Come on rain, Fatherhood is a tricky business, and the responsibilities of raising a child are even thornier when the child in question has superhuman strength, magical abilities, or pilots of the pilot to gain a robot for the sake of all humanity. persevere, and we at Crunchyroll think it's time to recognize that fact with a look at how a handful of fathers approach their duties (or shirk them) in various old-school anime.
Some of these dads are mad. Some of these dads are mad. Some of these dads are bad and dangerous to know. But all of them are indubably dads, and on this Father's Day, we celebrate the trials and tribulations of parenthood with a brief look at eleven classic anime dads in their natural habitats.
In no particular order, meet the fathers:
Origin: Urusei Yatsura
Threat Level: Salaryman
Profile: A humble, middle-management working adult who just happens to be the father of one of the most accused teenagers in the universe, Ataru's Dad really wants to read his newspaper, pay the mortgage on time, and maybe watch the occasional pro-wrestling match With aliens constantly blowing up the house, though, this is easier said than done.
Where You Can Find Him: Anim Eigo's DVDs are out-of-print, but you can catch Ataru's Dad in the Viz Signature editions of the Urusei Yatsura manga.
Origin: Urusei Yatsura
Threat Level: Oni
Profile: A straight shooter who tells it it is it, it is it, Mr. Invader, An intergalactic conqueror by trade and the father of perennial anime "best girl" Lum, Mr. Invader is a rough, gruff, simple sort of fellow with a large appetite for life. fears do man … although he does fear his wife, who is a terror with an electrically-charged broom.
Where You Can Find Him: (See Ataru's Dad.)
Origin: Super Dimension Fortress Macross
Threat Level: Valkyrie
Profile: You may think you're smooth, but you are smooth enough to get your mortal enemy immediately after you a.) Clobber them at the video arcade and b.) They try to stab you? I didn't think so. Max is the quintessential MacDaddy, though his parenting skills need some polish and his marital troubles inform the plot of Macross 7It's probably a good thing that his eldest daughter, Komilia, has a strong skeleton.
Where You Can Find Him: The previous DVD releases of Super Dimension Fortress Macross by ADV and AnimEigo are out-of-print, but you can catch the entire original series streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Origin: Dr. Slump
Threat Level: Mad Scientist
Profile: The only thing that prevents Senbei Norimaki from being crushed beneath The weight of his own ineptitude—or pulled by the tiny metal fists of his robot daughter, Arale—Senbei is ultimately capable to marry Midori Yamabuki, the woman of his dreams, so he must be doing something right, is he fact that he's the father's figure in a gag manga, and thus he's “plot armor” that is seventeen inches thick. …
Where You Can Find Him: Even the Dr. Slump TV anime have never been officially released in the United States, Discotek Media has a DVD set featuring five Dr. Slump films, and the entire run of the original Dr. Slump manga is available in English from Viz Media, and you can check out Senbei's misadventures there.
Origin: Battle angel alita
Threat Level: Hunter-Warrior
Profile: When he does not have bounty-hunting for spine-stealing freaks, Daisuke Ido runs a cyber-surgery practice and acts as a surrogate father for his adopted daughter, the Martian cyborg super-soldier, Alita, who happens to be hundreds him. Parenthood is strange.
Where You Can Find Him: ADV's DVD release of the Battle angel Anime OAVs is out-of-print, but the Battle angel alita You can also catch Christoph Waltz as Ido in the live-action manga and its sequels and spin-offs are available in English from Kodansha Comics. Alita: Battle Angel film.
Origin: Project A-ko 2: Plot of the Daitokuji Financial Group
Threat Level: Billionaire Playboy
Profile: He's also not above Hilarious B-ko Daitokuji, Hikaru spends most of his time stealing his daughter's mecha design and passing his -ko's personal set of form-fitting powered armor if the situation calls for it, although later films in the Project A-ko series show Hikaru taking a more civic-minded approach.
Where You Can Find Him: All four of the Project A-ko films are currently available on DVD from Discotek Media, and Hikaru Daitokuji makes an appearance in at least three of them.
Origin: Slayers
Threat Level: PACIFIST CRUSH!
Profile: Depident his rough and tumble appearance, Prince Philionel El Di Seyruun (“Phil” He is the head that wears the crown, especially when your wife is deceased and both of his daughters spend most of their time adventuring rather than helping. to his friends) is a benevolent ruler with a gentle heart who believes in pacifism, kindness to all creatures, and the occasional spinning lariat delivered with just the right amount of loving violence.
Where You Can Find Him: Funimation releases the Slayers TV anime on home video in the United States. The Slayers movies and OAVs were at one time published by ADV, but Phil isn't in those releases, which are also out-of-print.
Origin: Azumanga Daioh
Threat Level: Norio Wakamoto
Profile: He can fly at Mach 100 and reflect bullets. He may or may not be Santa Claus. Nothing is true. Everything is allowed. Eat your own. A creature of myth and enigma, Chiyo's Dad is not actually a cat. tomatoes.
Where You Can Find Him: In real life, the ADV and Sentai Filmworks DVD releases of In dreams, Chiyo's Dad is everywhere. Azumanga Daioh are now out-of-print, but the original Azumanga Daioh manga is available in English from Yen Press.
Origin: Ranma 1/2
Threat Level: Panda
Profile: If this is the case, then genma has a real poor way, then it is poor case, then genma saotome cares about the well-being of his son, ranma, more than he cares about martial arts or training. Regime has afflicted both father and son with shape-changing curses, and Genma's poor planning has inflicted traumatailurophobia on ranmaGenma's promises to Ranma's mother entail …
Where You Can Find Him: When not playing with a tire or chewing on bamboo, Genma Saotome can be found in the Ranma 1/2 manga and anime, which are both released in the United States by Viz Media.
Origin: Wicked City
Threat Level: FALCON PUNCH!
Profile: A member of the Black Guard that protects the boundaries between the human world and the Demon Realm, Taki Renzaburo is a new fatherhood thing, since his child's first child isn't born yet when the Wicked City film conclides. With a James Bond libido, a pistol that can shoot through walls, and a right hook that can crush faces, Taki is more of the “who's your daddy?” type.
Where You Can Find Him: Wicked City is available on DVD from Eastern Star, but we warned, even though this is Father's Day, this film is not kids' stuff.
Origin: Grappler Baki
Threat Level: Ogre
Profile: Some would say that Gendo Ikari of Neon Genesis Evangelion Yujiro's bloodlust is all encompassing, and Baki's is an illusion that is I'd argue that even Gendo levels of shitty parenthood pale in comparison to the walking natural disaster that is Yujiro Hanma, the father of underground fighters Baki and Jack Hanma. Yujiro's bad dad deeds are too numerous to count and must be seen to be believed.
Where You Can Find Him: Funimation's DVD release of the 2001 Grappler Baki TV anime is out-of-print, but the most recent Baki anime is currently streaming on Netflix, and Akita Shoten Comics publish the New Grappler Baki manga on Comixology.
Anime has a long history and rich history, and the full spectrum of fatherhood in all its beautiful and messy permutations would take a lifetime to explore and that's our look at some classic anime daddies, but this sampling is by no means mean to be an exhaustive list. . Who are your favorite classic anime dads? Which honorable (or disconorable) mentions do you think should make the list?
And from everyone here at Crunchyroll, we wish you a very happy Father's Day!
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Paul Chapman is the host of the Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME!
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