Ah yes, the Myers-Briggs personality test. The horoscope signs of psychology. Personally, I think you can tell more about someone by what character they most vibe with from the cast of The Wilds, but that’s just me. We’ve already covered the “rarest” of all the signs—I mean—personality types in the anime canon, the ISFP. Now we’ve going to take a dive into the ENFP (Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Prospecting) also know as the “Campaigner” personality type. These characters are fun loving, optimistic, and value deep social connection. So without further ado, here are the joyful, beating hearts of the anime world.
Tamaki Suoh
Ouran Highschool Host Club’s Suou Tamaki may be the campaigner to end all campaigners, and despite his often ridiculous personality traits, feels the most grounded in reality. Tamaki organized titular host club himself after assembling a group of handsome misfits in an absolutely touching backstory. The thing about Tamaki is that he truly, deeply cares about his friends, and is a rare type of human being who leaves people better than he found them. He is responsible for turning the once taciturn twins Higaru and Kaoru into the lovable prankster bastards they are today. He sees the good in everyone, and even took in a feared Yakuza boss’s son when the boy asked him for help making friends. While many of the characters on this list pursue goals related to themselves, Tamaki’s main goal is the betterment of other people. I personally think that he is one of anime’s greatest heroes, and shows how a smile and a few kind words can make a profound impact on the lives of people who the world gave up on.
Monkey D. Luffy
Monkey D. Luffy is one fun-loving bastard. It’s basically his entire M.O. I mean, you’d probably be having a great time all the time of you could stretch your limbs to comic proportions right? I know I would. I’d be a rubbery menace. The slipperiest prankster the world has ever known. And that’s exactly what who Luffy is. After all, his fun-loving personality puts him in the running to be a literal messiah figure in the show, the second coming of a mysterious character named “Joy Boy.” “Joy” is literally in the name. The kid knows how to have a good time. He also has big dreams of becoming a Pirate King, and has a love for his crew mates that’s as deep as the seas they sail. You’ve gotta be an upbeat kind of person if you’re a pirate. Being on a pirate ship would kind of suck otherwise. Scurvy. Dehydration. The Looming Threat of Death. All pretty big downers, if you ask me. But that never took the spring out of old Luffy’s step.
Mako Mankanshoku
This girl is nothing but high octane, unleaded pluck. She is ten pounds of spunk in a five pound bag (sorry, that sounded gross). She is fiercely optimistic, ferociously loving, and always sees the good in others. She is Kill La Kill‘s beating heart, and the number one fan of the series’ protagonist, Ryuku Matoi. Mako is a high school pep rally on legs, and may by the finest campaigner on this list in the literal sense of the word. She often gives Ryuku adorable pep-talks in the heat of battle, and even kisses her on the lips to rev her up for a final confrontation with the big bad of the series. Oh and by the way, she and Ryuku are dating and it’s fucking adorable. She’s a maraschino cherry kissed by a sugar plum fairy and rolled in sugar. Her sweetness cuts deeper than any scissor blade, and Ryuku would be nothing without her.
Naruto
I mean, c’mon, this boy is LITERALLY CAMPAIGNING FOR POLITICAL OFFICE for the entirety of the series. He wants to be the Hokage (which is basically the Mayor of Ninja Town) and the kid even has a CAMPAIGN SLOGAN: “BELIEVE IT!” Naruto possesses a truly ungodly amount of pluck to the point where it’s kind of annoying. The kid also does know how to have a good time. He is a ramen connoisseur and the proud inventor of the “sexy jutsu,” after all. He’s also charismatic as hell in later episodes, and is the only person on Earth who is able to befriend a literal demon and convince it to cooperate with him in order to achieve his goals. The kid could sell water to a fish. He could sell smoke to a house fire. He sells himself as the person who will someday become the world’s greatest Hokage and actually does it. He’s a pure-hearted ninja politician who delivers on campaign promises. He’s got my vote, that’s for sure.
Aang
Okay so Avatar: The Last Airbender is not technically an anime but technically people who use the word technically to disqualify things are serious herbs. I don’t make the rules. Avatar: The Last Airbender is textbook anime and our hero Aang is a textbook ENFP. He’s all about connecting people, his literal job description is to “bring balance to the world.” Another pure hearted politician, Aang is optimistic and idealistic, and sets an example for others that makes people rise to the occasion. His influence turned Sokka from bumbling buffoon to tactical badass and Katara from novice water-splasher to certified water bending master. Aang brings out the best in others, and has a damn good time doing it. The kid woke up from a 100 year coma and his first order of business was penguin sledding. If that’s not ENFP vibes then I don’t know what is.
Vash The Stampede
Another man with big ideas and a campaign slogan to back it up, Vash the Stamede is all about “love and peace” and having a good time in pursuit of it. He’s whimsically charming, upbeat as a salsa song, and believes in the goodness of the human heart. All he does is wander the desert helping people. You know who else did that? Jesus, that’s who. And that guy sure knew how to campaign, he founded the most popular religion in the world for crying out loud. While Vash isn’t a messiah like Jesus (or even Luffy), the man has a rock solid moral compass and an undying love for humanity. This becomes all the more poignant later in the series, we discover Vash might not be totally human after all. To love your fellow man is one thing, but to love another species is an entirely different animal (no pun intended).
Featured image credit: Pierrot
Published: Aug 11, 2022 02:13 pm