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A common trope in anime, and shonen anime especially, includes bad anime parents. Irrespective of their child being the protagonist or not, several series depict incredibly awful parents in the narrative.
While the trend typically favours bad eggs, there are plenty of good parents who appear in various series. In fact, both protagonists and side characters can be identified as having some of the most remarkable parents in the medium.
Here are four anime parents who are great at parenting, and four whose skills need improvement.
Byakuya Ishigami and three other great anime parents
1) Shikaku Nara
Shikaku Nara is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable anime parents in the entire medium. Despite infrequent appearances, he proves himself to be a decent father and gives his son exactly what he needs. Furthermore, he entrusts Shikamaru with great responsibility, boosting his self-esteem.
The two are clearly very close, as they often appear together throughout Naruto playing Shogi. Their wholesome interactions cement their fantastic relationship.
2) Sachiko Fujinuma
The mother of Erased protagonist Satoru Fujinuma, Sachiko is unequivocally one of the best anime parents around. Everything she does in the series is clearly for her child's well-being, even keeping things to herself to avoid distressing him.
The most significant demonstration of her quality as a parent is her taking care of the comatose Satoru in her own home for 14 years. She works his muscles for four hours a day, ensuring that he can still use them after waking up. Despite all the pain and sadness that pervades such a situation, she never gave up.
3) Byakuya Ishigami
Despite being Senku’s adopted father, Byakuya Ishigami is a wonderful parent. One of the most telling points is when he tirelessly works to become a NASA astronaut for his son's sake. The latter, in turn, rekindled Byakuya's motivation by trying to help him pass the swimming test.
Spoiler alert: He’s always shown to be thinking of Senku, even in his final moments (which have yet to be adapted into the anime and won’t be discussed further).
Considering the lengths to which Byakuya goes to set up his son for success, it’s clear that he’s one of the best anime parents in the medium.
4) Inko Midoriya
Finally, Inko Midoriya is an incredibly loving, supportive, and emotionally intuitive mother who is always doing everything she can for her son. While the early series paints a somewhat different picture of her, the support she has for Izuku is evident by the time the School Festival arc is underway.
While she does eventually try to put a stop to her son’s heroic antics, her actions stem from love and concern for Izuku’s well-being. It's a testament to her unbridled mirth.
Future Diary's Saika Gasai and three other anime parents need improvement
1) Son Goku
While TeamFourStar's Dragon Ball Z Abridged series helped turn this from a fandom-kept secret into a widespread meme, it nevertheless reigns true as always. There are plenty of moments in which Goku’s bad parenting is evident, but arguably the single worst one is when he gives Cell a Senzu Bean so he can fight Gohan at full power.
While it is clear that Goku was trying to give his son a challenge, the time and place simply weren’t right for such behaviour when considering all the circumstances. Cell was threatening to destroy the world, and the Saiyan was banking on his child mastering a power he had yet to unlock. There are plenty of other examples which prove Goku to be one of the worst anime parents.
2) Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto Uzumaki has become a bad anime parent, but the reasons remain starkly different to the other characters on this list. While Goku and those who follow can clearly be called abusive based on certain actions, the Seventh Hokage’s problem is a lack of presence in his family’s life.
Instead, he will typically use Shadow Clones to compensate for his absence at birthdays and other events. This puts a massive strain on the relationship with his son, who lashes out in retaliation for not getting the attention he wants from those important to him.
The fact that Naruto can empathize with Boruto’s actions only makes his lack of care worse.
3) Saika Gasai
Despite the implication of having suffered from a mental illness, Saika Gasai is undoubtedly one of the worst anime parents in the medium. The adoptive mother of Future Diary’s Yuno Gasai, she is initially said to be a good, loving parent to her daughter. However, this changes as her husband begins spending less and less time with his family.
Saika then proceeds to begin locking Yuno up in a cage, choosing how much she eats (which was sometimes nothing at all) and calling her a bad daughter whenever she retaliates. This incredibly abusive behaviour is unique even amongst bad anime parents, solidifying her inclusion on this list.
4) Big Mom
Finally, One Piece’s Big Mom is a truly horrible parent. One of the first and most glaring points of this is her taking her son's life while in a delirious hunger pang. Furthermore, even her other children couldn’t stop her from committing such a heinous act.
Her treatment of daughters Pudding, Lola and Chiffon further emphasizes this, with the former most always being called ugly because of her Third Eye. Ironically, Big Mom specifically wanted a daughter with a third eye but still refused to accept Pudding.
Chiffon and Lola, meanwhile, are Big Mom's twin daughters. There was a time where Big Mom wanted Lola to marry Loki, Prince of Elbaf, so she could repair her relationship with the giants.
However, Lola ran off from the marriage, infuriating her mother and causing her to abuse her twin Chiffon as a result. There’s little doubt or argument to be had against her inclusion here.`
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This article was modified on Friday, July 14, at 1:19 am.
