Your Favourite Characters: New and Improved

Many would dismiss anime, cartoons, comic books and manga as being mostly child's fare. But those who are in the know are well aware that just like any good story-telling medium these formats are filled with engaging stories and, my personal favourite part of of any story, rich characters.

Share your favourite characters from any of the appropriate media here. Giving a few words as to why is strongly encouraged!

Winnie the Pooh - Little bastard is cute, funny, innocent, silly, fuzzy and wuzzy, and the perfect role model.

Love the silly old bear too much.

Kiki, Kiki's Delivery Service. Perhaps an odd choice, but I've always liked the protagonists of Miyazaki's films, and Kiki is, I think, one of the most..."real" ones. She's a little girl striking out on her own, and finding out that the world can be a hard place. But, as with all of Miyazaki's female heroes, she doesn't give in easily, and is quick to find to good side to a problem. She's charming, energetic, and very, very, human.


Spike, Cowboy Bebop. Oh sure, he's cliche to the core (as is the entire Bebop crew, with the exception of Ed, who lacks any real depth) but he effortlessly steals every scene he's in, but is still hard to grow tired of or annoyed with. He has a hidden depth, but hides his hurt behind a facade of uncaring cheerfulness. Cliche, but great to watch.


Roy Mustang, Fullmetal Alchemist. Sure, FMA had it's problems (too many attempts at overly-juvenile humour being the main one) but I just like the character of Roy Mustang. He's reasonably cheerful most of the time, all the while also being serious and scheming. He's also one of the characters with the most depth in the anime. The protagonist brothers get (obviously) more screen time and development, but I don't wonder if Roy couldn't have driven his own story.

Armstrong, from the same show, gets an honourable mention for being so over-the-top hilarious that I looked forward to every scene he was in. He's not subtle. He's not mature. But when a man can, essentially, argue that his muscles are too awesome to belong to a traitor and have it work, you know you've got a special sort of character.


Dr. Allison Mann, Y: The Last Man. Perhaps an odd choice from this series. Yorick is the obvious choice, since much of the books focus on his growth as a person, but I found him too over-the-top, oddly enough. I could empathize with him, but I found it difficult to really connect, since in many ways he was too..."Hollywood", I suppose. Dr. Mann is, if anything, more cliche still, but I found her character arc far more interesting. Her past is far more troubled than Yorick's, and she goes through her share of trauma and turmoil as the books go on, and I found several times that I was more concerned with what was going on with her than with Yorick.


Hiroko Asahina, RahXephon. A side-character at best, showing up in four (maybe six, depending if a hallucination and the finale truly count) episodes of a 26 episode series, and being utterly stereotypical and cliche for three (four) of them, but in the two episode where she gets the spotlight she leaves an indelible impression on the viewer. Her character isn't particularly deep, she's the childhood friend of the protagonist, and also his best friend's girlfriend. However, she eventually realizes that things don't make sense, and starts trying to figure things out. What she finds out changes the way she treats everyone, and this personality shift ultimately leads to one of the most tragic scenes in any anime I have ever watched.

Perhaps she shouldn't be mentioned here, since the character without the spotlight episode would be utterly unremarkable, and it's not really anything she does that makes her memorable, but I have a very hard time forgetting her, so I think she qualifies for such a list. Especially in a show that, alas, lacks many truly realistic characters.

Rorschach Watchmen- If you've read the comic, you'll know why. But, to those who haven't, when you read it, it feels as if he is the narrator, despite him being a "lunatic", much people who've read the comic, their favorite character is Rorschach, he is just so, unique, like, what Batman in the real world. When he dies, you feel for the character, I really can't explain why I like him so much, you just have to read it.


Same with the Comedian and some other people from Watchmen.



I'll write other characters...later.

Eddy from Ed Edd n Eddy: Many things draw me to loving this character. It could be all of his not-so-clever, but surely original, manipulations/scams to trick the other characters to feed his lust of money. Or, perhaps, it is because he may be "too cool to learn from his mistakes." Either way, his ultimate goal to get jaw breackers is lived through his countless usual failures to do so. I got to say that one of my favorite quotes from Ed Edd n Eddy has to be: (Direct quote)

Edd: Eddy, how wrong can you be in this most wonderful time of the year? Reconsider you actions!

Ed: What is it to be young man, naughty or nice?

Eddy: I'm the one who gave willingly from his heart, back off... the sack's mine!

