It kind of surprised me when I started short listing anime characters in suits just how many there were. Not just characters who perpetually wear a suit but characters who had that suit for a special occasion and just looked awesome in it. So many characters ended up on my short list I had to be pretty brutal to narrow it down to just 5 characters.
Naturally, as with all my lists, these are my choices and I’d love to know which characters would appear on your list (if you were to write one). So be sure to leave a comment or you can add your picks on Twitter.
Who are the best anime characters in suits?
Obviously this one is an incredibly subjective list. I mean we could be looking at just good characters that happen to wear suits but no, I’m being far more superficial. I’m just looking for characters I loved seeing in a suit because I thought they looked good in it.
So on that note I actually excluded one of my more obvious choices, Sebastian Michaels from Black Butler, because I decided that his suit was his butler uniform and when I let uniforms onto the list it just got way too long. Similarly the cast of Psycho Pass (specifically Shinya Kogame and Yayoi Kunizuka) were also excluded on the same grounds. Shame, because they look awesome so here’s a look anyway.
One more exclusion and that was Tuxedo Mask. Honestly this one was just because he’s so incredibly lame in a fight and while Sailor Moon Crystal actually gives him a little bit of bite, my main memory of this character comes from the 90’s version of the anime and well I mostly thought Tuxedo Mask was a dork.
Number 5: Sven from Black Cat
For a broke sweeper, Sven sure doesn’t let that effect his dress sense.
Of all the anime characters in suits, I kind of had to include Sven on this list because he’s largely overlooked. However he’s a character with a magic eye that can see a few seconds into the future (wait that seems weirdly familiar like something I saw just this season in another anime) and also manages to deal with the infamous Black Cat and keeps him alive even when Train (the Black Cat) himself doesn’t seem to care whether he lives or dies, Sven really does deserve more credit.
Besides, this suit wearing, down on his luck, broke, chain-smoking bounty hunter shares a lot of similar traits with another one that will appear later on the list and it only seemed fair to share the love.
What I really want to know is how this Black Cat character manages to keep that white suit looking so pristine while living on the road and going through half the situations he survives.
Number 4: Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop
Weirdly I still haven’t reviewed Cowboy Bebop even though I finally watched the anime in 2020 and bought the DVD of it. Every time I think about starting a rewatch something else kind of comes along and distracts me and I really do need to do a deep rewatch before I review it. I somehow suspect I’ll review the live action adaptation before I actually get to reviewing the anime but with a well-loved property like Cowboy Bebop I kind of have to give the review a little bit of extra love and care.
That said, I can safely say that Spike Spiegel is one good looking anime character in a suit.
While he shares many characteristics with Sven (other than lacking a magic eye), I will admit Spike is several levels cooler and honestly he’s just such a well put together character.
Plus, blue is a much better colour for a suit than white particularly if you are going to be chasing people and getting into shoot outs in bars. I’m still not convinced it’s the best attire for someone in that line of work but there’s definitely a fashion statement being made here.
Number 3 – November 11 from Darker Than Black
What is it with anime characters in suits who are also smokers? Is there some weird correlation that says if they wear a suit they also need to smoke. Sorry, I just realised that my number 5, 4 and 3 are all smokes even if number 3, November 11, is not a voluntary smoker.
November 11 is with MI-6 and is a contractor who uses ice to great effect (don’t be near any liquid if you are about to tick him off). He also has a really dry sense of humour and quite regularly delivers quite out-there statements in dead-pan delivery making it hard to discern when he is being serious or when he is having you on.
Now, it could have been argued that the suit was his uniform but given all of the other members of his team are pretty much wearing what they like, I’m going to assume that snazzy suit is very much his own preference and that makes November 11 a powerful character who makes me laugh and realistically could (and should) have his own series. I’d love to know what adventures he got up to prior to the events in Darker Than Black.
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Number 2 – Firo from Baccano
We had to get a gangster anime on here eventually and Baccano is still my favourite that looks at gangsters in America. And of all the characters I really narrowed it down to either Isaac, who along with Miria nearly steals the whole show, or Firo. Ultimately though that choice of green and that hat just sold it to Firo. Plus as the anime itself says, Firo is kind of main-characterish.
Firo is a member of the Camorra family and rising in the ranks despite being a pretty nice guy who doesn’t really come across as a criminal. However, he spends a lot of the series, at least when he’s on screen, getting shot at or chasing after Ennis. Still, he’s a lot of fun as a character and he’s got some skills. Also, he’s either really brave or really foolish (as only the young can be when they assume they are bullet proof) and either way that makes him look pretty cool on screen.
And that’s all before he actually becomes bullet proof.
That he’s an anime character in a great suit, even if it is a little dated, just makes him even more awesome.
Number 1 – Yuri and Victor from Yuri on Ice
Do I need a justification for putting Yuri on Ice on a list?
Anime characters in suits and looking good? yep, that’s Victor and Yuri. I mean, Victor wears a suit as Yuri’s coach several times throughout the series but it is episode 10, when we see the events from the night of the party where Yuri first asked Victor to be his coach where we see the both of them in suits and through the various camera reels on the phones of the characters we see that Victor and Yuri looked really good in those suits, or in Yuri’s case as he started losing the suit.
I also love that Yuri finds an appropriate use for Victor’s tie as Victor stands beside the rink. I mean if you are going to have an anime character in a suit, at least the suit needs to serve a purpose.
Anyway, it is pretty clear for anyone who has followed my blog since the beginning, I fell in love with Yuri on Ice, I still love it now, and these characters look great in suits. I love all the fan-art out there with these two and both their ice-skating costumes and various suits and casual wear. Basically they look great together and I want more of them.
These were my favourite five anime characters in suits but as always I’d love to know what my readers think and who they would nominate so be sure to leave a comment before you go.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James
The producer from Idolmaster Cinderella Girls (the only one
Well if you ever do a best anibloggers in suites…. I hope I can at least get an honorable mention. Sorry I couldn’t dig up something from long forgotten past but you know been there done that, choo-choo. Unless you don’t know then umm…. ignore that. Yeah glad you’re not dead.
Overall not a bad list, checks out to me.
Integra Hellsing 🙂
Of course Spike Spiegel! Besides, the first suit I ever owned was a double-breasted job (though not blue) so how could he not??? Bummer about your criteria, though, ’cause I was gonna suggest every damned Enforcer from Psycho-Pass *especially Kunizuka) but, well, yeah, you have a point…
They do wear suits well in Psycho Pass. Just too many uniforms in anime that resemble suits. I had to narrow the list down somehow.
I absolutely agree with all of these! Spike Spiegel looked darn good in a suit. I totally forgot how great Victor and Yuri looked in their suits, thank you for reminding me!
Glad you liked the list. I will take any excuse to include Victor and Yuri on a list.