Excellent choice right there.

ERASED's mom was pretty great...though she's already been mentioned. Well...have another mention!

Although we haven't seen much of her, I actually really like Izuku's mom in Hero Academia. She tries so hard for her son, and is genuinely motivated to keep him happy. She's not perfect, but she also feels remorse for her mistakes, which I honestly find more endearing than perfect characters anyway.

Not that it matters much, but I like that she actually looks like a typical middle-aged mother. Doesn't seem to happen too often.

Other noteworthy mentions go to Hana Kirisaki, a secretly awkward CEO who pretty much runs the world while smoking candy cigarettes, Portgaz D. Rouge, who kept her son in utero for 20 months to evade the government, and Masaki Kurosaki, who threw her life away when her son was attacked by a Hollow.

On a side note...has anyone ever noticed how frequently anime MCs take their mom's family name over the father's? Off the top of my head, it's happened in One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, and Fullmetal Alchemist...all of which were/are pretty prominent series. Sure there's always plot reasons for it...but it seems like a trope at this point.

Thanks man!

I love Izuku's mom!  She's my favorite character in the series so far.  Like you said, I really like that she looks like a normal mom and she cares so much about her child.  She seems like a sweetheart.  I noticed that bandaid on her finger when I was watching that episode and I just wanted to give her a hug.  I also noticed that the girl he likes is a lot like his mom.

You mean Netoge No Yome Wa Onnanoko Ja Nai To Omotta? ? 

*shrugs

Isn't that always the case in anime where if the females are forward or hit on the guy he'll turn 'em down, get a nose bleed or run away. It's a stupid trope/trend in my opinion. If i think a woman is attractive and I like her personality, there's no way I'm gonna turn her down if I'm single. That's true of most guys. If there's several women chasing after the character there's nothing wrong with sampling.

It's like the writers of manga/anime are afraid of advancing the relationships of the characters and rather just leave it open (the MC and other characters as well never pick choose a lover) so it seems people might hook up but they never do. Of course, anime that focuses on SOL or romance might be different on that stuff.   

Definitely true! Gravity girl has shades of best mom. Crazy cute too...I like her hero outfit.

You'll find exceptions everywhere...but I think the idea in general is to appeal to the widest possible audience. Nice guys appeal to everyone, while realistic guys who "sample" might come across as unlikable in general. I remember in recent memory, the MC in Charlotte got a lot of hate in the first episode for using his power to get girls...even though a lot of us would have done the same. 

Personally, I think there are certain personalities that might make sense in real life, but aren't necessarily appealing in fiction. Speaking in general of course...different people have different tastes. 

That version of the nice guy or nice girl is inhuman. The MC and other characters will develope feelings/emotional attachment or pure physical attraction/desire towards another character at some point especially if they are attractive/likeable. Regardless of the character(s) being good natured or bad, they'll want  

Sooner or later, people will act out those impulses. It's human nature. Most stories in anime/manga take place around a school with teenagers.  That's why I think alot of anime is just missing something or it never quite scratches that itch as good as you might want it scratched. 

One piece and bleach. Plenty of single male and female characters but no one ever dates or have sex (or imply they have sex) even though they are really long anime/manga.

In Naruto, all of the younger characters remain single and they never hook up even though they actually have feelings for each other yet those feelings were part of the plot.

I just wish that anime in general starts to evolve. Make characters date eachother and use that in the plot. It doesn't need to be SOL or romance. 

Random pic of the day

I think with the last few episodes Re Zero has lost its 10/10 potential. It's not even the content but the pacing. Having a cliffhanger every episode is nice - it worked for SnK - but if the rest of the episode is uninteresting and at a snail's pace it's getting tiring.

I'm pretty sure it will pick up very soon and probably got some fucking awesome episodes ahead but I don't know if I can award my prestigious 10 to an anime with such a long and boring stretch.

Eh...I'm not necessarily defending it...just stating what the thought process seems to be. Different people have different opinions on how these themes should be handled, and I can't say either is really right. I just think vicariousness isn't necessarily the best answer here. Personally, it doesn't bother me too much, since I enjoy other genres that put more focus on these themes anyway.

Regarding the examples you posted, I don't really mind adding variety to that particular genre. Off of the top of my head, Rave Master, Magi, and Fairy Tail (to a lesser extent) are/were pretty open about coupling characters naturally in the middle of the story. It was never exactly a huge moment, but I can definitely see the appeal to that type of writing. Rave Master in particular had some of the most well-written romance I've seen in an action shounen.

At the same time, I'd rather authors not feel obliged to touch on it either. In One Piece, for example, the author actually responding to a fan request for romance by telling them to "go read a shoujo". Pretty blunt...but I can't say I disagree with him either. One of the reasons I grew to hate Naruto so much was because the romance felt so contrived and forced into the story.

This probably sounds odd from me, since I'm such a big ship fan...but that's how it is for me anyway. Personally, I'd rather have no attempt at romance at all than one that doesn't mesh with the overall narrative. But to each their own of course.