También puedes leer este artículo en:Español
Japanese anime is a source for good and varied characters. From heroes to villains, from gods to demons, if the main character is a male, he’ll usually be surrounded by a bunch of girls craving his love. However, not all of them are like Don Juan jumping from girl to girl, there are true gentlemen who should be an example of how men should behave.
If you are tired of perverted teenagers only looking for a pair of boobs to stare at, here is list of real gentleman characters. They’re not necessarily mature men, but their attitude is always beyond reproach, following etiquettes, codes and always being gentle to women.
10. Claudio from Ristorante Paradiso
- Episodes: 11
- Aired: Apr 2009 – Jun 2009
Claudio is the head waiter of Casetta Dell'Orso, the restaurant owned by Nicoletta’s mom. His complete name is Santo Claudio Paradiso, but everyone just calls him Claudio. Like the rest of the employees of the restaurant, he wears glasses, which actually fit him well. He is probably in his late 50s, but he looks younger, since he’s gentle and such a fancy man.
Even though he is divorced, he still wears his wedding ring, because he doesn’t want women trying to seduce him. Claudio immediately becomes Nicoletta’s love interest, but it seems that he still has feelings for his ex-wife and doesn’t want to give Nicoletta false hope. He has a beautiful but slightly sad smile that only makes Nicoletta care more about him.
9. England from Hetalia Axis Powers
- Episodes: 52
- Aired: Jan 2009 – Mar 2010
Well… his complete name is United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but friends usually call him England or Britain. His human name is Arthur Kirkland (so British right?). Although he was raised to be a pirate, he chose to be a gentleman. But he still has a sharp-tongue and a potty mouth, using British expressions like “bloody” or “git”.
England has an unusual relation with France, they love and hate each other and even though they deny it, they’re close friends (more than friends in France’s dreams). England also raised America as a brother, but then America declared his independence fighting against him, leaving England totally heartbroken. He becomes romantic and nostalgic at night, mostly when he drinks, but since he is a gentleman, by the morning he’ll show composure and pretend nothing happened. He is always trying to avoid uncivilized behaviors, seeking refuge in manners and tradition. And of course, nothing is going to prevent him from drinking his afternoon tea.
8. Mamoru Chiba from Sailor Moon
- Episodes: 46
- Aired: Mar 1992 - Feb 1993
How can we not love him? He is not only a gentleman, but a prince. Mamoru, or Mamo-chan, is a stoic and introverted young man who lost his parents on a car crash when he was a boy. This accident made him block all his childhood memories but unblocked his past life memories as Prince Endymion. Since he remembers his previous life, he created and alter ego named Tuxedo Mask, for hunting the Silver Crystal and protecting the Sailor Senshi.
When he is playing Tuxedo Mask, he is not only a gentleman, he also dresses like one. He wears a tuxedo (of course he does), a top hat, a white mask, a cape and a cane. His trademark is a red rose, which he also uses as a weapon. Soon after getting his memories back, he is kidnapped by Queen Beryl, who uses him for her evil plans. When he finally becomes Usagi’s official boyfriend, his personality changes to calm and kind.
7. Sven Vollfied from Black Cat
- Episodes: 23
- Aired: Oct 2005 - Mar 2006
He is a former detective of the International Bureau of Investigation who now works as a sweeper and is Train Heartnet’s partner. He is always kind and respectful to women and children, following a strict “gentlemen’s code”. Sven took Eve as a daughter after what happened at Torneo’s place.
He’s far more logical and calmer than Train. As he doesn’t have Black Cat's power, Sven is a very creative thinker, using his brain to win the battles. He never loses his temper, even in the most dangerous situations. In many occasions he got seriously injured, but he never betrayed his codes. He also has a vision eye, which was transplanted from his partner Loyd, a clairvoyant. This eye later evolves into to Glasper Eye.
6. Shouta Kazehaya from Kimi ni Todoke
- Episodes: 25
- Aired: Oct 2009 - Mar 2010
Shouta is Sawako’s classmate, and one of the sweetest and kindest boys you could ever meet. Due to his friendly attitude and his good looks, he’s the most popular in the class. He met Sawako the first day of school, when he was lost and Sawako showed him the way to school. He fell in love with her immediately when he saw her smiling.
Shouta is so popular among girls, that they formed an Alliance called “Kazehaya is Everyone's” to preserve the peace between all the admirers. But this sweetie only has eyes for Sawako, and after a lot of misunderstandings they finally begin to date. But he’s not only attractive to girls; many boys also admire him and long to be his friend. He is very jealous when it comes to Sawako, and also hates rumors, because they’ve hurt Sawako in the past.
