Before I officially begin this post, I need to say something. I need to apologize to everyone for not pulling my weight. I was brought onto this site to be a writer and when I first got the job, I was excited as hell. My view and opinions were recognized by someone who thought that others would also appreciate them. Naturally as with anything, that excitement begins to wear off and the thought of "Damn, I have to get a post up this week, don't I?" began cropping up more and more. I then decided that instead of just doing reviews of series, I'd try to go indepth on certian aspects of the anime/manga world. This involved starting long posts that I still haven't finished yet. Either way, I haven't been doing my job and I really have no excuse for it other than my own laziness. I can't use schoolwork as an excuse because I barely do it to begin with. I can't blame it on work since I don't have a job and while I do have chores around the house do to (who doesn't) mine still shouldn't distract me from my other responsibilities on this site. So, ladies and gentlemen, please accept my humblest apologies and please enjoy my eighteenth post for...
The Broken Infinite.
Today is Mother's Day, plain and simple. It's a day devoted to cherishing and acknowledging the efforts of our mothers, the people responsible for bringing us into this world. Anime and manga, while they normally don't focus on the parents of the protagonist, often enough
do acknowledge that the parents are there...most times. This post in particular is dedicated to my personal favorite anime and manga moms. I think I'll keep it simple and just do my personal favorite 5 moms.
Number 5 is Eri Kisaki/Eva Kaden from
Detective Conan. In a series of cops and teen detectives Eri is the lone lawyer and is
very good at her job. Her eye for details is so good that at one point she fills in for her detective husband and with some help from her best friend, manages to solve the case. Eri ranks at the bottom of this list though because her husband Kogoro is the one raising their now teenage daughter. That's no to say that Eri doesn't do her part when she's there as it's clear that Ran takes a lot after her. It's just that compared to the other character in the series and especially compared to the other moms on this list, Eri doesn't get enough screen time per season to warrant her anymore attention on this list.
Number 4 is Bulma Briefs. The
DragonBall fanchise is known for many things, among them is it's lack of women but this woman pretty much kick started the ENTIRE PLOT! Honestly, I don't think we ever take into account how screwed the series would've been without Bulma! If she hadn't wanted the Dragonballs to wish for the perfect boyfriend, Goku would've probably stayed where he was his entire life, never venturing out into the wide world. Now Bulma might not be much of a fighter but she's a technological genius and a girl who knows how to get what she wants from others. While she's by no means the only mother on
DragonBallZ she is, to an extent, the only one that acutally matters. Without her Dragon Radar, the entire cast would be screwed out of their minds. As for her parenting, we don't really get to see much of it but it can be assumed that Bulma is a fine mother to Trunks. Smart and capable, Bulma Briefs is most deserving of her spot as number 4 on this list.
Now number 3 might seem a little bit odd considering that Nodoka Saotome of
Ranma 1/2 didn't get much screentime in either the anime or manga but at least when she showed up in the manga, it was a memorable chapter. Protagonist Ranma Saotome unknowingly made an agreement with his father and mother to become the manliest man in the world or else commit seppuku which is traditional samurai suicide. Ranma's particular affliction of becoming a girl when doused with cold water manages to complicate this promise and his mother is determined to follow up on it. In most of Nodoka's appearances, Ranma is in his female form as Ranko trying to hide in plain sight from his own mother who only wants to see her son. Most of these chapters end with Ranma managing to fool his mother once again but in volume 34 the cat's out of the bag when Nodoka is finally made aware of the secret that Ranma's been hiding for so long. Due to the circumstances involved though, Nodoka decides to spare her son's life and is able to accept him as he is, be it in male or female form. I love Nodoka's warm and caring personality. From her introduction to the series to the very end, it's clear that she's a wonderful person who wants nothing more than to see her son. She acts very warmly when around the Tendos and instantly forms a bond with Akane and Ranma despite not knowing who she really is. That's why Nodoka ranks at number 3 on this list.
Now I know that most anyone who's made it this far down the list is wondering why in the world my number 2 is ChiChi from
DragonBall. Well, I'm going to tell you. Of all the shonen protagonists, one of my least favorites is Goku. I liked him well enough as a child but as an adult I must say that I'm not very impressed with him as a father. Goku is borderline neglectful in a roundabout way. It's clear that he loves his family and friends dearly but the Earth is always in constant danger so he's rarely ever around to provide them with the love and care that they need, never mind worry about them scholastically. That's where ChiChi comes in. ChiChi abjectly refuses to allow her oldest and first born son Gohan turn out like his father and I actually have to applaud her for this. Really think about this. In most of the arguments ChiChi causes with others about Gohan needing to fight to save the world, he's what...not even ten years old? The Saiyans, Freezia, and Cell were all battles that took place before Gohan had even hit puberty. Whats more, ChiChi is
married to
Goku. There's barely an intelligent thought running through that brain and ChiChi knows it. This is why as early as the Saiyan Saga ChiChi is prepping her son to become something more socially worthwhile than savior of the galaxy. It's also why she instantly begins shipping Gohan/Videl. The girl is loaded and between his smarts and her cash, Gohan could go to a
very fine college. Also by the time Goten was born, ChiChi had considerably mellowed out enough to
personally train the boy in martial arts. Yeah, the series doesn't like to show it very much but ChiChi is still very much the badass even as a housewife.
And now, my number 1 favorite anime mom is Junko Kaname from
Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Junko is probably the mom with the best on screen relationship ever portrayed in anime and manga. She's always there for Madoka when she needs to go to someone for advice or questions and she's a remarkably self sufficient woman. We don't know all that much about her though as the series focuses on her daughter but what we do see of her is simply amazing. Her realtionship with Madoka is one of my favorite aspects of the show because in a lot of Magical Girl anime, the parental relationships don't really matter all that much. The parents are there to show that they do exist but a lot of the time they don't do very much that's essential to the plot. Junko's in a similar position. She doesn't do anything directly to affect the plot but it's due to her advice that Madoka ends up doing some of the things that she does. Aside from that she's a beautiful woman and a great personality. The kind of parent that their child can freely talk to about anything is a rare thing indeed, especially in anime and manga.
Well, that's it! I know that this post doesn't make up for all the weeks I've missed, but it's definitely a start. I'll see you all again NEXT week, DaWaRou~!
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