Adorkable/Anime and Manga

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Anime and Manga examples of Adorkable:

  • Arguably Jean from Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. Not only is he intelligent, he is also generous, sweet-natured, caring, friendly, and dedicated to what he likes. Even Nadia's English voice actress had said that she would date someone like him "in a heartbeat".
  • Izzy and Joe Kido from Digimon Adventure. The former is a socially inept computer geek and the latter tries so hard to be the responsible Team Dad of the group.
  • Yugi Mutou from Yu-Gi-Oh!! (the actual one, not the Super-Powered Evil Side) is the epitome of this trope. He's a slightly dopey, socially awkward kid whose deepest wish in the first chapter is just to have a few friends. He gets them though, because people finally start seeing and appreciating his Incorruptible Pure Pureness.
  • Keitaro in Love Hina. Sure he might be a huge Accidental Pervert, but his genuine desire to know the other tenants and his constant determination are endearing.
  • Yomiko Readman in Read or Die. The quintessential bookworm. So nerdy. So cute. And so very, very scary.
  • Bleach.
    • Orihime, Bleach's resident Cloudcuckoolander, manages to be this from time to time.
    • Rukia has had her moments: her love for cute things and bunnies-specifically chappy, not to mention her drawing skills (or lack there of), plus her "innocent (and dramatic) girly schoolgirl" act she puts on in front of Ichigo's family and classmates is too adorable.
    • Uryu Ishida. Top of his class and is very serious about most things, this includes his love in sewing, and outside of all of this he's kinda socially awkward.
  • Osaka in Azumanga Daioh pretty much has her own cult following, as does shy, introverted Sakaki. Also, Chiyo.
  • Sweet, kind and cuddly (most of the time) Himura Kenshin of Rurouni Kenshin.
  • Axis Powers Hetalia:
    • Canada (he also overlaps with Moe) and America (hero obsessed).
    • Hell, America even looks like Milo Thatch, the person on this page's image.
    • To a lesser extent, Estonia and Lithuania can be considered this as well. Latvia, on the other hand, is just pure Moe.
    • Italy himself.
    • Also, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Norway and Iceland are more Moe than anything though.
    • Japan, whose polite-to-a-fault demeanor covers up a socially awkward streak (especially when it comes to physical affection) and an Otaku love of 2D.
  • Madarame from Genshiken is a perfect example of this trope. He is a Hot-Blooded Otaku, but at the same time is a bit uncomfortable around acts of physical affection. His Spiritual Successor seems to have gotten better in Spotted Flower.
  • Young Tenma from Monster, before his badass upgrade made him stop being a Woobie doormat.[1] The gangly, badly-dressed Grimmer looks quite adorkable as well. When he's not Hulking out.
  • Trigun: Vash fits this quite well, easily falling into being a Badass Adorkable during times of comedic calamity that tend to follow him.
  • The title character of Naruto. When he's not in Determinator mode he's socially awkward, and early on, most of his boasts came off more as cute/laughable than intimidating. Not to mention Hinata and Rock Lee.
  • Tsuna from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Also, Kozato Enma.
    • Irie Shouichi. He's even got the glasses.
    • Dino when his subordinates aren't around becomes really clumsy and dorky.
  • Minoru of Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru.
  • This is about half the point of "Li Sheng Shun" in Darker than Black. He's so adorably inept, clumsy, kindhearted, and naive that you just want to hug him, and nobody would ever suspect he's secretly the Black Reaper, the most Badass and Stoic guy in a series full of emotionless killing machines.
  • Tsutomu Senkawa from the 1996 OVA adaptation of Birdy the Mighty. The English dub makes him sound even more dorky.
  • Mikado from Durarara!!, who's even gained the fan nickname Moekado. Also Shinra, Kida, and Erika and Walker.
  • From the same creator, Jacuzzi Splot from Baccano!!, a sweet, lovable little crybaby with the most ridiculous name in the world. Hidden core of pure badass or not, he's very cute.
  • Yukinari of Girls Bravo. Also, Koyomi.
  • Many Fullmetal Alchemist fans found the Wacky Marriage Proposal of Ed, and Winry's response to it, to be pure adorkable. Ed words his proposal in alchemical terms, while Winry words her reply in percentages.
  • For the most part, George, from Umineko no Naku Koro ni, is pretty calm and collected in-series. However, just ask the fangirls about his Image Song, "Ai no Sengen," and just about every single one of them will allude to this trope. For good reason.
