Today might not be Father's Day, but still, it's always a fine time to give credit to the best fathers and foster fathers in all of anime. Many Shonen leads have a tragic family life, often missing one or both parents. Or their parents might in fact be one of the villains! But not this time, as we consider some of the finest dads across the anime world.
Being anime characters, these dads aren't often the stay-at-home type, and in fact they might go on more adventures their children might. Some of them are true heroes, and may step in to get their son or daughter out of a tight bind. Who are these heroic gentlemen?
10 Soun Tendo (Ranma 1/2)
Mr. Tendo is one of the first characters to appear in Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2, and what a fine dad he is (arguably better than his longtime friend, Genma Saotome). Mr. Tendo is a widower, but he remembers his wife fondly and he doesn't let that loss dampen his spirits.
All on his own, he runs and defends the Tendo family dojo, and he's a proud father of three wonderful daughters, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane. He's very protective, too, and won't let anyone lay a finger on any of them.
9 Isshin Kurosaki (Bleach)
Many of the dads on this list are the action hero type, and they typically practice some tough love. When it comes to his son Ichigo, Isshin is a rough one, but he means well. Mr. Kurosaki is a widower like Mr. Tendo is, and like Mr. Tendo, he runs a happy household and remembers his wife fondly.
He dotes endlessly on his daughters Yuzu and Karin, where the former looks up to him and the latter just rolls her eyes at his pranks! Still, Isshin is a tough Soul Reaper and former Captain, and he helps engineer the downfall of Sosuke Aizen alongside his son and Kisuke Urahara.
8 Soken Ishida (Bleach)
Now for another Bleach character. Soken appears only in flashbacks of Uryu's menories, and he's a grandfather as well as father. Soken must have taught his son Ryuken well, because Ryuken is a smart and responsible man, and an incredible s hot with the Quincy bow and arrow.
Soken then trained the next generation, doting on his grandson Uryu and unlocking his Quincy powers. It seems that Uryu saw Soken more as a father than he did Ryuken, and Uryu was devastated when Soken lost his life.
7 Soichiro Yagami (Death Note)
The grim, grisly crime thriller series Death Note is home to many cold-blooded killers and ruthless schemers, from Kira to Mello to Higuchi and Teru Mikami. But not Soichiro Yagami! He is an upstanding detective and proud family man, and he shines like a beacon against the darkness around him.
Not once is he tempted to try underhanded or lethal means to bring a criminal to justice, and he tirelessly championed Light as an innocent teenager (though he was tragically wrong about this). Mr. Yagami put himself into confinement as a sort of protest of Light's confinement, and he gave Mello the Death Note to secure his daughter's release in part 2.
6 Joichiro Yukihira (Food Wars!)
Now we get another adventurer in the form of Joichiro Yukihira. Handsome, charming, and a master chef, Joichiro traveled the world to explore new cooking ideas, recipes, and ingredients near and far. This, and his sheer talent, makes him a master chef that everyone, most of all his son Soma, looks up to.
The girls of Polaris Dorm were beside themselves with joy when the gentleman chef Joichiro paid a visit, and they eagerly hope that Soma would grow up to be just like his old man. Let's not forget that Joichiro expertly ran the family restaurant and taught Soma everything he needed to know as a chef.
5 Joseph Joestar (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
To be fair, Joseph's cheating on Suzie Q and fathering Josuke in the early 1980s is a strike against him. But in Stardust Crusaders, old man Joseph proves himself a wonderful father and grandfather. Like some other dads on this list, he really dotes on his daughter.
In this case, Holly Joestar, who moved to Japan and had her son Jotaro Kujo there. Joseph is quick to defend Holly from anything ranging from Jotaro's very rude language toward her all the way to DIO's influence. Joseph trekked all the way to Egypt with Jotaro, Avdol, and Kakyoin (and later Polnareff and Iggy) to slay DIO and save his daughter's life.
4 Maes Hughes (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Here's Mr. Heartbreak from Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist franchise. Like Soichiro Yagami, he's a ray of light in a dark world, and his biggest love is not an ambitious career or deadly alchemy skills, but his family!
Maes endlessly adores his wife and young daughter, and they're all he can think about, even in the middle of the horrific Ishval Civil War. He graciously invited Winry and others to his household, and his death at Envy's hands was a major blow to everyone who knew him.
3 Minato Namikaze (Naruto)
Here's another adventurer dad, and he's no ordinary family man. He became the Fourth Hokage of the Leaf Village, and his wife was none other than Kushina Uzumaki, host of the dreaded Nine-Tailed Fox! Talk about a power couple! This meant that having a son together came with serious complications, and Minato arranged for Naruto's birth outside the village, surrounded with guards and seals.
But Tobi tried to seize the Nine-Tailed Fox for himself, and Minato ended up in a duel for the ages against him. Minato won the day, but he had a demon fox on the loose and little time to spare. So, Minato and his wife made some hard decisions and sealed half of the Nine-Tailed Fox in their newborn son. But in a vision later, Minato expressed his deep pride and joy for how his son turned out. And he died a hero.
2 Naofumi Iwatani (The Rising of the Shield Hero)
Okay, he's not actually a parent, but he counts on this list because he's a sort of foster father to the beloved Raphtalia. As a college teleported into a fantasy world, Naofumi had a lot on his hands, and that was made worse with unfounded accusations made against him that resulted in his exile. On the lonely road, Naofumi bought Raphtalia from a slave trader and took her in as a companion.
He cared for her greatly, far better than any other slave owner would, and he watched her rapidly grow into a young woman. They became inseparable, and Naofumi helped bring new hope to Raphtalia's widely abused race of demi-humans. And when the adorable bird-girl Filo is born, Naofumi is a total dad to her, too!
1 Mr. Kimura (Azumanga Daioh!)
How could the pervy and obnoxious Mr. Kimura make this list? While his behavior at the school is totally inappropriate, Mr. Kimura has a hidden good side to him that ought to get some credit.
Off-screen, he's a great family man, with an adoring wife and a happy daughter who, according to his students, looks very smart. Mr. Kimura also has his generous side, regularly donating a lot of money to charities and to Shinto shrines (he prayed for peace on earth and good will to all). Now, if only he acted more like a mature father figure at school, too...
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