As I was talking to my older bro kanina (who's a teacher by the way), it dawned upon me (forgive the corniness and bout of sentimentality
) that I am what I am today because of professional teachers like him. Well, I was also bored too and since both anime and manga have been part of my life for a good measure of my 25 years on this planet I came up with this thread: list down your Top 10 Anime-Manga Mentor-Characters.
Well, you might want to include the fact that some of the characters that you'd be reading in my list are also more like torMENTORs to their students.
So here goes...
1)
Jiraiya (from
Naruto)
Yes, people, even with all that innate pervertedness he still managed to train one of Konoha's finest heroes and one of them was a Hokage to boot! And that same Hokage fathered the eponymous main character of the series and also trained another favorite Naruto character of mine - Copy Ninja Kakashi!
P.S. He could be my godfather anytime.
2)
Kisuke Urahara (from
Bleach)
Never mind if he appears initially as a slacker or an indifferent guy on neutral gear for most of the duration of the
Bleach series. Part of the reason why this guy ranks up here in my list is that he is as enigmatic as he is a good and frank teacher who won't stand for any threat to the greater good.
3)
Kakashi Hatake (from
Naruto)
Well, mentor # 1 best explains why he is here in this list but Kakashi deserves his own share of glory and praises here. One thing bugs me the most: even into Shippuden we still haven't gotten a glimpse of his supposed handsome mug.
P.S. Makes you wonder if the Yondaime Hokage had also a perverted streak too.
4)
Hiko Seijuro XIII or Hiko Seijuro Jusandai (from
Rurouni Kenshin)
Would have been # 1 on this list if the
Naruto series hadn't appeared. There's something about having a master who's more of a tormentor (even to the point of sadism) than a philosopher. I'm damn proud that this guy plays his role like the wild card he is. Plus that cape he wears and that tsuba-less sword he wields is so damn cool!
5)
Nanjiro Echizen (from
The Prince of Tennis)
Here's another ecchi-mentor after my own aching heartstrings (because of having to laugh at every antic he does). Well, he acts more like a mentor than he is a father to a future tennis champ and that is part of the mystique of
Samurai Nanjiro who suddenly gave up a promising and lengthy career as a world-class tennis ace to train his own son as the next world tennis champ.
6)
Meisuke Nueno or Nube (from
Hell Teacher Nube)
Nube-sensei represents a teacher who
really looks after the welfare of his students (even if they're brats) and strives to make ends meet in both his personal and professional lives. In doing so, we sometimes forget that part of the reason why he has earned his other monicker is because of his noble sense of self-sacrifice and justice even if he has to forever walk the fine line between the real world and the supernatural realm.
7)
Mu La Flaga (from
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny)
I just couldn't resist adding this guy partly because I'm a die-hard Gundam fan (and because my brothers and I are all Gundam fans). But do take note that this guy didn't really pilot a Gundam to begin with. In the
Gundam SEED universe, Mu lives up to the self-proclaimed title "the man who makes the impossible possible". Mu's subsequent return in
SEED Destiny initially as an antagonist was not that bad. But of course Kira Yamato stole the show from Shinn Asuka and part of the reason why Kira was able to pilot his mobile suit to an almost Zen-like degree is due to the fact that he had one of the best role models as a mentor in the series. Reminds me of Viper (Tom Skerritt's character) from the movie
Top Gun.
Prof. Sakunji or Dr. Hook (from
Super Electromagnetic Machine Voltes V)
Okay, I honestly didn't want to bring up a
prehistoric name
but what the heck...
You might remember this no-nonsense guy as the third chief scientist to supervise the training and maintenance of the Voltes V pilots and their machines. What makes him memorable for me as one of the mentors who've made it to this list was in that episode where he made the Voltes team drill almost endlessly on an alternative technique (I think it was called in the English dub as the "Spin-Fly technique") with their machines. I guess underneath that obstinacy and harshness was a teacher who still looked after the welfare of his charges. And for that I am grateful for the fact that some of our teachers still used this facade to help unlock our potential.
9)
Yoruichi Shihoin (from
Bleach)
It was a tough choice to bring in a female into this list since I could hardly think of anyone as of this writing who'd fit the profile of a relatively good female mentor. Well, Yoruichi's a breath of fresh air to this testorone-filled list. She has her moments... most especially with Orihime, Chad and even in the flashbacks with Soi Fon. But what forever endeared her to me was the fact that she's a close confidant of Kisuke Urahara and even gave up her position as a Gotei 13 captain to help the latter escape into exile. Nuff said.
10)
Eikichi Onizuka (from
Great Teacher Onizuka)
I know what you're thinking: I'm insane.
Yeah, well this guy made it to this list and that has to count for something. The Onizuka series was hilarious in its own right but underneath the blunt and rough gray areas of morality and sense of justice is the fact that there are some teachers who actually bring out the best in their students.
Whew! I'd like to read
your lists, guys.
Top 10 Anime-Manga Mentor-Characters
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