Character Gush / Anime & Manga

Characters from Anime and Manga that are just that... totally... awesome.

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• GaoGaiGar's Mamoru Amami. Many people say he's not as good as the other characters because he's a Tagalong Kid, and a walking Plot Device, but really, as awesome as the rest of the cast is. he's still one of the best written characters in the show, despite how he might seem before the beard grows in, He's just such a sweet Adorably Precocious Child, and his Character Development after The Reveal leads to a really great Heartwarming Moment. and what he goes through in FINAL, from his replicant being captured and brainwashed by the Sol Lords and turned on his friends to steal the Q-parts, to FINAL's Bittersweet Ending. and he does badass stuff that can put Guy to shame at times. from using Galeon to bust into the Orbit Base's Main Order Room to save everyone from the Nail and Ear Primevals, to freakin' VAPORIZING Pei la Cain in FINAL.
• Yahiko and Sano from Rurouni Kenshin. Sano, because he's such a badass he beats up two hundred men on vacation, and refuses to give up despite bringing his fists to a sword fight and blowing up his damn hand from the Futae no Kiwami. Yahiko, because he is the BEST subversion of Bratty Half-Pint ever. He fights just as much as the adult characters, and he does it with a Nerf Arm. The fact that he can take on a giant like Hyogo and hold his own speaks for itself.
  • Shishio and Saito. Making Badass look so easy.
  • Hey now, you CAN'T mention Rurouni Kenshin without putting in a good word for Kenshin Himura himself now, can you? His tragic past, his love for Kaoru and his friends, his unwavering adherence to his ideals... What's there not to love?
• Accelerator from A Certain Magical Index. It'd be very difficult with someone of his powers and abilities to not become a story breaking power, but they pull it off well. Another impressive thing is when Touma first knocks some sense into him, he took what was probably the first time in a VERY long time of feeling pain and getting the crap beat out of him rather well and despite being a squishy wizard manages to take lots and lots of abuse to his body when his attack reflector is destroyed. He also is pretty good at staying calm in hostage situations such as deducing that Khiara didn't kill Last Order by TAUNTING him in what Khiara originally sent a call to try to break him.
• Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann:
  • Kamina. Hot-Blooded Badassery personified! Need I say more?
  • Lord Genome, brilliantly written, a Genius Bruiser, and has one of the greatest deaths twice.
  • Yoko is also awesome. And Simon. And Nia. And Viral... Heck who's not to like in that show?
    • Rossiu: He made several morally questionable choices, but as a character he is possibly the deepest in the series. While everyone else is only half-heartedly into it, Rossiu is the only one who truly takes politics seriously after the Time Skip and really finds himself in this responsible role. Everything he does has honest intentions of saving the human race, but his methods are cold and practical and ultimately out of place in a world that, as it turns out, is ruled by Hot Bloodedness and the Rule of Cool. One can tell how much his conscience weighs on him after the hellish decisions he's had to make, and it's true remorse for all the choices he's had to make that makes him attempt suicide. He should be the biggest Woobie in the series, for crying out loud!
  • Nia takes the Princess Archetype and injects it with new life through adorable charisma and throughly thought-out idiosyncrasies. Her unique speech, screwy thought-process and way of interacting with the world is just so charming that you can't help but love her. She is not only Moe, she is HONESTLY moe, not to mention that she defines Plucky Girl by being so Hot-Blooded while being a Girly Girl at the same time.
  • The four Generals, who never get any love. I nearly squeed with joy when she saw Thymelph (who was based after 777 from Dead Leaves) And Adiane, from her scorpion tail to her eye patch.
  • Especially Simon. Badass, loving, kind-hearted, and actually has a BRAIN? What's not to like?
  • Viral. What's not to love? He's half human and half beast, has awesome battle skillz, grew up to be the perfect assassin...and Heel Face Turns so hard that he becomes Kamina's replacement in the Gurren Lagann robot. YOU HAVE TO BE SPECIAL TO TAKE THAT SEAT. In the film version, it's also revealed that his secret desire is to have a wife and child and live happily in peace. AWWW.
  • Yoko is extremely gushworthy. She's cute, smart and tough; but she was limited in her achievements by corporate Japan's male-superiority formulae, plus an Executive Meddling decision by Gainax to write her and Kamina out of the series. But Yoko's extreme popularity resulted in a comeback, via her end-of-series exploits as Yomako — the name she took following her decision to begin a career in education on Koreha Island. Anyway, she began fighting bad guys long before the series' time frame began. Her above-average communication skills, her considerable combat experience as a commando and her mature judgment in the field should have made Yoko the ideal commander of the Brigade; but due to overriding, long-standing (albeit misogynistic) corporate formulae that was not to be. Nevertheless, Yoko fought the good fight for liberation and went on to become principal of a primary-education school.
• Attack on Titan:
  • Auruo Bossard. A smug, snooty jerk who will fight to his dying breath for all humanity, and brag about it later.
  • The development of Eren Yeager's character throughout the series has transformed him into one of the most complex, morally grey, and greatest characters in all of anime and manga.
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Dio Brando. The guy's a psychopathic vampire who can stop time, throw knives, and crush people with a steamroller. He's a total nutter and completely despicable, but there's something about his gleeful enthusiasm for villainy, over-the-top theatrics, and the ol' ultraviolence.
  • Sure, we got the villain, but what of the heroes? Joseph Joestar in particular. This is one of the most likeable characters in the series, he's Brilliant, but Lazy. Ask him to do a lick of work, and you'll be on the receiving end of a huge argument, but when it comes down to it, when he puts his mind to it, he's beyond a bona fide badass. He's over six feet tall and over 250 lbs of tightly-packed muscle, just like his granddad. But what makes him notable is that he almost never uses it in his serious fights. He wins through and through with his amazing intellect and cunning. He's a master trickster, he can say anything in a way that'll make you think he's totally honest, he takes magic tricks and basic physics into his advantage with every fight, he's not too bad with a pair of crackers, of which he likes to use as nunchaku, and he's one of us. He loves manga and comic books!
  • Two words: Noriaki Kakyoin. The spiritual successor to the Zeppeli legacy is as awesome as you'd expect. He's a skilled fighter, to the point that his friends fully trust his abilities, and a strategist, having saved the Crusaders from certain death a number of times with his quick thinking. To get the idea, he was able to keep calm even in the brink of death, and was the one who figured out The World's Stand ability, a Dying Clue that even DIO himself acknowledges as having helped Jotaro win. Despite being the youngest member of the group, he's the one that keeps the others from doing reckless things — like when he helped Polnareff win against J. Geil. And he's totally One of Us: he loves video games and knows an awful lot of useless trivia.
• Ah! My Goddess:
  • Belldandy is the finest Magical Girlfriend ever conceived. Adorable, level headed, everyones friend (including the demons) and without a doubt the one wearing the pants in the Morisato household even tough no one notices it. And she doesn't need to wear skimpy outfits or show her panties every two panels to get our attention either. She may have all the signs of a Canon Sue, but i do believe that Bell is, in fact, perfect because she is just impossible to dislike.
  • If Belldandy is the finest Magical Girlfriend, than Urd is without a doubt the finest Cool Big Sis. She spends most of her time acting childish, perverted, or both, but when she decides to get dangerous, she pulls it off spectacularly, and you can really see how much she cares about her family. And of course, her Half-Breed Discrimination status and how well she deals with it make her all the more awesome.
• Code Geass
  • Lelouch Vi Britannia. Possibly one of the most unique characters; Large Ham, horribly flawed, but you just know that Lelouch is the only person who can keep the peace. Too bad he dies. He is the Perfect example of the Bad Guy doing bad things for good reasons. His character design is INCREDIBLE! His schemes are INCREDIBLE! dont get me started on how he made GOD and his immortal father his bitch... Plus his Evil Laugh and Psychotic Smirk And his good looks! Squee!
  • Love love love Suzaku! Very strong, can be cute too, the relationship with Lelouch...
  • Shirley is unbelievably cute and hilarious around Lelouch, combined with Lelouch inadvertently killing her father, and her death at the hands of Rolo makes her one of the most sympathetic characters in the show. And she still loves Lelouch after all that! :3
  • C.C. She's got a intriguingly vague past unknown to everyone, immortality, sarcasm, Fanservice, and an undying love for Pizza! Seriously, what's not to love about this girl?
  • It's easy to understand why Nunnally is at the focal point of all of Lelouch's motivations: she's very sweet and had to go through lots of hardships. She's blind, crippled and watched her mother die. Lelouch had to carry her on his back when they were young since she was paralyzed. , she doesn't come off as a Purity Sue because her motivations are childish, she wants peace, but she doesn't understand it and this makes her very manipulatable. Arguably the most heart-wrenching moment of the show is in the Grand Finale when Lelouch dies in her arms and she realizes that he died so that her dream could be realized.
  • Kallen isn't just about Fanservice; she's an amazingly strong and very human character. I have a lot of respect for her. Kallen might be the only true hero in the series. As the ol' Motive Decay sets in left and right and hard choices get harder and harder, Kallen and Kallen alone refuses to compromise her ideals like Lelouch and Suzaku do, eventually choosing her beliefs over Lelouch even though she never stopped loving him.
  • Jeremiah is made of pure distilled awesomeness, the most hammiest ham ever concieved, and being dubbed by Crispin Freeman was genius.
  • Suzaku deserves love for all his Idiot Hero moments, even as his idealism dies and his more and more desperate attempts to fix things just make them worse for him. And permanently want to give the poor bastard a hug.
  • The Chinese Eunuchs are comedic gold, especially the midget one every time they talk its hilarious. They could be reading the news, and it would be funnier than most comedies.
  • Lloyd. He's good for the lulz, he's one of the only characters in the Brittanian empire who isn't portrayed in a remotely bad light, and Liam O'Brian did a great job voicing him in the English dub.
  • Cecile's this sweet, pretty female engineer who's also the only person who can keep Lloyd in check. D'awww...
  • Lady of War Cornelia. She's one of the most badass characters. Survived both crashing a Knightmare after being harpooned and survived taking bullets in the back at point blank. Straps a bunch of guns to a Knightmare, making the first artillery Knightmare unit (and using this to shoot down a target), with only one good arm IN A CAVE WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS. Loves her younger sister.
  • Princess Euphemia. So sweet and innocent, yet brave and true to her beliefs. She did NOT deserve the ending she got. For one thing she's the only truly good member of the royal family. She's more than just your average Pollyanna: she's smart, ambitious, and not afraid to challenge her family to stand up for what she believes in.Furthermore, she not only figures out that Zero is Lelouch she even convinces Lelouch to join teams with her! too bad she gets Stuffed in the Fridge early on.
  • Mao is a nasty person, but he's a great, great character. He's also really nice-looking and his voice in English is excellent. Everything he did was motivated by a desire to save C.C.'s life as he knew all along what the real nature of her contract was. He was given an incredibly powerful and horrible Geass by C.C. when he was only six, isolated from the rest of the world and made dependent on her for any kind of human relationship, couldn't bring himself to kill her and take her Code because he loved her, gets abandoned for it, becomes The Determinator in his quest to find her and stop Lelouch from unknowingly killing her, gets shot, left with a Fate Worse than Death and killed by the one person he loved, albeit with as a Mercy Kill with a Love Confession and Together in Death promise. A great Anti-Villain and The Woobie.
  • Kaname Ohgi of Code Geass, simply because he was one of the sanest, loyalist, most genuinely honorable and compassionate characters in the whole show. The poor guy had just as many problems as anyone, was a gentle normal guy at heart, and yet believed in his commander Zero every step of the way. Even after the Black Knights discover Zero's true identity, Ohgi refuses to turn on him unless Britannia makes the ultimate concession in return. In a show full of Black-and-Gray Morality, someone like him was refreshing.
  • Prince Schneizel. The second prince of Britannia is awesome. He's either the smartest guy in the show, or at the very least the 2nd smartest. Lelouch always gets nervously angry whenever him and Schneizel meet. The only other person he does that too is the Emporer, and that's because he knows he has magic powers, Schneizel doesn't. A normal man strikes fear into the heart of someone as Awesome as Lelouch, and that's even awesome-er. A list of Schneizel's Greatest moments: Makes a grand entrance riding inside the most advanced ship seen in the show thus far, and blasts both Lulu and Suzaku, almost stopping Zero. (the only reason he failed was because of incomplete weaponry that failed to work properly). His disturbed and ultra realistic reaction to Euphie's massacre really drove home just how bad Lelouch fucked up, and showed us that at least this villain had standards. Winning a war against an entire continent mainly through negotiations and sabre rattling. Thinking faster than Lelouch in the Chinese Federation arc, and organizing a wedding between his brother and the chinese empress. This move could both Unite the CF and Britannia without resorting to a war, and let him retrieve Zero and the Black Knights (he arranged for them to be handed over by the Chinese government as a sort of Wedding gift). That's right, after that massive V routine Lelouch pulled off to escape Britannia, taking a million soldiers along with him, no more than a few hours upon arrival in the CF did he hear of Schneizel's plan to take them back. Lelouch had guessed that such a plan would be made eventually, but he never imagined it would be pulled off that quickly.
• Monster:
  • Kenzo Tenma. He's just so damn earnest, especially contrasted against the titular Johan. It's endearing. He's also just a really kick-ass, brilliant doctor with a very strong moral compass and sense of purpose. Anyone else would've gone crazy but Dr. Tenma gets through all the horror he experienced by never losing sight of who he is. There is just something amazing about the mix of goodness and badass-ness that Tenma represents. He's kind and gentle on the one hand, but on the other, he doesn't take any shit from people, he's always telling people to man up, etc. Awesome guy. He's managed to maintain his morals in the world he lives in, and that's saying something. He's intelligent, gentle, and an amazing Iron Woobie.
  • Johan. The way his Ax-Crazy is played, his creepiness, that smile that never leaves him, his Manipulative Bastard traits... he is so villainous yet lovable, even though he is almost a deconstruction of a Magnificent Bastard. Johan is one sick bastard- but it makes for an incredibly interesting villain.
  • Cheerful Child Dieter for being so ridiculously adorable, so huggable, so sweet, so innocent, and so wise in his own way at the same time.
  • Nina/Anna Leibert is certainly one of the coolest female characters in anime.
  • Eva Heinneman. Her character development was a massive surprise for all those that immediately labeled her as a Rich Bitch character, which is because that's what she was and the change in her personality was dealt superbly, she came from being annoying to awesome. She starts out as an archetypical soap opera villain who would, in any other show, spend the entire series tormenting the female lead and be defeated in the end. Eva suffers this fate in the very first volume of the manga and spends the rest of the series being dragged trough the mud, dealing with horriffic things her type of character would normally never encounter and going trough one hell of a ride with grueling life lessons, often handling them surprisingly admirably. Ultimately, she becomes a decent and likable person. I never look at a one dimensional Rich Bitch the same way again because I now know how this type of character should be done right.
• Fullmetal Alchemist:
  • Colonel Roy Mustang and Major General Olivier Mira Armstong, both are incredibly badass, both are incredibly competent, and more importantly never carry the Idiot Ball. Amestris is in good hands with either one in charge.
  • Scar is awesome. For a character to go from an outright villain to an extremely sympathetic antihero in the course of fifty-one episodes (over half of which he isn't even in) without it being just plain unbelievable is in itself worthy of being considered made of win. The sheer badassery he displays is another bonus..
  • Alphonse (from the manga version). He's sweet, idealistic and a nice guy all the way, but that does not mean he's stupid or overly naïve at all. Instead, he is very mature for his age and (especially in the later chapters) understands that not everyone shares his ideals. Also, his occasional snarkiness is very charming.
  • Riza Hawkeye. Especially in the Manga. She's not just a silent gunslinger. She has a past AND a life outside of her much loved relationship with Roy. Plus, she's just plain cool. How many people can trick Envy using UST? Her attitude towards Pride/Seliem Bradley after she found out that he was a homunculus? Ultimate win.
  • Winry Rockbell, a gentle soul with a gift for mechanic and a willingness to help others through their hardships, which we can see in both her support of the Elric brothers and the care she gives to her patients. Throughout the series, we see her evolve professionaly, going from an apprenticeship by her grand-mother to the partner of one of the best mechanics in Rush Valley. And then there is her personal crowning moment of awesome, when she demonstrates to Scar that the vicious cycle of hatred and revenge can indeed be broken, thus completing the Ishbalan's heel-face turn.
  • Maes Hughes is one of the finest examples of Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass I has ever seen. Who knew a guy who runs around showing pictures of his daughter to everyone could be so cool and popular? And who doesn't love Maes' love for his family? It's downright endearing, how much he loves people. Hell, Winry, Alphonse and Edward are practically extended family. And Roy really needs a Badass Normal of a best friend. Perfect duo, right there.
  • Edward Elric, the freaking title character. He manages to be not only a bratty smartass with no respect for authority, but no less of a badass or noble hero because of it. He's also utterly hilarious at times.
  • Ling Yao, who is not only hilarious, but awesome as well. And the way he managed not to be killed by Bradley AND Gluttony while carrying Lan Fan with one hand was a complete Moment of Awesome. And, as if he wasn't awesome already, he Took a Level in Badass when he was turned into a homunculus.
  • Lan Fan / Ran Fan. Her Heroic Sacrifice... She's just great! Her loyalty towards her Lord is without bounds, she cut off her arm just to lure King Bradley away from them!
  • Izumi Curtis. What would happen if Chuck Norris was a Housewife. With badass Alchemy Skillz of Doom. She's even cooler than that.
  • Izumi's husband Sig is no slouch either.
  • May Chang is a cute, pink wearing princess who's incredibly badass despite being one of the youngest characters. With her awesome martial arts and alkahestry skills, she's far from being the Tagalong Kid or The Load, but is well written enough to avoid being The Scrappy or a Sue. Plus she has an adorable pet panda?
  • Solf J Kimblee and not because of leather pants. He's a monster but damn if he isn't one of the most complex characters around. A sociopath who respects people who stay true to themselves, a Mad Bomber who doubles as The Philosopher, and a guy who can Breaking Lecture every one of the series badass heroes without batting an eye. He never loses his cool, never stops being awesome, and looks great in that white suit. Nice hat too.
  • Envy. He's a twisted psycho, but he does such a damn good job at being one you can't help but love watching him. And then there's all the wonderful things shapeshifting can do.
    • Take out the shapeshifting, and you have my favorite antagonist-turned-antihero, BARRY THE CHOPPER!!
  • Greed/Greedling. That guy was just plain awesome! His snark, and his attitude towards Ed is just awesome. And having Troy Baker as Greedling also helps with the awesome category.
  • Shou Tucker. Not the version in the manga who sacrificed his daughter for selfish purposes, but the one in the 2003 series. He's a sick bastard, but he acknowledges this, and is obsessed with undoing his mistake, to the point where he inflicts his own crime upon himself. He's a fine example that even people who commit the most horrific crimes are not without compassion, straddling the line between revulsion and Pity. Also, he's a half beast Mad Scientist with an upside down head. Creepy Awesome.
