First of all, what do I mean by a “lovable” character? Nothing romantic, and certainly nothing sexual. Rather there is just something about the character, probably an idiosyncrasy, which renders him/her as lovable by the audience. My Top 10 in reverse order:
10. Arusu from Tweeny Witches. Arusu is a mortal with a sense of naïve idealism. She wants magic to make the world a better place for people. So she goes off to the witches’ realm to study. First she becomes their prisoner, and then partners to Sheila and Eva, winning your heart in the process.
9. Conti from FLCL. You gotta love Conti. True he is just a robot, but he tries so hard to be human. Unfortunately we learn from FLCL Progressive that Conti’s fate may not have been a pleasant one. But that’s the least reason not to watch FLCL Progressive.
8. Mayuri from Stiens; Gate. Normally, a person in their early to mid-20’s acting like a 10-year-old is annoying. But when Mayuri does it, she is just so cute! Even her toot-toot-tooting when she enters a room makes her adorable. An apparent tragedy endears her more to us.
7. Mame, Kara, and Iwa from A Letter to Momo. All three have to be considered together since it takes all three to be a half-wit. But these demons have their hearts in the right place helping Momo cope with the death of her father.
6. Haruhi from Ouran High School Host Club. Short haired, small breasted Haruhi can be mistaken for a boy, but yes she is a girl. And a girl with a warm heart, she wins over the members of the Host Club. And she would have won the heart of Tamaki had the series continued.
5. Princess Euphemia from Code Geass. With the exception of Nunnally, Euphie is the one member of the royal family who is not pretentious about their position. She truly cares for the common people, and even makes friends with Nina when they finally meet, although Nina wants a bit more than friendship. A pure soul, her death at the end of season one left a hole in the hearts of CG fans.
4. Retsuko from Aggretsuko. I still have no idea what kind of animal she is. Is she a small bear? Or a fox? Or dog? Or cat? What I do know is that Retsuko is an everywoman. She represents every working girl in their mid-20’s who must cope with a sexist boss, annoying co-workers, and the fact that she can’t find Mr. Right. Though it all, Retsuko remains so cute – when she is not singing death metal in a karaoke club.
3. Isaac and Miria from Baccano. As we saw at #7 above, stupid can be cute. And again, we have to combine characters, for Isaac cannot be mentioned without Miria and visa versa. No, there does not seen to be any romantic relationship between the two. Their relationship is platonic and professional. You see, these two are professional thieves. Dumb thieves yes, but still criminals. But their hearts are in the right place. They will help a friend in need. It’s especially interesting watching Isaac rationalize his actions using some rather faulty logic.
2. Pino from Ergo Proxy. This cute little girl is actually an android. But a virus gives her self-awareness. Always the child, Pino has one of the most insightful line in the entire series when she asks, “Is Pino Pino?” Often dressed in her bunny outfit, Pino is a charmer. She is also, along with the monster Vincent, one of the two most human characters in the series.
1. Mako from Kill la Kill. Essentially, Mako is Ryuko’s sidekick – a somewhat dim, but hyperactive sidekick. It is actually little Mako who sets the pace for the series as the other characters, and the audience, try to keep up. You can’t help loving little Mako.
Honorable Mentions:
Ochako from My Hero Academia.
Yachiru from Bleach
Anri from Durarara
Edward from Cowboy Bebop
Ringo from Casshern Sins
Kaori from Your Lie in April
Your turn!
Bookmarks