anime character types

8/10/2019 Anime Character Types

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The following is a list of types of characters you might want to play, with

examples from anime and a few other sources for reference. You are by no

means limited to the following list, which is not meant to be comprehensive.

If you have a particular idea for your character then you should try it, with

the gamemasters approval of course. However, a list of possibilities isalways a good place to start, and therefore this list is presented to give you

some ideas. Please note that many of the examples combine more than one of

the following... ie. asami is a Princess as well as an !lien and, in some

incarnations, also a "agical #irl. Yoh$o is really not %ust a &emon Hunter, but

a "agical #irl as well. 'rd is a #oddess but her magic is very similar to that

of a (itch. )eel free to use your imagination.

Alien BabeThis is almost the entire premise for T)*. +um is probably theprototype, but this also applies to enten and a half-doen other characters

from 'rsei Yatsura, as well as /yo$o of Tenchi "uyou. *f course, there are

!lien Hun$sas well, of which Tenten 0'rsei Yatsura1 and Tenchi 0Tenchi

"uyou1 are not necessarily prime examples. asically your character comes

from another planet and may have special powers or gimos as a result.

Android!rmitage and her sisters and brother are all type 2robots -- socleverly constructed that they have independent thought and will. The idea

of a self-aware robot has been alive in science fiction for a long, long time.

3ach of the first two !lien films had !ndroids in them. Your character may

be an artificial, non-organic person4 a self-aware robot, perhaps li$e 52P* in

tar (ars, &ata in tar Tre$, the Terminator in T6, or even Ifurita in 3l

Haard 0the *7! series1. &o you have a soul8 Your consciousness, such as it

is, may be very easy to download to new bodies... the de-facto villain in #host

In The hell is really a computer program loo$ing for a body. 9ey the "etal

Idol is another excellent example of an !ndroid searching for her soul andwhat it means to be human. haron !pple from"across Plus is a good

example of an !rtificial 5onsiousness which isn:treally confined to one body,

although stored in one. 0than$s to /eptile for that comment.1


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AngelYour character is an !ngel, one of the winged humanoids who serve

the !lmighty. You have special powers and are charged with specific tas$s

and goals, such as doing good or watching over a particular person. Your

powers and status may be revo$ed if you fail to accomplish the goals set

before you. This is similar in concept to the characters in !h; "y #oddess,and there are many parallels in western movies, television, boo$s and comics,

0Touched y !n !ngel1 but I can:t at the moment thin$ of a good example in

manga or anime.


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This in some ways parallels many of the "agical #irls, who often get their

powers in the same way. Tempest, from the Thieve:s (orld series, is an

avatar. )afhrd and the #rey "ouser were avatars, I believe. Possibly "i$o

from 'tsu no "i$o and the main character from "omo Iro abbath fit this

profile. !nd remember, :alf a tar is better than none;

BishonenThis is not simply an anime>manga thing, but specifically a shou%o

0girl:s1 anime>manga thing. ! ishonen character is an extremelybeautiful

male character, so much so that at times they don:t loo$ male at all. These

characters are usually effeminate, and in the shou%o comics that this

stereotype comes from they are usually involved intimately with other

bishonen characters. In more mainstream anime and manga, bishonen

characters appear who are not involved with other males. In any case, theidea here is that your character is male but more beautiful-loo$ing than

many of the females around him. 0ubmitted by lac$bird1.

CloneYou are a genetic copy of another human and therefore may not be

considered fully human. Perhaps you are a clone of another character8 There

are any number of examples of this in western science fiction4 one excellent

place to start is ?ohn 7arley:s *phiuchi Hotline.

