Finest Comeback Character
Challia Bull (Gundam GQuuuuuuX)
Who would have thought 2025 would flip a one-off Enemy of the Week from the unique 1979 Cellular Go well with Gundam into one of many coolest characters in anime in 2025? Challia Bull didn’t even get to look within the Gundam film trilogy! However now he’s seen in an entire new mild as a drive to be reckoned with, not just for his Newtype powers but additionally his shrewd thoughts and wealth of expertise. Even his Cellular Armor, the Kikeroga within the GQuuuuuuX universe, turned some of the fascinating mecha designs of the 12 months.
Finest Aspiring Scholar
Jolenta (Orb: On the Actions of the Earth)
Your complete forged of Orb: On the Actions of the Earth is worthy of reward as richly outlined characters who replicate the complexity of humanity and its relationship with data. I’ve determined to spotlight Yolenta particularly, nonetheless, due to her added problem of being an clever and inquisitive younger lady who was stymied not solely by the prevailing non secular beliefs of her time but additionally the sexism that permeated even the sacred halls of scholarly thought and schooling. But she defies these limitations, places her life and well-being on the road for the sake of increasing human data, and turns into one thing sudden but far better: a revolutionary determine.
Finest Puppet Protagonist
Shāng Bú Huàn (Thunderbolt Fantasy)
They don’t make ’em fairly like Shang Bu Huan, each actually and figuratively. Not solely is he the face of a Taiwanese-Japanese co-production for a fantasy-genre puppet-theater collection, however he additionally calls to thoughts the stoic and witty motion heroes and manga protagonists of a long time previous like John Matrix and Kenshiro. I believe what’s in the end actually spectacular concerning the so-called Sword-Plundering Nemesis is that in a collection stuffed with charismatic and memorable characters like Thunderbolt Fantasy, Shang by no means obtained misplaced within the shuffle or any much less intriguing. His humility and quiet confidence put him on par with the greats.
Finest Dance Companions
Wanda Hikari and Kotani Kaboku (Wandance)
I’ve been following the Wandance manga for a few years, so I used to be glad to see the collection get an anime adaptation. Whereas it hasn’t fairly lived as much as the manga when it comes to its visuals, the unimaginable bond between Wanda and Kabo nonetheless shines by.
It’s a basic downside in anime romances that male-female pairings typically don’t have that feeling of “equal companions and rivals” that’s so frequent and thrilling in BL or yuri pairings, however that’s precisely what we get from these two and their ever-growing love of dance. They’re candy, fantastic, and supportive of one another…and once they’re collectively, they really feel unstoppable.
Last Ideas
I made a decision to combine issues up this 12 months and eliminate particular gendered classes within the hopes of not boxing myself or the characters in.
Total, my picks don’t have a terrific deal in frequent, whether or not in character or actions taken. If I needed to decide a degree of convergence, although, it could be that all of them carry one thing sudden to the desk inside their tales and worlds. They invite us to re-think how we view issues, whether or not they must do with revision and revival, science and schooling with respect to politics and cultural norms, what goes into making a major character, or expectations of what a “typical” romance seems to be like.
