“Don’t judge a book by its cover!” Tell that to Sawako Kuronuma’s classmates! In the anime Kimi ni Todoke, Sawako’s appearance is often mistaken as the scary girl from the film “The Ring,” thus giving her the nickname, Sadako. The gossip about Sawako deters people from getting to know who she really is. Consequently, those who know her can say that she is opposite from this fictitious film character. Sawako is very timid, kind and sweet. As Sawako yearns for friends and a sense of fitting in, she is drawn to Shouta Kazehaya, the most popular boy. Incidentally, when Shouta starts talking to her, Sawako’s spirit is overjoyed. Over the course of time, Sawako and Shouta venture on to new endeavors, both individually and together. In comparing Kimi ni Todoke with Sukitte Ii na yo (Say "I Love You"), they share a similar character complex where the shy and outcast female lead seeks refuge in the popular, coveted lead male. Additionally, both opposing natures grow to embrace different aspects of life through each others’ perspectives.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (My Little Monster) documents the growing relationship between the very isolated, distant and ice cold Shizuku Mizutani and the carefree yet emotional Haru Yoshida. Their relationship begins when Shizuku is tasked with delivering homework assignments to Haru’s house. As such, their romance proceeds slowly, but the two of them begin to discover new aspects of themselves and each other despite what others have observed. With each episode, this anime presents the needed close connections one must chance upon in order to develop and grow. In comparing Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (My Little Monster) with Sukitte Ii na yo (Say "I Love You"), both are romantic comedies highlighting the buildup of a friendship among two opposites into something more. Also, My Little Monster and Say “I Love You” have strong, dynamic characters that provide significant support to an already fantastic storyline.

Nanami Takahashi begins her first year in high school. Mentally prepared, Nanami has her mind set that her school life will go as typically portrayed in teen movies, which consists of making tons of friends and gaining popularity rapidly. Further along, Bokura ga Ita revolves around the budding relationship between Nanami and Yano Motoharu, a boy from her school. Collectively, we journey through the struggles and joys of blossoming romance, drama, and comedy between Nanami and Yano. In comparing Bokura ga Ita with Sukitte Ii na yo (Say "I Love You"), the animation is very similar between the two, displaying very light and delicate artistry. Moreover, the development of the characters and storyline are very simplistic and easy to follow.

Hiyokoi highlights the adventures of Hiyori Nishiyama, a very shy and awkward girl starting off at a new school. Hiyori is quickly drawn towards the very attractive and charismatic Yuushin Hirose. In this three episode special, Hiyori and Yuushin navigate the school year before Christmas holiday. Additionally, these two very visually dissimilar characters provide an interesting and exciting plot. In comparing Hiyokoi with Sukitte Ii na yo (Say "I Love You"), again the element of “opposites attract” is demonstrated. Furthermore, there are components of realism to each story.

Misaki Ayuzawa is the first female school president in a school that newly transitioned from being all-boys to co-ed. As she is deemed “Demon President” by a majority of males at the school, she is not afraid to lay down the law and stick up for her fellow female classmates. Strong and strict, Misaki appears to be running the show. However, as she appears as nothing short of perfection among her schoolmates, she embarrassingly works part-time as a café maid in order to support her family. No one at her school knows about this shameful secret until the most popular boy in school, Takumi Usui catches her on her work shift. Caught in a bind, Takumi holds the power of whether to bring the president down or take advantage of the situation to get closer to her. In comparing Kaichou wa Maid-sama with Sukitte Ii na yo (Say "I Love You"), they share familiar aspect of characters falling in love with each other in very cute and funny ways. Also, the main characters share identically close personality traits.

Ao Haru Ride also known as Blue Spring Ride follows Yoshioka through her life in high school. Recognized as the “cute girl” in middle school, Yoshioka is on a mission to revamp her image due to the hate she received from her female peers and the popularity and awe from the boys. As such, Yoshioka is faced with the many issues and obstacles of being a teenager: love, romance, friendship, etc. On top of that, her new, contrasting image disrupts how she really is naturally. Correspondingly, her friend from middle school also joins her in high school, Kou Mabuchi. Kou’s appearance too has greatly changed from middle school. Taken together, Ao Haru Ride, channels Yoshioka and Kou discovering themselves and the development of their relationship. Ao Haru Ride (Blue Spring Ride) and Sukitte Ii na yo (Say "I Love You") both are about romance, friendship, school life and the triumphs and failures of each. They are also both heart-tugging, enjoyable anime that succeeded incredible manga. The stories mean for the audience to truly be engaged, really feeling what the characters do.

One of the world's sneakiest mages, Levi is the Trinity Seven's ninja and one of the most reliable girls to have around when trouble strikes. Quick to ally herself with Arata, the two get on surprisingly well, with both having a teasing and blunt attitude. She also appears to be one of the few students at the academy who is properly trained for combat, with the others often having to rely on her for protection. Levi's strength is her ability to take on opponents in 1 vs 1 scenarios, including those who should be much stronger than her, such as Lugh and Liese after becoming a Magic King Candidate. Her mix of speed and ninja arts allow her to outmaneuver her opponents, on top of being able to flat out out-think many of them. Although unconfirmed, she may also be capable of using her Last Crest already which could put her ahead of the rest of the Trinity Seven, bar Liese. Her only weak point currently is that when it comes to crazy powerful finishing moves, she's still fairly reliant on people like Arata or Arin to finish the fight.

A cutie living in her own dream world, Yui proves to accidently be one of the most troublesome members of the Trinity Seven, struggling to control her own powers. As a Cardinal class mage, the only person more powerful than her at the Academy is supposedly Master Biblia himself, hence why she struggles to keep control. Her ridiculous raw power sadly kept her away from others for a long time, but thankfully those days are now over, with her able to walk around normally without sending everyone to sleep. Yui seems to have some of the strongest area of effect magic in the series, being able to draw all the students of the academy into her dream world at once, as well as previously putting everyone in the academy to sleep. Her main drawback was that she was unable to properly control her powers, though this problem was largely solved after Arata and rest of the Trinity Seven rescued her. As her magic is mainly defensive, it's not certain how well she can hold out in an actual battle, but she's more than capable of protecting others whilst someone else does the real fighting.

The first of Arata's two grimoires, Sora was supposed to keep up the illusion of a normal life for him, after a breakdown phenomenon destroyed the city. Cheerful and shameless, Sora has no qualms going along with Arata's perverse skits, even encouraging him on occasion, as she seems to enjoy how it messes with some members of the Trinity Seven. She's also a self-proclaimed genius, being much more knowledgeable about certain subjects than everyone else. Though she also appears to have no clue as to how some things work, including parts of her own magic. As we see right from the beginning, Sora is capable of creating and maintaining an alternate dimension, and also protecting Arata from his own Breakdown Phenomenon, neither of which are small feats. A large proportion of her other powers are ones she provides to Arata, including her ability to copy other mage's magic. Her main downfall is that she appears to be quite lazy when it comes to actually looking out for or dealing with enemies, causing the rest of the group numerous problems.

