One Shot Wonders

Have you ever watched a movie or an OAV, noticed some super cool guy lurking in the background, then never saw him again? This site is dedicated to those guys with less than ideal exposure. They die too soon, they are superceded by the main characters, they are forgotten in their supporting roles, or they were simply evolved too quickly, so that the particular moment of being a Leading Man passes into history. The rallying cry is:

By definition, One Shot Wonders are rather difficult to find scans of...the coverage of these guys leaves much to be desired. It is difficult, though not quite impossible to grab images of these guys. If you have one, or know of one, then please contact me!

Not Quite Standard Disclaimer:
The images here were gleaned from many different sites--wherever I happened to see a good picture of the Leading Man in question...In some cases I had to chop him out of a bigger picture, brighten the image itself--anything to get HIS solo mug up there. If I'm using your image and you don't like what I've done to it, tell me about it and I'll take it out. Remember: all images here belong solely to their creators.

All guys are plugged in ALPHABETICALLY per page, and in the order I received the suggestions, to avoid the reams of hate-mail I can imagine for inadvertently maligning *your* Leading Man.

Jengou says:
          Juunanagou was once a human boy, but parts of his human body got enhanced by mechanical parts by a mad scientist whose goal was to create something that will be able to kill Son Goku. From then on, his memories got erased, and is known to the world as a killing machine. But even that is not enough, he gets abosrbed by a hideous monster later, and we never see the adorable cyborg again until at the end, thankfully resurrected, a crappy cameo in the forest. I cried...

I was convinced that #17 would fit in best with the Love to Hate Him guys, but now I wonder... If you'd prefer he be put on the list with the other villains, then tell me!

Granted that his father Vegita qualifies as a Man of Power, but trunks was my favorite-est in the Future trunks story-line, and just the origin storyline to boot. He was a completely different person, you must admit, even though the baby-trunks was hanging around. Kid-trunks was cute and GT-trunks is shaping up, but Future trunks is still the best! Those multiple timelines can be a doozy...

He's a true One Shot Wonder, because this particular trunks could have gotten so much more exposure--instead he's lost in the five or so other "trunks" running around. Sigh. Wotta waste.

This image nabbed from the Capsule Corporation Gallery

Bob says:
          You put Mr. Fujisawa in the wrong category. He should be placed in the Moments of Glory...

True, but they didn't show ENOUGH of this super-drunk. This guy was one of the funniest characters in the OAV. When everyone got their "powers" upon arriving in El Hazard, he got super strength and speed--for as long as he stayed away from his sake and cigarettes!

His character is sooo cute! He tries to assert his teacher-as-superior role at the wrong times, but you can see that his students are a priority of his. He actually does care a lot about them, underneath that gruff exterior. School's not a problem with him around!

I was going over the series in my head (much faster than sitting through the whole, what is it--11 volumes of anime officially released?) and I realized that there was one horribly underappreciated character: the erstwhile Sub-Commander Fuyuzuki. This old man--face it, he's old enough to have taught Shinji's dad--is pretty much neglected throughout.

There are a few epsiodes that revolve around him, but the character is never really revealed (nothing new, when we're talking about Evangelion). The most amazing thing about him is the way he can keep working under Ikari--pressure, pressure, pressure, and he doesn't crack. Most memorably, in episode 10? 11? (the one where NERV was subjected to a blackout) he and Ikari sitting in the command room, neither one allowing the heat (literally and figuratively) get to them.

Andrael says:
     Kaworu-kun...is an amazingly popular character in his own right but...he appeared and then died in only one episode (#24)...Like Shinji, he is cute cute cute!

I haven't gotten that far into the anime yet, but I read up on it and Kaworu sounds really nice, kind of like a cross between sacrificial lamb and just plain nice guy. I do wish he hadn't been used just to build the story more. It's upsetting when a character you've grown to admire drops out of the picture suddenly.