The List
Anime's 7 Most Dangerous Jobs
by Lynzee Loveridge,
The most dangerous jobs within the United States vary greatly, with many being subject to History Channel drama programming. We have loggers, fisherman, truckers, and pilots putting themselves in physical danger. Other jobs like doctors, dentists, and vets are very emotionally taxing.
Anime has its own share of messy, dangerous, and traumatizing professions. The rewards are small and the risks are plentiful, but somebody's got to do it.
7. Zombie Disposal (Red Garden) Getting roped in as a zombie disposal "expert" on Roosevelt Island is at best horrifying and at worst deadly. Employees receive next to no training in the re-killing of the flesh-hungry undead. They work nights and weekends and their employer holds their own livelihood over their heads. The last part is more emotionally crippling, since you have to die before you can even get started, anyway.
6. Soul Retriever (Hell Girl's Ai) Ai Enma works in a place of perpetual twilight, somewhere past the rivers of Hell in a traditional Japanese home among fields of Spider Chrysanthemum. For all intents and purposes, the work place is eerie but beautiful in its own right. Even her coworkers, despite being yokai, are pretty pleasant. Regardless, manning Hell's Correspondence requires a stone-cold resolve and patience. Imagine working for a company that blends a teen call center, social services, and hitman-for-hire services in one place.
5. Insurance Agent (Trigun's Milly & Meryl) Being an insurance agent on planet Gunsmoke would probably be a bore. The dry wasteland isn't exactly known for its bouts of inclement weather destroying property. Instead, agents are dispatched to deal with human disasters, which can mean a lot less property evaluations and a lot more gunfights. The L&I claims made by employees are probably a nightmare.
4. Renegade Idol (AKB0048's No Name) It's a common dream in modern society to break out as a big name singer, top the charts, and roll in cash. In the 21st century, all of that changed after Earth's ecosystem took a major hit and wars broke out across space. Mankind formed a totalitarian society where being an idol means possible death. Singers can no longer twitter cute love songs without fear of attack, and vocal training now comes with a side of combat training, too.
3. Mecha Pilot (Neon Genesis Evangelion's Children)
Being a mecha pilot, no matter what anime universe you're in, is dangerous. Whether it's war between nations or combating a menace for the future of humanity, someone is probably not making it out alive. Evangelions require a special set of pilot skills, namely being a 14-year-old kid with a dead parent and a ton of emotional baggage. It doesn't help that everyone in upper management is lying, including your dad.
2. Magical Girl (Madoka Magica) Being a magical girl is a hard enough job as it is. Sure, there's the perks of adorable costumes, inevitably hooking up with a glamorous prince of some kind, and meeting your BFF4Ever. The magical girls of Madoka Magica get none of that, except for the costumes. Chances of defeating the big bad guy with the Power of Love and Friendship is next to zero, princes are nowhere to be seen, and even the loyalty of best friends in arms is debatable. The magical girls of Madoka Magica are doomed from the get-go, but if they don't play along, so are all the humans.
1. Space Hunter (Space Dandy) It's hard to say if being a Space Hunter is difficult on average or if it just seems difficult because Dandy is incompetent. You get to enjoy all the perks of being self-employed, cruising through space, eating at mammary-themed pit stops, and exploring the vast unknown frontier of space. On the other hand, your job is to capture intelligent lifeforms, rip them from their homes and communities, and take them to a registration office to be cataloged and who knows what else. So there's that on your moral conscience. The aliens are also unpredictable, willing to wage war over underpants, turn you into a creepy statue, or eat your memories.
The new poll: What's your favorite video game company? We'll be able to compare with the recent result in Japan. If your fav isn't listed, add it to the poll!
The old poll: What's your favorite Gundam series? Here's the results (all answers under 1% are omitted):
- Mobile Suit Gundam Wing/Endless Waltz 19.2%
- Mobile Suit Gundam 00/Second Season 15.6%
- Mobile Suit Gundam Seed/Destiny 14.4%
- Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team 7.7%
- Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam 7.6%
- Mobile Fighter G Gundam 7.3%
- Mobile Suit Gundam 5.6%
- Turn A Gundam 4.2%
- Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket 4.1%
- Gundam Build Fighters 3.8%
- Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory 3.1%
- After War Gundam X 2.1%
- Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack 1.8%
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ 1.0%
When she isn't compiling lists of tropes, topics, and characters, Lynzee works as Associate Editor for Anime News Network, blogs about women and LBGT topics in anime and manga on her blog Engendered Dilemma, and posts pictures of her son on Twitter @ANN_Lynzee.
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