Lesbian anime fans make their picks for animated romantic companions.
Many anime series make no bones about their primary selling point being neither profound themes nor gripping narratives, but rather their casts of attractive characters. A large chunk of Japan’s current animated output derives much of its success from letting fans fantasize about what it’d be like to have an anime character as a significant other, and that’s not a trend that’s likely to change anytime soon.
But while we periodically see polls questioning guys about which anime character they’d be happy with as a girlfriend, a different take on the topic was recently presented by Japanese lesbian Internet portal Gachirezu (a combination of gachi/”seriously” and rezubian, the Japanese pronunciation of “lesbian”). The website recently asked Japanese lesbians which female anime character they’d like as a girlfriend, and got the following top five responses.
5. Fujiko Mine (Lupin III)
An anime/manga icon for over four decades, master thief Fumiko has achieved enough popularity to briefly escape her side character status, starring in her own TV series, The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, in 2012. Fumiko’s fans cited her “mysterious personality” and “va-va-voom proportions,” with one admirer cutting to the chase and declaring “I want her to make love to me.”
4. Mitsuki Kanzaki (Recently, My Little Sister is Unusual)
In the series in which she stars, Mitsuki is forced by a vengeful spirit to pursue a romantic relationship with her step-brother. Among those who wish they could take his place were fans who said “The way she acts tough but is really a crybaby arouses my interest” and “I prefer small breasts, so there’s no way I can see [her build] as anything but a positive.”
3. Ai Haibara (Detective Conan/Case Closed)
Shrunken scientist Ai may not get the same amount of screen time as Detective Conan’s most active female character, Ran, but she rose above her female co-star on Gachirezu’s list. Her dual nature won praise in the form of comments such as “She talks tough, but she’s actually very considerate” and “I like how she’s mysterious and you can’t tell what she’s thinking.”
▼ Oddly enough, Ai and number-five entry Fujiko shared a bath scene during one of the Lupin III vs. Detective Conan crossovers.
2. Haruka Teno (Sailor Moon)
Sailor Uranus shows up late to the party, but she definitely makes an impact as one of the series’ fighting Sailor Senshi, plus in her alter ego of Haruka Teno (seen flashing some serious bedroom eyes at Sailor Moon/Usagi in the image above). “She has a same-sex partner in the series, so it’s easy to imagine her as my girlfriend” reasoned one fan, while others were simply drawn to her reliable, protective personality.
1. Eli Ayase (Love Live!)
Love Livers, vocal fans of high school idol singer series Love Live!, are generally thought to be a predominantly male demographic. However, Gachirezu’s research turned up enough lesbian fans of the show to make one of the school idols the list’s number-one pick for an anime girlfriend. While spunky Honoka is the closest thing the series has to an official protagonist, part-Russian Eli took the top spot. “I love her tsundere (hot-and-cold) personality. And also her breasts are beautiful,” said one supporter, and another phrased her affections as “She’s a beautiful girl who’s also intelligent! I wish she was an idol just for me!”
In the interest of full disclosure, we should point out that Gachirezu didn’t disclose the methodology by which it composed its list, which makes it hard to determine just how universal its results are among lesbian anime fans. However, if nothing else, it stands as proof that even as plenty of guys are enjoying romantic daydreams about these characters, some women are too.
Source: Gachirezu via Jin