Reviews by Kyle Ellis

Anime: Lucky Star

Sometimes I forget that Kanata Izumi is Konata’s mom.

I mean, just take a look at her. It’s like she’s her twin who prefers books and the beach more than [Link removed - login to see].

I wish she was still alive so her husband Sojiro and her daughter could spend more years with her (especially since she passed away when Konata was just a baby). But that’s life.

Anyway, I’m glad that Lucky Star gave her time to reconnect with her family, even if she was just in spirit form.

Anime: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Did Miss Kobayashi give birth to a child? No — and I even once thought she was just a long-haired dude.

But this programmer who goes wild when drunk proved that she could be a mother when Kanna Kamui came around.

For one, Kobayashi ensures that Kanna is doing fine in terms of being a small, adorable child learning in school… and as a mighty dragon adapting to life in human society.

Like a typical mom, she worked hard to earn a day off to cheer for Kanna at the school sports fest. Also, I just love it whenever Kobayashi reassures the cute Kanna that everything will be fine. Such a mom.

Anime: Dragon Ball

Chi-Chi may as well be in the top 5 if I’m only talking about sheer popularity.

As the loving wife of Goku (i.e. one of the [Link removed - login to see] still going strong to this day) and mom of Gohan and Goten, Chi-Chi’s already a household name.

Plus, she doesn’t have to act like a solemn, peace-loving mom to be lovable.

If you’ve seen her right from the start, you’ll know that she went from timid to tough, and understandably irritated at times.

Anime: Kara no Kyoukai

I’ll be honest with you: Shiki Ryougi terrifies me sometimes.

She’s absolutely cool, but also frightening.

Then again, what should I expect, given that she’s from Kara no Kyoukai?

Shiki’s time as a mother isn’t a major element in the franchise. But I love that she and Mikiya Kokutou have Mana Ryougi, who amusingly wants to “defeat” her own mom to acquire her dad.

Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Lan Fan is a literal ride or die.

She’s prince Ling’s bodyguard and she takes her job extremely seriously, being fully prepared to throw hands if you bite your thumb in the prince’s direction.

She’s also prepared to stand against the entire world if it means Ling may survive, or accomplish his ultimate goal of immortality.

This all makes her sound very chaotic and impulsive, and she can be like that sometimes. But odds are she’ll just keep to herself and watch over her prince from a distance.

Anime: One Piece

I bet some of you were scared that Zoro wouldn’t pop up in this list, but here he is.

What can be said about this man that hasn’t been said before?

He’s one of the coolest characters in general. I mean, he fights [Link removed - login to see] like an absolute badass, is an excellent leader and a good friend, always tries to do what he thinks is right, and even has some comedic elements to him!

This is what you call a perfectly concocted badass character.

And the fact that he’s a pirate on top of it all just gives him the number one spot on this list, and probably good rankings in many other lists to come.

Anime: Black Lagoon

I want to shout out to Rokurou because he’s like the most millennial pirate ever.

He didn’t even want to become a pirate. He was in fact just a salaryman, but got kidnapped by a mercenary group called Black Lagoon and kind of just rolled with it.

He might also just have Stockholm syndrome, but whatever either-or.

The Black Lagoon represents the modern pirates, as they might not be having sword battles and dying of scurvy, but they are definitely breaking all of the laws.

And even in a group like that, Rokurou managed to be more of the diplomat type. You just got to love it.

Anime: One Piece

Speaking of watching someone for years, we have to address our Straw Hat Boy.

Luffy is both generic and painfully unique at the same time.

On the one hand, you have those classic tropes of the protagonist being kind of stupid and eternally hungry.

On the other hand, he’s such a believable leader that you never put his position into question.

It always feels like he gets his crew, and he doesn’t have that usual “MC ego pack” that’s so typical in some anime.

He knows when it’s time to run, and when he should let certain people go.

So even though he might not be my personal favorite, I have to give the man some real credit.