Character of the Year 2018 has Been Chosen and A Video Announcement from Yours Truly!

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Greetings, fabulous people of the Internet!  It’s January 1st, and that means it’s time to reveal 2018’s Character of the Year.  I’d say that 2018’s character was difficult to pick, but I’d be lying.  There were a lot of great characters to chose from this year.  But when I looked at the line up, I instantly knew who it would be.  I can’t wait and neither can you, so let’s get to it.  Hanime on Anime’s Character of the year for 2018 is Shōto Todoroki from My Hero Academia.
  


A mysterious character in his debut in season one of My Hero Academia, we know very little about this moody teen except for his unique double quirk of fire and ice.  However, come season two, we learn that there’s more to this character than his icy-hot abilities.  Being the son of the number two hero, Endeavor, Todoroki lived a rough and abusive childhood as he was raised by his hero father to be a weapon to usurp All Might.  As a result, Todoroki not only hates his father, but also refuses to use the fire abilities of his quirk.  However, it’s not until his fight with Izuku during the Sports Festival that Todoroki realizes holding back his abilities is of no help to him in becoming a hero.  From there, Todoroki not only starts using all of his quirk but goes on a journey of forgiveness and change.

I’ll admit, I picked Todoroki for completely personal reasons.  Ok, maybe not that personal, but I found that I could relate to him.  Granted, one of the great things about all of the characters from My Hero Academia is that all of the characters have something that anyone in the audience can relate to.  For me, that one character that I could relate to the most was Todoroki.  Todoroki’s personal struggles with his father are a constant focus in the show and even goes on into season three (more on that later).  And in many ways, I could understand completely what he was feeling.  Personally speaking for myself, 2018 was a rollercoaster of a year.  I had a lot of wonderful things happen in my life, but had to deal with a lot of emotional struggles in my life as well.  In particular, I had a lot of emotional baggage leftover from my broken engagement to my ex-fiancé-some of you may recall I went into great detail already of how that relationship played out and don’t intend to do so again, so I won’t elaborate any further.  I was over my ex and have been for a while, but I carried a lot of anger and sadness about the relationship and how it ended.  In the midst of that struggle, I decided I had enough and decided to take some initiative to heal myself.  In the end, I found I was actually able to forgive my ex and find some comfort in where I am in life.  In a way, Todoroki makes this discovery as well.  There’s a scene from the Hero Killer Stain arc in season two that pretty much summed up my feelings over the issue.  During a fight with Stain, Todoroki has a flashback of him visiting his hospitalized mother who attacked him as a child.  As we get still images of the encounter, Todoroki says that his mother told him to move on and that “doing so would be her salvation.”  This encounter motivates him to do just that, even though, according to him, he “hadn’t forgiven him [Endeavor], and I doubt I truly will.”  This really stuck with me.  Even after going through an unbelievable amount of pain, one can always find a way to come out of it and find peace in life.  And with that being said, thanks Todoroki for reminding my of the triumph I’ve found in some of the worst pain in my life, and it’s the reason why you’re this 2018’s Character of the Year!

Moving right along, let’s also announce 2018’s Dynamic Duo.  Starting last year, I added a new category to the Character of the Year lineup.  This award recognizes two characters-whether they be a couple or a pair of friends etc., or whether or not they were already recognized as Character of the Month-for being awesome in their respected show or film.  And 2018’s picks were definitely fantastic choices.  And so, without further adieu, 2018’s Dynamic Duo is Shoya Ishida and Shoko Nishimiya from A Silent Voice!


I have almost nothing more to say about these characters except that they are absolutely wonderful!  The budding relationship that forms between them creates a path for healing and redemption for the both of them and its just beautiful to watch.  In the beginning, Ishida was a bully that would constantly pick on Nishimiya for being deaf, but by the end they’ve become the closest of friends.  Again, it’s such a beautiful transformation that’s moving and touching for audiences.  On top of that, A Silent Voice gives us a very realistic perspective of the struggles of the disabled, more specifically, the hearing impaired.  Once again, being personal again, I really loved seeing someone with a disability presented in a positive way because of my own struggles and triumphs in dealing with Asperger’s Syndrome.  Regardless if you’re struggling with a disability or disorder, these characters will touch your heart.  So keep spreading love and acceptance, Shoya Ishida and Shoko Nishimiya, cause you’re Hanime on Anime’s Dynamic Duo of 2018!

Now with this year’s winners out of the way, let’s take a minute to recognize some honorable mentions.

Shinji Ikari (Evangelion franchise)
Hana (Wolf Children)
Akira Fudo (Devilman Crybaby)

And now with character’s out of the way, let’s take a look at 2018’s Starred Reviews:


And so, that wraps up my annual Character of the Year post.  For closing remarks on my year and things to come, well, I’ll let the video below do the talking for me.  And trust me, there are very exciting things to come!  But I hope that you all had a wonderful year and here’s to 2019 being just as awesome!

-Hanime on Anime

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