A very masculine looking man holds in his arms the corpse of a fallen foe. Ready to bury him, his young wards ask why he would commit such a compassionate act. The battle-weary successor to ancient assassination art Hokuto Shinken looks off to the distance and says “because this man loved the same woman I loved.”

That foe was named Shin, who was once the best friend of our hero Kenshiro. When the world ended in nuclear apocalypse, few survived and others were driven by madness to use violence and fear to rule the land. Shin, like many of Kenshiro’s antagonists, was driven mad by his ambition and took away Kenshiro’s beloved Yuria after he had defeated Kenshiro in battle.

Kenshiro wandered the land aimlessly until he ended up in situations where he had to use his martial arts to destroy those who would do harm to innocents that were just trying to survive their days on this ravaged earth. Through these exploits of badassery, he soon discovers that Yuria is held captive by Shin in his slave-built city, Southern Cross.

Kenshiro storms Shin’s palace and finds both him and Yuria. To mock Kenshiro, Shin kills Yuria right in front of him. Through sheer rage, Kenshiro violently defeats Shin. When it is discovered that the “Yuria” that Shin had killed was a lookalike doll, Shin sobs and reveals that Yuria had taken her own life just before Kenshiro entered Southern Cross. Shin tells Kenshiro how everything he did for Yuria – though misguided – was out of love for her. He then takes his own life.

Kenshiro sees the true feelings of Shin as he takes his life and decides to honor his death with a proper burial. These warriors, who just recently hated each other enough to want to kill each other, rekindle their friendship as Shin’s life ends.

For this and many other reasons, Fist of the North Star is one of the greatest manga and anime series ever and one of the cornerstones of MANIME, or manly anime. You know, those super masculine, testosterone-filled shows filled with plenty of violence and justice!

The core elements of MANIME are defined by Fist of the North Star and other series. These elements are critical to any anime being manly and any anime where these features are not prevalent are would not qualify as a manly anime.

VIOLENCE

In Maddox’s Alphabet of Manliness, he states that “men love violence, and every red-blooded man wants to die as violently as possible.” Violence is a critical aspect of MANIME, whether bodies are exploding or being cut in half. For the sake of justice violence is dispensed without hesitation. In situations where the corrupt abuse the weak and helpless, violence is not only the problem, it is also the solution!

If the scum of the planet aren’t rendered into a spectacle of bloody fireworks or if honorable warriors who have to die are not doing so in a way that inspire those they leave behind, then the level of violence is not high enough!

TRAGEDY

In the anime Berserk, the once cold and heartless loner Gutz finds companionship with his comrades in the Band of the Hawk. He later finds love with Casca as well. On the night of the eclipse, his best friend turns to great evil to gain incredible power and takes away everything Gutz has come to treasure in one night. With his body ravaged and his world turned upside down, Gutz now has to live in a world where the wicked supernatural prey upon him and many others. But no matter; he moves forward to take down the fiends that took all that he came to love.

Every protagonist in MANIME has something great they lose along the way - be it friends, family, or loved ones. These things are taken away from them in the cruelest of ways and now they must live with that pain as they continue their lives. However, they do not use these tragedies as a crutch but those moments will never be forgotten and will always be a driving force in their actions.

SHOULDERING BURDENS

Often, many things are expected out of our heroes in MANIME. As the successor to Hokuto Shinken, Kenshiro had to uphold the laws of his school and settle conflicts with rival disciplines and also his own brothers whom he both loved and respected. This usually ended up with Kenshiro regretfully having to kill such people.

Throughout his battles, people also began to depend on Kenshiro as a savior from tyrants that would oppress them. He was initially somewhat reluctant to this violent quest but after seeing women, children, and elderly having their lives stolen, he had no other choice but to fulfill his destiny.

SELF SACRIFICE

It is common for heroic characters in anime to put their bodies and lives on the line to protect something precious to them. This in not exclusive to MANIME; it’s a common theme in the heroism. This is one of those traits that may cause fans to consider some series to be manly even though they are lacking other core elements.

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES

Manly anime characters share many common physical attributes to the point that they sometimes look similar. They usually are seen with the following:

• Giant, chiseled muscles
• Potato shaped heads
• Defined, rigid jawlines
• Built more powerful than a Sherman tank
• A deep, commanding voice that can shake the very heavens
• Thick, menacing eyebrows… or sometimes no eyebrows at all

Needless to say, a manly anime character would not be able to fit into a pair of skinny jeans!

FINAL WORD… FOR NOW

This is not the end of my discussions on MANIME. In fact, I will have future postings and will even be hosting panels on the subject at future conventions. These elements are core and common in many MANIME. They can niether be faked nor forced; they have to be real. With this in mind, you should be able to better grasp what makes a manly anime so.

I have been told in one too many public speaking classes that it is rude to point your finger at someone while talking to them. I disagree. Pointing your finger at someone is an effective technique to gain their attention. Why is that? Because it triggers some level of anxiety. When you point your finger at someone, you are showing a form of aggression. Someone who interprets that as such will begin to feel scared because they know they did something wrong and that someone just found out. And when someone begins to feel fear, they try to become more aware of the source.

When I feel like calling out someone’s bullshit, I will most likely point my finger at them. I see them tense up with shock in their face as they try to blurt out whatever unprepared response they have when they receive their accusation. And because it’s unprepared, they will probably say whatever response comes from their brain first, contradicting themselves with lies or weak excuses that will of course be pointed out by me and my finger. With my finger pointing at them, I pierce into their very soul.  This works even better when that person is singled-out in a crowd of people, because then they feel even more anxiety gets generated as they feel the eyes fixed on them.

Pointing your finger at someone while you talk to them shows that you have no fear in confronting them and is guaranteed to generate results in getting someones attention as you break their spirit.