CrossdresserThis is not something that necessarily conveys special powers

to your character, but there are many characters in anime and manga who

dress as the opposite sex. )rom '$yo 9uno%i of /anma @>6 and /yuunosu$e

)u%inami of 'rsei Yatsura are girls who dress and act li$e boys 0or used to,

in '$yo:s case1. Tsubasa 9urenai and 9onatsu of /anma @>6 are two boys who

dress and act li$e girls. 9isaragi hun from Here Is #reenwood and


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CursedIn )utaba 9un 5hange, )utaba himeru inherits a family curse that

causes him 0and his father, and his sister1 to change sex whenever he

becomes aroused. /anma aotome of /anma @>6 also changes sex, but the

trigger is a splash of cold water. "any others in /anma @>6 have visited the

training grounds of ?ushen$yo and fallen into one of the cursed springs, andnow are cursed to transform into someone or something else 0pig, duc$,

panda, $itten, etc.1 when doused with cold water. Hot water will reverse the

transformation until the next time. *r perhaps you want to play someone

cursed to transform into another creature when the time is right, but always

during a full moon. I don:t have any anime examples of were curses at hand,

but have plenty from western literature>media. !ny other curse you can

thin$ of is a possibility4 even Ya$umo:s Asign of the voidA 02x2 3yes1 is

something of a curse.

Delusions of Special PowersYou have no special powers but you THIor shoc$ electrically.

/yo$o in Tenchi "uyou is originally presented as a demon, but later turns out


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to be an artificial construct 0android1 alien. he flies and controls plasma-

li$e energy, firing bolts or creating a plasma sword. +i$ewise, the &emoness

Ifurita from 3l Haard is really %ust an android4 her demoness tag has

nothing to do with her coming from a place li$e hell and everything to do

with her penchant for destroying whole cities. he also flies and has somephenomenal destructive powers which reside in her $ey.

Demon HunterDen$i is not only a demon, his is, in essence, a demon hunter.

Pai is not necessarily a demon-hunter, but winds up facing down a lot of nasty

otherworldly monster types anyway. However, Yoh$o, of &evil Hunter Yoh$o,

definitely is a demon hunter -- a @EFth generation demon hunter, to be

specific, and her cousin is also a demon hunter in training. +i$ewise, the

characters of 7ampire Hunter &, *gre layer, and even 0to a certain extent1/umi$o Ta$ahashi:s "ermaid 5hronicles go about the business of hunting and

$illing demonic creatures. *f course, these are more serious shows than

&evil Hunter Yoh$o, who, after all, has a magical-girl style transformation

seCuence, but they are all examples of a type of character you can play.

ome of these characters have dar$ pasts, but others 0li$e Yoh$o1 simply

inherited powers, talent, and position.

Dimensional Being"any shows deal with characters travelling to different

dimensions. !lthough this usually involves characters from our place and time

travelling somewhere else, the process is easily reversed. everal characters

from 'rsei Yatsura fall into this category, as do a lot of the characters in 3l

Haard. !i of 7ideo #irl !i is technically from another dimension, and

dimensional travel is also at wor$ in +amune G E and 9* 5entury east 0if I

remember correctly1. !lso uper-&imension *rgus, and that 7ID comic from

years ago also apply. 3ven !lice In (onderland can wor$ here. asically, your

character comes from somewhere>when else, another dimension wherethings wor$ a little differently, and she may have special powers because of

that. !lternately, your character may be a different version of someone who

exists in this dimension. +et your imagination run wild -- many things are

possible.


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DiniI have no obvious examples in anime or manga to cite, but you might

consider playing a genie, or d%inn. The genie in !laddin and #enie from I

&ream of #enie should give you two examples of what you can do.

"arcus Ahaolin /acoonA 0Tanu$i1 (estpoints out that most 0he says all,

without exception1 &%inn or genie are evil. This is probably the case in alllegends and mythology, -- after all, even in modern literature most d%inn are

wish-givers who ta$e every opportunity to twist your wishes around -- but

naturally this does not have to be true in your campaign. There are examples

in fantasy fiction, in movies and television, and animation 0&isney at the very

least1 where &%inn are as capable of good as any human. This is anime, after

all, so go for it;

Full C!borguper 5at #irl


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buying them, or getting them from the government agency that you don:t

wor$ for, is the real Cuestion.

"hostYour character might be a ghost, someone who has died and come

bac$ to haunt a person or place, or %ust to hang around. !gain, there are a

lot of examples of this in western literature and media, as well as anime and

manga. *$inu-chan 0#host weeper "i$ami1 is a ghost.

