| It's hard to write main characters in any fiction. Even literature fails a lot, creating cookie-cutter protagonists who just observe the story or are convenient. Medabots, Digimon Tamers, Future Diary, NGE, Erin, Dennou Coil, SEL are all anime that have protagonists with a distinct personality that drive it. You could not replace them with anyone. They don't just observe the story or move it when it needs moving. They always engage with it. |
| WEAPONS - My blog, for reviews of music, anime, books, and other things |
| I'll go with Tomoya Okazaki, Kurisu Makise and I guess Lelouch Vi Britannia(though that sorta goes back and forwards throughout the series) |
| There’s no such thing as miracles, only the inevitable, the accidental and the things we do. |
Strawberrycake48 said: Personally, I think a lot of MCs in anime are either cliche cookie cutouts, somehow get the least development, are Mary sue's or Gary Stu's or have the worst or blandest character designs out of the whole cast of characters. It's a rarity that the protagonist of an anime is my favourite, or even a stand out character in a show and I feel that the supporting cast end up carrying the whole weight of the anime instead! Too cynical.. Okabe Rintarou (mad scientist,character development) Satou Tatsuhiro (realistic portrayal of a hikikomori) Light (character deterioration) Arima Kousei (shitty past and development) There are so many more that I could name but only these ones from the top of my head.. |
| The Great Teacher. Onizuka Eikichi |
| Lots of the very well done protagonists usually come from LN adaptations ImO. Characters like Kou Shuurei, Lawrence, Watashi, Adlet Mayer, Midarezaki Kyouka, Kyon, and so on. |
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| My experience seems to be different. Because most of the anime I like usually have a good protagonist. Well done protagonist are not uncommon in anime. Outside of Harem/ecchi anime usually the protagonist is given good focus, sometimes development if he/she needs it. Examples imo are: Uzumaki Naruto from Naruto Hachiman from Oregariu Yato from Noragami Kirtsigu from Fate/Zero Araragi from Monogatari Kankei from Tokyo Ghoul Bossun from SKET Dance Light from Death Note Kaiji from Kaiji etc |
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| kirito is my favouritest character ever |
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| There are a lot of characters, but I think these two are the best. Games : Asbel from TOG. Anime : Ai from Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi. |
| Well idk how it's going to end but I'm liking Balsa |
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| Araragi Koyomi. Outside he looks like your typical generic harem lead. In the inside, he is actually complex, care for the others, make deep analyses of the world around him and is actually smart when the situation is needed, apart of being best pervert ever. |
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| Amuro Ray The way he develops through 0079, Zeta, and Char's Counterattack is absolutely fantastic. |
LancimusPrimeJan 31, 2016 11:57 AM
| Hachiken Yuugo's Arakawa Hiromu. He's very relatable, very..human, and develops alot |
| It's hard to find a protagonist that I love or even like. Most protagonists are either boring, generic, or just plain annoying. I want to get a sense of who the protagonist is as a character. Why do they act the way they do? What are their interests/hobbies? How do they relate to their friends? Do they grow as characters? Personally, my favorite anime protagonist is Okabe from Steins;Gate. All the questions above are answers/explored in both the anime and the visual novel. |
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| I really like Miyamori Aoi from Shirobako, she's such a relatable character and you can really feel her passion for anime. And her experiences really struck a chord with me. |
| Allen Walker - D Gray Man One awesome protagonist. |
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| While not the main protag, Killua deserves a mention in this thread. His character development (and Gon's too but to a lesser extent) in Hunter x Hunter is fantastic. |
| I'd say Hunter x Hunter, One Piece, and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure are some of the best shounen series in terms of main characters. Pretty much any Ghibli or Gainax work has excellent protagonists. (Look at Miyazaki's movies and pre-Ghibli work, Chihiro of Spirited Away is a great example, with Gainax just look at Shinji Ikari, Simone, Ryuko - Trigger is basically the second coming of Gainax - and others) |
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| Literally everyone in Legend of the Galactic Heroes. They are all walking textbooks on history, philosophy, the art of war, politics and leadership. Paul von Oberstein in particular is perhaps everything Danzo from Naruto wishes he could be. A true student of Machiavellian schemes, he's completely aware of his role and represents the necessary evil that must shadow all righteous causes. |
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| Literally everyone in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure |
| At least in manga, Joe is the best character I've ever seen. Kenzo Tenma and the whole cast of Ping Pong are also fantastic. |
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| Shinji Ikari to me is the perfect protagonist, one who is his own character yet the audience can easily step into his shoes and see the world of Evangelion through his eyes. Ichise from Texhnolyze is also incredibly well written with decidedly subtle character development without revealing too much about himself |
