He was my dream man
I’m sure many of us do, or at least did at some point in our fandom, develop crushes on certain anime characters…
I use the word “crush” loosely – it could refer to fantasizing about having intimate relations with that character, or simply a special liking for them that’s a little more “special” than normal. For most of us I think, we tend to have crushes on characters who we would want to meet/date/be intimate with in real life – they have wish-fulfilling traits we would like to see in a real potential companion. I believe this is what my crushes have been like.
I started becoming an anime fan in high school, and those years are when the majority of my anime crushes took place. I was never one of those girls who drooled over bishounen, or any anime guys for that matter, though I knew plenty of girls who thought certain male characters were the epitome of hotness. I was always more interested in anime for its story and all the characters rather than ogling a single one. I never thought of anime characters in terms like “hot” and “sexy” – the closest I would get is saying I liked them, thought their personality was to my liking, and I would love to meet them if they were real.
My reminiscing has come up with six anime crushes I had in high school. They’re listed below, from most minor to most major…
Rock Lee
In the early episodes of Naruto, none of the guys appealed to me much (I was never a Sasuke fangirl XD) until Rock Lee made his debut. I think the first thing that got me to like him was the fact that he spoke more politely than the other guys and just seemed less rough and arrogant. I also remember one minor scene where he saved a squirrel from an explosion trap or something and I thought that was cute. His battle with Gaara was the first battle in the series that really impressed me. And of course, his tragic ending in that battle made me sympathize with him even more. But Shikamaru and Gaara have since bumped him down to #3 on my list of favorite Naruto characters.
Ashitaka
I’ve always had a thing for gentle, selfless, compassionate guys, and Ashitaka was one of them. His many instances of kindness and self-sacrifice in Princess Mononoke touched me. He was one of my earliest crushes, and though it didn’t last very long, he’s still my favorite Ghibli male character.
Yoh Asakura
Although I watched Shaman King dubbed some years ago, I liked Yoh right from the get go. Not only was he gentle, but also soft-spoken and easy going, other traits I like, and unusual for a shonen hero.
Nuriko
I think Nuriko is the only obviously bishounen-looking character I’ve had a crush on. I just loved his eccentric but good-hearted personality. A little martyrdom helps too, and his death scene absolutely stunned me since I was still a new fan at the time and hadn’t seen anything like it.
Ken Ichijouji
Ken is my only crush who started off evil and later turned good. Digimon was one of my very first anime and seeing a well-developed backstory like Ken’s was new to me. I guess my crush for him came from that as well as sympathy because of his miserable past. I would encounter lots of other characters with miserable pasts later on, but his was the first I’d seen and it tugged at my heartstrings. After turning to the good side, he became kind and gentle, just what I like.
Vash
Vash was definitely my most major anime crush of all. I just loved this guy. He encompassed all the traits I could desire; gentle, kind, selfless, compassionate, the bearer of a well-developed, sympathetic past, funny but also deep and philosophical, strong but not arrogant – I loved everything about him, particularly his unfaltering respect for life. Even to this day, I think I still have a tiny bit of special feelings for him, though nothing like when I was in high school.
—–
Since high school, I haven’t really developed the kinds of anime crushes I used to have. Perhaps I’ve simply grown out of looking at anime characters that way, or perhaps becoming a more knowledgeable fan and/or mature person has something to do with it. Currently there are just a couple of guys besides Vash I could look at that way…
“Chad” Yatsutora
Like Vash, Chad has a lot of the traits I like – kind, gentle, compassionate, and powerful without being aggressive.
Shikamaru Nara
I wasn’t a big fan of young Shikamaru, but he’s since grown up to become quite the admirable guy. I guess in addition to gentle, soft-spoken guys, I also like mature, intelligent, level-headed yet good-hearted guys like him.
—–
To us it’s nothing strange to have crushes on anime characters, but to other people it may seem incredibly bizarre. Strangely in Japan with all the dakimakuras and ecchi promotional art, it seems like those kinds of feelings for anime characters is encouraged. To me, it isn’t any weirder than having a crush on a famous actor. In both cases you have a crush on someone whom you’ll never be with, but at least for anime characters you can get to know their true personality better than actors.
And by all means, share your past (or present) anime crushes if you’d like.
I think the first character I ever had a “crush” on was Tuxedo Mask. I watched Sailor Moon fanatically around the time I was five, and have stayed a dedicated fan for over a decade.
Right now, I crush mainly on villains. It’s a complete 180 from when I liked clean-cut pretty boys in elementary school, but I don’t mind a bit. For instance, I love Vlad Masters (Danny Phantom), Joker (Batman), Tyki Mikk (D.Gray-man), Grimmjow and Aizen (Bleach), and Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist).
Silent but strong, caring types also get to me. I would marry xxxHolic’s Doumeki in a heartbeat. Same with Haji (Blood+) or Zoro (One Piece).
And then there’s Kenpachi. I cannot explain why I am so head over heels in love with the brute. I just am. I like him the most.
