Father’s Day is this Sunday! In addition to being a great reminder that you should call your dad if you’re able, I thought it’d be a great excuse to explore the best anime fathers, and see what makes a good anime dad compared to a not-so-good one.
We hope you’re enjoying the holiday season, getting ready for a warm and fuzzy Christmas, if you celebrate it. J-List has added tons of new stock to our website, and as an extra gift to you, we’ll pick up $25 of your shipping during our Shipping Support Sale! Just buy $200 or more of in-stock products shipping from Japan, and the discount will be applied automatically. Start shopping now!
What Makes a Great Anime Father?
As I explored in my post on the Best Anime Mothers, there are certain standards that make an anime dad special.
- Some are supportive of their children, serving as the 大黒柱 daikoku-bashira, the “large black pillar” that traditionally supports the family, the way the main pillar holds up the roof of a house.
- Others are comically clumsy, or otherwise provide fans with comic relief.
- Sometimes anime dads aren’t perfect and need to learn how to be better parents. Depending on the story, they provide an excellent example of what kind of dad to not be.
Inspiring and Supportive Anime Fathers
First are the anime dads who always do their best to be there for their children, offering advice, encouraging words, and when needed, discipline.
Loid Forger from Spy x Family. He’s new to the anime father job, but takes to it quite well, concerning himself with Anya’s welfare even as he focuses on his mission. They’re such a cute father and daughter!
Kakushi Gotou from Kakushigoto. He’s a famous manga artist with one job: to make sure his daughter doesn’t find out what he does for a living. This was a really well-executed 1-cour anime by the creator of Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei and Joshiraku. Go watch it now!
(The joke about a manga artist who accidentally debuted using his real name is a reference to Akira Toriyama, who did this, then was embarrassed to get prank calls at his parents’ home.)
Naofumi from The Rising of the Shield Hero. He’s not an official “dad,” yet he’s responsible for the training and well-being of Raphtalia and Filo, and never shirks from his duties…even though Raphtalia would like to be more than his raccoon-girl adopted daughter.
The father from Totoro. Perhaps the first anime dad many anime fans met, he’s the quintessential anime father, always supportive of his family during their mother’s hospitalization. I love the way he doesn’t pooh-pooh his daughters when they tell him they’ve met a forest spirit, but believes them immediately.
Yuuta from PapaKiki. When his sister and her husband die in a plane crash, university student Yuuta steps up to the plate to become a stepdad to his three new “daughters,” Sora, Miu and Hina. Despite a few Easter eggs planted for KNJ fans — if you don’t know what I’m talking about, congratulations on living a purer life than me — it’s a surprisingly wholesome show, and one of the best single-season anime out there.
Funny Anime Dads Who Amuse Us
Then there are those anime father characters who exist to make us laugh or otherwise lighten the story in some way. Here are my favorites!
Itaru “Daru” Hashida from Steins;Gate. Proof that even an overweight otaku can get laid, he is visited by his daughter from the future who helps him find the courage to talk to his future wife.
Nishikata from Karakai Jozu no (Moto) Takagi-san. The best thing about the slow romance between young Nishikata and skilled teaser Takagi-san is that we know they’ll end up married with a daughter…who will also tease poor Nishikata.
Sojiro Izumi From Lucky Star. While he might have a few questionable hobbies, Konata’s father is the perfect otaku dad, playing games and watching anime with his daughter at all hours.
Genma from Ranma 1/2. What could be cooler than having a dad who transforms into a giant panda at the most amusing moments?
Shirogane Father from Kaguya-sama: Love is War. Another entertaining anime dad is Miyuki’s father from Kaguya-sama. He’s got a deadpan manner and zero social delicacy, and every scene he’s in is great.
Imperfect Parents Who Need to Improve
Then there are the anime fathers who definitely have issues and need to do better…sometimes much better. Let’s see who they are!
Paul Greyrat from Mushoku Tensei. One of my favorite anime fathers of all time, I love him because he’s got so many faults, including being a massive pervert with his wife and letting his attentions wander to his maid, Lilia, getting her pregnant. What’s great about Paul is the journey he goes on, desperately trying to find his wife Zenith after he’s separated from her due to a magical disaster and improving his relationship with his son.
Tomoya from Clannad After Story. When tragedy strikes, it can be easy to pull back emotionally, but when there are children who need your love and support, it’s important to be there for them. This is a lesson Tomoya learns in this classic anime.
Ash Ketchum’s Dad. One of anime’s most beloved heroes got the short shaft when it came to anime fathers. His dad is apparently off doing Pokemon battles or something, rather than being there for his son.
Gendo from Evangelion. While I love the newer Rebuild of Evangelion films, I’ll always be a lifelong fan of the original 1995 series because the characters were so much more complex, filled with all those Freudian themes that Hideaki Anno learned in that Psych 101 class he took in university. I prefer the original Gendo, such a hard-to-please father figure, to the blander one we get in the movies.
Akizuki from Onichichi. Definitely an example of an anime father we shouldn’t emulate, he marries a woman who has two young daughters, Marina and Airi, and naturally starts doing all manner of sexy stuff with them.
What was your first hentai anime? J-List customers respond in this blog post!
Kizaki from Papa Love: Papa to Icha Ero Shitai Musume-tachi. Finally, it’s possible that we should probably avoid being anything like the father from Papa Love. Trust me on this one!
Thanks for reading our blog post about the best anime fathers! Did we miss an important anime dad? Post him below, or tell us on Twitter!
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We hope you’re enjoying the holiday season, getting ready for a warm and fuzzy Christmas, if you celebrate it. J-List has added tons of new stock to our website, and as an extra gift to you, we’ll pick up $25 of your shipping during our Shipping Support Sale! Just buy $200 or more of in-stock products shipping from Japan, and the discount will be applied automatically. Start shopping now!
