Top 5 Anime Boys!

Hello dear readers and welcome to a fluff-filled edition of Shoot the Rookie! Today I’m going to be revealing my favourite 5 boys from anime, and whilst there is absolutely no good reason for this post to exist I had a whole ton of fun writing it so I hope you’ll join me to find out who made the cut!

This post came about after a (cheeky) comment on Twitter from the wonderful Alex Sigsworth who suggested that anime boys are something I am interested in. Instead of deny such a claim I decided the best retribution for this comment was to take affirmative action. I mean I shouldn’t be embarrassed by having a reputation like this should I…? Either way, I thought putting together a top 5 on the subject would be a lot of fun and that idea was certainly not wrong.

I started by brainstorming a long-list that had 18 names from 16 different anime’s. If you’re interested, the two that were included in the long-list twice were Trigun and Yuri!!! On Ice. Of the 18, only 2 were from films and only 1 was guaranteed a place in the top 5 from the start.

Whittling the list down was no easy task and one that required copious amounts of wine and the assistance of my wonderful partner, without whom I would never have been able to get it down to 5, so many thanks to him for putting up with me and helping this post become a reality!

With all that said, let’s get down to business shall we? Oh, and please don’t judge me too harshly!

5. Galo Thymos (Promare)

Oh Galo! This loveable idiot has well and truly stolen my heart. It wasn’t easy picking between him and Promare’s other male lead, but overall Galo left a greater impression on me. He is a firefighter with a burning soul and will stop at absolutely nothing to protect people from the flames of the Burnish whilst simultaneously fighting for Burnish rights! A typical ‘act first think later (if at all)’ type, he is loud, over-the-top and frequently reckless, but his drive and determination are things to admire, as are his open mindedness and bravery. Even though he has to go through a painful process of realisation when it turns out that his hero is not only a fraud but also a total bastard, he doesn’t complain but instead stands up and fights for what is right and I am certain that without his boundless enthusiasm the story would have had a much less happy ending.

4. Yuri Plisetsky (Yuri!!! On Ice)

Picking from the many excellent characters in Yuri!!! On Ice was not an easy task, but really I was only ever going to pick Yurio. He is probably the best example from anime of a character type that I really like. He is moody, a bit aggressive and sometimes resentful, but beneath it all is incredibly driven, amazingly talented and has a big heart (even if he doesn’t always show it). It is the way his character develops over the course of the series that really made me love him. You are shown very different sides of his personality and he has some really touching moments in the show, particularly when he is back competing in his homeland, and that really changed my view on him. A lot of his aggression and resentment actually makes sense, and seeing him work through this stuff to reach the levels that he does on the ice rink are very heartwarming. I don’t know if it is because he is one of the youngest ice-skaters in the show, but I feel with every episode you get to watch him learning more about what it means to be an ice-skater, learning more about himself and learning about friendship and comradeship, and by the end you can feel nothing but love and respect for him.

3. Vash The Stampede (Trigun)

Ahh Vash! The Humanoid Typhoon! This guy rampages around causing absolute chaos and yet somehow is absolutely awesome. In one way he is another loveable idiot type, and yet you get the impression that Vash always (or at least usually) knows exactly what he is doing. As a guy with a huge ransom on his head he spends much of his time on the run from bounty-hunters but when they meet him they often can’t believe that this bumbling fool is the terrifying suspect they have been sent after. There is of course a good reason for this, because although he causes total chaos everywhere he goes, he is never the aggressor. In fact he is the opposite of the aggressor, because his driving motivation is to do no harm and prevent loss of life. He is capable of causing great destruction and yet shuns this in favour of saving lives. With his elaborate backstory a character like this could have been done as an earnest hero fighting against violence, but I think the fact that he comes across as so silly, clumsy and chaotic actually makes him a much more interesting and likeable character and gives the show a huge amount of pizazz. All that and I haven’t even mentioned that stunning red coat!

2. Senku Ishigami (Dr. Stone)

I know I write about Dr Stone a lot so it may not be a 10 billion percent surprise to see science boy on this list but I think he is a worthy inclusion. He is after all a character I respect, who makes me laugh and who I might have a tiny crush on. At first I thought he was a little arrogant, that there was no way he could achieve the things he spoke of, but his intelligence and determination soon changed my mind. He is clearly a brilliant scientist with a huge amount of knowledge at his disposal, but it is the slightly less obvious things about him that get him this high up the list. As well as using his scientific skills to rebuild civilization, he is also great with people. He forms genuine friendships and gets the most unlikely people working together as a team to save every life they can. He respects everyone and values skills that are very different to his own. Although his passion for science is unrelenting, you always get the impression that saving people is what’s really important to him and some of his best moments are quite emotional ones – particularly those involving his father. He is a really great guy and I can’t wait to see what’s next in his stone adventure.

1. Kai von Granzreich (The Royal Tutor)

Oh my god Kai! He is probably the least well known name on this list but I just love him and he was always going to be number one. I simply can’t imagine an anime boy (or any boy) being more loveable than Kai. He is the perfect mix of tough, responsible and sensitive and he plays all of those roles extremely well. As the oldest of four brothers who require educating in the ways of royal life, he always takes responsibility for the younger ones but isn’t afraid to chastise them either. His main issue is that everyone thinks he is terrifying because he looks tough and doesn’t talk or smile much, but when you get to know him he is unimaginably adorable. His main pleasure in life seems to be sitting under a tree petting the family dog and taking care of his little sister, but if you even vaguely threaten any of his family then he becomes fierce as anything. Although conversation is not one of his strong suits, he frequently acts as a mediator between the Royal Tutor and his younger brothers and has an unquestionable feeling of duty for not only the futures of his brothers but also his own. He is a wonderful, kind and gentle soul who in my opinion would make the best King ever!

Funi-funi ❤️

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So there it is! My top 5 anime boys! But what do you make of my picks? Are any of your favourites in there? Perhaps you’ve got your own top 5 to share? Let me know your thoughts below in comments and make sure you join me next time to find out my top 5 anime girls!

Thanks for reading,

Pix1001 x