  • King Bradley. A sixty-year-old man who can destroy a tank with a sword? The word "awesome" is insufficient to describe him. Not to mention that, for a man representing the Sin of Wrath^note or Pride, depending on which version you're going by he's remarkably calm and dignified. And despite the fact that he's evil, he's also a family man who genuinely loves his wife and son who is actually his older brother. What's not to like?
  • Shou Tucker. Yes, I know everyone hates this guy, but I have respect and sympathy for him. As a man who wants to be a researcher and chemist, I respect his incredible devotion to research and advancement of chemistry and biology. And also, he understands the importance of research grants, while most of fictional scientists do not understand it.
• Lucky Star:
  • Konata has a great personality and voice, is cute, and extremely endearing. Konata is SO freakingly awesome, she should dethrone Haruhi and become the new goddess!
  • Tsukasa is awesome. Just tone down the otaku-ness and up the cute (a lot).
  • Kagami, who is cute in her own way and has a few huggable moments that pop up from her tsundere-ness.
  • Kona-chan and Hiiragi sisters are definitely awesome.
  • cuddly, well mannered Meganekko Miyuki.
  • Minoru Shiraishi has some very funny moments, both in the show, on Lucky Channel, and in his live-action ending credits shenanigans.
• Mobile Suit Gundam:
  • Char Aznable the person that puts The Rival in Rival. Amuro's equal in both piloting and newtype abilities, he can take on any mecha pilot in existence, and do it with style, his one of the most developed characters in anime history, and his versatile playing both villain, and hero and doing it without it being forced.
  • There's Char's best friend, Garma Zabi. A member of the Zabi family, who despite admiring Char's leadership skills to a point where it became a crutch, showed potential of his own to be a great leader to his people. Including his ability to create cunning military strategies and actually care about Earth Federation civilians. In fact, this was even recognized and explored further in the game Gihren's Greed, where the player has the chance to choose Garma Zabi to rule Zeon and create his own faction.
• Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Treize Kushrenada. This guy was one of the best ManipulativeBastards, not for being manipulative, but also his flair. Look at his mobile suit, it looks absolutely gaudy, and that's what makes it so cool. He manages to seem like the antagonist but really behaves like an Anti-Hero.
• Naruto:
  • Kirabi/Killer Bee first looking like an Ethnic Scrappy, he proves to be a complete badass by kicking Sasuke's ass, then with the coup de grace tricks Sasuke, and embarrasses him in front of his new friends. He's also really unique in the series itself, being an urban black guy in a series full of Japanese culture.
  • Shikamaru. Lazy as all get out right at the start, but through some of the best Character Development that I has seen in Shonen, becomes a competent, dedicated, ass-kicking smartass who still has the traits that made him likeable in the first place.
  • Naruto himself. He's loud, hyperactive, and dense, but that just makes you like him all the more.
  • Shino. His complete lack of any character development whatsoever notwithstanding, he's the only anime character I've ever seen who has a weird/gross power but was never a villain at any point.
  • Jiraiya. He has the "perv + super strong + teacher" formula which makes him instantly awesome, but he is so much more. His whole story was brilliantly written. Manly as anything: "Pretty damn honorable".
  • Sakura counts as well. She goes from being an obnoxious Fangirl with a crush on Sasuke and pretty much a normal hormonal twelve year old in a bunch of Shinobi genuises; to a strong member of Team 7, Tsunade's apprentice, The Medic, and a total badass with an amazing punch. That's Character Development.
  • Hinata. Right from the start, Naruto shows determination, inner strength, and all of those other shonen hero traits. She's grown from a Shrinking Violet to confessing her love to Naruto while trying to protect him from Pain, despite knowing that she had no chance against him. Her first line ever, which was not even spoken, instantly turned her into The Woobie.
    • And then, she gains more confidence during the Fourth Great Shinobi War especially after Neji's death where she gets Naruto out of his Heroic BSoD by reminding him of their Nindo. Back then, this, as well as the Pain confession, makes me think that if Naruto ends up with her, I would buy all the Naruto Mangas from there no matter how it goes off the deep end. Better start using my wallet!
  • Kakuzu. Best character in the show! Money is important, yes~ And he's a Zombie. With 5 hearts. And a genius bruiser. Also, genuinely evil and only in it for the money. Someone with no moral standards! Those characters are way too rare.
    • Being HOT is just a HUGE plus!
  • HIDAN! Totally insane, Ax-Crazy, blood magic and EPIC! to hell and back. One of the coolest designs, and genuinely evil among the other "reasonable" characters. So much fun.
  • Rock Lee became my favorite character in the series once he was shown to be arguably the most compelling character. Not to mention he gets two of the best fights in the entire anime (vs Gaara and Kimimaro, respectively). Now if only Kishimoto could use him more in part two. Despite his bad losing record, for a while he held the title as arguably the strongest of his generation of Leaf ninja.
  • Sasuke deserves a big hug. He has the same effect on me that Gaara had on many people. He's a fascinating character.
  • Gaara! He was cool before his Heel–Face Turn and his fight against Kimimaro was just awesome. Plus he would have owned Deidara if the latter hadn't threatened all of the village.
  • Tenten. Awesome character design, cool weapons, subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) snarkiness. She does the Only Sane Man thing even better than Neji, and considering what the other half of her team is like, this is a Good Thing.
  • Yamato is competent, clever, hilariously unfunny, and an adorably friendly kouhai to Kakashi. Also, he just so happens to be quite the badass; his special technique can pretty much tell your Sealed Evil in a Can to shut up and play nice.
  • Temari wants to join the party.
  • A lot of people hate him, but Shimura Danzo. He's powerful, calm and cares so deeply for his village, despite less than favorable actions, that he would die to protect it. Hell, he's even awkwardly adorable,with subtle hints of woobie (IMO)... something about him just makes me want to give him a giant bear-hug.
  • Suigetsu. He's pretty calm mostly, he can handle his B Fs like it weighs nothing, and he's snarky. He's alsoquite sexy.
  • Kakashi! From his sarkiness to awesome fighting ability to his (secret?) love of pornography the guy is clearly the best character in the show. He wears two masks. He fights with a massive chakra drain against ridiculously powerful baddies — and comes out winning. He is also, incidentally, damn sexy.
  • Shizune. She's a background character but between her skills with poisons and her devotion to Tsunade despite Tsunade being, well... Tsunade, she's just awesome.
  • Itachi. Leaving aside just how badass and powerful he is, his backstory is one of the most compelling in the show/manga. He wanted to die just to make his little brother feel better. Too bad it didn't work that well. Seriously though. The fact that he can control your world with basically nothing more than eye contact WITHOUT YOU REALIZING it, do it so smoothly, fight on empty and still beat some of the most plot-armored characters in the series, and the freakish nature of his powers rolled into his calm and deep personality with many layers and facets spread throughout his 6th stage Morality development, and you have one of the most compelling characters in mainstream anime, let alone the series.
  • Neji - from his awesomely subtle and graceful fighting style to his great character development.
  • Rin or Obito, Kakashi's badass teammates who appeared for only a few chapters and still managed to steal our hearts!
  • Sasori. He was creepy for nearly his entire life, but that is one of the things that makes him such a good character. Few writers can create characters like that. Also, try picturing him (at any age) as the Mysterious Stranger. Awesomeness ensues.
  • Kabuto. Before he turned out to be a total jerk, he was one of the nicest characters. Until he injects himself with an in-story version of cancer, he was actually really nice to Naruto, if not anyone else.
  • Freaking Madara Uchiha. Easily topping the list of most powerful characters in the series. The way he verbally smacks his opponents and degrades them as so far beneath him, and they have to take it because everyone knows HE'S RIGHT. He could easily wipe out the entire army if it ever struck his fancy, not to mention the fact that his resurrection and his outgambitting the resident Xanatos Speedchess grandmaster left him as an immortal zombie that is immune to practically everything. His unfazeable attitude and complete snarkiness makes him such a condescending character with the power to back it up. May not be a particularly complex villain, but he is certainly a good one for laughs and putting pressure on the good guys. Unfortunately, the nature of his existence has the left the plot with no other option than a MAJOR Deus ex Machina.
  • And who could ever forget Tobi? His first few appearances where among the funniest in the series, and his Keet status is undisputed. His Cloudcuckoolander antics brought an entirely new flavor to Akatsuki. When he dropped the act though and got serious, things changed rapidly. He was definitely one of the most prgamatic, ruthless, yet enigmatically honest characters ever introduced. He certainly spent lots of time going over the Evil Overlord List and knew how to manipulate anyone to do his bidding. His identity had been up in the air long after he announced it, and his status as the The Heavy made practically every event to have occurred since episode 1 either directly or indirectly related to him. What a character. His motives are complex, he is well-versed, and he can think on the fly. Then later when he is revealed to be Obito, his character receives SO MANY LEVELS of depth. He becomes a sympathetic Nihilist that has a justified hatred of the world system and how everything is screwed up. Also knowing what a wimp he was before and the kind of game-breaking, all-knowing, super-intelligent, complicated and twisted monster he became only serves to further deconstruct whatever stereotypes he might have fit before. And then he becomes a god. How and why did he lose again?
  • The Second Mizukage! Despite being a minor character that only made an appearance in the Shinobi World War arc, he made quite the impact on me! Namely because of how freaking HILARIOUS he is!
  • Hashirama! Complete, undisputed Badass who also happens to be genuinely nice, funny, and adorable? There is no way to hate a guy who makes inspiring speeches to stone monuments.
  • Why hasn't anyone mentioned Orochimaru yet?! That slimy voice of his, that EPIC Evil Laugh, his creepy yet sexy appearance, his Creepy Awesome abilities and powers and slightly pedophilic undertones make for SUCH an interesting and slightly complex character!
  • Pain. Deidara told Tobi that members of Akatsuki must act "cool", yet, with Akatsuki's leader, it's not an act. He has arguably the most tragic backstory of anyone in Naruto (sad events transpired well into his adulthood, and it was shit he could do nothing about), and he seeks world peace, formulating a plan that, while there are extreme measures, is guaranteed to work. He cares about his fellow members of Akatsuki, he even grieves their deaths, and he has a God complex that is actually justified, as he has a doujutsu that's even stronger than the Mangekyo Sharingan, the Rinnegan, which lets him read minds, steal souls, summon highly resilient giant animals, absorb chakra, interrogate people better than anybody else, fire missiles, and attract and repel objects. His accomplishments would make Orochimaru jealous, as he creamed and killed Jiraiya, and then he succeeded in destroying Konoha, killing Kakashi and Shizune in the process. Speaking of Orochimaru, when he tried to take the Rinnegan from Pain, he floored him faster than Itachi did. Pain is the embodiment of "cool".
• Haruhi Suzumiya:
  • Yuki Nagato is all kinds of awesome. A nigh-omnipotent, badass stoic who is also The Woobie, gives us many laughs, still is mysterious and has amazing Character Development. Add the fact that she plays a bitchin' guitar-solo while wearing a Robe and Wizard Hat!
  • Haruhi Suzumiya. There's just no character who manages to be a Genki Girl, a Jerkass, a Magnificent Bitch and a Cloudcuckoolander, all while being stunningly beautiful, Hot-Blooded and melancholic. There's no way she's not awesome. There's just something so damn interesting about her, she gets some excellent Character Development from an antagonistic Jerkass to a more thoughtful and considerate Jerk with a Heart of Gold, and her antics Crosses the Line Twice and end up as very entertaining. It's no wonder she and Kyon are the stars of the show.
  • Mikuru because she pretty much started off the entire story by having Kyon do the John Smith incident. Time travel is confusing, but it's awesome, especially when it's Mikuru using it. she's destined to become the biggest Chessmaster in the series.
  • Kyon, even more so in the novels. Simply because his narration is the best thing. He also hides his genius under "not caring", actually is interested in romance and.. Well fuck it, he's the goddamn John Smith!
  • And Itsuki Koizumi. The guy is a Teen Genius later revealed to be the goddam LEADER of the Organization and therefore a brilliant Chessmaster in his own right. He's a guy who puts up with a great deal of crap, stress, and responsibility without complaining about it. While his real personality is still a mystery, there are many subtle moments throughout the novels where his "real" nature seems to peek through. He's definitely a complicated, conflicted guy. And despite it all he's a loyal friend to Kyon whether Kyon likes it or not.
  • Tsuruya. Her character in the later novels is just delightful.
  • Asakura, the most awesome killer ever. Her "perfect girl" mask, her love for knifes, her giggles when she fires metal spears and that incredible scary aura she has. She may be underappreciated, but truly magnificent. She's the mostbadasschick in the series. There's a reason they just can't get rid of her.
  • In the novels, Sasaki is a delightful character. Charming, easygoing, and intellectual, and refuses to be tempted even by the offer of godlike powers.
• Toradora!'s Minori Kushieda. If there is one anime character who is NEVER boring to be around (apart from Haruhi) and can steal entire episodes with one well-placed antic, it's her.
  • Ami is the best character of the show. Too bad she's not as much in the focus.
  • Taiga. She's a Tsundere and a bit of a jerk, which might put off some people, but when it comes to delving into her personality, she's adorable.
  • Taiga Aisaka: Her hidden softer side she's almost the perfect representation of Moe.
• Bleach:
  • Zaraki Freakin' Kenpachi. The badass Blood Knight and captain of Squad 11.
  • Nel Tu in her adult form is hot, a complete badass, and is the most interesting arrancar in the whole series considering her backstory.
  • Unohana Retsu is quite possibly the coolest female Shinigami in Bleach, or even the whole character. Not only she is kind and motherly, if you get on her bad side, you will start to fear a White Mage like her. Probably Kubo Tite fears on putting her in quite the spotlight, because doing so will cause the Bleach universe to implode in awesomeness. Unohana is so awesome. She is also hinted to be very powerful.
  • Rukia is just as cool, since she's gotten many moments that are just made of awesomeness and hilarity.
  • Orihime. A Cloudcuckoolander who literally has the power to Screw Destiny. Pretty awesome.
  • Kisuke. This man just oozes awesome. And to top it off, he's probably boning Yoruichi.
  • Speaking of Yoruichi, not only is she insanely hot, she's also a total badass. She made the Soul Society arc ten times more awesome, and her epic smack-down of Yammy was rewind-worthy.
  • Ulquiorra.
  • Hollow Ichigo. The guy is freaking awesome. He's like the Joker with a BFS.
  • Ichigo himself deserves a spot here. He's a bit of a punk, but behind that outwarly cold façade and brash, violent tendencies lies a genuinely kind hearted, smart, and caring person. He is ultimately a responsible brother, an excellent student (tendecies to get into gang fights aside), and a loyal friend who'd put his life in the line to protect you and those you hold dear. Truly a remarkable young man. Plus, that BFS of his is just downright badass!
  • Shiba Kaien. I cannot believe how much she loves a character who now only shows up in flashbacks because he died TWICE, but he is so sweet and funny and encouraging and maybe somehow related to Kurosaki Ichigo.
  • Say what you will about Hitsugaya Toshiro, but his seriousness, prodigious nature, ice powers and most importantly, his sense of justice. One does not need to curb stomp all his enemies everytime in order to be a likable/gushable character. He was the only captain not blindly following orders, even if they thought something was wrong (Byakuya Saijin and even Yamamoto) blindly following their feelings/friends (Ukitake Shunsui Renji [but he's a vice-captain not a captain and not the thrust of this gush/rant]) or ya know evil (Aizen, Tousen, Gin) but to actually bother investigating when he felt something was wrong and act on what he uncovered the first impressions.
  • Hanataro Yamada is possibly the weakest character in Bleach, but when he tries to go up against Byakuya without even his zanpaku-to to save Rukia, despite the fact he was utterly terrified? That's when he became awesome.
  • Sajin Komamura (Aka: Captain Furry), a Gentle Giant outside of battle and Noble Wolf in battle. He's not seen much, and has gotten owned in 2 of 3 uninterrupted battles (lastest one left him unconcious, and still hasn't gotten back up 6 episodes later).
  • Barragan Luisenbarn. As the token old man, it seemed as though he was simply going to be the Espada's answer to Yamamoto, but as soon as he used ressureccion, he proved that he has even more of a right to the title of "Death God" than the actual shinigami. He's a skeleton lord with an enormous axe and an even bigger god complex whose breath, Respira, instantly rots anything it touches, including magical spells. To top it all off, the only thing that could take him down was his own Respira. How could anyone not think that this guy is made of 100% pure, undiluted awesome?
  • Despite the many new and awesome characters that are constantly being introduced into Bleach, my heart belongs to Chad, who was an incredible badass pacifist even before he got his powers. He is a a walking Moment of Awesome, and his backstory with Ichigo is one of the sweetest, most adorable parts of the show. His strength, loyalty, pacifism, and intelligence make him one of the most endearing characters in the world of manga and anime.
  • Ishida Uryuu, who fights as calmly as most people sew and sews as intensely as most people fight. Plus he's a nerd who kicks butt and takes names.
  • Wonderweiss, because he is a Woobie among Arrancar.
  • Mayuri Kurotsuchi is incredibly amusing in a Black Comedy sort of way. There's just something about a guy who looks like a demented mime and practically turns Crossing The Line Twice into an art.
  • Kira Izuru is insecure, indecisive, remorseful. In the episodes where he gets serious, he's AMAZING. He could open up a serious can of pain on some Arrancar and malignant Zanpakuto spirits. He's just so cute when he smiles.
  • Momo. Break the Cutie gone horrifically right. Poor, poor Momo. It isn't fun to be you.
  • Gin Ichimaru. Incredibly badass, HILARIOUS, and over all simply epic... with his eyes shut! There are a lot of characters who say they can kick your ass with one hand behind their back and their eyes closed, but this guy actually does it! (And manages to look absolutely gorgeous while doing so...) Gin is probably one of the least serious denizens of Hueco Mundo- Watching the "Arrancar Encyclopedia" segments makes me want to glomp him until the world explodes from too much glomp energy being used.
    • SECONDED. Gin is awesome and every second he's on screen/panel, he steals the show. He's honestly too epic for words
  • Aizen. The idea of his betrayal really caught her, hook line and sinker, and she hasn't looked back since! She can honestly say that Aizen got her interested in Bleach (despite his Villain Decay) and for the most part is grateful for it!
  • Kyoraku and Ukitake fight against Starrk caused her to fall almost immediately in fandom love. It had a lot to do with their stubborn refusal to play entirely by shounen rules, but they struck her as eccentric, nice guys with her shameless favourite quality in protagonists in sort of series - smart, patient competence under an impression of harmlessness. Plus there's the Heterosexual Life Partners angle. Further research has only furthered that opinion. Not perfect, certainly not always right (Rukia, Kaien...), but still great fun.
  • Rangiku Matsumoto. Rangiku is hands down my favorite female character in this show. Beautiful, strong, and confident, with a heartbreaking backstory that only gets her down when no one's looking. Nearly all scenes she's in is awesome in some way, be it serious or hilarious. Plus, the way she followed Gin to the real Karakura town was freakin' hardcore, since, yanno, she'd had part of her side ripped off only a few chapters prior.