  • Gourry Gabriev from Slayers is often viewed this way by the fangirls. Sure, he's a badass swordsman, but his terrible memory (at least in the anime) and tendency to be really sweet and a genuinely nice guy make him totally Adorkable.
    • Less so in the original novels; Gourry's actually got a bit of a dry, snarky sense of humor and he's more observant that Lina gives him credit for. Gourry's anime portrayal seems to be a Flanderization of how Lina perceives him; viz. as nonmagical as it's possible to get and therefore a complete moron.
  • John Brown of Ghost Hunt has his moments. Bring him up to any of his fans and the word 'cute' will come up, usually because of his charmingly naive personality and/or amusing facial expressions.
  • Wannabe-ace student Shiratori in Yandere Kanojo is actually seen as this in-universe. He thinks he's popular with girls because he's so cool. He's a Bishonen who's great at athletics and academics, so he's a natural Chick Magnet, right? In reality, it's because he gets really shy and flustered when girls flirt with him, which they find irresistible.
  • Black Butler--
    • Arthur, the Moe Nice Guy, and Finnian, the hyper crybaby.
    • Grell in butler attire may have epitomized Adorkable, had she not revealed her true nature after one chapter, appearing in butler form for only a few pages.
    • And for a female example, Maylene.
    • Snake is described near-perfectly by this page. Shy? Check. Quirky? Check. Socially awkward? Check, check, check.
  • Death Note
    • Matsuda. He's dumb, but also kind hearted and determined to try and prove himself useful.
    • Despite L's obsession with justice and his gangly pale figure, he manages to do this by smiling.
    • A lot of L's interaction with Naomi in the spin-off novel is this, especially the ending. He is clearly woefully inexperienced with the concept of "hugging".
    • Also, Yamamoto. Light's school pal.
  • Yami no Matsuei gives us Tsuzuki, a happy-go-lucky, dorky Shinigami with a sweet tooth.
  • Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion, for those who don't hate him.
    • Mari Makinami from Rebuild of Evangelion can't see without her glasses and, outside of her EVA, is socially awkward to the point that Rei could fit in better than her.
    • Rei when she's shy.
    • There's also Yukiteru of Mirai Nikki who is an Expy of Shinji.
  • Son Gohan of Dragonball Z, especially as a teenager. He's such a sweet, friendly, good-natured guy, yet also very studious, and he gets into many embarrassing social situations, and he has questionable taste in fashion and, er, superhero poses.
  • D.Gray-man
    • Lavi, Komui, Krory, and Miranda all qualify for this in their own ways.
    • Allen sometimes qualifies as well, since his Moe Nice Guy traits have been known to reach dangerous levels.
    • Johnny as well. He's incredibly clumsy, and kind-hearted.
  • Daisuke from D.N.Angel. Kosuke, Daisuke's dad as well. He's just as clumsy and kind-hearted as Daisuke. And Towa-chan, especially when she's around Dark.
  • Ash Ketchum from the Pokémon anime, at least in the older seasons. He was rather klutzy and somewhat dim-witted, but also a really sweet kid with an enormous heart, and already a pint-sized Bishonen to begin with.
    • From Pokemon Special, we have Diamond, one of the most Adorkable characters you could ever find in a Pokemon manga.
  • Brief, the somewhat woobie-ish Butt Monkey Kid Sidekick of Panty And Stocking.
  • Tamaki in Ouran High School Host Club. Sure, he has the handsome bishie looks and is very adept at flirting with girls he doesn't much know, but around friends (not to mention his actual love interest) he becomes a lot more of a lovable idiot.
  • Lampshaded in Tiger and Bunny—Agnes points out that Sky High's dorkiness is part of the reason he's so damn popular, with his silly catchphrase ("Thank you! And again, thank you!") among other things.
    • Not to mention Kotetsu. Karina falls for him because of it.
    • And Ivan. There are a LOT of adorkable characters in this show.
  • Sergeant Keroro from Keroro Gunsou. In moments when he's genuinely excited about something, he expresses a child-like enthusiasm that is just too cute for words.
  • Asobi Ni Iku Yo: Kio. Manami calls him an otaku but other girls point out to her it's a part of his charm.
  • Ryoushi Morino in Ookami-san. He even has a phobia of people looking at him.
  • Kohta Hirano in Highschool of the Dead, a bullied Otaku loser who proves himself more than useful in the zombie apocolypse.