Overall, I guess I like… bad boys/delinquents? I think Genzo (Tenshi na Konamaiki), Hei (Darker Than BLACK), and Gaara (Naruto) are adorable, and Tokyo Crazy Paradise’s Ryuuji is so cool. The only obviously bishounen character I’ve ever crushed on is Kail from Anatolia Story, one of my favorite manga. The story developed his character really well, so while I was initially attracted to his face like with most of my other interests, he eventually won me over mainly through personality.
And yeah, anime crushes tend to be, for the most part, overly fangirly. I’m not even going to try to deny that for myself. People outside of our little universe must think we’re crazy to obsess so intensely over 2D characters.
You have incredible taste.
I would do a list but I’ve kinda already got a waifu list and my 100 characters series, so I’ll leave it at that.
Oh, although I guess I deserve to give special note to my biggest and longest-lasting anime crush, the amazing Itoh Nobue from Ichigo Mashimaro. I would go into detail, but, well: http://nobuemaniax.wordpress.com/ really says it all.
Ah, anime crushes. They are very much fun. Several of them are generic fangirl bishies, but they’re admittedly worth it.
Lelouch Lamperouge
Hitsugaya Toushiro
Ed and Al Elric, Roy Mustang, and Maes Hughes (I don’t consider the FMA characters extremely aesthetically attractive, except Ed, but they have great personalities.)
Grell Sutcliffe ( I got three hugs from a Grell cosplayer at an anime convention this winter. I hope she didn’t mind!)
Yuu Kanda
Akise Aru (from Mirai Nikki. He’s a brilliant strategist and detective. His affection for Yukiteru is also a refreshing balance for Yuno’s yandere-ness.)
Touya Kinomoto (Probably one of my biggest anime crushes. He’s the ideal guy: nice, strong, protective, kind, compassionate. Lucky Yukito!)
Tamao Suzumi (She may be a girl, but I absolutely loved Tamao from the first episode. She’s such a lady, but has a devious and borderline stalkerish side, too. I felt so sorry for her at the end of the series.)
Do you remember that time we were all at the diner and the subject came to Slayers? I said, “Lina Inverse was my first love,” and then the table got all quiet and someone said, “You can’t SAY that, man.” Oh, but I just did, chum. :)
I personally find myself drawn to people with drive and passion. Sometimes that makes them serious people (like Makibi Kiyone from Tenchi Muyo), and sometimes it makes them fiery and intimidating (like Lina Inverse), but that’s my answer. Right now I’m all about Akashi-san from Tatami Galaxy.
@ Saere
Wow, you have/had way more crushes than me 0_o
Although Sailor Moon was the first anime I ever watched, and Tuxedo Mask was the first anime guy I saw, I never thought much of him. Guess I was never into pretty boys/bishounen, and I don’t think I could get into villainous characters unless their goodness outweighs their badness.
Hei and Gaara are good characters but I don’t think I would use the word “adorable” XD
@ digital boy
Thanks, I’m recalling your list and you have good taste too =) Making a blog just for your waifu is a nice way to show dedication (on that note, is there a male term for “waifu”?)
@ Akikura
Ah, you’ve got some of the famous ones on your list, particularly Ed and Lelouch. I don’t think I ever fell for the major fangirl favorites like these two and Sasuke, Light, L, Sesshoumaru, etc,. But strangely when it comes to female characters, I tend to like the really popular ones.
Guys like Touya who are common in shoujo series – acting tough and indifferent on the outside while being kind and caring on the inside – were never my taste for crushes but I like them as characters in general.
@ 2DT
I remember that XD I loved Lina back in the day. If I were a guy I probably would have had a crush on her.
Nice to know what your tastes are. Ah, Kiyone…that takes me back (to my Tenchi Muyo! days).
Wait. Let me get this straight. All this time I thought you were a guy!? And I thought how this post was filled with BL.
Anyway I have a top 10 waifu list that is not completely filled, lawl I should do a list of the remaining candidates for the last 2 positions.
@ Panther
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who thought I was a guy. I guess it’s ’cause I tend to like anime/characters that guys are more apt to like.
Good luck with your list!
Vash has funny hair. OK, I just had to get that out of my system. ;)
I enjoy watching a lot of bishonen in anime, but actually, I don’t get crushes on most of them. The way I define a crush is when one gets a bit obsessed thinking about one character or another, and to me, that means going beyond the surface appearance and thinking about the character himself: what he’s learned, what he stands for. In a sense, just like a real life crush. The person’s outer appearance has to do something for you, but the main thing is – what makes you keep thinking about him… ? And that’s all about the inner qualities.
So for me, that means I never get crushes on the really bad guys – and I would include in that category Light and Lelouch, despite their comely appearances. I mean, come on – mass murder is never cute. ;)
And by “crush,” I would include in that a kind of attraction that can be also be non-sexual and non-romantic: something like what you discussed in an earlier post, about “moe” meaning also protective and affectionate feelings.
So my short list (after saying all that) would probably include Naoe (Mirage of Blaze), Sasuke, Touya (Hikaru no Go), Hakkai (Saiyuki), Tezuka (Prince of Tennis), Hijikata (Hakuouki), and in that non-romantic sense, Gaara. I find Gaara fascinating and compelling. He’s one character that I would love to meet in real life.