  • Grimmjow. Motherfucking. Jeagerjacques. His badassery, his blue hair, his stunning physical beauty, David Vincent's voice, his Resureccion, oh, and his backstory. There are so many ways to interpret his character.
  • Kuchiki Byakuya: Long-haired, badass Bishōnen? Check. Completely owned the main character upon his first appearance and was the first person to do so? Check. Fantastic fighting style? Check. Heartwarming character development? Check.His fights are some of the most engaging of all the epic battles that Bleach offers especially the one against Tsukishima, and his growth throughout the manga is probably the best Character Development in the series.
• Hunter × Hunter:
  • Killua Zaoldyeck, especially his manga incarnation. Mature, unfazed and frighteningly talented (thanks to his assassin family's Training from Hell), by the Chimera Ant arc he's catching darts aimed at his head before they even materialise and running across an entire country trying to stop a group of evil ants from 'nen baptising' the population. He's also completely devoted to his best friend / life partner Gon, to the point where he'd put his life on the line to save him. Need I say more?
  • A good number of the other characters are deserving of praise as well. Kurapika was a very touching and unique Anti-Hero. Leorio is the best friend you could ever ask for. Hisoka is just one of the most freaky villians you'll ever encounter! Gon on the other hand doesn't quite measure up to his compatriots.
• Azumanga Daioh:
  • Osaka, just... Osaka. She is the undisputed queen of Cloudcuckooland, she manages to creep you out but make you wanna hug the juice out of her at the same time. I'm sure Azumanga Daioh wouldn't be half as great as it is without her around.
  • Chiyo-chan. The other half of Azu's greatness. Causes Squee at twenty paces in everyone, male and female. Goddamnit, you're just too cute!
    • The universe has yet to invent a depression strong enough that cannot be cured by Chiyo in a penguin suit.
  • Sakaki. I just want to reach into the screen and hug her. World's most beautiful woobie.
  • Kagura. She's just made of awesomeness.
    • Seconded. Cute, badass, Boisterous Bruiser with a sensitive side. She's just so awesome.
  • When it comes to my favorite it is always a tie between Osaka and Ms. Yukari. She's one of the funniest to watch, and even though her childishness is supposed to be a negative quality, you can't help but love her for it. And good god is she hot!
  • Tomo. A perfect foil to a cast of perfect characters. She's a troll, an attention hog, exciting, lazy, irritating, obnoxious, unpredictable, insane, and hilarious. Moments of glory include terrifying Yomi with the catsuit, giving Osaka her now famous nickname, photobombing Kaori's vacation pictures, hitting Yukari in the face with her lunch tray, throwing the summer house keys into the grass, feeling genuinely guilty for making Kagura cry, effortlessly levitating past Sakaki in a race, and initiating the applause for Chiyo during the graduation ceremony.
• FLCL's Haruhara Haruko, the personification of Crazy Is Cool. Fluctuates between a flirty teenage girl, a melodramatic Large Ham and a supremely powerful alien enforcer that eats Humongous Mecha for breakfast on a whim, uses your head as her personal Bag of Holding while alternately frustrating your libido and giving you a concussion, and you'll love her for it.
  • Then you reach the back half of the last episode, and realize every last drop of it was an act, but that just changes her awesomeness category.
  • Haruko is the perfect woman. End of discussion.
• Read or Die:
  • Yomiko Readman is a really cute bookworm.
  • Nenene and the Paper Sisters who are all completely awesome in their own way.
• Vinland Saga: Thorkell the Tall, a giant Viking Boisterous Bruiser that's just in it for the shits and giggles. He'll do his damnedest to kill you, but if you survive he'll shout you a pint afterward. There are very few manga characters I has come across cooler then Thorkell. To put it in perspective: how many characters do you know who side with the losing team just so they'll have a more challenging fight, use pointed logs as anti-ship and anti-personnel weapons, and think nothing of punching horses so hard the rider falls off?
• Mobile Suit Gundam SEED:
  • Mu La Flaga, an even better pilot than the Ultimate Coordinator Kira (just compare Kira in the Strike Gundam and Mu in the Strike Gundam), his also gets the best lines, and seduces the amazingly hot Murrue Ramius. An Ace Pilot whose catchphrase is the man who makes the impossible possible, and takes that literally when he survives being hit with a Positron Cannon. His easily the best of the Char clones. He's an even more amazing character when he died stopping a Positron Cannon - also an impossible act.
    • He's just that good!
  • Lots of people seem to hate her but Stellar Loussier is awesome. In battle, she absolutely deadly (before the show [[JumpTheShark jumped the shark, anyway), but off the battlefield she's so adorable! Watching her splash around by the ocean in one episode made me start giggling, and Houko Kuwashima's voice... Squee!
  • La Flaga is the coolest guy on the planet, Ramius is an amazing captain, Athrun is a great Lancer and character in his own right, Lacus and Cagalli for proving that the girls can be important plot-movers in a Gundam series (among lots of other reasons), the psychos like Azrael and Djibril for being so thoroughly detestable; even Shinn for being the amazingly complex Anti-Villain that he is, but my favourites will always be Kira Yamato and Rau Le Creuset. To me, Le Creuset was everything that a villain should be: sympathetic and monstrous, amazingly manipulative, smart, and capable of driving the entire planet towards destruction and making it look easy. I felt bad for him and wanted him dead at the same time, and that's not even getting into his badass combat skills and the fact that even in the sequel, he's manipulating events from beyond the grave. And then there's Kira: a poor kid who falls into the cockpit, has to fight against his best friend, slowly loses his mind, and then recovers, saving the world (and maybe himself) in the process. Kira was the first protagonist (in almost anything, but especially anime) who I could honestly say was also my favourite character. I felt so bad for him and everything he went through; seeing his descent into crazy during the middle part of the show was heartwrenching. But he never gives up. And it's not in classic shonen protagonist style either, there's no Hot-Blooded friendship speeches, or Made of Iron Determinator-ing about him, no rants about his own superiority. He just carries on as best he can, because he believes that it's his responsibilty to himself and the world, and tries so hard to remain a Nice Guy, even as the world decends into Hell around him. One of his lines has always stuck with me: "If you just did nothing, because you thought it wouldn't help, than you'd end up doing less than nothing. Because nothing would change." Like Rau, Kira just got to me, which made the final battle between the two all the more impressive.
    • Le Crueset was in my opinion the best villain of Gundam. This guy was never evil to the point of absurdity, his motivations were all present and his insanity was well explored and revealed. He's perhaps the Gundam crowner of Manipulative Bastard.
  • Flay Allster gets way more flak than she deserves. She is one of the best written characters in the entire show, as well as the most realistic one. Sure, she was a fantastic racist, a Manipulative Bitch and was all-around pretty selfish. But she redeemed herself and changed all that about herself, followed by a Redemption Equals Death. Gundam Seed would have been pretty boring without a character as dynamic as Flay, and I would have liked Destiny way better if it had a character like her.
  • I think Lacus Clyne is one of the best princess-type characters in Gundam. She's kind, gregarious, intelligent, has downright adorable chemistry with Kira, and most importantly, while she (and by extension her father, who is also a well-written character for what little screentime he has) preaches for peace and reconciliation between Naturals and Coordinators, she also understands that platitudes will do little to persuade the genocidal extremists in the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, so she puts weapons in the hands of people willing and able to knock some sense into those extremists.
• My-HiME:
  • Midori Sugiura, in all of her born-to-lead, energetic, goofy goodness.
  • Yuuichi Tate. Non-Action Guy, yes, but a well thought-out and realistically depicted male lead. He's not a knock-out of a Bishōnen, he's not too smart and he's not the funniest guy ever... but his dedication to his loved ones, especially Shiho and Mai, is really admirable, even if he sometimes went about it in the wrong way. He's so human in his feelings and thoughts, something his haters tend to forget.
• Cowboy Bebop:
  • Did anyone call for Spike Spiegel? Hell yes we did. Bang!
  • Did someone call for an Ein too? "BARK!"
  • Ed and Ein make for quite an adorable duo.
  • Noone called him but Jet Black is so badass that he showed up anyway.
  • The Queen of Cloudcuckooland, Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV. She's just MADE of awesome.
  • The final Bebop member, Faye. She comes off looking like walking fanservice but turns out to be well-written and well-developed. Plus she can kick ass when the situation calls for it.
• Berserk:
  • Guts, the most badass manga character EVER. The man goes up against an army of demons armed only with a broken knife and a horn he snapped off, and survives. While doing this, he loses an arm and an eye, and he now has a brand that draws demons to him every night. Does he simply crawl into a hole and wait to die? No, he actively hunts down the strongest of these demons so that he can kill a group of demons even more powerful using a BFS among BFSes. He also goes through significant Character Development while showing how to avoid Badass Decay. He had a kickass character design, too.
  • Serpico has to be one of the best, fans' absolute favorite manga character EVER. He can cut you without ever touching you, fly, and is lightning fast even without the wind-blessed stuff he gets later. Plus, he's like Ash: when Ash turns his hat backwards, shit's gonna go down. Same when Serpico opens his eyes.
    • It's awesome when he catches Guts in a situation where a giant sword is at a disadvantage then proceeds to almost kill Guts. He may even be the only character who knows how to beat Guts.
  • Judeau. A Badass Normal and over all nice guy who willingly doesn't go after the girl he loves to allow his best friend the chance and even helps the two get together. She would be lying if she said the moment during the Eclipse when he Cannot Spit It Out and tell Casca he loves her and dies wishing he did and she saw him as other then just useful didn't break her heart
  • Godo. Only guy who can make Guts shut up with the rage-o-hol for ten minutes. Awesome.
  • Casca. Casca, Casca, Casca. What's not to like about her? She is probably one of the most relatable characters in this series. She's smart, has wit, is a pretty badass fighter, but also has her flaws, but that only makes her more sympathetic if you ask me it's also great that she doesn't cross the "perfect" line at all. From my experience, as a Wo C, I really appreciate that Casca is dark-skinned too, because you don't really see many female characters such as herself in a genre such as Berserk. All of this and more absolutely breaks my heart just thinking about her fate and it actually kind of makes me a little pissed, to think that something of that magnitude happened to her just to help fuel Guts' story line, even though I love Guts to death too and I really want them to be together in the end! I could go on and on about Casca like I do on my blog, but I guess I'll end by saying: I'm rooting for you, girl!
• Death Note:
  • He drew a lot of hate, but Near is awesome.
  • Near is awesome. However, he's no L. There's a reason L's the favorite of both author and artist of Death Note, and a majority of the fanbase. He's just that cool. Yes, he wasn't L, but he wasn't supposed to be. Rather, the point of his character was to introduce a successor who wasn't quite up to par with the original and who still had some work to do to catch up, both to Kira and to the levels of mega-geniousness that L exuded (so, in a way, was the point of Mello's character, but that's getting off topic.) Near fascinated me precisely because he was astoundingly smart and startlingly child-like all at the same time; the layers the author added to his character are really intriguing, making him scarily competent in one area of expertise (and he knows it, goddammit!) yet at the same time coupling that genius with a crippling inability to live day-to-day life on his own. And the way he just brings Kira down is so made of win: calmly and cooly denouncing all of his actions while completely deconstructing everything Light stood for. That badass one-liner he serves Light just after he's been shot, coupled with that badass one-liner he gives the third wannabe Kira in the series' follow-up one-shot.... Near is an awesome character. Straight up.
  • Misa. She's so sweet, cute, and evil at the same time, and just plain fun. One of the best moment in the entire series involved Misa. It came right after Rem had finished explaining about how to kill shinigami using love, and Misa, in a hushed, almost reverent tone of voice, proclaims: "What a beautiful way to kill." I know on an intellectual level that she's a psychotic mass-murderer, but at the same time, she's just so damn adorable that I want to hug her. It's not often that someone succeeds in making a Moe Psycho for Hire.
    • Misa seems majorly stupid next to the super-geniuses of Death Note - and she acts very naive - but she gets her time to shine in the Yotsuba arc when she tricks Higuchi into admitting he's the Third Kira. (And everyone goes, "Whoa, she's not stupid.") She's as sweet as honey when it comes to Light, although she can be a bit... passive when it comes to, uh, everyone else, but when she makes the eye deal the second time and gives up three-fourths of her life (even though she does have an extended life) for Light without batting an eyelash, her devotion to him is definitely heartbreaking. (Let's not even mention how sad it was when she killed herself.) She's totally hilarious.
  • When it comes to minor characters, can't beat Aizawa for being a true conscientious dissenter, given that he's one of six people who actually had the guts to stay with the cause, and rallying the police force so covertly that none of the main characters, let alone the Yotsuba Group, seemed to expect it - backfiring, yes, but providing faceless mooks for the questioning and no doubt preferable to a loose Higuchi with nothing to lose - and the hotel notepad, and that breathtakingly ironic umbrella scene... Pretty much from the moment the afro comes off, just watching his thoughts as things progress gives everything a nice human touch.
  • I find Ryuk utterly adorable, what with his addiction to apples and his "humans are fun!" stuff... even though she is not on his side. I am on his side, which is to say nobody's side, and finds him so awesomely, morbidly adorable it's hard to describe. The amused guffaw. And the apple dance in the second intro!
  • And of course, Light Yagami himself; a Villain Protagonist whom you love to hate and hate to love.
  • Mikami, Mikami. He is one of the most complex and fascinating characters on the show. And his Ax-Crazy is awesome.
  • Matsuda. Snuck into Yotsuba (and got out by faking his own death by falling from a balcony), and risked his life by appearing on TV to help capture Kira. He was a Kira supporter, but didn't let that interfere with his job of capturing Kira. And, of course, his Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass moment in the final episode, when he shoots Light multiple times upon learning that he's Kira.
    • Matsuda seemed more like he sympathized with Kira's viewpoint, rather than out-and-out supporting it. He experienced the same "wait, who's the good guy, here...?" doubt that the audience did, but ultimately stuck with his job and his friends. His admiration of both Soichiro and Light just makes his entire story heartbreaking, especially at the end of the manga, where he can't quite bring himself to believe that Light, his brilliant and wonderful friend and colleague and the son of his mentor, was really the enemy that they had been searching for. Otherwise, Matsuda is wonderful and smexy and after Soichiro, probably the most heroic character in the series.
  • What about Rem? She was so loyal and cared for Misa so much. <3
  • I has always thought Mello was really cool, for bringing some action into this otherwise purely thinker's anime.
  • Soichiro. One of the only characters who can be utterly devout in his beliefs, and yet utterly uncorruptible, even refusing the power of the Death Note when given half the chance. Also, Naomi Misora - despite going through some real emotional turmoil, she's so smart, cautious and quick-thinking that she would have solved the Kira case herself if she hadn't been tricked by Light using her emotional turmoil - even Word of God admits that he killed her off too early because she was too smart and would solve the case too early.
  • I don't think it's been adequately described in exactly how many ways L is one of the baddest motherfuckers in the history of fiction. This was a man who faced a magical serial killer armed with an untracable, nigh omni-present method of murder with absolutely no knowledge on how it worked, why it worked, and what kind of person would use it, and ALMOST WON. He narrowed his search down from the entire world to Light Yagami in no more than a few months, using clues that even Crazy-Prepared Light didn't take into account. He worked hard for every hint he ever obtained, wheras Light relied on luck or INVINCIBLE gods of death half the time. He protected himself from Kira by going up to Light's face and rubbing his true identity in it, and stayed one step ahead of Light every time the two of them had a "friendly" chat. When faced with a second, more powerful Kira, L briefly contemplates going back into hiding, but he almost immediatly decides FUCK THAT and actively baits himself, arresting the 2nd Kira AND all but confirming the identity of the 1st one in the process. L never feared death, and goes into almost every situation knowing that he's probably going to die, this lead to him employing a Dead Man's Switch, which eventually alerted his successors to his death, this completely crippled Light's scheme to supplant L and steal his identity (planning to become the investigator of his own case). L was also able to deduce as much of Light's Memory Gambit as humanly possible considering the scarce information that he had, and as soon as he got a hold of the Death Note he began to figure out the thing so fast it terrified even Light.
• Case Closed's Shinichi Kudo. Noble, full of class, and one of the smartest characters I have had the pleasure of reading about.
  • To elaborate... He's brilliant, well-read, funny with a sort of dry, snarky, wit, and honestly kind and caring, especially about Ran, but her alone. Sure, he was a bit of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold in the first few stories, but being Conan snapped him out of it, and brought out the Heart of Gold, leaving the Jerk behind. While sometimes he may seem uncaring about the multitude of murders always occurring around him, he's affected by each and every one. He has an amazing memory, which certainly helps him solve so many cases, but it also means he remembers all those cases that much better. Sure, lying to Ran for so long isn't good, but he never meant for it to last so long. Right at the beginning, he nearly did tell her, it was only because of Dr. Agasa that he didn't. And after all, living there as Conan, he has to see every time she lets the mask slip, and admits how much she misses him. Early on, his parents came to take him to America, where he'd be safe from the Black Organization, but he refused to go, because he didn't want to leave her behind. He calls her as Shinichi as often as he can, and whenever he gets a temporary cure, his first thought is of her. Every day he spends as Conan, he sees it hurting her, and his resolve strengthens that much more. Somehow, someday, he will find a way back to her.
  • Ran. She's barely seen the guy she loves for who knows how long, but she hasn't moved on, she's going to wait for him. And yet, despite missing him so much, she tries not to let it show. She's always sweet to Conan, and hates to see him get hurt. She's smart, pretty, patient, strong, and if you hurt Conan, Shinichi, or anyone else she loves, you're going down. She's not taking those karate lessons for nothing!
  • Haibara. She always seems to know what's going on.
• Dragon Ball:
  • Son Goku is still the best of all the Shonen manga/anime heroes in my opinion.
  • From Dragon Ball Z:
    • The unholy trio of Frieza, Cell and Majin Buu. The original, all-powerful, manga/anime Big Bads.
    • I'm unashamed to admit that Vegeta's my favorite. Not only is he badass but he went through a great, gradual change from pscyotic villain to full-fledged Z warrior.
    • As I am unashamed of my love for Future Trunks: sweet and shy, yet a total monster on the battlefield, and such lovely hair!
    • Anime has evolved greatly over the years, but Piccolo will always be one of the biggest anime Badasses around.
    • Tien Shinhan. The original, original, rival archetype founder and Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy to the stars. He later becomse a Martial Pacifist and has the balls to take on Cell.
  • Goku is awesome in his own right, but my personal favorite is by far his eldest son. Son Gohan is everything that made Goku great (Noble, kind, idealistic and gentle), but in addition to that, he has a great intelligence and a tad more complexity as a character as he struggles to accept his role as Earth's defender due to his own pacifistic values.
• Kerberos from Cardcaptor Sakura is surprisingly funny and cute for a Guardian Beast, and his interactions with the humans are priceless. It's also nice that he doesn't lose his sense of humour when he regains his actual form.
  • And he's smarter than he looks, too!
