T5W#405-Top 5 Messed Up Moms in Anime

This past Sunday was Mothers Day, a day to celebrate the amazing women who brought us into the world and have been some of our biggest supporters in life.  While the world of Anime has plenty of amazing and kick ass role models who range from nurturing to those who jump right into the heart of the fire to protect their kids, Anime is Anime so there are plenty of Moms who are demented and messed up beyond belief.  World Domination, over inflated egos, or really, just plain nasty, some of these maternal figures have headlined their stories as the main baddies…and in some cases worse than that.  On today’s Top 5 Wednesday, I’m looking at the Top 5 Messed Up Moms in Anime, aka the ones who shouldn’t get such heartfelt shoutouts on Mothers Day.

 
#5-Delia Ketchum (Pokemon)

I debated putting Ash’s Mom on this list but the argument has been there for decades.  After all, this lady let her 10 year old son venture out into the world alone without supervision or support to somehow survive in a world that by normal standards would tear him to pieces within a few days.  Ash has gone on to battle vicious young and Adult rivals with vicious Pokemon and constantly throw down with what amounts to a terrorist organization on a frequent basis.  Ash’s Mom?  She’s just chilling at home with Mr. Mime and allegedly getting it on with Professor Oak.  Is she supportive during his championship matches?  Sure.  But Mother of the Year, definitely not.
 

#4-Shiho Nishizumi (Girls und Panzer)

Some mothers take the promising careers of their children way too seriously.  And then there’s Shiho Nishizumi, mother of Girls und Panzer’s lead heroine, Miho.  This lady doesn’t just take the sport of Tankery deadly serious, she’s truly dead serious.  What do I mean?  The woman disowned Miho after the young Tankery prodigy sacrificed victory so she could rescue her teammates from a tank that had fallen into a river, you know to save them from drowning.  Apparently this was such a dishonor that Shiho does her best to ignore the fact that Miho even exists and pins all her hopes and dreams on her family’s successful Tankery legacy on her other daughter, Maho.  This is supposed to be a school sport (questionable but still) but Shiho is of the old adage that “Victory is Life”, no matter the cost apparently.
 

#3-Marianne Vi Britannia (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion)

The thing about Marianne is up until we’re revealed otherwise, she’s shown as the ultimate driving force in her sons crusade against Britannia (alongside his sister Nunally).  However, before Code Geass enters its epic final act, we learn that Marianne is no better than her jerk of a husband, the King of Britannia.  Turns out, she faked her own death to fuel Lelouch’s motivations and push him towards her own world resetting plans.  She can claim all she wants that she and her husband did this for a better future for their children.  But anyone with a sane mind knows otherwise and it isn’t so much heartbreaking as it is plenty satisfying when Lelouch tells Mommy Dearest he’s tired of her crap and eliminates her from existence.

 
#2-Ragyo Kiriyuin (Kill La Kill)

This towering Goddess might be a Queen of fashion but that hardly masks her maniacal and twisted side.  Ragyo has nothing but contempt for the Human Race and seeks to mold them in her image using the Life Fibers.  She’s also got no qualms about tossing one of her daughters out like a tiny garbage bag because she feels she’s defective in some way.  Argubaly worse is her relationship with her other daughter, Satsuki.  Anyone who’s watched Kill La Kill is well aware of a particular bathing scene that is an absolute NO NO RED ALERT moment.  Her costumes might be some of the flashiest in the series and in Anime in general, but Ragyo isn’t a heavenly queen but a Queen of the Devils.

#1-Prospera Mercury (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury)

The Witch from Mercury has become one of the most talked about entries in the Gundam franchise for a variety of reasons and near the top with Suletta and Miroine is Suletta’s Char Clone Mother, Prosepera.  We’ve seen the womans tragic backstory in the Prologue episode but the road to vengeance has taken Prospera down a seriously dark path.  To list exactly what she has done to achieve her demented goals would spoil some of the most WTF moments in The Witch from Mercury so far.  But if you have been watching, this Mother of the Year still believes she is the Heroine of her own tale and is the Queen of guilt trips.  After all, if Suletta admits that she’ll do anything her mother says, and we mean ANYTHING…that’s not what you’d call a healthy Mother/Daughter relationship.