If you’ve watched K-dramas for any length of time, you’re no stranger to the strange spell the leading men are capable of casting. However, you may not be aware that drama men aren’t the only ones capable of entrancing you with their charming voodoo. Here are four leading anime men whose spells are so powerful you’ve caught yourself wishing they were more than an animated character, despite their shady character.
Howl Pendragon
Rumored to devour the hearts of beautiful young women, Howl Pendragon may seem like a sketchy choice to play the hero in Hayao Miyazaki’s film Howl’s Moving Castle. Lucky for us, the real Howl isn’t really as bad as he’s rumored to be. Is he a heartless wizard with a penchant for messing with war plans and an unnerving ability to transform into a giant bird-monster? Yes. However his disarming charm, penetrating blue-eyed stare and child-like innocence make it impossible for us to not fall for Howl, feathers and all.
Kaname Kuran
Every high school has one, that one boy so beautiful all others pale in comparison and at Cross Academy, that boy is Kaname Kuran. Tall, dark and brooding, Kaname makes up one-third of a complicated love-triangle in Matsuri Hino’s manga and anime adaptation, Vampire Knight. As Dorm President of the Night Class, head of the pure-blood Kuran family and quasi-brother to his fiancé, Kaname shoulders a lot of heavy responsibilities, making him appear stoic at best. However, when the passions of a 10,000 year old vampire are awakened, they’re as hard for us to ignore as a racing pulse is for a vampire.
D
What could be hotter than a devastatingly handsome half-vampire/half-human vampire hunter extraordinaire with a sarcastic symbiote living in his left hand? How about one who rides a cybernetic horse, wields a crescent long-sword and possesses unmatched magic prowess? So much more than just a vampire, D of Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D, is a relentless hunter who spends his unending days dispatching all manner of supernatural threats while unknowingly flustering the hearts of women along the way.
Sebastian Michaelis
Sebastian Michaelis, of Yana Toboso’s Black Butler, is one handsome devil…literally. Contracted to the young Earl Phantomhive, Sebastian would appear to most to be nothing more than a butler of exceptional skill, when in reality he’s a demon helping the Earl avenge the death of his parents in exchange for the young Phantomhive’s soul. Despite the fact Sebastian is the literal incarnation of evil, there’s something so alluring in his smile, you can’t help but be drawn in. When you add to that smile an unnatural ability to cook, clean and save your life without even batting an eye, you’ve got yourself a man no woman could resist; which may be why Sebastian Michaelis ranked in the top ten of the Japanese music distributor, Recochoku’s, annual survey under the category “The Character I Want to be my Groom.” For those of us who dream of seeing Sebastian come to life, we can rejoice as Black Butler was released as a live-action film in Japan on January 18, 2014. Check out the trailer here!
So which anime characters, rouge or otherwise, would you like to see come to life? Be sure to share your favorites in the comments below!