Ensemble Dark Horse / Dragalia Lost

As a gacha game with a ton of recruitable characters and summonable Dragons, it's only natural that some of them would become quite popular.

Adventurers

• Berserker is a Blood Knight and is liked for his cool and dark design. His surprising Hidden Depths and usefulness in battle, being one of the best Shadow units, has greatly helped. Him being just a generally really cool dude with a soft side (most notably whenever he appears in Dragalia Life) only increases his fandom.
• Xander has become popular with much of the fanbase for his Large Ham tendencies and comedic self-delusions.
• Julietta is one of the most popular launch Adventurers, stemming from her crush on Elisanne, providing tons and tons of Les Yay. Unlike Philia or Chelsea, though, Julietta is a Socially Awkward Hero who turns to a babbling mush whenever Elisanne so much as smiles at her. Plus, she's shown to have a life outside of pining for Elly, due to her job as a Paladyn and being one of Elly's confidants. She's gotten so popular that whenever the story needs someone from the Ilian Church aside from Elisanne (either because she is elsewhere or simply needs someone to talk to), Julietta is the usually the first choice.
• Celliera, the heroine of the "Loyalty's Requiem" Event, similarly stormed her way into people's hearts almost as soon as she debuted, thanks to her over-the-top, comedy-angled Drill Sergeant Nasty characterization (and it hiding some Hidden Depths) and for being very useful even outside of the Event. For those listening to the Japanese voice track, Yōko Hikasa getting to go full ham on said trainer antics helped even more. She's popular enough to the point that she has gotten a Summer variation of herself (which is not limited), the first time where a 4-Star welfare Adventurer has an alternate version of herself.
• Orsem gathered plenty of fans due to his friendly attitude and love for skating, as well as being very useful in battle.
• Mym is a rather popular character, largely helped by her Ms. Fanservice outfit and her crush on the player. Cygames took notice and made her available as a playable Gala Adventurer, along with a Halloween alternate later on.
• Of all the Prince's siblings, Chelle is easily the most popular, thanks to having a surprising amount of depth to her character and being a brilliant planner that has genuinely fooled players. It helps that she's the first sibling to actually help the heroes instead of oppose them. Initially, her popularity plummeted greatly in Chapter 10 when she decides to side with Morsayati along with the rest of Euden's older siblings, but then, Chapter 11 was released, showing that she's still helping Euden in her own way, not only restoring her popularity but boosting it even further. The fact that she's technically responsible for introducing the Manacaster (a gun) as a new Weapon type further endeared many players to her. Then, in Chapter 17, she whips out of her bag/purse a collapsible Manacaster fashioned after a MINIGUN, which becomes her Gala Weapon.
• Lowen has been a well-liked character with a cute design and endearing personality. It helps that he's also a decent Wind Healer. He even managed to get an alt for the Halloween Fantasia 2 showcase, which is considered one of the best Healers in the game.
• Ramona already had a lot of fans due to appearing on the Upgrade screen when the game launched, but when she and her sisters, Rena and Renee, became playable in the "Flames of Reflection" Event, their popularity skyrocketed. Ramona and Rena especially won over a lot of people due to a combination of their Ms. Fanservice designs, their jobs making them able craftswomen, and their high usability during gameplay. Renee a bit less so, but she still has a lot of fans.
• Gauld won over a lot of people due to his Adventurer Story focusing on his Doting Grandparent and Papa Wolf tendencies towards his granddaughter, the adorable Angie.
• Lea, Forte, Aeleen, and Louise got a lot of love for their combination of their Ms. Fanservice designs and their Lady of War personalities.
• Karina was already popular due to her Ms. Fanservice pirate design, but once her Mana Spiral dropped and players realized just how broken her Skills were, she shot up in popularity. Showcasing her singing skills in "The Phantom's Random" Event gained her even more fans.
• Curran, Heinwald, and Lathna as a trio are considering the most wholesome thing in all of Dragalia, as the former two act Like an Old Married Couple while raising Lathna like their daughter. Some have even expressed annoyance that the game's resistance to actually confirming various couples keeps the trio in Platonic Co-Parenting.
