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Tuesday’s Top 5: Anime Guys with Black Hair

Posted on August 29, 2017August 13, 2017 by Karandi

Last week we did the list of top 5 anime females with black hair focussing on the cool beauties of the anime world. This week my attention shifts to the male characters and I think my main focus here was focussed and dependable. That said, there are an enormous number of males with ebony hair that I just could not fit onto my list so I would love to know your thoughts and who would have been included on your list.

Please note there are some spoilers in the descriptions below.

Honourable Mentions: Jiroh (Black Blood Brothers), Kazuya Shibuya (Ghost Hunt) and Gilbert Nightray (Pandora Hearts), plus the dozens of others that were considered and ultimately left off the list.

Number 5: Hei (Darker Than Black)

Whether he’s on a mission, infiltrating an organisation, reporting in, apparently having a break, Hei is always focussed on his primary goal, find out what happened to his sister. He might be a crazy powerful contractor but even before he became a contractor he was feared for his skills. he is one guy you do not want to cross because once he sets his sights on something, one way or another he’s going to make it happen and he’s going to look really good while doing it.

Number 4: Kirito (Sword Art Online)

Another highly focussed character and one I very much enjoy watching in action, Kirito does not let anything stand between him and his current goal, not even death. Plus, once you get through his protective shell and anti-social exterior, he’s actually a genuinely caring person who looks after those he considers his friends. While his tunnel focus might work against him when he gets fixated on single points and sometimes misses the bigger picture, in terms of drive it is hard to argue against his actions.

Number 3: Kuroh Yatogami (K)

If you are looking for dedication and loyalty than you can’t go much further than Kuroh. Not to mention the guy can cook and rocks that pink apron. Admittedly, there’s a bit of a disconnect between his good looks and personality when fighting to his more laid back persona and he definitely has some personality traits that are a little questionable, such as listening to the recordings of his dead master for guidance on a daily basis. Still, he’s a strong fighter, wields a sword, has an absolute sense of duty, and ultimately does what he believes is right. He is one very cool character for this list.

Number 2: Shinya Kougami (Psycho Pass)

I’d like to let the pictures speak for me on this one. Kougami is tough, focussed, and relatively unstoppable once he puts his mind to things. He’s also really great to watch in action. However, he isn’t a muscle head who only relies on his fists, he’s got a good head on his shoulders and knows when to use it. A pure joy to watch as he unravels the mysteries in Psycho Pass and seeks out his revenge.

Number 1: Sebastian Michaelis (Black Butler)

Was there ever a moment of doubt that Sebastian would not be number one on this list? The guy can do anything and look amazing while doing it. Okay, he might be a demon so has an unfair advantage. In a fair world, Kougami would be the number 1, however fair or unfair, Sebastian is perfect, except for the whole eating people’s souls things. That’s a minor hiccup in an otherwise flawless persona.

Alright, I’m done so I’m handing it over to you for your top 5 guys with black hair.

Thanks for reading.

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Thanks,

Karandi James.

30 Day Anime Challenge: Day 26

Posted on July 19, 2017May 28, 2017 by Karandi

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Day 26: Favourite Male Protagonist.

This challenge has definitely made it clear just how indecisive I am around this notion of favourites. Choosing one over all the others is actually really hard (and I am dreading Day 30).

Ultimately I’m going to go with a character that made me feel so much for him on his journey, who I wanted to pick up and hug, offer a word of support to, and then run the other direction so whatever horrible thing was about to happen to him never happened to me. Of course I am talking about Allen Walker from D Gray Man.

Nice guy but avoids the trap of having that as his only personality trait. Very powerful but in no way overpowered given the enemies (and even the allies) around him. Everything about Allen is fantastic and this is a character I desperately want to be victorious one day but I kind of feel he’s a walking tragedy so I won’t hold my breath.

I did consider quite a few other characters including Ciel in Black Butler, Natsume from Natsume Yuujinchou, Rei from March Comes in Like a Lion, and even Sadou Maou from the Devil is a Part Timer.

Who is your favourite male protagonist and why? Please share in the comments below.

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If you like this site and you like what I do, consider becoming a patron.

Thanks,

Karandi James.

Tuesday’s Top 5: Males with Silver Hair

Posted on June 20, 2017June 17, 2017 by Karandi

Here’s the list of my top 5 male anime characters with silver hair. I’m going to admit, this was a far harder list to put together than the female one. There are so many silver haired males out there that I wanted to include. Plus, splitting the one and two spot this week was all but impossible so I finally went with overall good looks which means I now feel really bad about number 2. Anyway, my primary criteria, other than having silver, white or gray hair, was that they are an interesting character that I enjoy watching. Still, this one was really difficult. I’d love to know who you would have included so please leave me a comment.

Also, next week I have a Top 5 list suggested by Kendra Ressler who is one of my patrons. As part of their reward tier they get to suggest three post topics in a year and this is their first one and it is focussed on My Hero Academia. I’m really looking forward to writing it and even though the post will come out after I’ve gone on break, I’m hoping everyone will enjoy it. Thanks to Kendra for the great suggestion.