A thief with a serious self-expression problem, Lugh is a member of Iscariot and plays a major role in their attack on the Royal Biblia Academy. Possessing three legendary treasures, Lugh is strong enough to hold her own against members of the Trinity Seven (though perhaps not all at once) making her quite a problematic opponent for the Academy. Along with the confusion regarding Iscariot's intentions, although Lugh is an enemy she doesn't come off as inherently evil, rather just someone fighting for a different cause. As mentioned before Lugh is in possession of three legendary treasures, which are what allow her to duke it out with the Trinity Seven, despite her apparent lack of a Magus Mode. Though perhaps more than the treasures, her status as the "God of Light" is her most powerful asset, with her being able to move at the speed of light itself. This allows her to avoid almost any attack, physical or magical, though there are of course exceptions to this.

The splitting image of Arata's cousin Hijiri, though a bit less smiley, Arin is Arata's self-declared wife, whether or not he agrees to be a different matter entirely. Her blunt and odd personality make her a bit of a mystery to the other characters, as she's quite difficult to interact with and comes out with some very strange lines. At the very least though she's a straightforward girl, reflected in her Chaotic Rune magic, which is pretty much solely used for good old fashioned blowing stuff up. Despite only being a member of the Trinity Seven, Arin's magic is supposedly capable of matching a Magic King's in terms of raw power. With her focus being purely offensive, she can concentrate fully on dealing damage, which she's gotten pretty good at. Her recent acquisition of the Demon Spear Gae Bolg not only boosted her already strong magic, but added some more defensive abilities to her arsenal, making her less of a glass cannon and more of an actual cannon cannon.

One of Arata's two loli grimoires, Ilia recently came into his possession after she was defeated by Astral Trinity. Although adorable in her human form, Ilia is quite the terror before her defeat, being originally tasked by Hijiri with detaining him inside a separate dimension. Although he never knew it himself, Ilia had actually known Arata for a long time prior to that, often looking after him in Hijiri's place, because of which she's already taken quite a liking to him herself. Like Sora, Ilia is capable of creating an entire dimension singlehandedly and holding both Arata and Mira of the Trinity Seven inside. Not only that, but she was able to seal Sora inside a black cube, utilising her as a power source, essentially giving her her own grimoire to use. Although not necessarily more powerful than Sora, Ilia's intelligence allows to her out think her opponents and defeat them that way, in theory at least.

A member of the Trinity Seven gone awry, Liese turned to the dark side after acquiring her Magic King's Element from the Eternal Library and thus becoming a Magic King Candidate, like Arata, in the process. The most perverted out of the Trinity Seven (there seems to be a link between pervertedness and power going on), Liese and Arata get on surprisingly well despite starting off as enemies, though the rest of the Trinity Seven find her a bit much. Being a good girl deep down, Liese is happy to be back with her friends and twin sister after her defeat. Prior to her Magic King's Element being removed, Liese was by far the most powerful member of the Trinity Seven, and possibly stronger than Arata in a one on one. Though no longer a Magic King Candidate, she remains one of the strongest members of the group with her Logos Art giving her control of time and space, which even in her now weaker state is still pretty crazy. Along with that, she is still able to steal the magic of others and use it as her own, meaning that if given the opportunity she could wield an immense array of different magics by herself.

The girl with all the answers, Hijiri is Arata's cousin and seemingly one of the only people that actually knows what's going on with all the Breakdown Phenomenon that are occurring. Although she saved him before and even gave Sora to him, she's also proven herself to be an enemy on more than one occasion which is confusing, to say the least. We can only hope it's all part of some bigger game that's being played, because she was pretty cute before she turned out to be a crazy Magic King Candidate. It's suggested that Hijiri may be more powerful than Arata himself, although this has yet to be seen in the anime. Her status as a Magic King Candidate alone means that she should be stronger than the Trinity Seven, though her overconfidence regarding this turns out to be her undoing. Her strongest ability yet, Satan, gives her a new form surpassing Magus Mode, which provides her with an immense amount of power, though seems to turn her into some kind of demon in the process which looks a lot like Arata's Astra Trinity. It's scary to think of what Hijiri would be capable of if she still had both her grimoires.

The perverted headmaster of the Biblia Magic Academy, whether he's there for the teaching or just to hang around cute girls we may never know. Quite the mysterious fellow, there's not much revealed about the sly dog yet, apart from his status as a Paladin class mage, and that he's far more intelligent than he lets on. Yes behind those perverted eyes and ability to constantly get his arse kicked, is some kind of magic genius guiding the Trinity Seven from the shadows. Although we haven't yet seen the true extent of Master Biblia's powers, we do know that he's one of the few Paladin class mages in existence, and that a clash between Paladin class mages could quite well destroy the world as we know it. More often than not he's seen intentionally losing battles in comical ways, likely allowing for the Trinity Seven and Arata to deal with things themselves. We do know that his grimoire "Solomon's Gate", which is only visible to powerful mages, can drive people insane just from looking at it, which is pretty darn crazy in itself.

The Magic King Candidate that creates Breakdown Phenomenon by accident, Arata is both the luckiest and unluckiest guy in the series. Exceedingly close to having his body taken over by another being, Astral Trinity, but also being surrounded by so many cute girls, what a life. But he's handling it all pretty well, with his honest and dry attitude doing a surpassingly good job of keeping him alive and making him friends. Arata only begins to realise his true powers towards the end of the series but they're pretty devastating, with even Ilia not holding a candle to him. The only problem at the moment is that when his true powers are unleashed Astral Trinity takes over, and Astral Trinity is kind of a dick. Apart from that, we've seen that he's also already capable of copying the magic of others with little to no training, a feat that should be impossible, as well as dispelling all magic, and clothing, in a wide area. Looking like the strongest Magic King Candidate about for the moment, it's likely that Arata will exceed the strength of even Paladins like Biblia in no time.

