Day 24 – Favorite anime hero or heroine

If you’ve read the challenge up until now, you have already an idea on who my favorite anime hero can be and why. So, to spare those who might already know, I’ll present my favorite anime heroine who topped my other favorites such as Celty from Durarara and Makoto from Ghost in the Shell.

The heroine (?) of Maria+Holic, Mariya Shindo.

I wrote heroine (?) because our dear Mariya is actually a male. Scary, isn’t it? It’s not that she likes cross-dressing…she/he’s doing it for a reason that we discover later on in the first season.

Mariya is the grandchild of the headmaster of the prestigious catholic school, Ame no Kiseki– in brief words, she’s super rich and popular for her graceful and kind image, regardless of the fact that she’s in his first year in Ame no Kiseki.

Did I mention she’s a sadistic under her angelic look?

Mariya’s cross-dressing life along with her maid Matsurika is all dandy until the story’s main character, Kanako, finds out that Mariya is a male: A secret that if revealed, will exclude her- er, him, definitively from Ame no Kiseki, a girl’s only school.

This is why Kanako is a daily tortured yet a comical relief character in the series. Her simple presence (and that she’s the only one who knows his secret) can bring out Mariya’s real personality: a manipulative, sadistic, female-hating, arrogant yet very intelligent and understanding person. Mariya is different from your average heroine, but the things that make her (or I can say him)unique make her one of those attaching anime heroines you just can’t forget.

Do you know a heroine who can air guitar like that?

Day 23 – Anime you think had the best, or most intriguing art

E-Eh? A post with her own images?

The main reason why most of us watch anime is for the art- capable of being captivating and intriguing, but there are some rare jewels that exceed the lot. Up to now, there are only two anime that come up to my mind when I think about interesting art. I choose them because of the way the creators were able to create even the slightest details, and avoided making ugly errors that can easily turn us off.

Oh God! What are we gonna do?!

My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute is one of those anime that are called ‘candy for the eyes’. I gave a summary of it when I presented one of the main characters in Day 17, Kirino Kousaka.

When I was watching the anime, I found that the characters were nice to look at, that there were no evident errors, and also that the creators even took the time to make the smallest details present.

They even took the time to make the decorated nails of a character? Not something you see so often.

She’s walking towards you…

Obviously, a beautiful artwork doesn’t make up for a plot in anime. But when you’re confronted with an anime such as Maria+Holic (and Maria+Holic Alive), it leaves you a bit perplexed.

In most anime, there are two types of artwork that are used: When the characters become chibi (for cute scenes), and when the characters are in normal size (95% of the time). In Maria+Holic however, the artwork doesn’t limit itself to just two types.

Since the anime takes place in a catholic school, they often use art such as this.

It’s the fact that the anime has such a colorful and original artwork that I also consider it as an anime with intriguing art. The story isn’t that bad either so give it a try if you have time unlike me.