Top 5 Best and Worst Parents in Anime

     Greetings, ladies and gentlemen!  You may notice that this week, I'm not doing a review.  As a special post in honor of Father's Day, I've decided to do a countdown, but not just any ordinary countdown.  That's right, it's going to be a double hitter as I'll be doing two countdowns!  Admittedly, this double list is making up for the fact I didn't do anything special for Mother's Day-but then again, it was Miyazaki May, so what can you do?  But in all seriousness, though, this was a post I'd been saving for some time now.  So let's dive in!

     Our parents do a lot for us, don't they?  Besides supporting our otaku hobbies, they love us, care for us, sometimes even feed us or help pay the rent...well, most of them do anyway.  So in honor of the parents who love us so much, I must ask about the parents in anime, good and bad.  Well, what can you say...besides the fact that some are really good and some are really bad?  Sometimes the parents of anime establish themselves as such great characters and motivations that you can't really stop thinking about them.  Some make you wish you had such awesome parents while some make you glad for the parents that you have.  Either way, they deserve to be recognized on a day in which we already honor your parents (one of them, anyway)!  That being said, let's talk about my picks for the top five best and worst parents in anime! I'll be starting off with the worst cause, let's face it, it'll make you love the top five best anime parents a little more...and make you want to hug and thank your real parents for all that they do.

Top 5 Worst Anime Parents

#5: Medusa (Soul Eater)

     We’ve all had those times where we were put in time out when we got in trouble.  This villain and anime mom took it to the extreme.  Medusa raised her own child, Crona, as a weapon and would often isolate the poor thing in a dark room for hours on end if they didn’t kill a tiny creature.  Oh, and while I’m at it, Medusa could care so little about Crona that she doesn’t even address them as her son or daughter.  Think about, you’d have to be completely heartless to not identify your child with some gender-identifying pronoun.  For a mom so cruel and heartless, Medusa is the one who needs a time out.

#4: Ragyo Kiryuin (Kill la Kill)

     Ok, where do I begin with this woman?  She’s becomes obsessed with an alien race of fabric called Life Fibers, performs experiments with them on her own children, throws out said children who don’t survive the experiments, sexually abuses the ones that do, and all the while plots world domination where life fibers essentially end the world.  Yeah, I won’t lie, this is probably one the worst individuals to grace an anime, and definitely a lousy parent.  Given all that she’s done to her daughters, Satsuki Kiryuin and Ryuko Matoi, throughout Kill la Kill, it’s not any wonder why they band against her by series end.  She maybe fabulous and fierce but she won’t be winning Parent of the Year any time soon.

#3: Charles zi Britannia (Code Geass)

     This dad and emperor had some good intentions with his actions, but that doesn’t excuse the messed up things he’s done.  Wanting to create a new world through a phenomenon called the Ragnorok Connection, Charles has no problem using his own children as pawns for his own end game, this includes Code Geass lead Lelouch Lamperouge.  After his mother is assasinated and his sister Nunally is crippled, both Lelouch and Nunally are abandoned in Japan and later caught up in the war between Japan and Britannia.  This famous incident aside, Charles also tends to treat the deaths and affairs of his children like they have no meaning.  Ironically, Charles’ motivation for creating his new world was to create a better world for his children.  Perhaps we should have actually thought about the kids, eh, Charles?  Yeah, like I said, he had good intentions, but just made poor parenting choices.

#2: Gendo Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

     Whether or not you saw Evangelion, you know about this guy.  Making Shinj an Eva pilot, Gendo essentially uses his own son for his own ends.  And what is that end?  Merging all souls into one so he can be reunited with his dead wife.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that’s his entire reason for signing up for the Human Instrumentality Project; so he can be with his dead wife.  I could be very morbid and make an incredibly distasteful joke here, but I’m just going to keep that to myself .  And to add to the obvious fact that Gendo is using his own son as a tool, he doesn’t even treat Shinji like his own son.  In fact, if you watched Evangelion not knowing Gendo and Shinji were related, you would have never guessed it.  And on top of that, he treats Rei, another Eva pilot, like he’s his own, and she’s not even his child!  There’s so much more I could rant here, but I’ve got one last bad parent to roast.  All I can say is Gendo, get your act together…and go see shrink!