Please Note – There are spoilers below. You have been warned.

Honourable mentions go to Undertaker (Black Butler), Tomoi (Kamisama Kiss) and Lag Seeing (Letter Bee).

Number 5: Hitsugaya from Bleach

It feels kind of wrong for Hitsugaya to be so low on this list given I absolutely love him as a character but when I thought about why I liked him, his hair doesn’t feature very high. his attitude, his sword, his eyes and his very cool ice power featured heavily, but his hair style and colour were more of a side note. Still, Hitsugaya is an amazing character so I’m glad he didn’t fall off the list altogether.

Number 4: Zero from Vampire Knight

As much as I do tend to mock Vampire Knight and its storyline, I have to admit Kiryuu Zero is a really fun character to watch. That’s probably slightly mean to say given most of what you are watching is his descent into depression as the vampire hunter transforms into a vampire and feels incredible guilt over sucking the blood of his crush but I just enjoy him as a character. As for his hair colour, other than providing a strong contrast with the other love interest, I really couldn’t imagine Zero with any other colour. He always seems a little washed out and detached from the world and his hair kind of helps give that impression.

Number 3: Weismann from K

This issue with Weismann is that we see so very little of him. Flashbacks are all well and good but given his body is snatched before the events of the first episode of K, we really don’t see much of him. That said, his silver hair, given he’s the silver king and all, is kind of important and I really enjoy his character (what little we see of it). Brilliant and detached with a slightly off-beat sense of humour, he remains an enigma even after he regains his memories and I absolutely love every moment of screen time he gets.

Number 2: Allen Walker from D Gray Man

I know. I can’t believe Allen isn’t number 1 on this list either. Much like Zero, Allen is a pretty tragic character to watch and I can’t get enough of it. He’s one of my favourite characters of all time. Want a strong and loyal character who will literally fight to the death and even beyond for what he believes to be right but isn’t exactly a saint? Then Allen will entertain you for hours (and hours and hours given the run time of the show now). Though I definitely have a preference for his character design in the original series rather than Hallow (too colourful in Hallow).

Number 1: Victor from Yuri on Ice

I did warn you at the beginning I split 1 and 2 by overall looks and as much as I love Allen as a character, Victor is pretty impressively charming. I think it was the fact that for once there was an anime character who was actually in his late twenties that was being treated as desirable by pretty much everyone rather than as an old man (typical of high school anime) that really got me focussed on his character. Then, of course, there’s his talent, charisma, and developing relationship with Yuri, and all and all I really did fall in love with his character during Yuri on Ice – even if I know that in reality his personality would drive me completely crazy.

So there is my list of silver haired anime males. Who would you include on yours?

Are you a fan of 100WordAnime.blog?

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Thanks,

Karandi James.

Tuesday’s Top 5: Male Characters from 2016

Posted on January 10, 2017January 8, 2017 by Karandi

Last week I looked at the female characters from 2016 that left an impression. This week I turn my attention to the guys. I’m going to be honest; this was a much harder list to write. The reason being that female characters still tend to play a lot of support roles and still tend to have very generic personalities (with some exceptions). There are more leading male characters and more personality types (though still some basic archetypes) out there to choose from.

So how did I choose my top 5 male characters? Pretty much they played a significant role in their anime, were entertaining to watch, and, for whatever reason, memorable. They also had to be in an anime that aired at some point during 2016 (either continuing on from 2015, completely in 2016, or at least started before the end of 2016).

Please Note – There will be spoilers below.

Honourable mentions go to: Natsume (Natsume Yuujinchou Go), Mikleo (Tales of Zestiria the X), and weirdly to Matsumi Asuma (Kiss Him, Not Me).

Number 5: Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs Season 2)

There were times in season 1 when Dazai drove me absolutely crazy. He was hilarious and intriguing for the first 2 episodes and then his character went into one note comedy mode for most the rest of the season. Season 2 Dazai became a much more interesting character. First we spent four episodes getting his back story and then even after that while we still had the odd goofy moment and suicide joke, Dazai kind of left the playful facade behind and started actually being a character. It made him far more intriguing and made me far more interested in him. Is Dazai the best character? Not really, but I certainly remember him.

Number 4: Karma Akabane (Assassination Classroom Season 2)

Okay, this one should come as no surprise given he topped out my list of favourite red haired male characters last year. I find Karma fantastic value as a character. Why isn’t he higher up my list? Because season 1 of Assassination Classroom did not air in 2016 and looking at Karma’s contributions to season 2, I just couldn’t justify it. His character decidely takes a back seat with the exception of the conflict between him and Nagisa and even that plays out relatively quickly. He is still one scary teenager and what I like is that he isn’t just a hoodlum, he is smart, manipulative and motivated.

Number 3: Yuuri Katsuki (Yuri on Ice)

It would have surprised me more if I hadn’t added a character from Yuri on Ice and it had to be Yuri himself. The character transformation he underwent and how natural it felt was one of the highlights of the whole year for me. I liked that this wasn’t a show about someone who was bad at skating getting suddenly amazing. Yuri was always good but lacked confidence. This story really just focussed on him overcoming himself rather than a skills deficit and it was a much stronger character story because of it.

