The Weekly W: Wings and Cat Ears Oh My!

Anime tends to have certain things that have become iconic.  From hair (pink, blue, spiky, gravity defying) to clothes (school uniforms, long coats, and wind blowing them tastefully in all situations), some things just scream anime. 

Let's take a look at a couple of other common character traits.

First up is our Weekly W : Wings.

Wings are interesting character designs.  In some cases, they are functional.  (Angewomon from Digimon and Dark from DNAngel).  In others, they are not as functional (Mink from Dragon Half)

Functional Wings

Not as functional

Other wings are used for decoration on certain magical items.  (Sakura's Clow Staff - Cardcaptor Sakura). 

Sakura's Clow Staff is decorative, unless she uses the Fly Card

And on we go to our next topic: Cat ears.  Cat ears can be seen on many characters at conventions, but only a few anime have them on characters within the series.  Notably is the series Tokyo Mew Mew.  A group of girls working at a cafe get magical girl powers, allowing them to transform in order to defeat evil.  The important part is that they get cat ears when they transform. 

Cat Ears and magical girls in Tokyo Mew Mew

Other series include characters with cat ears.  Aisha Clanclan from Outlaw star is an alien from a distant planet where everyone has cat ears.  In Shugo Chara, Ikuto transforms and gets cat ears and a tail when using his powers.  Holo, from Spice and Wolf keeps her ears hidden when out in public to avoid attention. 

Ikuto - Shugo Chara

Cat ears or wings are an interesting addition to any anime, and distinctly separate their world from ours.  Do you have a favorite anime that features cat ears or characters with wings?  Comment below!

Hope Burns Bright