The Underdogs

Last April, I received a note from Lillith with a suggestion for a category of The Leading Men. Calling it "The Underdogs" would be perfect for such Leading Men as Mousse, she averred. In her own words: Think of all those poor, CUTE guys out there who just can't seem to win!!!

I couldn't agree more. The Underdogs is the perfect name for the cute-but-clueless characters of anime. If you came in through the Males of Ranma 1/2 Webring below, please take the time to see the rest of the Leading Men of Anime.

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.

Kuh says:
          I know he's always depressed and seems so stupid for not being able to find his way, but being an underdog and all, can't anyone love him???

Elaine David says:
          ...the boy with the heart of glass and the fists of steel...a boy with absolutely NO sense of direction, angst-ridden, but hopelessly devoted to the woman he loves, kind-hearted, resolute and just a little too shy around women...

This image courtesy of the Who's the Best Looking Leading Man? site

Poor, poor Kuno. He plays second fiddle to Ranma in all their encounters, even when he was made invincible by the power of the Phoenix Egg!

Akane never gives him a second glance and even Nabiki (or perhaps especially Nabiki) uses him for her own ends. His narcissism would be a giant minus on a checklist of his pros and cons, except that he's also remarkably funny while he's at it!

He has the most fabulous way of talking. I love the way he introduces himself--you try talking like that for a day or so and see the kind of strain that puts on you!
 
 

Lillith says:
          Of all the men of Ranma, I am most impressed with him. He can take a beating, and still get up and fight. I don't know what Shampoo's problem is, if a guy fought that hard for me, I certainly wouldn't abuse him!!!! Besides that, he's cute--with or without the glasses (of couse without the glasses is dangerous). I guess I might just have a thing for underdogs, especially when they are that attractive!!! And he is good for comic relief(kidding, kidding)

Mousse certainly IS a cutie--especially in Nihao My Concubine, when he faced off with the bird-man for Shampoo! The image came from an image gallery in Kodachi, Shampoo & Ukyo's Ways to Catch a Man. Great site!

Pike says:
          In probably the most feminist anime with a nude transformation sequence I have ever seen, Todo manages to be pretty much the only recurring guy. His long blue hair is really dreamy, and the way his glasses stay on his nose without anything holding them there is really cool! Also, while I think he could use a bit more backbone, he manages to survived working for *the* most anti-male anime woman I've seen in a while ("See this disgusting world that men have created...") The poor guy though, with a boss like Sayaka, and him being the bad guy he can never win... =Þ

Heaven be praised! I've found a picture of Todo--after months of searching. He's quite a looker, isn't he? I got it in Nova's Battle Skipper School.

Jen says:
          ...is a straight laced military man. He usually covers for Tyler and informs him of correct procedure. He is extremely polite to the ladies, especially to Lt. Commander Yoriko Star. He is always trying to shape his crew (and captain) up to military standard. He tries to work according to the rules and usually ends up getting burned when they escape danger by a brilliant stroke of Tyler's phenominal good luck.

I got the image from Irresponsible Capt. Tyler