Subaru would have never imagined how his life would dramatically change, as he leaves the convenience store, and is thrown into a fantasy world. Shortly after his arrival to this unknown world, he is attacked by some thugs while armed with only a grocery bag full of snacks, and his lousy cell phone. Subaru tries his best to fend them off but unfortunately he gets beaten to a pulp and all ends there. Fortunately for him, a mysterious beauty woman named Satella stumbles across Subaru's broken body and saves him. In order to thank her for saving him, Subaru offers his assistance in Satella's search, and later that night, he even finds the whereabouts of the enemy she seeks. But to their surprise, a much darker force waits behind the shadows, and just minutes after locating the insignia, Subaru and Satella are fatally wounded. However, Subaru immediately reawakens to a familiar scene in which he is confronted by the same thugs who pummeled him prior, and meeting Satella again only for her not to recognize him. The one important aspect that really resonates within the Elfen Lied series is just how much shock value there is. Every scenario that Lucy finds herself in always leads up to some extremely brutal and gruesome ending. Subaru's life reflects that very same circumstance since every time he's led down a path, it always ends up with an entire cast of characters dying in the most grotesque fashion. Limbs are lying around freely, throats have been slashed clean, and corpses lie motionless in a scene of terror. Both shows just have so much surprise to them that you're never too sure as to who'll be the next victim. The two characters suffer extreme traumatic experiences which encourage them to lash out, and inflict pain upon others. They've been thrown into events which they never asked for, and are left to go through agonizing pain while the enemy laughs at it all from a distance.

Mirai Nikki follows the crazy life of Yukiteru who soon discovers that his habit of conversing with imaginary friends through his device called the diary, eventually becomes a fateful reality. Yukiteru is confronted with a girl named Yuno who he builds a strong attraction to throughout the series. This close relationship however eventually becomes a game of survival, where both Yukiteru and Yuno must pursue and eliminate their enemies, while using their equipped diaries that allow them to assist one another in this fierce battle conducted by God himself. The winner is rewarded with the ultimate power of becoming the ultimate leader of the universe. Yukiteru and Lucy have been put through a lot of maddening experiences, so much to the point where violence and death become immune to them. They've been subjected to so much pain and suffering that now it only feels right to return the favor in some way. The two never asked for their lives to be full of torment, but some sick and twisted individual felt that they'd make a great fit in their experiments. This psychological burden is what provokes the anger and deadly intent in both main characters, because they feel it's the only way for them to survive and protect everything they own.

One day, a new transfer student comes to class named Kuroha Neko, that shocks Ryouta completely as she resembles that of his friend who had been killed prior. Kuroha can't recall any memory of being Ryouta's friend, but he discovers something odd about her. Kuroha possesses superhuman strength, the ability to see death, and other abnormal abilities. After Kuroha saves his life, Ryouta becomes a part of Kuroha's life, learning about her past and the hidden forces that exist in the universe. As he sinks more and more into a world of artificially created witches and spells, Ryouta must allow his scientific mind to accept that Kuroha has a very real power, the kind of power some corporations will stop at nothing to take advantage of. Lucy and Kuroha have a power that a team of special forces is after to grab hold of it. Their powers are so life threatening that it takes a whole brigade of officers to stop them, but even so the two leave a pile of guts and limbs lying around as a chilling reminder. The two experienced some very tragic beginnings which provoked the darker side of them to lash out, causing others to panic in their presence. The two females never saw any of this coming, as they originally had normal lives prior to it all crashing down on them abruptly. This darker side gave them superhuman strength and the ability to control people and things around them.

Saya Otonashi is a seemingly ordinary girl living a mundane life in Okinawa City with the family who adopted her. Due to suffering from amnesia and being unable to remember any of her life beyond the previous year, life felt very difficult for her. However, Saya's forgotten past quickly comes back to haunt her as one night, she is surprise attacked at school by a creature that desires on human blood. Just before her life is about to be robbed from her, a mysterious man named Haji appears and fends off the creature temporarily. But when her Haji convinces her to drink his blood, Saya suddenly enters a trance and slays the monster with relative ease, using her own blood as a tool. Saya then learns of an organization named Red Shield, so now Saya and Haji must work together with Red Shield to fight these fearsome monsters and unlock the secrets to her troubled past. One major reason why blood and gore sell so well is because of how well portrayed the story is behind it. None of these protagonists woke up dreaming to slash and dismember other beings without reason, but something drew them in which ignited a fuse in their minds to take action. Saya, much like Lucy, had been taken advantage of by another and now possess special abilities to seek retribution against the enemy. Destiny chose the path for these unsuspecting characters, and because of their fate, they must now use what they have in order to end suffering for others. It's as if they've taken on the pain and suffering of the innocent, and are now using that same energy to leave guts lying around in their free time.

It's the year 2019, thirty-one years have passed since the start of World War III. A top-secret child with amazing powers of the mind breaks free from custody and accidentally gets a motorcycle gang involved in the project. This incident triggers psychic powers within one of the gang members, Tetsuo, and he is taken by the army to be experimented on. His mind has been altered and is now on the path of war, seeking revenge on the society that once called him weak. Tetsuo was the victim of an experiment that went terribly wrong, and now he must come to terms with his new abilities to put a stop to the evil around him. Many people considered him to be the black sheep of the motorcycle gang, and claimed him to be weak. Much like Lucy, the two were bullied in some way which led to their inner rage to explode. Their intent for revenge was incredibly strong, leaving nothing but dismembered corpses everywhere as a reminder of their pain. Similarly, Tetsuo also has the ability to control the minds of those around him, using the bodies of guards as shields from a barrage of bullets. All you're left with is a bloody body that resembles swiss cheese, and an enraged individual who just wants it all to end. Gore plays a huge role in both anime because it shows a symbolic reference to the inner pains that we all experience, but is now expressed in a physical form.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense has created an anti-paranormal special forces group called the Supernatural Disaster Prevention Office, which focus on capturing and infiltrating any vital information they can get about certain creatures. They are the ones responsible to protect Japanese soil and its people from supernatural and paranormal events. However, things didn't go so well in one of their missions, as one of the members is attacked and it's now up to this force to come to a conclusion as to what's transpiring around them before it's too late. The great thing about anime of this nature is that there's always a lesson to learn from them all. The main protagonist goes through such a bloody ordeal that it leaves them scarred for a great length of time. They then use this same experience as a way to seek redemption and restore peace back into their hearts. Both anime feature female leads whose lives are in just a mess, that they can't help but lash out on others for it. Graphic violence and supernatural powers persist all throughout the anime, leaving you wondering who the next victim is. As we mentioned earlier in RE:Zero, the shock value plays such a huge role in every show we've mentioned because we just never know what will happen next. Lucy and Yomi must fight against special forces which have caused an enormous amount of torment on innocent lives, and now must use everything they've got to stop it all.

