Most Attractive Anime Characters poll 2014: where do I start

[PetitDemon]

Oh, I thought this was going to be where everyone shares what anime characters they're attracted to.

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

As a long time denizen of /a/ all I have to say is this;

Japan has shit taste? You don't fuckin' say!

As a member of a slightly less tactless forum such as this one, I also have this to say;

It was to be expected. Japanese folks have always had a massive boner for "futsuu moe" or "normal fetish". Where the most mundane and boring characters get their rocks off far more than characters like Tohsaka Rin or Chitoge Kirisaki who might actually rock the little boat that is their lives.

Case in point is Onodera ranking a whole 16 ranks above Chitoge. In fact, going down the list you'll notice that all the characters from the same series all in the top 30 appear to be ranked in order from least to most boring.

The question becomes why does this "futsuu moe" exist in the way it does. My understanding of anime is that most people watch it for escapism and extravagant fantasies. That would apply to how women are portrayed in anime.

Why won't someone want to go for a more boring person. In real life, a boring person is dull to hang around with and doesn't do anything. It is possible for someone to be interesting and stable at the same time so is it possible that something about the viewing audience of anime is overly concerned about their life.

As for why futsuu moe exists, I couldn't say because I don't really understand it myself. But it is quite noticable that a lot of anime tend to be underdog stories, especially fantasies. So if I had to wager a guiess, I'd say that because in amongst all the extravagent and outlandish characters and themes present in anime that a little bit of normalcy may seem quite appealing.

SAO is a good example if you think about it. Trapped in a fantastical death game like something right out of an anime, it might have been a real breath of fresh air that Asuna was not only stable and normal but that even her appearance and use of her real name might have made her seem more "real" to the people in the game. Of course, I know damn well that the author of SAO didn't put any thought in besides "make her pretty and a loyal wife" but it could explain her popularity amongst readers/viewers.

Yeah, i'm starting to think that this is unintentional. If I was in any of these people's position, Saber or Rin would have been my choice but i'm american so that might cause a difference. I suppose the pressures of Japanese life might also have an effect on "futsuu moe" being a thing since some may not want to have their world shocked too much especially since otaku don't have a good reputation in the country

Still I have other reasons to be concerned about the otaku's attraction to Asuna mainly due to the second season's less than tasteful scenes. It almost feels like a damsel in distress/ hero fantasy and while they are not inherently bad, it does rub me the wrong way seeing it played like this especially since Asuna went from scared in the game to one of the best players to living for Kirito's sake supposedly. Sinon's arc also kind of pissed me off but I think I've said my piece and I think this is best talked about on the actual review forum for SAO.

 

[cojo965]

As a long time denizen of /a/ all I have to say is this;

Japan has shit taste? You don't fuckin' say!

As a member of a slightly less tactless forum such as this one, I also have this to say;

It was to be expected. Japanese folks have always had a massive boner for "futsuu moe" or "normal fetish". Where the most mundane and boring characters get their rocks off far more than characters like Tohsaka Rin or Chitoge Kirisaki who might actually rock the little boat that is their lives.

Case in point is Onodera ranking a whole 16 ranks above Chitoge. In fact, going down the list you'll notice that all the characters from the same series all in the top 30 appear to be ranked in order from least to most boring.

Okay, this is so far off-topic, but what the hell is your avatar? Whenever it turns up I get hypnotized wondering what it is.

 

[VanQ]

As a long time denizen of /a/ all I have to say is this;

Japan has shit taste? You don't fuckin' say!

As a member of a slightly less tactless forum such as this one, I also have this to say;

It was to be expected. Japanese folks have always had a massive boner for "futsuu moe" or "normal fetish". Where the most mundane and boring characters get their rocks off far more than characters like Tohsaka Rin or Chitoge Kirisaki who might actually rock the little boat that is their lives.

Case in point is Onodera ranking a whole 16 ranks above Chitoge. In fact, going down the list you'll notice that all the characters from the same series all in the top 30 appear to be ranked in order from least to most boring.

Okay, this is so far off-topic, but what the hell is your avatar? Whenever it turns up I get hypnotized wondering what it is.

I get that a lot. It's from the iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls PV.


New anime airing this coming season.

 

[Kaimax]

#19 Chiyo from Nozaki...Awesome. *Looks at Paras Pic* I ROFL'd

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and not surprisingly, the usual people ***** and moan about waifus, Moes, and the whole male directed content, while simply ignoring (or just ignorant) about the massive amount of males that's prominently featured in Yaoi (BL, Boys Love) fanfics and the whole Female directed content.

You know why there's 2 male characters from Tokyo Ghoul without the females? The Fujoshis.

I honestly have never found anyone making an thread about Fujoshis here in the escapist forums.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

The fact that Rin Tohsaka is 27th is a major bummer to me.

I like Asuna and her popularity in Japan is noted but damn..Rin is really so much better than her both in looks and as a character.

 

[Kaimax]

The fact that Rin Tohsaka is 27th is a major bummer to me.

I like Asuna and her popularity in Japan is noted but damn..Rin is really so much better than her both in looks and as a character.

I just think that she's way "too old" for a popularity contest since this is not her first appearance in a anime, even Saber didn't make the top 30 knowing how well Milked the franchise is.

I honestly don't mind that Rin's #27 since both She and Saber already dominated in 2006 when the first fate/stay night anime came out.