"host BusterIn the seventies we had cooby-&oo and his band of lame

almost-but-not-Cuite hippies debun$ing one ghost story after another. This

was a far cry from the movie #host usters, in which the ghosts were realand the protagonists had the means to battle them. This sort of premise is

pic$ed up in anime shows li$e #host weeper "i$ami and Phantom uest

5orps. "i$ami has actual otherworldly entities wor$ing for her, while "iss

!ye$a of the Phantom uest 5orps. hires various psychics and spiritualists

on a case-by-case basis, selecting from her database of psychic temps. In

addition there:s ilent "obius, in which the ghost>demon hunters are part

of a cool government agency with a stupid name 0!"P, !ttac$ed "ystical

Police1. Your character might hunt ghosts as a hobby, wor$ for a private

agency li$e the Phantom uest 5orps, wor$ for a public agency li$e the !"P,or run her own agency. !s a practicing ghost>demon hunter you wor$ for pay

and use your s$ills, wits, and arcane $nowledge to trac$ down evil spirits and

trap or banish them. You may have special scientific or occult devices to aid

you, or even ghosts or otherworldly allies.

"od%"oddesseldandy, 'rd, $uld, Peorth, and several other characters

from the series !h; "y #oddess fall into this category. In the case of

eldandy and her sisters, they are what you might term lesseror limited

goddesses, operating on the authority of and answerable to the !lmighty,

with licenses that limit their powers and may be suspended or revo$ed for

infractions. *n the other hand, Pai and some of the other characters in 2x2

3yes can be viewed as gods and goddesses, immortal old oneswith special

powers whom human$ind once worshipped. If you play the former, then you


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may be called upon to do things that you dont necessarily want to do

0answerable to a higher power1. If you play the latter, then your powers are

inherent, not granted by any higher power, and you are not directly beholden

to the !lmighty, although it:s to be understood that even at the height of

your power you were never a match for him. Your power is partially based onthe number of worshippers you have at a given time, and the 6Eth century

hasn:t been $ind to you. In fact, you may have only one true follower left...

*ther examples include 'tsu no "i$o 0"i$o of the Heavens1 and several

characters from the andman comic. ee also the boo$ mall #ods by Terry

Pratchett for inspiration.

HardsuitedThe main characters of ubblegum 5risis are perfect examples

of normal people who wear a complete suit of high-tech body armor forbattle, gaining strength, speed, flying ability and range attac$s in addition to

the obvious protection of the armor. +ess obvious is -9o:s battlesuit, which

is so high-tech that it manages to be a bi$ini and full body armor at the same

time. In any case, you have a first-class battlesuit and $now how to use it.

This may be combined with any of the above, although most li$ely it is that

you are part of some special forces unit, hardsuit division. ee also a

multitude of western superheros 0Iron "an, teel, =-* "anowar, ox and

#uardian of !lpha )light, etc. ad nauseam1.

High School ClubThis one:s the idea of my weird friend Tom Hayes. You

play not a single character, but an entire club dedicated to a single goal,

something he calls the A*ta$u Hive "indA. This would be similar to the

5hemistry 5lub seen once or twice in /anma @>6, who are devotees of !$ane,

or perhaps even more li$e the +um !ppreciation ociety 0'rsei Yatsura1,

although the members of that group tend to have a bit more personality. The

members of your club may be represented by one or even a half bon$ pointeach 0these are, basically, gee$s and nerds, not even your average AnormalA

character1 and thus, as you ta$e damage, member of your club are being

$noc$ed out. This is definitely the sort of thing that a gamemaster and a

player need to see eye-to-eye on before you launch into it, but Tom pulls it

off well.


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Human AgentYou are a human who has been sent bac$ to earth from heaven

for a specific reason. You are not an angel, #od>#oddess, or an avatar, but

you still possess special s$ills and have a tas$ or tas$s to perform for thealmighty. Your second life here on earth is dependant on you accomplishing

these goals or tas$s. ome examples of this occur in western movies..