To start off this list, we have Ippo’s first loss in his professional career against Date Eiji, then the champion of Japan. Prior to this title bout, Date challenged Ippo to a sparring session after he won the rookie tournament. In three rounds, Date made easy work of Ippo but blocking Ippo’s punches still took a heavy toll on his arms. This fight takes place a year after their spar, and in that time span, Ippo does improve. Despite his excellently prepared game plan, Date’s superior experience would be the key in gaining the victory. Although Ippo specializes in pummeling his opponent in the corner, Date would use the corner to effectively counter Ippo’s devastating liver shot with his own trademark finisher, the heartbreak shot, a corkscrew right cross to the opponent’s heart, capable of stopping the opponent’s movement for a few seconds. After Ippo regained his consciousness, Date gave his respect to Ippo for giving him the drive to be the warrior he was in his early-twenties.

In this bout that starts season two of this critically acclaimed boxing drama, Miyata fights Arnie Gregory of Australia for the Pacific Regional featherweight title, a belt once held by Miyata’s father. Like Ippo, Miyata’s rival, Arnie has devastating knockout power and in addition, he did his homework on Miyata. Even though Miyata manages to score a few knockdowns with his jolt counter, Arnie shows his toughness and composure as he gets back up and manages to stop Miyata’s jolt counter by stopping its movement by simply bending his elbow and follows it up with a counter of his own knock as the Bloody Cross. Thanks to an inspiring pep talk from his father, Miyata is ready to close the show and finds a way to stop Arnie’s bloody cross by further committing to the counter and taking the belt. This fight also shows that Miyata is ready for someone like Ippo and isn’t afraid to exchange with anyone of superior power.

Taking place three years before the start of the series, a younger Date Eiji then ranked third in the world (along with being a national and pacific regional champion) would challenge Martinez for the world title. Although Date was undefeatable in his home turf, Martinez made instant work of Date by slaughtering him within two rounds. In the seven-year gap between their two bouts, Martinez has defended his title over 20 times and has come out the victor by knockout. Feeling he has everything to prove, Date gives everything he has got. He survives ten rounds of Martinez’s brutality, in the middle of the fight, he suffered a hairline fracture when Martinez blocked his heartbreak shot with his elbow. Thankfully, he manages to land the blow but due to the damage of his injury, the effect of the blow isn’t as he desired and Martinez manages to recover faster than anticipated. Upon his recovery, Martinez acknowledges Date as his greatest opponent and closes the show with a brutal right. In addition to his hand injury, Date would leave the ring on a stretcher with a shattered jaw and ribs forcing him to permanent retirement, and passing the baton to Ippo. Even though Date was Martinez’s strongest opponent, Martinez left the ring with no visible damage showing how strong he truly is as the world champion.

Taking place a few weeks after Ippo’s first spar with Miyata (which was more of a test of his heart), after intense training under Kamogawa, he finally gets a second shot to show his improvement. In that time frame, Ippo learns the fundamentals of boxing and discovering his fighting style. In addition, Kamogawa teaches Ippo a technique that is difficult to counter, an uppercut used by Eder Jofre, a bantamweight champion from Brazil back in the 1960s. In addition to learning the basic one-two, Ippo also learns ducking and weaving, proper footwork, etc. In the day of the match, Ippo easily manages to score a knockdown as he ducks Miyata’s right straight by quickly following it up with a one-two. Acknowledging Ippo’s improvement, Miyata kicks it into sixth gear and it’s a back and forth battle. In the last round, Ippo barely scratches the chin of Miyata with his Jofre uppercut and gets a knockout victory thus sparking the rivalry that drives this series.

At number six we have Ippo’s fight against the Russian wolf, Vorg Zangief, a former champion in the amateur circuits (you can say his accomplishments are that of an Olympic medalist). In Vorg’s introduction, he is shown to be bloodthirsty and goes in for the kill. However, prior to their fight, Ippo got to know Vorg on a personal level and learn he is really a nice guy who just wants to help his single mother back in Russia. But when the bell rings, Ippo has to put those feelings of also being a fellow son of a single mother behind in order to make his own dreams come true. Due to Vorg’s aggressive style and how the amateur bouts are limited to 3-4 2-minute rounds, Kamogawa’s game plan is to exploit Vorg’s background into a war of who has the superior cardio. In addition, Kamogawa teaches Ippo the gazelle punch, a jump like hook used famously by Floyd Patterson, a 1950s heavyweight champion. Though Vorg’s superior technique and aggression initially gave Ippo problems, their training for the game plan paid off as Vorg lost his breath after Ippo dodges his white fang and ends it with a gazelle punch in the fifth round. But shortly after the fight, Ippo passes out for three days! If the fight went on any longer, there is no doubt that Ippo could have lost. Thankfully, Vorg gets a rematch in the form of a friendly spar and still shows he has the Eye of the Siberian Tiger, or in his case, the wolf.

Although Kimura wasn’t exactly on a roll when he got the call to fight Mashiba for the national title at 130 pounds (after other contenders turning Mashiba down), he knew this wasn't an opportunity he couldn't say no to despite Mashiba’s previously established reputation as a vicious boxer with speed, reach, and power. He knew he didn't have what it takes to win, but he felt he had to put in the hard work. Initially being a mid-range out boxer, he knew he had to change his style as a close range in-fighter like Ippo in order to fight Mashiba. Kimura enlists the help of his former gym mate, Miyata Ichiro, in order to get ready and develops a new technique, an overhand right he calls the dragon fish blow in order to compensate his disadvantages. When it came fight time, Kimura predictably struggles to get past Mashiba’s long flicker jab. But in the later rounds, he finds his range and finally lands his newly developed technique scoring a knockdown. Kimura’s heart would later persevere and would give Mashiba his toughest challenge since Ippo. In a middle of a heated exchange, both men would fire right hands at each other and land simultaneously. Due to Mashiba’s reach advantage, it allowed him more power to score the knockout despite Kimura standing unconsciously. After the fight, Aoki, his best friend since kindergarten shredded man tears and embraced him out of concern for his safety and praise for his effort. Initially wanting to retire, if in the event he lost, Kimura realized that a mere centimeters in difference between their reaches shouldn't be reason enough to quit.

Next, we have Ippo’s biggest test as the national champion, Sawamura. He accepted Sawamura’s challenge after a prior meeting where he criticized the Dempsey Roll, and after watching videos of him and how he cheats out of pleasure, he also wanted to teach him a lesson that boxing is about fair competition. Not only does Sawamura cheat in the ring, despite being an active boxer, he still engages in street fights and nearly hits Kumi for almost touching his motorcycle. This further motivates Ippo to defeat him. Though Ippo fought Sendo was bad intentions with respect, Ippo fought Sawamura to teach him a lesson he will never forget, and Ippo came into that fight with the mentality he couldn’t afford to lose. Although Sawamura uses dirty tactics for his amusement, he is naturally an excellent boxer who specializes in counters like Ippo’s rival, Miyata. While Miyata’s counters require his opponent to fully commit to their punch, Sawamura attacks before his opponent can commit. Though it doesn’t have the same physical damage as Miyata’s, it has more psychological damage. Thankfully, Ippo is able to exploit a weakness in Sawamura’s countering style by purposely stopping the rhythm of his Dempsey Roll as a feint to lure Sawamura to counter, and Ippo would then counter Sawamura’s counter with his Dempsey Roll. As a result of this fight, Sawamura would have damaged ribs and a dislocated eye socket dishing the most devastating damage Ippo would ever give on any opponent.

