Anirban Bhattacharya
Gothic culture is a popular culture worldwide. More and more people are gravitating toward this culture mostly because it looks dope. There have been multiple representations of gothic styled characters in various entertainment media given their popularity. In anime too we have seen characters whose design seem to have been inspired by this culture. So, why not take a look at list of best Gothic anime characters out there? The list includes gothic anime vampire and gothic anime princess. You can watch several of these gothic anime on Netflix, Hulu or Crunchyroll. Don’t forget to mention your favorite pick in the comments. Enjoy!
11. Nana Osaki, Nana
It is quite obvious why Nana Osaki is on this list right. Just look at her. Dark makeup, dark clothing, and cool looks. Do they not scream gothic to you? Nana Osaki is one of the main characters from the anime ‘Nana’. The anime falls in the drama category which puts many people off. But trust me even though it is drama it is fun and entertaining. The episodes are really well made and you slowly start caring about the characters. Nana Osaki is a punk rock singer, hence the getup. She is the lead singer of a band and aspires to become a famous singer one day. To pursue her dream she leaves her band and decides to move to Tokyo. Nana has a slender figure, short black hair, and large brown eyes. She is mostly seen in her makeup which consists of mascara, purple eyeshadow, and red lipstick. She is quite beautiful and her cool and brave personality will make you love her more and more.
10. Kurumi Tokisaki, Date A Live
As far as gothic look goes this girl, KurumiTokisaki, is really rocking it. Kurmi is the main antagonist of the comedy, harem, sci-fi anime series ‘Date A Live’. The series has a common setup like many harem anime. The protagonist needs to interact and establish a relationship with female characters to be able to achieve an important outcome. In this anime, there are spirits who are other-worldly beings and whose arrival on Earth cause Spacequake which results in huge destruction. There’s an anti-spirit taskforce created to exterminate them, the leader of which is the protagonist’s sister. But the protagonist wants to solve the problem without violence and learns that if he can make a spirit fall in love then they can be neutralized. Well.. you get the picture now. Kurumi is a spirit who has taken a liking towards Shidou, the protagonist. She has become obsessed with him. Kurumi has a split personality. One of her personalities is that of a nice school girl who talks slowly while the other is that of a psychopathic killer. The most prominent physical feature of her is that her eyes are of different color.
9. Misa Amane, Death Note
Misa Amane is on this list because of the way she dresses i.e. like a gothic punk rocker. But what’s different about her is that she is completely opposite in her personality. This is something we see in Nana Osaki too. They are both friendly and love having fun. But generally, we tend to associate such people with loneliness and avoiding much social contact. Misa is one of the pivotal characters in the ‘Death Note’ anime series. Well, if you don’t know about the show and then you aren’t much of an anime junkie. By that, I don’t mean you have to watch every popular show. I just mean you should have at least heard about it. Anyways, Misa falls in love with Light or rather becomes obsessed with him and does not understand the fact that he is using her. But I guess even if she did know it she would have still worked for him blindly. Misa is quite pretty having large eyes, straight blonde hair, and a slender figure. She possesses the eyes of the Shinigami. SHe is a famous model and the girlfriend of Light.
8. Celestia Ludenberg, Danganronpa
One look at her and you will understand what people mean when they say gothic-lolita. Yup, she is one of the prime examples of such a fashion trend. Celestia Lundenberg is one of the supporting characters in the mystery, psychological anime series ‘Danaganronpa’ which takes place in a school named Hope’s Peak Academy. It is hard to get into the academy but if you succeed you get a title representing your traits and skills. But soon the students learn of their fate when their principal who is also a small bear tells them that the only way to escape or graduate is to kill one of their peers without getting caught. Celestia’s title is the ultimate gambler. She has black hair and large red eyes. Her skin color is pale. Celestia is also known as Queen of Lies due to her mastery at lying. People never really know when she is telling the truth or when she is lying.
7. Lust, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Lust is one of the main antagonists in the popular anime sci-fi, action anime series ‘Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’. She is one of the very first antagonists we get to see. She is also the very first homunculi that the viewers are introduced to. ‘Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’ is probably one of the most popular anime series ever. The series has received high ratings and praise everywhere. One of the main reasons for that is even though the series is sci-fi the characters are really interesting and at times relatable. Lust is one of those characters whom you find interesting. Her nickname is Ultimate Spear and she is mostly seen with her partner gluttony. Lust plays an important role in the series as she works behind the scenes and is one of the factors in moving the plot along and keeping things suspenseful. She is quite beautiful and has a slender yet curvaceous figure. She has a large bosom and her form-fitting black outfit complements them quite well. Above her bosom, we can see the Ouroboros symbol which is supposedly present on each of the seven homunculi.
