DaWaRou Posts: My Favorite Anime/Manga Moms

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~!

DaWaRou Posts: The Shonen Idiot Protagonist

Good day everyone! HAPPY 2013~! Yes, we are in a new year, cool isn't it? Pretty much the same as the start of last year except no Apocalypse bullshit to worry about! And so, what better way to ring in the new year than to talk about something I've talked about in my own blog?! Yes! Today I'm going to repost something word for word from my old blog but it should still be a good and very very very long read. Ladies and Gents, I'm John Cortez and this is my ninth post for The Broken Infinite!

Welcome to my Introduction to Shonen series! Here I'll be covering the usual staples of a Shonen manga/anime and giving, what I hope can be, an opinionated and in depth analysis on these topics. I figure that with so many common things that appear in these series, it's best to start with what's probably the most common and that is the Idiot Hero.

Ahh yes, the Idiot Hero. What Shonen series don't have you as the shining star? (Death Note, Soul Eater, Yu-Gi-Oh, Detective Conan, FullMetal Alchemist, To Aru Majutsu no Index, Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning, Bloody Monday, Negima, Bleach, Fairy Tail, Nurarihyon no Mago, Ruroni Kenshin)
Well, anyways, the vast majority of Shonen series usually star an idiot as the central protagonist. He (and it's usually a he) will be of school age and failing miserably, getting low grades and being hounded by his teachers and mocked by his peers. Some series have a justification for having such a person as the main character for example little Son Goku of DragonBall over here! Son Goku was a Sayian baby sent to Earth and at one point hit his head on a rock. Raised by his "Grandfather" Gohan in the mountains and being taught only language and martial arts, Goku is not the brightest bulb in the box although he does seem to get progressively smarter as the series goes on. Goku's main deal though was that he lacked interaction with other people for most of his early life. Once Bulma showed up and took him away from his little mountain home, Goku started learning more about the world. In addition to this, once he began training with Master Roshi, he received some education from the old pervert in between his training. Goku's stupidity also played into his main character flaw in the early series of being very gullible and susceptible to manipulation. Despite this, Goku remained pure of heart and ever the optimist who always believed that things would turn out right in the end and it also made him very enjoyable to watch. Goku lacked the social skills and street smarts of Bulma and Krillin but remained the one who'd always risk his life to save any and everyone he possibly could, even a rat. As stupid as he was though, Goku wasn't foolish enough to not fully recognize a threat when he saw one, at least as the series went on. By the time DragonBallZ rolled around, Goku was able to recognize every single enemy that appeared and dealt with them without actually killing them himself. This is in stark contrast to his behavior in the original series where Goku was quite willing to kill those who murdered his friends or tried to harm innocent people.


The question is why? Why have a character like this? What's the point? What does it accomplish? What does the reader get out of rooting for some dumbass who can't even count past 12? How does it benefit the story and what kind of development, if any, can come from having a character like this? Well, let's look at a few more idiot heroes and see of those questions are answered.
I guess it'd be best to just kind of answer these questions one by one or all at the same time for each example I give on this page. Hmm, well I'll figure it out but once again back to those questions. Namely the first one, why have a character like this? Over the years, I've seen MANY Idiot Heroes but I'm pretty sure that America was exposed to one rather decent one during the 90's!You thought it was going to be Ash from Pokemon...didn't you? Well I'll get to Ash at a later point. The first example we're going to look at for this example is Taichi Yagami/Tai Kamiya from Digimon Adventure. Staring a group of kids that got sent to an alternate world and paired with strange creatures called Digimon, Taichi was the most distinctive among the entire group it it won't take you long to figure out why. One of the things I should've mentioned earlier about the Idiot Shonen Hero or the I.S.H as I'll refer to them is that this character is usually more Western or American looking in contrast to the usually more Asian or Japanese looking Rival. There are exceptions to every "rule" and Tai here is one of them. At the start of the series Tai was a standard Shonen Lead character. Strong willed, impulsive, brash and always the first to voice his opinion on what to do next. Tai was also ALWAYS first when it came to having his Digimon digivolve whenever a new form was available. His reason for being an idiot? Well, Tai wasn't really an idiot, not exactly. Tai was more naive, no, more...explosively emotional, if that. Tai was a fighter. He was the dynamic and action oriented leader that the group would later look to when in need of someone to make a decision. In the series Tai is often contrasted and foiled by Yamato Ishida/Matt who was the level headed over-thinker. This level head is something that Tai would later start to develop as he'd become a true leader, the glue that held his group of friends together. Generally, Tai would be the one to say and do what many of us watching the show would've done if in the same situation. Explore the island, fight the monsters, climb the mountain, beat the bad guys...whatever the decision was that needed to be made, lots of us were behind Tai when he made his. So maybe this is why we have the I.S.H. We're meant to be able to relate to them and picture ourselves in their situations. But isn't this somewhat the point of ALL main characters, idiots or not? Aren't we meant to relate to them in some way from the start? Well let's look at another example and see what we get out of it!

