I love animals and anime and animated movies have amazing animal companions. My favourites are the ones that aren’t humanised but still loving and cute and amazing. So here’s my list.

I’m sure I’ve missed some… they’ll come to me and I’ll come back with an updated list.

Ok first of all there is…

Appa!

I love Appa, you don’t even understand.

They put Avatar: The Last Airbender (AVLA) on Netflix and I was like, great! I’ll re-watch the series! I got through season one and was struck by how much I love Appa. He’s such a cutey and the love that Aang has for him and that Appa has for Aang is just so beautiful. It’s a true bond you know.

People talk about bonding with animals but you rarely see it done well in anime (in my opinion) but they did it so well in Avatar.

I love him.

I love how they gave him his own personality without making him human. I feel like animals have their own merits that set them apart from humans so sometimes I don’t like the whole humanising of animals. So I liked how AVLA made Appa, and gave him his own personality that is clear in an air bison way.

He’s tenacious, loyal and a little sassy. He loves Aang just as much as Aang loves him. He’s a gentle giant but he does throw down for those he cares about.

One of the most heart wrenching story lines was when they were separated and Aang was desperately looking for him. Then you cut to Appa’s story and he was just as desperately looking for Aang. You get to see his point of view through flashbacks and you see how he’s been with Aang since he was a baby.

I could go on, I love Appa.

 

Next is…

Momo!

I read somewhere that the show’s creators were originally going to make him Monk Gyatso’s reincarnated spirit or his spirit form.

I thought that was interesting because Momo appeared in Aang’s darkest moment when he realised his people were all dead. He appeared in a land without life and I always wondered about that. How did he survive? Was he lonely? What was it like to be the only Momo?

He’s a type of monkey right or lemur and they’re social creatures so it’s like, that must have been hard but then he finds a kind human and sticks to him.

Momo is also given a personality in a realistic way. He’s carefree and oddly logical. He’s always with Aang and they never get separated. He’s smaller than Appa so it’s harder to take him away from Aang.

It’s quite interesting that Aang is able to connect with animals the way he does. It shows just how pure his soul is.

 

Moving on there is…

Pascal

Now Disney does tend to humanise their animals, however I really like Pascal. He’s so cute, so he’s my exception.

He’s also hilarious and his expressions are minute.

There are people who find chameleons creepy but I think they’re cute. They walk funny, and they can blend in with their surroundings, that’s smart.

Pascal is not as slow as a real chameleon but he’s just as cute. It also makes sense that she’d make friends with an animal because honestly who else was she gonna talk to?

 

Akamaru!

Akamaru, I love Kiba’s clan. I wanted to join it because they all got animals, I mean how cool.

Akamaru is one of the ninja dogs that cannot speak and I’m not mad at that. He stands out as unique. Also Kiba is still able to communicate with him which shows their connection and is true to real life. I feel like people who have dogs or cats get to a point where they can understand their furry companion.

I also like the progression of his character, he turns up as a cute puppy that sits on Kiba’s head and helps him out and grows to the point where Kiba can ride him. Can you imagine everyone else thinking Kiba drew the short straw in his family getting the smallest dog only for Akamaru to grow so big Kiba can ride him? Kiba really won at life.

Side bar: how did he not notice Akamaru got so big? He used to sit on his head! I’m with Naruto on this one. There’s no way he didn’t notice.

Anyway I also like that transition because it shows how they support each other. When Akamaru was little Kiba supported and transported him, when Akamaru grew he supported and transported Kiba. They look out for each other and have each had to rely on each other. That creates a deeper bond.

Also isn’t it cute how they have the same markings?

 

So all in all, I’d like my own animal companion please! *stares at empty space next to me* any time now…