Barry from the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl anime. lol he makes me laugh so hard. He's just like he is in the games. Impatient, can't sit still, hot-headed, and wants to be the strongest trainer of all time. He's not your average Pokemon rival either. He doesn't appear right at the beginning like Gary or Paul. Nor is Barry a jerk like them. He also has tough Pokemon right at his first appearance. I mean he has an Empoleon, Heracross, Roserade, Staraptor...all seemed tougher than any of Paul's Pokemon, only Barry needs to learn to battle like Ash lol. He also looks and sounds older than the average Pokemon rival, who normally is around the same age as Ash. Barry looks and sounds more like a teenager than a 10-12 year old like Dawn and Ash. He's quite unique, the guy. He became my favorite character quickly. Dawn is a close second.

Oh yeah, I can't forget Yugi and Joey out of Yu-Gi-Oh. Yugi is just plain awesome while Joey is simply hilarious. Oh yeah, Duke and Tristan are also funny when they fight over Joey's sister. lol

Honorable Mentions:
- Double D/Edd (Ed, Edd, and Eddy)
- Scooby Doo
- Shaggy (Scooby Doo)
- Fred (Scooby Doo)
- SpongeBob Squarepants
- Squidward (SpongeBob)
- Danny Phantom
- Daffy Duck (Looney Tunes)
- Yosimite Sam (Looney Tunes)
- Elmer Fudd (Looney Tunes)
- Flash (Justice League)
- Hawkgirl (Justice League)
- Fin (Storm Hawks)
- Rowdyruff Boys (Powerpuff Girls)
- Tom (Tom and Jerry)
- Jerry (Tom and Jerry)
- Butch (Tom and Jerry)
- Muscles (Tom and Jerry)

That is all.

Originally Posted by Wolf O'Donnell

Rorschach Watchmen- If you've read the comic, you'll know why. But, to those who haven't, when you read it, it feels as if he is the narrator,

An effect no-doubt heightened by the fact that, for the opening chapter, he is the narrator.

despite him being a "lunatic", much people who've read the comic, their favorite character is Rorschach, he is just so, unique, like, what Batman in the real world. When he dies, you feel for the character, I really can't explain why I like him so much, you just have to read it.

I must confess to not liking Rorschach. He's brutal, unsympathetic, manipulative, hypocritical (Most will disagree here, arguing that his strongest character trait is that he has standards and never breaks them, but he does break them, surprisingly often, he just doesn't seem to notice.), and in many ways the worst aspects of any character thrown together.

He gets a few awesome scenes, no argument here, but I found him very hard to like, understand, or appreciate.

Ozymandias, now...

Same with the Comedian and some other people from Watchmen.

Heh, I'd have to say that I find the Comedian to have all the problems that made me dislike Rorschach, only in some ways worse because he doesn't even pretend to have an excuse.

Rorschach slowly decayed into the monster he ends up as. The Comedian, as far as the comic tells us, was that way from birth, and enjoys it to no end.

Ozymandias, I liked him as well, but, you know, he tried to save the world by planting that bomb, it worked, until he gets uncovered by the evidence that Rorschach sent to the media.

If that uncovers him, it's far from certain.

His plan probably is, ultimately, untenable, and he's certainly manipulative in the extreme, but I find him far more likable than Rorschach.

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Manga: Although most of the characters are wildly amusing, I rather like Chiri Kitsu (Methodical and Precise Girl). She's easily annoyed! She parts her hair exactly in the middle! And the cake should always be cut to exact proportions to match the number of guests!



I'll admit it: she's got OCD.

Maes Huges (FMA): He was probobly the smartest guy in the show. He was also sneakyand cunning when he needed to be.....and when he wasn't shoveing pictures of his family in your face and being so funny.

I almost cried when he died

Arthur, he has an awesome show and he is an aardvark with a dog.

Carnage (Kletus Kassey) - Spider-Man
Venom (Eddie Brock) - Spider-Man
The Joker - Batman
Green Goblin - Spider-Man
Ryouko Asakura - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Dr. Tomoe - Sailor Moon S
Rosarch - Watchmen

Why do I like these cast of colorful characters? Because, they're all ☭☭☭☭ed up in the mother ☭☭☭☭in' head!

My favorite cartoon character is Harley Quinn, as she appears in Batman the Animated series... but she wouldn't be much without the Joker, so I guess he gets the credit for being my favorite instead. He's the only "Serious" villain that you don't have to take so seriously, because he's a freakin' clown, and everything he does is a joke. This was nearly lost in the newest movie but thankfully he's still great there too.