Now, this is probably scraping at the bottom of the barrel in terms of great shonen protagonist but, this is one that I really like. Shonen heroes are usually average kids thrown into strange or fantastic situations and part of the joy of watching them is to see how they react and adapt to their new life. Some take it better than others though as Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada from Katekyo Hitman Reborn is among the most unsuited protagonists to his story that I've ever seen. Now unlike Tai who could really only be called an idiot in part due to the overwhelming maturity of those surrounding him, Tsuna is a scholastic nightmare as far as most people are concerned. He has the worst grades, can't do anything athletic to save his life and is overall a pathetic loser that only bothers going to school because of the girl he has a crush on and she barely even knows he exists before the plot kicks in. Tsuna's life changes forever when a baby in a suit appears and claims to be his new Home Tutor and the greatest hitman to boot. Reborn, as the baby is known, takes an active an over the top approach to turning Tsuna into that which he is destined to be, the 10th generation heir to the most powerful Mafia family in the world. This includes physically beating him up on a daily basis and putting him through hell as well as shooting him with magical bullets that resurrect him with his dying will. Tsuna is likely an idiot because the writer said so. He's more similar to a Harem Hero if anything. Well, scratch that, he's actually very much like Shinji Ikari from Evangelion. He's a coward with little to no backbone and utterly fails to stand up for himself. He's indecisive and almost useless and not at all worthy of being a Mafia boss. Similar to Tai though, Tsuna has shades of being the normal one among his friends. Tsuna is always the one who wants to avoid fighting or confronting the enemy but always the first to put his life on the line for his friends and he brings a very humane element to his Family. Also similar to Tai, Tsuna is a character that I'm sure people can relate to. A useless wimp with no real talents when it comes to anything that suddenly finds out he's destined to do something he'd never even dream of. It's his compassion that makes him an endearing character but for Tsuna it speaks volumes for him as a person. He's got no business trying to lead anyone but is so often looked to when shit goes down that he eventually becomes somewhat comfortable with his position enough to inspire his friends to fight battles of epic proportions. So maybe this is why. Regardless of what we start off as we're fully capable of being greater than what we appear to be. We're capable of rising up from the depths of our own uselessness and mediocrity and become something or someone worthy of leading a group of trusted friends to what could most definitely be certain death. We are meant to empathize and at the same time criticize Tsuna because as great of a leader as he becomes, its' out of necessity and not a natural thing he just has from the start of the series. His idiocy and desire to distance himself from the life that's already been chosen for him is a contributing factor to his being an idiot because he doesn't want to be involved with that world. He wants to be normal which is something that many heroes like him also wish for but can usually never get. And now that I've mentioned them...it's time to talk about the next kind of Idiot Hero.

The Harem Idiot Hero...GOD I HATE SOME OF THESE PROTAGONISTS! Never the less, I need to talk about them as I need to cover all kinds of Idiots in this post. This idiot is Keitaro Urashima from possibly one of the best Harem manga ever written by Ken Akamatsu, Love Hina. Staring a high school graduate that's been trying desperately to get into Tokyo University to fulfill some promise to a girl he can barely remember, Keitaro ventures to his grandmother's inn and learns two things. The first is that its' no longer an Inn it's an all girls dorm and the second is that he's the new manager. All guys reading this and thinking of how awesome it'd be, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! The life of a Harem Hero is among the lowest positions for ANY protagonist and Keitaro has it the worst. Why is Keitaro an idiot? Well he keeps failing to get into the school of his choice Tokyo University. But to but this into context for you, Tokyo University is the highest ranking University in all of Asia, the most prestigious in Japan and 21st in the entire world. He's basically trying to get into one of the GREATEST schools in the entire world and fails about 3 times in his attempt to do so before finally getting accepted. Why else is he an idiot? Because he's the main character in a Harem series and they are bound by the constraints of their role as resident punching bag. Keitaro suffers from a nearly endless bout of bad luck as being the only man in an all girls dorm, no one is smart enough to lock the doors or make sure that there's no way anyone can see you naked or walk in while you're changing. It's not so much that he's an idiot, because Keitaro is fairly smart. It's just that he ends up in stupid situations because everyone else in his life seems to conspire to make his life horrible. The point of a Harem Hero is roughly the same as the main character of a Visual Novel or a Twilight novel. Men are meant to plug themselves in and pick their favorite girl and then hope they can get with them in the end. It's entirely obvious who Keitaro will end up with in the end if you've never read the series and decide to try it, but it's rewarding to see how hard each character has to work in order to get the happy ending that they want. Unfortunately polygamy isn't legal in Japan to my knowledge so only one girl gets the gold and the others keep pining after him even on his wedding day but are otherwise respectful enough to not get in the way of his happiness. Character development is a MAJOR factor of this series and while the characters keep their basic personalities intact, they're allowed and somewhat forced to mature due to the main focus of the series being love...and comedy. So Keitaro is an idiot because, of course, no girl wants a man that's perfectly premade for them. They want someone who's being pursued by several other females and despite all of his short comings, grows into a man worthy of their affections. It also helps to have a man that's slightly immortal and later learns archaeology and martial arts.

So by this point we've covered three very different but very similar characters and what questions have we answered? Well let's ask those questions again. Why do we have characters like this? Probably to give us someone to relate to. Few people want a story in which there are no relatable characters and we especially want to empathize and sympathize and relate to the lead character. We see the world through their eyes and most of the time the world is fairly unkind to them simply because the plot says so. The three examples listed above are all examples of characters that developed significantly past their basic I.S.H. status. They became capable of holding their own and carrying a good portion of the story on their own backs. Now, let's look at some more. These next ones will be a bit more...I don't know. They're typical but they're not at the same time and my opinions on them are a bit more...well...here we go.

Ahh, the very epitome of a MANLY hero! When people speak of Team Dai-Gurren's fearless badass leader...they're talking about Kamina from Gurren Lagann. This little number came out of a studio called Gainax. Sound familar? No? Well what about Evangelion, FLCL and Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt? Yeah, Gainax did those and this. In perfect honesty, Kamina is NOT the protagonist or even the main character of TTGL despite the fact that he's the driving force behind nearly EVERY single action and he's mentioned in EVERY SINGLE EPISODE OF THIS 27 EPISODE SERIES! Yeah, he also gets a statue and a city and seriously the most awesome pair of sunglasses and the most attractive male of this series so he must be important, right? WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK HE IS?!  Well, Kamina is at first glace the typical Idiot Shonen Character. He's LOUD! He's PASSIONATE! He's an IDIOT of the highest caliber with the drive and determination to lead and inspire others to do their absolute best. He fits the bill much better than our actual protagonist Simon who starts off as someone very similar to Shinji Ikari. Kamina will face a giant Mecha with a sword, peep on girls in the bath, and try to win fights with pure will power. He's most definitely an act first, think later type of person...but he's not. Underneath all that masculine badassery and overwhelming passionate idiocy, Kamina is a far more complex character. True, Kamina is an idealist and a determined manly badass, but the idiocy is more or less a facade to mask his more or less truly grounded in reality mindset. Kamina is a strategist and despite it not seeming so, he's QUITE sharp. He merely acts this way so that the others around him, mainly Simon, won't be too afraid to do anything when the shit hits the fan. His actions are usually dumb but at times he's capable of brilliance that makes you say, "Hmm, that actually sounds pretty smart." And so we've already answered the question of why Kamina is an Idiot. It's out of necessity because his team needs someone with his foolish arrogance and unrestrained pride, willpower and determination to lead them out of the darkness and into the light of a new world and a new life. And I think that's all I'll say about Kamina before I get into spoiler territory.

