Welcome to the Anime Walk of Fame, a series of retrospectives on the many characters of the anime world. You'll see all your favorites along with a few that deserve more than their reputations give.
So sit back relax and enjoy the show.
- Created By Dranzerstorm
JJ Style is Being Redeemable
It says alot about Yuri On Ice, when the biggest narcissist is redeemable.
Jean-Jacques Leroy is the next best male figure skater to champion Victor, he's massively over confident, takes joy in teasing other athletes and is a massive narcissist, he even skates to his own theme song but like every other athlete he succumbs to pressure which leads him to fail his short program skate, and suddenly you understand why he goes to such lengths to act the way he does, all this time, he's been using a mask to boost his confidence this whole time, Yuri even compares JJ's breakdown to his own failure the previous season with the only difference being the difficulty JJ attempts meaning that any small mistake is all the more costly.
It brings a tear to my eye seeing JJ's fiancee stand up and cheer his name in spite of his performance breaking down.
Yuri On Ice truly has the best male cast.
Miku Deserved Better
The Quintuplets ending was probably the most divisive in recent anime history and the biggest casualty was Miku.
Of the five sisters, Miku was given so much time to speak and make connections with Futaro that she seemed a shoe in to be the bride at the start of the series, but ultimately she's not the one who gets picked.
Miku is quiet, keeps to herself but she's kind and very much enjoys talking about specialist subjects, she's not the type to antagonize or tease and became a fan favourite, she has more chemistry with Futaro than any other sister and has more figures, merchandise and art than anyone else, I also imagine big headphones made a brief comeback as well considering how important they are to Miku's identity, none of the others have that definitive item.
Her popularity is on the same level as Rem from ReZero and yet they also share the unfortunate situation of not being picked.
Many people also point out that Miku genuinely looked like the only one who gave a shit about her grades.
So why? Why don't you pick the best girl?
Honestly one of the worst decisions I've ever seen for an ending.
Lucoa is a Bigger Deal Than You Think
Having revisted Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, I'm reminded of all the discourse surrounding it's characters, Lucoa got the worst of it, not helped by Funimation's dodgy dubbing decisions, but I think Lucoa is better than you think.
Lucoa is a former goddess, in Aztec mythology, she is known as Quetzalcoatl and was banished from her position having been spiked by liquor and having an affair, loosely based on the actual myth of Quetzalcoatl.
After being summoned by Shouta, the mage boy, she remained with him, playing along with being his familiar because she felt at home, especially after seeing Tohru settle so well with Kobayashi, in fact each dragon seems to find their place pretty quick.
But one of Lucoa's most stand out roles is being the wise one amongst the cast, although she wouldn't step in the way of a battle, her clan prevents her from interfering but she holds a high enough presence that none of the other dragons would dare challenge her, you'll never see her angry but you'll also never see her fight.
One last thing to remember, in mythology, Quetzalcoatl helped create the world and by extension, humanity as well, so Lucoa really is more than just a bimbo dragon.
Shiori is Not Uzaki-Chan
There's a trend of adult female characters who are short and busty, Uzaki started it and Shiori is another example of it but while Uzaki-Chan is a massive tease and full of gremlin energy, Shiori is kind, responsible and absolutely adorable.
At a guess, Shiori is in her early to mid twenties, there are people who are not comfortable seeing the Uzaki body type, so when Shiori is introduced, she throws a curveball at you, you think she's just someone who is just cute and easily submissive but quite often throughout the anime she proves her maturity credentials, just by being in the office environment, you've already eliminated some of the ecchi elements that weren't always wanted in Uzaki-Chan.
If it wasn't for the fact that Tiny Senpai is a romance anime, Shiori would function perfectly fine as a normal office lady with an appealing design, she even out right states that she's never had a relationship and has no one outside the office trying to protect her or push her into it making her very independent, a rare trait among female leads, in fact the office itself never really crosses the line in the support Shiori and Shinozaki get for their blossoming relationship.
Raimu Is The Stig
The Stig is a real life racing driver who participates in numerous car tests and silly challenges in the British Auto Magazine TV show Top Gear.
He remains silent, never speaking and occasionally engages in the goofy antics of the three hosts.
Part of his lore is that he is seemingly invincible and capable of things no other human can achieve, three real drivers have played the Stig, Perry McCarthy, Ben Collins and Michael Schumacher, no one knows who plays him currently but it's not unusual to have him being played by multiple drivers depending on location and availability and in the case of Schumacher, the owner of the car they were testing.
So when we get to Bakuon, we meet Raimu Kawasaki.
Raimu is the silent protagonist of the school motorcycle club, she communicates through body language and written signs never taking off her helmet, she has twin braids, a bow, a Simpson brand helmet and a sailor fuku school uniform, however it's revealed quite early on that she went to school with the teachers, even if you consider the teachers young, Raimu should be close to 30 years old, yet she doesn't age at all, making her an anime Stig, it's a fun little tribute to a character with origins in the UK, whether that's intentional, depends who you ask but I have no doubt where Raimu Kawasaki comes from.