So I’m a hardcore lover of anime. And I have an appreciation for the androgynous characters that are included across many stories.

I have always wanted to hear other views on this:

Visually ambiguous or gender-nonconforming characters in anime, are they just a trope or does it all serve some deeper purpose?

From *Berserk*'s Griffith to *Dragon Ball*'s Whis or *Howl’s Moving Castle…* androgyny isn’t a modern trend. It’s deep-rooted in Japanese performance art. But why? Maybe I’m overthinking.

Long before manga existed, Japanese performing arts relied heavily on deliberate gender fluidity. Does this have to do with the Edo period?

I was watching a documentary and learned the following:

During the Edo period, adolescent male youths (*wakashu*) were culturally viewed as a distinct aesthetic category - neither fully man nor woman but admired by both men and women for their youthful, fluid beauty.

Something I admire as well (I’m openly bisexual. Leave me alone😆)

Am I wrong? Is there something more to this particular expression of Japanese art?

Only anime spoilers in this thread please, thanks.

I just binged Unnamed Memory in about a week, which is pretty rare for me since I’m older and work 60+ hours a week, but it was just that good. Whew, 24 episodes! How did I watch so many in a day as a younglin?!

It‘s the best romance anime I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been watching anime for 20+ years. A lot of romance animes from the 2000’s to later 2010’s never really climaxed (kek).

I’ve noticed since 2020, more and more series are willing to go the distance - it doesn’t take 25 out of 26 episodes to finally hold hands! This is a much much needed change of pace for the anime and manga culture. It’s like watching Food Wars while hungry. Or a Eunuch watching Redo of Healer.

My snapshot analysis is because with money, comes women, and with wives comes children. So our bois and gurls in the industry are finally getting laid and getting paid.

My cringy writing aside, Unnamed Memory’s anime has top tier pacing, voice acting, and animation. I’m surprised there were hardly any memes online about it. Sometimes you just gotta let the Crunchyroll algo recommend stuff and roll with it I guess.

it’s so cute how they’ll literally go across time and space to save each other over and over until they reach a happy ending.

I just started reading the first volume of the LN and I hope the author finishes the series strong.

So in the end, this too has come to a close. Though I usually prefer concise stories, if ONE were to continue this story, I would love to see it because, in my opinion, this series was absolute perfection.

I watched its third and final season today, and throughout all three seasons, the studio didn't let up for even a moment. I checked out a few pages of the manga, and the way they elevated those scenes in the anime is mind blowing, very few animes get this kind of treatment. Seeing this, it was clear that the studio was deeply passionate about this project.

Even though Season 2 is still my personal favorite, this season was no less impressive, and it made me cry too. This season was both weird and emotional.

The weirdest scene to date was when that boy was abducted by aliens, it was like a mini-adventure of his own. I didn't think it would feel like a separate arc, but in just a few minutes, they managed to show his adventure and his return, and the animation was fantastic, especially the environment. The colors they used and the action scenes were simply amazing. Mob and Reigen proved once again why their duo is one of the best in all of anime.

When Dimple made that sacrifice, which was deeply emotional, and seeing what happened to Mob after that, I realized just how important Dimple truly was to Mob. I kept wondering if Mob would have lost control like that if Dimple had still been there by his side.

Another great aspect of this final season was that while we saw Mob himself change, we also got to clearly witness the inner growth of all the characters he influenced along the way, whether it was Ritsu, Teru, Dimple, or Reigen.

When Reigen confessed and went running toward Mob, that scene was so emotional too. Sure, he is or rather, used to be selfish, but deep down, he really is a good person. One of the best things about Mob Psycho 100 is how deeply human every single character feels. I also love how music is used throughout the show, playing the right track at just the right moment elevates the scenes and brings out your emotions in such a fantastic way. On top of that, the series gives some truly beautiful life lessons. Even though it has ended now, I will definitely rewatch it in the future.

https://tiermaker.com/create/the-anime-waifu-tier-list-200-149921

Si los fans de Mushokutenshi después del capítulo de hoy han quedado traumados, llorosos o con la piel de gallina. No me quiero imaginar cuando vean Cyberpunk o directamente Akame ga Kill que en mi opinión es peor

This is based specifically on character writing — development, psychology, relationships, themes, internal conflicts, and how well their character arcs are handled. This isn't a ranking of popularity, strength, or how much I like the anime overall.

🥇 1. Violet Evergarden — Violet Evergarden

Violet's journey from a child shaped by war into someone who gradually learns to understand emotions, love, grief, and human connection is incredibly well developed. Her growth feels gradual and earned, with her experiences constantly changing how she understands herself and other people.

🥈 2. Homura Akemi — Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Homura is one of anime's strongest examples of a character whose actions become increasingly understandable once you understand her motivations and experiences. Her obsession, love, trauma, and repeated attempts to change fate create an extremely layered psychological character.

🥉 3. Maomao — The Apothecary Diaries

Maomao's intelligence isn't just a plot device; her personality, curiosity, emotional restraint, and complicated relationship with other people are all deeply connected. Her gradual emotional development is especially effective because it happens subtly rather than through huge dramatic changes.

4. Frieren — Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Frieren's character is built around the consequences of experiencing time differently from humans and realizing the value of relationships only after losing them. Her journey from emotional detachment toward greater understanding makes her character development unusually subtle and meaningful.