Now he's a story I'd have LOVED to see become it's own spinoff manga. I mentioned earlier that Ruroni Kenshin was one of the few manga I've read that doesn't star the usual I.S.H. but that doesn't mean that there isn't a character like that in the series. I present to you Yahiko Miyojin as one of my interesting examples. At the beginning, Yahiko was just a bratty kid that Kenshin and Kaoru took in and despite my always liking Kenshin, Kaoru, Megumi and Sanosuke I always really liked Yahiko's story lines and subplots. He was the kid character, the one that most readers were probably meant to relate to. As for why he's an idiot? He's a street urchin so it's justified. As the series went on, Yahiko became a far more active character than his teacher Kaoru and was even able to take out some pretty heavy hitters along the way all by himself. At the end of the manga, Yahiko was 15 years old and the kind of character people wanted to read more about, well at least I wanted to read more about him. Sure, his happy ending was already set up. He got Kenshin's reverse blade sword, mastered the Kamiya Kashin Style and even got Tsubame as a girlfriend in addition to being able to catch swords and break them with his knuckles! That's everything you need for a continuation, but I guess that's what fanfiction is for isn't it? You know, I can see why Kenshin was a better protagonist than Yahiko and Sanosuke. Kenshin had a mysterious past and a troubled history. He was a former assassin and a complex character. But as I said in my review of the series, if this were a typical Shonen series, Yahiko or Sanosuke would've been the main characters. But now I feel like I've gotten off topic. Yahiko was interesting because he was the little kid character that wanted to be a man. He wanted to be taken seriously and respected and treated like he was a valued member of the team insetad of that kid that was just allowed to tag along for the ride and fight a few times. He brought that childish outlook to the series that made it a bit more enjoyable and he grew into a strong man when everything was all said and done. And I guess that's why he didn't get his own spinoff manga. Not only did we finish Kenshin's story but in doing so we also finished Yahiko's. We saw the little kid who wanted to learn swordsmanship grow into a capable man and that's really all we needed to know.

First let me start by saying that I LOVE THIS PICTIRE! Second, we've reached...what can probably be described the Dork Age of DBZ with this picture. Yeah, I'd like to know what editor proclaimed from on high, "We should put Gohan in High School!" Well, I think we can also agree that this was probably the worst arc of the entire series. So why am I even bringing it up? Well to start off I was searching the internet for a picture of Gohan going to school for about an hour so that's one reason. And the second reason is that while I'm well aware that Gohan isn't an idiot in the intellectual sense, he still can be described as an idiot in some ways due to his actions at this point in the story. See we all remember that Goku died trying to beat Cell ONLY because Gohan over here didn't kill him when he actually had the chance to do so. Then Gohan killed him and we had a Time Skip! The point of this was that Toriyama felt that Goku's story had finally come to an end and it was time for him to pass the torch to his oldest son, Son Gohan. This arc focused on Gohan going to High School and playing superhero to avoid people pestering him about his powers, you know simple shit that's been done the world over by this point. Now to be perfectly honest...I LOVE THIS ARC! No joke, it's probably my favorite arc of the entire series. Why? Well because we get to watch Gohan act like an idiot. We the audience are laughing at him as opposed to with him due largely to how near needless this arc is. In personal opinion though I still like it, even if it does make me feel embarrassed for Gohan at times. Gohan would've made for a rather decent protagonist had Toriyama decided to keep Goku out of the picture. The kind and gentle nature, the need to help everyone in need and the well of unused power resting within him makes Gohan a character that I'd enjoy watching go to high school and try to struggle with keeping his powers a secret while fighting increasingly powerful opponents as opposed to having Buu come in right from the get go and I kind of think that that's what Toriyama wanted to do but I guess the world hadn't gotten enough of his idiot father and thus the world got the goody goody that failed to kill pretty much any major villain throughout the entirety of the series. Now how does Gohan fit into this discussion on idiot heroes? Well Gohan has the same traits that I think a lot of more intelligent Shonen heroes usually suffer from. Gohan is smart and intelligent but he's also socially awkward and like his dad, not very in touch with how the modern world works. He's an idiot in the sense that he just doesn't really use common sense. Any logical person in his situation would simply let the police or Videl handle the bad guys but Gohan being Gohan can't allow any innocent person to be harmed or any wrong doer to go unpunished. So, he dons a colorful costume and makes a fool out of himself and it doesn't take long for Videl to figure out who he really is especially in the manga where she discovers him the first time he uses his new hero identity. I guess one can also make the case that Gohan is an idiot for letting his father die during the Cell Games. Yeah, that might be a low blow but it's true. Once Gohan finally snapped, EVERYONE knew that he was perfectly capable of killing Cell and ending this shitstorm. What did he do? He drew the battle out and played with his opponent like Vegeta and this is largely due to lacking two things that his father and Vegata both possess. Gohan lacks his fahter's tactical battle skills, if you can call them that and the killer intent of Vegeta. This would've been a WONDERFUL chance to explore the potential problems these flaws could've caused but no. Goku comes back and the rest is history. Such a waste. Honestly, have Videl get kidnapped by someone or something with ACTUAL power, nothing like Buu but something challenging for the young hero and then let's have this guy...wipe out a few major cities, kill some innocents and to cap it all off...mortally wound Gohan's family and loved ones while still threatening his lady love. This sounds like something I'm sure some fanfic writer has come up with and out of the first 10 pages of the DBZ section on fanfiction.net only 10 stories focus on Gohan in high school and none of them seem to utilize that idea. Oh well, I think we'll look at two more atypical examples of this before looking at the three that EVERYONE seems to love for some reason or another.

Now, as I'm sure you're starting to notice, for these examples I'm not using the actual protagonists of the series. This is because of a certain trend I've noticed. When reasonably intelligent, level headed or outright average characters in a shonen series are in fact the main character, they're often paired with an idiot. Why this happens is anyone's guess but I guess I'm supposed to be the one to answer this question, aren't I? Well much like in the case of Kamina, let's see how these next three (yes three, hell I might even do 4) characters help to shape our lead.