  • Toya Kinomoto. Not just for being dead sexy. He's also undoubtedly the series' best example of Hidden Depths, what with him acting like a stock bratty big brother in front of Sakura, yet always looking out for her in reality. It's kind of sad that she'll never know, because after all, she's not the only one with secrets.
    • Not just for Sakura, but he always looks out for Yukito, too. He tells Kaho that he already knew he wasn't human, yet stayed with him anyway. He gives up his ability to see and speak with his deceased mother in order to save Yukito and Yue, and Yue's cold front doesn't fool him for a second. For all that he acts cool, he loves very deeply. He mothers Sakura when she's ill, buys gifts for the Mirror card when she attempts to cover for Sakura, he was deeply hurt by Kaho breaking up with him, and listen to him scream when Yukito falls off the balcony. Not only does Toya manage to catch his wrist, he jumps off the balcony and bounces down the tree branches to reach his side. At his core, he's a very kind person. The first time he met Mirror, he thought she was just an ordinary ghost using his sister's image to carry out some kind of business, and wanted to help her, when she was only using him to mess with Sakura. She was so guilty that she deliberately mirrored Sakura's movements to help her guess which card she was and seal her.
  • Tomoyo. Who wouldn't want a friend like her?
  • Even if she is an unrepentant brat who spent about half of her screen time trying to get between the gay couple, I still love Nakuru to bits. Her Genki Girl personality is just too hard to resist—you know things are bound to get much more lively whenever she's around. The fact that she's a CLAMP character who doesn't struggle with some sort of angst or other is pretty darn refreshing, too.
  • Hell, the Cardcaptor Sakura cast is just as cool when put into Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-.
  • Let's not forget The Title Character HERSELF. can make friends with anything and everything, highly athletic from the get-go, determined, resourceful, more mature than Her mascot, and most importantly of all She goes from being a modestly prescient schoolgirl to the most powerful sorceress or sorcerer of all time in just two years and still manages to stop it from going to Her head.
• Neon Genesis Evangelion:
  • I have a thing for Alternate!Rei from Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, for her combination of her more cheerful persona (in contrast to Normal!Rei's emotionlessness) and her Moe ditziness.
  • Angelic Days Asuka is also a lot more... manageable than her original counterpart. More of a common Tsundere than a crazy one.
  • Say what you will about Shinji in the series proper being a Wangsty Emo Teen. Honestly, can you say you wouldn't be a psychological mess if you went through half the stuff he did?
  • I have always preferred the original Rei. Woobishness, more dignified, and a just plain interesting character in my eyes.
  • I love the original Asuka too. One of the best examples of a Jerkass Woobie. She's not a pleasant person at all but her psychological issues are what makes her interesting while her bitchiness is what makes her enjoyable to watch.
  • Shinji Ikari - in short, I absolutely love Shinji, because he is a lot like me. I've never identified with a character so much as I do with Shinji. His angst, brokeness, and desire to be loved all feel like a part of me so I see him as someone I can completely relate to.
    • Seconded. I started watching Evangelion expecting Shinji to be the useless, whiny, melodramatic wuss everyone said he was. I couldn't have been more wrong. Not gonna lie, I just wanna give him a huge hug and tell him everything will be okay. I don't get why people hate him so much.
  • Shinji and Asuka really don't deserve alot of the crap they get from alot of people. Sure, their personalities can be obnoxious, but they're VERY screwed up in the head, so of course they won't be perfect, nice, sociable people.
  • Mari Illustrious Makinami. That girl is pure, contracted badass. I mean, she spends more than half of her screentime fighting!
  • Until recently, I disliked Kaworu Nagisa. It's only upon actually sitting down and watching the series again (along with Rebuild and Gakuen Datenroku) that I realized that Kaworu is one of the few characters in the series who confronts his very human feelings without fear. And yes, the irony is apparent...
  • Misato Katsuragi - sure she acts like a total slob at home, but when she's at work? Badass. She's probably one of the most awesome and likeable characters, and also the most awesome of the NERV employees. Of course, I also love Ritsuko Akagi and Maya Ibuki - and Gendo Ikari deserves an honourable mention - because let's face it, even if he's a totally self-centred bastard out for himself, you DO have to admire the amount of carefully-calculated control he has over all his employees and close allies, to the point that none of them have the nerve or guts to really oppose him until it's too late to make a difference.
  • Misato, because she manages to be Plucky Comic Relief (in the earlier episodes, anyway), a highly competent NERV employee, and one of the deepest characters in the series, all at the same time. Also, she has the best beergasm ever.
• One Piece:
  • Luffy is maybe one of the most supremely lovable main characters. He's strong, has profound emotional intelligence, and has a gigantic heart, yet he never comes off as a canon-sue like a lot of other similar characters because of all the great humor derived from his (numerous) unambiguous flaws. Initially, he comes off as the stupidest of the Big 3 Shonen Jump protagonists. But he's actually the most experienced. The ways he's more complex than his idiot persona makes him is incredible. I appreciate how fighting isn't his only motivation, and he's a genuinely friendly guy. He's not prideful either, and acknowledges weakness.
    • He's a Dumbass Rubber Pirate who makes fans laugh at his stupidity, stare in awe at his Moment of Awesome, and feel so good when he kicks the asses of self entitled assholes. And the moment we see him in his tender moments, we realize that Luffy is one of the nicest main characters we've seen in a while. So yeah, Luffy FTW.
  • Zoro. Truth be told, I didn't like him very much at first, having been disenchanted with good-looking, badass male characters. All that changed when it became increasingly clear to I that he's actually a deeply caring person underneath his gruff reserved-ness.
    • He was cool to me since Day 1, and how couldn't he? When he isn't hilarious, he is a hard boiled badass who's matches are some of the best fights in the series. Personally, when I was watching the Alabasta Arc, (which I personally couldn't care for too much), when I saw that the next fight after Nami's was Zoro's, I knew it was gonna be awesome. And that was just one moment. So yeah, Zoro FTW.
  • Nami: smart, competent, sexy and boy howdy does she know it! She's got believable character flaws: she's greedy, manipulative, and utterly selfish and even cowardly at times, but despite all this she's got a great heart and a big dream. Her development into a kinder and more generous person is subtle and utterly believable, and her upgrade to a genuine Action Girl was both hilarious and kick ass!
  • Usopp! Brave Warrior of the Sea, with an army of 30,000 men at his back! A man who put up a good fight against Luffy, using nothing but his brains! A man who, faced with stress and fear, developed the split personality of Sogeking, the King of Snipers, an honest to god Toku superhero complete with awesomely cheesy theme song.
  • The Three Admirals are all incredible characters. Aokiji's a genuinely good guy who does what he feels is his duty, but actually knows where to draw the line. Kizaru's just so chill about everything that you just can't hate him, beating up pirates basically as an afterthought. Akainu is basically a freaking Terminator. Damn near nothing can stop him from killing his target and god help anyone who gets in the way, no matter who's side their on.
  • Dear Lord, Sir Crocodile. Without a doubt, THE Magnificent Bastard that every other Magnificent Bastard in existence wants to be. Sure, he is responsible for making Princess Vivi's life a living hell, but the way he manipulated the kingdom of Alabasta into doing what he wanted up until Luffy finally stopped him had I on the edge of his seat.
    • Not to mention just about EVERYTHING he's done in the Impel Down/Marineford Arcs is pure awesome, even if we have no idea what he's actually DOING. Is it a Heel–Face Turn? Or is he just pulling another plan? Is he starting to actually care about other people, or is he just doing everything for his own benefit? It doesn't matter, because whatever he's pulling, he's doing it epically well.
    • His appearance was the perfect example of averted Villain Decay. Being the Big Bad of the second big arc, from what seems like right at the beginning of the story, he was ripe for being underwhelming after so long a time. Right up until he starts disintegrating walls, and you remember that this is the guy who basically KILLED the main character twice before.
  • Brook. From the sheer randomness of his introduction ("okay, Franky just joined the crew, and Robin and Usopp just rejoined it. What's going to happen next?" (a week or two later) "A finely-dressed skeleton with an afro joins the crew?!") to his tragic backstory (which expanded on a backstory which had previously been told), along with his humourous antics, his brilliant interactions with the crew, his awesome laugh, his theme song which managed to combine Awesome Music and Tear Jerker into one catchy musical number.
  • Speaking of Wierdos, Franky himself has to be one of the most unbelievably awesome characters ever invented. He's a cola powered Cyborg built out of pieces from a junkyard. He has a blue pompadour, the forearms of Pop-eye the Sailor, the chin of Bruce Campbell, wears a Hawaiian shirt and speedo at all times, cries Manly Tears at the drop of a hat, plays acoustic guitar ballads, and according to Word of God is based on Ace Ventura.
  • Vivi. Even though she's a princess, damn it, she SHOULD have stayed with the crew!
  • Mr. 2/Bon Kurei. Introduced as one of those characters where you think, "Aw man, this one's a sissy, and they'll just use his Camp Gay for a joke." Then you find out that he's a shape shifter and can impersonate the king, maybe the most useful power of all of Baroque Works. THEN he fights Sanji, and almost murders him...using SWAN SHOES. What do you mean, that's not awesome? So now he's not only a clown and Camp Gay, but you can RESPECT him as a villain. But how does it all end? With a giant Heel Face Turn where he sacrifices himself so Luffy can go on because of the one moment of friendship they shared before they figured out they were on opposite sides. And he sacrifices himself TWICE.
  • And on that note, Mr. 3 in the battle to rescue Ace. You should know the scene.
  • Whitebeard. THE GODDAMN WHITEBEARD. Let us recall what this juggernaut of a human being did before he died. Got slashed, shot and blasted literally hundreds of times, lost part of his face/got his organs melted, shed Manly Tears when his son died, caused millions of Berries worth of collateral damage to Marineford, hugged and forgave the son that stabbed him, slashed and blasted Blackbeard, held the title of Strongest Man in the World and did most of this while having a terminal illness.
  • Sanji is one of the most badass and competent members of the Strawhats. He's got one of the best fighting styles, has saved everyone's asses multiple times (Mr.Prince anyone?), and can literally kick the ugly out of you. And his status as The Chew Toy has been utterly hilarious.
  • Robin adds a more mature and emotionally stable character to the crew. Her mysterious behavior, as well as her suspicious motives, set in motion the most emotional story arc in One Piece: Enies Lobby.
    • Her abilities are used to break the spines of some of the biggest bastards EVER, she can talk about morbid topics as easily as she can talk about the weather, she's at the SAME LEVEL as the Monster Trio, and she looks AMAZING! And we love her for it.
    • Not only is she a complete badass, under her cool and mysterious persona is an incredibly sweet and loyal person. She has a dark sense of humour, is incredibly passionate about the things she loves (like archaeology), looks beautiful, and would go to hell and back just to protect her friends. Also helps that one of the most emotional and powerful arcs of the entire manga revolves around her.
  • Tony Tony Chopper is the only Zoan-type to join the crew (at least now) and acts as the ship's doctor. His actions with the crew can make for some very funny moments, since he is basically still a kid. But he also has a really hard-hitting backstory to go with it. His fighting style's also badass, since he can change forms on the fly from a more human-shaped form to more of an actual-reindeer looking form. Was it mentioned that he's goddamn ADORABLE?!
  • Let's not forget who many people consider to be the Chopper's Distaff Counterpart—and my choice for the eleventh Straw Hat—Carrot! She's just an adorable bundle of energy that comes in the form of a bunny. And not only does she have many, MANY adorable mannerisms and expressions, but she can really hold her own in battle, even more so than ChoBro!
  • Luffy's Evil Counterpart Marshall D. Teach aka "Blackbeard" has one of the best debut scenes ever and is quite possible the biggest Ham in a series full of Large Hams. He's truly a worthy candidate for the overall Big Bad of the story and his antics are just extremely entertaining to watch.
• The idiot trio and their big sis Adette from Overman King Gainer, the antics of all 4 are always fun to watch whether Adette is riling up a riot instead of calming it down, or the idiot trio are complaining about their rank. Naturally the episodes that have a large portion of the 4 are always great.
• Trigun's Vash the Stampede. I watched Trigun on a whim, expecting just another decent anime series, and Vash somehow managed to become one of my favourite characters in anything, ever.
  • He's in less than a dozen episodes but Nicholas D. Wolfwood is the coolest guy in the show. As a travelling priest and gunman Wolfwood is both a funny guy and serious foil to Vash, since he challenges Vash's naive idealism. His greatest moment is his last, when he makes a confession before dying. His second greatest is helping Vash in the climax despite his death.
  • Wolfwood deserves a mention. Proper badass, right there.
• Hellsing: Alucard. He's a murderous, psychotic, sadistic monster that delights in torturing and terrifying his enemies before eating their souls, and yet is so undeniably awesome when he goes about it.
  • It's also worth noting, that the definition of a vampire has grown to become very loose. Some involve people with capes who reside in the darkness. Some involve stone masks that turn people into Body Horror personified. Some involve... people WHO SPARKLE IN THE SUNLIGHT?! No, no, no. Alucard is his own definition of a vampire, while still remaining true to the original. He's utterly terrifying. He's the type of vampire where, if you tried to hug him, he's rip you to shreds without even thinking. In fact, you wouldn't even want to hug him, just ask Luke Valentine.
  • From the same show, the Major. He's so gleefully over the top it's fantastic, and he makes those awesome Rousing Speeches of Evil. "My friends, it has often been said that I like war..."
  • Sir Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing is the most badass Badass Normal in the history of the universe. I mean, even HER NAME is awesome!
  • Seras Victoria. Among the most badass of all Badass adorables.
  • Capt. Pip Bernodotte and the Wild Geese mercenaries. They may have lost, but damn, did they put up one hell of a fight against the Millenium forces.
  • SINNERS, REPENT! THOU HAST LET THIS PAGE EXIST TOO LONG WITHOUT INCLUDING ANDERSON!
  • Walter C. Dornez. He is a well-dressed, cultured English butler who never loses his dry wit cool, even while cutting seemingly-invincible Nazi vampires to shreds with fucking dental floss. He's also in his seventies and is skilled enough to have fought alongside ALUCARD, the immortal vampire king, when Walter was only 14 YEARS OLD. And he's an ordinary human.
  • A smaller and completely unexpected example: Captain Pickman from the TV series. A Mauve Shirt Canon Foreigner Badass Normal who only has about 10 minutes of screen time spread out among over 3 episodes, yet manages to COMPLETELY subvert the [1] useless appearance of Hellsing's hapless regular soldiers, keeps his cool even when his whole squad is massacred, surviving with his ordinary weapons until Alucard rescues him, and then manages to fight-side-by-side with the Vampire King himself. As a final act of awesomeness, he unflinchingly requests that Alucard kill him so he can die as a human, not as a monster. Even Alucard was impressed. How cool is Captain Pickman? His English voice actor went on to voice the MAJOR.
• Hetalia: Axis Powers:
  • Russia managed to be huggably cute and absolutely terrifying and creepy at the same time. Also, Two Words: RUSSIA PIIINK! (Who's a girl now?)
  • Poland and his Ambiguously Gay Valley Girl Accent is amusing.
  • America somehow takes the annoying stereotypes of the country and somehow makes them endearing character flaws, showing him as a hilarious big kid. He's certainly my hero. Also, I have a thing for glasses and flight jackets. I'd want to hug him but he'd probably crush my ribs.
  • Even though the series is based off of National Stereotypes, England could be one of the most fleshed-out characters because of the influence of his history.
    • England shows just how effective the Tsundere archetype can be when done right. He's hilarious when he tries to be a prim and proper gentleman and utterly fails when America, France, or a bottle of alcohol is placed in front of him, and he's adorable when he talks to his fairies and unicorns. Then you find out the main reason for his grouchiness, and his Tsundere nature suddenly becomes a lot more poignant. He's got surprising depth for a stereotype-based character.
  • Germany is such a Drill Sergeant Nasty Big Guy on the outside, while being such an absolute sappy sweetheart on the inside. And he's like a giant huggable teddy bear when his Dere mode surfaces. It's what makes his interactions with Italy so adorable it hurts but it isn't Sickeningly Sweet, so in a good way.
  • China's cool because he's the best fighter, or at least one of the best, and he's fun and cute.
  • America is awesome because he's funny, and love or hate us politically, it's kinda hard to argue with that depiction. A loud, not-so-bright big eater who fancies himself a hero, but means well in the end — definitely America.
  • Spain. Just... Spain. He is not annoying, he's not mean, he's not selfish, he's got some of the series' best heroic moments, he seems to be always in a good mood... and he's not boring.
  • Japan. It's an outwardly stoic but inwardly shy characters, and Japan manages the feat of simultaneously being one of the sanest members of the cast and being just as weird and fail!adorable as them once you get past his deceptively stoic exterior. There's also how he tries so hard to be a polite and mature member of society (and does succeed...somewhat) even when confronted with rather...outgoing individuals, sanity-stretching/dignity-stripping situations, and his own social awkwardness, Covert Pervertedness.
  • Lovable Sex Maniac France, for being an overly dramatic depraved manwhore with an epic laugh. Hon-hon-hon-hon!
  • Romano aka South Italy. He has a bad mouth and a grumpy personality, but his insecurities make you want to take him and give him a great big bear hug.
  • Switzerland's a cynical, gun-toting xenophobe, but I'll be damned if his relationship with Liechtenstein isn't the cutest thing ever.
  • Italy can be very sweet. What a cute, energetic, and overall goofy character he is!
  • All of these characters are great, but none of them hold candle to the awesomeness that is Prussia!
  • the Baltics. They just can't catch a break, especially poor Lithuania, but I'll be darned if they aren't sweet and adorable in spite of that. Plus, the actual countries themselves have such a fascinating history, which just endears me to their Hetalia versions even more.
  • The Hetalia girls. They're such a diverse bunch, from strong-willed Hungary to sweet-hearted Liechtenstein and Ukraine to hilariously Yandere Belarus to plucky Belgium and Seychelles, and the fact that it's a predominantly male cast just makes them stand out all the better.
  • Austria in all his stingy, stuffy, elegantly classical glory.
  • Sealand, desu-yo! He might not be a real country.
  • Prussia. Fans were expecting Italy to take up all of the screen time, but when he didn't, some of them focused on Germany more. Then this guy happened. His ego is contagious, he's entertaining as hell, and honestly, he is the craziest character in a show full of them. And we love him for it.
• Higurashi: When They Cry:
  • Rena can alternate very well between Axe-Crazy Cute and Psycho girl to lovable fangirl of all things cute. It helps she's also The Woobie.
  • Keiichi. He's paranoid, perverted, and clueless about women. But his love for his friends and his sheer GAR shine through, inspiring Rika, and later Hanyuu to take a stand against fate.
  • The cast of Higurashi as a whole. Nearly all of them are awesome and absurdly likeable. Take a bow, guys. You deserve it.
  • Shion. She's not even in on the others' plans, but the moment she knows they're in danger she's willing to give up her life, and she won't let Keiichi take her place — and not because she loves him but because she knows her sister does.That is one awesome friend.
  • Also Mion, the absolute best club leader ever. Her zany club activities, often perverted penalty games, interesting family history, and relationship with her twin sister were all some of my favorite things in the series.
