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As the year comes to an end, it’s fun to look back on all the silly things that happened this year through the eyes of the 2020 Waifus. While a lot of people can watch anime for a lot of different reasons, the largest reason usually boils down to “character hot”.
With the sheer mass of media out there for consumption right now, waifus just don’t have the half-life they used to. To this day, you’ll see gentlemen put on deodorant and put down their fedoras long enough to still debate whether it’s Asuka or Rei who really loves Shinji (spoilers, the answer is Kaworu). While this year didn’t really produce any persistent waifus like Zero Two or Rem, they’ve certainly created some popular markers.
Sayaka Kanamori (Keep Your Hands of Eizouken)
One of my favorite party tricks this year has been to tell my friends (from a safe distance) that Eizouken came out this year and watch as their will to live immediately disappears. The quirky anime is a fun romp about three girls starting their own animation club, with some downright weird absurdism thrown in to create a great slice of life.
Sayaka is the business end of the three girls, who helps rein in her two clubmates and making sure that while they still have the freedom to execute their creative freedoms, they’re also capable of actually hitting deadlines and the like.
Aside from being a cool representation about the business side of animation, she’s incredibly sassy, and that’s won a lot of people over as she spends most of the anime talking through gritted teeth and counter-threatening anyone who things they have leverage over her.
What This Says About You: Really, *you* want to be the waifu. You’re probably a mess, and you just want a boss lady to come in and begrudgingly put your life in order. Maybe for 2021, you should start making better choices for yourself, and pretend they’re coming from a boss lady like Sayaka.
Michiru Kagemori (Brand New Animal)
BNA is up there with Beastars as anime that have dramatically increased usage of the phrase “I’m not a furry, but…”. Seriously, as someone who’s spent the past few years respectfully not understanding the appeal in anthropomorphized animals, BNA’s cheap out of also giving them more traditional human looks made it so anyone who found Shirou Oogami hot could say it was because of his tired-dad human form, and not his incredibly fluffy wolf-daddy mode.
Michiru is the one character not following this rule, spending the entire anime as an upright Tanuki (Racoon dog). She’s sporty, headstrong and even has a non-plot-relevant love for Baseball. She hangs out with Shirou, helping him solve social cases around Anima City amid rising tensions between Beastmen and Humans.
I think the real killer here is that BNA was produced by Studio Trigger, who are adept at making characters just so damn charming. She’s a lovable loser- although when she screws up it never keeps her down for long. Her relationship with Shirou is also great, as she plays the good cop to his more jaded one.
What This Says About You: Congratulations on finally getting to play Persona 4 Golden thanks to its Steam release this year, but did you really need to romance Chie again? You’re probably feeling cooped up, even moreso thanks to how much time you spent indoors this year. Hopefully you find someone who’s not only upbeat and sporty, but also kind.
Zhongli (Genshin Impact)
Look, at first I was gonna go with Lisa, but let’s be real here. Zhongli is the true 2020 Waifu in Genshin Impact. Look at him, the finely tailored and intricately detailed suit, the glowing gold eyes, even his sexy voice in the English dub.
Debuting in the second act of the game’s story, Zhongli is the curious and esteemed Funeral Consultant, making sure that everyone who died of a nosebleed looking at him is sent off in accordance with Liyue traditions.
He’s also incredibly broke, yet somehow has managed to charm everyone into footing the bill for his expensive tastes. How fitting, then, that upon his addition to the game’s gacha, many people would convert their real-life money into gacha just for the chance to add him to their party.
What This Says About You: Picking Zhongli as your waifu is like the inverse of picking Sayaka. You long for the ideal fantasy of being important to someone, even if only for your wallet. In return, they’ll dote on you too- I imagine there’s some prestige in being Zhongli’s arm candy, especially as you sit in Liyue’s finest restaurants while the peasantry watches. Honestly the only thing I can tell you for next year is please be responsible with your money. Considering you’re playing a gacha game with Genshin’s droprates, doubly so.
Hololive (Yes, All of It)
Despite having existed in some form for years now, it wasn’t until the year that everyone got stuck indoors that talk streams featuring anime girls talking about their daily lives. The Hololive roster is so huge now, and so much of their appeal comes from their dynamics around each other that it’d be bad to single any single Vtuber out as one of the 2020 Waifus. Seriously, forget fighting game, there’s enough to make a damn MOBA.
Be it the happy-go-lucky Korone, dangerously lewd Marine or even the incredibly chaotic Akai Haato Haachama, there’s literally a Vtuber for every taste. On top of that, they’re all supposed to be idols too, with some like Hololive EN member Calliope Mori taking the number one spot on iTunes when she debuted her EP.
More than just being cute anime girls, one of the big reasons Hololive got so big is that they’re incredibly human in between the wild antics. On their talk-streams, many of their conversations just feel like hanging out with friends, especially as they open up about things like being shy around others, or even learning new languages.
What This Says About You: You’re probably lonely, and I’m not just saying that to roast you. While it’s hip to talk about how much you hate people on the internet, it doesn’t make up for the fact that those of us who need social interaction probably went through the ringer when we couldn’t just go out and hang out with new people.
That being said though, join the Zhongli stans in Money Management 101. Please don’t spend your rent money just to make the funny rabbit girl say your meme name.
With that we have 4 of the big 2020 Waifus. I should probably end this by saying no real scientific method was used to pick these out beyond “I wasn’t even actively looking for them yet they showed up in my peripheral vision”. I’m sure you’ll have your additional picks, complete with your own elaborate reasons for picking them.
