Feature a Character that You will Always Love and Remember (30 Day Character Challenge, Day 30)

I don’t know what I’ve done to my blog. Do I like this layout? Can I abide this? I was playing around (I wanted it to snow on my site!!) and accidentally lost my original theme. I was pretty distraught, but hey, things are what they are, yeah? Yeah.

I think I’d be rather fond of it, if not for the fact that the blogroll page lays out entire posts instead of excerpts. But moving on…

Day 30 of the 30 Day Character Challenge has finally arrived after like 2 years of this nonsense. I’m not sorry to see it go, to be honest. I’m just glad to finally finish it. I thought undertaking the challenge would be motivating, and perhaps it was at one time, but then–having forgotten about it–it just became something hanging over my blog. Now that it’s done, perhaps I can move onto other things without regret.

But the topic at hand has asked me to name a character that I’ll always love and remember. I’m fighting an internal battle against saying Harada Sanos–STOP, BRAIN, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS–or Hijikata Toshi–Okay, Brain, to be fair we didn’t talk about this one but STOP IT.

It’s a challenge not to pick them (or Okita Souji, honestly) because, while there are other shows that I truly enjoy and appreciate for a variety of reasons (MDZS and its live drama adaptation, The Untamed–is my current obsession), I know that I will ALWAYS, ALWAYS come back to certain Hakuouki characters even as the haze of more fleeting obsessions (Yuri, Victor, is that you??) begins to fade.

I honestly don’t WANT to pick anyone else. These characters I will love and remember because they grew so much over the course of the series. They sacrificed so much, and without getting into spoilers, their lives spoke to me on such a deep, emotionally evocative level. I laughed, I cried–who am I kidding? I sobbed–and even now, over 3 years later, I remember exactly where I was and how I felt when Souji… well, when *minor spoilers* movie-Souji met his fate.

So yes, okay, Brain, you win. For this entry, I select:

Harada Sanosuke,

Okita Souji,

and Hijikata Toshizo.

What character or characters will you remember forever? Why have they stuck with you? Let me know in the comments below! ❤

Love, Peace, Geese, and Christmas cookies!

Shoujo❀

Feature a Character that Makes You Flashback to Your Childhood (30 Day Character Challenge, Day 29)

Carry me away as light as a feather!

Chase the clouds from the ground

in the big blue sky, don’t wanna watch it all blow by

so I’m gonna fly

I’m Gonna Fly (Kiki Delivery Service), Sydney Forest

This is hardly a post, but do I really need to say anything? ❤ ❤ ❤

Feature a Character You Absolutely Hate (30 Day Character Challenge, Day 28)

When I was a kid, I used to think that Darien Shields (AKA Tuxedo Mask) from Sailor Moon was the perfect boyfriend, and I think this was merely due to the influence of his position as Serena’s right-hand man. But now, as an adult looking back and with proper knowledge of their ages, I can’t ship it, because he’s clearly an adult taking advantage of a child, and that’s just gross and wrong. Even in fantasy, I don’t understand a grown man taking a romantic interest in a 14-year-old child.

But, as a child myself much younger than that as I first watched the series, I didn’t see Serena as a kid; I saw her as a kick-butt teenager with beauty and superpowers, so his interest in her didn’t feel off at all. Not to mention I thought they were both older teenagers AND the same age, to boot.

While I wouldn’t say that I hate his character, I will definitely say that I don’t approve of his relationship with the moon princess. I find it uber creepy, and thus I chose him for this prompt today.

I’m warping the challenge, but instead of a character, I chose a ship. BUT AT LEAST I’M FINISHING IT, YES? ❤

You should have seen my face when I found out their age gap.

Feature an Overrated Character (30 Day Character Challenge, Day 27)

There are a lot of overrated characters, in my opinion. For me, a lot of them are shonen protagonists, but who am I to judge a character as overrated when someone else might sincerely like them? If I am to, can I list a show instead? If so, “Inuyasha: Feudal Fairy Tale” is overrated because I can’t make it through the first two episodes. And, on top of that, the romance between him and Kagome is insanely sub-par compared to most of the (admittedly, romance) shows that I watch, so…

Yeah. I feel bad saying it since I don’t know the whole show, but I guess Inuyasha by default. I’m sorry, guys. It’s not for me. But if the MC is cool, more power to him. I’m just bad at this prompt, and that’s all there is too it. But if you like it…

This is so short, but I just don’t like calling things that people like overrated.

Feature an Underrated Character (30 Day Character Challenge, Day 26)

I have self-control, dear readers. I have some. I do.

Because, you see, I could use this whole post as an excuse to bemoan the fact that I personally feel like Harada Sanosuke from Hakuouki doesn’t get nearly enough credit in the otome fandom, but I won’t. See? Self-control right there.

Because, I mean… I could.

But I won’t.

You’re welcome. 😛

No, but anyway, an underrated character, huh? There are so many niche pieces of media I like that I feel like I could easily list a whole army of them. But if I’m to pick one from a well-known and properly appreciated series, I guess I will go with…

It’s so silly, but every time I’m about to land on a choice, my heart is just like, “But I appreciate them! If I do, other people must also, right??” Gosh. This is difficult.

Okay.

It’s the dango. Plural. From Clannad.

I pick them, because I love them, but I don’t think the dango family gets enough consideration for their overwhelming cuteness, and it’s a shame. So I pick them.

They’re so cute. I almost themed my whole blog around them for that reason alone. So cute. So wholesome. Just…. gah!

Feature the Character that Makes You Cry When /They/ Cry (30 Day Character Challenge, Day 25)

It’s this guy. It’s Tomoya.

I’ve written about the way that Ushio’s death makes me feel in a fair amount of detail, but Tomoya’s cries in her death scene just break my heart. His face, the horror, how strong he tried to be for her and how deeply he felt that loss…

• 

• 

• 

• 

And maybe it’s what his losses mean more so than his tears themselves, but I feel like Tomoya’s traveled such a hard road. He’s lost so much. When he cries, so do I.

His desperation is so incredibly profound, and yet things like his happen every single day. When he mourns Nagisa, his regrets are oceanic. And his feelings about wishing that he’d never entered her life are honest and realistic. He doesn’t know how to go on without her, doesn’t want this life, this unknown future without her…

And now that I’ve saddened you all for one day, I’ll take my leave. Maybe we all should go re-watch this moving, deeply poignant story.

~Shoujo

Feature the Best Character with the Best Laugh (30 Day Character Challenge, Day 24)

I Youtube-d “anime characters laughing.” Not gonna lie. Then I found this and remembered that I love it, so it all worked out.

Winner of the best laugh goes to Haru, both because it’s super adorable, but also because it is super out of character, and everybody knows it.

My sons.

That’s honestly all I have to say about that. Lol

~Shoujo ❤