Halloween is almost upon us, and you know what that means! It’s time to celebrate horror anime, scary movies, and evil villains galore — but what about characters who are Halloween on the outside, Valentine’s Day on the inside?

It turns out that some very scary characters aren’t really scary after all! Quite a few outwardly intimidating characters are actually “cinnamon rolls” — characters so sweet and squishy, you just want to pinch their cheeks and tell them how adorable they are. We’re here to celebrate these characters, so strap in as we show you just how sweet the following cinnamon rolls can be. ♥

Takuma Akutsu Just Wants to Study in “Val x Love”

A side-by-side image set depicting Takuma Akutsu from “Val x Love”; he is scary in the first image and adorably forlorn in the second.

Akutsu Takuma isn’t a bad dude, we swear. Those glowing red eyes and that ominous purple breath-mist are just the imaginings of his paranoid classmates! They look at his sharp teeth, scarred face and enormous muscles and assume the worst — to the point of jumping out of windows to get away from Takuma when they think he’s upset. After being isolated for a good chunk of his youth thanks to his scary face, all he wants is to be left alone so he can study. Poor guy is lonely as heck, so it’s a good thing the Valkyries have arrived to keep him company…

Fear Factor: 7/10 scared spitless classmates

Cinnamon Roll Rating: 9/10 blushing study buddies

Takeo Proves there’s Beauty within the Beast in “My Love Story!!”

A set of images depicting Takeo Goda from “My Love Story!!” He is intimidating in the first image and smiling, surrounded by sparkles, in the second.

Takeo Goda is big, tall and easily mistaken for an adult bodybuilder. People assume he’s a fight-picking menace, and when they see Takeo and his enormous muscles coming, they cross to the other side of the road to avoid him. Every girl he’s ever liked has turned him down, too, because of this misconception — but Rinko Yamato sees the soft, nougaty center beneath Takeo’s rock-hard abs and asks him out almost immediately. And she’s got great taste! This is a guy who will literally cry with joy over the girl he likes, who obsesses over sweet desserts, and who will do everything in his power to make his girlfriend happy. When it comes to cinnamon rolls, this sweetheart is top-tier.

Fear Factor: 8/10 rampaging grizzly bears

Cinnamon Roll Rating: 10/10 warm bear hugs

Igarashi Iroha Melts Our Hearts in “Real Girl”

Igarashi Iroha from “Real Girl” looking like an ice queen in the first image and warm and kind in the second.

Iroha isn’t a scary anime girl in the traditional sense. She doesn’t have giant muscles or shark teeth, and she doesn’t have any supernatural powers she uses to kick butt. Instead she’s got an ice-cold stare, the ability to say the meanest things at a moment’s notice, and is the type of person who keeps everyone at arm’s length — which means to her fellow high-schoolers, she’s very scary indeed. Once she opens up to her boyfriend Tsutsui, though? We see that she’s actually quite caring and kind, and we realize her ice-queen façade is just that: a mask she uses to protect her very tender heart.

Fear Factor: 6/10 icicles

Cinnamon Roll Rating: 8/10 cream cheese icing dollops

Bols Burns with Love for His Family in “Akame ga Kill!”

In this image set, Bols from “Akame ga Kill!” looks evil in the first image and is blushing in the second.

As far as scary characters go, Bols definitely takes the cake. Bols wears a mask that puts even Jason Voorhees’ to shame, striking fear into the hearts of the deadly fighters assembled to join the Jaegers. With a background on the Imperial Incineration Squad and some gnarly scars on his bare chest, it’s no wonder people recoil when he walks into a room. But if it’s his wife and daughter walking into the room? Bols melts into a gooey puddle of paternal affection and becomes a blushing mess. A guy who loves his family that freakin’ much can’t be all bad, right?

*watches the episode about Bols’ backstory*

Oh… oh no… !!!

Fear Factor: 10/10 flamethrowers for most people, but 0/10 for his doting wife and daughter

Cinnamon Roll Rating: 10/10 fluttering hearts (but ONLY for his friends and family)

Eiji Busujima Reveals His Soft Side in “Senryu Girl”

A set of images in which Eiji Busujima from “Senryu Girl” looks evil, then adorable.

Even when rocking a pair of pink bunny ears, poor Eiji’s delinquent look and unfortunate smile scare off everyone within a 200-meter radius. He can’t help that he was born this way (although his bleached delinquent hair isn’t doing him any favors). He can only attend meetings of the Senryu Poetry Club and hope that his love of poetry will help mend his reputation and make up for his bad boy looks. Luckily fellow club member Nanako knows that the real Eiji underneath the delinquent exterior is as sweet and squishy as they come! Since Nanako is the biggest cinnamon roll on planet earth, the fact that she’d vouch for Eiji’s cinnamon-roll-ness any day of the week speaks for itself.

Fear Factor: 6 of 10 evil bunnies (because of his face)

Cinnamon Roll Rating: fear not this young man, for he has earned a score of 8 of 10 poems

Majo Casts a Cinnamon-Roll Spell on Us in “Wasteful Days of High School Girls”

Majo from “Wasteful Days of High School Girls” looking murderous in one half of the image and adorable in the other.

Majo is… different. She’s into casting spells, predicting the future and pickling dead animals, and her overall “scary anime girl” aesthetic reflects these macabre interests. It’s no wonder her classmates are afraid of her — but if you’re willing to accept her friendship bracelets (that are made of her hair, natch) you’ll learn she’s the sweetest person in the entire cast of Wasteful Days of High School Girls. Her painfully shy nature keeps people from realizing what a great friend Majo can be, but once you crack her dark and ominous exterior, a soft and innocent young lady emerges from within. An innocent young lady who participates in blood magic, sure, but a sweetheart nevertheless!

Fear Factor: 7/10 frogs preserved in formaldehyde

Cinnamon Roll Rating: 10/10 friendship bracelets (again, made of her hair)

Scary Anime Characters? Heck No! They’re Cinnamon Rolls!

Do us a favor and draw a Venn diagram. Label one circle “scary” and the other circle “cinnamon roll.” Now paste pictures of the characters from the above article into the overlapping bit in the middle, because that’s exactly what they are: scary characters who are actually cinnamon rolls!

This Halloween season, we encourage you to look past appearances whenever you can. Whether it’s at work, at school or at a Halloween party, we hope you look beneath the monster masks and face paint to uncover the cinnamon rolls hiding within. Looks can be deceiving, after all, and sometimes a wicked exterior conceals a heart of gold. ♥

Want to see these scary-looking cinnamon rolls in action? Check out our 14-day free trial to get to know these characters for yourself!

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