  • Satoko, Rika, and Takano. Satoko goes first. She's this strong, assertive character who started out as a total bitch, but becomes nice enough to be entertaining and likable. She has an interesting story, and tries her hardest to make things right even when she makes the wrong choices. And on top of that she has an ultra cool laugh. Rika I like for her story and double personality. She's just fascinating. Pretty much the same for Takano as Rika.
    • With Takano, it's because her Freudian Excuse is so well done that I felt sorry for her no matter what sorts of horrible things she does. I have never before sympathized with someone who just shot six kids, and I likely never will again.
• Umineko: When They Cry:
  • Battler Ushiromiya. His sheer determination enables him to pull off feats that would make Keiichi proud.
  • The Big Bad Beatrice. She kept screwing with the characters' heads, and even plays on both the sides of good and the sides of evil. She even creates Eva-Beatrice for her plan to come into fruition. She's such a Magnificent Bastard and Laughably Evil. Beatrice was a great villainess.
  • Maria. She is simply just adorable, and scary at the same time.
  • You know who are just awesome incarnated? Zepar and Furfur. My god they are awesome, and they are so utterly hilarious with nearly everything they do that I find it impossible not to love them.
• Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei: Kafuka Fuura somehow combines beaing The Pollyanna and Axe-Crazy. And she makes it awesome.
• Yotsuba&!:
  • It is impossible to hate Yotsuba Koiwai. She's pure joy in a five-year-old body and green pigtails. She climbs light poles to act like a cicada, imitates gangster movies, and has a smile for everyone she meets. The sheer will and determination she demonstrates in delivering a bottle of tasty milk to Fuuka, who had missed out in the previous chapter, when she had no idea where Fuuka's destination was.
  • Yotsuba's dad. He's so cute. He tries his best to take care of his little girl, but he's scared of dogs and an ultimate klutz.
• Pokémon: The Series:
  • Reggie. How the hell can the older brother of Paul be so freakin' awesome? He's smart, he's nice, he's a hell of a trainer, and he ain't too bad on the eyes either.
  • Croagunk combines wanton trainer abuse with a hilarious inversion of The Beastmaster relationship as his trainer, Brock, is the one being dominated. It taking Misty and Max's job as the one to pull Brock away from any chick of the week was what made it hilarious and memorable. Throw in some zoophilia implications and it is one of the best Pokémon-human interactions in the entire series.
  • Yellow, from Pokémon Adventures. Anyone else trying a pacifist gal with the special power to understand Pokémon who needs to rescue the previous main character and with "vast potential" would end up as a horrifying character at best, if not a Creator's Pet. Instead she comes across as an actually reasonable result of that sort of personality and capabilities, making reasonable mistakes due to her inexperience and endangering others when she tries to protect even the villains, and then works hard to learn from her mistakes. Then she gets bonus points for running up to That One Cheating Bastard Boss of the video games and pulling a Superweapon Surprise.
  • And Giovanni isn't a half-bad attempt at a Magnificent Bastard With A Heart Of Gold, hinting at much greater depths than the video game or anime really do.
  • Green is the most awesome girl in Pokémon Adventures! A lovable, fiendishly clever thief and Con Man at first, who goes through great Character Development while always retaining what makes her so fun.
  • I love anime Team Rocket because they're really not so bad. Somehow their determination to never give up and do nice things every now and then really makes me happy.
    • Not only do they have a totally badass motto, they're also hilariously funny at times, and brilliantly incompetent villains. The presence of the Team Rocket trio in every episode of Pokémon is such a big part of the show, and it just wouldn't be the same without them. Not only that, but all three of them have great backstories and are arguably developed much better than any of the protagonists. Throw in some insane hairstyles, trademark uniforms, and a penchant for outrageous disguises, and you have some of the most memorable villains from any kids' show.
    • Team Rocket in Best Wishes has blown my mind. They did what I had never thought possible; Took A Level In Bad Ass and became serious threats. That just makes the show so much more exciting and different now, as their comical shtick had gotten old after a decade.
  • (singing) Ash's mom has got it goin' on...
  • Tell me, who has seen an episode of Pokémon and never wanted to give that cute little ten year old Ash a hug?
    • He may be huggable early on, but in most of the later arcs Ash really does grow into a good trainer. He really does't deserve the flak he gets from the fandom.
    • He's been on the air for almost 2 decades now, and something tells me he'll continue being a childhood icon to more up-and-coming anime fans or Pokémon Trainers for even more years to come. And this is a ride I'm happy to have even been a small part of, even during the bad parts. So you know what? Keep going Ash, until you finally become a Pokémon Master. You got fans who'll stick with you every step of the way.
  • Gotta love Pikachu. Every time I eat ketchup, I think of him. Aim for the horn!
  • May from the Advanced series. Cute, sweet, energetic, well developed (in two different ways), and a girl who just gets increasingly more badass as the series progresses. By the time her starter Pokémon fully evolves and she's strong enough to match Ash in battle, you really feel proud of how far she's come.
  • Nando. Yes, I am gushing about a character who only appeared for 10 episodes out of Diamond & Pearl's 191-episode-long run. But who cares? He's a sweet, sexy Bishōnen Spanish music master with a gold Mew harp, amazing Contest talent, a sexy accent, and he's a Friend to All Living Things. And he gave one of the best Contest performances I've ever seen in his battle with Zoey. This guy is the #1 reason why I love the D&P saga, and he was the only competitor I was cheering for during the Grand Festival. The only one. And the most amazing part is that he started off as a random character of the day who could have only appeared for one episode, but the writers managed to take him so much farther and created the best Pokémon character ever. Rock on, Naoshi-san. You'll always be an Ensemble Dark Horse to me. <3
  • Gotta give love for Zoey too. I feel she and Nando and even Ursula were enjoyable characters who deserved alot more than what the anime gave them overall.
    • (troper who wrote Nando's entry) Agreed. What other Coordinator could utilize a combination of moves that could MAKE A LEAFEON ABLE TO FLY?!!
  • Iris and Cilan of Best Wishes. Most fun travelling companions ever!
    • Seconded with Cilan. He's an adorable, well-dressed geek who's a fantastic cook and never seems to run out of energy. He never failed to be supportive of Ash and Iris, and shows a lot of compassion for Pokémon, including his own. He takes his job as a gym leader seriously and always has advice to give other trainers. This troper was crushed when he left with Iris at the end of Gen 5.
    • Despite her condescending attitude, Iris shows time and time again that she does care about Ash and Cilan and sees them as her good chums. She is one of the few female companions with a unique goal of becoming the best Dragon master (which is also difficult due to dragon Pokemon being hard to catch and raise). She realistically has setbacks, but she also refuses to give up and also stand up for what she believes is right.
  • What, no love for Harley??! He manages to be awesome, funny, evil, hot, manipulative, and lovable all at the same time!
  • No Trip on here? Come on! He's the only main rival toward Ash that isn't such a prick and there's a hint that he has a lot of depth to him if you just pay attention to his attitude. He's so adorable when he's in his fanboy mode over Alder and he has a Vanillite!
  • There's a suspicious lack of Bianca here. Maybe her behavior in the Club Battle arc was a little obnoxious, but come on, she's just so bubbly and happy and friendly all the time it's really hard to get mad at her (and even harder to stay mad)! It helps that she also Took a Level in Badass come the Clubsplosion.
  • Georgia, the Dragon Buster. She's incredibly badass, beautiful, and does a great job at busting whatever Dragon-types she can. She also has a impressive pokemon party.
  • Burgundy may be a Butt-Monkey, but she's my Butt-Monkey (& also a sympathetic one due to her being such a screw-up), and you just gotta love her antics and interactions with other characters, particularly Cilan and Georgia.
  • Also Stephan, who got probably the best arc out of all the Best Wishes rivals.
  • No love for Dawn? Well, lemme fix that! She still stands today as my favorite female travelling companion and one of my favorite Pokemon anime characters period. She's driven, she's cute, she's confident, and she develops quite nicely from the beginning to the end of the Diamond & Pearl series. Her rivalries with Zoey and Ursula led to some magnificent battles. Oh, and let's not forget about the Wallace Cup battle with May. That was a thing of beauty. This troper was honestly sad when Dawn had to go. She will be sorely missed.
  • Serena is awesome due to the simple fact that she wants to show her mother how serious she is about achieving her goals.
  • Snivy is one of the best Pokemon that Ash has ever had. Completely cool, collected, and an overall badass. She's also the only sane 'mon to most of the cast's antics.
• Darker than Black:
  • November 11 is such a cool character, not only is he rather amusing and even somewhat likable despite being amoral, he definitely proves that freezing powers are not something to laugh at. November's solution to second-hand-smoke is unique.
  • Hei, a.k.a. Chinese Electric Batman. He falls squarely into my warped definition of Badass Adorable, which for any normal female would be "Badass and hawt," and he can be a surprisingly complicated character considering that the fact that he has really cool powers is supposed to make him inescapably sociopathic and his hardcore stoicism and acting ability often make it difficult to tell what he knows, thinks, or feels about anything. It's also pretty cool to see how the different sides of his personality tend to come into play in different situations and how he's been shaped by his godawful past.
  • Havoc. It takes epic skills to make a mass-murderer who was a hair away from eating babies into someone the fans just want to hug.
  • Yin is the most adorably sad character I has ever seen. She's supposedly emotionless but she's obviously suffering inside, which shows during the rare but precious times she speaks. Did I mention she's cute?
• Mobile Fighter G Gundam: Master. Asia. His physical feats in the series are hilarious and awesome, especially since the series doesn't give an explanation for them other than "he's really good at kung-fu." This equates to him being able to destroy Humongous Mecha with his bare hands, run across machine gun fire, catch bullets (fired by Humongous Mecha), defeat people and mecha using a sash or Domon's headband (including a laser towel?! when he's in his Gundam), often using them to cut things or by spinning them so fast they become drills, trained his horse to pilot a horse-shaped Humongous Mecha just so his own mecha could ride on top of it, can play his braided ponytail like a flute, stand on lasers, breathe fire, teaches Sun Tzu's The Art of War to zombies and kicks freaking skyscrapers in the air. Not to mention the most delicious of Narm "I will become SUPER ASIA!" or his fondness for randomly striking dramatic kung-fu poses.
• Simoun: Yun is an excellent character. Originally presented as a somewhat snooty Mauve Shirt waiting to happen, because of an unexpected overwhelmingly positive response to her unapologetic religiosity and blunt criticism of the other characters' more egregious behaviour from both viewers and the cast and crew of the series, she got a simultaneously very beautiful and immensely challenging Character Arc originally intended for another character and ended up one of the most powerful and recognizable symbols of the show's quasi-existentialist, Benjaminian religious philosophy. She gave the distinctly hit-and-miss screenwriter Okada Mari the chance to write some of her best and most serious dialogue, without sacrificing humanizing (and somewhat amusing) character traits like a distaste for onions (which she's hilariously defensive about the one time it's brought up) and a mildly antisocial tendency.
• Negima! Magister Negi Magi:
  • Chachamaru and Evangeline are just made of sweet, tragic win with ample helpings of asskick thrown in for good measure.
  • Negi's power up has got to be some of the best character development.
  • Setsuna is by far one of the single cutest yet ass-kicky characters
  • Kotarou for being the proud, acknowledged and happy-go-lucky Idiot Hero that he is, which makes for a great contrast with sometimes-mopey Negi.
  • Yue
  • Jack Rakan. The man is so freaking awesome that he could give Kamina a run for his money. The man punches the ground and leaves a crater in the shape of a fist. His fight with Negi. All eight chapters of it. You can not keep the man down.
  • Nagi
  • Nodoka. En addition to the epic amounts of Moe that she emanates, she's probably one of the bravest characters in the entire series. Despite the fact that she constantly gets put into intensely dangerous or frightening situations, she's one of the few characters who never has any sort of Heroic BSoD or bouts of Self-Deprecation. Her first response to just about any situation to do what she can, even if it involves sneaking up on the Big Bad in the middle of a fight or standing up to a being who just erased two of her friends from existence. It's subtle, but she has her badass moments.
  • Konoka. She's smart, kind and has a mischievous side to her. She's rich, but doesn't flaunt it, a bit of a ditz, but not to an annoying extreme. And her scenes with Setsuna are full of win.
• My-Otome: Garderobe Academy would surely be a less hectic school if more people followed the example of one Irina Woods. She's smart, mildly goofy, and arguably the nicest and well-meaning character out of the bunch. I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that without Irina's intervention (namely finding a way to get Erstin's last written letter to Nina after she was killed and helping temporarily reboot the Fumi System so that the Meisters stood a chance against Schwarz's Slave army), the ending to the series would have been a damn depressing one.
• Xabungle: Jiron Amos. Full stop. I knew of the series's infamous ICBM catch for quite a while now, but only beheld the greatness of Jiron after playing Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden and realizing the guy is more hotblooded than the entire cast of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann put together. It's easy for a man with courage to pilot a machine that gets stronger in accordance to your willpower to win against all odds. It's damn near impossible for a man with courage to pilot a machine that runs on nothing more than ordinary gasoline and still win against all odds. That is what Jiron is; a Real Robot pilot pulling off amazing feats while using a machine that has nothing mystical or magical about it. He wins his fights because he forces himself to, not because of any kind of deus ex machina.
• Soul Eater:
  • Death the Kid. Raging case of (realistic) OCD aside, he manages to be a pretty nice guy. No daddy issues, no angsting about being a shinigami, and best of all, he's not the arrogant son-of-a-rich-guy that he could be.
  • Dr. Stein's the best character on the show. The most interesting moments of the Soul Eater characters tend to be when they're on the verge of succumbing to madness, and Stein is in said condition for half the series!
  • Dr. Franken Stein, who beat one of Shibusen's top students while sitting in his chair. He lacks a Freudian Excuse for his vicious, sadistic habits, has hidden depths of humanity and fear while seemingly reveling in the odd chance he gets to fight, all with the suggestion that, perhaps, this isn't really what he wants. chaos and fear are everywhere in the series, but Stein exemplifies it better than the rest.
  • Soul Eater. His unwavering loyalty to Maka aside, Soul is pragmatic to boot! Most other characters would either refuse a Deal with the Devil entirely (until they were inevitably forced to accept it somehow), or accept it with the intention of turning the tables, but wind up getting used anyway. Not Soul. He dives in and uses what power the little demon in his head has to offer, but never loses control of himself. The moment he feels himself start to slip, he immediately backs out, no matter what the circumstances - which pisses off the little demon to no end. Understandable, of course, as its akin to metaphorically flipping the guy off over and over again. If he weren't such a lovable bastard already, I'd call him magnificent. =D
  • Anime!Crona. He/she is soooooo sweet.
    • Seconded. Every time I see Crona, it makes me want to cry! I think it's safe to say Crona's the character that everyone just wants to hug. He is The Woobie To End All Woobies! Plus an added bonus of Adorkable and Moe to top it all off!
    • Agreed. For being able to balance insanity with innocence, jumping between scary and sympathetic, plus undergoing some very heartwarming and also tearjerking development, both versions of Crona get this tropers vote.
  • Asura. Arguably one of the best anime villains ever, as his mere EXISTENCE causes the world to go mad. And he's also pretty. Too pretty.
  • Shinigami-sama. The eccentric, gleefully (if exasperating) daft Grim Reaper whom its very easy to forget is the formidable Hidden Badass commander of a organisation made to fight Eldritch Abominations. He explicitly states he took on his current childish appearance and persona to avoid scaring the children, and is the only character so far to get close to out-gambit-ing Medusa (she had the Baba Yaga arc all tied up until she realised Shinigami sent Tezca and Enrique after her). He's unpredictable, and his awkward relationship with Kid doesn't hide the fact he clearly cares about the boy. His casual attitude to most everything that occurs in the series, even amidst Cerebus Syndrome, are unnerving and funny - he chats with the Big Bad before ruining a city in an attempt to defeat him. And if recent reveals about his history are to be believed then he's a Lovecraft-ish Eldritch Abomination himself, who has a...curious take on his given position.
  • BLACK STAR SHOULD BE AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE!!!!!
    • Black Star is really just the sweetest kid. He goes over-the-top with everything he does, which includes expressing his love for his friends.
  • Mifune, so very badass and yet all he wants is to protect the children.
  • Tsubaki, she's calm, selfless, considerate, easy-going, and a Cool Big Sis to Black Star, who she's very loyal to. She wants what's best for all of her True Companions, an admirable trait.
  • And Medusa, no matter how horrible she is. Since when is there a villain who wins as much as she does without being a clear Villain Sue? And she still manages to have some good comedy scenes on occasion.
• Excel♡Saga: Hail Il Palazzo!
  • Dr. Shiouji is a really entertaining character. Yes he's a pedophile (with a hamfisted "traumatic childhood" excuse), but he's such a delightfully arrogant son of a bitch.
• Great Teacher Onizuka: Eikichi Onizuka, 22 years old, is THE MAN. If this perverted and idiotic [[Delinquent. Just to see what wild hi-jinks he'd be cooking up next. And she'd totally trust him with her life, too!
• ×××HOLiC:
  • Yuuko, the badass, Hard-Drinking Party Girl, Bunny-Ears Lawyer, who runs The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday, and grants wishes, and is in general just Made Of Awesome.
  • Mokona is the cutest Weasel Mascot ever. The same goes for Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-'s Mokona, but Yuuko's Mokona is far more badass.
• The main cast of Slayers. Lina Inverse. Xelloss. Gourry.
  • Amelia and Zelgadiss; their names must be mentioned.
  • Rezo the Red Priest.
• Yoshiyuki Tomino has created a lot of cool female characters... but very few of them can compare with Brain Powerd's own Hime Utsumiya, a redheaded heroine who is both an amazingly good fighter and a sweet and caring person, and has enough Tsundere in her as to always be interesting. She (and her brothers) has had her fair share of misfortune, but she never allowed it to damage her faith in humanity (unlike other characters.
• The Garden of Sinners: Ryougi Shiki is a crazy, insane, beautiful, murderous, intelligent, insightful, and surprisingly compassionate woman who can kill anything and is made of win, love, and God literally. The end.
  • And Kokutou Azaka, a Nasu-class tactical imouto-type tsundere, is the most awesome aspect of The Garden of Sinners after Shiki herself.
  • Aozaki Touko! A Fiery Redhead Reasonable Authority Figure Cool Big Sis sometimes-Meganekko with one of the best Evil Laughs for a non-evil character? Wonderful!
  • And Kokutou Mikiya, who is the glue of compassion and forgiveness that holds the world of the series together.
• The entire cast of Legend of the Galactic Heroes perhaps the most well-developed and three-dimensional characters in all of Anime.
• Signum from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is one of the most awesome Lady of War characters to ever grace anime with her presence. She is honorable, graceful, goddamn hot, gentle, responsible, stoic, cares deeply about her True Companions, has fought Fate (but they are Just Friends now), and has Kaori Shimizu's voice. And she is probably the long-lost twin sister of Lamia Loveless.
