Anime Fathers

This is where my Kayla-ness completely kicks in. I spent my last post talking about my awesome dad, and I started thinking "What about anime dads?" (Yes, anime pops up quite frequently in my mind.) I got to thinking, and there are a lot of unsung heroes in the tales of those animated heroes who got the ball rolling in the plot or just supported their kids the best they can in that crazy little country called Japan. So this post is going to be celebrating some anime fathers I feel don't get enough credit. Here's your hurrah, you guys!

Soichiro Yagami
(Death Note) 
Children: Light Yagami, Sayu Yagami 

Police Chief Soichiro Yagami had a steady job and an almost perfect family. Then his son Light had to become an anonymous, supernatural serial killer known across the world as Kira and screw that up for him. Soichiro had a strong sense of justice, becoming so determined to catch Kira that he quit his job as police chief in order to continue pursuing him once the police force was under Kira's influence. Aside from being just an awesome and dedicated man, he was also a devoted father. His job kept him from home a lot, but when ace detective L accused Light of being Kira, Soichiro was quick to defend his son, even though he allowed L to investigate him. During Light's imprisonment, he demanded to be locked up too, and was more than relieved when it appeared the Light was innocent. Although Light eventually sacrificed his own father to further his power as Kira, Soichiro remained supportive of his son and blissfully ignorant of the monster he spawned.

Koumyou Sanzo

(Saiyuki)

Children: (adopted, kind of) Genjo Sanzo

Poor Koumyou Sanzo didn't have a live moment in any of the Saiyuki series, only appearing in flashback, but what we do know is that he, out of the goodness of his heart, took in the orphaned Kouryuu and raised him as his own. Koumyou proves to be the major influence on Kouryuu, taking care of him and teaching him how to survive in adversity and strife. When Koumyou is struck down by a demon, he christens Kouryuu as Genjo Sanzo and makes him a Sanzo priest. Throughout the series, Sanzo will remember his old master's lessons and quote his words of wisdom. Without him, Sanzo would've grown up knowing no love or kindness from another.

Bardock

(Dragonball Z)

Children: Raditz, Goku

Aside from his movie Bardock, The Father of Goku, Bardock doesn't appear alive in the series, and his direct influence is minimal since he died shortly after Goku was sent to Earth, but his last actions made him an admirable character. The Saiyin planet Vegeta is pretty much under the rule of weird-looking alien overlord Frieza, and while on a genocide mission on another planet, Bardock is given the gift/curse/whatever of premonitions by one of the survivors of the planet. After that, he begins seeing his planet's end at the hands of Frieza and decides to fight for the survival of his people, even though he has to fight alone. Because we needed to be exposed to the glory that is Dragonball and Dragonball Z (Dragonball GT can grow a real pair of draognballs, in my opinion), he and planet Vegeta died in vain, leaving less than 10 Saiyins alive elsewhere in the universe. In his final moments, he had a premonition of his infant son, Kakarot (who we affectionately know now as Goku), defeating Frieza as an adult, he died smiling in pride of his son.

Shigeo Hanabishi

(Flame of Recca)

Children: (adopted) Recca Hanabishi

This brave-ass man took in some random ninja-baby and raised him as his son. Blam! So yeah, he fibbed Recca's past to him, and the two argue a lot, but he loves that boy he was his own, and worked endlessly to take care of and support him. I don't know this character very well because this series hurts a little part of my brain, but I always admired this man for what he's done for Recca. Aw!

Raizen

(Yu Yu Hakusho)

Children: Unknown son, (descendent) Yusuke Urameshi

Obviously, I'm not commending Raizen on the parenting of his own son, since, you know, there wasn't any; he had a one-night stand with a human and ran off. But when his descendent Yusuke had died for the second time and was resurrected by the demon blood Raizen passed down to him, he did not hesitate to help him kill the guy who took him out. When Yusuke went to the Demon World to meet him, he made Yusuke realize that most of the demons he fought were practically invalid and he just jumped into a whole new world of nasty. His appearance was short, due to him eventually dying of hunger, but he inspired Yusuke to find another alternative to end the rule of the demon kings in the Demon World. After seeing all of Raizen's friends, former enemies, and training buddies show up to pay their respects for their deceased friend, Yusuke realized how special Raizen was to demon-kind, and wished he had gotten to know him better.

Inutaisho

(Inuyasha)

Children: Sesshomaru, Inuyasha

I don't know how Inutaisho was when it came to raising his eldest son, Sesshomaru, but he died without a second thought to protect his human mistress and their newborn son, Inuyasha. Inutaisho was a wise and powerful dog demon who continued to astound and test people half a century after his death. He left his sons two swords, both to bring out better qualities in themselves and two keep them from killing the other, since the swords couldn't fight in battle against the other. It's a tragedy for Inuyasha that he doesn't get to know his father.

Minato Namikaze

(Naruto)

Children: Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto's parentage was one of the worst-kept secrets of Naruto. Minato, the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure, died protecting the village from the Nine-Tailed Fox shortly after sealing the beast into his newborn son, but that didn't mean he wasn't a boss father. He sealed the beast in Naruto not only to protect the village he loved, but also to help strengthen his son and hoped that the village would see him as a hero. That last part didn't work, but having the Nine-Tails inside of him gave Naruto a lot of power. When Naruto finally met an imprint of his father, he punched him in the face for sealing a monster instead of him, but they talked and Naruto became proud of who his parents were. Minato was renowned for his power, his wisdom, and his dedication to those he cared for, inspiring people long past his death.

These are the anime fathers I cared to remember. I know, that probably didn't sound nice, but do you know how many orphans are in anime? Or sucky or just forgettable fathers? I'm glad I remembered these guys. Part of that would be because at least two or three were hot, but at least something kept them in mind.
Happy Father's Day, everyone!