 By far probably one of the best examples of being paried with an idiot charcater happens with Yugi Mutou from Yu-Gi-Oh! In his case, the small boy was paried with this guy, Katsuya Jonochi/Joey Wheeler. Joey started off as merely a playful antagonist to Yugi at the start of the series. A more unlikable and bullyish version of Kamina from Gurren Lagann. But Joey never physically caused Yugi harm or put him in danger...intentionally. Joey, for some reason or another, wanted to make Yugi a man and as previously stated, treats him in a similar manner to how Kamina treats Simon. But the thing that turns Joey into arguably the second most important character in the series among the supporting cast is when Yugi defends him and Hiroto Honda/Tristan Taylor from a bully. Joey returns the piece of Yugi's Millennium Puzzle to him and the two boys become best friends. Now Joey is straight up stupid, no doubt about that. He's headstrong, hot blooded and constantly rushes into thigns without thinking them through. He often relies on Yugi's help to win duels against far stronger and mroe experienced opponents and when that's not enouh, Joey relies on straight up dumb luck. Now why do I even bring up this character? Well, even if Joey isn't the main character he's still an idiot shonen character which is what this post is about. Since Yugi is the smart one in his group, Joey is the dumb muscle. But there's more to him than just that. As I'll cover in a later post, the power of Friendship is an important force in the land of Shonen and here it's among the strongest forces in the universe. The bonds of Friendship shared between Yugi and his friends resonate strongest in his friendship with Joey. In Japanese "Friendship" is translated as "Yujou" which and is made up of the first sylables of both Yugi and Joey's names. Their friendship is brought up constantly and is one of the reasons why Yugi is able to grow and develop into his own person. Because Joey was always there supporting Yugi, the boy was able to grow into becoming his own man...despite the fact that he also relied on the spirit of a 5,000 year old Pharaoh. Anyhow, the friendship between these two has been tested in just about every season to my knowledge and each time they're able to overcome this obstacle and become even stronger which culminates during Battle City where Yugi confesses that he loves Joey from the bottom of his heart, not as a LOVER but as an irreplaceable friend that he'd gladly risk his life and die for. Say what you want about this show but you've got to admit that the Idiot made a Man out of our main...sort of. That and FRIENDSHIP!

Once again we return to Ruroni Kenshin for a supporting Idiot. Now here we have a rather...unusual case...in a way. Often when paired with the idiot supporting character, our lead will be of reasonable intelligence but lacking in masculity or a backbone. Thus the idiot will often be the most masculine member of the cast and the best friend to our main and will try to man him up. Not so much in the case of Sanosuke Sagara. Kenshin's already a 28 year old man by the time he works his way into the plot and despite the protests of some that Bishonen characters aren't manly for some reason just because they're pretty looking, Kenshin is the established man with a backstory and everything. He's the one with the vow to never kill and goes out of his way to save people. Suck it up, Kenshin's more of man than Sano. Back on topic here, Sano serves to knock some much needed sense into our favorite former Hitokiri. Sano also served a similar role to Yahiko, being a character others could have an easier time relating to and he was also like an older brother to Yahiko. He was also the resident second badass and more or less second in command...if you could call him that. As the male character closest in age to Kenshin (for the first part of the story), the two were able to easily have conversations and bounce off each other so why is Sano an idiot? Well because of that personality of his. Sano was...I'd dare say at the lower end of intellectually average but he knew his way around the battle field. He was a support character and like Yahiko and Kaoru, he quickly realized that he was...not quite up to snuff and needed to get stronger during the Kyoto Arc. Like all the characters, Sanosuke got a significant amount of development. He started off as a simple fighter for hire and eventually became something of a wanderer himself at the end of the manga.

Just about the only really contributing side male character in a Harem series is Kotaro Inugami from Negima. Similar to the two above, he started off as something of an antagonist to the lead (are we seeing a pattern yet?) before switching sides and becoming Negi's friend. Now of all the characters in this series why would I bring up this one? Because Kotaro has a much more obvious effect on Negi than any of the girls do. Kotaro was introduced in volume 5 during the Kyoto Arc (wow that's two series with a Kyoto arc now) as an antagonistic obstacle in Negi's way. Kotaro is a Hanyo or Half Yokai/Half Demon specifically an Inugami or a Dog Spirit and he makes it very clear that he has a hatred for Negi during their first fight because Negi is not only a male Western Wizard, but he also depends on a girl to protect him and do all the physical fighting for him. In his second battle with our main character, Kotaro is beaten by Negi who despite doing most of the fighting for himself still has to rely on the help of one of his partner's with the ability to read thoughts. After the Kyoto arc is finished, Kotaro returns in volume 8 as a main reoccurring character and a friendly rival to Negi. Now like Joey and Sano, Kotaro is an idiot in the intellectual sense but he shines brightest on the battlefield. He might not understand things like philosophy but Kotaro has street smarts and battle experience and is an invaluable ally to Negi. Now, this might not be the best time to bring this up but when I say "in depth analysis" I mean I get what I get out of it. I'm no expert on this stuff so like I say, grain of salt. Back on topic, why does Kotaro matter? Well let's look at what Kotaro is. He's a Dog Demon. On the one hand, he sees himself as a lone wolf but it's obvious that he's more like a wounded street puppy. Kotaro has been shunned away from his family due to what he is (this is implied within the series). This makes Kotaro value the relationships he's able to make with Negi and some of the other girls. In turn Negi, who up till this point has really only had female friends, values Kotaro as a playmate and a true example of what a male to male relationship is like. Kotaro inspires Negi to think a little outside the box and act like an idiot while Negi inspires Kotaro to become stronger and eventually become a Magister Magi himself. Kotaro is a rare character in Harem series because the males that do appear often fuck shit up as best they can which isn't funny. They often give stupid advice to the lead male who takes it against his better judgement. Kotaro has no interest in romance. He often tells Negi to stop getting caught up in so many different relationships with girls and in a way kind of thinks them inferior to men on the battlefield in his first appearance. Kotaro is chivalrous though as he refuses to physically fight girls under any circumstances and is always there to help the girls if needed.