Throughout most of the series, fans are aware of Kamogawa’s success as a coach by producing 4 national champions, a pacific regional champion, and a world champion. To be as excellent of a coach as Kamogawa, he had to have some sort of background as a fighter, right? In fact, he was a simple club fighter in the post-World War II era mostly feuding with his old friends Nekota and Dankichi. However, their fun would come to an end by Ralph Anderson, a soldier stationed in Japan and a former top 10 ranked boxer. To make matters worse, Anderson was a welterweight (between 140-147 pounds) while Kamogawa and his friends were bantamweights (115-118 pounds). Anderson made it no secret that he was a sadistic bully by resorting to cheating to beat Nekota by punching him in the back of the head (and Nekota was already showing signs that he got Parkinson’s Syndrome). Thanks to Nekota’s fight, Kamogawa found Anderson’s weakness in body blows and decided to work on his game plan by punching a log into a hillside. When it came fight time, Kamogawa was getting battered and got knocked down 7 times!!! Thanks to a miracle slip up by Anderson, Kamogawa found the opening he needed to use his training by landing two body blows. And what were the results? Shattered ribs to the point that Anderson’s organs may have been punctured!! Unfortunately, it would also permanently damage Kamogawa’s fists and these experiences inspired him to still be a student of the game and also become one of its finest teachers.

At number two we have the biggest rematch of the series, Ippo vs Sendo. Though they fought a little over two years earlier in the timeline of the series with Ippo as the victor, everyone felt their fight wasn't over. Their second fight is for the national title, with Sendo as the champion. It was an appropriate continuation of their previous fight, simply going for the knockout. Ippo opens the fight with the Dempsey Roll technique scoring a knockdown in the opening bell. But considering how durable and tough Sendo is, he manages to get up, regain his composure, and still give Ippo a tough fight. Even though these two went at each other with bad intentions, in reality, they fought each other the way they did out of personal respect for each other. Though they refused to publicly shake hands prior to their bout, they chose to privately shake hands in an empty arena just to show this fight is for them and not for the press. Through their fight, Ippo and Sendo can feel that they can realize their goals. In the end, Ippo’s accumulated experience allows him to get the victory in the seventh round. This victory marked the beginning of Ippo’s journey as the champion of Japan while Sendo accepts his loss as a man and tips his proverbial hat off to Ippo.

At number one we have one of the most emotional fights from the series, Takamura vs. Brian Hawk. Due to the Taka in Takamura’s name also meaning hawk, this fight was promoted as “The Battle of Hawk.” In addition to their names, both fighters share similar qualities though Hawk shows it with more extremity. For starters, like Takamura, his coach scouted Hawk as he was beating some dude up in an alley. Plus, they love to chase the ladies except Hawk has success in that department. Some real life fighters say the real work is through the weight cut. While Hawk is fighting at his natural weight, Takamura has to cut nearly 45 pounds to make the weight limit of 154 pounds. After much hard work and sacrifice, he barely makes the weight limit. With 24 hours to recover, he makes it in time to fight in nearly tip top condition. Considering Hawk’s higher level of competitive experience and his wicked instincts, he gives Takamura a hell of a fight and also wears down Takamura’s trademark hairstyle. Hawk shows that he is a very tricky boxer with his flexibility and agility with his awkward angles. This was naturally a tough fight for Takamura who tends to win a majority of his bouts with relative ease. Although the match starts off as a technical bout, it eventually becomes an insane brawl of one trying to put the other down permanently. But with the support of his coach and his teammates (and his nation), Takamura puts all of his feelings into his fists, makes Hawk vomit his own blood, and gain his first world title.

Ishikui, literally translated as “Stone-Eater,” is a fearsome hundred-year-old yokai encountered by Ushio when two of his best friends (and strongest romantic interests) encounter a stone statue of samurai armor in an old wing of the school, intended to be used during history class by their professor. Unknown to both the students and the faculty, inside the statue is a disgusting, two-headed centipede that preys on humans. The Ishikui isolates its victims by creating an impenetrable illusion that allows it to take its time instilling fear in the hearts of those it preys on. Like a normal Japanese centipede, its venom is toxic and causes paralysis, although, in this case, it turns its victims into stone, before eating them from the inside! It is definitely a creature not to be underestimated.

Michio Hanyuu was a renowned artist with nothing but love in his heart for his wife, and his precious daughter, Reiko. However, everything changed when his wife cheated on him and abandoned both of them, causing his pure heart to twist into something darker. He was gripped by a fervor in creating his last painting, so driven by hatred that his soul was transferred into the artwork itself, and transformed into the fearsome demon, Oni. As a hate-filled demon, Oni made it his mission to keep that which was most precious to him in life; his daughter. However, his obsession leads to her isolation, as mysterious accidents befell anyone that managed to grow close to her, and the depressing reality of her existence has caused her to attempt suicide time and again. With no hope left, is there any way Ushio can rescue her from the painting-dwelling demon?

The Gamin are an ancient group of five yokai embodied as man-eating floating heads. Originally from the Asian mainland, they settled in Japan, where there was plenty of villagers for them to prey on, and wreaked havoc in a remote village. However, they were eventually sealed and buried through the efforts of the powerful priestess, Hizaki Mikado. However, when a present-day construction project unearths the seal, the construction crew inadvertently releases the Gamin, who immediately leave a bloody swath of destruction and bodies in their wake. With a grudge against the Mikado, the Gamin hunger for the blood of the Mikado, but are more than willing to settle for that of her ancestor’s, Ushio’s classmate, the soft-spoken Mayuko.

Not all yokai in Japan are malevolent, as proven by a former acquaintance of Tora’s, Umizatō. His appearance is that of a feeble old man with a penchant for sake, unable to move without the help of his walking stick. However, there’s more to him than meets the eye-this old man is the guardian of the ocean and all the beasts that dwell within. Although he is powerful in his own right, when the giant sea-serpent made up of the souls of the deceased, Ayazako, awakens, he is forced to request help from Ushio and Tora to help send the beast back to the depths and reclaim his domain.