 

[VanQ]

On a side note, I am surprised a male got the second place. :O Especially considering that the majority of voters are dudes between their teens and 20's.

151 characters received votes, 54.7% of which came from female readers, and 89.4% of which came from readers in their teen and 20's.

Actually, the voters were majority female. So really it's no surprise that so many dudes made it on the list. If anything, it just goes to show how popular Asuna is with male readers that she was first place since there were less male voters and she received the most votes.

Then again, she could very well have received votes from the ladies as well for all we know.

 

[SquallTheBlade]

I'm pretty sure that there are other critical reasons to dislike SAO and even if there wasn't, what is wrong with a critical mind. To accept all that is served to us is to have no distinction of quality. Understanding the tropes of our medium and the traits that make classics the way there are can help us analyze why we like the things we like and why some are considered bad. In SAO's case, it's adherence to tropes of the medium make it less than ideal

Your measurement of quality seems very odd to me. Quality of something should be measured by how much you enjoy it. After that you can start to think WHY did you enjoy it. Even if you come to a simple conclusion it shouldn't matter. You enjoyed it for whatever reason and that should be enough.

And in the end these things come down to preferences. Some like moe, some like violence for violences sake and some don't.

 

[scotth266]

]I commented on that article, so I'll just say it again.

Japan just has the biggest boner for Asuna, don't they?

She's one of the only female anime characters in recent memory that had her romance arc progress instead of stagnate horribly. With that in mind I'm not surprised people like her (I like Asuna and I think SAO sucks).

Kaneki being 7th surprised me though. Maybe it's a sign that people want some diversity in genres?

 

[Kaimax]

Kaneki being 7th surprised me though. Maybe it's a sign that people want some diversity in genres?

Not really. It's only the sign that the fujoshi community is gaining numbers over the male oriented market. You need to look at the whole list to see Kaneki's real "standing", who else is on the list from Tokyo Ghoul? It's Shuu Tsukiyama.

Why is he on the most "attractive" list, while he's a sexual deviant who only cares for Kaneki so that he could eat him later on? It's probably because he's Kaneki's most popular Yaoi Partner. So does the Free Guys, and the Haikyuu Kids.

 

[Savryc]

Wow, I have no idea who any of them are. I mean, I've heard of the various series but I'm drawing a blank on all of them. I must be getting old. I'm not sure what conclusion you can draw from it though, different cultures find different things attractive? Well no fucking shit Sherlock.

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

What the hell is wrong with liking moe? does all animes need to be the same as western cartoons? This attitude really pisses me off, don't like moe? Don't watch anime with moe, not everything needs to go according to your narrow world view.

I don't hate moe, if i did, I would hate kittens and puppies since the psychology behind moe is also responsible for our reaction towards the basic physiology of young animals.

I hate what moe represents which is the diminishment of writing in order to cram in as much cute as possible even if that makes me feel like I'm being stringed along.

Oh, so you have cute girls doing cute things (and nowadays with a subtext of yuri), is there any point to them acting like this, or looking like that? Is there a story or conflict I need to be invested in? if not, you fail to hold my attention.

Moe is an art aesthetic, it does not give it license to dictate the entire course of a story or show just to make shallow appeals

(now, that I read this out loud, I sound like an old grumpy critic)

Sad to say it to you, but if the show stops the plot for fanservice, then it sucks anyways. No need to blame having moe for it.

I suppose so, I might be falling for the "correlation equals causation" fallacy

Still, when I see a show that advertise purely on moe and nothing else, I will be weary to see if it has anything else besides fanservice

 

[SquallTheBlade]

Still, when I see a show that advertise purely on moe and nothing else, I will be weary to see if it has anything else besides fanservice

But if it's advertised that way then why should it had anything else going on? If the is supposed to be moe and it indeed is that then it has accomplished what it had tried to do. Job well done. Why expect it to be something it isn't trying to be? That's like expecting good gunplay from Telltales Walking Dead games.

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

Still, when I see a show that advertise purely on moe and nothing else, I will be weary to see if it has anything else besides fanservice

But if it's advertised that way then why should it had anything else going on? If the is supposed to be moe and it indeed is that then it has accomplished what it had tried to do. Job well done. Why expect it to be something it isn't trying to be? That's like expecting good gunplay from Telltales Walking Dead games.

Moe and writing quality are not mutually exclusive with writing being able to enhance it's "cute" moments by providing context and substances to it while with the Walking Dead, gunplay would take away from the experience.

All I ask is for a moe show to have the bare modicum of writing. The recent Supernatural Battles Become Commonplace had that so why shouldn't I hold other shows to a basic standard.

 

[SquallTheBlade]

All I ask is for a moe show to have the bare modicum of writing. The recent Supernatural Battles Become Commonplace had that so why shouldn't I hold other shows to a basic standard.

But you are expecting something they might not be focusing on. A good writing. Of course you will be dissapointed because your expectations are way off of what it's trying to be.

Take Pacific Rim as an example. Did it have good writing? Hello no. But was it trying to? No. It had giant mechs fighting big monsters and it did that thing right.

Same applies here. If you are watching a show thats is cute just for cuteness sake then you shouldn't expect anything else from it. In short: you are not the target audience for it. There isn't anything you should "ask from" these shows. I'm not asking for scifi movies to be more like Tolkien fantasy because why should I?