Anime shows of all different genres depict their main characters in more than one sort of household or family. Some characters live comfortably in a nuclear family, with both parents and all children, while others are orphans who must make it on their own. Other anime characters grow up in or manage single-parent families.
There are a handful of reasons why a single-parent family may take form, such as divorce or separation, the death of one parent, or if the parents were never married or living together to begin with. Many anime series depict such households, and often in a positive light, showing how hard these caring single parents will work for their children. Other single parents are a bit iffy, but they still try.
10 Bleach’s Isshin Kurosaki Lost His Wife To Grand Fisher
Isshin Kurosaki was once Captain Isshin Shiba of squad 10, and he was likely quite single while serving as a Captain. One night, he rescued the Quincy girl Masaki and lost his powers to prevent her death. Years later, they married and had a son, Ichigo Kurosaki, then the twin daughters Karin and Yuzu.
Tragically, Masaki died at the hands of the vicious Hollow named Grand Fisher, when Grand Fisher ambushed her by the Karakura River one rainy afternoon. Now, Isshin runs the household alone, and he is a serious and dedicated parent under that goofy exterior.
9 My Hero Academia’s Inko Midroiya Is Highly Protective Of Her Quirkless Son
Inko Midoriya was born with a modest Quirk, and her son, Izuku, was born with none at all. That, combined with the total absence of Izuku’s father, means that Inko is highly protective of Izuku, and she only reluctantly allowed him to stay at the U.A. school when the villains attacked it.
All Might himself had to personally convince Inko to reconsider pulling Izuku out of school, and really, no one can blame Inko for considering that option. Her son is all she has, and being a superhero is a very risky career, after all.
8 Maid-Sama’s Minako Ayuzawa Runs A Tight Household
Minako Ayuzawa is a doting and caring mother who works very hard to make ends meet. Her husband took on a friend’s massive debt and left the household for years, leaving the entire Ayuzawa household in dire financial straits. Despite these hardships, though, Minako always puts on a brave face for her daughters.
Minako and her daughter, Misaki Ayuzawa, do all they can to keep the household afloat until they can finally repay that debt. Minako is also fond of Misaki’s charming blond friend Takumi Usui, and always welcomes him into the house for a fine meal.
7 Fruits Basket’s Kyoko Honda Always Smiled Despite Her Grief
Kyoko Honda is another single parent in anime who worked incredibly hard to provide for their child. In this case, Kyoko had a daughter with her older husband Katsuya, until Katsuya died of illness. Kyoko was heartbroken, but she didn’t dare give up on her beloved daughter Tohru.
Kyoko was a reformed delinquent, and she taught Tohru all kinds of life lessons about compassion, humility, and generosity. Kyoko died in a traffic accident, and in her dying moments, she mentally implored Kyo Sohma to resume the duty of looking after Tohru. Fortunately, Kyo did exactly that.
6 Dr. Stone’s Byakuya Ishigami Was Immensely Proud Of His Foster Son, Senku
Byakuya Ishigami didn’t have any children of his own. Instead, he adopted the genius boy Senku and looked after him as best he could. Senku wasn’t, and still isn’t, a very sentimental person, but he does respect what Byakuya did for him. In his own emotionally detached way, Senku is deeply grateful to Byakuya and misses him.
Byakuya became an astronaut, and he was aboard the ISS when the certification wave swept the Earth. He and the other five ISS crewmates made it back to Earth, where Byakuya wisely laid the groundwork for his foster son’s eventual success, such as hoarding vital metals and preparing a glass record with his voice etched into it.
5 The Legend Of Korra’s Toph Beifong Was Hands-Off With Her Daughters
Toph Beifong, the first-ever metalbender, did not like having overbearing parents, so she resolved to be a hands-off parent herself. In her adulthood, Toph had a daughter named Lin Beifong with a man named Kanto, then had another daughter, Suyin, with another man whose identity is unknown.
Sure enough, Toph was largely uninvolved with either of her daughters’ lives, and she was busy as Republic City’s chief of police. She became estranged from Lin and Suyin at one point, but they all reconciled decades later, so the family had a happy ending after all.
4 The Quintessential Quintuplets’ Maruo Nakano Gruffly Cares Greatly For His Five Stepdaughters
The five Nakano sisters’ mother, Rena, remarried a younger man named Maruo when Rena’s husband, Mudou, abandoned the family. Rena later died, leaving the five sisters in the care of their stepfather. It was Maruo who originally asked Futaro Uesugi to tutor the five sisters.
At first, Maruo acted like a shadowy villain, having a distant but cold role to play in the sisters’ lives while putting a lot of pressure on Futaro to bring him results. Over time, though, Maruo’s warmer side showed itself, and he definitely cares a great deal for his five stepdaughters.
3 Food Wars’ Joichiro Yukihira Always Cooked With Love
The Yukihira family’s members all understand that true cuisine is about more than recipes and fancy presentation at five-star restaurants. As silly as it may sound, love really is the secret ingredient, and Joichiro Yukihira and his wife Tamako cooked for one reason — to make each other happy.
Tamako later died, leaving behind her widower husband and her son, the creative and upbeat Soma. Soma learned much from both parents, and when Soma was 15, Joichiro sent the boy to Totsuki to learn even more. Joichiro, meanwhile, is something of a celebrity in the culinary world. Even Erina Nakiri idolizes him.
2 Ranma 1/2’s Soun Tendo Runs A Dojo With Three Daughters
Maruo Nakano isn’t the only single anime father with a handful of daughters to look after. In this comedy-action series, some fathers are definitely more nurturing than others, and Soun Tendo is at the top of the heap. Ever since his wife died, he has worked hard to support his daughters Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi, no matter what.
Soun is also a martial artist like his friend Genma Saotome, and he has the entire Tendo Dojo in which to practice. Soun wanted Genma’s son Ranma to marry one of his three daughters, and as fate would have it, Ranma ended up with the youngest, Akane.
1 Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War’s Papa Shirogane Is Annoying But Harmless
Miyuki Shirogane, the student president, doesn’t come from a wealthy background, unlike Kaguya Shinomiya. The Shirogane household is a humble one, made up of Miyuki, his little sister Kei, and their father, who is known simply as “Papa.”
The Shiroganes are keeping a roof over their head, but not much more than that, and Papa is still somewhat bitter about his wife leaving him for another man (they haven’t formally divorced, though). Papa scrounges around for whatever work he can find, and at this rate, his hardworking son will become much more successful than he is someday. Kei will likely become self-sufficient when she is older, too.
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