After a mysterious incident causes an air carrier for the Japanese Self-Defense Force to crash and the death of all of its 200 occupants, young girl Yū searches for clues of what lead to her father’s death. While initially, she believed it to be the work of one of her father’s jealous co-workers, it is actually due to the cruel machinations of the air-born yokai, Fusuma. Like many beasts on the list, Fusuma feeds on humans, and the advent of airlines has provided it with plenty of easy, sky-bound prey. When the flight his is on is beset by the grotesque, wind-based creature, it is up to the power bestowed by the Beast Spear to put Fusuma to rest.

Another pair of yokai who bear humans no ill-will, Tokisaka and Tokijun are strange, twin creatures capable of manipulating time itself. While this fantastic power isn’t without its limits, it could be used for great harm in the hands of a more malevolent spirit. Fortunately for the protagonists, their desires are benevolent. They send both Ushio and Tora back in time to witness the genesis of the mysterious and powerful Beast Spear, in order to provide valuable insight into accessing its power, as well as insight into Ushio’s heritage, and the ultimate course of action necessary for Ushio to fulfill his destiny.

Omamori-Sama is a particular type of yokai known as Zashiki Warashi. It takes the form of a young girl with a boyish haircut, and usually inhabits a house, to which it brings great fortune (although it does occasionally play harmless pranks on the inhabitants). On the show, Omamori is technically a prisoner to the Takatori family, she has formed a kinship with the women in the family line, including the young woman Saya, as they have the unique ability to see spirits. She foretold of a prophecy wherein Ushio, using the power of the Beast Spear, would free her from her imprisonment. But even after the prophecy is fulfilled, she continues to watch over Saya and her household, while helping Ushio and Tora on their quest.

Perhaps one of the fearest foes faced by the series’ protagonists, Guren’s history is a viciously bloody one. Centuries ago he was a human who went by the name of Sokuei, a mercenary with a mean streak who used the Beast Spear to slay yokai and human alike. Such was his lust for blood that his soul was warped by the Beast Spear, and he transformed into an azafuse, the same tiger-like demon as Tora. However, unlike most azafuse, his coloration is pitch black, to match the evil and cruelty inside. When he embraced his inner demons, he cast off his human name, and became Guren. While he has the powers inherent in all azafuse, his true power comes from his utter ruthlessness, as he is willing to commit acts of unspeakable atrocities. He also has the secret ability to create lookalikes, which essentially makes him the leader of his own one-man (or in his case, demon) army. Ushio and Tora are forced to enlist the help of the Chinese exorcist, Hyou, to have any hope of overcoming him.

The fiercest opponent that Ushio or Tora have ever faced, and is perhaps the most fearsome yokai in the course of the show’s history. It is a 2000-year-old nine-tailed fox with immense power whose only pleasure is subverting both mankind and yokai alike in order to bring nations and civilizations to their knees. It utilizes a vicious cycle; by feeding on the fear of both humans and yokai, it becomes increasingly powerful, able to inflict even greater acts of terror and destruction, thereby sowing more chaos and harvesting even more power. Once it moved on from destruction in mainland China, it took an army of yokai, as well as the might of the Beast Spear and a divine priestess, to force Hakumen to retreat into the sea underneath the isle of Japan, where she created a psychic barrier to seal it. However, its power is so great that it can subvert others to its will, and each of its nine tails is capable of creating fearsome avatars to do its bidding. Hakumen no Mono’s ultimate goal is the destruction of the Beast Spear, and all of civilization.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, number one on the list is none other than the titular yokai, Tora. Long ago, the azafuse, a tiger-like breed of yokai, went by the name of Nagatobimaru, and was feared amongst both humans and yokai alike for his monstrous strength and the scope of his powers. It was thanks to the efforts of a powerful warrior, Ushio’s ancestor, and the powers of the Beast Spear, that he was eventually sealed under Ushio’s family temple, where he rested for 500 years. When Ushio inadvertently stumbled into the chamber he was sealed in, he was forced to release him in order to harvest the power of the Beast Spear, since Tora’s energy caused a resurgence of malicious yokai, and put Ushio’s friends in danger. Tora is many things; he is brash and overconfident, as would be expected from a creature so powerful, and he spends much of his time threatening to devour Ushio while struggling to understand the advances in modern society over the past five centuries. Despite his arrogance, he does abide by a certain code of honor, as he would never stoop so low as to eat Ushio in his sleep, and he becomes increasingly defensive of both Ushio and his friends when they are threatened by other yokai. His powers are almost countless, but chief among them are strength and agility, the ability to fly, the ability to turn invisible, and of course, his mastery of lightning. Without Tora, there would be no Ushio to Tora, thus it makes perfect sense that he would be the top entry on our list.

Before Rock arrived, Benny was the fresh meat of the Black Lagoon crew. Not too much is known about Benny, but what we do know is that he was at a University in Florida. During his sojourn there, he was a computer engineering major and he must have shown some promise. Why? Because he managed somehow to piss off not only the Mafia but the FBI as well which means that he was in really hot water. Thankfully, Revy came and swooped him up right before he was supposed to be killed. His past influences his current actions as he is very hardened to what he has to do and he turns a blind eye to the bloodshed that Revy and Dutch cause. He also is quite the realist which means that he can shock even some of the core members of Black Lagoon when he speaks.

Ginji is the bodyguard for Yukio and the Washimine group. He is the acting underboss of this Yakuza organization. He prefers to fight with a Katana which is all good however, it does seem a bit outdated for an era where guns are everywhere. However, that does not stop him from being deadly as he slices through bullets and even guns. In his past, Ginji was nicknamed “Manslayer Ginji”. The reason why is that he was a murderer when it came to combat. Ginji had, however, a soft spot for Yukio which did, unfortunately, leave him wide open. While he did try to atone for his past sins by protecting Yukio, ultimately it lead to his downfall in a battle with Revy. To further prove how him atoning was paradoxical, yes he did fight to keep Yukio alive and safe, but she was also the head of a crime syndicate.

Spielberger was a German SS officer aboard boat U-1324 which was transporting him to the country of Batavia in secret during the World War II. With him was a painting named “The Twelve Knights led by Brunhilda”. Do we even really need to say it? He was SS. That alone gives him a dark past. However expounding upon him and his character, we see that he is truly sinister. After the American destroyer launched depth charges and threw the boat he was on to the bottom of the ocean, he shut himself in his quarters with the painting. All crew members, knowing that they would never see the surface again began to choose a method of death. When Ahbe, the captain, attempted to tell Spielberger this, Spielberger demanded that they reach the surface and go for Batavia. As Ahbe explained that it was not possible and that he should spend his last minutes thinking of his family, Spielberger exclaimed that family and children and a spouse were nothing because the SS party’s ideologies were everything that he needed. Ahbe finally lost it telling him that perhaps it was God’s plan that they all were going to die. Freaking out, Spielberger shot him and was eventually gunned down by other crew members. SS or not, throwing away your family for some idiotic ideologies at the last moment is just plain horrible. It is clear to see that he was influenced by his dark past.

