For some time now, I have been living with the uncomfortable reality that my house is clearly bugged and anime producers have been stealing my identity to create their characters…well their less interesting supporting characters….but still. To this day, I have yet to see a penny in residuals.That’s not how residuals work you say? That’s ok…they can still pay me.
Fact is, I see a little of myself in a lot of characters but I’ve trimmed it down to 5 that I see almost all of myself in. A lot of them are drunks….That’s just a coincidence…
5. Takasu Yasuko – Toradora
I am not a mother, nor have I ever had the urge to become one (that may eventually change but..so far so good!). This said, if I do ever get pregnant, I hope I can be as great about it as Yasuko. She may have one over me in that department. This said, a happy go lucky blonde with a tendency to soften harsher realities through childish and silly behavior, and a steadfast almost delusion embrace of the brighter – now that sounds familiar.
We both come off as a little flaky at first but that doesn’t mean there isn’t more going on below the surface and if push comes shove, we will defend our own fearlessly. I have had more opportunities that Yasuko in pursuing my own selfish dreams, but in her shoes, hostess may have been an option for me too.
4. Akane Kowata – The Flying Witch
My hair is actually white at the moment, so we still have the general coloration down here. Akane is a party loving smart pants who ends up generally more trouble than she’s worth. Basically me at my best. I’m pretty sure that if the show bothered to follow her around a bit more, you would have had long boring scenes of her playing video games or just chillin on her own.
Even though I’d like to think I’m not quite that much of a pest, I’m pretty sure my friends would disagree. I also have some very deep rooted wanderlust that makes it hard to stay in one place for very long. It’s a tribute to my deep love of my adopted country that I’ve made due with regular travel instead of jumping ship all together but Tasmania has been looking mighty attractive lately.
3. Chie – Love is Like a Cocktail
We are getting into libel territory here. Not only do we share a hobby but we also share an appearance and a lot of general traits. I do in fact have a very button down corporate job where I have to wear suits and put my hair up and hide my tattoo. And I’m a workaholic. I like working, I like getting things done right and I get antsy when I have too much free time. I will always prefer to take work home rather than push back an internal deadline.
If Chie was a bit shorter, we may actually be in court now. But I am much goofier than she is, even sober, and much more together when drunk. I’ve had a healthy amount of practice so I can hold my booze way better than that. However, marrying the next bartender that can make a yummy drink sounds like a pretty solid plan, so I may end up imitating HER!
2. Kobayashi – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid
I mentioned it in my review but Kobayashi is pretty much exactly how I see myself. Generally laid back, even keeled and adaptable. I do my job, have a little fun on weekends and try my best to enjoy life as it comes. Sometimes I get a bit too excited about my fandoms and freak out the people around me.
A big part of my devotion to the series has to do with the idea that I too could someday have an adorable dragon maid to hit on me. But barring a slightly more dour personality, I am pretty much a blonde Kobayashi. I WANT to be a white haired Fafnir though. I bet Kobayashi wants to as well!
1. Irina – Assassination Classroom
well duh…
Eastern European, check. Blonde, check. Somewhat accustomed to taking advantage of her feminine whiles, check. Undercover assassin, check, I mean, what, who? Oh man, I’m going to have to kill so many people now…
But seriously, this is a touch uncanny. We have the same childish spoiled brat side, the somewhat inapproprite tendencies, the multiple languages, we even have the same astrological sign since our birthdays are only a few days apart….
Even though we only see her on the job as a teacher, she still manages to sneak in the occasional drink! We have similar fashion sense, same tastes in men, and we take our jobs seriously even if it’s not always obvious. But, possibly most telling of all, random people also call me bitch in what I assume is an affectionate matter…
So what do you guys think. Do I have a case? Did you picture me differently? I hope you’re not too disappointed. Which anime character are you most like? Make your own lists if you like, I would honestly be very interested in knowing!
This is a really good idea Irina! I took an unintentional break from blogging recently and I’m starting to want to find my mojo: could I… “borrow” this idea for myself? I’ll be sure to add a note that you inspired it of course!
Please do – I want anyone who feels like it to do it too. I thought it was really fun to write and I bet it’s going to be great to read!
Welcome back! I’m looking forward to your post
Maybe I could hire someone to insert an anime character like me. Then I could hire someone else to watch it.
Seriously there is no anime character out there close to who I am. Maybe that’s a good thing?
Ask your son if he thinks any charas are like you. Could be interesting
I like this post. I may do something like it in the future.
I hope you do! I am curious to read it
You can’t take me if you don’t know where I am! HA HA HA~
And now that you mentioned it, damn, you really ARE similar to Irina.
In a lot of ways.
I wonder if both of you have the same tastes in love…
I usually like a sense of humour but I can’t deny Karasuma has his charms
’twas fun reading this list, with Akane and Kobayashi being my favourite characters on this list (Kobayashi winning by an easy margin). I don’t tend to compare people to other people, so I have trouble telling if that fits my image or not – different people are different.
For the same reason, it’s hard to come up with a list of my own. There are no characters who a clearly based on myself; but a tier below that there are a few characters I feel a kinship to, for a trait or two.