  • Nanoha herself for being a Magical Girl who just doesn't pull punches, uses tactics, and didn't get the sudden Growing Up Sucks loss of powers to go get married to some guy she's never talked to. She became career military.
  • Dieci: she's a kind, thoughtful girl with a strong conscience^note Consider this: she was tutored by Quattro, and yet she was still the first among the Numbers to have serious doubts about her actions., and she looks damn cute, too.
  • Hayate Yagami. She's got as much power as Nanoha herself and then some, she's the Master of the aformentioned Signum and the rest of the Wolkenritter; she's a very lovely, sweet and smart young lady who cares about her friends a great deal and just has such awesome power in her disposal with the Book of the Night Sky.
  • Rio Wesley is sorely unappreciated. She's not especially special and/or smart, like her friends, but she tried combining two elemental affinities and making up her own style (impressing everyone else in the process), is really cheerful and determined to catch up to her friends, plus she's sooo cute. Oh, and she beat up that molesting Sein, which should be considered a dual Crowning Moment of Awesome/Funny for her.
  • Fate Testarossa! Caring and gentle yet fierce and unyielding, not to mention hot as hell.
  • Reinforce is one of THE most awesome characters in the Lyrical Nanoha series. Why? Well she's simply the most powerful character in the series, easily giving both Nanoha and Fate a run for their money. Too bad she disappears (in order to save her Mistress' life, an act so noble) but it doesn't diminish the fact that she's that awesome!
  • A greatly underrated and underappreciated (and at times downright hated) example: Yuuno Scrya. Noble, sweet, and very smart. This guy was the very first companion to Nanoha, and the first to introduce her to the world of magic, being indirectly responsible for Nanoha and later Fate saving the day over and over. Even as he loses importance to the plot, supplementary materials go on to show how important he is to Nanoha, Fate, and the rest. Between saving Nanoha from a rampaging Arf and possibly being Swallowed Whole (though it's debatable), tearing apart Precia's Mecha-Mook army like it was nothing to help his new friends in the Final Battle, saving Nanoha again in the nick of time and then casually fending off Vita while at the same time trying to destroy her barrier and attempt a mass teleportation spell, his heroic Badass credentials are well established! Plus, his ferret form is adorable!
• Triela from Gunslinger Girl is the awesomest tsundere cyborg Action Girl ever. Period.
• Black Lagoon: Revy. And not just because she's a badass tsundere Dark Action Girl Warrior Poet with purple hair. Or that she's unbelievably sexy. It's because she manages be all of those things, while still being an incredibly deep, nuanced character. Go watch some of her conversations with Rock; there's way more there than even she is willing to admit.
  • And when it comes to sheer, unadulterated, evil badassery, you just can't top Balalaika. Hail to the Kapitan!
  • Don't forget about Chang. Not only is he uber badass, but his interactions with the aforementioned Balalaika have some of the best writing on the show.
  • Rock. Crazy Is Cool Bad Ass Normal Chaotic Good Non-Action Guy Wide-Eyed Idealist Only Sane Man, and Magnificent Bastard in the making. All about the male emotional centers, too.
• Although it's a little hard to pick just one character in Fruits Basket, Kyo Sohma definitely takes the cake. From crashing through the ceiling, to his unwavering (at times hilarious) obsession with defeating Yuki, to the awkward gentleness he unveils with Tohru, once he worms his way into your heart, he's there to stay.
  • Ayame is the most amazing character in anything, ever. Everything he says and does is just written to make a moment hilarious.
• Kazuma Kuwabara from YuYu Hakusho. His sheer tenacity is something to be admired in and of itself, plus the fact that despite the fact that he's technically the weak link in the team, being the only full-human and having less energy, he still manages to hold his own through the first three seasons. Except the Dark Tournament, where he tended to lose the less-important battles in embarrassing ways. He was still pretty awesome, though.
  • Hiei, Hiei, Hiei... what's not to love about a pintsize Deadpan Snarker with Woobie tendencies and utter asskicking skills. He faints, but he still has time for threats.
• Kurama. Bishounen, smart, soft-spoken, snarky (in a sly way) makes ugly clothes like that pink school uniform look good, pulls out super-powers/abilties from nowhere, not to mention the Rose Whip Will MAKE YOU SUFFER if you tick him off, and he loves his Mama. Also, don't threaten Mama. You WILL die slowly and not realize it. Just ask Roto. Oh, wait, you can't. He's dead. Beware the Nice Ones indeed. Oh, Did I mention his Superpowered Evil Side?
• Giroro from Sgt. Frog. His near obsession with Natsumi is adorable, as is his pet kitty.
• Bit Cloud from Zoids: New Century. There are a lot of characters who do Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass. Few are quite as good at subverting Hard Work Hardly Works as the guy who spends nearly all of his adult life gathering information about a field.
• Baron Humbert von Gekkingen from Whisper of the Heart and The Cat Returns, even though he was merely a prop in the former. Aside from being a cat, he's also a brave, upstanding gentleman who has a powerful desire to help others. His English voice (provided by Cary Elwes) is absolutely to-die-for.
• Ouran High School Host Club:
  • Tamaki. The quintessence of an adorkable casanova, he is a sincere charmer who truly loves his lucky clients, but when not in "ladies' man mode", he is far-and-away one of the most comical characters in the show, easily rivaling Renge. Those who do not laugh while he's in his Corner of Woe, stand up!
  • Haruhi Fujioka. Tamaki's right, she's just the cutest thing ever, no matter what she is wearing.
  • Nekozawa. He's just... so amusing. Goes around in a cloak creeping people out for the sheer fun of it... my type of guy. It's really too bad he only appears in four episodes.
    • Ohhh yes. He's so ridiculous and ditzy and so completely ignorant of the real world... and then whenever I want to just smack him he does something so completely sweet and sincerely kind and adorable that you just half to love him - and he always does that sweet, kind thing as a matter of course.
  • Renge is the most hilarious character in Ouran ever.
  • Kyouya. Tall, Dark, and Handsome and a Chessmaster. Oh and secretly cares a lot about Tamaki.
  • Don't forget Honey, who is able to go from stereotypically cute to downright deadly in less than a second.
• While Ana and Matsuri of Strawberry Marshmallow are not far behind, special mention must be given to the team of Miu and Chika. Miu is responsible for much of the humor in the series, and Chika's reactions to her antics just top them off well. (Not to undervalue the reactions from the other girls: a well-placed "YEEK!" from Matsuri is sometimes the perfect thing, while other times, Nobue giving her a close-up view of the carpet is more appropriate.) You may have noticed I haven't mentioned that they're cute. This is because all the main characters and some of the supporting cast are adorable — Nobue less often, but still — so I had to use a different metric.
• After her character development in Capo 2 of Rosario + Vampire, Kurumu is my favorite member of the Unwanted Harem. Sure Moka is the "preferred" one but all she does is beat up Tsukune. Kurumu on the other hand has the Moment of Awesome of the entire series when she unhesitatingly leaps out the window to save Mizore from her suicide attempt. (The same Mizore that Kurumu is constantly fighting with over Tsukune.) Then holds her as she cries out how scared she was during the attempted rape. Then she agonizes over how she feels like she's secondary to everyone else in the newspaper club, and she hasn't been able to spend time with Tsukune, thus turning into my favorite Woobie. All of this and she's a succubus, an incarnation of seduction, and going against her very nature to try to stay true to Tsukune. It turns out that she is filled with so much love that it hurts, and she has to hide it behind her Genki Girl exterior. Meanwhile Moka is still beating up Tsukune. He's such an idiot.
  • Kurumu is indeed a surprisingly well-written Romantic Runner-Up, but for me, it has to be Ruby. She has one of the most interesting and well-developed backgrounds in the series, lots of interesting and funny quirks, an intelligent and skilled approach that many other characters lack, and not exactly lacking in attractiveness. When the time comes to get serious, she is just plain spectactular, and anyone who can weaponize being Too Kinky to Torture deserves major props in my books.
  • As of Chapter 38 of the second season, Inner Moka has become my second favorite character inthe entirerty of the series. Sure, she's as cold as cold comes at first, sure she has a mean kick. Sure she starts off as an ego-centric bitch, but once most of her armor is removed, she's simply a girl who doesn't know who she is, scared of being hurt by anything that gets too close, and overall, very sweet to those she can claim as friends. And to those that do meet that definition, she's fiercely loyal to, going so far as beat the ever loving hell out of whoever messes with them, taking on an entire palace/temple with two backups with non-deadly force to save a friend from an arranged marriage, rising to fight back an elder sister who was stronger than herself, and even giving herself up so that the family of her friends' friends' won't get killed. Yes, she beat Tsukune up a few times, but made up for it later.
    • Mokas. They have a great contrast, but are also alike in many ways. She also has a very sad backstory. Pairing her with Tsukune is brilliant because she made him strong and a hero while he gave her a loyal companion.
  • TSUKUNE F—-ING AONO. The nicest guy in any manga that I read. He is always friendly and willing to help those in trouble. Even though he has brutal powers, he still will fight on even if it kills him. This guy deserves all the love his harem brings him and is one of the most underated badasses being printed nowawadays.
• Black Butler's Sebastian. A badass Demon Battle Butler, with that... that smile of a Magnificent Bastard, also a provider of Awesome Disney Deaths who can make removing a tablecloth look cool. Also constantly reminds he is first of all a demon to the very core, and every time he does, it is a Moment of Awesome, an evil version of one but neitherless awesome. Because, you see, he is simply one hell of a butler.
  • Snake. He's so sweet, and so shy, and deeply loyal to the people he considers friends. I have no words for how concerned I am for his well-being now that he's around Ciel and Sebastian all the time. Because as awesome as they are, they are not good friends for him. Never have I seen a character that I want to hug as badly as I want to hug Snake.
• After War Gundam X: Jamil Neate. The man is Bright, Amuro and Char all rolled into one with a big pile of badass on top.
• Kamen no Maid Guy: Kukuku. Shitty tropers going on about characters are forgetting Kogarashi's perfect service. Kogarashi will take on any so-called badass character with Maid Guy skills and win. Kogarashi use Maid Guy skills to serve master whether she likes it or not. Kukuku!
  • (Kogarashi is just a hilarious character - he's a Heroic Comedic Sociopath to rival Belkar,yet when you combine the complete seriousness towards his work, his Combo Platter Powers and his complete lack of restraint or respect for anyone,you get awesome and funny.)
• Rei Hino/Sailor Mars, the psychic Senshi of Sailor Moon. She has so many talents (quite aside from the whole magical power thing) and yet remains down-to-earth and deeply caring, an ever reliable friend. She will face imminent death with a smile on her face, just for Sailor Moon's sake. She may be bad-tempered, hypercritical, and domineering, but it is because she knows what her friends are capable of and she takes it upon herself to push them in the right direction, teaching them to be as independent and strong-willed as she is, even if she has to beat it into their heads. She is known for being a Workaholic, and will spend countless sleepless nights meditating in order to determine what is threatening the world's safety. She is immensely powerful as The Senshi of Passion, and singlehandedly destroyed the Monster of the Week (Sailor Moon is the only one who regularly does this) after transforming for the first time. On top of that, she is gorgeous (many have commented on her beauty), and she knows it.
  • Poor little Hotaru. The fact that she had three women trying to kill her because her Mad Scientist father made a desperate bargain to save her life and let the herald of a monster be sealed inside of her, being possessed by said herald, and being forced to rip out her best friend's heart made me want to hug her. Watching her find the strength to take control of her body back, become Sailor Saturn, and unflinchingly make a Heroic Sacrifice to destroy it]. The fact that Sailor Moon was still able to give her another chance at life was icing on the cake.
  • What about Sailor Moon herself, the Trope Codifier of Magical Girl Warrior despite being a This Loser Is You Idiot Hero type heroine but who develops beautifully? And Sailor Mercury, the Shy Blue-Haired Girl who was more lonely than she should have been?
  • Haruka Tenou/Sailor Uranus for years. One of the more powerful members of the Senshi, but a total sweetie when it comes to Michiru. Also, she makes everyone swoon like nobody's business and her driving skills are awe-inspiring.
  • Sailor Jupiter, Kino Makoto, simultaneously the most boyish and the most ladylike of the Inner Senshi. After spending her life with no parents or friends and being feared by her peers, her desire for people to love and her deep appreciation for her True Companions make her a supportive, loyal, motherly figure to the Senshi. She completely lives of to the name of "Senshi of Protection", constantly going out of her way to protect those weaker than her, such as her beating up three bullies who picked on Usagi for bumping into them. Because she spent most of her life alone and rejected, she is emotionally fragile, contrasting her physical toughness and imposing appearance. She is a woman of many talents, including cooking, ice-skating, gardening, and flower arrangement. As Sailor Jupiter, she is physically the strongest of the Inner Senshi, and a Kung-Fu Wizard (she actually practices kung-fu in the anime) who uses Shock and Awe and Petal Power to fight for justice.
  • Minako Aino/Sailor Venus, a.k.a. Sailor V, the celebrity crimefighter and the original Senshi. Her extra experience fighting youma and her passion for her mission makes her the quick-thinking Lightning Bruiser of the Sailor Senshi, even being the one to singlehandedly kill The Dragon of the first arc. She is also The Leader of the Inner Senshi, and leads the Senshi with absolute authority. However, unlike Usagi, Ami, Rei, and Makoto, who found True Companions and a sense of purpose in being a Senshi, her mission actually made her life far more painful than it used to be, making her the Iron Woobie of the series. She had to fight the Dark Kingdom all by herself for a year before the other Senshi, learning that the Kingdom that she was supposed to lead the Senshi in defending was destroyed by the Dark Kingdom in her previous lifetime, she had the burden of making sure the Dark Kingdom was destroyed before the past repeats itself on her shoulders alone, she had to give up all of her dreams, safety and desires for the sake of her mission, she had to kill the man who she was destined to fall in love with because he was a member of the Dark Kingdom, she had to watch her entire social life disappear because she is too busy fighting youma as Sailor V to have friends, and she had to struggle with The Chains of Commanding so much to the point where she has an identity crisis when she is unable to transform. All that would make a teenage girl one of the biggest cynics in the world, right? Not only is she the clowniest of the Senshi after Usagi/Sailor Moon (though in all likelihood, this is a mask to hide her pain, since she is The Leader of the Senshi, and cannot afford to show it), she has the strongest will of all the Senshi, and despite complaining a few times about her mission, she never, ever breaks down, constantly pushing forward with the mission, even when the other Senshi fall to despair.
• Rurouni Kenshin: Sanosuke Sagara and his father Higashidani Kamishimoemon. Sanosuke is crass, stubborn, and ridiculously devoted to his friends. I could not love him more for it. His father is all of the above times 495304534534.
• Outlaw Star:
  • Gene fuckin' Starwind. He's so many parts of brash, hard-headed youth yet sweet, almost noble good guy that it's impossible not to love him.
  • Sweet Moe Melfina who can be pretty badass at times.
  • Aisha! She's super tough, cute, proud and funny all rolled into one awesome badass cat girl!
  • Suzuka proves how awesome she is by using a wooden boken to perform some of the most incredible ki attacks. Cold, deadly, and beautiful When She Smiles. Along with Aisha, two of the most badass ladies ever.
  • Jim. He's one of the most mature little kids you'll find, and one of the smartest, but still has his innocence. He's not afraid to shoot some lead when his friend Gene needs him.
• Jyu-Oh-Sei: Third/Heiza. Sure, he turns out to be a Magnificent Bastard but he was—to I—the hottest and most interesting character in the series. She also thought his intentions were surprisingly sweet since he just wanted to see the Earth firsthand one day.
• Eden of the East: Akira Takizawa. The dude's a total cutie, he's quirky, he's a self proclaimed "Film Junkie," he starts off the series Naked and the interactions with Saki in the first few episodes are nothing short of Adorable Not to say he can't be smart OR a badass either. Shooting down 60 missiles by gathering a bunch of naked Neets while pointing your finger like a gun and yelling "BANG" is kind of hard to top.
• D.Gray-Man: Allen Walker. Cute, incredibly badass, and a genuinely nice guy who's doggedly cheerful no matter how many Level 4 Akuma the universe throws at him.
• Yu-Gi-Oh!: Ryou Bakura. He's shy, gentle, way too cute, and despite what most Fan Fic would tell you, has enough of a spine to defy the Spirit of the Ring in order to help his friends. Watching him distance himself from the others in order to keep them out of his other self's reach (or at least that's how I console myself when he doesn't get any screen time) just makes my heart melt. And 4Kids gave him that pretty British accent, one of the few things I'm willing to forgive about the dub (well, when they're not making him say things like "cheerio," at least.)
  • Yugi, Atem, Jounouchi, Anzu, Honda, Seto & Mokuba Kaiba, Shizuka, Mai, Pegasus, Marik, Bakura and Yami Bakura... GAH! ALL of the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters are just plain awesome!
    • Mana shows up in a single most concentrated burst of characterization I've ever seen. She's the character that prompted me to begin writing my own fiction.
  • Yugi, without being depressing or saccharine-sweet, is one of the single most sympathetic characters I have ever seen good lord. The sharp contrast between the beginning and the end and the ability to trace how that character development happened is amazing!
  • Yami Yugi. Look at him in the in the first manga, he was plain ruthless. Now look at him in the Egypt arc... he goes through just as much character development as Yugi. Same goes for Kaiba.
    • And in a show aimed at a younger audience, it often gets overlooked that he both ran a country and gave his life at fifteen years old, then maintained a tricky seal on an even trickier Puzzle for three thousand years, entirely of his own will and to save his loved ones. And he never once gripes or complains.
  • In this troper's opinion, Yami Bakura kicks an unbelievable amount ass for being a Hot-Blooded villain. He wants to awaken an ancient evil power and is very cold and calculating, but he has the energy (and in the Japanese version, the voice) of Ash from Pokemon!
  • Joey/Jonouchi, especially in the manga. He's easily one of the coolest characters in the story, if not the coolest. He can be very energetic and goofy most of the time (which makes a nice contrast to the seriousness of other duelists such as Yami Yugi and Kaiba), but when he gets serious, he's truly something to watch out for (go ask Yami Marik); also, in the manga, he can be very scary once he drops all that silliness and gets out his real weapons. Then there's his character development, from a bully and a thug to the best friend (and defender) you could have, and then to one of the most competent duelists in the series. Add there his love for his sister and his loyalty to his friends, and you have one of the most awesome guys in anything ever.
• Although I liked all of the characters, when watching Martian Successor Nadesico, I really got a kick out of Inez. She has got to be the funniest and most obviously lampshaded version of Mr. Exposition out there (even called "The Explanation Lady" at one point). For example, you have a scene where someone says the word "explain" and she gets an "my ears are burning" reaction and immediately runs to provide an explanation. Or in another instance, announcing to the cast out of the blue that she has an explanation to make and that there will be snacks provided. Sure enough, there are snacks, and she delivers a slide show while banging on a small drum.
