Anime of 2011: Characters

Kobato was the surprising winner of "Best Overall Character of 2010". This year, I'm scraping all those different categories and just concentrate on Best Female and Best Male Character.


Best Female Character
Runner ups

Akemi Homura (Madoka Magica)
Commando Homura is badass. Broken so many times that she becomes a really determined, hardened fighter.

Chiba Saori (Hourou Musuko)
A very emo middle school girl with lots of anger issues, you'll love her and hate her, but most importantly, care for her.

Touwa Erio (Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko)
Weird, innocent, cute, with a hint of sadness from her mysterious past.

Kaga Rin (Usagi Drop)
Mature beyond her actual age, Rin has had to deal with a lot of things. She influences and changes the people around her.

Takakura Himari (Mawaru Penguindrum)
With or without Seizon Senryaku activated, Himari is simply awesome. Beneath the cheerful facade is a sense of hopelessness and willingness to accept her "punishment". On the other hand, her "Princess of the Crystal" version exudes a domineering confidence.

Elsie (Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai)
She's pretty useless most of the time even though she is one of the main characters. Her cheerfulness and cuteness is simple, but really really deadly.

Taneshima Popura (WORKING’!!)
How can anyone not like chiisai Popura and her various cute hairstyles?

Yuzuriha Inori (Guilty Crown)
Character design by redjuice made Inori an instant favourite in my books. Of course, the Supercell songs that she sung helped too.

Winners!

Darren's Pick: Shiro (Deadman Wonderland)
Weird and cute seems to be an easy win, but throw in the plot twist as well and Shiro becomes a really awesome character.

Vic's Pick: Saber (Fate/Zero)
One of the strongest female characters (not just physically) ever, Saber personifies Chivalry and Gallantry in every way possible. Her looks, personality, manner of speech, and strong personal conviction all combine to make her a really powerful and memorable character.


Best Male Character
Runner ups

Katsuragi Keima (Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai)
This is cheating a little, but I really started to like Keima in the recent manga chapters. How he thinks through his plans, manipulate different people, and manage to juggle so many things at the same time is pretty amazing. His character development is subtle, but is definitely showing

Sanetoshi (Mawaru Penguindrum)
The mystery, the evilness, the bishounen.

Dolph (Nichijou)
An epic character and an epic death scene. His 5 minutes of screen time was more than enough to make him one of the most memorable characters this year.

Baby Beel (Beelzebub)
Dah!

Winners!

Darren's Pick: Emiya Kiritsugu (Fate/Zero)
He's just a really cool assassin.

Vic's Pick: Rider/Iskandar/Alexander the Great (Fate/Zero)
His epic speech in episode 11 solidified him as a powerful, awe-inspiring leader.