The List
7 Anime Odd Couples
by Lynzee Loveridge,
They say opposites attract. While that's faulty relationship advice, sometimes it works deceptively well in anime. The calm one evens out the aggressive one's outbursts or the neat freak keeps the house in check when the other partner is a slob. The following couples have a similar dynamic; you'd never expect them to cross paths but they work surprisingly well.
7. Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima (Fruits Basket) Arisa and Saki are Tohru Honda's best friends and emotional support but the two couldn't be any less alike. Arisa is a former gang-member, loud, aggressive and brash. Saki is a reserved girl with psychic powers who dresses in all black. The only thing the two have in common is a love for Tohru and being outcast by their peers. If their mutual relationship with Tohru was removed, it's unlikely either one would have ever crossed paths.
6. Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson (Trigun) Meryl and her junior coworker Milly work together at the Bernardelli Insurance Society to investigate claims regarding Vash the Stampede. Meryl is serious minded career woman, while Milly towers over her in size. The two are a strange sight when the first ride into town and Milly proves herself Meryl's foil, being optimistic and easygoing. She enjoys the simple things in life, like pudding and gets distracted while her partner is trying to get the job done.
5. Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi (Bleach) Shinigami captain Kenpachi and his lieutenant Yachiru are another inseparable big-small pair. Kenpachi is an aggressive swordsman with an intimidating appearance while Yachiru is all types of cute with bubblegum pink hair. Their relationship works thanks in part to Yachiru not being as innocent as she appears. Nonetheless, one wouldn't expect a giant man with liberty spikes for hair to carry around a pint-sized girl on his back or make her his second in command.
4. Nana & Nana (NANA) Punk rock-styled singer NANA and girl-next-door Hachi (also NANA) don't look like they'd run in the same crowds, but after a fateful meeting on a train and a series of coincidences, the two end up being roommates and best friends. Despite Hachi's "goody two-shoes" appearance and NANA's intimidating looks, both are mutually supportive friends. Hachi helps reunite NANA with her first love and NANA in turn helps Hachi discover her own point of view.
3. Kiyone & Mihoshi (Tenchi Muyo!) Surefire Galaxy Police detective Kiyone Makibi had the unfortunate luck of being bogged down by airheaded Mihoshi. Theories speculate that Mihoshi's family connections keep her in the force, and unfortunately Kiyone's own career has suffered because of it. Of course, Mihoshi is grateful for her partner constantly covering her butt, and Kiyone's own skills are eventually acknowledged by the upper command. When push comes to shove though, Kiyone isn't able to leave her partner behind regardless of how poor an officer she is.
2. Ryūji & Taiga (Toradora!) Tiny yet feisty Taiga and perpetually glaring Ryūji start out pining for each other's best friend. Over time, the tsundere Taiga and the clean freak Ryūji find themselves attracted to one another. Taiga is wealthy, has no idea how to cook her own meals, and easily angered. Ryūji represents the opposite of this, being calm and fairly domestic in both cooking and housekeeping. He lives off his mother's sole income, so his home is much more modest than Taiga's large apartment. Despite their personality differences, the two manage to craft an endearing romantic relationship together.
1. America & Canada (Hetalia - Axis Powers) Poor Canada. Parodied as America's hat, it's characterized version in Hetalia suffers similar misrepresentation. The two brothers are often mistaken for one another, or at least Canada is for America. He's rarely acknowledged by any of his Allied compatriot countries. America, on the other hand, is so loud and energetic the rest of the world can't help but pay attention. America's strange habits and nosiness are starkly opposite to Canada's soft spoken personality, although he can be quite loud when he gets mad.
The new poll: Which of the listed fantasy worlds would you want to be transported to?
The old poll: Last week's poll asked which anime character has the coolest beard.Tiger's "kitty beard" took first place, beating out red-beared Rider and Cowboy Bebop's Jet Black. Here's the full results:
- Kotetsu T. Kaburagi (Tiger & Bunny) 20.3%
- Rider (Fate/Zero) 17.6%
- Jet Black (Cowboy Bebop) 16.6%
- Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryusai (Bleach) 16.6%
- Jigen (Lupin III) 13.5%
- Lord Genome (Gurren Lagann) 9.9%
- Django (One Piece) 2.5%
- Brownbeard (One Piece) 1.9%
- Dr. Hell (Mazinger Z) 1.1%
Alright everybody, see you all next week! I look forward to your input in the comments and feel free to follow me on Twitter @ANN_Lynzee or e-mail me at [email protected].
discuss this in the forum (43 posts) |
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history