Number 2: Obi (Snow White with the Red Hair)

Obi was always my favourite character from Show White with the Red Hair and season 2 we got more Obi. When Shirayuki leaves the kingdom to visit Prince Raj it is Obi who goes with her as a bodyguard so when she get’s kidnapped, Obi kind of loses it in the best possible way. It’s probably the first time we ever see Obi anything less than laid back and completely in control and that he then spends the rest of the season working to save her and then in ensuring that Zen and Shirayuki are going to get their happily ever after (despite the fact it’s pretty clear he’d really like Shirayuki to look at him) just makes Obi an even better character. He’s still stealing every scene he shows up in and I would love more of this character. Note to self: Do not get on Obi’s bad side.

Number 1: Allen Walker (D Gray Man Hallow)

Okay, I know a lot of this placement is due my overall love of this franchise but Hallow did an amazing job of progressing Allen’s story as the fourteenth is slowly but surely taking over. Allen has come along way from the naive want to be exorcist we met back in episode 1 of D Gray Man and is now a very competent exorcist however he is continuously doubted and mistreated by the Order and ultimately is forced to make the decision to leave (which gave us an incredibly heartbreaking farewell between Allen and Lenalee). Allen is a character I always want more of because he is incredibly interesting and I would love for him to eventually find out everything and be able to make his own informed choices about his life. Seems unlikely and far more likely he will continue to flounder along, but he does keep moving. Not even certain death keeps him out of the action.

That’s my list so now its time to share yours. Who were your favourite male characters in 2016?

Top 5 Tuesday – Male Characters with Blue Hair

Posted on September 13, 2016September 7, 2016 by Karandi

As promised, here is the male list for characters with blue hair. Hopefully you enjoy this selection as much as I did making the list and if you didn’t see it, check out my post featuring the females.

My selection is very much based on how interesting these characters are and how integral having blue hair is to their character. So, maybe I left off one of your favourites. Feel free to add suggestions in the comments below.

Please Note – There are spoilers below. You have been warned.

Honourable mentions to Nova (Arcana Famiglia),Okumura Rin (Ao No Exorcist), Black Star (Soul Eater), and Jellal (Fairy Tail).

Number 5: Toru from Hitsugi no Chaika

Toru is notable because he’s the only character on the list who has hair that changes colour, which makes his hair an absolute part of his character. Usually it is blue and he’s useful as a saboteur but not too flash; he kind of sucks at life but that’s because he spent his whole life training for a war someone ended before he had a chance to get into it. When he get’s serious though he does an iron blood transformation (signified by the red hair and eyes) and at the point he because a fairly impressive fighter. Toru is a likeable character and certainly quite distinct (even if he does at times come off as generic protagonist type b).

Number 4: Reisi Munakata from K

When I did my list of red haired characters, the red king made my list because of his volatile and fiery personality. Munakata is his perfect opposite and the dynamic between the two in K is phenomenal. Every bit the blue king, Munakata has a towering sense of pride but unlike his explosive counterpart, Munakata is the ultimate example of self-control. Whether he is having a smoke with a friend or commanding his clan, he is composed and focussed. Okay, not so composed when having to kill his friend but that just made us love him all the more.

Number 3: Kanda Yuu from D Gray Man

If the Munakata shows us blue’s cool and composed side, Kanda Yuu shows us just how explosive a character with blue hair can get. Deeply troubled and excessively violent, Kanda is one exorcist you do not want to mess with. Even before D Gray Man came back with Hallow, Kanda was one of my all time favourite fighters. After the last weeks of Hallow, knowing more about his back story, he may very well become one of my all time favourite characters ever. Certainly one of the most tragic.

Number 2: Ikuto Tsukyomi from Shugo Chara

This may seem a weird choice after the last two entries but Ikuto had to be here. Blue haired cat boy who plays the violin. I’m sorry, it doesn’t get much better than that. Whether he is playing the jaded teen, the playful (and sometimes slightly cruel cat) or is getting lost in the sound of his violin, Ikuto is the mysterious blue haired stranger that most girls kind of hope will show up in their lives (although not in their cupboards). He’s a great character with a troubled past (surprise) but his connection with Amu and his ongoing transformation is one of the strengths of the series.

Number 1: Grimmjow Jaggerjack from Bleach

I wonder if there was ever any doubt in my mind that Grimmjow would come in at number 1? For anyone who has watched Bleach, you know there is a ridiculously large cast of characters. Even amongst that enormous cast, Grimmjow distinguishes himself and drives himself into the mind of every single viewer. Whether they remember him for being psychotically violent, ultimately tragic, or as the guy who actually got Orihime to heal Ichigo so that he could have a fair fight and then lost that battle, Grimmjow made his time on screen count. His electric blue hair is every bit as important to who he is as a character as his sneer, his laugh and his insane levels of violence even in a world where everything is settled by violence. Grimmjow, you are definitely my number 1 male character with blue hair.

Who would you have put on your list? Share your thoughts below.