To become an anime fan is to open yourself up to learning new concepts, including a lot of Japanese words that define relationships. One word fans learn pretty quickly is senpai, which describes a senior in a school or organizational setting. Let’s explore what this word really means, and who the best anime senpai is!
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What Is a Senpai, Anyway?
The Japanese language famously uses name suffixes like -san, -chan, or -kun on names. Anime fans will generally be familiar with most of these:
- The -san ending suffix is polite and creates some social distance.
- Name endings like –chan or –kun are reserved for closer relationships, or children. The –kun ending is also used in the military.
- Every anime fan knows -sama, the honorific title, since it shows up in anime all the time. But it’s rarely used IRL when speaking Japanese. Don’t learn too much Japanese from anime!
- The name suffix -sensei is used for doctors and teachers, and it’s an honorific that literally means “born before me.” It’s also used for any profession that has a national-level test, like lawyers and certified public accountants. And of course, your favorite hentai artist will always be called sensei by fans as a sign of respect.
Then there’s 先輩 senpai, which denotes a senior in a school or organization. A senpai is automatically expected to be a mentor to their 後輩 kouhai, or junior, to show them the ropes and offer advice. In exchange, the junior shows respect and deference to their senpai.
What are five things that define the Japanese language? Read this blog post next!
Being a Senpai Isn’t Easy
You might think being a senpai would be great. You get free respect for life! But unfortunately, you have a lot of responsibility. I’ll never forget when, as an English teacher, I took a new hire out to our local izakaya for the first time. I was telling the new guy all about the city we lived in and what life in Japan was like, when I realized I was required by the Senpai Code to pick up the tab for our drinks.
Some things to keep in mind:
- Senpai isn’t your friend. A senpai/kouhai relationship is specifically different from the word tomodachi, which would be reserved for very close friends.
- Teaching unwritten rules. It’s the job of a senpai to guide his underling in the rules of the school or organization and help ensure they fit in with the organization’s culture.
- Respect and pouring beer. For their part, a kouhai is expected to show respect to their senpai, pay attention to all guidance, and express thanks. Oh, and beer! They have to make sure their senpai’s glass is never empty while drinking together.
Basically, the senpai/kouhai relationship is a social script that’s created to help Japanese society work more smoothly. Think of it as TCP/IP — the networking protocol that makes the Internet possible — for human relationships.
The Best Senpai Characters in Anime!
I tried to come up with a list of the best mentor characters in anime who represent the qualities a senpai should strive for…but it’s actually a challenging goal. This is because, in the same way anime is an escape from the rigors of daily life for you and me, it’s also an escape for normal Japanese fans. As a result, it’s quite common for anime to play fast and loose with relationships, creating characters that don’t follow all the social rules real people need to follow in order to tell a more interesting story.
Tobio Kageyama from Haikyuu! Is a Great Anime Senpai
Kageyama is the perfect yin to Hinata’s yang: a perfectionist and a control freak who demands the same out of his genius kouhai. He’s a great example of a senpai who fulfills his role in gently guiding his underling to help him grow.
Another Great Anime Senpai: Saitama from One Punch Man
Saitama is another great example of a responsible guy who looks out for his kouhai, Genos, always offering advice and guidance.
Mai Sakurajima is the Literal Bunny Girl-Senpai
Just because you want a girl to wrap her thighs around your ears doesn’t mean you can get overly familiar with her, calling her by her first name without adding the -san at the end.
Don’t Lose Your Head! Tomoe Mami Isn’t the Model Senpai She Pretends to Be
On the one hand, she’s a fashionable upperclassman, drinking tea while signing up the next batch of magical girls to fight witches. On the other hand, she’s condemning the girls to a destiny of loneliness and death.
Roy Fokker from Macross Was Our First Anime Senpai
In the English Robotech dub, Rick called his mentor Roy Fokker “Big Brother.” But, in Japanese, the term used was senpai, since Roy taught Rick/Hikaru everything he knew about flying.
When Being a Senpai Creates Anxiety
Becoming a Senpai and suddenly having to take a new person under your wing can be difficult for some people. Part of the fun of New Game! is watching Hifumi deal with the anxiety created by having to become a mentor to Aoba.
My Anime Senpai is an Aggressive Lesbian! Touko Nanami from Bloom Into You
But what about love? There can’t be a “politeness” barrier between two people in a relationship, can there? This is true: when two people start dating, they generally ignore the strange social rules in Japan’s vertical society. A good example is Touko and Yuu from Bloom Into You. The idea of breaking down the senpai/kouhai wall seems to be a common trope in both girls’ love and boys’ love stories.
Touko Sakurai from My Senpai is Annoying
Anime has a long tradition of making side characters who are far more interesting to watch than the main characters in the story. I loved the budding relationship between Souta and his senpai, Touko, from My Senpai is Annoying. I would literally fast forward to get to the next scene with them in it.
Haruka Morishima from Amagami SS is the Best Anime Senpai
Another epic senpai in anime history is Haruka Morishima, aka Best Girl from Amagami SS. The scene where Junichi hijacks the graduation speech to propose to her made our hearts soar. (Huge spoiler warning in the clip above!)
Senpai from Magical Sempai
Although she’s not much use as a guide and mentor, I do enjoy watching Senpai from Magical Sempai — God, I hate that official spelling, but it is what it is — try to amuse Assistant-kun with her next magical trick.
Thanks for reading this blog post about the topic of anime senpai characters, and exploring who the best anime senpai is. Which senpai is your personal favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
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Summer is winding down, and J-List is saying goodbye with a Sayonara Summer Days Sale! Through August 31st, take 15% off all in-stock products shipping from Japan. That means awesome manga and doujinshi from Japan, all JAV and hentai DVDs and Blu-rays, Japan’s best-selling masturbation toys for men, the best Japanese lube and lotion, and more. Start browsing now!
