Kotomi in Clannad. Sure, she may be a little... out there... but she's also effortlessly among the top ten students for the entire country. And hey, everything makes sense for her how she does, and it works, right?
Saints Row The Third: The Mayor of Steelport is often stated to be the only person capable of keeping a city of rampant gang violence, homicidal maniacs running wild and hosting game shows, and general insanity functioning with any kind of stability or sanity. He is also Burt Reynolds, and still loves going out and solving violent disputes personally
Ace Attorney is filled with eccentric lawyers. Phoenix and Edgeworth love to do the finger-pointing thing, Franziska von Karma has her trusty whip, her father Manfred's nigh-ludicrous obsession with perfection (to the point of highlighting it by making his ATM PIN '0001' because he sees himself as number one - and citing this as evidence during a trial) and the Geordi LaForge-masked Godot can't go a single case without drinking exactly 17 cups of coffee a day (and gets away with calling himself undefeated - because this is his first case). Despite these quirks, they're all said to be the best at what they do. Case 5 of the original game introduces a plethora of eccentric police officers to join the scruffy, dim-but-loveable Dick Gumshoe, from klutzy rookie Mike Meekins to literal Cowboy Cop Jake Marshall.
No character here quite out-eccentrics the Judge, who is famously reliable in passing fair judgements in spite of being more than a bit of a Cloudcuckoolander who will misunderstand basically anything, to the point of Franziska's plan of showing him an illegally-taken photo as vital evidence to make her case (evidence which could just as easily have been turned to Wright's favor) fails - because he just doesn't get the point she's coming across with. At all. Until the next year, when Phoenix successfully uses it in a related case.
The fourth game gives us Apollo Justice, who stays up until 5 in the morning doing voice training so that he can yell '''OBJECTION''' more impressively, carefully gels his hair every day in a way that makes it look like insect antennae, and gets the truth out of witnesses by using a bracelet that enables him to mentally zoom in on them and dramatically point out their nervous habits. Then there's Klavier Gavin, prosecutor and renowned rock musician, who peppers his speech with random German words and performs air guitar in the middle of trials. Spark Brushel is also worth a mention, being an investigative journalist who seems genuinely knowledgeable despite seemingly never listening to anything anyone tells him, eating far too many breath mints, and indulging in overly-complicated metaphors.
And in the fifth we have Shi-Long Lang, an Interpol officer who is really damn good at his job despite having an odd fascination with acting like a wolf, to the point of howling when upset.
One case in Justice For All shows us the Berry Big Circus, which is a circus of bunny-ears performers. There's the campy and effeminate magician Maximillion Galactica. We also have the ridiculously innocent animal tamer Regina. Then there's Moe the Clown who has a Motor Mouth and keeps laughing at his own (bad) jokes. But ventriloquist Benjamin Woodman probably takes the cake, his puppet Trilo Quist had his very own personality who keeps badmouthing Ben himself. When said puppet was taken away, he couldn't even form a single word.
The theme for talking to people without their own theme in Justice for All-on is actually called "Eccentric".
Since Ghost Trick has the same developer, it's expected that it also has a few bunny ears. Inspector Cabanela stands out as a special investigator with a spotless record and intense ambition to climb his way to the top. He also dances everywhere he goes, including down the stairs.
Excellen Browning from Super Robot Wars is a goofy, flirtatious woman who insists upon being called "Big Sister" rather than "Ensign", and has on more than one occasion donned a Playboy Bunny-style costume to raise her teammates' morale. She also happens to be an exceptional mecha pilot and an insanely good sniper, as well as part of one of the most respected and feared teams in the SRW universe.
Heck, this trope applies to most of the cast. Among the most dangerous pilots in the group are an amazingly talented mercenary and battleship captain who's convinced that his Paper-Thin Disguise has everyone in the world fooled, a German samurai with a penchant for In the Name of the Moon speeches, an Ascended Fanboy at the controls of the most dangerous war machine on Earth, and a 14-year-old girl in a maid costume. Don't forget the CO who ORDERED said 14-year-old girl to wear a maid outfit. And is apparently a butler, and dresses like one. Also, don't forget the amount of ex-enemy officers.
