Characters I Relate to on a Spiritual Level and Why

Let’s just jump right in.

Kaneki Ken (Tokyo Ghoul)

For those not familiar with Tokyo Ghoul, think humans and ghouls (nearly identical creatures to humans save for a desire to eat flesh) living alongside one another. Kaneki is a human turned half-ghoul that tethers the line between wanting to both devour and save the human race. Do with this what you will…

• • Kaneki comes off as reserved and shy, but he has a really big heart!
  • He also has a people-pleasing, inferiority complex coupled with the belief that he doesn’t deserve happiness for some odd reason (possibly tied to feelings of unwant and neglect)…I did say we would jump right in, didn’t I?
  • Kaneki’s core belief that “It’s better to be hurt, than to hurt others” has damaging affects on his psyche. Although his grasp on reality is shaky at best, there is a lot to be learned from him. Namely, that no person is perfect and honestly we shouldn’t have to be. And that it is 100% possible to be a decent human being whilst also knowing how to set boundaries and stand up for yourself.

My Favorite Moments:

• • If you’ve seen this show you know that the pickings for happy moments are pretty slim…BUT there’s a moment when his best friend, Hideyoshi, is teasing him about his crush and I find myself feeling really drawn to how sweet and bashful Kaneki is at heart. This is only bolstered by his gushing to Hide later on about having the same interests as his date.

Which leads me to…

Hideyoshi Nagachika (Tokyo Ghoul)

Kaneki’s best friend and the perfect yang to Kaneki’s yin. He is human and somewhat removed from the world of ghouls.

• • He can come off as really playful and goofy. And it’s easy for people to overlook him.
  • Behind his playful persona, lies a really deep and self-reflective guy who cares so so much about his friends (sometimes at a detriment to his own well-being).
  • Sometimes he is a bit overly protective, but you can tell that his love and care for those close to him means everything. It is what makes him such a lovable character.

My Favorite Moments:

• • Every scene where Hide is just lurking in the back and being all suspicious of Kaneki and the secrets that he is keeping from him.

Katara (ATLA)

Avatar: The Last Airbender is such a comfort show for me. I mean who wouldn’t want to watch a brother and sister duo embark on a life changing journey with a bald 12-year-old and his flying bison to put an end to the violent dictatorship of a fire-breathing maniac?!

• • As a young girl who has had to grow up very quickly, Katara gets a lot of hate from audiences who say she’s boring and nagging. But considering her mother was killed protecting her, her father left for war not long after, and in some regards she had to parent her older brother, Sokka…it’s unreasonable to write her off so easily.
  • Not only do I have mad respect for her resilience and optimism, but I also relate to her in that we both tend to take up mothering roles with those closest to us, perhaps because we’ve grown so used to being the levelheaded sibling or the most responsible one in the room.
  • The issue with growing up fast, however, is forgetting to actually slow down and enjoy being a kid.

My Favorite Moments:

• • Any time Katara trys to crack a joke that isn’t funny, and no one laughs. Or when Aang convinced her to go penguin sledding. Because she’s mature for her age sure, but she’s still just a kid learning how to navigate the world and have a little bit of fun in-between.

Tamaki Amajiki (My Hero Academia/BNHA)

The world is full of people who have quirks (superhuman abilities) and the story follows a group of kids as they attend hero school to train up their quirks, get their hero licenses, fight villains, and just do good (as good guys do).

• • Social anxiety, who? The boy wishes he was at home 90% of the time.
  • The other 10% is him kicking butt for the sake of not letting his friends down (and also likely because they forced him to).
  • Side note: despite suffering with crippling anxiety, his hero name “Sun Eater” represents Tamaki’s hope that one day he can shine so bright that his light can devour even that of the sun. And in his case the sun is representative of his best friend, Mirio. And if that’s not a reason to stan I don’t know what is.

My Favorite Moments:

• • When we first meet him and he’s failing desperately at trying to picture the younger students as potatoes.
  • Every scene where this boy is just standing facing a wall.
  • Whenever his friends and mentor remind him how amazing he is and push him to step out of his shell.

