Gushing About Characters You Like (Sugar Wiki)/Anime and Manga



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


 * Gao Gai Gar'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 Crowning Moment of Heartwarming. 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.
 * I nominate 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.
 * Hey now, you CAN'T mention Rurouni Kenshin without putting in a good word for Kenshin Himura himself now, can you?
 * Shishio and Saito. Making Badass look so easy.
 * Kamina. Need I say more?
 * Lord Genome, brilliantly written, a Genius Bruiser, and has one of the greatest deaths.
 * Yoko is also awesome. And Simon. And Nia. And Viral... Heck who's not to like in that show?
 * Rossiu, apparently.
 * I will defend Rossiu until hell freezes over. 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 . He should be the biggest Woobie in the series, for crying out loud!
 * THIS. Rossiu is the Only Sane Man and I love him for it. I don't care if the actions he takes are morally questionable, not everyone is Simon and Rossiu regretted every one of them. He's deeper than every other main character put together.
 * ROSSIU LIED. PEOPLE DIED.
 * Actually, did anyone actually die?
 * 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 chick 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?
 * Seconded. This troper likes him better than Kamina.
 * 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. AWWWWWWWWWW.
 * Yoko is, in my opinion, 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. Not bad, I'd say!
 * Jo Jos 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.
 * 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 Tragic Mulatto status and how well she deals with it make her all the more awesome.
 * Code Geass
 * Lelouch, period. 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. Plus he has mastered the shocked look that I now refers to as the "Lelouch Face". While others such as Ribbon may sport it, Lelouch easily pulls it off the best. 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 makes her one of the most sympathetic characters in the show. And she still loves Lelouch after all that! :3
 * And we cannot forget about C.C. and her awesomeness either. She's got a intriguingly vague past unknown to everyone, immortality, sarcasm, Fan Service, 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. In I's opinion, 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
 * I personally like Nunnally better when she actually began acting on her own in Season 2. Although you can feel sorry for her in Season 1 with everything she has thrown at her, in Season 2 her attempts to  are just admirable. And then   She's essentially a very good subversion of the Dead Little Sister type character.
 * Kallen isn't just about Fan Service; she's an amazingly strong and very human character. I have a lot of respect for her.
 * I might go so far as to consider Kallen 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, . That, and the fact she probably had nearly as many CMOAs as Lelouch did. She, Lelouch... and Jeremiah made the series for me.
 * Jeremiah is made of pure distilled awesomeness, the most hammiest ham ever concieved, and being dubbed by Crispin Freeman was genius.
 * I don't care if some people think he's The Scrappy, I utterly love Suzaku 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.
 * I'm quite partial to Anya.
 * I love 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.
 * Lloyd is hands-down I's favorite technology-obsessed sociopath EVER, and shipping him with Knightmare Frame technology is probably the least heartbreaking ship in the whole show.
 * Agreed, Lloyd is awesome... I have nothing to add, he just is.
 * Fourthed. Nothing against the other Geass characters, but it's nice to have an actually fun character in an otherwise rather depressing anime.
 * What, no love for Cecile?! She's this sweet, pretty female engineer who's also the only person who can keep Lloyd in check. D'awww....
 * Cornelia. If I'm ever in a contest over who's the most badass character I know, it's Cornelia. 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. Sexy British accent. Mmhmm.
 * Let's not forget about Euphemia. So sweet and innocent, yet brave and true to her beliefs. She did NOT deserve the ending she got.
 * I personally find so many Code Geass characters to be so appealing that I'd have an easier time listing the ones I didn't like.
 * Especially the female ones.
 * Seriously: The Geass ladies are not to be messed with and they are all strong in their own unique way. Yes, even Nina.
 * I'm a pretty big fan of Mao myself (no, not that way!). I remember I watched the Mao arc in one sitting, and at first I just wanted to see him die for daring to hurt Shirley. And then I was actually sort of relieved that he had trouble controlling his Geass, and began to feel a little sorry for him, and then when CC revealed that she made him an Unhappy Medium when he was six years old I stopped hating him entirely and truly felt sorry for him.  I know he's a nasty person, but he's a great, great character if he can make me completely change my opinions of him that way. Not to mention he's also really nice-looking and his voice in English is excellent.
 * Not only that but Mao was arguably more heroic than Lelouch--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  because he loved her, gets abandoned for it, becomes The Determinator in his quest to find her and stop the ignorant Lelouch from albeit unknowingly , gets shot, left with a Fate Worse Than Death and finally Killed Off for Real by the one person he loved, albeit with as a Mercy Kill with a Love Confession and Together in Death promise. Yeah, he's definitely an Anti Villain and The Woobie.
 * Mao was great stuff, no doubt about it.
 * I couldn't help coming to admire Kaname Ohgi intensely by the end 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 . In a show full of Black and Gray Morality, someone like him was refreshing.
 * No love for Gino?? Shame on you!
 * No love for Princess Euphemia? 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  she even convinces Lelouch to join teams with her!
 * Hell, why not just reel out the entire cast of Code Geass?!
 * No joy for Prince Schneizel? The second prince of Britannia is fucking awesome. He's either the smartest guy in the show, or at the very least the 2nd smartest. Hell, 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
 * 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.
