“Mai waifu”, Kimura-sensei.
The term waifu is very common in the otaku community – I'm always talking about them.
Although anime fans often see and use this word when talking about pretty girls from anime, manga, and games, do you know why they do that?
If you are new to anime or too young to have been online when the term became popular, here's a little explanation. And by the end, you'll be more confident when making friends with other anime lovers!
Waifus are usually female fictional characters that a person grows deeply attracted to over time. The anime, the role, or the character's popularity doesn't matter.
People use waifu to say someone would like to make a character their wife. The equivalent for male characters is "husbando," although some fans will call them waifus too.
As the term became increasingly popular worldwide, each person gave their meaning to this word.
Some people are more relaxed and playful and call every female character they like a waifu. Others save the term only for the best anime girls – the ones that aren't just pretty but also favored because of their attitude, behavior, or opinion.
Finally, like in a real marriage, some fans choose only one character to be devoted to and are serious about their commitment.
They are truly in love with their waifus and will find ways to stay as close to them as possible, considering a real x fictional relationship.
As you may guess, the terms waifu and husbando come from the English words "wife" and "husband."
The Japanese started referring to their wives by the English term around the 80s, and the difference in accent created the word waifu.
But it was only around 2012 that the word became part of the otaku vocabulary!
In Azumanga Daioh (2002), there was this creepy teacher Kimura-sensei, who often tried to interact with his students, but often made the situation awkward.
In a particular episode, he dropped a photo of a sweet lady, and the girls asked who she was, and he replied, "Mai waifu" (My wife).
Gradually, the term gained popularity among anime fans on the Internet, and years later, here we are!
Considering everyone has their tastes, it is hard for me to say there's something like "the best waifu." But some female characters are undoubtedly more popular than others.
To list a few, they are:
I have my waifus too!
I'm fond of plenty of female anime characters. The list would be too long if I were to cite them all, but here are some examples.
It looks like I have a thing for demon or demi-human girls! 😂
There isn't a limit to how many waifus a person can have, so my list of best girls is always growing, and I'm always excited to meet more and more characters as I watch new anime!
Now that you know a little more about waifus, do you think any anime girls fit this position in your heart?
It is fantastic that there are more and more characters we can identify with each new anime. It shows there's room for everybody in anime, which is beautiful!
If you are not sure you like a character enough to call them your waifu, feel free to check other posts and keep an eye out for new ones. I'll talk more about these amazing ladies of anime to help you decide on the biggest winners for your list!
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