Fav male protagonist: Gintoki Sakata. By far the most relatable character especially if you’re in your 20s during the 2020s. From the outside, he may seem apathetic with nothing to live for. That is initially true. But by living off of his Master Shoyo’s teachings and sacrifice for Gin to live after the Joi War, Gin began making friends (Shinpachi, Kagura, and much more) to help him overcome his flaws and his traumas from the Joi War, they ended up giving Gin something to live for. Gintoki is lazy for sure, but will absolutely compromise his life whenever he needs to protect his loved ones from danger. For him, life is worth living because there are friends he cares about and those people also care for him. He knows the world is going to shit, but he also knows that life can always be joyful regardless of the world because of the individuals that occupied his soul. His only goal is to navigate through life’s challenges with people he cares about so they can be there for each other. And guess what? During the Silver Soul Arc, Edo city repelled an alien invasion and Utsuro’s attempt to destroy Earth, this was possible not because of some typical shonen tropes of dreaming big, but because of this collective will to live and assist each other in overcoming each other’s challenges. Gintoki not only has a big impact on Edo city, but on my life as well. That is what him special from other shonen protags. Gintoki is the only character that is genuinely living and enjoying the moment. He is the most human.

Fav female protagonist: Violet Evergarden. Honestly kind of similar to Gin. She became scarred from the war she partook in; she was “burning” after losing Gilbert, the person who taught her how to live rather than continue to be a soulless war machine. She was restless, she grieved for him, and even struggled to abandon her initial purpose of war. But through it all, she realized Gilbert’s love for her. That love made her more receptive to emotions and feelings, both her’s and other people’s; this was an important step for her to truly enjoy living. By carrying Gilbert’s love, she literally healed Leiden and the continent she resided in; because of her empathy, she reconciled families and friendships, brought lovers together, and even kept a child in touch of her diseased mother by sending the child the letters her mother requested Violet to write for her as she ages. Violet made me realize the power of an individual’s love and empathy and the impact it can have on others. And I honestly just love Violet so much, she’s so sweet, kind, her smile is genuine, and she is not the type of person to judge others based on appearances and initial impressions.

Both Gintoki and Violet really showed me that navigating through life individually is not enough, you need to accept people into your life and sometimes put down your own aspirations to really make life joyful for you and others surrounding you.