"I Stand on a Million Lives" is an anime series whose first season aired in October 2020 and whose second season will begin in July 2021. The first season ended with the completion of the fourth quest and the introduction of new characters. While the second season is sure to be exciting, we'd like to rank the top 5 most popular characters and discuss their appeal!
Top 5 Popular Character Rankings - 1st Place: Yusuke Yotsuya
The protagonist hates people...or rather, he has trouble getting along with those around him and has become cynical. He never talks to anyone at school and is lonely. He's a dynamic boy who just couldn't fit in at school in Tokyo or any other city. He's an ultra-rationalist, willing to abandon his teammates if it ultimately saves them, even abandoning himself and taking on the dirty work if that's the best option. He's also a psychopathic character. He's a highly dependable presence among the summoned players, and his rational thinking and unwavering drive have saved his teammates from difficult situations countless times. However, he's often so rational that others are put off by him.
This is the charm of Yusuke Yotsuya!
Based on a virtual MMORPG, this game has a plot reminiscent of GANTZ and Planet Sadama, but I think the most distinctive and interesting aspect of this work is its protagonist. He's ultra-rational and will do pretty much anything to achieve his goals. If it means completing a quest, he'll do it without hesitation, whether in reality or another world. She commits a murder because she believes it's virtual. She grieves over the act, but ultimately accepts it as necessary. She continues to move forward as a character, not shying away from murder if necessary. I think this dark hero-like quality is a major part of her appeal.
Top 5 Popular Character Rankings - 2nd Place: Shindo Iu
A beautiful, academically and athletically gifted high school girl who also works as a magazine model. She's the first character summoned by the player. Her parents and older brother were not particularly kind, leading to a troubled childhood. However, thanks to a certain person she looked up to like an older sister, she grows up intact. However, because the person was ugly, she was bullied to the point of suicide. Furthermore, her family made her teachers look down on her, but her friends helped her out. After this, Iu came to believe that her friends were her strength, and she worked hard to achieve her current position. However, the world to which Iu was summoned was not all about the power of her friends.
Here's What Makes Shindo Iu So Charming!
She's cute! Although she's a girl, she has the most athletic ability and sense of humor in her party, so she often excels in combat. Because she's a happy girl, she has almost no complaints in the real world, but her summoning to another world disrupts her daily life, making her the player who suffers the most from this summoning. Her class adjustments affect her real-world experience, causing her to fail the qualifying rounds at tennis, and when a classmate she had mutual feelings for confessed their feelings to her, she felt the gap between her own situation and theirs, leading to a breakup. Her experiences are so horrible they're no laughing matter. A happy girl with no complaints about her current situation wouldn't want to be summoned to another world.
Top 5 Most Popular Characters - 3rd Place: Knight Kahabel
A female knight who accompanies the player on the quest in week 4. She cooperates with the player because she loves slicing living flesh and can slash players who don't die even when slicing. Although she has achieved some success as a knight, she feels limited by her gender and wants to overcome those limitations. Her skills far surpass those of the player in week 4, making her a powerful force.
Here's Kahabel's Charm!
So cute! This is true for almost all female characters, but the first impression we get of Kahabel is that of a slightly sadistic eccentric warrior who loves to cut meat. However, midway through the story, she is stabbed in the side by a monster called a gargoyle and falls from a great height into water. She nearly dies, but is rescued by Tomosuke, who tenaciously escapes the trap, and is saved thanks to Tomosuke's dedicated treatment. After she is saved, she begins to develop feelings for Tomosuke and shows off her feminine charm. This aspect is highlighted more in the anime, and is a highlight of the first season. She also appears in the second season, so keep an eye out for the changes in Kahabel that occur!
Top 5 Popular Character Rankings - 4th Place: Hakozaki Benisue
She's a timid girl with a frail body who needs to take medicine costing 50,000 yen a month to survive. She's the second player after Iu, but her frail constitution makes her unable to wield weapons properly, making her the weakest player and largely ineffective in combat. She's kind-hearted and averse to killing monsters. She won't abandon the weak, and she's determined to take action rather than just say nice things. She's a keen observer of people, and she's keenly aware of Yusuke's active nature and the reasons why women are attracted to him in other worlds.
What Makes Hakozaki Benisue so Charming!
Basically the weakest. While she's practically useless in combat, she's incredibly perceptive. Her personality is the polar opposite of Tomosuke, who is ultra-rational and willing to abandon himself or his allies if necessary. While she finds Tomosuke reliable, she also believes that some things can't be saved with Tomosuke's rationality alone. After discovering that he's not virtual in the fourth week, Tomosuke unintentionally crosses the line and becomes even more rational than ever, even if it means hurting himself. However, Iu, a keen observer of people, understands Tomosuke's behavior and wants him to stay within the line. However, these elements weren't depicted in the first series, so I think we'll see Iu's fascinating exploits in the second series.
Top 5 Most Popular Characters - 5th Place: Yuka Tokidate
A glasses-wearing otaku girl addicted to a game similar to Ensemble Stars. She is the fourth player, and when Tomosuke attempts to contact her at the game master's instruction, the other girls are about to take nude photos of her in the girls' bathroom. Tomosuke destroys all the other girls' smartphones to increase their chances of survival in the game, saving her from disaster. She then uses the opportunity to frame Tomosuke as the bad guy and repair their relationships. Her personality is also quite normal. She's neither overly rationalistic nor particularly ethical. She's not a powerful force, but she's not completely useless either. She's a typical average person.
What's Charming About Tokidate Yuka!
She's a girl with a real-life, average sensibility. She's not super rationalistic, nor does she have a dark past that leads her to pursue a fulfilling life. Despite her physical weakness, she struggles, but she doesn't have clear dreams or goals. However, during the fourth week's quest, the other four members withdrew, putting the team in a dire situation. She's a bespectacled girl with no weaknesses but no strengths either, and a humane tendency to go along with the powerful. Having characters like this actually helps stabilize an organization. It's exciting to see how Yuka will play a role in the story going forward.
[I Stand on a Million Lives Season 2] Popular Character Rankings
Here's a look at the charms of the popular characters from "I Stand on a Million Lives"! The second season will see the introduction of new characters, and I think existing characters will also have their moments to shine! Many of the characters appearing in the second series are fascinating, but even more so, the stories surrounding them are incredibly interesting, so I highly recommend watching! It will air starting in July 2021, so be sure to check it out!
