Drawn of a new age

Anime heroes and heroines are finally growing up. They're chivalrous, cheeky and vulnerable. Here are our favourites from the last few years

- Christalle Fernandes

1 Loid Forger. A spy who grew up as an orphan, Loid's calm demeanour hides the trauma of his past. The efficient, smooth, calculating hero of Spy x Family (2022) is so committed, he even marries a woman he just met, and adopts a daughter, just so he can infiltrate her school and spy on a politician whose son studies there. Streaming on Netflix.

2 Hori Kyouko. Horichan, the heroine in Horimiya (2021), is a typical teacher's pet, obsessed with academics and being the popular girl at school. In reality, she's secretly dealing with an absent mother and struggling with adult household responsibilities. When she forges a friendship with the outcast Izumi Miyamura, she learns that being responsible isn't a bad thing. Streaming on Netflix.

3 Tohru Honda. The 16-year-old orphan girl at the heart of Fruits Basket (2019) is the kind of tirelessly cheerful Pollyanna that can grate on an audience's nerves. But there are bitter ingredients in the sweet mix. The story starts when she moves in with the Sohma family after losing her mother in an accident. That optimism is merely a shield against a magic secret she's struggling with. Streaming on Netflix.