The second part of this commission from Nicc was to come up with a short list of my favorite married (or effectively married) couples from anime. Not necessarily the focus of the series (we all know how rare those are) but generally. I’s not like the medium is swimming in memorable married couples even in supporting roles, but this at least is a little easier.
I’m going to start here with the same show I led off the other list with – Tonikaku Cawaii. Naoko and Enishi Yuzaki (Nasa’s parents) are very infrequent presences in the story, but they’re a charming and enigmatic couple whose love for their son comes across in touching fashion.
Next up it’s Yuki and Sanae Yamada, Anna’s folks in Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu. I have to include Kyou’s parents here too, but the Yamadas have a little more opportunity to shine. Sakurai Norio just doesn’t do throwaway characters but these two are exceptionally fun. The grasp the challenges of raising a girl as beautiful and ambitious as their daughter, and they strike a nice balance between being protective and letting her make her own mistakes.
Tousen and Souichirou Shimogamo from Uchouten Kazoku are only a couple in flashback, but what a couple they are. They may be tanuki but the love within this eccentric family illuminates the human condition in a very powerful way.
All four parents in Tsuki ga Kirei are great. They shine from the beginning of the series (the hilariously awkward family restaurant scene) through the omakes (the one where Koutarou’s parents independently read his short stories and comment on his understanding of women is the single funniest moment in the series).
Chousuke and Mayumi Nanba from Uchuu Kyoudai are mostly comic relief, and they’re exceptionally good at providing it. But their role in their adult sons’ lives is quite important, and the existential cost of having children in the highest risk career imaginable is depicted in a very powerful way.
Finally, another couple that made a very brief appearance in a very big series but made a huge impression. That would Ray and Charles Beams from Eureka Seven. They’re important both for what they are, and for the absence of it in the life of Renton that their meteor-like flash illuminates.
