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Nightwalker - The Ladies
 Home/Change Series
Sassy, Sexy, and Tough as Nails ...
So often, female anime characters are ... well, irritating, for lack of a better word. They are too wimpy and seem unable to face the world around them without the assistance of the show's hero. For better or worse, that seems to be the "typical" feminine archetype for many animes.
Well, toss those rules right out the window for Nightwalker. Because, let me tell 'ya -- these ladies are tough as nails and ready to rumble.
Yayoi: By the time this show starts, it seems Yayoi has known Shido for a long time -- ever since he came to Tokyo from Transylvania. She serves as Shido's "snack pack on the hoof", so to speak, and is an officer in the NOS, the police division that hunts down and disposes of Night Breeds. She is sexy, carries a big gun, and, far from the type of squeamish female most of us are used to seeing, Yayoi faces down pretty much anything without even batting an eye. Nothing surprises her, which, often, maks her come across as uncaring and jaded. I don't think this is true, though, as she is definitely all woman and knows how to use her feminine wiles to her advantage. Because of a tragedy in her past, she is very driven in her career with the NOS and in her mission to eradicate the Night Breed threat. No matter how callous and cold she seems, Yayoi really does care about Shido and the others around her.
Riho: At first glance, Riho seems to fit right into the "typical" anime woman mold. She is young -- in high school -- and obviously in love with Shido, although he doesn't seem to return her affections. She seems innocent, inexperienced, and very naive about the world, in general, which, I think, makes the viewer wonder how she ever got mixed up with people like Shido and Yayoi. She seems a very unlikely addition to the group. As the story progresses, we learn that Shido took her in after a Night Breed killed her parents. He treats her as his ward, and seems to have true affection for her, although he does his best to protect her innocence. All in all, Riho is a bit irritating, particularly because she is so stubbornly obtuse about what is going on around her. But, at the same time, she is a character with a good heart, which made her grow on me quite a lot, even though I did not expect much from her in the way of character development. But, here is where Nightwalker tosses a bit of a wrench into things. About halfway through the show, things change drastically for Riho. She undergoes a, literally, life-altering experience, and chooses to walk the same path as Shido, willingly allowing him to turn her into a vampire instead of choosing to die with her innocence and human soul intact. Considering her innocence and ignorance of the world around her, you would expect Riho to break down at this change in her life. You would expect her to be unable to face what she has become. And, yet, Riho grows light years as a character once she becomes a vampire. She still manages to maintain some of her innocence and the goodness inside her heart, but it is now tempered with her knowledge of the darker things in the world, proving that she is a character with substance and backbone.
Guni: Guni is sarcastic, sassy, and very green. She is an urban fairy who, supposedly, sows happiness and good luck in her wake. As the show progresses, however, you quickly discover Guni is definitely not that kind of fairy, no matter what the legends might say. She meets Shido right after he arrives in Tokyo from Transvylania, and she decides to stick with him, despite his objections. I suppose he grows used to her, because she's still around a few years later, when we catch up with these characters at the beginning of the anime. Guni is brash, sassy, and always has a sarcastic insult ready and waiting. Even so, she seems genuinely fond of Shido, Riho, and Yayoi, fighting the Night Breeds alongside them and doing her best to protect them when it becomes necessary.
CAUTION: SPOILERS ABOUND IN EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
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