Sean Webley is just an old perv. Plus there's also the Inspectors - Aguija, Mekibos, Vigagi, Sikalog, and their real boss, Wendolo.
The only OG character who doesn't have shades of this is Russel Bagman, who's easily the most "Normal" member of the team. Ironically, this makes him stand out to many fans.
There's also a subversion or inversion of Crazy Awesome going on here as well, as the game is set on an Indian Burial Ground stated to mentally destabilize everybody in its vicinity. The sufficiently curious will discover that all of the kids (including the protagonist) have serious problems (many aren't far from homicidal or suicidal behavior), and that the adults may even have accumulated more (over their longer lives). Their competence, power, and control are the reason why they're Bunny Ears Lawyers: the available alternatives are far worse. As demonstrated by the game's plot.
Well actually, psiantium is supposed to make normal people crazy, but actually makes psychics' powers stronger. Which is why Ford can keep his mind together in the mine, but falls victim to his various personae elsewhere in the camp.
Jodie Foster of Metal Wolf Chaos enjoys watching soldiers getting slaughtered by her boss's Humongous Mecha a little too much, and apparently spends her spare time wondering about how various buildings would look if they were destroyed, and somehow managed to become secretary to the President of the United States. Although considering what President Michael Wilson gets up to, Jodie probably looks like an icon of sanity by comparision.
The Mission Control of Metal Gear Solid 3 contains an overtalkative genius physician who chatters endlessly about her favourite B-movies, a James Bond fanboy Major with an obsession with his own Britishness and a thing for the paranormal, and a brilliant technician who makes useless objects because they 'look cool' and considers a human catapault a valid weapons development project (and harbours a complex about being the only normal person there). In Portable Ops, they start a UFO club. But they are frighteningly competent at throwing the entire world into a long and bitter war.
Hal Emmerich is a brilliant engineer who designed Metal Gear, and also happens to be a massive Otaku. Ocelot is a ridiculously superb marksman and the series' resident Magnificent Bastard who is also unhealthily obssessed with his revolvers and Big Boss. Even Snake himself, a formidable warrior by anyone's assessment, has his tendency for meaningless philosophical ramblings and a rather disturbing relationship with The Box(TM). It's also implied he loves trashy action movies and women's figure skating, he's a fan of dog-sledding, and one of the Japanese-only supplemental material guides revealed that his favourite food is blueberries.
Empress Sanaki of the Fire Emblem Tellius games is a Bunny Ears Royal. In Path of Radiance, most of her early interactions with the protagonists involve her jerking them around and forcing them to learn for themselves what's going on instead of just telling them what's up simply because she was bored. Three years later in the sequel, we see her commandeering the King of Kilvas to carry her onto the battlefield because she couldn't bear not knowing what was going on, then later learns that he's bound by a blood pact to the Begnion Senate—and that she can essentially free him from their control since her orders carry more weight than theirs do. And of course, when one of her most trusted aides turns out to be, well, not exactlyevil but still responsible for all of the bad stuff that happened, she decides that his punishment is to be drowned in rancid butter.
The brilliant engineer Dr. Cid from Final Fantasy XII fits this troupe well—the Draklor Laboratory and the Archadian Empire as a whole manage to ignore his conversations with a not-so imaginary friend due to his skill at manufacturing airships and weapons with nethicite. Balthier, however, was not quite so tolerant.
A good deal of the commanders in the Advance Wars series. A spectacular example is Javier, who wears plate armour all the time and acts like Don Quixote, and is a Boisterous Bruiser to awesome effect.
