25 Days Anime Male Challenge – Day 21 and Extra Day 1

 

Day 21 – Anime Male with Orange Hair

I actually don’t have that many boys with orange hair, come to think of it. I only had the one choice which I was set on – Chuuya from Bungou Stray Dogs – but after thinking over all the Touken Ranbu boys, it turns out I had Urashima as well.

Chuuya’s a bit ridiculous with his love of wine and hats (there’s a reason the fandom calls him a “hat rack”, even though he’s got a bit of a Napoleon complex), but in that head of his, there does seem to be more compassion than a mafiosi can admit he has. Also, he’s capable enough to be part of the Port Mafia’s management and kick more than enough butt to last until next week, but I guess that’s expected from a show where superpowered people rule the (under)world.

He’s quite the popular character, fandom-wise, due to his dynamic and past with Dazai as Soukoku (Double Black), and I can’t deny I’m a fan of all that as well. His popularity also probably stems from his own mysterious nature – which apparently there is an explanation for in one of the light novels, so it’s not me trying to justify underdeveloped characters this time – and hilarious nicknames, both ones he’s called and ones by him (“Mr. Fancy Hat”, from Ranpo to Chuuya, is my favourite).

His powers are also endlessly cool and whenever Chuuya uses them, he definitely steals the spotlight – I mean, he walks on walls, and even has a “super mode” in the form of Corruption! Can’t get better than that, eh?

Extra Day 1 (Day 22) – Anime Male with Two-Tone Hair

This one I got stuck on for ages, because Mel alerted me of this a few weeks ago and I coouldn’t think of anyone. My choices either come from Touken Ranbu (specifically Nagasone, whose manliness is not my style at all, and a few tantous) or Nanbaka, which I’m still grumpy about the inconclusive ending for…

…well, I discovered I had more choices than I thought I did when I was scrounging for choices, but Nanbaka it is. I remember vouching for a Nanbaka character in the past and my sentiments on that character still stand.

You might have noticed I tend to have a soft spot for characters with two different “sides”, like how Chuuya has Corruption or Victor (the one from day 20) has both silly and serious sides. The protagonist of Nanbaka, Jyugo, is more in line with the former of those two examples. In most cases, his only usefulness is breaking out of prison and its associated traits…which also means he can do complicated puzzles without breaking a sweat, so don’t underestimate him.

Jyugo’s often the blandest character in the show, which makes moments when he whips out those blades of his stand out more, since the trigger for using them appears to be some variety of emotional outburst (I haven’t caught up with the manga, so if there was any explanation for it there, I won’t know it). His blandness also means he’s not particularly attractive in a more conventional sense, but since this is “bland” in Nanbaka terms, his heterochromia and red-tipped hair make Jyugo extremely unique-looking when compared to characters from other shows.

Jyugo’s a bit hard to get behind at first, but he’s pretty much the glue holding cell 13 together. That means what Hajime said about his escape rate going down 30% when every other cell 13 guy’s been caught isn’t just for laughs – there is a genuine bond behind them, and you don’t see that with Honey and Trois (although you barely see those two apart)!

Of course, being the protagonist, it’s Jyugo’s motivations that move the series along…whether it’s about his father, Elf or the Man with the Scar, most of the compelling stuff is attached to his backstory. It’s to the extent that when Nico revealed he had a more manic side which is very similar to Jyugo’s, I still ended up liking Jyugo more anyway.

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Geh, I’m still worried that I’m using boys from the same series over and over again, even though I didn’t do that this time. While I lament my poor choices, you can read about Mel, Arthifis and Lina’s picks. I honestly thought I’d have doubled up with someone this time, but the doubling up happened somewhere I didn’t expect it to be…

So, what do you think about these characters? Are there any boys which fit these categories I should know about?