\n
The last of Nicc\u2019s trio of short commissions for March is especially fitting. It\u2019s a short short \u2013 or shorties, if you like. Yes, my favorite vertically challenged characters from anime. I shudder to think how many examples completely slipped my mid when I was putting this together, but there are still a lot of really good options here.<\/p>\n
In terms of eligibility, let me just say this: I didn\u2019t choose anyone who was short simply because of their age (in either direction). Like, what sense would it make to put Kotarou from Kotarou wa Hitorigurashi<\/em> on here when he\u2019s a kindergartener? But I didn\u2019t want to exclude underage characters here (it would have seriously drained the pool if I had). So my rule was \u201cshort for their age\u201d \u2013 be they children, adolescents, or adults. Some are more obvious than others, and as usual (you know the drill by now) these are in no particular order.<\/p>\n\n- Ichikawa Kyoutarou<\/span> (Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu<\/em>) \u2013 Ichi was the first name I thought of here (unsurprisingly as I think he\u2019s the best character in manga at the moment), so he\u2019s first on the list. He definitely qualifies as one of those \u201cshort for his age\u201d teens \u2013 and his height is a significant plot point given that the love of his life is extremely tall and a model. You could easily go two for the price of one here and include Kyou\u2019s older sister Kana, too.<\/li>\n
- Ootani Atsushi<\/span> (Love Com: Lovely Complex<\/em>) \u2013 Atsushi fits the mold even more than Kyoutarou given that he\u2019s a high schooler, and his height is an even bigger factor (maybe the biggest). Love Com<\/em> is a really funny romance set in Osaka, where the tall (roughly 172 cm) girl and short (156 cm) boy are something of a manzai team.<\/li>\n
- Himura Kenshin<\/span> (Rurouni Kenshin<\/em>) \u2013 I\u2019m not sure people are aware of how vertically challenged Kenshin is (at least until Hiko shows up). In fact he\u2019s 158 cm (about 5\u20192\u2033). That\u2019s not extraordinarily short for Meiji-era Japan, but it sure ain\u2019t tall for someone who does what Kenshin does for a living.<\/li>\n
- Aharen Reina<\/span> (Aharen-san wa Hakarenai<\/em>) \u2013 Even by Japanese standards Reina is a very small girl, which is accentuated by the fact that Raidou-kun is rather hulking for a Japanese boy. Their physical contrast isn\u2019t the main gag in the series but it provides a very amusing contrast, and does directly lead to some of their hjijinks.<\/li>\n
- Taneshima Popura<\/span> (Working!!)<\/em> \u2013 Poplar was the victim of a bit of a false main character scam. But I always liked her better than the female lead, and wished she got more attention as the series progressed.<\/li>\n
- Hinata Shouyou<\/span> (Haikyuu!!<\/em>) \u2013 I can\u2019t not include Hinata on here, given that his vertical challenges in a sport dominated by giants are a major component of the story. He may be short, but Shouyou makes up for it with phenomenal leaping ability and crazy instincts and determination.<\/li>\n
- Kanada Oe<\/span>\/Komano Tsutomu<\/span> (Chihayafuru<\/em>) \u2013 The focus was usually on the main trio, but Chihayafuru\u2019s<\/em> B-couple was a consistent highlight of the series and a welcome break from the former. These two are almost too perfectly matched, and that includes height.<\/li>\n
- Kuchiki Rukia<\/span> (Bleach<\/em>) \u2013 I didn\u2019t realize at first read just how short Rukia is \u2013 at 144 cm one of the shortest on this list. I\u2019m not a huge Bleach<\/em> fan but Rukia is one of its more interesting and popular characters.<\/li>\n
- Bojji<\/span> (Ousama Ranking<\/em>) \u2013 Ranking of Kings<\/em> may have kinda jumped the shark plot-wise, but Bojji never stopped being adorably charismatic as its heart and soul. He may be a kid but Bojji is crazy short even so, and the reason why is a major plot element.<\/li>\n
- Edward Elric<\/span> (Fullmetal Alchemist<\/em>) \u2013 Not only is Edward really small (149 cm or so) during most of the series, but he\u2019s seriously got a complex over it. He does appear much taller in the epilogue but that\u2019s a drop in the narrative ocean.<\/li>\n
- Thorfinn Karlsefni<\/span> (Vinland Saga<\/em>) \u2013 Here\u2019s one for you: Thorfinn is canonically 153 cm tall. I knew he was pretty short, but I never thought of him as being barely over 5\u2032. This was a millennium ago of course but the Norsemen are pretty tall as a rule, so that definitely stands out. He\u2019s kind of a Viking Kenshin \u2013 and that fits, as I noted the similarities in their character arcs on more than one occasion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A few others I considered\u2026 Maomao \u2013 Princess Usagi really pushed for her but honestly, 155 cm for a 16th Century-ish Chinese girl doesn\u2019t seem unusually short to me. Izuku Midoriya, Froppy, Isaki from Houkago no Insomnia<\/em> (again, not that<\/em> short), Czeslaw Meyer, and Netero (who actually is<\/em> pretty short, but then, maybe that\u2019s where the \u201cfor their age\u201d thing factors in). Overall there were more males than females here, and this exercise really showed me that shortness as a trope is used more often with boys than girls in anime.<\/p>\n![\"Facebook\"](\"https:\/\/lostinanime.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/96x96\/facebook.png\"\/ "\\"Share")
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