  • The titular character of Detective Conan. In the beginning of the series the only clothes he's seen wearing are his miniature suit, complete with a bow tie. This combined with his cute ways of expressing his feelings and his Sherlock Holmes obsession create top quality Adorkable material.
    • He can also be classified as an out-and-out mystery geek, not just a Holmes geek.
      • His dad, Booker Kudo, is also an example of this, as he's a mystery writer who gets a bit too excited about mysteries. Also, his glasses rock.
  • Gilbert from Pandora Hearts. Psychologically, he's a wubbly mess and often behaves very childishly. The other characters (and the mangaka) enjoy picking on him mercilessly.
    • Oz at times, and Leo as well at least before he takes off his glasses and gets a haircut.
  • Nako from Steel Angel Kurumi 2. She wears glasses, she's incredibly clumsy, and kind-hearted.
  • Hen: Ryuichi Kobayashi definitely. With his huge ears and easily flustered nature, especially around women. He more than qualifies as this.
    • Azumi Yamada is a total klutz and is a mousy cute little girl who gets easily flustered over things of a sexual nature.
  • Ryoga Hibiki from Ranma ½. Also, Mousse and even Ranma when he lets go of the jerk part of his Jerk with a Heart of Gold nature.
  • Shiori Shiomiya from The World God Only Knows.
    • Keima himself (despite acting like an outright jerk); he's known as the otamega after all...
  • The normally calm and Stoic Sousuke Sagara from Full Metal Panic! becomes a complete dork around women or when confronted with romance or anything sexual.
  • Also, Kyou Sohma of Fruits Basket tries to act all macho but in reality he's really a lovable dork, especially around Tohru, his love interest. He's also the family punching bag.
  • Mahou Sensei Negima is full of these. Aside from the title character, there's Nodoka, Chachamaru, and especially Setsuna, whose cool demeanor flies out the window in the presence of her Ojou-sama.
  • Intentionally the case with the excited-about-everything, anime-obsessed, Friend-To-All-Outcast-Nerds Nagaoka in Onani Master Kurosawa. His adorkability causes not one but two girls to fall in love with him: Magistel, who up until that point had been protagonist Kurosawa's Love Interest, and Kitahara, who is unfortunately not entirely sane.
  • Pointed out in Bunny Drop, where Daikichi notes how unfair it is that "Michan" (a Hot Dad he knows) is also extremely clumsy. It was like he was scientifically designed to be as attractive as possible, and the clumsiness just makes him more adorable.
  • Keiichi of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni especially during the "punishment games".
  • Madoka and Homura from Puella Magi Madoka Magica
  • Reimei no Arcana: Caesar, whenever he thinks about Nakaba or tries to make her happy.
  • Suzaku (especially when he's around cats), Lelouch (especially when he's around Shirley), Rolo (around his beloved brother Lelouch), and Shirley from Code Geass.
  • Ask Dr. Rin: Tokiwa when he's not possessed is a very sweet, if a little doofy, Chick Magnet.
  • In Hot Gimmick we have beautiful, spineless, Shrinking Violet Hatsumi and Hatsumi's sweet and unassuming friend Subaru.
  • Kaito of Waiting in the Summer: wears glasses, frequently dorks out with his old-fashioned camera, always nice but very awkward...we have a winner!
  • The Literature Girl in Daily Lives of High School Boys. A Dojikko who tried to re-enact the novel she wrote and had a crush with they guy (Hidenori) who happened to sit on the Artificial Riverbank? Check.
  • Tomoko from It's Not My Fault I'm Not Popular!. One of the reasons /a/ just wanna hug her.
  • Laura of Infinite Stratos. Post-meltdown. Her lack of social skills make almost any social interaction awkwardly cute.
  • Chrona of Soul Eater, especially on hir first day as a student at Shibusen; constantly hiding behind Maka like a frightened five-year-old. Aww...
  • The titular Sailor Moon a.k.a. Usagi Tsukino, the ditzy, clumsy, yet sweet leader of the senshi.
    • Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury is this oh so very much. She is a cute nerdy girl after all.
    • Minako Aino/Sailor Venus can be this at times.
    • Outside the Senshi, there's Umino Gurio, Usagi's nerdy classmate, and Artemis.
  • Ojamajo Doremi: Doremi Harukaze
  • Syaoran of Cardcaptor Sakura fame, especially when he does his Luminescent Blush because he Cannot Spit It Out. Especially cute because he tries to be mature and serious all the time.
  • Shi Woon Lee of The Breaker.
  1. ↑ He's still The Woobie, but he's the Iron variety.
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