Ariel (The Little Mermaid)

Speaking of stepping out of shells…Half-fish girl falls in love with human boy she’s never actually met and swaps in her fins for legs in order to get close to him. The gag? She trades in her voice as payment to the menacing sea witch.

• • If you know me, you know that Ariel is my FAVORITE disney princess and always has been. She does not like being stuck in a box or adhering to anyone’s ideas or expectations of her.
  • Curious at heart, she just wants to soak up as much knowledge as she can about the world.
  • Albeit a teensy-weensy bit boy-crazy (guilty as charged your honor), her passion and love are quite admirable. It does land her in a sticky situation partly fueled by her naivety and hopeful outlook.
  • However, her creative imagination all but make up for it. Literally me in a clamshell.

My Favorite Moments:

• • The classic Ariel combing her hair with a fork instead of using it to eat and Prince Eric looking mad confused like “who is this girl I brought home?”. But she’s just being excitable, normal herself. Well, as normal as a mermaid with legs can get.

Now, to another fan favorite of mine.

Raven (Teen Titans)

In this series a group of mismatched kids with varying skills and abilities team up to watch over their city from a T-shaped tower and protect it from fight bad guys.

• • Raven keeps her feelings buried deep down inside and often presents as indifferent and devoid of emotion. Of course it doesn’t help that she typically dawns a dark purple cape that hangs low over her face and conceals all facial expression.
  • The girl is good at compartmentalization and she kinda has to be. She’s been known to meditate in order to keep her feelings at bay and protect those around her. Because at the end of the day she may come off as stone-hearted, but she truly does care. Maybe more than she would like to admit.
  • She may not show it, but her friends are her chosen family and they make her a better person.

My Favorite Moments:

• • When the Titans went into Raven’s mind and met her different emotions and we actually hear her laugh for like the first and only time.

Wanda Maximoff (X-Men: Evolution)

X-Men: Evolution, where your fav X-Men are young, dumb, and in high school. Most are still trying to get a hang of their mutant abilities while trying to live amongst non-mutants.

• • She’s like totally misunderstood, ya know? Just kidding, but girl has power that isn’t the easiest to control (though others try to abuse her for her powers). But once she steps into herself and actually accepts who and what she is, she is an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.
  • Sidenote: girlie has some serious unhealed childhood trauma that needed years of therapy and hugs (not a psyche ward for the mentally unstable). But with Magneto as a father I can’t say I’m too surprised by his handling of his daughter’s ability.
  • She just wants to be loved (T^T)

My favorite moments:

• • Wanda cutting her hair into a pixie cut in the bathroom.
  • On top of her brushing off every single one of Toad’s (a fellow villain and member of the Brotherhood) romantic advances.

Ending on a MUCH lighter note.

Charlotte La Bouff (The Princess and the Frog)

Set in New Orleans, a young girl kisses a talking frog and becomes a frog herself. She rushes to find a way to turn back human, and along the way she and her frog prince befriend an alligator and firefly who aid them on their mission.

• • Girl gives off major Aries/Leo rising energy with her need to be the center of attention at all times.
  • But this doesn’t discredit her immense love, romantic hopefulness, and easily excited nature.
  • She also happens to be a really great and selfless friend (in the end lol).
  • And that fashion sense?! Granted I’m sure to Tiana’s mother, Eudora, who sews clothes but still.
  • Charlotte is what I imagine Blanche Devereaux to have been in her youth. All loud and spoiled and romantic.
  • And let’s not forget the girl’s obsession with being a princess.

My favorite moments:

• • She shows up to the cafe and urges Big Daddy to spill the news to Tiana about a prince coming to town, but won’t let him get a word in edge-wise. He shoves a freshly baked beignet into her mouth cause the girl just won’t stop interrupting him.

Honourable mentions, but I won’t say why:

• • Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)
  • Rogue (X-Men: Evolution)
  • Alice (Alice in Wonderland)
  • Velma (What’s New, Scooby Doo?)