@ Jan
LOL, he may have funny hair but it’s a small price to pay for a fantastic personality.
Your definition of an anime crush is better than mine XD My other favorite characters who are not crushes are “moe” or something along the lines of how you view Gaara.
You and I obviously have different taste in men
compassionate, caring and such is so boring lol
I’ve always had a bit of a crush on Lee too >w< I can't really remember many others that I have like a real crush on… Ikuto from Shugo Chara is definitely on that list though. I don't seem to have that many anime crushes, usually I really like the characters as characters or I think they would fit well with a girl in the episodes (in the case of romance shows that's most often the case)
I also think that it's not very different from liking actors, actually I think it's more understandable to like anime characters since, like you pointed out, we know their personalities really well. It's like we know the people whereas people who like actors only know what they look like, what they are like in roles they play and possibly some random things they learn from magazines. When people like an actor they don't really know them so I can't really understand liking them as more than just a good actor or maybe thinking they look attractive. People may feel free to think of me as strange for liking 2-D characters, I think of them as just as strange for liking certain 3-D people.
@ kluxorious
Guess I’d rather have boring person than a bad person. But yes, to each their own taste.
@ Tara
If there’s a pairing I really like in an anime, I don’t think I could develop a crush on the guy. I respect what the original creator wanted as far as creating a relationship between two characters. I know there are some girls who develop crushes on certain characters and condemn the female character who has the guy they like in the anime, but I don’t think I ever did that.
Totally agree with your second paragraph. That’s what the post I linked to was all about actually =)
Omg I recently rediscovered my hardest anime crush. Has anyone read planet ladder? Kagami is still, to this day, the sexiest anime character I have ever encountered and I am currently dating a real man with extremely blue eyes and black hair. <3
Oh god, anime crushes. Fun times, man. Fun times. Let’s see…mine included
Phantom from MAR
Kyo from Fruits Basket
Gaara from Naruto
Never really had a lot of anime crushes because I’m such a hardcore shipper and i had a hard time imagining them with me xD
Although right now I kind of idolize Izaya 8D;;
@ Mizunomegami
Sorry, never heard of that one ~_^
@ Myna
Yeah, as you can see from my list I didn’t have a ton of anime crushes either ’cause I preferred shipping too XD I’m much more into certain anime pairings than any of my crushes.
I have a draft post about how I am exactly like Yoh Asakura. He’s exactly how I am in a few ways (only a few). I think I’ll post this now in fact…actually, looking at this, Shikamaru might also be a rep for me…
I almost leaped out of my chair reading this – I had a major crush on Yamato/Matt from the first season of Digimon! I was so embarrassed about it at the time… and, yeah, actually I’m still pretty mortified that I had a legit crush on an anime character once… especially a character from a show like Digimon, haha.
I agree about Matt. Although for me, it was a really light crush in Adventure, then it… hmm… how do I say it? Oh, I started liking him more in Adventure 02 (He looks better. In Adventure, I always though his hairstyle was… weird.)
Um….Hmmmm…Wondering what I cold share in regards to over the years…Admittedly, there are many.
@ A Day Without Me
I liked Matt/Yamato a little too. I think he was my second favorite Digimon guy after Ken XD
I agree (that I like Matt a little. I never had a thing for Ken) . He’s 2nd on my list.
how funny I can remeber only one anime crush of mine but i am sure that I had many more it was Tamaki Souh.
I think I’ve had anime crushes mostly on characters from Digimon, cause most of them are around my age(I’m almost 12), and the rest from diferent animes I mostly don’t remember. My list(In order):
1. Henry Wong-Digimon Tamers-I never figured out why. I just like him. Probably cause he’s really nice and caring, plus he reminds me of a guy I have a crush on in real life. :)
2.Yamato “Matt” Ishada-Digimon Adventure and Adventure 02- A light srush. It developed in Adventure 02.
3.Koji Whatever his last name is-Digimon Frontier-Again, I never fighured out why. Excpet in the beginning of the season. He’s a real jerk then.
4.Um… I forgot his name -Tokyo Mew Mew-Some guy from Tokyo Mew Mew. I can’t believe this, but I FORGOT HIS NAME! I just know it’s not Kisshu. He’s low on my list casue I don’t remember him.
For #4 on my list, I was talking about the guy whose name I forgot. Not Kisshu. And sorry for the misspelled words.
Oh god, this is hard to admit….an anime with a bunch of frog aliens. I totally just wig out in my head when i see “Giroro” do something violent…………….
Yes…im in love with an animated frog ;__;
But hes like just violent and i like that for some reason now…my heart ACTUALLY starts pounding….but rarely does that happen.
Ive always had a thing for Itachi uchiha. I fantasize about being in the anime world with him protecting the leaf village. Im kinda depressed because I want him to be real. His anime death has a impact on me as well. I guess reality slipped out of my grasp. I have had a huge thing for him 8 years now… it makes me sad he isnt here.