gommyommy

I love most anime characters, but occasionally, one comes along who I dread to see each time they appear. Prince Soma from Kuroshitsuji is such a character for me. He’s a pathetic, spoiled brat, who eventually realizes this about himself, and you start to sympathize with him. But in the manga, he just never freakin’ seems to go away and I say ‘oh no’ every time he’s back. Sorry, Prince Soma, you are pretty to look at but please shut your mouth.

Pandora Hearts is undoubtedly my favorite right now. The reread value on this story is so high…it seriously gets better each time you read it. It’s the only one I’ve bothered to buy the Japanese volumes of (so I can see the pictures clearly, even though I can read very little Japanese). It’s the one I write Fanfiction for, and the one I wish someone around me actually had read so that I would have someone to talk about it with. (Hello? Husband?)

Ah well, I’m slowly finding an online community of Pandora Hearts-obsessed virtual friends…thank you all for being here and helping me keep my sanity. There will be much more raving here about Pandora Hearts and its characters in the months to come, I’m sure.

Click the Pandora Hearts tag and scroll down to see what I’ve already blathered about so far.

One of the challenges of writing characters who have names that are not commonly found in your culture is that you don’t usually have a clear idea what those names connote for people. For example, in the United States, certain names bring certain stereotypical images to mind, and when a mangaka uses one of those names for a character and it does not fit, the result can be rather disconcerting.
 

15-year old Allen Walker of D. Gray-man charmed me into downloading 103 episodes of anime, most of which I have not watched. I’m currently on book 8 of the series, and am enjoying it for the most part. But I have to say at least a third of my enjoyment is simply due to the presence of this sweet little cursed exorcist with a deformed arm and an eye that can detect the presence of demons.

Few kids have a sadder past than (roughly 14 year old) Teito Klein from 07-Ghost. [spoilers ahoy] His Dad was killed, he was sent into slavery and then the army. His worst enemy killed his best friend. He’s ill prepared to take on the task he was born to do in the world. Teito has a ton of growing up to do, and he’s going to do it under the care of a buff, porn-loving Bishop who is slowly being overtaken by evil.

12 year old Ciel Phantomhive (of Kuroshitsuji) has been through a lot in his short life. His parents killed, his house burned down, tortured and tormented…and then, in a fit of God-hating frustration, he makes a contract with a demon, whom he names Sebastian. Sebastian is supposed to keep him alive until he enacts his version of revenge, and then, Sebastian will eat Ciel’s soul in exchange.

Grelle is one of those love him or hate him sort of characters. I have to say, that if you are reading/watching Kuroshitsuji and you haven’t gotten through the Jack the Ripper story arc yet, much of what I’m about to say will be spoilers.

I’m including Grelle as genderqueer because although he is male, he has said himself in a character guide that he thinks God should have made him a woman. Indeed, he prances about, acts quite girly at times, and wants to have Sebastian’s babies.

Raikou Shimizu from Nabari No Ou is the classic pretty boy, but he’s not just standing around looking fey with his pink hair, he’s rocking the house with his sword and his personality. Like his sister Raimei, he has strong beliefs and backs them up with action. He’s a lousy driver and a bit of a sadist, but you can’t help but side with this not-so-bad guy after getting to know him.

Yoite from Nabari No Ou presents as a male (albeit one who is described as “beautiful” and having long eyelashes), and male pronouns are used throughout the majority of the story. But about halfway through you find out he is “neither male nor female” and this gender confusion may have contributed to his sense of having no place in the world.

Not everyone in this world can be neatly categorized into “male” or “female.” I’ll be happy when our culture (I’m in the USA) has evolved enough to include intersex and differently gendered people in all aspects of life. A good start would be non-gender specific bathrooms everywhere, and a choice for “other” in the sex category on the census.

Manga is great for including characters whose gender is unclear or specifically neither male nor female. I’ll be profiling such characters in manga as I come across them.