But truly the version I love most is the animated version, voiced by Mark Hamil.

Goku - Dragonball/Z/GT:
Goku was my favorite hero growing up. I used to watch DBZ all the time and I always thought that Goku was so cool cause he could always save the world. He was also cool because he was very strong, and could go into 4 different forms of Super Saiyan, and they all looked cool. He could do the coolest things like the Kamehameha Wave, Spirit Bomb, and the Dragon Fist, among others. And he always taught us importants lessons like to never give up, don't ever stop believing. He was a hero of an awesome TV franchise, very entertaining, and inspired kids to be just like him; To never give up. He was the coolest and kindest role model ever. I still watch DBZ to this very day. My favorite TV show ever.

I want to say that Kenshin Himura is my favorite character of all time, but that really depends on the mood I'm in. Rurouni Kenshin was the first anime I watched, and I was about seven or eight when I watched it. I adore the OVAs and when I saw them I really connected with his character. He is silly, kind hearted, and seems like a normal guy--but he had a dark past. He took his dark past and didn't allow himself to be haunted by it and I really respect that.

Yusuke Urameshi is tied with him though. While the guy is a bit of a delinquent, I've never had a character I could see eye to eye with before. Obviously him and I have different personalities but I can see where he's coming from at all times. He's really something else. He's one of the few characters I've seen who can look cartoonish but be so "real" at the same time. There are kids like him out there. A lot of Anime characters seem to be nothing like people in real life, and he is very much like people in real life (though less suppressed). I respect that.

Utena from Utena. I love her so much. different, unique , and strong she is everything I like about anything for the most part.

Beatrice from Umineko no Naku Koro Ni.

Seriously demented 1000 year old witch who continuously torments a guy because he refuses to believe in magic. She kills all members of his family numerous times and brings him to the mental edge. And.. EP3 of the VN/EP18 of the anime.

"Sign the paper, Battler."

What's not to love?

(we also share the same name, which is neat)

Zim - Invader Zim: Arrogant and selfish, he belives himself to be the Invader of the Irken Empire. But the truth is... he's a total moron. You gotta love all of his intents to destroy and conquest Earth and how, in the most inimaginables and surreal forms, he fails.

Roland Deschain of Gilead - The Dark Tower: A sad man alone in the world looking for a mysterious Tower that will fix all the problems of his home. His tragic past (god, the end of Wizard and Glass) makes him unlikeable at times, but deep in general.

Travis Touchdown - No More Heroes: Ok, a otaku who buy a weird laser sword and uses it against 10 maniacs with the only purpose of be the Number One and bang the hot (HOT) Silvia Christel... yes, impossible to not like him.

Harman Smith - Killer7: A 65-year old assassin who can transform into another 7 killers used by the US goverment to stop Kun Lan, his friend/rival. Oh, and he is the incarnation of a God Killer. And he is younger when... forget it. I don't understand anything after the fourth act.

Madotsuki - Yume Nikki: A girl who dreams bizarre landscapes and dies. UBOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Topping the list of my favorite characters is probably... XD

• Lelouch vi Britannia - Intelligent, charismatic, and ambitious, Lelouch vi Britannia, living under the pseudonym of Lelouch Lamperouge, is the fallen prince to the Holy Britannian Empire in an alternate history where England was defeated by Napoleon and moved to the Americas, where "Washington's Rebellion" (read: American War for Independence) failed. With their mother, a former Empress, killed, and him and his beloved sister left for dead after the Empire invaded Japan - where they had been sent as political hostages - for the island's natural resources, Lelouch is essentially a Byronic hero, anime's answer for an underage Edmond Dantes, the Count of Monte Cristo. With his alter ego being Zero, a masked vigilante with superior intelligence against the vast majority of his enemies, Zero uses his charisma, his intelligence, his theatrical ability to conjure a victory beyond the impossible, and his ruthless quest for results to garner the support of resistance cells throughout a conquered and oppressed Japan, all in an effort to bring vengeance upon those responsible for his mother's death, and create a world where his traumatized younger sister can live in peace. Lelouch is notable for being deep in the anti-hero scale, where many would call him a villain protagonist. Despite the fact that the show is centered on him and he is given many sympathetic moments, he shows no lack of ruthlessness and cruelty famous amongst villains; he is all too willing to discard subordinates no longer useful to him, tolerate civilian casualties in a paramilitary operation, and - at the extreme end of the scale when he goes into despair at the death of a loved one - condones mass murder.