So, what is cute? Well, it depends on who you ask. Everyone has their own opinion as to what is cute, and what is not cute. And, I have my own opinions as to what is cute and what is not cute.
You see, their are four degrees of cuteness. Everything in the universe can fall under one of these four categories: Not Cute, Mildly Cute, Moderately Cute, and Insanely Cute. Many people think things like baby dogs, baby cats, baby humans, and baby whatever else are Insanely Cute, just because they're little. Well, to me, such things usually range between Not Cute to Mildly Cute.
Also, I am normally immune to cute. However, if exposed to something Insanely Cute, it will elicit a reaction from me. Sometimes, a big reaction. However, from my experience, almost everything that is Insanely Cute all have one thing in common; they're girls.
Yes, I know a few girls (typically close to my age, thank-you-very-much) in the real world who are Insanely Cute. At least one girl I have ever been in love with was Insanely Cute. I gravitate towards cute girls over sexy girls, if you can believe that.
And also, the rule of cute doesn't just apply to girls in the real world. I have seen a few fictional girls who are also Insanely Cute. You know I've already mentioned this in the past, regarding a certain somebody from a certain PS2 RPG, and also a certain somebody from two certain manga/anime series.
Which now brings me to this: anime is reputed to have a lot of cute girls in it. Apparently, lots of people think girls with huge eyes, tiny noses, and oddly colored hair are just too cute for words. Well, now that I'm more familiar with anime than ever before, I can confirm that a few anime girls actually are Insanely Cute. However, most of the time, they're Not Cute, or only Midly Cute, or perhaps Moderately Cute, but not Insanely Cute. However, sometimes, this bothers me. Too often I have seen somebody say, "OMG! So and So is just Kawaii!" And I look, and I say, "God damn it! No she's not! She's not cute at all!"
So, since I'm winding down from watching a bunch of anime series on veoh and adult swim, I thought I'd conclude the madness by making a list of a bunch of different anime girls, and seeing where they belong in The Four Degrees of Cuteness. Oh, also, this list also includes videogame girls who were drawn in the anime style, since, you know, I know more about games than anything else.
EDIT: The list was updated, for the last time, on September 8th, 2011.
Before I move on to the list, let me describe what the four degrees of cuteness mean for me.
Not Cute: "GOD DAMN IT! STOP FAWNING OVER SOMETHING SO STUPID/HIDEOUS/LAME ALREADY!!!!!!!
Mildly Cute: "What are you talking about!? She's not even that cute! Get a hold of yourself!"
Moderately Cute: "I guess she's kind of cute."
Insanely Cute: *plants palms of hands on cheeks* OH MY GOSH! THESE GIRLS ARE JUST ADORABLE! I COULD SNUGGLE WITH THEM FOREVER!
Lastly, this only covers characters made my Japanese authors only. If you're wondering why a Certain Tera Guardian and a Certain German Girl aren't on here, it's because they were made by Korean authors. Rest assured, I will make a list for miscellaneous characters someday. For now, the original list.
The following are Not Cute, God damn it! Get over yourselves already!:
Rei Ayanami.*
Misa Amane.
Konata Izumi.
Norma Beatty.**
Misty.***
Bulma.
Lina Inverse.
Yuki Nagato.
Nunnally Lamperouge.****
Tohru Honda.*****
A disclaimer before I go on: Although I dislike many of the characters on my Not Cute list, I don't dislike all of them. I like Kona-chan, I like Yuki Nagato, and I like the manga version of Rei. It's just that their "cuteness" is often exaggerated by fans.
The Following are Mildly Cute, now we see some improvement.:
Chiyo Mihama, AKA Chiyo-chan.
Mikuru Asahina.
Orihime Inoue.
Miyuki Itsumi.
Chii.
Tenten.
The Following are Moderately Cute, this is where it gets interesting.:
Winry Rockbell.
Haruhi Suzumiya.
Chitose Hibiya. (I can add adult women if I want!)
Pacifica Casull.
Rosette Christopher.
Sophia Esteed.
Yotsuba Koiwai.
Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga.
Suika Ibuki.
Rachel Alucard.
Akiha Tohno.
The Following are Insanely Cute, and are just deserving of a big hug!:
Arche Klaine.
Sakura Kinomoto. Both the CCS Sakura, AND the Tsubasa Sakura.
May Chang.
Yukari Takeba.
Meiling Li.
Tron Bonne.
Himawari Kunogi. But only the manga Himawari.
Nia Teppelin.
Tomoyo Daidouji. The ones from CCS and Piffle World anyways.
Yutaka Kobayakawa.
Hatoko Kobayashi.
Hotaru Tomoe, AKA Sailor Saturn.
Ami Mizuno, AKA Sailor Mercury.
Minako Aino, AKA Sailor Venus.
Taokaka, not so much in her appearance, but definitely in her voice and personality.
Vita.
Asahi Sakurai. (She's the girl beating up Johnny Cage here.)
Illyasviel von Einzbern.
Ponyo. (HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!)
Flonne. Well, at least in her angel form.
(Note: There are no Touhou characters listed on the Insanely Cute list here. To see every Touhou character I think is Insanely Cute, refer to this list. Including Touhou characters here would make it too slanted.)
(Further notice: Insanely Cute characters created by Key Visual Arts can now be found here.)
I hope you enjoyed my lists.
BUT WAIT! I also have; TOSS UPS!
Yeah, sometimes I can't decide whether I should put a girl on one list, or on the other. Let's check out a few toss ups, shall we?
Amber. (can't decide whether she's Moderately Cute or Insanely Cute)
Rena Ryuuguu.
Rin Natsume.
And now you know me better.
*I swear, man, what the fuck is wrong with the anime fanbase!? I've seen people get all gooey-eyed over Rei, of all people, ever since 2000-2001-ish, when I just first started hearing about Eva. You'd take Rei over Misato!? You and your taste in women! Well, at least now, I can understand it when someone says, "He's the kind of guy who has Rei Ayanami doujinshi for his wallpaper, if you catch my drift." Yeah, if by drift you mean screwed in the head!
**Oh man, puh-leeze don't remind me of her. Gawd, I fucking hate her.
***Do I really need to explain this one?
****tvropes says that she is "painfully cute and huggable." She. Is. NOT! How could a horrible caricature of a moe girl inspire me to wanna hug her!? I lose faith in thee, tvtropes.
*****No. Just no.
