Lookalikes As you may have noticed at The Allen Schezar Project, I have a certain fondness for spotting resemblances between my favourite anime characters and other characters or real-life people. I can't muster quite as many for Dryden as for Allen, but there are still quite a few. This guy, of course, is not so much a lookalike as the probable inspiration for Dryden's appearance - the mighty John Winston Lennon, seen here circa the Let It Be sessions (I think - I'm dating this by the length of his hair). What can you say about John Lennon? I think in the end the only important thing to say is that he wrote and sang really, really good songs. And he was bloody funny. Picture from Working Class Hero. --- I didn't spot this one the first time I saw it, of course, because I watched Bram Stoker's Dracula well before The Vision of Escaflowne. It's Gary Oldman playing Count Dracula in his 'Prince Vlad' guise. Then I just thought 'Gee, nice John Lennon goes Victorian look, Vlad.' Not long ago the movie was on TV again and I watched it (being a sucker for any movie in which Cary Elwes fights gypsies on horseback wearing a top hat) and nearly fell out of my chair when he appeared in these duds for the first time, squeaking 'Dora! Dora!' (Umm... a little petname I have for him.) So if you've ever wondered how Dryden would look in a top hat and a frock-coat, wonder no more. I like the Look the woman in the background is giving him. She wants some. --- Moving on to anime lookalikes, here's Kaji Ryouji from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Kaji might be termed a lovable rogue; exasperating but ultimately endearing. But if you know how his story ends, you'll understand why I don't feel like saying much about him. Eva may be a masterwork, but I don't think I've ever seen anything that bummed me as much - and I've watched Serial Experiments Lain and read When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs. I really liked Kaji. *pout* As you can see, he's very Drydenesque, and rather sexy in a scruffy-looking-nerf-herder kind of way. --- Here's my favourite Dryden lookalike - Kumada Yuuichirou from Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon. In fact, the first time I mentioned Dryden on a webpage, it was the Lookalikes section of my old Yuuichirou shrine! Yuuichirou is an adorable doofus with a big heart. He's in love with Hino Rei, aka Sailor Mars, and became her grandfather's disciple at their Shinto shrine in order to stay near her. His love may or may not be unrequited - Rei's not saying. Focus: Yuuichirou & Rei is back up now, so you can see how the Déesse online madness all began. --- And a new guy! This is Watari, contributed by erysimum. He's from a manga series called Yami no matsuei. Erysimum says, 'Since "Yami" is a shoujo manga, Watari is waaaay more bishonen than Dryden ever gets. But he has the long curly hair and glasses, and is slowly un-bishing as the manga progresses. While he may lack chin stubble, Watari has a Dryden-esque personality. Yami no matsuei takes place in the bureaucracy of the world of the dead, where Watari is a detective (for all of the Kansai region, a pretty large area). However he also is the ministry's sole doctor and mad scientist (mad chemist?). His role seems to be to cheer up his super angsty friends when they get down, pick them up when they're hurt, and to occasionally smack some sense into them. He loves experimenting with new ideas, and briefs the others on missions they aren't familiar with ("Let's learn about cloning, class!"). Watari has a mystical power where he draws something, and it comes to life! Too bad he draws like a first grader... He's described by others as smart and fun to talk to.' She adds that his favourite food is pasta, and his owl (he has an owl! I love guys with owls!) is called 003. It can talk a little bit. This instantly makes 003 twice as cool as Allen's owl Natal. Muahahaha, I shall lure him into my den with a dish of spaghetti alla carbonara and ruin him for all other women. *pause* I'm sorry, that wasn't meant to be out loud. --- Here's still another Drydenoid. His name is Citan Uzuki and he's from Xenogears, of which I know just about nothing. My informant says: 'Citan's a very peaceful, friendly, and extremely intelligent man of 29. He's quite the scientist and likes tinkering around with gadgets (and occasionally blows things up, but who hasn't?)... He definitely looks like Dryden, if you ask me. He's a bit more bish than our dear Lord Fassa, but hardly your typical bishounen in any case. Like Dryden, he's got lovely hair and odd glasses, as well as an outfit that is vaguely reminiscent of his. But laid back and affable as he is, Citan's much more than he seems to be. Not that I'm going to say anything, of course. He's also allegedly a TERRIBLE cook, which is endearing in its own little way.' I think Citan is adorable and will give him cooking lessons any time. He has Nicholas Brendon eyebrows. Ahem. Thank you to Xel, who suggested him. She also offered a chap called Baofu from a game called 'Persona 2: Eternal Punishment,' which sounds cheerful. I just didn't like Baofu as much, although he has the same seiyuu as Folken, so he gets Coolness Points for that. But Citan gets his picture on my shrine. Ooh I want to play with that hair. --- Home