Fandom Alphabet: K, L, M, U, V — Characters

[adevyish]

3rd set! Full alphabet here.

K: What character has your favourite development arc/the best development arc?

I really liked the arc for Isumi from Hikaru no Go, because he’s trying to get over his perfectionism and rediscovers his passion for go. He also ends up getting into AI research, and in retrospect (with AlphaGo) that was investing in something that would defeat him.

(I say in retrospect because, as I mentioned in the notes to “Challenger”, everyone—AI researchers included—didn’t think a go AI could defeat a good professional player all the way up until the AlphaGo vs Lee Sedol series. Hikaru no Go was more optimistic about go AI than most players or AI researchers, I think.)

L: Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves.

But every character in Hikaru no Go is my favourite!? (j/k)

Okay, let’s go with Kuroko no Basket: Kise could have taken the easy route out and stopped playing basketball in high school, especially after the Generation of Miracles imploded and since he already has a career outside of it. He didn’t. IMO he’s a more caring and driven character before his arc than he is presented as.

M: Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Daidouji Tomoyo! She’s fun, a great friend, and would dress you in ridiculous outfits. Also I would marry her no questions asked. (If we were the same age, ofc; I started watching CCS as a tween and I think of Sakura / Tomoyo / Syaoran as the same age as me!)

U: Three favourite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favourites.

• Balsa (Seirei no Moribito) — She kicks ass, takes names, and doesn’t do a personality 180° for the sake of a romance plotline. Everything I want in a character!
• Phichit Chulanont (Yuri on Ice) — Supportive, just a little crazy, lots of fun, skates to music about his culture! We love to see it.
• Eriol Hiiragizawa (Cardcaptor Sakura) — So when I first watched CCS as a tween it was the Taiwanese Mandarin dub and I thought Eriol was a girl. And then I went online and found out he was a guy, and idk I was still obsessed. He’s got the compelling Evil Mastermind characterization but he’s on the Side of Good and not that amoral, so he’s a safe problematic fave.

V: Which character do you relate to most?

Katsuki Yuuri from Yuri on Ice. It’s kind of rare to have a character be going through a quarter-life crisis, and although I’m slightly past that age now, it’s an emotion I can understand and relate to. Also, he’s clearly accomplished, but has lost faith in himself and his art — and I think that is something that anyone can relate to.