Third day of the 30 day manga challenge and I’ve been left with a fairly tricky question. The challenge for today is to decide on my favourite male manga character ever. Why do I have to have so many tricky questions so many days in a row?!

Like yesterday I can’t decide on just one favourite so I’ve gone for a range of about five. To kick things off we have Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. Edward Elric is one of my favourites for a few reasons but perhaps the biggest is for the opinions and morels he holds so dearly. Ed believes deeply in the idea of equivalent exchange, an idea I also really like to think about and hold dearly.

Ed is an interesting character overall as he holds so much love and passion for his brother and friends yet on the flip of the coin he couldn’t care less for his position in the military. He’s strong willed and never willing to give up even when faced with the toughest of situations and I admire him for that. He’ll never let life get the better of him until he gets what he wants. A deep and meaningful character indeed.

Next up we have Yuu Haruna from Fuuka. He may seem like a fairly odd choice but hear me out. Yuu starts out as a fairly quiet, shy, cowardly character but as the series has gone on he has really progressed. In taking up music he’s welling to give the bass everything he has and Yuu has proven to be really kindhearted deep down.

I like the way his character has developed over time and I’m especially fond of seeing how he keeps coming out of his shell as our story continues. Perhaps he’s not the most original of characters but I most definitely have a soft spot for him and Fuuka in general.

Next up we have Houtaro from Hyouka. This kid refuses to use any energy unless he has no other choice but he has a knack for mystery solving and left with a puzzle he can’t help but be pulled in by it. Despite his rough outer shell he’s actually quite caring underneath it all and has a certain charm about him that has you slowly grow to really like him.

Hyouka is a favourite of mine in general and with the series being so character driven you have to like the cast we’re given. Houtaro is made not to be likeable but I couldn’t help but grow to love him anyway. He’s a strong character steadily built up over time until he has some real depth to him. Watching his opinion on the world and people around him will always be something I regard fondly.

I’d have to say that the story of Wolf Children will stand as one of my favourites for a very long time especially as far as movies go. I love all of our cast but especially young Ame. He’s a sickly young wolf child but as time goes on and we watch his and Yuki’s story over their 13 years we really get to see Ame grow and become much more confident and decide where he truly wants to be.

Ame’s character design starts off fairly cute and meek to reflect on his nature at the time but as time goes on he grows into a much more confident and tough character, much like the design of his and Yuki’s father. It’s a nice change to see and watching Ame grow and choose his path in life despite his mother and sister perhaps not being the happiest with it to begin with. As I said early the story of Wolf Children is a special one to me but especially so for getting to watch Ame grow up the way he does.

Last up we have good old Yugo Hachiken from Silver Spoon. Running away from his parents, school and past he enroll at Yezo Agricultural High School despite having no real wish to go into anything to do with farming. Truth be told Hachiken is a bit of a dork but he’s loveable. He’s kindhearted and despite having been burned in the past he’s more than willing to try and help out his fellow classmates and make some new friends along the way.

It’s hard not to end up rooting for Hachiken as he slowly decides what his future is going to be and begins to enjoy his time at Yezo with his friends and classmates. Hachiken has a surprising amount of depth to him even early on in Silver Spoon, something that Hiromu Arakawa always seems to manage to inject into her characters one way or another.

Truth be told this challenge hasn’t been quite as challenging as yesterday. I don’t feel like I’ve left any favourites of mine out apart from maybe Red from Pokémon Adventures. I’m sure more will come to me after I publish this post but hey, that’s just how these things go. Now I need to start thinking of favourite female character for tomorrow…