Kara Dennison
May 17, 2024 
When two strong, clever, and talented characters get together, anything is possible! They can save the world, take their team to Koshien, or whatever the goal of their respective series might be. And the spring anime season is full of dynamic anime duos, who would all be unstoppable… except for one little problem.
From rival voice actresses to unbeatable baseball players to dynamic detectives, these pairs have no idea how close they are to perfection. Maybe by the end of their respective shows, they’ll have everything in hand!
… one has amnesia.
Before the events of Oblivion Battery, Kei Kaname and Haruka Kiyomine were one of the most fearsome anime duos out there… in terms of baseball, at least. Haruka has a wicked cannon arm, and only Kei can catch his pitches. Or at least, he could. But now Kei has amnesia, and he can’t even remember playing baseball, much less enjoying it.
But Haruka’s desire to play again, combined with the enthusiasm of classmate Taro Yamada, slowly brings Kei back to the field. He may act like an absolute idiot now, but what he lacks in motivation, he makes up for in muscle memory. Could this dynamic duo make a comeback?
… one is a fireball-flinging nerd.
Some of the best anime duos out there (and some of the best fictional duos in general) are detectives. And now private detective Sosuke Kaburaya finds himself with an enthusiastic sidekick: Sara da Odin, a runaway princess from an alternate timeline of Japan. But as A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics rolls on, Sosuke has to balance Sara’s enthusiasm with her magic abilities.
For example, she thinks nothing of flinging around fireballs. And her non-destructive magical abilities aren’t always helpful. (Though, scientifically speaking, we can understand why an invisibility spell would make it hard for the wielder to see.) Even so, the duo has a chance at becoming a solid team, led by Sosuke’s ethics and Sara’s… love of Detective Conan?
… they hate each other.
Voice actresses Yasumi Utatane and Yuhi Yugure are both up-and-coming idol voice actresses. And they just happen to be classmates! This fun fact is the main conceit of the radio show at the center of The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio. But the two famous besties are hiding several secrets. Yasumi is actually Yumiko Sato, an outspoken gyaru. Yuhi is actually the shy and antisocial Chika Watanabe. And they kind of can’t stand each other.
As the two navigate stardom in their own ways, they butt head constantly behind the scenes. But they also both respect each other’s talent hugely. And in the rare moments they do get along, they really build each other up. How much further could they go if they just admitted they really do care about each other? Perhaps we’ll find out as the series goes on!
Now meet some of this season’s literal anime power couples!