• Hayate the Combat Butler: Ayumu Nishizawa. I really can't watch that girl talk about how she got lost chasing a sweet potato stand without being completely drawn off-guard by the cuteness and hilarity of the situation. And she shows up Once an Episode. (at least, she did in Season 1. * sigh* )
• Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Ali al-Saachez Before anyone jumps on me over Draco in Leather Pants, let me assure you this is not the case. In fact, it's kind of the reverse. There's something cool about a bad guy who admits that yes, he is an evil person, and he really likes his job. Combine that with the fact that his appearance usually signals an incoming Moment of Awesome and, well...
  • Despite (and somewhat because of) their saddening wasted potential, the Trinity siblings made quite an impact. Particularly Nena Trinity.
• Inazuma Eleven:
  • Fubuki Shirou is a really interesting character that nobody could have seen coming in a sports anime.
• Every character of Baccano!. Well, not Szilard. Or Dallas. Still, they're wacky and different from characters you usually see, and just make me smile. Take Isaac and Miria for example, two robbers who try to steal time (watches) and history (a museum, though they couldn't carry it so instead stole the entrance so no one else could go in) all while wearing awesome costumes. Then there's Claire, a young and perky train conductor who is an acrobat assassin willing to do anything to protect his train.
  • Claire needs his own post. Here it is.
  • Czeslaw Meyer. When you encounter The Reveal about his past and what made him so devilish, no matter how much you hated his bad deeds throughout the series at that point, you WILL "Awww!"
  • Or how about Jacuzzi Splot, who has both the best and worst name ever, cries when trying to introduce himself but can headbutt a guy with a flamethrower in the face, and makes up an awesome half of the ultimate Victorious Childhood Friend duo with his equally badass Pyromaniac girlfriend Nice Holystone?
  • Luck Gandor, the coolest, calmest, classiest sonofabitch in The Mafia. Who reads poetry, waxes philosophical about immortality and the fear of death, is absolutely loyal to his employees and would do anything for his family. In the anime they give him gorgeous gold eyes and the sexiest voice in anime; in the novels he's a badass who Magnificent Bastards Gustavo's Mooks out from under him and gouges out the guy's throat with his own severed arm.
  • Ladd Russo has got to be one of the strongest and most badass characters in the entire show. And he's a Badass Normal too! Sure he's a Serial Killer Psychopathic Manchild who's completely nuts, but he's just so damn entertaining to watch you can't help but love him!
  • Graham Specter anyone? Hyper, squirrely and talkative but rarely ever annoying,^note except to the people who try to translate the books with him as a main character crazy and psychopathic and enjoying the idea of breaking stuff, always rambling, has the single most adorable Slasher Smile in history, the number one fanboy of Ladd Russo, and very very, well, cute. He's like a human squirrel with a monkey wrench and a fetish for destroying stuff! Who can't love this dude?
• Digimon: Wizardmon. He's so charmingly mysterious, smart and reserved but polite, and is such a wonderful and loyal friend you have to envy Gatomon at least a little. Or be happy for the two of them - their history together and relationship was always a great part of Season One. And his Heroic Sacrifice and reappearance in Season Two - even AMVs about him and/or Gatomon are sad. He has such a soothing voice in both English and Japanese, too. Everything about him seems designed to yank at the heartstrings.
  • While we are at the topic of awesome Digimon characters, there is Jyou. Fearful - some might call it reasonable, though - but he conquers his fears if it's about saving a friend's life (and thereby keeping a promise). If there is any Anime character which behaviour is a role model for the real life, it's him. Oh, and he had the only Ultimate digimon capable of seriously threatening, virtually beating, a Mega, aside from MagnaAngemon.
  • Tai's little sister, Kari, is such a sweet kid. She has an incredibly selfless frame of mind. She does her best for her friends, and doesn't think about herself. She uses her power to free prisoners and help defeat Machinedramon.
  • Also, Impmon, who tried on every type of memorable for size and wore 'em well. He started off as a punky Jerkass comic relief but with a reason, then post-evolution had his run as a real threat, then became The Atoner, made up with his tamers, and ended up as a heroic badass and living Moment of Awesome. By the end of the season it seems like everything he's been through has mellowed him out in multiple areas. Hats off to ya, buddy.
  • I love Takato so freaking much. He's a real kid, a Digimon fan like us whose dream became true, whose Character Development was incredible, who isn't an instant Hot blooded badass and expert, but someone that learned to be a good Partner, who goes through lots of hardships, yet still retains his sweetness and, dare I say, innocence. All in all, my favorite goggle boy.
  • Also, Jeri Freaking Katou. Starts as such a sweet, funny, and likable girl, and while conteroversial, I thought her unsettling Break the Cutie character arc was very well handled and solidified what a deep and interesting character she truly was.
  • This list is not complete without Ken. The guy goes from insane cackling Evil Overlord (with a whole slew of buried psychological issues) to adorable kind-hearted hero, and I love him through every second of it.
  • MOTHER. FUCKING. ETEMON. There is Monkey. Elvis. What else? His episodes are some of the funniest in the entire season. He was just so damned ridiculously hammy and it was glorious. Even those who hated him had to laugh at least once when he was onscreen. He was the King Of All The Digmon or at least so he said. He is The King for some fans. He's an amazing character and needs more love then hate.
  • Really, it's hard for me not to like any of the characters in Digimon, but I figured I had to give special mention to Mimi. The girl gets, like, no love compared to the more well-liked Sora, which is a damned shame. Her development episodes were probably overall the most important in shaping her, especially a certain karaoke episode, and despite all she's been through, she's still that perky, Spoiled Sweet Genki Girl we knew from the start, just with a great deal more maturity by the end of it. I also personally like character arcs where people start to think they're The Load, then find other ways to be helpful, something that Mimi does spectacularly in the Dark Masters arc. She finds herself unable to stand any of the deaths that keep happening in the children's names, and stays behind because she feels she's getting in the way, then we cut to later in the arc where she comes back with a freaking ARMY to help save the day. Really, this girl deserves more props than she tends to get.
• Eyeshield 21: Who's that bastard that makes us cheer with every play? Hiruma! Who's the guy that makes his enemies cry out of absolute fear? Hiruma! Who's the quarterback who leads one of the most entertaining and iron-willed teams in American Football? HIRUMA!
  • How about Sena? The combination of Moe and badass is almost too much, and it gets even better if you ship him with the equally cute Suzuna. And then there's Kurita. Awww. He's just so happy.
• Shaman King: Yoh Asakura is easily the best character in any Shonen manga I've ever read. Not only is he funny, relaxed, and fun, but he is a steadfast friend with a truly admirable conviction to the goodness inherent in humans beings. I'm not ashamed to say that I wish I was more like him.
• I has a raised eyebrow as to why we do not have a section for Reborn! (2004). Now I don't think much of the Vongola guardians but... Xanxus? Angrish-spouting Spoiled Brat of a Bishounen Tall, Dark, and Handsome badass Bad Boss who frequently takes his shirt off on cover pages... Not to mention Squalo and his love for his boss especially illustrated in the Sky Battle to the point of I getting all teary-eyed and... words can only go so far.
  • You can keep your Xanxus, I prefers the much nicer Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Dino who is probable the friendliest Neighbourhood Friendly Gangster around. Combined with being incredible good looks and blond hair and a Cute Clumsy Girl side bordering on Moe he's just so cuute~ And he has a size changing turtle and uses a whip.
  • You can keep your Xanxus and your Dino, I prefer Tsuna himself. Come on: Very Moe and Bishōnen after Art Evolution, very kind-hearted and Adorkable and a Badass Adorable when he uses his X-burner and goes into Dying Will Mode...and all the Ho Yay he generates with numerous male characters.
• Durarara!!:
  • Celty. Apart from being badass, she's just so sweet and kind and generally awesome.
  • Shizuo Heiwajima somehow manages to be simultaneously the most psychotically badass and dysfunctionally adorable human being on the planet. There is something mindblowing about a man who considers his greatest accomplishment on a day where he curbstomped a zombie horde with his bare hands to be the fact that he didn't significantly injure any innocents in the process.
    • Special mention goes to the last episode where he pulls out a traffic sign and use it like a scythe to rip open a car's roof and when that car was (reasonably) running away, he threw the damn thing and it stuck in the middle of the car, making it crash. That was a Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Badassery.
  • From that very series, we have Izaya. From stomping on girls' cellphones to conning people to commit suicide, his delicious trolling knows no boundaries.
    • Izaya is this troper's absolute favorite. And no - it's not because of his pants, it's mainly because Izaya's the only character in history that this troper can relate to 100%. It also helps that, at least in the novels (I don't particularly care for his design in the anime), he's extremely good-looking and charming. Then there's his history with Shinra...
  • There's also eternally cheerful Kida Masaomi. How endearing his cheerfulness is, not to mention how utterly badass he really is....
  • Shinra Kishitani. He is the most adorable scientist/doctor/Ryogo Narita character who wears glasses ever. Don't you just want to run up to him and give him a hug? Plus, he's got such a fine Badass Longcoat.
• Nabari no Ou: Raikou is a Samurai with long hair in a ponytail...who's dyed his hair pink, has no fashion sense(wanting to buy a gold sequined suit at one point), and is an Ambiguously Gay sadist. And he still somehow comes off as badass. If that doesn't spell Crazy Is Cool, I don't know what does.
  • Yukimi. He's a snarky, big-brotherly, gun-wielding ninja Jerk with a Heart of Gold. And he is awesome.
• B Gata H Kei: Mami Misato is...so...freaking...CUTE!!! She's always smiling and full of energy; it's hard not to like how peppy and upbeat she is. Overall, she seems like a delightful person to be around.]
• Can someone tell me why Fist of the North Star Kenshiro isn't on here? How sad.
  • They cannot tell because... *ratatatatata* THEY ARE ALREADY DEAD!
• Mobile Suit Gundam Wing:
  • I can't say enough good things about Duo Maxwell!
  • Same for Relena. Where do I even start? Her awesome is just all over the place.
  • Quatre Raberba Winner was this Troper's first Anime crush - despite being the "nice" feminine pilot, he still managed to beat the Zero System AND realize he didn't need it which was awesome considering his first run-in. Of course, this is also where this Troper took Beware the Nice Ones to heart...
• Youko of The Twelve Kingdoms. Seeing her develop from a scared schoolgirl into the empress she was meant to be was so much fun. Usually I don't spend six hours a day watching anime, but when I realized how much I actually wanted that girl to succeed... well, needless to say, my parents got concerned.
• My anime counterpart has given herself to Jin from Samurai Champloo. He has badass glasses, and long hair, and badass stoicism, and badass katanas, and he's just badass.
• Eureka Seven: Anemone and Dominic Sorel. They're appealling characters on their own but the dynamic and relationship between them was one of the more endearing aspects of the series for me. Moreso than Renton and Eureka, in all honesty.
  • This troper found Eureka to be his favorite character when the show began working out her mental state and isolation problems. It led to countless Heartwarming Moments with her love interest, even if I didn't like him.
• What, no love for Angel Densetsu's Kitano and friends? For shame. Allow me to correct this: Jiro and Goro (Kuroda's underlings/buddies/handlers), Seikichi Kuroda, Yuji Takehisa, Ryoko Koiso, Ikuno Shirataki, Seiichiro Kitano, Token Mini-Moe Sana Halford]]... The list goes on and on.
• How is there no love for the majority of the Saiyuki cast?!? You've got the badass Genjo Sanzo, the Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Son Goku, the Chivalrous Pervert Sha Gojyo, and the Team Mom and Stepford Smiler Cho Hakkai for the main four; then you've got the Badass Crew of the Kougaiji Party, consisting of Noble Demon with a Big Brother Instinct Kougaiji, Cute Bruiser Lirin, Affably Evil Boisterous Bruiser Dokugakuji, and The Medic Yaone. Then there's Magnificent Bastard Dr. Nii Jianyi, plus pretty much every major villain they've faced. The whole show is a Cast Full of Pretty Boys with liberal amounts of badass material. What's not to like?
• Yu-Gi-Oh! GX:
  • Jaden Yuki is totatlly the kind of guy I'd like to hang out with. He's confidant and nice, even if he is a slacker. He's what inicially got me hooked on the show.
  • Tyranno Hassleberry is probably the most underrated character in the show. He is very humorous, loves dinosaurs, has a dinosaur bone in his body that turns him into a DINOSAUR SPIRIT that flies... in space. He is also so buff and handsome that its a shame he never got attention from those two boy-crazy girls, Mindy and Jasmine or got to be with the doll spirit, Alice. His rivalry with Syrus added much humor too the show with the Nerd VS. Jock theme.
• Yusei Fudo is the man. Calm, cool, collected, a handyman, knows when to put the cards away for his fists, he plans ahead, takes things carefully and has some of the best plays ever (his win against Team Ragnarok and Aporia). He doesn't have some ancient egyptian game master in his head and he isn't the reincarnation of some galactic hero. He's just a poor person who was badass enough to survive in a crapsack neighborhood and duel his way into new domino city. Not to mention Yusei has not one or two but three theme music powerups one of which is Clear Mind. Yusei is so badass he has punched out three Nazca line demons, three of the highest of the Norse gods and a killer anti synchro monster robot god. Yusei is one of the reasons I watch Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds because he is such a refresing break from all the reckless idiot heroes that plague shonen anime. You rock Mr Fudo. The other reason is Jack Atlas who is a Hot-Blooded power duelist who doesn't blindly rush in and bash heads at random, he's smart when it comes to his offensive game, has a back up burn damage game, has the balls to ride a mechanical unicycle in which he can't see forward without a tv screen, punches the daylights out of someone once per season, has some funny quirks, actually got over his loss to Yusei instead of being a obsessive spoiled brat like Kaiba and he's got Red Nova Dragon who without a doubt one of the most powerful ace monsters in Yu-Gi-Oh history, hail to the king!!! Screw Evil Is Cool I'm siding with my heroes in Team 5Ds.
  • And if you needed another reason to rooting for the good guys, here's Aki Izayoi. The girl went from a cheerful little girl to a troubled cutie who went through a lot of hell in her life. First, her parents had to ship her to a school because the awakening of her powers caused her to lash out to her father without meaning to, then she's treated like some kind of fearsome witch at said school leaving her with little to no friends. And just when she became a member of an organization that claims to help out psychics like her, the leader of said organization was going to use her to jumpstart his revolution and only when she met Yuusei has she started to come in terms about herself and being able to overcome her issues. And when it comes to card duels? She's one of the most talented and cunning duelists I've ever seen on any of the Yugioh shows. You think plants wouldn't make for an intimidating deck? You should see for yourself what she can do with it, and knows the different ways to hurt you. Even more amazing, she's got a powerful card in the Black Rose Dragon and defintely knows how to use it. I admit that I root for Aki freely and just wanted to give her lots of hugs ad infinitum because she did look like she needed them. T_T
• Agent Aika: Aika Sumeragi a super hot blonde who can totally kick ass and offer panty shots while doing it.
• This troper is among the five people in the world who adore Karl Fei-Ong from Blood+. Between his tortured past and present, violently theatrical flare, and overall gorgeousness...he's such a complex and wonderful character. The fact that Quinton Flynn voices him in English doesn't hurt his case either.
• Tokyo Babylon's Seishiro Sakarazuka yet. His whole ... character; his role in Tokyo Babylon, X1999 and Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-. His personality, the things he does, the way he does them - you know, I'll just grin way too widely and melt onto the floor because he is so awesome.
• Kakei from Drug & Drop. He carries himself with the cool assurance of someone who knows the future, he is manipulative, playful, serene, and all this underneath the most beautiful smile you don't want turned your way. And, fundamentally, a good guy.
• D.N.Angel: Satoshi Hiwatari. Never mind the constant Ho Yay, the cat and mouse with Dark and the crushing angst of living with a Superpowered Evil Side... and yet he still always always tries to avoid hurting Daisuke.
• Ranma ½: Ryoga Hibiki. The shy, melancholic Nice Guy with unexpected Hidden Depths and a permanent badass behavior despite all that happens to him? Let's give him more love and consideration!
  • Any Determinator gets a +1 from me, although his personality can be unlikeable to some people.
• Zatch Bell!: Kiyo(maro) Takamine and Zatch(/Gash) Bell are the strongest tag team duo on the show, and not just because they're the main characters. Kiyo is a Badass Bookworm with a Heart of Gold who comes up with winning strategies on a fly and most of his development comes from being a big brother figure to Zatch. Zatch, while having no clue who he is or why he and his fellow Mamodos/Mamonos are on Earth, simply resolves to make Kiyo's life more tolerable and, after knowing the nature of the battle for King, makes a goal to be a Kind King and lets Kiyo harness his power to that end. They're also very open to new friends despite the battle going on, and will make it known that you should NEVER piss off either of them. And Baou Zakeruga is an awesome Finisher Spell.
• Pretty Cure has tons of characters that are seriously hard to hate for any reason:
  • Yuri Tsukikage doesn't let being put out of commission stop her from jumping into the fray and kicking some butt. Then we learn her tragic backstory and she goes from impressive to Stoic Woobie. Then we get the glorious return of Cure Moonlight and she ascends to pure, unfiltered awesomeness, proving that Magical Girls aren't all hearts and rainbows.
  • Erika Kurumi from the same series is insanely hilarious, over the top, and her love for looking good is extremely contagious and freaking awesome (just watch her first fashion show!). Don't even get me started how Badass Adorable she is as Cure Marine either; she's a Plucky Girl on Kamina's level!
  • Then we have Yayoi Kise, an extremely shy crybaby of a character. Standard archetype right? Well, add in the fact that she's an Otaku for Humongous Mecha and Superheroes like most of us are and have this aspiring Mangaka then become a Superhero herself as Cure Peace who plays Rock–Paper–Scissors each time she transforms, and you can't help but play along and think she's awesome. Best Audience Surrogate ever!
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Homura freaking Akemi. Need I say more?
  • She is one of the most moving, relatable anime characters ever. I forgive her anything, even becoming the devil out of love because she feels like a real person in everything she does.
  • All the love in the world for our dear Homura, but Kyouko Sakura takes the cake for me. Amazing character development, badass fighting skills and all around awesome.
  • Sayaka is my favourite. This being the series it is, it turned out badly, but still, her devotion to the boy she loves, to her friends, and fighting the witches because it's the right thing to do, even though she knows when she takes the contract that it will probably result in her death... and then, even after everything that happens, her I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy in the ending.
  • Nothing yet for Madoka Kaname? Despite all of the horrible things she had seen and experienced, she never truly lost hope, even when she's about to become a witch. This is someone whose mere existence is the bane of despair.
    • To drive the point home, according to the official profile even her Witch form would be honestly trying to make life better for everyone. It does so with a Lotus-Eater Machine procedure, but still!
  • Mami Tomoe deserved more time and more love.
  • Totally agreed. I really liked her from the beginning of the anime, but reading Different Story made her into my favorite character. She's kind, charismatic,
  • Hitomi deserves a special mention - she had no idea why her friends suddenly weren't hanging out with her as much, and she had a serious crush on the boy one of them was after. She could've easily gone and confessed her love, just like that. But here's the kicker - she didn't. She told Sayaka about it and gave her time to make the first move. I don't know a lot of people who would do that.