• The Sventila characters (Victor, Noelle, Kirsty, and Joachim) have a lot of fans for their more serious militaristic personalities contrasting well with their noble hearts. Victor and Kirsty, in particular, are loved for being badass warriors in-universe while many sympathized with Noelle's extreme shyness and awkwardness.
• Most of the Hinomoto characters count. Ieyasu is not only a Pretty Boy, but very wise and mature. Addis has Undying Loyalty to Ieyasu, but is still his own man and very kind on top of that. Mitsuhide is loved for just how much she commits to being lazy. Both Hanabusa and Chitose are liked by LGBT people due to their positive portrayal of crossdressing.
• Nefaria is so popular that she's one of the few outside the main cast to have multiple alts. Her descendant, Nadine, is likewise adored, not just for her bubbly and endearing friendship with Nefaria, but also for weaponizing selfies during gameplay.
• Pipple immediately won over the attention and adoration of fans upon introduction in the "Dash of Disaster" Event as a playable cute sentient vegetable that can only speak in variations of his name. His Energizing and Crit-increasing kit helps out with his popularity, to the point that players have used teams of him in High Brunhilda Trials.
• Ilia, Meene, and Mordecai were instantly embraced by the fandom as soon as they were revealed, and shot up in popularity after the "Forgotten Truths" Event.
• Leonidas firmly established his turf here with his new duds in Chapter 16, especially since it revealed that he's got a Manacaster that looks like a classic tommy gun. And there was so much rejoicing when he became November 2020's Gala Adventurer.
• The Fire Emblem Heroes characters introduced during the "Lost Heroes" Event (Alfonse, Fjorm, and Veronica) are notably much more well-received here than they were in their own game, thanks to the event episodes and their Adventurer Stories giving them better and more well-defined characterization. The sequel event, "Kindred Ties," brought in Sharena and Peony, giving them more active roles this time around. Tiki and Chrom also had well-received interactions with Mym and Zena repsectively.
• The Phantom Thief Lapis instantly won hearts due to her being a love letter to the trope in all the right ways. While her real identity is a slight letdown for some, it doesn't take away from fans wanting to see her in more Events and Stories.
• Seimei's long-awaited introduction immediately drove fans wild when he was revealed to be a Pretty Boy, but then, when he was revealed to be a no-nonsense, always sarcastic Jerk with a Heart of Gold, many found themselves loving him even more. Many even fawn over him for dismissing or bullying the main group or Kuzunoha, despite such actions typically being seen as negative in other contexts.
• Humanoid Mercury basically broke the Dragalia fanbase when she was revealed, with many cursing Cygames for making players use up all their Wyrmite and Summon Vouchers so soon after the 2.5 Anniversary. Her design got even more love when fans noticed that she was wearing a Mercury barrette in her hair and her portrait had a Mercury head as the dagger hilt. Then her stats and moves were revealed and she became one of the most wanted Adventurers in the game, even overshadowing Child Ranzal, who had been revealed a few weeks prior, in the same banner.
• All of the North Grastaea Apostles count. Nevin and Faris have typical Pretty Boy looks, Ryszarda for being a more muscular woman instead of having a standard Ms. Fanservice body and a cute personality, and Pinon being an adorable Sylvan girl who is a Badass in a Nice Suit and The Comically Serious. Even Basileus and Regina apply, especially following their backstories and development in the "Faith Forsaken" Events.
• Audric was seen as The Woobie for having literally everyone he has ever cared for slaughtered and his world essentially too broken to fix. Fans were hoping that, because he is really the time-shifted younger form of Aurelius, Euden's father, he could appear in the main story to help the group out. It took almost two years, but he finally showed up in Chapter 20 to assist Euden, and the fans went wild. The fact that he brought a new look for his Gala form only added to the awesomeness.
• Thanks to the "Caged Desire" Event giving him some much needed development, as well as the shifting status quo making him a full on Harmless Villain, many have warmed up to Emile and wish to see him redeemed and be made playable. He gets some further growth in "Stranded Scions" where he shows remorse over Leonidas's Disney Death, and he even volunteers to finish off one of the two fiends that had been bothering them whereas he would have bolted to save himself in the past. He finally gets his stand in chapter 23 where he is the gala and his adventurer story even has him somewhat making amends with Mercury and even working toward changing the Dyrenell Empire for the better.