6. Black★Gold Saw, Black★Rock Shooter
When it comes to gothic girls there are quite a few options to choose from the anime ‘Black★Rock Shooter’ and we are going to look at the three of them. The first one is Black★Gold Saw. She is one of the main characters in the anime series. ‘Black★Rock Shooter’ has an interesting premise. Two girls Mato and Yomi run into each other. Mato likes Yomi and wants to talk to her and become her friend. But Yomi is not complying. But when she sees the bluebird attached to Mato’sphone Yomi starts talking to her after finding a common interest. In an alternate world, these girls are present in a different form and whatever they do in that world seems to affect the characters in this world. Though the premise is interesting the implementation could have been better. But we are not here for the anime. We are here for the gothic girl Black★Gold Saw. She has red eyes and also has a red flame shooting out of her red eyes. Her attire is completely black consisting of a black bikini and a black jacket. She has black hair which turns red at the ends. She has skeletal claws and possesses a large sword having a golden blade. Black★Gold Saw also has black horns which are red at the ends.
5. Re-L Mayer, Ergo Proxy
If you enjoy psychological, mystery anime then going or ‘Ergo Proxy’ is probably a nice idea. The show is really interesting and grips you till the end. Re-L Mayer is the female protagonist of this anime series. She is the granddaughter of the ruler of Romdo which is one of the last cities which sustains human civilization. These are domes cities as the area outside them are not habitable anymore due to a global ecological crisis. To efficiently increase our kind’s survival AutoReivs have been created which are humanoid-robots assisting humans in their daily activities. But these dolls are gaining self-awareness thanks to a virus outbreak. Now, Re-L is given the task to investigate this outbreak. Her clothing and makeup along with her personality land her on this list. Re-L is sort of the odd one out when it comes to her city which is what the people who follow gothic culture are. SHe is cold and detached but we do see her go through a noticeable change over the course of the series.
4. Rory Mercury, Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri
Rory Mercury is the female protagonist of the action, adventure anime ‘Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri’. She is a demigoddess and serves under Emroy who is the god of war, crime, death, violence, etc. She is more than 900 years old but her physical appearance is that of a teenage girl. This is because when she became a deity her body stopped aging. She is again Gothic lolita wearing gothic styled skirt having red frills at the end. Rory has big, red, pretty eyes and long, black hair. She is quite good at fighting and possesses a big ax as her primary weapon.
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3. Sakuya Tsukumo, Absolute Duo
It seems as if most of the gothic-styled female characters are lolis when it comes to anime. What is their obsession with them? I know the design of the characters look cute and pretty but come on put some more grown-up female in that style too. Sakuya Tsukumo is one of the supporting characters of the action, supernatural, harem anime series ‘Absolute Duo’. Well, the plot is similar to many other harem anime a guy ends up in an academy with lots of girls and has some special ability which catches some girl’s eyes and so on and so forth. Sakuya Tsukumo is the chairman of the Kouryou Academy which is the academy that these characters go to. She is full on gothic when it comes to her clothing which includes black colored clothes with white frills on the ends. She also has dark hair, pale-colored skin, and purple violet eyes.
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2. Maria Naruse, Shinmai Maou no Testament
Maria Naruse is a succubus and is one of the main characters of the supernatural, harem, ecchi anime series ‘Shinmai Maou no Testament’. Many of you guys must know about this anime if you have been searching for some ecchi stuff. If you have not yet seen it and want to see some ecchi stuff where censorship is not an option when it comes to topless shots then go for it. Maria Naruse is the guardian of Mio who is the offspring of the devil. What lands her on this list is her clothing which consists of a black sort of Victorian outfit. She belongs to the loli category so you might call her a gothic loli. Though she is petite and looks quite young she can become a mature grown woman having curvaceous assets when she wants to derive more power by putting a key into the keyhole-like structure above her chest. Maria can be quite childish and loves teasing people. She was the one to reverse the spell which makes Basara the master of Mio.
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1. Black★Rock Shooter, Black★Rock Shooter
Black★Rock Shooter is one of the main and the titular character of the anime ‘Black★Rock Shooter’. Her character design is very close to that of someone following the dark gothic culture wearing all black and having dark hair. As mentioned above, she is the other self of Matoi in an alternate world. She along with the other characters were present in the ‘Black★Rock Shooter OVA’ which is the inspiration for this particular anime. Her dress is quite similar to that of Black★Gold Saw consisting of a black bikini and a black jacket. But unlike Black★Gold Saw’s her eyes are blue and a blue flame shoots out of her left eye. She is quite skinny and seems to have a short height given her age. Her personality is quite cold and she often says things bluntly without sugar-coating them. She is also quite calm while fighting but there’s a savage side to her. She doesn’t really care about other people as long as she can achieve her goal. Black★Rock Shooter likes winning and feels irritated when she is on the losing side. Her primary weapon is a massive gun which she calls the rock canon.
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