The List

7 Horrible Girlfriends

The long-anticipated companion piece to 8 Horrible Boyfriends! Let's be fair, some of these women are downright nuts. The term yandere was coined for the sweet-on-the outside-but-possibly-murderous-on-the-inside girl. They'll love you forever, whether you want them to or not.

Since crazy girls rarely reveal their craziness right away, this column is full of spoilers!

7. Misaki Nakahara (Welcome to the NHK) Misaki has all the trappings of the earnest girl-next-door type. She manages to convince shut-in Tatsuhiro that she has a surefire way to cure him of his hikkokomori lifestyle, when in reality she's co-dependent, manipulative, and a liar. She takes her unhealthy need for verification up a notch when Tatsuhiro doesn't return her feelings—so she tries to jump off a cliff.

6. Misa Amane (Death Note) Misa seems like a hyperactive idol whose only folly is falling for someone as egotistical as Light Yagami, but she isn't as innocent as she would have her fans believe, both conniving and capable of murder for the one she loves. Given her tragic history, Misa's less-than-stable approach to romance is almost understandable. Almost.

5. Mion/Shion Sonozaki (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) The fun-loving sempai of Hinamizawa brings a combo of mafia ties and a crazy twin sister to the table. These two aren't above switching places to avenge each other's wrongs. One of the anime's plot arcs recounts Keiichi getting a doll from the local toy store and giving it to Rena instead of Mion. Mion cries to Shion, who goes on to avenge her slighted sister with murder, kidnapping, and cackling laughter.

4. Kaede Fuyou (Shuffle!) As a child, Kaede tried to kill the love of her life a few times because she blamed him for the accident that took her parents. Wracked with guilt, she dedicates her life to being Rin's live-in wife, and he allows it out of fear for her emotional stability. When he has the audacity to date someone else, Kaede goes into full-blown psycho mode. She attacks Rin's girlfriend, makes invisible dinners, and stands creepily under bridges during rainstorms. At the end of the series, she declares her love for Rin and everyone pretends it isn't terrifying.

3. Kotonoha Katsura (School Days) Kotonoha is really a sweet girl deep down. She just can't handle that her boyfriend is a two-timing (three-timing, four-timing, etc.) jerk who tries to break up with her. She starts creeping around his house when he leaves her for Sekai (who he's also cheating on anyway) and gets progressively deeper into psychosis. You can see how it all turns out when Discotek releases the DVD set. To put it bluntly, the broadcast of this show's last episode was preempted when the plot was deemed too similar to a real ax murder.

2. Nanako Saeki (Flowers of Evil) Saeki is Takao's seemingly perfect girlfriend who is all too understanding of him wearing her gym uniform. As Takao's relationship with the delinquent Sawa grows, Saeki grows more and more disturbed. The anime ends with Takao's attempt to run off into the mountains, before Saeki's colors really get to show through. The couple have a few more confrontations, including one in Takao's makeshift clubhouse that cements Saeki on the list of most horrible people ever. She gets extra icky points because, unlike other characters on the list, Saeki isn't in a world of death gods, didn't have her parents murdered, and isn't a member of the mob. Her otherwise calm life is what makes her unsettling.





1. Yuno Gasai (Future Diary) Yuno wins the Worst Girlfriend of the Year award by leaps and bounds. Her boyfriend Yuki has a textbook example of Stockholm Syndrome, after Yuno kidnaps and abuses him, threatens to kill his friends (then does), all while swearing she'd go to the ends of the Earth to be with him. I guess she delivers on that note, so at least she isn't a liar. It's the little things.

The new poll: What's your favorite currently airing American cartoon?

The old poll: Part human, part machine: which cyborg character would you want to have on your side in a fight?

1. Genos (One-Punch Man) 24.4%
2. Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell) 19.2%
3. Android 18 (Dragon Ball Z) 7.7%
4. Franky (One Piece) 6.9%
5. Yuki Nagato (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) 6.3%
6. Tama (Gintama) 3.0%
7. Ritsu (Assassination Classroom) 2.4%
8. Hotaru Tomoe (Sailor Moon Crystal III) 2.2%
9. Doraemon (Doraemon) 1.9%
10. Vash the Stampede (Trigun) 1.7%
11. Astro Boy (Astro Boy) 1.7%
12. Nano Shinonome (Nichijō) 1.5%
13. Chachamaru Karakuri (Negima!) 1.5%
14. Alita (Battle Angel) 1.5%
15. Cutey Honey (Cutey Honey) 1.3%
16. Clarion (Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 1.3%
17. Gai Shishioh (Gaogaigar) 1.2%
18. Joe Shimamura (Cyborg 009) 1.2%
19. Clear (DRAMAtical Murder) 1.1%
20. Mahoro (Mahoromatic) 1.1%

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When she isn't compiling lists of tropes, topics, and characters, Lynzee works as Associate Editor for Anime News Network, blogs about women and LBGT topics in anime and manga on her blog Engendered Dilemma, and posts pictures of her son on Twitter @ANN_Lynzee.