Dragons

• Jeanne d'Arc is one of the most popular Light Dragons. So popular, in fact, that she is one of the few non-Greatwyrm Dragons to have more than one alt, with her Dragonyule and Gala Reborn selves having their own fandoms due to their designs and usefulness in combat, while her corrupted Void self is the most popular of the Void Dragons.
• Phantom is beloved for having a legitimately terrifying design that contrasts with his noble heart, a heartbreaking backstory, and a touching bond with Felicia. Being an attack-boosting 5-Star Dragon available for free also helps.
• Despite being generally considered subpar in gameplay, Maritimus is a very popular Dragon for his adorable design. This even led to him becoming one of the very few Dragons to get an alternate version, in 2019's "Halloween Fantasia 2" showcase.
• Similarly, Arctos and Long Long became popular upon their reveals. Being bears certainly helped out a lot, but Arctos' Training from Hell he put the blacksmith sisters through amused many, while Long Long reminded a lot of people of Kung Fu Panda.
• All of the Gala Dragons qualify, but Thor has quickly become the breakout star of Light Dragons, and has seemingly single-handedly redeemed Valyx in the eyes of many.
• While some do wish Gozu Tenno had been an actual ox instead of yet another humanoid Dragon, many others openly welcomed him. Being a big beefcake, wearing a vest that barely covers his muscular chest, and being a redhead will do that to ya.
• Phoenix is probably the most popular 4-Star Dragon, as not only is she extremely pretty, but she is very useful in-game due to her powerful healing abilities. She later got a sister, Corsaint Phoenix, and many are still waiting for the final sister, Dark Phoenix, to show herself.
• Siren was not only popular enough to get an alt, with both versions being useful in gameplay, but she got to star in two separate Events ("A Splash of Adventure" and "Crescendo of Courage") AND get her own music video on top of that!
• Prometheus and his brothers, Epimetheus and Menoetius, quickly gained a large fandom. Prometheus got early attention not just for being a Pretty Boy and Mr. Fanservice, but also for his Ho Yay with Euden. Epimetheus got a lot of sympathy for being the runt of the pack and always getting bullied by Menoetius, and Meno himself for a combination of his good looks and cocky attitude.
• Ariel not only has the typical Ms. Fanservice design, but is the most blatant Action Girl of all the human-esque Dragons, with her outfit making her look like a comic book superhero or a toku hero.
• Midgardsormr had his fans, but was generally the most forgettable of the Greatwyrms, until his Zero self appeared in "Forgotten Truths." A combination of a really, really cool design and being one of the best Wind Dragons in the game shot up his popularity. The fact that he became a Spanner in the Works against Elysium certainly helped as well.
• All of the Archangels apply for this collectively, but for more explicit detail:
  • Ramiel gained a lot of fans due to his good looks, proper mannerisms, and powerful Abilities. So much so that not one, but TWO evil counterparts.
  • Gabriel got a lot of love for being a Doting Mother to Pinon, worrying about her constantly. Her portrait having an adorable Egg Pinon doll only adds to things.
  • Raphael became an instant fan-favorite for having a Ms. Fanservice design, pairing very well with Ryszarda, her friendly personality, and kicking a lot of ass in her various story moments.
  • Uriel likewise was hit with a lot of this in the many months leading up to his release (even if he didn't turn out solid), primarily for his good looks but also his interesting dynamic with Faris.
  • Michael not only has the looks akin to Merlin, but his very interesting character and some interactions, like with his Fallen Angel counterpart, had him swamped with fans who were happy when he finally dropped alongside Phares and Valyx.
• While he has little usability in combat, Giovanni is still loved just for being a giant whale opera singer with piano keys for teeth.
• Chronos, the main antagonist of the "Fractured Future" Event was an immediate hit as part of Dragalia Lost's 1st anniversary, especially in regards to his One-Winged Angel form, Chronos Nyx. This applied enough where he got to have most of a crossover Event dedicated to him ("Rage of Chronos") before finally becoming playable to the cheers of many as a Gala Dragon.
• Around the time of New Year's Tidings was there a spike in fan art - and most of it was devoted to the resident New Year's Dragon, Fudo Myo-o. Helps that she herself is a solid Dragon, and her pactbearer Shingen is quite popular as well.

NPCs

• While all of the Agito have been fairly well received by the fans, Ciella is the most popular out of all of them, unsurprisingly thanks to her very alluring design, and is the member of the Agito most requested by fans to make playable. She's also considered to be the best-written of the Agito, with how she plays a significant role in Elisanne's Character Development in Chapter 16, while still retaining her villainous charm. It also helps that she's actually a bit of a Token Good Teammate among the Agito, as the one thing she directs her wrath against, the Ilian Church, has repeatedly established themselves as very nasty pieces of work.
• Despite using a generic Imperial Soldier portrait, Saboa from the Persona 5 Strikers: Caged Desire event immediately stole the fandom's hearts by proving to be a really sweet and sympathetic man who's genuinely concerned for Emile's wellbeing. Many even hope he shows up in the main story and becomes playable, and he's favorably compared to the Gatekeeper from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. He eventually gets to appear again in Emile's Adventurer story where he plays just as big of a role in helping Emile.
• Angie, Gauld's granddaughter, immediately endeared herself to fans thanks to being a Cheerful Child who dearly loves her grandpa.
• Tiana, the fish girl from "Tolls of the Deep," gained lots of love for being cute, genuinely wanting to help her people, and forging a friendship with Alex and Mym (who debuted their very popular Summer variants in the same event). There are many who wish she had been made a playable Adventurer.
• There's two for the Sinister Dominion.
  • Lilith makes up the majority of fan art of the group, as the first member of the group who gave a strong impression for her cute design contrasting with her sadistic nature.
  • Many fans took an immediate liking to Iblis, the Water/Shadow member of the Sinister Dominion, upon the reveal of his design - with very immediate reasons coming to mind why.

---