&dol StarIdol stars are a mostly ?apanese phenomenom, cute pop music

singer worship ta$en to the extreme. The stars are most often female,

young, and extremely cute or good-loo$ing. (hether they can do anything

besides loo$ cute and sing is usually not an issue. They always have thousands

0or hundreds of thousands, even millions1 of adoring fans who buy all $inds ofproducts related to their favorite idol star, go to the shows, scream a lot,

etc. !yumi )u%imura and "arimo Himenogi of Twin$le Twin$le Idol tar are

prime examples of the super-cute, super-handsome singer>media star. !t

least one male Idol tar shows up in 9imagure *range /oad, not to mention

"ado$a !y$awa herself, who flirts with stardom. 9ey the "etal Idol is an

Idol tar as well as an android..

&mmortal!ye$a, asami, and the others in Tenchi "uyou who are of ?uraian

birth are, to all appearances, and for all practical purposes, immortal.

5ertainly (ashu and others from the #alactic !cademy seem immortal, as

does /yo$o. In /umi$o Ta$ahashi:s "ermaid 5hronicles we have a different

type of immortality, which stems from the curse of the mermaid flesh.


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&ntelligent Animal)or those who want to play /yo-*h$i 0Tenchi "uyou1, ?i%i

09i$i:s &elivery ervice1 or a much more intelligent ?ingaro 09imagure

*range /oad1, we have the animal who in outward appearance is no different

from any non-intelligent animal of the same type, but is blessed with great

intelligence and possibly special powers into the bargain. If you are fromearth, you may be descended from a special race of intelligent animals, or it

may be an accident 0scientific, magical, or mutation1. If you are from

somewhere else, then perhaps in the planet>universe>dimension you are

from, intelligent animals are not at all unusual. The Totoro creatures might

also fit under this heading..

Lecherous%Hentai This is a standard in anime, almost always a male who is

sex-obsessed. (ithout delving into actual hentai 0perverted1 anime ormanga, our prime example is most li$ely !taru "oroboshi from 'rsei

Yatsursa 0+um1. This is a boy who chases girls at every opportunity, who

never misses a chance to lay his hands on their rear or breasts, who thin$s

of nothing but women. Happosai from /anma @>6 is another good example of

a hentai character. Half the characters from "omo Iro 0Pin$1 abbath

Cualify, but with that manga you:re probably crossing over into the hentai

genre itself, or at least s$irting it. )or an example of a 0mostly1 female

hentai character, I refer you to )utana of )utaba-$un 5hange. he is one

twisted person.uggested by /ob Pool.

Living 'ideo "irlThis is an unusual type of character based on 7ideo #irl !i,

in which a A7ideo #irlA 0something really only found in ?apan1 steps out of

the television screen and comes to life. ome examples of this sort of thing,

of movie or television characters coming to life, can also be found in western

movies and television, not the least of which are characters in virtual worldswho Cuestion their existence or try to escape 0tar Tre$:s Holodec$s are

famous for this sort of thing1. Perhaps your character is this sort of

person... someone with, let:s face it, an even more tenuous hold on their

existence, and with more Cuestions about identity and soul, than even a self-

aware robot..


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Living (o! or &nanimate )bect)or no reason that I can discern, some

anime and manga series have as characters inanimate ob%ects. !s an example,

in "omo Iru abbath 0Pin$ abbath1 we have a raccoon statue and asnowman who are regular characters. Perhaps you want to play a living teddy

bear or a persistent, obnoxious, self-aware toaster, or you %ust want to be

u +ightyear. (ith the gamemaster:s approval, anything is possible,

although there are obviously certain limitations..

*agical "irlThis is a very pervasive genre in ?apan, of which ailor "oon,

Pretty ammy, and "agical 9night /ayerth are all prime examples. In short,

you have been chosen by some divine or celestial entity as an emissary ofgood, and under the right circumstances you may invo$e a transformation

seCuence which will transform you into your alter ego, a magical girl with

special powers. You may receive limited divine guidance, you may have an

intermediary agent for day-to-day guidance, or a combination of both or

neither. ear in mind that magical boysare almost nonexistent, but some of

the characters in ailor "oon 0the manga version, at least1 are males who

transforms into -- yes -- magical girls. (hether actual magical boys are

possible is entirely up to the gamemaster and player..

