Attraction – Out with the old in with the new

I like Chihiro a lot now but will she stand the test of time?

I think when watching a show, playing a game or reading a manga there are two types of attraction. The first one is where you really end up liking a certain female character but only for the course of the shows run. Once the show is over and done you just end up forgetting them and then move onto the next show where you will most likely find another. In other words this describes the vast majority of female characters that can be categorized as a moeblob. Then there is the other type of attraction where even after the shows run you end up liking the character. Merchandise is bought, fan works are read, and so on. For a long time now I have been wondering if I should take certain characters off my list or not for these reasons. I mean, I liked them while watching the show but I really don’t think of them as my favorites even if I though they were great characters at the time.

My list is actually old, and originates from this post from 2005. It is probably a little longer than the one now since I have been gradually taking characters off it since I just don’t seem to like them much anymore. The thing is it is tough to distinguish at first if I really like the character as a character or maybe it is just a moe point that I really am attracted to. Like maybe thigh highs or pantyhose or if they end their sentences with desu. Then there is the time factor that plays a role. I think a person’s most favorite of female characters should be able to stand the test of time. I like Chihiro a lot right now but how will she rank 3 or 5 years from now? So, in the short term, I think it really is hard to know whether or not if I really like a character or not. Although, for some reason this is only with female characters. My favorite male characters have stayed my favorite and I never seem to lose interest in them.

I liked Makoto a lot during Kanon’s run but now that it has been over I just don’t find her memorable even now.

For me where a character crosses the line from being a moeblob to being liked as a character is a pretty harsh one. I am pretty harsh in general. I rarely find myself liking female characters unless they follow the exact criteria I want in a character. Which is usually the shy intelligent type with glasses or just shy in general, but shyness isn’t always the main quality. There are other factors as well like how they look, personality, and background for example. I think somewhere there has to be a general fondness though for who they are as a character and not just a quality or fetish point which becomes the main attraction point. So by that standard, I can say that takes all the loli off my list except maybe Mei since I really like Mei as a character even if she wasn’t in Clannad all that much she really did make a big impression for the times she did appear. But I don’t see her standing the test of time perhaps.

But then on the other hand, I like the characters because I can like them for petty reasons like what they wear or their voice, and I don’t want to give that up and say that I don’t like them, but is that still having an appreciation for the character? I don’t think so, but maybe that is why harem threads are popular.

When it comes down to it I really only truely like 9 female characters.

Mei Sunohara (Clannad)
Mio Kisaragi (Tokimki Memorial)
Hanabi Kitaoji (Sakura Taisen 3)
Kotoko Minazuki (Tokimeki Memorial 2)
Yue Ayase (Negima)
Mia Clementis (Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na)
Chihiro Shindou (Ef – a tale of memories)
Asahi Sakurai (Comic Party)
Ayumi Yamada (Honey and Clover)

Maybe I should make another kind of section for other characters I ended up liking but just found myself not liking as much as I thought but still kind of like. All in all, I think it is the sweet memories that are special when it comes to liking a character, but it is sad when you just suddenly or gradually stop liking them as much as you did in the past. Maybe I am just giving this too much thought. They are just cartoon characters.