It was approximately ten years ago, in the latter half of 1999, when I first discovered what anime was and started on the path to becoming the major fan that I am today. Even though I’ve only had cable TV and high-speed Internet for less than five of those ten years, I’ve managed to watch over 200 anime titles as of today.

Wanting to do something a little special to celebrate my decade of fandom, I was inspired by Digital Boy from Fuzakenna! to count down my top 100 favorite anime characters…

In order to count down my 100 favorites, I’m going to make ten posts with ten characters each, starting with characters 100 to 91 on this post. I’m including all characters I like – old and new, human, animal, or whatever. Personally I usually like characters for one of two reasons; 1) I like their personality, development, attributes, etc., or 2) I like them as a representative of a theme in the anime that they hail from. The only rules I lay down for the list is no more than five characters per title and I must remember some facts about the character (this pertains to anime I haven’t watched in years and may have forgotten about). It was quite a chore deciding on and organizing my 100 favorites, and I’m still not sure I’m completely satisfied with how the order turned out. But I did the best I could, so here we go…

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100. Karada Iokawa (from Asatte no Houkou)

Seiyuu: Ayumi Fujimura

Asatte no Houkou was a short and only slightly memorable series, but I thought Karada was a very sympathetic protagonist. She’s a little girl who wants to grow up, but when she magically ends up becoming an adult, she is sad, confused, and realizes that things are not as simple as she thinks. I just found her to be a very believable character in an unbelievable situation.

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99. Maka Albarn (from Soul Eater)

Seiyuu: Chiaki Omigawa

One of few female characters who plays the role of the main hero in a shounen series, Maka has many sides to her; toughness, fear, anger, friendship. Her bonds with Soul and Crona, as well as her insecurities about her own abilities, contribute to her likable character.

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98. Alphonse Elric (from Fullmetal Alchemist)

Seiyuu: Rie Kugimiya

Al is a kind, considerate boy who, despite his age and difficult situation, is mature, responsible, and perhaps even more emotionally stable than Ed. Of course, he has his own moments of sadness and doubt, but he still remains gentle and caring. But he can be tough and brave when need be, or even scold Ed if he must. It’s amazing how much feeling comes out of the expressionless suit of armor his soul resides in.

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97. Deedlit (from Record of Lodoss War OVA)

Seiyuu: Yumi Touma

Deedlit shines in her relationship with her traveling companion, Parn. The romance in their relatively mature relationship is subtle; Deedlit remains caring yet slightly aloof, but not in a haughty way. She’s simply a pretty elf with an enjoyable personality.

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96. Ruki Makino (from Digimon Tamers)

Seiyuu: Fumiko Orikasa

Ruki starts off as a lone-wolf who compensates for the resentment she feels towards her mother by casting off weaknesses and aggressively establishing herself in the digimon community. But as the series takes its course, she learns that it’s acceptable to make friends and show weakness again. Her change is not drastic and is thus more believable. Her relationship with her digimon, Renamon, is both dramatic and touching. She’s definitely one of the Digimon franchise’s most well-developed characters.

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95. Canaan (from CANAAN)

Seiyuu: Miyuki Sawashiro

Canaan is tough but not foul-tempered. She is an assassin but is not cold and ruthless. Behind her amazing synthesia ability, she yearns for nothing more than friendship and other things that normal girls desire. Her relationship with Maria, her inner demons, and the juxtaposition of killing skills and a child-like understanding of the world, make her an engrossing character.

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94. Tohru Honda (from Fruits Basket)

Seiyuu: Yui Horie

Tohru is the kindest and most thoughtful soul I’ve ever seen. Her sincere warmth and optimism penetrate the darkness in the hearts of all the Fruits Basket characters. For each troubled Sohma she meets, Tohru gives them the courage to confront their greatest fears and the motivation to find the good qualities they never knew they had. Her one fault is being a bit too kind, resulting in an inability to complain and letting others walk all over her. But I think the world would be a better place if more people were like Tohru.

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93. Kirara (from Inuyasha)

Seiyuu: Tarako Isono

Kirara is the perfect companion; she’s sensible, good-natured, and is always there when she’s needed. She’s also cute without having to exaggerate her cuteness like a lot of other animal characters. And the little sound she makes in her small form is the cutest cry in the anime animal kingdom. It’s amazing how a character who never speaks can reveal some sort of personality over the course of a long series (though I feel the Inuyasha anime gives her more personality than the manga). I know animal sidekicks like Kirara hold little meaning to most fans, but I feel they deserve some recognition. She’s the first of a few other favorites of mine whom I feel speak well without using words.

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92. Yoh Asakura (from Shaman King)

Seiyuu: Yuuko Satou

In a world full of fiery, hyperactive shounen heroes, Yoh’s tranquil, levelheaded personality is a nice refresher. Like any shounen hero, he’s tough and determined in battles, but he doesn’t have the obnoxious immaturity that plagues many of his shounen peers. He’s just a nice, mellow guy.
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91. Gash Bell (from Konjiki no Gash Bell!!)

Seiyuu: Ikue Ohtani

Gash is a cheerful little guy who loves to have fun, but knows when to be strong and serious when facing an adversary. When he’s not battling other mamodos, his hilarious antics irritate his partner, Kiyomaro, to no end. But despite his childish mischief, he’s sensitive to the pain of others and will fight to avenge his friends. He’s a funny, lovable kid.

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That’s it for the first of ten “My 100 favorite anime characters” posts. I’ll be doing other posts in between the 100 character countdown, but hopefully it won’t take me too long to complete it.

Click here for characters 90 to 81.

Click here for characters 80 to 71.