10 Best Simpsons Characters Who Debuted After The Golden Age
The Simpsons has a host of classic characters, but which newcomers can kick it with the very best?
The Simpsons has a huge, sprawling cast, with Springfield and its residents as important to the show as the family themselves. And while the vast majority of them showed up in the Golden Era, there have been some great additions even after Simpsons has had its day in the sun.
Like this list of 10 Golden Age Episodes That Foreshadowed Its Decline, the Golden Age is considered to stop at Season 9. That means the likes of Gil Gunderson, Cookie Kwan, and Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon just miss out, all debuting in Season 9 as the Golden Era closed. Some here follow hot on their heels just as the show hit the decline, while others have only appeared recently in the new HD Era.
Rather than looking at guest stars, this list examines all the characters who’ve added to the narrative of The Simpsons, and to the town itself. Therefore, each character needs to have featured in at least two episodes to qualify. They’ve each shaped the wider Simpsons story in some way shape or form, either by adding new depth to the town, developing existing characters, or in some cases, both.
10. Kumiko
Kumiko marries Comic Book Guy in the Season 25 episode Married To The Blob, then sticks around for some minor parts. The episode title is obviously a pop culture reference to the Michelle Pfeiffer movie Married To The Mob, but might also have been chosen to override any Google results bringing up their worst Treehouse Of Horror segment ever, which shares the same name.
That is easily Kumiko’s biggest role to date, although she has stuck around for later episodes too.
The Simpsons’ animation used to have a rough-around-the-edges quirkinesses to it, but post-Golden Age they’ve been smooth and whimsical. Lisa Goes Gaga, Flanders’ Ladder and Springfield Splendour are all evidence of one of the few ways the show has consistently improved. And the Studio Ghibli tribute in Kumiko’s debut was fantastic.
Future appearances have unfortunately been few and far between, but she has at least added depth to Comic Book Guy without changing his character. Considering they tend towards recycling old plots or resorting to out of character actions or wacky arcs, they could do a lot worse than building up Kumiko and Comic Book Guy some more.