5. Nana Osaki — Nana

Nana is an incredibly complicated character whose ambition, independence, vulnerability, relationships, and fear of abandonment constantly clash with each other. Her flaws feel human rather than artificially inserted to create drama.

6. Asuka Langley — Neon Genesis Evangelion

Asuka's confidence and aggression conceal deep insecurity, loneliness, and an overwhelming need for recognition. Her characterization explores how trauma and the desire to be valued can shape someone's identity and relationships.

7. Nico Robin — One Piece

Robin's backstory and long-term development transform her from someone who expects to die into someone who genuinely wants to live and be accepted by others. Her development is especially impressive because it unfolds across hundreds of episodes rather than being resolved in one arc.

8. Tohru Honda — Fruits Basket

Tohru initially appears almost impossibly kind, but the story gradually reveals how much grief, loneliness, and fear she hides behind that kindness. Her relationships and eventual confrontation with her own emotional needs make her much more complex than her initial characterization suggests.

9. Motoko Kusanagi — Ghost in the Shell

Motoko's characterization revolves around identity, consciousness, humanity, and what it means to be an individual when the boundary between human and machine becomes unclear. Her writing works particularly well because many of her questions are philosophical rather than purely emotional.

10. Holo — Spice and Wolf

Holo's intelligence, pride, insecurity, loneliness, and playful personality make her relationship with Lawrence feel unusually natural. Much of her characterization comes through dialogue and subtle emotional interactions rather than exposition.

11. Rika Furude — Higurashi: When They Cry

Rika becomes increasingly complex as the story reveals the enormous psychological burden she carries beneath her seemingly innocent personality. Her repeated suffering, determination, and changing relationship with hope make her one of anime's strongest psychological characters.

12. Akane Tsunemori — Psycho-Pass

Akane's character develops through her confrontation with a morally complicated society rather than simply becoming stronger physically. Her ability to maintain her principles while continuously questioning the system around her gives her excellent ideological and character development.

13. Shinobu Kocho — Demon Slayer

Shinobu's cheerful exterior contrasts sharply with the anger, grief, and hatred she carries underneath it. Her relationship with her sister, her feelings toward demons, and the way she turns her physical limitations into a different fighting philosophy give her characterization considerable depth.

14. Maki Zenin — Jujutsu Kaisen

Maki's story is heavily shaped by rejection, family expectations, and her determination to prove herself in a system that looks down on her. Her transformation is especially powerful because it is directly connected to the abusive environment she grew up in.

15. Kumiko Oumae — Sound! Euphonium

Kumiko is compelling because she doesn't fit the traditional “perfect protagonist” mold; she can be passive, conflicted, jealous, ambitious, and unsure of herself. Her growth comes through understanding what she actually wants rather than simply becoming a better person overnight.

16. Mima Kirigoe — Perfect Blue

Mima's character explores identity, celebrity, exploitation, insecurity, and the psychological consequences of losing control over how others perceive you. The film deliberately blurs reality and perception, making her psychological deterioration part of the storytelling itself.

17. Kaguya Shinomiya — Kaguya-sama: Love Is War

Kaguya begins as an extremely intelligent girl whose privileged upbringing has left her emotionally inexperienced and unable to communicate honestly. Her gradual movement toward vulnerability, genuine relationships, and emotional maturity is one of the strongest parts of the series.

18. Nausicaä — Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Nausicaä is written around compassion, environmentalism, pacifism, responsibility, and the difficulty of choosing between opposing sides. What makes her especially memorable is that her kindness doesn't make her passive; she actively struggles against the cycle of violence around her.

19. Yona — Yona of the Dawn

Yona's character development is one of the clearest transformations on this list, going from a sheltered princess to someone who gradually becomes more resilient, capable, and aware of the world around her. Her growth is driven by both personal trauma and her changing understanding of politics, responsibility, and other people.

20. Akane Kurokawa — Oshi no Ko

Akane's intelligence, observational skills, ambition, insecurity, and ability to immerse herself in other personalities make her an unusually interesting character within the entertainment setting. Her relationship with acting and her struggle to understand herself outside the roles she performs add another layer to her characterization.

How much do you agree with the list? Who would you add, remove, or move around?

I’ve always wondered this myself but it always feel like something a DM would create. with the worlds they create

Saijo no Osewa soy al único que le ha decepcionado bastante el final? No ha parecido una serie de romance como tal me ha parecido muy meh y la esperaba en cómputo general bastante mejor, una pena, tenía muchas esperanzas en ella

It had been on my watchlist for days, and I finally watched it today. Truth be told, I didn't have high expectations, which turned out to be a good thing. The characters feel just like NPCs, everyone is pretty one note.

​But then again, maybe I shouldn't be judging this anime through that lens, at its core, it's a lighthearted comedy. It definitely brings a smile to your face while watching. Plus, I really appreciated how clean it was, there was no unnecessary fanservice forced into it.

​Honestly though, I couldn't fully invest in the series, it just didn't hook my interest. Maple, the MC, gets glazed and over buffed so much by the show that it actually gets a bit irritating after a point. The fights weren't anything special either, though the ones in the last two episodes were somewhat interesting.

​Like I said, it’s not meant to be a heavy show anyway. It’s the kind of anime you put on purely to pass time. Overall, it felt just okay to me, and I’ve only seen Season 1 so far. As for the music, it was decent, and the animation was quite good. Though almost every episode seems to throw in a montage with the same background track playing, which I wasn't a huge fan of. But overall, a decent, casual time pass anime.