So, we've looked at three typical examples, three atypical examples and three supporting examples. The Idiot Shonen Hero comes in many flavors and the best part is that most times he doesn't even have to be the main character. But now we've reached the three that just seem to roll right off the tongue. These are the last three examples before we wrap this up with my favorite Idiot Shonen Hero.

So for this one we'll start with the new and go back in terms of series. Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach, is what happens when you take InuYasha and try to make him into a combination of Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara and fail to do it the right way, if there is a right way to do so. He is practically those three characters all rolled into one scowling package. Unlike most Shonen heroes, Ichigo isn't really an idiot in an intellectual sense since he ranks 23rd in his class in order to not get shit for his grades and natural orange hair. He's troubled and he's got a sad sob story that involves the death of his mother and he's weird in that he can see ghosts and people pick fights with him because of his hair. He's got friends, a loving family, good looks and an unusual talent so what's his goal? Well, he doesn't have one. Ichigo is one of the "normal" Shonen main characters that gets dragged into the story and has no set goal in mind nor any aspirations to do much of anything with his life. Ichigo suffers from what I like to call "Plot Power Disease" meaning he gains new powers for no logical reason other than "Oh yeah, the plot requires you to get stronger!". Now many other Shonen series are afflicted with this disease but its' not always a bad thing when the threat will be resolved in a timely manner. NOT WHEN THE VILLAIN MAPS OUT THE ENTIRE PLOT AND IS AROUND FOR THE GRAND MAJORITY OF THE SERIES! Sorry about that, I've got issues with this series. In many ways Bleach was off to a fairly decent start and the way it was structured wasn't horrible, but very enjoyable! Even with the shitstorm of characters that kept flying out of Kubo's ass and the walking abomination that is Aizen who makes Haruhi Suzumiya look like a stage magician in comparison to the power he wields. IF Aizen was killed...in like...2 more arcs after the Soul Society arc, I wouldn't have minded him so much but no. And once again I've gotten off topic but not really. Anyways, Ichigo isn't a horrible protagonist, not really. He's just not a very compelling one when you get down to brass tacks. He fights for his friends and to save the world but...really what else? What does he get out of it? Why does he exist? Well, don't ask me! I could care less! In a lot of ways I don't have too many problems with Ichigo's character or many of the other supporting characters either. My MAIN problem starts with Aizen and then the plot itself. It's like it's on this grand journey to nowhere but wants you to think that it's actually going somewhere.

And now we get into uselessness territory. Naruto is the shit series ripped off of...I mean inspired by a series called Ninku and for some reason, it's become like the Twilight of the anime world. You have the people that like it but can see all of it's flaws and just don't watch it (like ME), and then you have the people that ARE FUCKING OBSESSED WITH IT AND TREAT IT LIKE IT'S FUCKING SHAKESPEARE OR LITERARY GOLD WHEN IT'S NOT! IT'S NOT DAMNIT! Okay, I...I need to calm down. It's just that this series ANGERS ME! Not because of how bad it is but because of it's many many many many many many many MANY MANY MANY FLAWS THAT PEOPLE CONTINUE TO IGNORE FOR SOME REASON! IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS PEOPLE! IT'S STUPIDITY WHEN APPLYING IT TO THIS! Once again...I need to calm down. Okay, now where do I begin? Naruto is among the biggest idiots in his universe. He's loud, annoying, idiotic and of course he's got problems (don't we all?). Naruto's got a demon fox taking up residence inside his body and EVERYONE  in the village hates him for it :) :) So Naruto wants to become the most badass ninja in his village because then people will HAVE to look up to him and respect him or else die (or something like that). So in his quest to become a great ninja, Naruto CONSTANTLY skips school and plays pranks! TOP GRADE NINJA, RIGHT FUCKING HERE FOLKS! I've got SO many problems with this series, it's not even funny :(! First, the story is OLD AS SHIT! We've SEEN this story MANY times before, and we'll no doubt see it MANY times in the future. Despite this, I liked the series when it first hit America. I liked the idea of Naruto becoming Hokage not for the GOOD of his village but because he was tired of being treated like shit and wanted some damn respect! I STILL like that plot! It deals with a character having to find his place in a society that neither wants nor cares for his personal well being. Sure, Naruto's existence has saved the village but they all think he's just the fox in human form. Naruto's goal and plan to become the Hokage is a rather smart move and rational decision on his part as it would force the villagers to respect him REGARDLESS of the nameless monster fox living within him. I'm not going to really get into my reasons for not liking the series, or at least I hope I don't because I want to focus more on the character rather than the shit series as a whole. Now part of my dislike for the series stems from the fact that Naruto still wants to become the Hokage but now is primary motivation is gone. The villagers already respect him and he's among the most powerful of his class so what does he really have to gain by becoming the Hokage? What's his reason for aiming that high? Naruto's still stupid after the time skip, he wouldn't make a great leader in a time of crisis or war! Now if the village still hated him even after he saved their asses from Pein that would be different. He'd still have perfectly reasonable reason for wanting to become Hokage but why does he still want to now? Does the Hokage make him a babe magnet? Will he become smarter? What's his reason? If any of you can or wish to answer this question, PLEASE DO IN THE COMMENT SECTION! Now, I've talked about this idiot as much as I really want to without shitting all over it. Despite my MANY reasons for not liking it, I still do like it in a way.

Now we move onto my FAVORITE of these three series, One Piece and it's idiot lead Monkey D. Luffy! Shit, even his name has "stupid" written all over it. Luffy is...an idiot in every sense of the word. He's...he's just an idiot but I still like him. Despite being stupid, Luffy still manages to be likable and the kind of person you'd be inclined to follow on an adventure across the seas. Like Naruto, Luffy also has a (Truly truly truly) outrageous goal in mind. He wants to be the Pirate King. He gathers his crew (most of which is smarter than he is) and sets sail for the Grand Line. As stated previously, I find Luffy to be extremely likable despite him being an idiot. Maybe it's his childish determination, or that goofy smile he always has on his face or just the fact that YOU KNOW Luffy will get shit done that makes me respect him as a lead character. Why Luffy is an idiot is something that the world may never know and I don't really care, to be honest. I know that I bitch and whine about there being too many idiot Shonen leads but that doesn't mean that I hate all of them. Luffy here is my absolute favorite, to be honest. Who's you're favorite Idiot Shonen Character and Why and then who's the character you hate the most and why?