*artial Artist!s they say, the path of a true martial artist is fraught with

danger. You:re an expert in some form of martial arts. You:re Tatewa$i

9uno, who:s studied $endo until you can cut stone with your wooden sword, or

/anma aotome, who:s an expert at unarmed combat, or hampoo, !$ane,

/yoga, '$yo, "ousse, or %ust about any character from /anma @>6, all of

whom have their own specialties, and several of whom have had training from

a master such as Happosai and 5ologne. *utside of the /anma @>6 arena

there are samurai li$e "iyamoto 'sagi 0a serious character, even if he is a

rabbit1, nin%as, and other practitioners of martial arts. Tenchi of Tenchi

"uyou studies ?urian sword techniCues under his grandfather. Professional

(resting fits in here too... "etal )ighter "i$u is an example, and )utaba and

many of the other characters in )utaba 9un 5hange are pro-style wrestlers.

u$eban &e$a is an example of super martial-arts school bullies. 5haracters


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who seem normal, li$e "ado$a !yu$awa in 9imagure *range /oad, +i +ing-

+ing in 2x2 3yes, or that guy in 9owa (a #reenwood occasionally

demonstrate formidable fighting prowess. "artial !rts refers to all forms

of combat, armed or unarmed, and if you want to be an expert fencer or

sumo wrestler, so be it. In the world of anime, a talented martial artist canhold his own against %ust about anyone..

"arcus Ahaolin /acoonA 0Tanu$i1 (estthought a few definitions would be in

order here, so I:m passing his along for you;

D)+This usually translates as AThe (ayA or AThe PathA of certain things

and usually emphasies teacher and student relationship. ! prime example of

&* is !i$idoB AThe (ay of peace and loveA.

,utsu+This translates as AThe !rtA here the martial artist trains himself

for battle instead of developing a relationship with his>her teacher, the

student thin$s of the teacher as %ust thatB a teacher nothing more nothingless. !n example of ?utsu is 9en%utsuB AThe !rt of the wordA which later

spawned 9endo, AThe (ay of the swordA.

ung-Fu+*ur definition 0our meaning the do%o or temple since its built to

loo$ li$e a haolin temple1 means Ahard wor$A and where I train it definitely

means %ust that;

.ushuimplies all martial arts but its translation means Athe art of no

fightingA and its also an exercise techniCue used by the haolin later used as

a martial art.

If you reallywant to get into martial arts anime role-playing you should

probably head straight for 3wen Alac$birdA 5luney:s online anime rpg

Thrash, found at his The *fficial Thrash /P# Page. It:s a martial arts-

intensive anime rpg.

*ascot'sually a tal$ing animal or cute $id, this is not Cuite the same as

playing an animal. Here the overriding concern is that you:re phenomenally

cute and don:t otherwise have a lot of reason for hanging around.

*ccasionally you may be of some use to the other players 0purely byaccident, of course1. /yo-*h$i of Tenchi "uyou is an example, although of

course she transforms into a ship 0which is an incredibly useful tric$ don:t

you thin$81. !nnie of /obotech, +una and !rtemis of ailor "oon, and

3uly0sp81 of /onin (arriors are other examples. 0ubmitted by lac$bird1.
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arena/2448/[email protected]://www.blueneptune.com/~jcluney/ewen/thrash.htmhttp://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arena/2448/[email protected]://www.blueneptune.com/~jcluney/ewen/thrash.htm


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*echa Pilot!lthough there are about a baillion examples of this in anime

and manga, perhaps the best examples of how mecha might be adapted to a

less-than-serious campaign come from attle $ipper, Pro%ect !-9o, uper

5at #irl


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Priest%Priestessa$ura and 5herry 0'rsei Yatsura1 are a hinto Priestess

and a uddhist Priest, and each has magical abilities based on their

respective faiths. !lthough we:re never Cuite sure what the Priestesses of"t. "uldoon are Priestesses of, hayla-hayla, "i "ishtal, and !fura "ann

have special powers tied to their artifacts and to the elements of fire,

water and air. You might ma$e your character a priest or priestess with

some magical abilities..

Prince%Princess+um, Tenten, and /anchan of 'rsei Yatsura are royalty, as

are !ye$a, asami, and Tenchi of Tenchi "uyou. In some cases being of royal

or noble blood can give you special powers or access to uniCue gadgets. !tthe very least, it gives you a special status that others lac$, although in an

anime universe, princesses arent altogether rare. In any case, your

character may be of royal blood, but you will probably want to combine this

with something else... a prince who is a martial artist, or who is an alien with

special powers, or who, at the very least, is very rich.

Ps!chicYou are gifted with psychic powers, perhaps as an accident of birth,or perhaps it runs in your family. eeB 9imagure *range /oad, "ai the

Psychic #irl.

0eincarnated BeingYou are someone who has been reincarnated, and you

remember your previous life or learn of it in some manner. (ho you were in

your past life will determine how useful your condition is. The anime>manga

series Please ave "y 3arth deals with several young people who discover

that they are the reincarnated spirits of aliens who once lived on the moon.ome of them have special powers or abilities that have been passed on from

their past lives. I !m ! 5row is a manga series in which a boys grandfather

is reincarnated as a young girl who then becomes the boys friend.


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0ich"endou of 'rsei Yatsura has no special powers, but he:s rich beyond

the dreams of mortal men. He has a private army, helicopters, lear %ets, and

assault tan$s at his command. !nything he wants, he can get. +i$ewise, the

villainess in uper 5at-#irl mission. The details can be wor$ed out between you and thegamemaster, but as part of an extraterrestrial police agency you probably

have superior weapons, communication and surveillance devices, and other

such gadgets.

Special ForcesYou are part of an elite military or police unit and have

access to eCuipment that normal people never see. If you are from

somewhere besides earth, you may be a member of the #alactic Police. If

you are from another dimension, universe, or time, you may be part of the

&imension Police or the Time Police. In any case, you got some neat gadgets,

but cannot operate a battlesuit or mech.


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Super &ntelligentYou are a certified genius and can built practically

anything given the time and money. You construct gadgets constantly.

(ashu, from Tenchi "uyou, is a prime example, as is -9o from Pro%ect !-

9o, or the father character in !ll-Purpous 5ultural 5at #irl Peach

abbath1. 3ven the goddess 'rd from !h; "y #oddess has a very witch-li$e

approach to magic. /eally, these all borrow the trappings and stereotypes of


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western culture witches, and you could %ust as easily borrow ideas from

ewitched, abrina the Teen-!ged (itch, The (itches *f 3astwic$, or any

number of movies>tv shows>boo$s>comics that touch on the sub%ect. "y

personal favorite is Terry Pratchett and his &isc (orld boo$s, a series of

goofy fantasy novels that are some of the funniest boo$s in the 3nglishlanguage, and which usually deal with witches, magicians, or the incarnation

of death. In any case, your character is a witch, most li$ely a young girl, with

a gift for magic.

(itch:s magic is usually earthier than (iard:s magic, and deals more with

potions and pills and nasty ingredients, although the differences arent all

that great -- much of it is semantics. (iards incite cantations, (itches

sing songs. Traditionally male witches are referred to as warloc$s, but in

many fantasy settings 0Pratchett:s &iscworld series, 9i$i:s1 there is no such

thing.


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)ther possibilities(hat you can become is not limited to the above list of

possibilities4 I:m %ust trying to demonstrate as many possibilities as I can

imagine or glean from media and literature. The only things that limit whatyou can or can:t become is your own imagination, and the ruling of the

#amemaster.

If you thin$ of any glaring omissions on my part, or you %ust want to correct

me on some minor point 0A(hat do you mean, :that guy in 9owa (a

#reenwood:8 &on:t you $now your anime8A1 then let me $now, and I:ll update

my list

anime character types

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