Character Spotlight: Haruka Inokuma

Chihayafuru is an amazing anime with (soon-to-be) three two-cour-long seasons under its belt. It ought to come as no surprise, then, that it has a huge and varied cast of characters. You’ve got your three main characters, Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata, whose passion for karuta is nigh on contagious, their teammates, whose encouragement propels them forward at the most crucial of times, their friends in their respective karuta societies, their parents, some of whom are for, some of whom are against their dreams, and their many, many rivals, including the quirky queen, Shinobu, and the mysterious master, Suo. Why, then, have I decided to dedicate this month’s Character Spotlight to Haruka Inokuma, a relatively new character with only a few episodes of screentime under her belt? Well… 

Character Spotlight: Touko Nanami

Bloom Into You is an anime about two young, high school girls, Yuu and Touko, who find themselves kind of, sort of dating. This ill-defined relationship spurs them to consider all sorts of things, not just their sexualities (which is kind of a given), but who they are and who they want to be as people. Please watch this show if you haven’t already. It’s a really special anime, one that’s thoughtful, sensitive, and refuses to fall back on the tried-and-true, yet oh-so problematic tropes that plague the yuri genre. Today I will be talking about Touko Nanami, one of Bloom Into You’s two heroines, and a big part of what makes this show so amazing. 

Character Spotlight: Rei Kiriyama and Hina Kawamoto

Artist: GeorgeTheOtaku

The second season of March Comes In Like A Lion (which I finished just last week) packs even more of an emotional punch than the first. Throughout its 22 episodes, I laughed, cried, and cheered as I shared in its characters’ many victories. Though the franchise has many wonderful characters (which is, by far, its greatest strength), my absolute favourite is Rei Kiriyama. That being said, Hina Kawamoto really gave Rei a run for his money during this second season. So much so, that I felt it would be a disservice not to jot down a few words about her too. Writing about more than one character might not be in keeping with Character Spotlight tradition, but the best thing about Watashi Wa Bucho!! (or I’m the boss) is that, yes, I’m the boss! This allows me to throw the rulebook out the window at any given moment, so there! 

Character Spotlight: “Immortal” Sugimoto

I recently finished watching both seasons of Golden Kamuy and, let me tell you, what a wild ride that was! Set in the wilderness of Hokkaido during the aftermath of the Russo-Japanese war, at times it is reminiscent of a History Channel/Natural Geographic documentary, especially with its emphasis on the indigenous Ainu people, their culture, and belief systems. But, at other times, it feels a lot like Hokkaido’s answer to Food Wars (with its near sensual depiction of the Ainu dishes) or to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (with its cast of buff manly men and its propensity to throw logic straight out the window). Watching it was an experience like no other. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. Anyway, today I would like to talk about its hero and my favourite of its many characters: “Immortal” Sugimoto.

Character Spotlight: Tohru Honda

Spring 2019 is positively stacked with highly-anticipated sequels, including One Punch Man’s 2nd season, the continuation of Attack on Titan’s 3rd season, and Bungou Stray Dogs’ 3rd season. Between all of these big names, it’s hard to decide what to look forward to the most! But the Fruits Basket reboot is definitely a strong contender! The original series, which strayed from its source material, may have been underwhelming, but Fruits Basket (or Furuba) has long been one of my favourite manga series, so, naturally, I’m pumped that the franchise is, after all this time, getting another iteration! In anticipation of this, I thought that I’d dedicate this month’s Character Spotlight to its plucky heroine, Tohru Honda. I hope that this whets your appetite for the upcoming anime!