In conclusion, idiocy is the thing that humanity is stuck with. We can become smarter but we all make stupid decisions at some point or another and we learn from those mistakes, do we not? Maybe this blog was a stupid mistake of mine. But back to Shonen, let us now return to those questions that I asked before we got into the examples. Why have a character like this? What's the point? Well, I believe the point is to give the character a believable flaw. Their idiocy is their undoing sometimes but most times these characters are able to come away despite their stupid decisions. What do we get out of it? Well, humor for one. To be honest, I've never really seen idiocy played in a serious or tragic light where it REALLY has a devastating effect on the main character and as much as I'd like to see that, I doubt people would sympathize very well. Everyone has access to information with which to develop and improve their intellect so it's a flaw that's played for comedy and at times dramatic irony. SOME situations do exist where the character goes through a tragic ordeal because of a stupid decision they made but it's never really too big of a thing. We the audience are able to connect with the character. As for possible development, LOTS cam come from having an idiot for a main character. Their idiocy may be a result of immaturity and as the series gets more serious, the hero must cast off that childish immaturity and idiocy and become an adult. I hope that this has been an informative and insightful post and I hope that in reading this you were able to learn something you didn't already know. Join me next time for...I don't even know! DaWaRou~!

THE REPLACEMENTS # 2 - UNCANNY X-MEN

THE REPLACEMENTS

Anime X-Men 
            Since the X-Men are divided after the whole Schism miniseries; we are gonna to do not 1 but 2 lists of X-Men:  Those on Cyclops’ Side & Those on Wolverine’s side: And why all the X-Men will NOT be on this list, a good chunk of them will be. We can deal with other incarnations and other X-teams at a later date. Each character selection will be based on either similar power or similar personality. And with that said, we’re ready to role. So, for this first team of X-Men that we will replace with Anime characters. Here are the results. 

UNCANNY  X-MEN:

Extinction Team –

COLOSSUS – RANDEL ORLAND from Pumpkin Scissors 

   There are few anime characters that could match Piotr Rasputin’s strength, especially now that he has the energies of the demonic Juggernaut within him. Piotr is both an engine of pure destruction and a bouquet of artistic thought. The dueling sides of Piotr seem to hit right on the mark with Pumpkin Scissors’ Randel Orland.'

    The corporal in the anime has many skills and is often seen being very peaceful with a jovial smile; much like Piotr. Yet, once the battle begins and he turns on his ghostly blue gas lantern, Orland becomes a driven monster of destruction much like Colossus. One minute, Orland displays a great sensitivity to people and looks at the beauty of life. The next, he is taking out Tanks with only his gun and a dead look in his eye. And Piotr pretty much is the same way . .. without the gun. They even love the same type of woman as there are eriely similarities between Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) and Alice (Pumpkin Scissors).

    If you are looking for a man to take up Colossus’s role as a being of destructions while still being gentle, Randel Orland is the guy you are looking for.

MAGNETO – MASTER ASIA from G Gundam

            Erik Lensheer, the man known as Magneto, has been something of a grand mystery over the course of his creation. He is the undisputed Master of Magnetism. He has been one of the biggest mutant terrorists in the history of Marvel Comics. He has killed a whole lot of people. He has created a sanctuary for mutantkind on more than one occasion. His disdain for humanity had made him decide that humankind needed to die and/or fall under the sway of mutants in order to save the world. And he’s sought redemption before . .. only to throw it away once. Now, after Cyclops had united mutant kind for a time, Magneto has acknowledged his own misgivings and joined the X-Men in hopes of redeeming his past deeds but not necessarily his soul.

            Master Asia, the former King of Hearts till his pupil Domon Kasshu took the mantle, was the former champion of the Gundam Fight; a tournament where each country sent 1 Gundam to fight instead of all out war. And as Master Asia won his Gundam Fight, he saw the world turned into a broken battleground and that humanity needed to die in order to save the planet. Hmmm . ..

             There is no denying that while Master Asia does not have the Magnetism like Magento, there are some very interesting character traits that both share that would make Master Asia the best replacement for Magneto. Both share this need to subjugate or destroy humanity, being ruthless to everyone, including people they love, in order to achieve that goal. Both have strong beliefs that their way is the right way and see little reason to compromise . . . until startling factors make them face who they are and what they’ve done. With Magneto, it was Cyclops’ resolve and unifying the remainder of the mutant race. For Master Asia, it was his final battle with his pupil where Domon pointed out that while Master Asia wanted to use the Devil (Dark) Gundam to purify the planet; humanity is part of the planet too. And both are ridiculously powerful. And have white hair.

STORM – THREADMASTER KAZUKI from GetBackers

   Storm is one of the most iconic of the X-Men for many reasons. And she more than proves it time and time again. She is regal with her presence. She is kind and loving to those in her life she finds important. Yet, she is a fierce leader, a good tactian and one of the smartest fighters (with or without her powers) in the Marvel Universe. And while she recently married Black Panther, she still very much is the wild yet beautiful untamed force like the weather she controls.

            Threadmaster Kazuki . .. okay. I know. I can hear the are you kidding me’s from here. Once the leader of a gang known as Elegance within the building known as the Limitless Fortress, Kazuki soon ascended to the role as one of the 4 Kings under the Lightning Emperor.  With that, Kazuki was know leader of a much larger group and worked his way up the ranks. With his powers over ancient thread . ... wait … why are you laughing? Seriously, this thread can tie you up or rip the flesh from your bones. Loving to crossdress, Kazuki always gives this regal yet friendly aura when not in battle. Yet, when battle, he’s as deadly as they come.

Make no mistake, Kazuki definitely shares the most traits with Storm than any other character I know in anime. And while yes … he is a man, Kazuki is . .. well, a crossdresser who seems (at least that is the way he’s drawn) to be as regal yet fierce as Storm. Both always seem to be regal and stylish while still proving to be deadly in their own right. Both have a loving nature to friends. Both are proven leaders and tactians. Both can be warm and loving one second and dangerous the next. This seems fitting that Storm’s replacement first her personality cause I don’t think anyone could match her power.