#1: Shou Tucker (Full Metal Alchemist)

     Of all the anime parents out there (whether or not they’re on either of these lists), this one is the worst and is infamously regarded as such.  And this is coming from someone who has never seen Full Metal Alchemist!  So what is it about Shou Tucker that makes him such a bad parent?  He used his own daughter and pet for experimental fader…for money.  Yes, you heard me.  He experimented on his own daughter Nina just so he could keep a grant.  Granted, it doesn’t make him any different from the other parents on this list; all of them have used their children as experiments or pawns for their own twisted ends in some way.  But none of them on this list had such a simple but awful motivation for carrying out those means.  It’s those very simple means that make Shou Tucker the worst anime parent ever.

     And now that you’ve read that list, go hug and kiss your parents and let them know how much you love them.  If you’ve already done that, let’s move on to the best parents.  Admittedly, this list was harder because it was a little difficult to find some good anime parents out there.  Not to say there aren’t any.  Typically the good parents in anime usually don’t do anything to help further the plot.  So I got a little help from  Anime America’s Top 10 Best Moms and Dads lists.  That being said, let’s continue with my picks for Best Anime Parents

 

Top 5 Best Anime Parents

#5: Mrs. Higurashi (Inuyasha)

     I admittedly never considered this mom from one of my favorite anime shows as one of the best moms until I watched the Anime America’s Top Ten Best Moms list, and they made a great about her that I never really thought about.  Mrs. Higurashi has no qualms about letting her daughter time travel to Feudal Japan, but it’s not because she’s an easy going mom.  She knows Kagome is vital to helping Inuyasha and the gang and the only one who can do that.  Therefore, she is willing to make excuses for her absence at school for it.  She even makes the biggest sacrifice by letting Kagome stay in the Feudal era to be with Inuyasha by the end of Inuyasha: The Final Act.  This mom does so much for her daughter that it’s more than admirable.  Mrs. Higurashi is definitely one mom I will definitely give more credit to.

#4: ChiChi (Dragon Ball franchise)

     It’s probably no secret that ChiChi is probably the worst wife in anime.  But given that she’s married to one of the most powerful yet dumbest anime characters in anime, you can understand why she is so demanding.  But one thing you can’t call her out on is her ability as a mom.  ChiChi does about everything she can to make sure her sons Gohan and Goten are taken care of and have more than enough.  While I don’t think her being married to Goku and taking care of two half-Saiyan boys as being the best anime mom ( per Anime America’s Best Mom’s list) there’s no denying that ChiChi is one super mom.

#3: Hana (Wolf Children)

     I really wanted to put this awesome mom higher on the list, but the only thing keeping her at the number three spot was because I have yet to see Wolf Children.  Hana was left a single mother to two young children after the death of her wolfish lover.  But her children are far from ordinary; her children Ame and Yuki are half wolf.  Wolf Children provides a great discussion on raising children with special needs, often showing the stress that Hana goes through in raising two children who can transform into wolves.  And given how open I am about my diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome, you can tell that this mom already has a special place in my heart.  She’s a great role model for moms with special needs children everywhere!  Whether or not I’ve seen Wolf Children, Hana is a legendary mom that you don’t need to see the film to admire.

#2: Spirit Albarn (Soul Eater)

     This anime dad may not be the best man around given his pretty lecherous behavior.  But when it comes to his daughter Maka, there’s no dad like Spirit.  This man loves her so much that he’d do just about anything to send her love and encouragement, even stand out by her apartment window to perform a bizarre good luck ceremony.  Heck, he even berates Medusa (#5 Worst Anime Parent) for being a lousy parent to Crona.  And even though Maka doesn’t receive his love a good bit of the time, you have to give Spirit some credit for how hard he tries to show his baby how much he loves her.  His efforts may not be recognized by his own daughter, but at least some one here did!

#1: Maes Hughes (Full Metal Alchemist)

     Yeah, yeah, I know.  This guy is always on the top of the list of best anime parents, but there’s a good reason why.  If you were to look up the definition of family man in the dictionary, chances are, this man’s face would be pictured below it.  Hughes is such a devoted and loving husband and father that he would do anything for his wife and daughter, and boy does it show.  And much like Spirit, this guy is totally obsessed with his daughter, treating her like she’s the best thing in the world.  But the only difference is that he has no problem telling the world how wonderful she is, almost to ridiculous heights!  Like I said, he’s one of anime’s most well known parents of all time, and my number one pick for best anime parent.

     So what do you think?  Who do you think are the best and worst parents in anime?  I know that there were plenty more out there that didn’t make the cut, so do you think a second list should be in order?  Either way, tell me what you guys think!  And don’t forget to thank your dad’s for all they do to love and support us in our otaku habits.  Stay tuned next week when I unveil this month’s Character of the Month!

-Hanime on Anime