5. Yuki Souma from Fruits Basket
- Episodes: 26
- Aired: Jul 2001 - Dec 2001
Also known as “The Prince” or “Prince Yuki”, he is a beautiful and refined boy. He is so pretty, that he looks like a girl. Because of his delicate looks, he tends to feel insecure and has problems socializing, not knowing how to talk to people. However, he always keeps calm and cool and usually is very formal when he speaks with others.
Like every member of the Souma family, Yuki keeps a secret: he has the ability, rather the curse, to transform into a rat, one of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Thus, even though he is popular among the girls, he must avoid them so as not to transform. Despite of his traumas, he is talented in everything he does, except cooking and cleaning. When he first met Tooru Honda, he was polite to her and they quickly became good friends. That night, he found Tooru climbing into her tent and he couldn’t stand seeing a girl having a bad time, so he invited her to live with him and Shigure.
4. Sakamoto from Sakamoto desu ga? (Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto)
- Episodes: 12
- Aired: Apr 2016 - Jul 2016
He is the coolest, smartest and most handsome student of his class, and probably of the entire school, and probably of all Japan, and probably… ok I should stop here. Sakamoto is the human closest to perfection that has ever existed. Even though all the girls fall for him, Sakamoto seems not to show interest in any of them. He is just a perfect gentleman with everyone. He helped Kubota when he was being bullied and when the girls were fighting for his attention he faked being possessed, and made the girls work together in other to bring him back.
No matter what, Sakamoto is always one step ahead and he seems to know what is going to happen. He always does the right thing, at the right time and with all the style in the world. He also has a variety of “secret skills” which allow him to do a lot of difficult and strange things that nobody else can do. If you ever have a problem, just call Sakamoto, he can make everything seem possible.
3. Kaname Kuran from Vampire Knight
- Episodes: 13
- Aired: Apr 2008 - Jul 2008
This anime is full of handsome and sexy guys, but if we are talking about real gentleman, Kaname gets all the credit. He is a pureblood vampire who saves Yuki when she was a child. He always took care of her, and now that she is a woman, Kaname fell in love with her. He is the president of the Night Class, the class where all of the students are vampires. He is feared and respected by his classmates, since he’s cold and a man of few words.
Kaname longs for the peace between human and vampires working alongside the Chairman for making it possible. He is able to control lesser vampires, but he chooses not to do it, respecting both vampires and humans. Usually he is calm, elegant and arrogant, but he completely changes his character when he is around Yuki; he becomes gentle and caring. He never hides the fact that anything he does is for Yuki’s sake.
2. Tamaki Suoh from Ouran Koukou Host Club (Ouran High School Host Club)
- Episodes: 26
- Aired: Apr 2006 - Sep 2006
He is the founder and the president of the Host Club, and therefore he is considered by the rest of the members as “The King”. He is half French, half Japanese, and has blonde hair and blue eyes that make him the “prince type”. Even though he may be emotional, dramatic, and fancy, he is a charming gentleman with girls, and especially with Haruhi. Tamaki is totally in love with her, but he doesn’t realize it, and plays the role of Haruhi’s father.
Tamaki is completely devoted to the Host Club and to his friends. He has a noble and caring heart, and he just can’t stand to see anyone suffering. He’ll do anything to make the female guests happy. That works really well, since he is the most requested member of the Host Club. He is also a talented pianist, and even though he looks goofy sometimes, he is surprisingly intelligent.
1. Sebastian Michaelis from Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler)
- Episodes: 24
- Aired: Oct 2008 - Mar 2009
Finally we reach the first position of the list, and who else would be there if not him? Sebastian is so perfect that it’s hard to describe him only using words. Ok, he is a demon, but who cares, he is sexy, elegant, manly and skilled in every subject. He describes himself as “One hell of a butler”, which in Japanese is a play on words for “a demon and a butler”.
His physical appearance is that of a tall, handsome man with black hair and red eyes . He’s always wearing his spotless butler outfit, which suits him perfectly. Sebastian is totally devoted to his master, Ciel Phantomhive, following every order Ciel commands saying “Yes, my lord” with one of the sexiest voices you could ever hear. This amazing man also speaks French, Latin and German. He is a controversial character, he can be really sadistic, but he’ll never lose his manners.
Final thoughts
It’s well known that in Japan, good manners are really important, but the characters we presented you with in this list are far beyond chivalry. They aren’t superheroes, their only power is their charm, and this is more than enough to us. Their behavior and virtuosity put these men on the list, and I hope they’ll make you want to bring out the best of yourself.
Real gentlemen are hard to find, so making this list wasn’t easy. These guys are not necessarily good looking, it was their personality that gave them their rank here. If you think there is an anime character that should be on the list please leave a comment below briefly telling us why he should be included.