There’s Hachiman Hichigaya from Oregairu. Same unwarranted social cynicism and the same willingness to be a scapegoat/villain if it eases the situation, for pretty much the same reasons. Watching season 1, none of that stood out, but watching season 2 was… painfully close.
Kuronoma Sawako from Kimi ni Todoke. The same blindness for how positively other people see you, and the same willingness to engage people anyway. A bit more unstable, though, so she’s actually a rather inspring character.
Yumura Kirika from Noir. The same struggle with identity: why am I good at doing things I don’t want to do? How do I take responsibility for things I feel forced to do?
Those are the three big ones. It’s interesting that none of the characters in Uchouten Kazoku are very much me; through the frog comes closest. The entire show, though, is pretty much my psychic space.
It’s interesting that in most shows it’s the side-characters I indentify with more, and it’s more often women/girls than men/boys. This season, I feel a sort of kinship to Kaoru from Toji no Miko, someone with a moral compass of her own, who doesn’t much like do unneccary things and thus hangs back until she’s got a good idea of the situation and what needs to be done. Her pet’s one of those beasties they’re supposed to fight. That’s so spot on, too.
For someone who had difficulty coming up with a list that was a great one and really fun to read.
I obviously went by certain superficial traits as much as actual personality and although no character is perfectly me (kabayashi by far the closest) i occasionally go through all of them.
I had a lot of fun making this list and reading your comment. I hope the trend catches on and i get to read more of how people see themselves.
I knew you were secretly an assassi… Um what?
I also would like to be with a bar tender that would make life a lot easier than just pouring a bunch of rum or vodka into a splash of juice….
See now I’m thinking i should marry you… We could share an anime collection
Heck yeah! Life goals right there!
I love the title post, its very you. Im not too surprised that you’re secretly an assassin but your secrets out now!
Until i find you….i mean nothing to worry about…
I’m gonna start running now….
Kobayashi by day, but the moment you unwind you become Chie? I can actually picture that.
That sort of fits
Next up – “Top 5 Game Characters that are clearly based on me” ( Challenge accept? 😉 )
That’s a lot of similarities I see there, and as for assassination classroom… … Oh boy I need to watch that, I didn’t know there was an Irina in there!!!
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Here’s a very simple list for myself: [A] Lawrence , [B] Koutarou Azumi, [C] Oreki (in the past)
You seem calm!
I can’t explain how weird it was to hear my name in an anime all the time. I kept trying to figure out who was calling me.
Its pretty cool to hear your name in an anime (maybe its saying “come join us!”) . Haha it must be rather lively (or terrible D: ) in Japan when the ppl share names with the characters.
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Interesting deduction! That’s a part that you’ve got a bullseye on. 🙂
I’ve always thought of myself as a Sakaki (Azumanga Daioh). Not just because of her height and extreme love of cats (though that certainly doesn’t hurt!), but also because she’s one of those characters who’s mistaken by her classmates as being ‘cool and mysterious’ when really she’s just tall and super shy. Given that I was once told by an old classmate that people saw me as being too snobby to speak to anyone when the truth was that I was usually just too socially anxious to open my mouth, I can totally empathise with that.
This is a truly adorable description and somehow fitting since I still see you as cool and mysterious
Mayumi of Kawai Complex. Office lady drunk with bad taste in men.
That’s how you see yourself – interesting
Not myself. Tablets are not fun for typing. Their auto-reject/replace “bug” tried to replace most of what I typed.
Mayumi is, however, my anime watching friend’s first choice for an anime waifu, if he were going to choose someone. I would think she’d have been on your list as someone who totally stole your life. I have never seen a character in an anime like me.
She’s a bit too romantically inclined and bitter. We do have hobbies in common though
Are you saying you wouldn’t be this lonely and gullible like she is? She works every day. She doesn’t have anime to keep her busy. Instead she’s xmas cake, a bottle fairy.
Oh, another one: the older sister of the hero in Wagnaria. She teaches women’s self defense, drinks too much, scares off boyfriends after suplexing them, and is generally miserable. I think you said you didn’t watch that one?
I watch a few episodes but dropped it.
I’m generally pretty unemotional and really not that interested in romantic poursuits beyond practical means. Having to turn down another proposal is one of the most unpleasant things I can imagine so I don’t tend to relate much to characters that just want to be in a relationship.
It isn’t much fun for me either, though thankfully proposals only seem to come from women who haven’t met me. It was worse when I was younger, and more attractive. I had to politely turn down the pass of both a mother and her teenage daughter a few minutes apart. Sigh. What I like about Wagnaria, once you get past the ogre strength of the redhead, is the general dysfunctionality of all the characters in that show. Its more than the single awkward romance. You quit too soon. He has to face off against the guy that made her so crazy strong and terrified of men: her father. It is somewhat poignant for that confrontation, for the note that “some parents really shouldn’t be allowed to have kids”.
I’m now watching Servant Service, and enjoying the heroine of the story, who loves to read books because she’s so shy about her looks. Good gf material, that girl Lucy.
Please don’t sue Miss Kobayashi…
Leave my waifu alone!!!
She wouldn’t be too bothered by it – I know I wouldn’t 😉
What, being sued?
yup
Ohh, I love this post idea, hahahaha
Yes, you should definitely sue, Get some Miles Edgeworth there
I have screamed objection into my DS on crouded public busses so many times…