Considering that many anime have unique settings — and unique characters to go along with them — it's no surprise to fans that there are some careers in those anime worlds that are far from regular 9-to-5 gigs. Some jobs couldn't even exist if it wasn't for the specific worldbuilding in their settings.
From Menchi's culinary expertise as a Gourmet Hunter to Yoshino promoting local tourism in a small town, these anime characters have some fairly atypical jobs. Some of these jobs are peaceful, like ferrying people in gondolas, but others are much more dangerous, like fighting giant monsters and tracking down criminals for cash.
10 Menchi Is A Gourmet Hunter In Hunter X Hunter
Menchi was introduced in Hunter X Hunter's Hunter Exam arc where she, along with fellow Gourmet Hunter Buhara, challenge the examinees to cook tasty dishes for them. Gourmet Hunters travel the world in search of rare ingredients and foodstuffs, and they're also great connoisseurs of culinary techniques.
Hunters like Menchi and Buhara have well-developed palates from trying the many new dishes they either create or discover along the way. This is a key element in her and Buhara's section of the examination, because the Hunters must appease their demanding appetites. Despite passing Buhara's section of the exam, all of them, including the main character Gon and his friends, initially end up failing Menchi's section despite their best efforts.
9 Eren Yeager Fights Titans In Attack On Titan
The world of Attack on Titan is strange enough with giant Titans that could eat anyone whole. However, being part of the military that specifically fights these monsters is even stranger — and incredibly life-threatening. As part of the Survey Corps, Eren's job mainly consists of fighting Titans that could threaten civilians. Considering how frail the humans are when compared to the Titans, this duty is far from easy. Many soldiers end up getting eaten or mutilated in the process, and Eren is lucky to survive as far as he does while on duty.
8 Akari Ferries People Around Town In Aria: The Animation
In Aria: The Animation, the main setting of the anime is a city that resembles a location in real life; fans think it's likely based off Venice, Italy. Akari, one of the main characters, has to ferry people from place to place in a gondola. It's a peaceful job, especially when compared with globetrotting to search for rare foods in Hunter X Hunter or fighting Titans, but it's not a typical job that most people would do on a daily basis. Many fans who watched the anime, however, wish that they had a job like Akari's.
7 Yoshino Promotes Local Tourism In Sakura Quest
In Sakura Quest, the protagonist Yoshino receives a part-time offer to be the "Queen of the Chupakabura Kingdom," which is a mini-attraction in the small town of Manoyama. Even though it's later revealed that she received the offer by mistake, she decides to take on the role anyway and help the Board of Tourism revitalize Manoyama by enacting projects to highlight the local culture. Fans enjoyed watching her grow, both as a person and in her knowledge of Manoyama's culture and specialties, as well as learning a bit about Manoyama themselves.
6 Mitsuya Becomes A Dictionary Editor In The Great Passage
Being an editor sounds typical, but specifically being a dictionary editor is less ordinary. Protagonist Mitsuya ends up taking this position in The Great Passage after Kouhei, who's retiring, offers him the job. Mitsuya struggles at first, but he perseveres in the surprisingly hard job to later become the chief editor of the Dictionary Editorial Department. His perseverance, as well as his attachment to words, helped him grow as an editor, and even as a person, throughout the series.
5 Cilan The Pokémon Connoisseur Traveled With Ash In The Anime
There are many odd jobs in the Pokémon anime, but Cilan the Pokémon Connoisseur might have one of the most unique jobs out there, even out of all of the important people who aren't trainers. Even though he's a Gym Leader, the anime focused more on his role as a Pokémon Connoisseur.
Pokémon Connoisseurs specifically devote themselves to identifying the compatibilities between Pokémon trainers and their teams. If one wanted to see if they were a great match with their Pokémon, whether in battle or out of it, seeking out a Connoisseur like Cilan would be a great way to find out.
4 Gene Runs A Spaceship In Outlaw Star
In Outlaw Star, Gene and his friend Jim initially ran a jack-of-all-trades business, but they end up acquiring a spaceship called the XGP15A-II, which they nickname the Outlaw Star. As the leader of the ship, Gene guides the ship in its search for the Galactic Leyline, which is said to hold a lot of treasure, power, and knowledge.
However, the journey is far from easy; there are space pirates constantly threatening them, the crew has to take on odd jobs to keep up with the ship's massive maintenance costs, and traveling through space itself is fairly dangerous as-is. However, Gene and his crew do their best to survive and make what fortunes they can along the way, and there's never a dull moment in the anime.
3 Spike Is A Bounty Hunter In Cowboy Bebop
In Cowboy Bebop, Spike is one of many contracted bounty hunters, known as "Cowboys," who track down criminals and bring them alive in return for a reward.
It's a dangerous job, considering that the entire purpose is hunting down dangerous individuals without killing them in the process, but Spike gets the job done easily with his own combat prowess and other handy skills. Many fans liken him to Samus from Metroid, considering that she's also a successful bounty hunter.
2 Ai Literally Retrieves Souls In Hell Girl
Ai, the protagonist of the anime Hell Girl, has to literally drag people into Hell. She does this by offering clients a doll with a red string, meant to represent their intended target of hatred. If they want to send that person to Hell, all they have to do is pull the red string and Ai will get to work for them. However, there's a catch: the clients themselves are marked by this action and will be dragged to Hell when they die. Some fans considered the job to be fairly deadly and not something they'd want to get into in the first place, no matter how cool it seems.
1 Miki Manages An Idol Group Of Living Statues In Sekkou Boys
Miki manages an idol group, which initially sounds normal. However, the idols in this group are made out of living statues. This results in Miki having to literally pick them up and carry them wherever the group needs to go, and consequentially gives her a lot of lower back strain and other possible brutal injuries. Additionally, she has to manage the group's romantic and personal lives, which is complicated considering their stony states.