It's the last day of this year so I will finish off with a list. This is the top 10 most surprising talents from popular characters. This list also has a bonus of five non anime entries at the end.
10. Miss Sakaki from Azumanga Daioh
The shy tall girl from the cast of Azumanga Daioh, celebrated for her athletic ability, her American measurements and her aloof personality. While it's not that surprising in her character design to like everything cute but what comes as a real surprise is how well she can sing when with the others at karaoke. This is played with in AMVs when she sings Colors of Wind from Pocahontas.
9. Yoko Littner from Gurren Lagann
While she can take down a Beastmen with just her large rifle, she retires from active duty to become a teacher, and an awesome teacher at that, she even hides guns in her Blackboard.
8. Sunako Nakahara from The Wallflower
An anti-social girl who can't stand bright shiny people is able to cook as well as a house wife, in fact it's her most defining talent as a character which ultimately wins the approval of her aunt.
7. Konata Izumi from Lucky Star
Unfit, over weight otaku are considered an out dated stereotype but Konata is so small in build that you wonder how on earth she could be so athletic.
6. Apachai from Kenichi Mightiest Disciple
Apachai is tough, he can talk to animals and he can somehow defeat everyone at Othello or Go if you want to stay Japanese. It's supposed to show how a non skilled person can learn anything with practice but Apachai gets so good he nearly beats resident genius Akisame.
5. Ami Mizuno from Sailor Moon
It was going to be Makoto Kino but her skills don't really surprise me. As for Ami, it comes as a big surprise that the resident genius who claims to have no interest whatsoever in romance can apparently dance like an elegant princess. She may give Belle a run for her money.
4. Keitaro Urashima from Love Hina
Keitaro is pretty useless at most things but seems to have the skills of a master patisserie chef during Valentines Day when he makes a cake so amazing it would fool anyone into thinking he had a girlfriend. Good thing he has those skills as you need something to fall back on if he failed University again.
3. Hinata Hyuuga from Naruto
The timid ninja who really doesn't belong in the anime up against all the male ninja in an eating contest where usually the defining trait of Shonen lead males is that they eat a lot. Hinata defeated all of them, no defeat is the wrong word, she thrashed them.
2. Lizzy from Black Butler
I started with Meyrin but it's not such a big shock for a Phantomhive servant to be a mercenary. Lizzy on the other hand is the shows only girly girl, and seems out of place throughout, until a defining point in the manga when Ciel ends up in danger, she picks up the nearest swords and slices the Zombie horde to ribbons. In fact just look at the picture, that's really Lizzy being a bad ass after spending so long being annoying.
1. Tenma Tsukamoto from School Rumble
But I don't think anyone can top Tenma, a hopeless romantic, scatterbrained idiot with no physical or academic skills with the attention spam of a Schizophrenic Goldfish. and yet she has deadly Archery skills, can Judo throw someone twice her size, has a deadly baseball throw, can cycle really fast and to top off just her physical strengths she can Ski so well she teaches everyone else. And depending on how you interpret the ending she becomes a Doctor Overseas in the States
Now for five Western Examples
Eric Cartman from South Park
Is very talented at Photography when you take into account all his schemes. He is Peter Parker good.
Doctor Robotnik from Sonic
While only brushed on briefly by the Doctor at the end of Generations, Robotnik apparently was at university studying to be a teacher, I would love to see that expanded on. Next project Sega "Sonic Origins"
Buford from Phineas & Ferb
The bully from Phineas & Ferb can speak fluent French and quotes Voltaire, proving to be more sophisticated than the rest of the cast.
Lisa Simpson from The Simpsons
While having extra skills is not really a surprise in a series this long it always comes as a surprise when it happens especially with Lisa who has no skills outside academics yet she has the hand-eye coordination to stop a Hockey Puck bare-handed fired by an adult. The same Lisa who earlier in the same episode burst a Volleyball with her hair.
Sabrina from the Pokemon Games
It comes as no surprise that Gym Leaders have hobbies & jobs outside Gym Leading but when Gen 5 came along, Sabrina came back as a Movie Star; okay playing a Movie villain is less surprising but in the games she's depicted as a psychic master over dedicated to her training which expands to the anime; I would never picture her as a Movie Star. This also backs up a theory that suggests that Sabrina doesn't come from Kanto.
Well that's everyone, I'll be in 2014 before the majority of you so Happy New Year to all my viewers and I'll see you in 2014.
