, and the way she sticks to her ideals. Shana starts off as a very tough yet still enjoyable character to follow. As the story progresses, it is always easy to understand what’s going on in her head even though her character is constantly changing. She also tries to stick by Sakai’s side as much as she can throughout the story. Even when Sakai has different beliefs in what’s right than she does.
Starting off as the presumed antagonist of Angel Beats!, Kanade Tachibana is in my opinion, the most interesting character on this list. Tachibana’s character is somewhat of a mystery for the first half of the show. The story is set in the afterlife and starts with the main protagonist, Yuzuru Otonashi, just arriving and being put in a feud between Tachibana and a group called the SSS. Otonashi joins the SSS but is the first to realize that Tachibana is not an enemy and forms an alliance with her. She is very powerful and knows more about the afterlife than anyone else in the show. A very reserved person at heart, she doesn’t show much emotion for most of the show. It isn’t until the end that she shows her emotions outwardly. She has never had friends, so Tachibana relishes her feelings when she finally makes friends.
The character who would be number one on almost everyone’s list. Killua Zoldyck is the most easily likable character I have ever seen in an anime. Most similar to that of Zoro, Killua is an excellent fighter who has a lot of heart and great loyalty. Being born into a family of assassins, Killua made no friends growing up. When taking the Hunter Exam, he becomes best friends with the main protagonist Gon Freecss. He almost never leaves Gon’s side for the entirety of the story. The main difference that makes me like Killua more than Zoro is his constant outward showing of emotion. You can easily tell when he’s angry, sad, happy, jealous, and even though you don’t see it often, frightened. He is always taking a leap to try and get to his next goal. Killua could easily be in my number one spot along with all the other people who have him there. The one thing that held him back is because he is from such a great anime that his character can almost get overlooked by all of the other great things in Hunter x Hunter.
Possibly the least popular character on this list, Natsume Tsuchimikado is not only my favorite deuterogonist, but my favorite anime character overall. She is an excellent onmyouji and can even summon a defensive shikigami. Natsume is always protecting the main protagonist Harutora Tsuchimikado. Harutora was born into a position that could put a target on his head, so as to protect him, he and Natsume switched places. Natsume grew up with the persona that she was a boy, to be more specific, that she was the heir to the Tsuchimikado main family. While she is very hot headed, she also cares deeply about her close family and friends. My favorite aspect about her is that her character is always in the right frame of mind. When a serious situation comes up, she gets serious, but she can also be funny at the right times. Natsume is kind, cool, caring, funny, a fighter, and the spotlight shines on her in this anime.
The Other Side of Anime 