    • Also, something I found refreshing was that though the two love rivals were a Yamato Nadeshiko and a Tomboy, the YN didn't just roll over and pull a I Want My Beloved to Be Happy like she would have in so many other shows. Instead, after giving Sayaka a fair chance, she goes ahead and does what she wants.
  • Junko is probably one of my favorite depictions of a mom in anime. Rather than being useless, never around, abusive or just dead, she has some funny scenes and has a great relationship with her daughter. She actually listens to what Madoka has to say, gives her advice when the magical girl situation starts causing her problems, and definitely puts a lot of trust in Madoka. Enough to let her go out into a hurricane because she says she has to go save a friend. We don't get to see a lot of her in the series, but it's fair to say that Junko is a big part of the reason Madoka turned into such a wonderful person. Which makes it all the more heartbreaking that now she doesn't even know that she used to have a daughter.
  • Tomohisa Kaname is sorely underrated. It’s clear he loves his family, judging by the way he cares for his drunk wife, imparts wisdom to his daughter, and encourages his son’s ideas. Best of all, he’s a House Husband and a Yamato Nadeshiko whose family loves him and treats him with respect despite his nonconformity to gender roles.
• Fairy Tail: Erza Scarlet. It's not just her sheer amounts of badassery she's got (although it helps a great deal); she's shown to be a young woman with a great heart, very loyal to her True Companions, absolutely stunning and beautiful in any armor or clothes she wears.
  • Gajeel Redfox. In this Troper's opinion, one of the most underrated characters in the series. He started out as a rather Ax-Crazy Evil Counterpart to Natsu, especially in the anime where he beat up on Lucy relentlessly just to get Natsu's attention (In the manga he just threw knives close to her head), and he eventually joins Fairy Tail and is shunned by everyone, to the point where the members of Team Shadow Gear hunt him down in the town and beat him into the ground - And he understands and just takes it. But, in that same scene, when Laxus tries to fry Levy, he jumps in the way and takes the hit. And latter on in the arc he saves Natsu's life from Laxus twice. It shows that Makarov really got to him when he recruited him, and that he really does want redemption (Although he won't show it), and in many ways, he truly has gotten it since then. Not to mention Gajeel X Levy is most likely the closest to confirmed coupling in the series - Most of the other characters can be shipped randomly with positive results. Natsu alone had Ship Tease with Lucy, Lisanna, Erza, even Grey. It's gotten to the point where this Troper has started rambling and will now cease.
  • Wendy Marvell grew from a shy, fearful little kid who needed her Exceed to constantly tell her what to do into a brave, kind-hearted little dragon slayer who is as formidable a fighter as any other member of the titular guild and isn't afraid to lay down her life to protect her True Companions, effectively making her a Combat Medic instead of just The Medic.
• Elfen Lied's Lucy, at the least the one from the anime. She may have killed people in her start of darkness but later on, she only ever kills those who are actively trying to kill her and sincerely wants to change and atone for her sins. The anime makes Lucy more sympathetic in that it is shown that she doesn't enjoy killing people (in fact, she is only shown smiling once in the anime, when she is dismembering Nana but even then, she felt guilty later on and even told Nana to live the life she herself couldn't live).
• Hayate the Combat Butler: Hayate Ayasaki. He's a Nice Guy, A Determinator, he's got blue hair, he's Adorkable, the world's biggest Cosmic Plaything... Not to mention his Undying Loyalty for the mistress, and perpetual Pollyanna smile.
• Caster from Fate/Zero is probably the definition of affably evil and completely ax crazy. Either it's stalking Saber or slaughtering innocents, the man does everything with such sociopathic gusto it's hard not to be entertained, even if morbidly so.
  • Rider, aka Alexander the Great, is made of pure undiluted win. This is a man so awesome his army still follows him even after death.
• Battle Angel Alita: Alita is my favorite female protagonist of all time. At first glance, she is just a standard Cute Bruiser, but there is SO much more to her once you get to know her. She can be cute. She always wants to do the right thing. She is proud. She really hates people who aren't as brave as she is. She can be a total bitch. You sometimes want to kill her. And five minutes later you want to hug her. Alita is a perfect example of how to write a character that is blatantly better than everyone else wile still completely avoiding the "perfect" trap, because the impact of such a character on her surroundings is handled very realistically.
• Transformers: Cybertron seriously missing. Most of the characters are awesome in their own way, but I can't get over Starscream, who despite his name is in this version much more of a Determinator. He just won't lie down and die - no matter what. He takes on every attack the good guys can throw at him, getting hit by most directly, before getting hit with the at-this-point insurmountable attack of Optimus Prime almost being knocked out/dying, and finding the power to launch one last (admittedly cheapshot) attack to achieve his objective. Then it takes being blasted into another dimension to take him out of the story, he doesn't die in the normal way, and implicitly he comes back after the canon series. Did I mention he Dual Wields BFS wrist blades? Then replaces one with the Wave-Motion Gun after it gets torn off? Rule of Cool, even for a Humongous Mecha. His Razor Wind defence is pretty cool too, it's just like, "Denied! You can't hit me with that pathetic shit!" Did I mention his Awesome Moment of Crowning? Yep, bursting out of an erupting volcano, before spamming telekinetic rocks everywhere in a series which hardly ever otherwise features such abilities. Oh, and taking on the Physical God Primus with no fear. Even before stealing a second dose of his power. I could go on all day about Starscream's Determinator, Leeroy Jenkins. He. Cannot. Die.
• Deadman Wonderland has Senji Kiyomasa, or Crow. Walking Shirtless Scene, awesome blood-based power that gives him ARM BLADES, a Lightning Bruiser, a Blood Knight with a surprising backstory (was an HONEST COP of all things), and a mentor figure for Ganta (which the boy desperately needs in that hellhole). AND he's voiced by Patrick Seitz, who voices a couple more manly men (Laxus and the second VA to do Kenpachi Zaraki).
• Lupin III: The entire core cast. They're older than almost everybody else on this page in real-world terms and are still getting new material due to how awesome they are. Lupin himself is a Badass Normal Phantom Thief Gentleman Adventurer Master of Disguise with honor.
• Speed Racer: Speed himself, his Action Girlfriend Trixie (Who is very good at getting herself out of trouble. As many antagonists find out the hard way.), and his father Lionel "Pops" Racer. Watching all of them go to work is quite entertaining. You've got to love it when the bad guys are all "Heh heh, we've got Speed's nosy girlfriend" only to seconds later be going "OHGODTHEPAIN!" when she opens up a can.
• Hell Girl: Jigoku Shoujo. They are a Badass Crew consisting of a damned girl with reaper attributes, a skeleton come to life as a sexy woman, a demon wheel with superhuman strength in human form, an sword-turned-human able to open an eye EVERYWHERE? They are awesome, no doubt about it.
• Rea Sanka from Sankarea, despite being a zombie is without a doubt one of the greatest, most endearing and REALISTIC characters in all of anime. You just want to see her get free of her problems. What makes Rea so endearing and interesting is that it the story instead of making her a typical cold emotionless girl with a dark and troubled past like Rei Ayanami, it instead makes her into a sort of polyanna who unsergoes a very realistic ordeal i.e. sexual abuse.
• Fruits Basket: Kyo Sohma! This guy is so freaking awesome! He may have a short temper, be rude and be downright cruel sometimes too, but that's what makes him so freaking lovable! Not to mention that the poor guy's been through a LOT!!!
• Kimi ni Todoke: Ryu Sanada. His blobfaces are hilarious, his patience with Chizu (and everyone, really) is admirable, he's honest about his feelings without being a jerk about it, and a lot of the characters in that series could take a leaf out of his book, if we're being honest. Even though he's quiet about it, he's by far one of the most genuinely caring characters in the series. Chizu's a really awesome character too, bless her heart. They're both awesome! The supporting cast of this series really deserves more love.
• CLANNAD: Youhei Sunohara is perfect. That is all.
• Future Diary: Yuno Gasai. Axe-Crazy Badass Adorable Cute and Psycho Drop Dead Sexy Yandere extraordinaire, and one of the few of her archetype who manages to be a Magnificent Bastard and the Deuteragonist, not to mention The Woobie.
• Hayate × Blade: Amachi Hitsugi truly is a mad woman that is glorious to behold. She kicks ass to the goofiest music, holds a candied apple like a rose, appears in knights armor for her own amusement, and will train for several hours straight; and yet will still garner the respect of those around her. She also a straight-up Badass too, she takes a hit to the leg like it was nothing, but also boasts about how her legs are made of steel. Heck, Juu Ensuu, a Hot-Blooded Axe-Crazy warrior wouldn't fight Hitsugi a second time after doing so once.
  • Inugami Isuzu. Seriously. Terrifying, socially awkward, and yet somehow utterly adorable. She could probably kick everyone's ass with black magic, and without the whole "being evil" issue that usually comes with the territory.
• Shiori from Revolutionary Girl Utena is disliked by many fans, but she happens to be my favorite character. I never identified with a character so much. I have self-esteem too ad if I never betray a friend I can mistake people's intentions towards me. Her tragedy is so well-written I wanted to hug and told her that it is possible someone really likes her and doesn't just pity her.
  • Nanami is absolutely hilarious. She was most prominent in the show's filler episodes, including the INFAMOUS cowbell one. I can't unhear her melodramatic cry of “THE JIG IS UP” in her Imagine Spot from one of the show's very first episodes.
• Haruka Kotoura from Kotoura-san is a classic Moe heroine that's been broken into millions of pieces in just the first ten minutes, a truly high-octane Tear Jerker (take notes Gen Urobuchi fans). Pretty much everything this inadvertent telepath does and thinks is just so empathic and sensible, chances are that you will become more attached to her than almost any other character in their entire series/franchise.
  • And then comes her Understanding Boyfriend, Yoshihisa Manabe. A jolly, yet Chivalrous Pervert whose thoughts are literally centered around Haruka, much to her chargin. This guy is as awesome as he is hilarious since he will put his own ass on the line at any given time for her sake just to make sure she gets treated as humanly as possible and not have her be the monster everyone else thinks she is. Honestly, he couldn't be a better Foil for Haruka, even if he tried.
• Robotics;Notes: Senomiya Akiho and Yashio Kaitou are one of my favorite protagonist duos in quite awhile. Granted, they're not spectacular but their likable dynamic was one of the highlights. Akiho just carries a sense of infectious enthusiasm with her that genuinely makes you want her to succeed. Yet she also has a few moments of vulnerability regarding her friends.
  • Kaitou himself starts out as your typical game junkie. But he's developed appropriately in the way he helps his friends as well as his continual determination to help Akiho surpass her sister. Feeling his transition from aloofness to passion is pretty satisfying. I think one reddit poster put it aptly; "I'd have a drink with [[Steins;Gate Okabe]], but I'd want someone like Kai watching my back."
• Higurashi Kagome from Inuyasha. Over the course of one year she goes from a relatively underpowered teenager to a badass priestess with fantastic archery skills, makes friends with everyone around her, and never compromises on her beliefs. On top of that she decides to stay with the Inu-tachi despite her certainty that Inuyasha will never love her as she loves him (and maintains her optimistic demeanor even though she's in a lot of emotional turmoil), and it's her that ultimately figures out how to defeat the Big Bad.
  • Sango. A teenage girl with no mystical or spiritual powers, and she still manages to hold her own alongside the rest of the team. On top of that she's cheerful and kind even though she has every reason not to be.
• Clover from Happy Happy Clover. Clover is a very energetic female rabbit, who really cares for others. Especially her best friend Mallow. She also talks fast in the anime adaptation. Her heart-shaped fur on her chest is very cute.
• Zelik Lindemann in Mother Keeper cause this man is the biggest sweetheart, even if he has done some horrible stuff. In his late 20s-early 30s he lost an ear, an eye and an arm because a man he thought was his friend kidnapped and tortured him. A month later, when he got out the hospital, he returned to work, rebuilding everything that had been destroyed. He had said he didn't want to do it, especially cause he didn't want to put everyone in danger if the guy tried to attack him again, but when everyone who worked there came begging him, he couldn't say no. In Syal's backstory it mentions that due to Syal worrying about Elsa and the orphans, Zelik gave them his blood and promised to protect them. He said if he ever sold them out, or just plain sold them, he would let Syal kill him. While it's mostly a time in the story where it's hard to see his good side, it is still left in tiny hints, including Zelik promising to give Graham a discount since Graham keeps getting ripped off when buying from anyone else. In the main time for the manga, Zelik acts as an uncle to the main character, Ricalna, since he got attached watching him grow up. He is so sweet at times and is always looking out for absolutely everyone around him.
• Chiyoko Fujiwara from Millennium Actress is arguably the finest creation of Satoshi Kon. A determined and brave little girl, a graceful old lady, a long-suffering woman bursting with emotions, an embodiment of the long and colourful history of Japan, she works perfectly as a protagonist both on a strictly narrative and on a symbolical level. She's ready to give her life for the man she loves, and this passion gives her the strength and motivation to make great art.
• Anyone agrees that Momonga/Ainz Ooal Gown from Overlord (2012) is exceptionally awesome? He is a pretty fresh and interesting take on the old ­"trapped in video game" formula. He kicks everyone's ass, but is never boring while doing so. He is a Villain Protagonist who is actually competent and avoids doing stuff For the Evulz. Despite the villainy, he manages to remain relatable due to his personal issues and his heartwarming relationships with his servants who all consider him as The Good King to them (for good reason, too!) Did I mention that he is a badass skeletal Lich? Did I mention that he can make someone's heart explode remotely? Did I mention that giant angels of doom just make him facepalm? How badass is that?
• Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School may have its faults but a lot of the new characters introduced are just plain AWESOME!
  • Juzo Sakakura deserves credit for being an impressive example of Rescued from the Scrappy Heap, being downright loathed when the series started out, only to be slowly but surely rescued with his Big Damn Heroes moment and Heroic Sacrifice. On top of that, he's Mr. Fanservice, Made of Iron and he's one of the only characters in the franchise to be confirmed gay, since he's in love with Munakata, and despite his brash and rude exterior, he stays out of the way of Munakata's relationship with Yukizome
  • Chisa Yukizome herself has proven to be a hilarious Genki Girl capable of rounding up everyone in her class and encouraging them to actually go to their classes and spend time together. She encourages and protects Hinata without even being his teacher and she's the only character to not be instantly brainwashed by Ryota's anime. No, she was so strong willed and badass, Mukuro had to use Cold-Blooded Torture to get the anime to work.
  • That last member of the 74th class trio, Kyosuke Munakata, is just as badass as his friends. He's capable of fighting a Master Swordsman to a standstill, the Big Good of Side:Despair working to bring the shadowy behind the scene's works of the Hope's Peak Steering Comittee to light, and figured out who the masterminds of both Side:Future and Side:Despair were. On top of all that awesomeness, he looks like Yu Narukami
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans: Naze Turbine. Just Naze Turbine. What else can you say about a mafia leader, IN SPACE, whose ship is run by his harem. And not just your average, run of the mill, tsundere ridden, young girl-loaded harem, but a stable, legit polygamous family. With kids. If more harem series had characters like Naze Turbine the genre would be so much better for it.
• Osomatsu-san: Karamatsu Matsuno. He is truly one of the most perfect anime characters ever. He tries to act cool but he's actually a huge nerd, and it's so cute! He's so sweet and he loves his brothers despite being the Butt-Monkey of the family! He actually looks really good in those so-called "painful" outfits of his! He likes sequins and glitter! He's the most Moe NEET you'll ever see in your life and you will love him. No wonder there are so many Karamatsu Girls/Boys in this show's fandom.
• Matin Catorce from The Epic of Zektbach. She is super sweet. And I love her story! I love how she is willing to protect the people of her kingdom, and how much she loves her long-lost brother.
• Monster Rancher: Genki Sakura. The first episode of the show has him KICKING A RAPTOR IN THE FACE WITH ROLLER BLADES ON, and yet he only gets more awesome from there. It's a shame he's pretty underrated compared to Ash and Tai, because this kid's a true badass (not that those two aren't, of course).
• Izuku Midoriya from My Hero Academia. Yes, he can act very cliché sometimes, but despite this and all the bullying he had received throughout his life, he never gives up and still chases his dream. This kid deserves a huge hug from all the fandom!
• Takashi Natsume from Natsume's Book of Friends. Such a kind and caring young man, full of love in his heart. He deserves all of the happiness and love in the world. He cares so much about others and needs to know that others care about him too, because he deserves it. What a wonderful character.
• I Dream of Mimi:
  • Mimi Takaoka. She's the eponymous protagonist and one of the best female leads in anime. Not only is she very attractive with a wonderful voice provided by Tomoko Ishimura (in the Japanese version) or Debora Rabbai (in the English version), but she's also a powerful gynoid who can use strong beam attacks in battle, and her friendly disposition with occasional spice make her an awesome character.
  • Akira Takaoka, her owner and male lead, deserves mention as well. He is a huge nerd, he speaks in a funny voice provided by Katsuaki Arima (in the Japanese version) or Oliver Wyman (in the English version), he ends up in many humorous situations... and yet his interactions with Mimi are quite touching.
• Kagerou Project: Shintaro Kisaragi. A character that has such little going on in his life, and yet is so compelling at the same time. His plight is something anyone who's lost a loved one can relate to, and his character arc shows that being at the very top is little better than hitting rock bottom. He's witty, he's charming, and is incredibly selfless despite having every reason to stop caring about others. You spend your first run through the series wondering what this wimpy shut-in is doing moping around in his house, and you spend the rest of it praying for the world to just give him a break already. The whole series is incredibly impactful, but Shintaro's character arc just shows what it really means to find satisfaction in your life.
• K-On!:
  • Yui Hirasawa is an adorable and hilarious character who subtly grows from an aimless, clumsy girl to someone with a purpose (To play guitar in a band) and a close, supportive group of friends. No matter how many times her friends remark on her goofy antics, they know deep down that she is the glue that holds the band together with her kindness and optimism. It's also absolutely sweet that she goes the distance for those she loves, including writing some really touching songs for her sister Ui and close friend Azusa. In fact, Yui is one of the many aspects of K-On! that make it the amazing show that it is for many fans.
  • Tsumugi Kotobuki is right up there with Yui in the sweetness department, always treasuring the time she spends with her friends because she's just that nice. In fact, she's so kind that she's not as adverse to Yui's adorable goofiness as the other girls in the band are. Her moments of showing off her strength are hysterical, and her fascination with the more mundane aspects of life despite coming from a wealthy family only serves to make her even more endearing.
• Kaitou Saint Tail. You wanna talk about the Phantom Thief trope in fiction? Saint Tail deserves to be one of the best. Not only is she so skilled in magic that you’ll always be guessing what trick she'll pull off next to get the object she wants to steal, but you’ll also be wondering just how she'll send Asuka Jr. her calling card this episode. Not to mention her goals are noble- steal objects that other criminals stole and give them back to their owners. That sets her apart from other thieves like Lupin and company.

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