The Dungeon Master noble in Dwarf Fortress is a talented animal trainer and metalsmith who permits your fortress to train a variety of creatures you usually can't. He or she tends to also wander around the fortress, naked except for a cloak, shoes, and gloves.
Tsukihime: Arcueid Brunestud. Ditzy blond. Clingy Jealous Girl. Keeps a doll of Shiki under her pillow and magically traps her underwear drawer. Ok maybe that one wasn't canon, but still, it IS like her. Also responsible for Shiki's rather infamous erotic dream. Oh, and she is the most powerful vampire in existence, capable of dragging around moons if she wants. Moons from the future. That she pulled from said future. Why? So red moonlight would splash on her opponent and render him killable. And she was at 30% power when she did that.
The doctors in Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc. They're recommended as exceptionally good doctors, and are shown to be at least reasonably competant, but their behaviour is decidedly odd, and their methods even more so.
All the teachers of Persona 3, from the homeroom teacher with an almost "L"-like addiction to sweets and to playing MMORPGs as a l33t-speaking alter ego, to the school nurse and his over-the-top obsession with mysticism, to the history teacher who always wears his Sengoku-era samurai helmet, to the math teacher who spends most of the class just gushing about the aesthetic beauty of numbers. They're all shown as very knowledgable, and they're all various shades of Cloudcuckoolander.
It is strongly implied that a light-side Knights of the Old Republic or Knights of the Old Republic 2 PC tolerates HK-47's Ax Crazy discourse because he is the only thing that can translate the Tusken tongue and a rather capable warrior
Minsc from the Baldur's Gate series. He's quite nuts, but when he talks about kicking butt, he knows what he's talking about.
Dynaheir: Minsc is, well, Minsc, but he hath a strong sword arm.
Also, none of the mages are exactly well-adjusted, with the possible exception of aforementioned Dynaheir. And even she speaks funny.
Kivan is also pretty quirky: he's reclusive and has attitude issues. But Kivan is also God and the game cannot be won to any kind of satisfaction without him. He's by far the best archer in the first game and his THACO defies all reason.
In Mass Effect 2, this describes your entire crew with the exception of Jacob. Let's just say it's an extreme Dysfunction Junction in which everyone is one of the best people in the galaxy at what they do and leave it at that.
Thane seems overly contemplative for an assassin, but we learn that he has been recently diagnosed with a terminal disease, Miranda is pretty normal for a member of a shady organization aside from the Designer Baby Blues, Samara is a Scary DogmaticBlue Skinned Space Babe, Grunt is a Designer BabyProud Warrior Race Guy, and Garrus is a level-minded realist (quite possibly the most level-headed of all characters despite some issues in his past, and one of the only ones who litearally never loses his cool). This leaves Jack and Mordin. The latter however takes this trope to its full extent.
Jack is an uber-powerful biotic who subjects anyone she meets either to a biotic blast or a Cluster F-Bomb. She mellows out as the story plays out and, by Mass Effect 3, is slightly more level-headed and even makes a great effort to avoid swearing (unless you happen to be Joker, also an example of this trope). Mordin is a brilliant scientist with a Motor Mouth and love for "Gilbert and Sullivan". By the third game, he's close to 40 (making him an old man by salarian standards) and thinks of retiring to a house on a beach. When Shepard points out that he'd get bored collecting seashells all day, Mordin points out that he'll run tests on the seashells. He then goes out with a bang while singing.
Jeff "Joker" Moreau, as his nickname implies, is constantly cracking jokes and is rarely serious about anything. He also has brittle bone disease, making him physically unfit for military duty, technically speaking. He is also the best frigate pilot in the Systems Alliance, and no one who has seen him in action is going to dispute that claim.
