The power of friendship is just as strong between an anime hero and their creature companion as it is with their human friends. Dogs and cats tend to be the first things most people think of with the words “beloved pets,” and often they are important in anime as well. However, anything can be their loyal partner.
Sometimes, this creature is kept as a pet by the hero. Often, they’ll accompany and help them in their work or adventures. However, just as often the creature will be sentient, just as smart or even smarter than their human companions, and an invaluable member of the team. The best creature companions in anime are a varied bunch, but each perfectly fits the series and hero they belong to.
10 Haru - My Roommate Is A Cat
One of the best cat companions in anime is this scrappy little stray who meets her human Subaru by chance. Haru spent her entire life struggling on the streets to keep herself and her orphaned littermates alive. Once she finds a home with Subaru, she slowly but steadily learns what it is to be loved and cared for. As baffled as Haru is by Subaru’s inexperienced but genuine attempts to be a good pet owner, her eldest sibling instincts kick in for him, too. When he’s so busy he forgets to eat, she won’t leave him alone until he does. Haru’s presence improves Subaru's life so much that the ghosts of his parents manifest to thank her personally.
9 Shooter - Durarara!!
He can look like a regular motorcycle. But Shooter is a cóiste bodhar (“silent coach” in Irish), the herald of death driven by dullahan like Celty. Back in the day, Shooter was the supernaturally powered result of Celty melding a dead horse with a wrecked carriage, and he carried her around the countryside as she warned humans of impending doom.
In Ikebukuro, Shooter has adapted to more modern tastes. As a sleek black motorcycle, Celty can not only ride him around town outrunning police bikes, but fight as well, smacking opponents around with his tires just as handily as a horse’s hooves could. Shooter can also revert back to horse-and-carriage form, as shown when Celty needs to give Mikado and Anri a ride.
8 Yakul - Princess Mononoke
Among the massive and magical creatures of Princess Mononoke, Yakul could easily have ended up overwhelmed. However, this red elk is not one to be outclassed. He loyally carries his human, Ashitaka, across Japan on his journey, never showing an ounce of fear even when in the middle of a battlefield or escaping from giant demons.
While he doesn't speak, he shows the same love for Ashitaka that San’s wolf brothers do for her, never leaving his side when he’s hurt and unconscious. It’s Yakul's good word that helps San start to warm up to him. He's implied to be smarter or at least have sharper instincts than the average animal, knowing better than to set hoof on the Deer God’s island.
7 Bond - Spy x Family
Bond fits in right away with the Forger family, becoming one of the best canine companions in anime. This Great Pyrenees-looking fellow was once the subject of cruel military experiments and then bought by terrorists as a bomb dog. Before the Forgers, he was used and abused by everyone who had him on their leash, and he is eager to pay his new family’s love and care back in full.
Bond is not only super-intelligent but has regular visions of the future. Much like the telepathic Anya, these powers are often hindered by the fact that Bond is a dog, with a dog’s understanding of the world. While he would prefer lying around on the living room floor, he is always ready to carry Anya away from danger and help Loid out when there’s spying to be done (and Yor’s cooking to avoid).
6 Xiao Mei - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Black Hayate also ranks high among the best canine companions in anime, and the other dog in this show belongs to a different category entirely. May Chang’s pet panda, Xiao Mei, fills in as another capable creature companion for the heroes. Found abandoned when she was even smaller, she is raised lovingly by May and becomes her sole companion as she journeys across the desert.
Xiao Mei’s name means “little sister,” and she certainly acts like one. She’s often seen riding on May Chang’s shoulder and mimicking her movements. While she isn’t as skilled in martial arts, she’ll bite the heck out of anyone she sees as a threat to her or May, and is even shown to have some skill in alkahestry she can use to heal injuries.
5 Tony Tony Chopper - One Piece
Don’t let his paltry bounty fool you: Chopper is just as much an asset to his crew as any of his human friends. All of the other reindeer ostracized him from the herd for his blue nose (as reindeer seem wont to do), and after eating Devil Fruit and gaining sentience, both humans and reindeer wanted nothing to do with him. Only the doctors who taught him medicine showed him any kindness.
At first, Chopper is insecure about his status as an intelligent animal and tries very hard to be more human. But he comes to fully own his status as a “monster” that can help Luffy and his other crewmates. And help he does: not only is Chopper a trained and dedicated doctor, but with his invention, the Rumble Balls, he can back his friends up in combat by entering his Monster Form.
4 Shikigami - Jujutsu Kaisen
Traditionally, witches and sorcerers have animal familiars to help them in their work. Jujutsu sorcerers are no different: many have the ability to summon shikigami into battle with them with the aid of sufficient cursed energy and the right talisman. Though shikigami s are considered primarily ranged fighters, weak in close combat, the wide variety of creatures to summon makes up for that.
Thanks to his Zen’in blood, Megumi Fushiguro is able to use the Ten Shadows Technique, allowing him to summon up to ten shikigami where the average sorcerer can only summon one. This allows him to use several different elements and types of creature at once, though at the end of the day, he prefers his Divine Dogs, twin wolves that are ferocious in battle but friendly to Megumi and his teammates.
3 Foo Fighters - JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Plankton may be very tiny creatures, but they are living creatures. The zooplankton that comprise Foo Fighters start out as simple animals that developed a Stand, possessing the body of a dead prisoner to attain human form. But after Jolyne teaches them loyalty and friendship, they become fast friends.
While Foo Fighters’ unusual anatomy makes them dependent on constant hydration to live, they are also able to use it to attack, soak up damage, and quickly heal their and others’ injuries. Once they get a taste of human individuality, they start to defend their identity fiercely, for instance getting furious when people won’t use their name. When they ultimately sacrifice themselves to save Jolyne, they urge her not to bring them back: whatever is resurrected with the disc will be a new Foo Fighters, but it won’t be them.
2 Pokémon - Pokémon
The bright and beloved characters that started the modern creature companions boom, Pokémon remains one of the longest-running anime of all time. It’s the friendship between humans and Pokémon that keeps their world running smoothly. When a villain threatens that equilibrium, be they human or Pokémon, it’s human-Pokémon teams that intervene and restore peace.
Many later shows implemented the same “young protagonists with personalized creature companions” formula, such as Digimon, Bakugan, and even the much less child-friendly Narutaru. However, Pokémon remains the prevailing classic: with hundreds upon hundreds of different creatures to ire and befriend, all of them are someone’s favorite. Pokémon compete alongside Trainers and Coordinators, help their humans with work, and are happy to simply exist alongside them as friends.
1 Akamaru - Naruto
Naruto has no shortage of great animal companions, but the blue ribbon goes to the dogs of the Inuzuka clan. These good boys and girls are the lifelong companions of their humans, never seen without one another. They’re not only best friends, but irreplaceable partners in battle as well.
Like the rest of his family, Kiba’s attacks rely on working in tandem with Akamaru. From Kiba using his dog to hunt down a target with his keen sense of smell, to Akamaru transforming into a clone of Kiba to deliver combination attacks, the two are a force to be reckoned with. As a puppy, Kiba often let Akamaru ride around in his hood, and when he grows up, Akamaru returns the favor by letting Kiba ride him around like a horse.
Anime heroes befriend many different creatures as they embark on their journeys. Whether these incredible anime creature companions have special or magical abilities to aid them in battle or simply have friendship and loyalty to offer, they are as invaluable as any human best friend.