 * His chess match against Lelouch (a literal Chessmaster) at the pre-wedding party. He drew the match by INTENTIONALLY LOSING. He deduced the sort of person Lelouch was, and purposefully set up a scenario where Lelouch could win in one move. Being too prideful, lulu doesn't take it, this let Schneizel confirm his theory on Lelouch's character, enraging Lulu greatly.
 * His greatest one in my opinion is spread out across all of the second season. (deep breath) He manipulates Nina into building the Fleija weapon, essentially the worlds first nuke. He deduced that Suzaku and Zero were somehow linked and has his men spy on Suzaku. This leads to him discovering Lelouch's identity and causes a rift to raise between the 2 friends (this leads to Lelouch's enraged orders to kill Suzaku during the proceeding battle). He manipulates Suzaku into telling him about Geass. Knowing the intricacies of Suzaku's geass order, he has the Fleija cannon grafted onto the Lancelot before Suzaku goes into battle, knowing that while Suzaku would never use it consciously, he'd be put in a situation during the battle where his order would force him to use it. He takes Nunally away after the Fleija is used, making Lelouch believe that she got killed. This traumatized him so much that he wouldn't be able to represent the Black Knight's in negotiations. Schneizel used this oppurtunity to turn the black knights against Lelouch, effectively destroying all of Lulu's work throughout both seasons in a single meeting. Later  AWESOME!!
 * Outstrategizing Lelouch at the beginning of the final battle and almost securing victory for
 * 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.
 * I is very fond of Johan himself- 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.
 * Dieter- for being so ridiculously adorable, so huggable, so sweet, so innocent, and so wise in his own way at the same time.
 * Howsabout Nina/? She's certainly one of the coolest female characters in anime that I've seen in a while.
 * And what about Eva Heinneman? Her character development was a massive surprise for all those that inmediately labeled her as a Rich Bitch character, which is because that's waht she was and the change in her personality was dealt superbly, she came from being annoying to gain COA's of her own, and the best thing is that you could actually feel sorry for her because it was evident that despite being rich she was a pathetic and lonely person and you could absolutely want her to change her ways but the journey she dealt with truly was difficult but for this all the more rewarding. I admires Tenma and finds Johann fascinating and Nina badass, but by far the best character in this excellent series is, for him at least, Eva Heinneman
 * I Second Eva! She starts out as an archetypical soap opera villain who would ,in any other show, be a static character spending the intire 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.
 * 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.
 * The entire cast of FMA is awesome, even the secondary and minor characters. Major Armstrong, Dr Knox, Greed, its the only manga I has ever read that doesn't have a Scrappy or Wesley.
 * Well, except for maybe Yoki.
 * But that's more of an in universe example for how the cast feels about him, not the fans. And even he gets a Crowning Moment of Awesome that is, well, awesome.
 * At first, I was confused by Hohenheim's character. She felt annoyed at him, but at the same time appreciated him. After learning his backstory? He is now her absolute favourite character in almost any series, ever. And the whole "Don't ever mock my son" line elevated him to the ranks of Badass.
 * And no one can hate someone who delivers epic one-liners like "My vintage armour!"
 * Fuhrer Bradley is Made of Win.
 * Seconded, for his name alone will tell you how Badass he is.
 * I could go on, and on... and on about how awesome Scar is, but I'll leave it at this: for a character to go from an outright villain to an extremely sympathetic antihero in the course of fifty-one episode (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.
 * I likes Alphonse (from the manga version) a lot. 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.
 * I agrees. It took her a long time to choose a favorite character from this series, but eventually she decided that Al was her favorite. Along with being incredibly sweet and just about everything mentioned above, there's also the whole Animated Armor thing. Most people would probably go insane the first week if put into a situation like that, but he's been able to deal with it for four or five years. THAT is impressive.
 * Riza Hawkeye. Especially in the Manga.
 * Seconded. I love the fact that 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?
 * THIRD. And I love her dynamic with Roy. AND HER BACKSTORY is the Ultimate Tear Jerker for me. And ontop of that, her attitude towards
 * Similarly, Winry Rockbell, especially in the Manga.
 * 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?
 * Maes Hughes has been I's absolute favorite ever since he was introduced, and has never been replaced. He is sweet, loyal, hilarious, and a genuinely good guy in a Crapsack World, as well as being an extremely competent Badass Normal.
 * 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.
 * WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL?
 * Ling Yao, who is not only hilarious, but awesome as well.  And, as if he wasn't awesome already, he
 * Lan Fan/Ran Fan.
 * Seconded. She's just great
 * Third. Her loyalty towards her Lord is without bounds,
 * Izumi Curtis. Think what would happen if Chuck Norris was a Housewife. With badass Alchemy Skillz of Doom. She's even cooler than that.
 * And her 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 no I'm not giving him 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 Hannibal Lecture every one of the series Badass heroes without batting an eye, he's one of my absolute favourite villains. He never loses his cool, never stops being awesome, and looks great in that white suit. Nice Hat too.
 * Seconded. One of the best manga villains I've seen yet.
 * Lust. Enough has been said.
 * What? No love for Envy? Yeah, I know, 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. He is my Draco In Leather Shorts!
 * And then there's no love for 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.
 * Konata has a great personality and voice, is cute, and extremely endearing.
 * Konata is SOOOOOO freakingly awesome, she should dethrone Haruhi and become the new goddess! ALL HAIL KONATA!!!
 * Tsukasa is awesome too. Just tone down the otaku-ness and up the cute (a lot). Also 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, but you can't forget the 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.
 * 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 also 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.
 * Treize Kushrenada, seriously, this guy was one of the best ManipulativeBastards I've ever seen, not for being manipulative, but also his flair. Look at his mobile suit, it looks absolutely gaudy, and thats what makes it so cool. Not to mention, he manages to seem like the antagonist but really behaves like an Anti Hero.
 * Kirabi/Killer Bee from Naruto -- 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.
 * Don't forget about Naruto himself. He's loud, hyperactive, and dense, but that just makes you like him all the more.
 * Personally, I love 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.
 * I's favourite is still Jiraiya. Of course, 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 and his death may have been my favourite part in the manga. Manly as anything: "Pretty damn honorable".
 * Sakura counts as well. She goes from being an obnoxious Fan Girl 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.
 * I is an unashamed Hinata fangirl. Right from the start, she admired Naruto because she actually paid attention to him and saw what everyone else was too busy scorning him to notice: his determination, inner strength, and all of those other shonen hero traits. She's grown from a Shrinking Violet to
 * No Love For Kakuzu?
 * 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....pretty please?
 * Probably the best character in the series.
 * He also has a lot of haters, but...I just wants to give Sasuke a big hug. He has the same effect on me that Gaara had on many people. I can't help but empathize with him greatly, and find him to be a fascinating character. Since I'm not good at explaining, I'll just skip to the point...* squee* He's just so cute!! <3
 * Seconding. Almost a meta example for me; I didn't really like him until I saw how much everyone here hated him. Poor guy :-( Also, he was the most adorable little tyke before the massacre, all round-faced and shy ♥
 * Gaara for me! He was cool before his Heel Face Turn and his fight against Kimimaro was just awesome. Plus he would have.
 * I don't care how much Perverse Sexual Lust affects my judgement; Ino is the best Naruto girl of them all!
 * 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.
 * I know 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.
 * No love for Suigetsu? He's pretty calm mostly, he can handle his BFS like it weighs nothing, and he's pretty snarky. Not to mention that he's quite sexy. This troper recognizes the Perverse Sexual Lust in that statement, but she has a thing for silver-haired men. Mmmm…
 * 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. Nuff said.
 * Seconded. Dear gods, how did it take so long for the Copy Ninja to get on this list? The man is pure walking -- talking -- AWESOME. Let's not forget he fights with a massive chakra drain against ridiculously powerful baddies -- and comes out winning. (He is also, incidentally, damn sexy.)
 * THIRDED. Will someone please explain why this man, one of the most formidable and hilariously Badass shinobi alive, is not yet Hokage? This man has oozed awesome from the moment he first appeared and opened his mouth, and it hasn't stopped since. Nothin' but love for Tsunade, but would it have killed her to stay in that coma for a few more seconds? You know, the few seconds required for Kakashi to be named the undisputed leader of Konoha? Le sigh...
 * Shizune, believe it or not. She's a background character but this troper loves her so much. Between her skills with poisons and her devotion to Tsunade despite Tsunade being, well... Tsunade, she's just awesome.
 * Seriously? No Itachi?! Leaving aside just how badass and powerful he is, his backstory is one of the most compelling in the show/manga.
 * Neji - from his awesomely subtle and graceful fighting style to his great character development.
 * And let's not forget Rin or Obito, Kakashi's badass teammates who appeared for only a few chapters and still managed to steal our hearts!
 * Yuki Nagato is seven eight  twelve 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!
 * I'd like to add Haruhi Suzumiya to that list. 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, Genre Savvy, Hot Blooded and melancholic. There's no way she's not awesome.
 * Seconding the love for Haruhi. 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.
 * Hell, Mikuru too... and no, not for the obvious reason, but because she pretty much started off the entire story by having Kyon do the John Smith incident. Yes, time travel is confusing, but it's awesome, especially when it's Mikuru using it.
 * Not to mention the fact that she's destined to become the bigest 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,
 * And Itsuki Koizumi. The guy is a Teen Genius later revealed to be 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.
 * I would like to second Yuki, but would also like to add Tsuruya. Her character in the later novels is just delightful.
 * Let's not forget 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 I finds her magnificent.
 * So, SO seconded. I cannot see how she could possibly be underappreciated; she's the most Badass chick in the series. There's a reason they just can't get rid of her.
 * 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.
 * I found Ami to be the best character of the show. Too bad she's not as much in the focus as I'd like her to be, but A Minorin is fine, too.
 * This other troper agrees whole-heartedly on Ami and Minori, but loves Taiga as well. Yes 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, I can't help but find her adorable.
 * Taiga Aisaka- In short I turn into a pile of gooey Moe love whenever I think of Taiga from her take no guff attitude to her hidden softer side she's almost the perfect represintation of Moe and I dont even normally like Tsundere charcters.
 * I'm thirding the Ami and Minori love. Especially Ami; she's such a good bro. And oddly enough, I have a fondness for Yuusaku as well.
 * Zaraki Freakin' Kenpachi. The Badass Blood Knight and captain of Squad 11. need I list anymore reasons why?
 * What, poor Ryuuji gets no love?
 * And Yachiru too!!! So adorable!
 * Also, the protagonist Ichigo. Between the Super Powered Evil Side, the Badass Longcoat...need I go on?
 * 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 awsome!!! she is also hinted to be very powerful too. Cant wait to see her fight...kubo should give her much more screen time
 * Rukia is just as cool, since she's gotten many moments that are just made of awesomeness and hilarity.
 * Orihime counts as well in a way. I mean the Cloudcuckoolander who literally has the power to Screw Destiny. Pretty awesome I'd say.
 * Kisuke. This man just oozes awesome. And to top it off, he's probably boning Yoruichi.
 * Ulquiorra.
 * Hollow Ichigo. The guy is freaking awesome. He's like the Joker with a BFS.
 * Shiba Kaien. I cannot believe how much she loves a character who now only shows up in flashbacks because, but he is so sweet and funny and encouraging and maybe somehow related to Kurosaki Ichigo.
 * Say what you will about Hitsugaya Toshiro, I, who lived in a territory chock-full of Hitsugaya haters, will always root for him for 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.
 * For I it was that 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) oh or doing it for shits and giggles but to actually bother investigating when he felt something was wrong and act on what he uncovered the first impressions of the others ARE NOT qualities of leaders leading I at the time to think that the only good captain who actually acts as a leader of (wo)men is Hitsugaya. With that said Byakuya had an at least semi-decent reason and completely redeemed himself with that Badass moment in the Hueco Mundo Arc "." Zaraki is crazy enough to be awesome Ukitake can fire a BEAM apparently and Shunsui proved to be a good man after he beat Chad and Saijin's loyalty comes from a fairly heartwarming spot... and he proved recently he's pretty strong.
 * ...take a BREATH.
 * 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 Big Badass Wolf in battle. I know 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), but to me, he's an Ensemble Darkhorse. In Shinigami golden 96, his reaction to how the dog brush felt when he brushed his fur = kawaii! 82 (can't remember) golden he just got his fur done at a hair salon, it was so fluffy, he even let Yachiru draw on his face! 115 golden, dog gigai!!!! I still can't get over 220 golden where in Iba's mind he smiles (he's never actually been seen smiling) and he enjoys cute puppy shows. Also, that ear wiggle in episode 220.
 * Barragan Luisenbarn. Oh. My. God. 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 . 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 Crowning 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.
 * I have two for you. 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. And Wonderweiss, because he is a Woobie among Arrancar.
 * I can't be the only one who finds Mayuri Kurotsuchi incredibly amusing in a Dead Baby 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. Maybe I like him because he reminds me of The Joker.
 * I does NOT know how, being such a normally-cheerful person, she got such a thing for the series' token angster, Kira Izuru, but MAN is she blown away now. First, he actually kind of reminds I of herself: unsure, indecisive, remorseful. Second...if you have EVER seen him in those episodes where he gets serious, that is AMAZING. I was stunned at how well he could open up a serious can of pain on some Arrancar and malignant Zanpakuto spirits. Third...he's just so cute when he smiles.
 * Momo. Break the Cutie gone horrifically right. I really am amazed at the level of hate she gets but good thing it's dying down. Poor, poor Momo. It isn't fun to be you. OH AND FUCKING MASHIRO. Badass BABE.
 * No love for Gin Ichimaru? Oh well, more for me. 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.
 * I freaking love Gin. As vulnerable as he might be to the dreaded leather pants due to his unexpected hotness, that's not why I love him. He's probably one of the most complex characters in the show despite initial appearances, what with . I like that even though his back story explains his actions, it doesn't excuse them. Also, his copious use of deception in a world where Talking is a Free Action and most people won't shut up about their abilities makes him awesome in itself. He's definitely my favorite villain in Bleach.
 * ... This troper has a bit of a confession, and she just hopes she doesn't get too much hate for this. She'd heard of Bleach beforehand, but hadn't been too interested in it- until she saw a review of the top 20 anime villains on Youtube, and found Aizen on the list. 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 some Villain Decay on his part... if you've read as far as this troper has you know EXACTLY what she means), and for the most part is grateful for it!
 * This troper is pretty sure having seen only a handful of Bleach's many episodes isn't much of a foundation to claim character-love, but seeing 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.
 * C'mon people, where's the Rangiku Matsumoto love?
 * Right here. 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. Pretty much any scene 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. I could write a dissertation on his awesome. 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. YMMV, but he's my favorite character in any and all fictional media. I can't be the only one that loves him, right?
 * Seconded. He's about the only Arrancar that really interested me.
 * Kuchiki Byakuya has been this troper's absolute favorite since his introduction. Long-haired, Badass Bishonen? 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. I personally find his fights to be the most engaging of all the epic battles that Bleach offers, and I think his growth throughout the manga is probably the best character development in the series.
 * Killua Zaoldyeck from Hunter X Hunter, 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 Hunter X Hunter characters are deserving of praise as well. Kurapika was a very touching and unique Anti Hero. Leorio is pretty much 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. But he has moments.
 * 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.
 * I couldn't agree more about Osaka. The Houston-area accent Kyra Vincent-Davis provides for the English dub only enhances her moeness.
 * I can't put the entire cast here, there's been too much of that lately, but... 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!
 * Haruhara Haruko, the personification of Crazy Awesome. 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.
 * Yomiko Readman is a really cute bookworm.
 * And let us not forget Nenene and the Paper Sisters who are all completely awesome in their own way.
 * 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?
 * 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 . His easily the best of the Char clones.
 * To be honest, he's an even more amazing character when he - also an impossible act.
 * Lots of people seem to hate her but, for I, Stellar Loussier. In battle, she absolutely deadly (before the show 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!
 * I love almost every character in series, La Flaga for being the coolest guy on the planet, Ramius for being an amazing captain, Athrun for being 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 thorougly destestable; 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.
 * You know what? 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. For this troper, she was undoubtedly the most interesting character to watch. 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, in the form of a Crowning Moment of Awesome, followed by . 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.
 * Really, I like Mai and Natsuki as much as the next fanboy (or fangirl), but if ever someone were to pen an official Mai-HiME side-story or two, one of them should star (or at least co-star) Midori Sugiura (or whatever name they choose to give her), 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. Okay, he's not a knock-out of a Bishonen, 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. I like him because he's so human in his feelings and thoughts, something his haters tend to forget.
 * Hello? Did somebody 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.
 * No one called him, but Jet Black is so badass that he showed up anyway.
 * No love for the Queen of Cloudcuckoolander, Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV? She's just MADE of awesome.
 * Guts, The most Badass manga character EVER. Seriously, 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 I's 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.
 * I has always had a huge soft spot for 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
 * Being a twenty-something year old female fan of a series aimed at a 18+ male audience, one would assume that I was crazy over Guts because I fetish him as a lover. This is not the case with me, since - although I will admit that he looks mighty fine - what I really fantasize about is GUTS BEING MY DAD. It's not even about the crazy stuff I could inherit from him.
 * Aside from Guts, I always liked Godo. Only guy who can make Guts shut up with the rage-o-hol for ten minutes. Awesome.
 * I know he drew a lot of hate, but I think Near is awesome.
 * Near is awesome. However, I will freely admit that 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.
 * Thirded so. Damn. Much. This Troper will never understand the hate some people carry for Near. 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.
 * This troper is a rare breed - she finds Near and L equally awesome. But Mello will always be my favorite...
 * No love for Misa? She's so sweet, cute, and evil at the same time, and just plain fun.
 * My favorite 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.
 * I would like to second both Misa * and* Near. They both got a lot of bashing but are really, really great characters.
 * * is scrambling around in pockets* Bah! I's gushing cannot be contained within a few sentences of compliments. * pulls out a small box, gets on one knee, and opens it, revealing a brilliant ring* Marry me, Misa Amane~
 * 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  into admitting he's  . (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   the second time and gives up   for Light without batting an eyelash, her devotion to him is definitely heartbreaking.   And let's not forget that 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  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   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.
 * This troper IS on his side, which is to say nobody's side, and finds him so awesomely, morbidly adorable it's hard to describe.
 * Not to mention 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.
 * 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 . Also, Naomi Misora - despite going through some real emotional turmoil, she's so smart, cautious and quick-thinking that.
 * 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 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.
 * 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.
 * Son Goku still the best of all the Shonen manga/anime heroes in my opinion.
 * Also from the same series, the unholy trio of Freeza, 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.
 * 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.
 * 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 Yaoi Guys, 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.
 * I has 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... maneagable than her original counterpart. More of a common Tsundere than a crazy one, and I is all for Tsunderes...
 * Say what you will about Shinji in the series proper being a Wangsty Emo Teen. Honestly, can you say you wouldn't be a psycholgical mess if you went through half the stuff he did?
 * I have always prefered 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.
 * This troper is particularly fond of 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.
 * Luffy from One Piece is maybe of the most supremely lovable main characters I's ever encountered in manga. 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.
 * I've come to gain an increasing appreciation for Luffy. Initally, he comes off as the stupidest of the Big 3 Shonen Jump protagonsits. 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.
 * Also, 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.
 * 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  is pure awesome, even if we have no idea what he's actually DOING. Is it a  ? Or is he just pulling another Xanatos Gambit? Is he starting to   or is he just  ? 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 Crowning Music of Awesome and Tear Jerker into one catchy musical number, and his involvement in the arc he was introduced in, Brook quickly became one of this troper's favourite characters.
 * 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. I don't care if 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.
 * 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 recent 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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!
 * Russia is the only time insanity has ever made this troper laugh so hard. He managed to be huggably cute and absolutely terrifying and creepy at the same time. Also, Two Words: RUSSIA PIIIINK! (Who's The Chick now?)
 * Poland and his Ambiguously Gay Valley Girl Accent always amuse me.
 * 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.
 * This troper loves how 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 doesn't taste like diabetes, so in a good way. Yes, I am a Yaoi Fangirl.
 * Personally I'm a big fan of China and America. 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 politicaly, it's kinda hard to argue with that depiction. I mean, a loud, not-so-bright big eater who fancies himself a hero, but means well in the end? Yeah, definitely America.
 * GRANDPA ROME!!!
 * 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! This Troper is really amazed at how much she likes him, considering he's never showed any serious flaws in canon.
 * I might be in a minority here, but I love Japan. Primarily because I have a thing for outwardly stoic but inwardly shy characters, and Japan manages the feat of simulatenously 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, and Not So Above It All-ness, which places him into Adorkable territory for me, especially since I can empathize all too well with the "social awkwardness" part. Plus, these Shipping fanfics where Greece gets him to relax, stop trying so hard, and reveal his dere side (and possibly his pervert side too)? Freaking adorable, and amplifies Japan's Moe points tenfold. (Yes, I'm a Yaoi Fangirl too. So sue me.)
 * I have an unashamed love of 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.
 * Sure, Switzerland's a cynical, gun-toting xenophobe, but I'll be damned if his relationship with Liechtenstein isn't the cutest thing ever.
 * No love for the title character? Well, I might as well~ This tropette absolutely ADORES how sweet Italy can be. She just loves what a cute, energetic, and overall goofy character he is! It should also be noted that, while this tropette is not a Yaoi Fan and thus does not ship the two together, she finds the bond between Italy and Germany to be incredibly sweet, and loves how the two play-off each other in personalities.
 * All of these characters are great, but none of them hold candle to the awesomeness that is Prussia!
 * Rena can alternate very well between Axe Crazy Yandere to lovable fangirl of all things cute. It helps she's also The Woobie.
 * Rena is my favourite anime character, ever. I want to take her home!
 * Keiichi, too. He's paranoid, perverted, and clueless about women. But his love for his friends and his sheer GAR shine through, inspiring to take a stand against fate. I daresay he's become my ideal man.
 * In fact, the cast of Higurashi as a whole. Nearly all of them are awesome and absurdly likeable. Take a bow, guys. You deserve it.
 * Oh, I agree with "the whole cast" so much (after all, ) but if I had to name just one... my favourite is Shion. I liked her right from her introduction, but then in the last arc: That is one awesome friend.
 * I love everyone too, but favorites have to be 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.
 * And let's not forget Battler Ushiromiya. His sheer determination enables him to pull off feats that would make Keiichi proud. In fact, (yes, once again) the cast of Umineko as a whole.
 * I personally adore the Big Bad Beatrice and Maria. One reason that I adored her was, that she kept screwing with the characters' heads, and even plays on both the sides of good and the sides of evil. My favorite episode was where she concocted the whole scheme to get Battler's trust, and to get him to sign a contract. She even creates Eva-Beatrice for her plan to come into fruition. She's such a Magnificent Bastard and Laughably Evil, that I was genuinely saddened when she died in the end of episode twenty-six. In one of the anime websites I work on, I personally ranked Beatrice number two of The Greatest Anime Villains, and even named my pet parakeet after her! I just adored her as a villainess that much! And, for Maria, she is simply just adorable, and scary at the same time. However, I wouldn't want to be around her when she's upset.
 * Kafuka Fuura somehow combines beaing The Pollyanna and Axe Crazy. And she makes it awesome.
 * This troper is fairly convinced that, even if you hate children, it is impossible to hate Yotsuba Kawaii 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. What's not to love?
 * Agreed, and while Yotsuba herself isn't my favorite Yotsubato&! character -- that slot is reserved for Ena -- I just have to give her a spot up there nearby. And if I might add, 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. I've just got to admire that, even as I realize she probably should have just waited until Fuuka returned home.
 * "Probably"? Learning that lesson was pretty much the point of the chapter. Well, that and showcasing just how cute a five-year-old's sheer will and determination can be.
 * "You can tell me in hell."
 * 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.
 * Reggie. How the hell can the older brother of such a jerk like 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 Beast Master relationship as his trainer, Brock, is the one being dominated. Throw in some zoophilia implications and it is one of the best Pokémon-human interactions in the entire series. This troper was lukewarm to his flirting gag before, but he never tires of seeing Croagunk do it despite the Overused Running Gag. It is the one (and possibly only) reason for keeping Brock on the show.
 * Yellow, from Pokémon Special. 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 Mary Sue at best, if not a Creators 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/Blue is the most awesome girl in Pokémon Special! A loveable, fiendishly clever thief and Con Artist 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 incompetant 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 Badass 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?
 * 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 Bishonen 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 Darkhorse 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!
 * 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)!
 * 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. Also, this editor hates second-hand-smoke, and thus appreciates November's unique solution to that problem.
 * No love for 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. * grumbles something impolite about the second season*
 * Also, 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?
 * 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. Is he the pinnacle of awesome? I thinks so.
 * Oh, Priestess Yun! I'll quote her MyAnimeList.net description: 'She speaks very bluntly, refers to herself using masculine pronouns, and hates war. She is devoutly religious, sincerely committed to the cause of peace, and loves to read.' I mean, what more could you possibly want? How about...this same character is an incredible cutie, a Little Miss Snarker, the Team Mom by the end, and has one of the most beautiful stories of sacrificial selfless love in all of fiction? I LOVE YOU, YUN. <3
 * I is shocked --shocked!-- that there isn't a Negima section yet. Chachamaru and Evangeline are just made of sweet, tragic win with ample helpings of asskick thrown in for good measure, and Negi's recent  has got to be some of the best character development I've ever read in a manga.
 * While Negi's certainly gotten a great deal of development, I'd hardly call it raw power. Unless you're talking the, because there's a case for that. Setsuna is by far one of the single cutest yet ass-kicky characters I've ever come across, and I love 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. And then there's Nodoka and Yue... ah screw it, let's just say everyone in this manga and leave it at that.
 * What about Jack Rakan? The man is so impossibly 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.
 * RAKAN-FOR-THE-HELL-OF-IT-RIGHT-HAND-PUNCH!!!!!
 * Don't click this. If you do the world will be destroyed by the awesome.
 * His fight with Negi. All eight chapters of it.
 * WhatAboutNagi.
 * 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 . 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.
 * 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 and ), the ending to the series would have been a damn depressing one.
 * 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 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.
 * 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.
 * What about Dr. Stein? In I's opinion, he'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!
 * Hell, the titular character himself! His unwavering loyalty to Maka aside, Soul is just Dangerously Genre Savvy, and 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!
 * 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!!!!!
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * Eikichi Onizuka, 22 years old, is THE MAN. If this perverted and idiotic former bike gang leader was I's high school teacher, she'd go to school everyday! Just to see what wild hi-jinks he'd be cooking up next. And she'd totally trust him with her life, too!
 * And how is Yuuko not on this list? The Badass, Bottle Fairy, 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! Cutest Weasel Mascot ever. The same goes for Mokona, but Yuuko's Mokona is far more Badass.
 * The main cast of The Slayers. Lina Inverse. Xelloss. Gourry. SO. MUCH LOVE.
 * Amelia and Zelgadiss; their names must be mentioned.
 * Rezo the Red Priest.
 * Yoshiyuki Tomino has created a lot of cool female characters... but in I's book, very few of them can compare with Brain Powerd's own Hime Utsumiya, a Red Headed 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... yes, Jonathan Glenn, I'm looking at you), and can always be counted on to cheer up those around her. What's there not to like about her?
 * 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 . The end.
 * And Kokutou Azaka, a Nasu-class tactical imouto-type Tsundere, is the most awesome aspect of Kara no Kyoukai after Shiki herself.
 * Don't forget Aozaki Touko! A Fiery Redhead Reasonable Authority Figure Cool Big Sis Humanoid Abomination 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.
 * Question Forte Stollen's gender. Try it. I dare you.
 * 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 the most awesome Lady of War 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.
 * Speaking of Wolkenritter, we can't forget Toph Vita.
 * 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.
 * This Troper has a huge soft spot for Dieci: she's a kind, thoughtful girl with a strong conscience, and she looks damn cute, too.
 * I myself have a soft spot for 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. I curse Tsuzuki for not giving her the amounts of awesome that she deserves!
 * I know I may get flamed to hell and back for liking this character over characters like Vivio, Einhart and Nanoha, but is it me, or am I the only who thinks Rio Wesley is sorely unappreciated? I mean, 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 damn cute. Oh, and she beat up that molesting Sein, which should be considered a dual Crowning Moment of Awesome/Funny for her. I don't care what anybody else says, she'll always be my personal Ensemble Darkhorse.
 * Fate Testarossa deserves- nay, should be here! Caring and gentle yet fierce and unyielding, not to mention hot as hell.
 * I consider Reinforce to be THE most awesome character 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 it still drives me to Manly Tears whenever I watch it) but it doesn't diminish the fact that she's that awesome!
 * Triela from Gunslinger Girl is the awesomest Tsundere cyborg Action Girl ever. Period.
 * 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.
 * How on earth did we forget Rock? Crazy Awesome Badass 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.
 * Even though this troper insists that 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 Yu Yu Hakusho. His sheer tenacity is something to be admired in and of itself in I's opinion, not to mention 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 pretty much 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.
 * I love Hiei, I love Hiei, I love Hiei... seriously, 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. Seriously. 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 Super Powered Evil Side?
 * Dr. Franken Stein from Soul Eater, who beat one of Shibusen's top students while sitting in his chair.
 * That's not the half of it. 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.
 * Giroro from Keroro Gunso. His near obsession with Natsumi is adorable, as is his pet kitty.
 * I could not agree with you more. <3
 * Bit Cloud from Zoids. 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.
 * I absolutely loves 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 (an animal I adores), 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, as well.
 * Haruhi Fujioka. Tamaki's right, she's just the cutest thing ever, no matter what she is wearing.
 * Heh, I, despite being a straight girl, found Haruhi to be one of the show's cutest, prettiest cast members.
 * While we're talking about Ouran, 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.
 * I seriously wishes she could kidnap Suou Tamaki from the Host Club and keep him in her pocket to take out when she wants and make play beautiful medleys on the piano.
 * 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. That's right, I went there.
 * That's okay, I'll second you.
 * Kyouya. * dreamy sigh* Tall Dark and Handsome, Megane and Chessmaster. Oh and secretly cares a lot about Tamaki. * dreamy smile*
 * 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 Ichigo Mashimaro 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 to 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 Crowning 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. (Yes, ok, fine, so I have a crush on a manga character. I'm sure it's not the first time.)
 * 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.
 * Black Butler's Sebastian. A Badass Demon Battle Butler, with that... that smile of a Magnificent Bastard, (* swoons* ) 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 Crowning Moment of Awesome, an evil version of one but neitherless awesome.
 * I love Snake. I really do. 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.
 * Jamil Neate. The man is Bright, Amuro and Char all rolled into one with a big pile of badass on top.
 * 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!
 * (Troper here. Kogarashi is just a hilarious character - he's a Heroic 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 from 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. Wish there were more people like her in the world.
 * How about poor little Hotaru? I wasn't very popular in middle school, so I could empathize with her being an outcast among her peers. Add in 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 made me cheer. 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?
 * This troper has had a girl-crush on 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.
 * No love for the wonderful Sailor Jupiter, Kino Makoto?
 * 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.
 * Gene fuckin' Starwind. That redhead could grab I's ass whenever he wanted to and she sure as hell wouldn't mind. He's so many parts of brash, hard-headed youth yet sweet, almost noble good guy that it's impossible not to love him.
 * Lets not forget sweet Moe Melfina who can also be pretty Badass at times.
 * Third/Heiza. Sure, he turns out to be  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.
 * 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.
 * Ryou Bakura. He's shy, gentle, way too cute, and despite what most Fanfic 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.
 * Not to mention one of the greatest character growth arcs I have ever seen. Grab the first manga (or the Toei anime) and look at Yuugi. Then look at him during the Egypt arc. The sharp contrast between the beginning and the end and the ability to trace how that character development happened is amazing! And he's not even my favorite character!
 * Yami Yugi. Look at him in the in the first manga, he was plain evil. Now look at him in the Egypt arc... he goes through just as much character development as Yugi. Same goes for Kaiba.
 * 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 Pokémon!
 * 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.
 * 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* )
 * 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 Crowning Moment of Awesome and, well...
 * Despite (and somewhat because of) their saddening wasted potential, the Trinity siblings made quite an impact on this troper. Particularly Nena Trinity.
 * 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.
 * And what about 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 "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"
 * 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 Eyes of Gold 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, 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?
 * Beatrice. Need I say more?
 * Ahem. Who needs witches and hoes when you've got Bronove?
 * Everybody in Umineko is awesome. But I has a bit of a soft spot for both Rosa and her daughter, each who are lovable in their own way.
 * Am I the only female Digimon fan who may have had a little bit of a crush on Wizardmon way back when? 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 one of my favorite parts of Season One. And  - oh what the hell, even AMVs about him and/or Gatomon make me bawl like a baby. He has such a soothing voice in both English and Japanese, too. Everything about him seems designed to yank at the heartstrings.
 * You Are Not Alone on the Wizardmon thing, my friend. You Are Not Alone. He's my favorite, too. I'd say more, but you've said it all.
 * 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.
 * 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 Crowning 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.
 * 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.
 * 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 Katekyo Hitman Reborn. 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 Neighbour Hood Friendly Gangster around. Combined with being incredible good looks and Hair of Gold and a Dojikko 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 Bishonen 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.
 * 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 Gurren Lagann Badassery.
 * From that very series, we have Izaya. From stomping on girls' cellphones to conning people to, 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 ....
 * 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.
 * 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 Awesome, 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.
 * 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 Kenshiro isn't on here? How sad.
 * 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...
 * 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.
 * 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 badass long hair, and badass stoicism, and badass katanas, and he's just badass.
 * 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 heart-warming moments with her love interest, even if I didn't like him.
 * What, no love for Kitano and friends? For shame, TV Tropes. Allow me to correct this: Jiro and Goro (Kuroda's underlings/buddies/handlers), Seikichi Kuroda, Yuji Takehisa, Ryoko Koiso, Ikuno Shirata ki, Seiichiro Kitano, 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 Abnormal 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?
 * 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.
 * 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
 * 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 Plus. 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, X 1999 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 Legal Drug. 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.
 * Satoshi Hiwatari. Never mind the constant Ho Yay, the cat and mouse with Dark and the crushing angst of living with a Super Powered Evil Side... and yet he still always always tries to avoid hurting Daisuke.
 * Wolfwood from Trigun deserves a mention. Proper badass, right there.
 * Holo from Spice and Wolf. She is both wise and childish, appealing on an emotional level rather than dependent on sex appeal, and in a show with only two main characters, she more than pulls her weight in terms of character dynamic. She's really likeable and so easy to sympathize with. In fact, this troper made a plush doll of her, just so he could hug it to satisfy his Cuteness Proximity. Despite not being Japanese, this troper finds her to be just so incredibly Moe!
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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 Crazy Awesome, proving that Magical Girls aren't all hearts and rainbows.
 * Homura freaking Akemi. Need I say more?
 * 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, . This is someone whose mere existence is the bane of despair.
 * 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.
 * Fairy Tail's 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 and if I may be excused for being pervy-pervy, she's also a bit of a pervert herself and even considers her bunnygirl suit the best of her wardrobe. All in all, Erza Scarlet should be anyone's ideal girl, be it that you're a guy or a girl!
 * There are not enough words to describe the amount of Squee that this troper emits when Gildarts is on screen. Seriously, I can't decide whether I want him as a father or as a lover.
 * 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.
 * Alita/Gally 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 Mary Sue 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. I titled him "The Immortal" because he just won't lie down and die no matter what. 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.