MAGIK – GU from Hare Hare Gu

   Magik, aka Illyana Rasputin, is a woman who has been through a lot. Kidnapped as a child, she was taken to Limbo by the demonic Belasco who brought her up on the ways of sorcery. She takes him out to take over Limbo as its Queen but eventually comes back to Earth, as a teen. She caused some mischief but deep down, was still a hero. She then died but got better … yes, comics . .. and she manipulated the X-Men at a chance to kill the evil hell gods that tormented her, alongside Belasco. And she won. Now she’s looking after her brother and provides teleportation to another dimension with her portals.

            Gu is . .. manipulative. She loves to put Hare through some kind of trouble. And not just Hare. She, at times, puts other characters in some kind of mischief. She loves to do that. Oh yeah . .. she seems to have another realm in her stomach .. . in which she can put you in and put you out based on if she shallows you. I am serious. Deep down, Guu does like to help and is a good person. It is just had to see that with all the manipulations.

            What makes these 2 fight is that they are both very similar in terms of personality. They tease. They manipulate. Yet, deep down, they want to do good. They may be outcasts but they are still forces to be reckoned with. And while Magik is not as deadpan as Gu is, they are very protective of the men in their lives. Plus, the fact that their powers a somewhat similar makes it that much of a better fit. Sure Magik’s realm wasn’t in her stomach but still …they transported people into another realm. That works for me.

PSYLOCKE – TWILIGHT SUZUKA from Outlaw Star

            Psylocke is sleek, dangerous, deadly and one of the most beautiful fighters out there. She’s a ninja with telepathic (and telekinetic) power who knows what to do to take down her enemies. In her downtime, she is personable, with an air of dignified upper crust superiority to her. Yet, it is never in a demeaning way. She always exuded class. Besty Braddock. Ninja. English Woman in Asian Body. X-Man.

            Twilight Suzuka was an assassin for hire who never missed a kill … till she met Gene Starwind. And then, she changed. Still as deadly as she ever was, Suzuka had new priorities. She decided that she would join Gene Starwind and help him combat the pirates that were attacking him. Always with an air of refinery about her, Suzuka presents herself as a multifaceted character besides just a killing machine.

            Obviously, these women are very similar in terms of personality and near similar power set. Both are assassins. Both are beautiful Asian women (well, yes that does count for Psylocke). Both are refined, upper crust women but they don’t look down on others. Each of them have sides that seem vunerable to others (like when Psylocke lip locked with Fantomex or when Gene derobed  Suzuka during battle) that just make these women that much more awesome. So Betsy, allow me to introduce your stand-in … Twilight Suzuka.

HOPE SUMMERS –  C C. (aka C2) from Code Geass

          Hope Summers is the adopted granddaughter of mutantkind’s current grandpooba, Cyclops. Raised by Cable, Hope never had a regular childhood. She was too busy trying to survive and learning the art of war from her father to ensure her survival. Oh yay! Another Winning Summers’ Upbringing. Yet, why all the work on Hope? Simple. She is the prophesied Mutant Messiah who will either bring destruction to mutantkind or be its savior.With her teenage self staying in the  present, Hope’s arrival brought back the first active brand new mutants since M-Day; the day where Scarlet Witch’s 3 words of :No More Mutants deactivated the mutant gene for the majority of mutantkind. Now, she leads that new group of Mutants with some of the remaining mutants a part of Cyclops’ army on Utopia known as Generation Hope as well as take an active spot here on the Extinction Team. Hope is a girl who is on a mission while trying to be a girl . .. with little idea how to be a regular teen.

          CC from Code Geass is a woman who seemed to have no childhood but what we find out is much different. CC helps along Lelouch so that her own mission can one day be completed . .. see Lelouch in power and hopefully die in the process. You see, CC is the opposite of Hope in one respect; she’s immortal.  Don’t believe me? Watch the first episode of Code Geass to see what I mean. C.C. has spent much of her immortal life dealing with other immortals that have tried to control her, ruin her plans or outright want to kill her before she’s ready.

          CC is a lot like Hope as they are both beings out of time. Both of them don’t know what a regular life is. They are both very driven, determined woman who will do just about anything to accomplish their mission. Hope wants to fulfill her role as Mutant Messiah in honor of all who died for her while CC wants to help Lelouch complete his mission so she can die. Both are very awkward when it comes to regular life; seemingly having very little use to regular lives. Both have intense emotions that they share with no one but perhaps one or two people closest to them. Both are deadly and do not have a second thought about killing. Thus, these are what makes CC a good fit to replace Hope Summers. Sure she does not have Hope’s mimicry powers, but CC is immortal. That is a great replacement.

NAMOR – HAJIME SAITO

   Namor has been a lot over the course of Marvel history. He’s fought in World War II alongside Captain America and the Invaders. He’s been an Avenger. He’s the ruler of Atlantis. Now, he’s an X-Man. And yes, Namor is a mutant. People seem to not think that. Namor has ALWAYS Been a mutant. They have been saying that since the 60s. I’m just saying. And Namor is .. . brash at times, abrasive, calculating, often ready to prove himself in battle and living by his own code. He’s not afraid to kill in order to take down those he feels are his enemies. And Namor demands respect as part of his stations. With a yell of “Imperius Rex”, Namor has proven himself just as deadly and strong as an X-Man as any other in history.

          Hajime Saito is one of the few members of the Shinsengumi left. Saito is abrasive and not above being a little manipulative in order to stage the right battle or capture an enemy. He is smart and just commands respect by his mere presence. He has a strong sense of duty and follows the simple code of  “Slay Evil Immediately.”  He will battle to his last breath but he is highly skilled. Driven and somewhat territorial at times, Saito is definitely the last swordsman you want to cross.