Technically you could throw the whole Rip-off Church under this one. Sister Yolanda, Eda, and Rico are all people who in one way or another allow their dark pasts to rule their current lives. We do know though that Eda is CIA so there is something that is slightly redeeming about her and makes us question if her past and actions are truth. Yolanda on the other hand is all evil. Sister Yolanda does not fight. She makes Eda and Rico do it for her, but she does keep a firearm on her just in case. In the Rip-off Church, they pose as a neutral organization among all of the crime syndicates however that could not be further from the truth. They, of course, rip off others, but they also do steal from who are most likely the poor to line their own pockets. Smuggling drugs and arms into other areas, they use the front of the church to murder and get rich. Sister Yolanda also pays off Eda in exchange for information. They are a shady bunch.

Dutch is the leader of the Lagoon Company and actually probably the only character not to be a walking stereotype throughout the series. Dutch is a very tall, muscular black man who supposedly was a Marine in the Vietnam War. Now while this is not expounded upon, one just needs to know a little bit of history to know that that war, in particular, was excruciatingly dark. His story, post the war or perhaps during, is that he went AWOL and ran away to Thailand to become a mercenary. This however is challenged in a part of the manga where it is suggested that he could have been lying the whole time and just has a past dripped in darkness and mystery. That does not let him get down though as he takes no names and is ready to drop a round of bullets into someone to get the job done. Perhaps due to his dark past, either war or mystery, Dutch never really seems to freak out. He’s always calm and that is probably because he has seen and done more gruesome things in his past.

What is unique about Rock is that we get to see him go from a terrified Japanese salaryman to a hardened criminal throughout the series. Not only that but we also get to enjoy the transformation. What makes Rock dark is how much he is broken down in the series. Rock, or Rokuro Okajima, is introduced to us as a man on a business trip. He just happened to be on the ship that was invaded by the Lagoon Company which wanted the disk he was carrying. They take him as a hostage only to have him be abandoned by his own department Chief in an attempt to cover up what the contents of the disk are. Compound this by his chief going a step further to hire mercenaries to kill him, and Rock, even though he may put on a good front, becomes broken. He breaks away in the second episode of the first season and is ready to move in with his previous captors in the Lagoon Company. Throughout the series, his psyche is further darkened by him getting used to becoming a pirate. Rock expressed relief when Hansel and Gretel are killed. He even terrifies Revy in Roberta’s Blood Trail to the point that she freaks out and beats him up. Growing darker and darker in the final arc of the series, even Dutch begins to worry about him. Rock would have been much lower on this list were it not for how corrupted and dark his soul became.

Hansel and Gretel are not those cute fairytale characters that you probably know of from when you were a child. Rather, these two orphans hail from Romania. They were deposited into an orphanage by their parents who could not afford to keep them as children. Tragically they have one of the darkest pasts on this list. In the orphanage that they resided in, they were forced to not only watch other children be beaten repeatedly which helped form their dark personalities, but they also were in pedophilia films where they usually had to murder other children. While in the orphanage, they learned very quickly that if they killed other children, they would not get beat. This formed them into the killing machines that they were in the series. The twins readily swap identities via a wig that they both can wear which allows them to just need to swap their clothing. Readily able to use this to their advantage, they would also use their appearances too to deceive foes so that they could kill them. Hansel is shot and then tortured by Balalaika and a sniper as she chooses to watch him die by her own two eyes. Gretel is gunned down by Elroy after running with the Lagoon Company. The darkest part of this is that when Rock decides to help Hansel, she drops her panties to reveal her lower body as a way of saying thank you. This is due to the abuse that she suffered from a young, impressionable age.

Balalaika’s real name is Sofiya Pavlovna. Her grandfather was previously high up in the Soviet Union army before it all went under. Before Balalaika joined the Magia, she was in the Soviet Union army as well as she helped in the Soviet War in Afghanistan. She was horribly burned during this war and you can see scars over her face, neck, and body. Balalaika and the unit that she commanded in the war in Afghanistan saved a child and essentially this forced both her and her men out of the Soviet Union army. With nowhere to go, they drifted to Roanupur eventually and set up shop in a land run by Chang and the Triads. Cynical and dark, Balalaika holds no punches. She considers not only herself but also the men who serve under her as people who should have died in Afghanistan. Running Hotel Moscow, they have set up shop against and eventually taking over part of the Triad’s territory. Hotel Moscow is made up of the men who were in her unit. While running illegal trade over the world under the guise of legal trade in Thailand, they smuggle everything. Balalaika does not hesitate to kill as well when it comes to things like the Chinese informant in the beginning of the first season, and the way that instead of torturing Gretel, she mercilessly watches him die in front of her while smoking a cigar.

Roberta came to us in the latter half of season one. Looking wildly out of place as a maid in the crime-ridden Roanupur, she was searching for the young master Garcia of the Lovelace household. When people start messing with her and not telling her what she needs, she starts to take them all out one by one. Starting with the bar, she gives chase as the Lagoon Company tries to keep Garcia safe. What you actually find out later is her dark and twisted past. Previously she was an F.A.R.C. Special ops guerilla fighter. She trained as an assassin in Cuba and as a result of some of her actions, she became an internationally wanted terrorist. Balalaika does not like messing with her even. She is nicknamed “Bloodhound of Florencia” because no matter what happens, she will always murder her target. During her time as an assassin, she murdered countless men, women, and children while working for the drug cartels. She is in fact so violent that not only does Balalaika want nothing to do with her, Hotel Moscow, The Triad, and the Colombian Cartels are terrified of her. When she locks on, hope and pray it’s not on you.

That’s right! The trigger happy, foul-mouthed, violent Revy is #1 on this list. Revy grew up in NYC in a very poor off neighborhood with an alcoholic father who would hit her. She couldn’t take it anymore and ran out, but only to run into some police officers who subsequently beat and raped her. She came home eventually and her father, without even flinching, asked his daughter for another drink. Losing it, she shot him. Angry, competitive, dark, a flirt and more, Revy is a machine. She kills without a second thought and most times is willing to just let her gun do the sorting. She feels nothing when she kills and sometimes even tells male victims that they should be happy that she is the one doing them a favor. Bloodlust is what powers her rage and killing sprees and that is no surprise. This is all a mask for the pain that she suffered as a child due to the abuse of her neglectful father and the police. As such, she cannot relate well to others and detests even getting close to anyone. Further supported by her dark past is her combat ability. Feeling that she has nothing to lose, she takes all possible risks when fighting. She tends to shoot everything in sight with her Cutlass. She cannot stand Eda, who usually questions her about her feelings towards others and will always push her to pull out her guns and let her do the talking. Sad and broken, Revy is the darkest character on this list.

This guy looks like a mix of Kirby and Shy Guy gone wrong, it clearly is one of the worst character designs of the anime. It stares aimlessly at nothing, that’s all it does. It sounds harmless until it comes near you, it has the effect of making others stare off into space thinking about nothing at all, but not before making you have the appearance of his charming face. There's a certain word that makes him go crazy, it reveals a split personality of Daiz, one much more livelier. The cool thing about Daiz is that he is the reason why episode 57 is one of the funniest in the whole series, it's hilarious yet awkward; to not spoil it for you, I’d recommend you to go watch it!

Unlike our previous youkai, Rimokon-kakushi has one of the best and clever character designs. He’s a remote control vampire and the culprit whenever you can't find your remote control. Rumors say he flirts with controllers and takes them on dates then leaving them in the strangest of places. He’s a vampire because he sucks out your patience when playing his control hide and seek game, hiding it where you least expect it. Aside from helping Keita (Nate) collect other youkai, the coolest thing is the dance and song he makes while you look for the control, which is catchy, funny and extremely annoying if he’s making fun of you.

Hanako-san in Youkai Watch is a cool way to turn an old and scary Japanese urban legend into something children can enjoy without being terrified. The origins of this youkai come from a ghost story, a spirit of a girl that passed away in WWII that now hides in girls bathrooms, appearing before those who call her name, Hanako. Hanako-san’s spirit is known to appear in several Japanese ghost movies and her concept even made it into Hollywood in the movie Harry Potter. In the anime, she is one of the few youkai that humans can see without a youkai watch, but as her appearance is scary anyway, everyone is afraid of her. Hanako-san wants to stop scaring people and decides to become the fashion designer of the youkai world,thus making her useful in many episodes. Hanako-san is one of the few youkai to change her power of “profession” as a youkai as well.

This adorable bat is named Hidabat in the English version of the anime, but the Japanese name, Hikikōmori, describes it much better. The Japanese term hikikomori is somewhat similar to the word hermit but they just avoid social interaction out of choice. The adorable bat youkai Hikikōmori does just that. Ever since it appeared in the anime, it has been living in Keita’s closet every so often, making cameo appearances. Every time it appears, it just makes everyone squeal. It is shy, adorable and nervous, kind of like a dandere character. Hikikōmori is often using her laptop, probably chatting with her online friends or maybe counting all her money (Hikikōmori is the second richest youkai in the world!). Thanks to Hikikōmori, Keita obtains the new model of the youkai watch, the only one available for now and a model that developed and advanced the plot of the series. Cool, huh?

USApyon is what Jibanyan is to Keita or Pikachu to Ash, he is Inaho’s trustworthy companion and youkai friend. His name is a clever wordplaybetween U.S.A and the Japanese word usagi, as he is an usagi (a rabbit) youkai himself and is also an astronaut (in reference to the US going to the moon), plus the first animal in space... sort.. of... His relationship is as bad as Keita’s with Jibanyan, often causing him to get mad and revealing is “Vader” form (another reference to the US, this time being the movie Star Wars). He also wears other suits in reference to the US, like a US football player uniform or military uniforms, in an effort to introduce a cool American character to the series (maybe?).

Komajiro is Komasan’s younger brother. Even though he is slightly smarter than his brother, he is still amazed by the things he does and admires him. He comes to the city searching for his brother, hoping that he will learn to be a city boy just like Komasan but ends up being the most mature and realistic of the two, even so, he follows his big brother on all his adventures. He settles in the city faster than his brother, becoming a famous DJ in a nightclub named KJ, and even having a human girlfriend; this makes him literally the coolest kid on the block.

Robonyan is the future robot version of Jibanyan, but whether or not he is the real Jibanyan, is a mystery. Robonyan is clearly smarter, stronger and better than Jibanyan, and a million times more useful. Whilst being a robot prevents us from seeing his expressions, his stupid actions makes us laugh nonetheless. Robonyan tries many times to convince Jibanyan and the others that he is truly Jibanyan but honestly, he has his own unique Robo-personality and charm. A robot from the future with cat mannerisms that can manufacture chocolates inside its body? Sounds like a cat lady’s dream.

MONGEEE! Komasan has arrived! This Youkai is a sweetheart and we all just want to hug and protect it from the outside world forever. He comes from the countryside with no idea on how to live in the city but he is always trying to impress his little brother Komajiro with what he has learned about being a city man. Trying to look like a cool older brother is what he does best and thanks to this, he has had many awesome jobs like Bandai’s CEO, Lead Actor and Paranormal Investigator. How much cooler can you get?

Whisper is where it all began. The day Keita (Nate) finds Whisper inside a toy capsule, his life is never the same. Whisper gives Keita his Youkai Watch and from there he starts befriending all the youkai he can. Whisper likes to believe he’s a very intelligent and diligent Youkai Butler, but we all know he just reads everything from Youkai Wiki in his Youkai Pad. His real youkai name is Whisbe and his ability has much to do with his personality, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Whisper is useless but we couldn't look at the series Youkai Watch without him, otherwise, everything would become dull and boring. He is the key to many parts in the series, as he provides Keita with the material needed to deal with the youkai world, like Keita’s Watch and it's updated model (which requires Whisper to transform it). Whisper is cool and he has proven it in almost every episode, he can transform into a human shape making every situation more fun, yet, more awkward to see. He has a crude humor and most of the time it's not even suited for children. Whisper has a great, if not the best, seiyuu in the series, one that matches his cynical voice almost perfectly to every idiotic face or expression Whisper has to show us. Whisper won over many fans with his goofiness, but who could have taken his deserved first place?

I mean, if Whisper wasn’t number one, it HAD to be Jibanyan. This little nekomata youkai has captured our hearts in many ways. He’s adorable, he’s funny, he has one of the most moving stories and he’s down right the coolest of them all. He has so much personality, clearly, the creators went all out developing Jibanyan, making sure that the star character is the best character. Jibanyan is the definition of lazy, always trying to avoid his “responsibility” as Keita’s youkai companion. He doesn't really help Keita much, instead, it’s more like he worsens the situation, but we all love it when he does. So what makes Jibanyan cool? He’s an idol crazy otaku cat, what else do you need? There’s more to this little ball of fun than just that, he freaking sucks at fighting and this is probably his strong point. We have seen him practice his “Paws of Fury” many times and somehow he doesn't seem to get better, which comes to the point that him failing in his attacks became a pun in the anime. Thanks to him, many other great ideas for Youkai were born based on his image, like Robonyan, Bushinyan, Fuyunyan, Dekanyan and many, many others. Jibanyan is definitely the cool king of the Youkai Watch world.