As first shown in "Meet the Pyro", the Pyro is a BEL among BELs. S/he's not at all in touch with the real world, which s/he imagines to be a Sugar Bowl, even when causing death and destruction. When s/he's burning things, s/he's spreading bubbles, flowers, and magic. When s/he splits an enemy's head open with an axe, s/he's feeding them a lollipop; when using his/her flare gun, s/he's blowing bubbles. S/he also sees his/her enemies as chubby cherubs, wings and all, which prompts his/her "kindness". You also get a promotional "Pyro's goggles" that let you see the world as s/he does. Everybody is laughing even as they get shot, blood is replaced with random items such as gears or balloons, and fire with sparkly rainbows and happiness. To top it all off, you don't get "dominated" and get "revenge", they "become best friends" and "break up". However, as any player will tell you, if you are close to him/her, expect to be dead soon. Very, very soon.
Agent Francis York Morgan ("Call me York. That's what everyone calls me") is an FBI investigator who we first see driving a car while working on his laptop and arguing on the phone with his superiors over inter-dependence issues in Tom And Jerry. He is also routinely late for appointments, rambles on endlessly about old movies and their directors when he's not cheerfully discussing grisly murders and serial rapists over dinner, and goes over his every action and decision with his imaginary friend, Zach. His methods of "investigating" consist less of actual forensic work and more of chain-smoking until he gains visions of the past, and seeing visions of the future in the milk he pours in his coffee every morning. Despite all this, he's an extremely competent detective who isn't at all shy over that fact.
Infinite Space has a few, but Lord Roth and Thomas Veil stand out the most. Lord Roth is a rather childish man who enjoys his Chick Magnet status a little too much (and puts his aide, Nele, into a lot of troubles because of his quirks), yet he is one of Regeinland's top commanders. Meanwhile, Thomas is an agent of Federation Security Network directed by Brad Lennox and a good crew member for your navigational post... who happens to be a fan of young Idol Singers, almost to the point of being a Lolicon.
Demon PrinceLaharl from Disgaea is the heir to the throne of Netherworld, and he got some strange ideas as to what a King should do: If money is needed, it’s time to loot some noble’s mansion. Assassin love angels are potential recruits. Laughing evilly on a regular basis is a requirement. Ideal Overlord tasks are making it rain pepper so that the humans will sneeze their nostrils out or deprive children of their sleep by giving them addictive videogames. Heroes should not just be defeated; enslavement is the way to go. But he is very passionate and dutiful about the job, not to mention extremely powerful, so he gets it and does a good job all things considered. His vasselEtna has not dethroned him...yet.
Nero from Devil May Cry 4. Much of his Jerkass attitude would've gotten him excommunicated from the Order a long time ago, such as a blue coat instead of their white uniform (although he does have their insgnia stitched on it), listening to his own theme song during prayer, and colorful mouth. However, he's very good at his job in the "dirtier" side of things, and is kosher with the idea of God (in fact, he out right states it near the end of the game) - he's just not all that fond of the church he works for.
Kazuaki Nanaki, the quail teacher from Hatoful Boyfriend, is a scatterbrained narcoleptic who falls asleep mid-sentence while introducing himself to his students on the first day of class (and repeatedly throughout the game). He's also a world-renowned mathematician, and no slouch in physics and chemistry, either.
Oko San's obsession with pudding doesn't seem to interfere with his athletic performance any. He also seems to be able to pass classes at one of the most demanding private high schools in the world, despite being unable to speak in anything but subtitled coos, most of which are pop culture references and complaints about pudding quality.
The player character can qualify, being a Hot Bloodedmodern barbarian at the same high-standards high school who occasionally offers political insights in surprisingly erudite terminology... but is late to class the first day because she had to go hunting for breakfast, and didn't finish the summer reading assignment.
Katawa Shoujo has Rin Tezuka, a brilliant armless painter who gets away with smoking and multiple (lighter) violations of school rules.
The Secret World has the leader of the ultra-capitalist Illuminati, The Pyramidion. He speaks in a calm, evenly-paced tone, and clearly knows everything worth knowing. He just has this peculiar habit of peppering his dialogue with odd Public Announcements and context-relevant memes...