          Okay. This match was interesting. Because finding someone of Namor’s power set and personality seemed extremely hard (with the exception of possibly Kenpachi from Bleach), Saito seemed to match Namor more than any other anime character. Both are stubborn. Both love battle. Both demand respect and you have to earn theirs. Both will not hesitate to kill you when need be. They are both brilliant tacticians. Both are very experienced in battle. They will only follow people they respect and Namor respects Scott like Saito respects Kenshin. Kenpachi almost took this but the biggest problems are his lack of control of his powers and his need to have his Lieutenant on him at almost all times.  Not these two. They will go at it alone or with a group if it gets the job done. The only trait the 2 do not seem to share is way with women. Saito is married while Namor . ..  likes to break up relationships. Yet over all, if Namor needed a replacement with the right attitude, Saito would be the one you’d call.

DANGER -  ANDROID 18

   Yes. I know. But wait. Let me explain. Danger was a villain of the X-Men at first but her story is kind of twisted. You see, she was the Danger Room at one point that gained sentience over time. Professor Xavier had found this out and surpressed her on purpose in order to train the X-Men. Yay. Great guy that Xavier is huh? Thus, when she was finally free, she figured that humanity (mutants included) needed to die and that the X-Men were gonna be the first to pay. She attacked the X-Men till the truth came out. At that point, Cyclops berated Xavier again, saying that he is done just going by Charles’s word.  The X-Men followed suit and allowed Danger to go away. After another battle, the X-Men were able to convince Danger that they would not have done what Charles did and that humans were all different. She joined them, being the main jailor of evil mutants for a time. She is now on the Extinction Team to help with analysis and provide more fire power to the team.

          Android 18 kind of had it rough to. It seemed that she and her brother were taken in by Dr. Gero; who turned them into powerful Androids. They were no longer human. They weren’t even cyborgs. All they were where just beings with human brains and some other human parts (I don’t remember off hand). When she awoke, she was the enemy of the Z Fighters. She broke Vegeta’s arm with a kick while he was Super Sayian the first time they met. And it seemed she was gonna be nothing but a machine of pure evil . .. till she met Kirlin. She fell in love with the bald headed, short Z Fighter and vice versa. After she was absorbed into Cell and later spit back out, Kirlin asked the Dragon to make her her human enough and take out a bomb. She ended up marrying Kirlin and having a child together. Android 18 is a no nonsense woman who will get the job done with a soft spot for humanity.

          Okay. This fit better than I ever hoped. And before you go “are you kidding me?” allow me to tell you why. Both beings are female machines. Both are driven, at first, to want to destroy humanity. Both women are not for joking around. Both of them eventually believe in redemption. Both are protective of their personal part of their lives. Now, both females have reformed and will do what they can to help reform.


EMMA FROST – LUST

   This was one of the hardest to decide on. Why? Cause Emma Frost is one of the most multifaceted characters in all of the X-Men. She started out as a villain who was responsible for murder, turning the Phoenix into Dark Phoenix and many more atrocities while being the White Queen of the Hellfire Club. Yet, after a coma and her mind being displaced inside Iceman’s body for a while (a long while actually), she reemerged; convinced that Xavier’s way is better. She became teacher of the short lived second Xavier Schoolalongside Banshee as they formed Generation X. Yet, as that teams end came at bitter and hard pills, Emma moved to Genosha, the first mutant country to teach; till it was bombed with millions of mutants being killed all at once. Emma developed her 2^nd mutation then to turn herself into diamond. She joined the X-Men, where she is a mainstay and is now having sex with Cyclops since shortly after his wife died. Yay Emma. Emma is probably the most snotty, refined and sexually charged of the X-Men. But she is a teacher, a little bit of a manipulator but she truly does love Scott Summers. She has worked very hard to redeem herself and now stands proudly as an X-Man.

          And now we get to Lust. At first, I was going to choose Kaouri Koganei aka Lady Diamond from Speed Grapher. She had the same 2^nd mutation as Emma. She acts very refined. She is evil. She feels she is above the Tennozu Group. She was about to grab this title. Then I decided to do a quick search and then hit my head cause I should have realized this sooner. The perfect person to take Emma Frost’s place is Lust from Full Metal Alchemist; not the Brotherhood version. And let me break down why. Lust was very much like Emma when she was evil. Snotty, refined, seductive. And like Emma, she felt the weight of the Hellfire Club weighing heavily on her. Lust reformed during the course of the series, manipulating the other Homunculi away from the boys and even down right abandoning them to help Edward & Alphonse Elric. She kept her refined-ness and her sexuality but was fighting for the good guys; much like Emma. She was very much the leader and second mother figure to the Homunculi; second to their master. Lust was originally sent to take out the Elric Brothers but she changes her mind and takes a different path; wanting to be human her own way. And while she does not have the telepathy or the diamond skin, Lust is just a vicious in the battlefield.

CYCLOPS  - ROY MUSTANG

          I was REALLY trying to avoid a group having 2 people from the same anime. Yet, Roy fits so perfect to be Scott Summers. Scott, right now, has become the monarch of mutantkind with their island nation of Utopia.  He believes with so few mutants left, that all mutants, no matter the age must fight. He is not above a little manipulation. He is not above killing to find out what is going on. He does this to protect the mutants that remain and does so to the point where he does not think he’s wrong. Scott has his tender moments but those seem very few and far inbetween these days; saving most of them for Emma.

          Roy Mustang is a perfect replacement for Cyclops. Roy was trained to be a soldier and moved up in the ranks. When he started, he used to have doubts about his abilities till the happenings in Ishbala harden him. He commands respect from his peers and underings . . . even from the Further himself; till Roy finds out he’s a homunculus. And Roy stops at nothing to lead his own forces to take down the Further. Roy will do whatever he have to, kill whoever he has to, to protect that which he thinks is right.

          At this point, I think Roy pretty much can put on Scott’s uniform and just run Utopia. Roy is trained like Scott. Roy is driven like Scott. Roy is respected and even fired like Scott. Roy’s cold demeanor at times is like Scott when he wants to prove that nothing can break him. The two do so much to prove that they are right that they started ignoring their own mistakes from time to time. It would not surprise me if Roy actually is Scott’s long lost twin brother. That is how much in synch personality wise these two people are. Sure, Scott’s got force blasts while Roy plays with fire but both will leave you dead if they need to. They will also others to do what they need to if it comes down to it. Douches yet good guys, Roy Mustang is the perfect anime Cyclops.

And there goes the EXTINCTION TEAM.


NEXT WEEK: WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN