Anime/Manga Week Three: Main characters

[Chikara]

10 weeks of anime: week three
Main characters
-(๑☆‿ ☆#)ᕗ​

This week, let's talk about what we look for or prefer to see in a main character owo

When I was watching Gundam SEED, I couldn't believe the amount of hate it got, especially when it was directed towards Kira. "Oh, he's such a baby", "Kira needs to man up", "WUSS". Things like that. I never understood it, considering Kira's personality and the situation he was forced into. I always thought he was really realistic. So I guess my favorite kind of main character is one that's flawed.


What do you look for when it comes to main characters? Do you tend to like them, or nah?

Would you prefer a main character that's a complete unstoppable badass, or one that shows an astounding amount of realistic qualities?

What are some of your favorite main characters? What about least favorite? Why?​

 

[Akiba]

One main character whom I really disliked is Onii-shiba Tatsugod-kun. Under his shallow façade of humbleness (which no other character seems to be able to see through), he's really pretentious.

So now that we're done talking about the type of character that I don't like, we'll move on to a character with a respectable personality.

Heavy Angel Beats spoilers may follow.

Spoiler:

Otonashi Yuzuru, from Angel Beats. He grew up a lazy, underachieving almost-delinquent, but his love for his permanently hospitalized younger sister led him to take construction job and work for some extra money to support her. After her death, Yuzuru decided to study medicine and registered for an entrance exam to a medial university. However, the train that he had taken was crushed and derailed by falling debris from the tunnel, which had collapsed. Trapped, Yuzuru organized a rations and medical system that had kept almost all of the wreck survivors alive until the seventh day, when they were finally rescued. Yuzuru himself, died, however. His own name, homophonic to "adult", is symbolic to his maturation.

After being brought to the Afterlife, he worked hard to help all of his friends in the SSS Brigade. He was the ultimate driving force by which they reconciled with Tenshi and found a way back to the real world.

He was a calm and collected individual, making both bad boys and delicate girls admire him.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

Other than my obsession with God of Onii-samas, I tend to like OP protagonists all together.
But I prefer those that are OP from the start, it's good that newer anime use this type instead of wimpy protagonists that was the previous trend.
If protagonist is wimpy, you just know he will become OP and it just prolongs the inevitable.

As for protagonists I didn't like... I tend to cheer for protagonists so it's harder for me to really not like someone.
But... liking Kasuga from Aku no Hana or Makoto from School Days is not something I would do.

One main character whom I really disliked is Onii-shiba Tatsugod-kun. Under his shallow façade of humbleness (which no other character seems to be able to see through), he's really pretentious.

How can you NOT like Onii-sama?!
(And I do not think he is capable of being pretentious, though xD)

Heavy Angel Beats spoilers may follow.

And they should be in spoiler =D

 

[Chikara]

I knew someone was going to bring up Otonashi lmao ;_;...

 

[Akiba]

Okay, I put the spoilers in. But it feels really weird to use spoilers when the purpose of the thread is to discuss why we love the characters. (We'd have to explain the circumstances and stuff, right?)

 

[Chikara]

Okay, I put the spoilers in. But it feels really weird to use spoilers when the purpose of the thread is to discuss why we love the characters. (We'd have to explain the circumstances and stuff, right?)

Spoilers are spoilers, the thread topic is completely irrelevant.

Anyway, back ON topic, yes? :D

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

Okay, I put the spoilers in. But it feels really weird to use spoilers when the purpose of the thread is to discuss why we love the characters. (We'd have to explain the circumstances and stuff, right?)

We do but we also need to abide by the rules of the whole section that forbid spoilers =)

 

[Kenchiin]

There's no need to spoil the whole thing just to say you like a character, just saying... Anyway.


I'm a big fan of those characters which are similar to the viewer, when they create some sort of bridge between reality and the series.

As an example, Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion, a guy forced to do something very uncomfortable and acting probably like any of us would do. Additionally, Keichii from Higurashi no Naku koro ni (and if you've seen this I think I don't need to explain lol!).
I guess that would fit into the "real" characters category, but I wouldn't go that far. Sometimes being "similar to reality" doesn't create any connection to RL. I guess that would be a different discussion anyway.