fighter Archives | 100 Word Anime

Yato is a character with a fairly strong fan base and after watching Noragami and then its sequel, Noragami Aragoto, it is pretty easy to see why. For a penniless character who spends a lot of time mooching off of others he’s incredibly charming, funny, as well as a character who elicits genuine sympathy once more of his story is revealed. In the context of who Yato is and what he’s gone through, his occasional bouts of silliness are fully understandable and mostly I just want to give him a hug.

I am however going to avoid major spoilers so there are some aspects of his character we just won’t be able to get into.

Starting off with his positive traits, Yato is an incredible sword fighter. Even though he’s a ‘stray god’ and has previously been known as a ‘God of Calamity’ who would take on any wish from anyone, his fighting ability is amazing. Even Bishamon with all of her regalia can’t stop him though she certainly pushes him to his limit.

Yato is also incredibly soft-hearted. That might not always seem like the case given some of his decisions seem quite cold, but once you understand his perspective and where he’s coming from, he’s an incredibly kind soul.

Also, despite how poverty stricken he is, he still only charges his five yen for a wish and regardless of the quest he takes his duties seriously (something you may not believe if you’ve only watched the start and watched him kind of ignore Hiyori’s request). Still, whether it is watching the counter at a convenience store or cleaning a bathroom, once Yato’s on a job he sees it through with pride and enthusiasm.

I would be remiss though not discuss his relationship with Hiyori. At first she’s a client, someone useful, someone who remembers him. However, Hiyori fast makes herself someone Yato needs, a friend. She looks out for him, worries about him, seeks him when he is missing, rallies others to help him. I don’t actually see their relationship as romantic (though it could be seen as heading that way), but I do know that there is a deep love and respect formed between the two characters over two seasons. It is through contact with Hiyori, and later Yukine, that Yato really begins to grow and those relationships are beautiful to watch form and develop.

And even if they were his only defining traits he would still be an awesome character. However, given he is a god with a complex back story, there’s quite a bit of tragedy and darkness following Yato. While he works hard to ensure those nearest him don’t see it, they worry about their friend and want to help him. Season two particularly dealt with this side of Yato far more and the emotionally moving journey that took us on was well worth it.

So Yato, the small-time god who has big dreams, is definitely a character I respect and enjoyed watching. I’d love another season of Noragami and a large part of the reason is Yato. In the meantime I think I’ll just go and binge watch the first two seasons again because they are amazing.

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NORAGAMI: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

I mentioned last year while completing the 12 Days of Anime that I had really enjoyed writing posts focused on single characters and so I was looking to make it more of a feature in 2019. I don’t know if I’m going to do this every week or not at the moment, though I probably will for awhile just to see how it goes. Still, when thinking about what character to start with for 2019, I couldn’t go past my favourite female character, the hard working scythe-meister Maka Albarn.

Maka is one of those rare female characters who manages to be tough and yet still adorable. She’s emotionally strong and yet she isn’t emotionally shut down. She has friends, yet likes to stand on her own. In short, she’s kind of a delight to watch in action whether she’s fighting with her partner Soul (fighting using him and fighting with him), reading a book, studying, trying to pretend her father doesn’t exist, or just going about her daily life preparing breakfast and the like. When I decided to cosplay as an anime character for the very first time, it seemed obvious that Maka would be the character of choice.

Now, for those who haven’t seen Soul Eater (and why not), Maka is one of the main characters in a series that splits its focus mainly between three main pairs. Maka and Soul, Black Star and Tsubaki, and Death the Kid and Liz and Patty. Maka and Soul are my favourite of these but their interactions with the others are a large part of what makes them so fantastic.

Maka starts the anime as an already fairly determined student. She wants to reach the same heights her mother did and she’s going to work very hard to get there. In the very first episode though she suffers a little bit of a set-back but we see her continue on her path working toward making her scythe (Soul) the strongest death-scythe ever.

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Soul Eater Original Soundtrack 1

As with many characters, Maka shines most when she faces adversity and while she is awesome to watch in a fight, helped by some very flashy animation, where Maka really excelled was in the arc where she had to deal with her guilt at letting her weapon protect her and Soul getting hurt in the process. They didn’t dwell overly long on this or allow Maka’s character to stagnate, but rather she took the time to process what had happened and where to go from there. We saw that she needed Soul as well to help her overcome the trauma and that the two became stronger partners because of it.

This is one of my favourite arcs of any anime ever and I love where it leads. I just love Maka as a character and wish we had more characters like her. While I’m still not sold on the end of the Soul Eater anime series (please let it get rebooted), Maka alone makes the anime well worth the journey.