Evatallica said: Shinji Ikari to me is the perfect protagonist, one who is his own character yet the audience can easily step into his shoes and see the world of Evangelion through his eyes. Ichise from Texhnolyze is also incredibly well written with decidedly subtle character development without revealing too much about himself Ichise had potential, and the whole 'violence' was a well-developed theme. Mostly, though, he stands stoic. |
| WEAPONS - My blog, for reviews of music, anime, books, and other things |
| Joe Yabuki. His development throughout the series cannot be explained in words. He basically goes from immature, bratty behaviour to a fine and respected boxer. It was really good to witness his development Onizuka from GTO The best delinquent for obvious reasons |
| There are other protagonists I'd like to mention too: Kuroko Tetsuya (Kuroko no Basuke); Kenzo Tenma (Monster) Guts (Berserk) Saitama (One Punch Man) Mugen, Jin, Fuu (Samurai Champloo) Onoda Sakamichi (Yowamushi Pedal) but I feel like delving into Eren Jaeger (Shingeki no Kyojin) this time. XD I will mention some spoilers here from both the anime and manga. |
koori_no_jinFeb 2, 2016 6:31 PM
蒼穹を舞う。  |
TheBrainintheJar said: Evatallica said: Shinji Ikari to me is the perfect protagonist, one who is his own character yet the audience can easily step into his shoes and see the world of Evangelion through his eyes. Ichise from Texhnolyze is also incredibly well written with decidedly subtle character development without revealing too much about himself Ichise had potential, and the whole 'violence' was a well-developed theme. Mostly, though, he stands stoic. I don't think his stoicism is a flaw though, it's just who he is. The moments where he does show genuine emotion are extremely powerful, especially at the end of Texhnolyze. |
| If I had to pick one character, I'd probably say Killua from HxH. At first he starts off as this sort of cocky brat, but develops into a deep character that cares deeply for his friends and (certain) family members. You could see him grow throughout the show, almost better than Gon. |
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Evatallica said: TheBrainintheJar said: Ichise had potential, and the whole 'violence' was a well-developed theme. Mostly, though, he stands stoic. I don't think his stoicism is a flaw though, it's just who he is. The moments where he does show genuine emotion are extremely powerful, especially at the end of Texhnolyze. It's more of a case of 'decent character stuck in a terrible setting'. It made sense for him to be so - he was introverted, damaged, not being able to comprehand what's been done to him. When everyone is so similar to him without these reasons, it loses the effect. |
| WEAPONS - My blog, for reviews of music, anime, books, and other things |
| Ginko from Mushishi. He has barely any character development but I think he is the best MC I have seen in anime. Another MC that I liked was Balsa from Moribito |
omeg4 said: Ginko from Mushishi. He has barely any character development but I think he is the best MC I have seen in anime. Another MC that I liked was Balsa from Moribito I'm interested why you like him so much, then. I always found him on the verge of becoming very interesting but not getting there. |
| WEAPONS - My blog, for reviews of music, anime, books, and other things |
| Spike Spiegel definitely deserves a mention. He is a calm, collected and holds true to his own values. He may be cynical and you don't know much about his past, but still, you can't help rooting for him. |
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| I really liked Joseph Joestar for some reason. and i would also like to add: Light Yagami Hachiman Madoka Kaiba Reinhard Lohengram Lelouch And of course motherf****ng ALUCAAAAAARD |
| Edward Elric, Lelouch Lamperouge, Monkey D. Luffy, Li Shouran (TRC), Miyazawa Yukino (Kare Kano), Erin (Kemono Shoujo Erin).. Quite a lot protagonist are well designed... hmm |
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| Lelouch and Light Yagami. Intelligent, mature, and interesting to watch. |
| Tonight, Synklare joins the hunt. |
TheBrainintheJar said: omeg4 said: Ginko from Mushishi. He has barely any character development but I think he is the best MC I have seen in anime. Another MC that I liked was Balsa from Moribito I'm interested why you like him so much, then. I always found him on the verge of becoming very interesting but not getting there. It is a bit hard to explain. I like the fact that he is always calm and respects all forms of life. I also think he is a very humble character despite knowing so much about mushi and very few protagonists in anime are like that. A lot of MCs are either hotheaded/arrogant or cold emotionless killers that do not value life. Ginko is very different from them. Another reason why I like him is because of the way the show is presented to the viewer. Mushishi is a very peaceful show and ginko is its MC. I also like the fact that we do not know much about him because it fits the mysterious atmosphere of the show perfectly. I have not seen a lot of anime and there might be more protagonists like him but currently he is my favorite character. |
omeg4 said: TheBrainintheJar said: I'm interested why you like him so much, then. I always found him on the verge of becoming very interesting but not getting there. It is a bit hard to explain. I like the fact that he is always calm and respects all forms of life. I also think he is a very humble character despite knowing so much about mushi and very few protagonists in anime are like that. A lot of MCs are either hotheaded/arrogant or cold emotionless killers that do not value life. Ginko is very different from them. Another reason why I like him is because of the way the show is presented to the viewer. Mushishi is a very peaceful show and ginko is its MC. I also like the fact that we do not know much about him because it fits the mysterious atmosphere of the show perfectly. I have not seen a lot of anime and there might be more protagonists like him but currently he is my favorite character. It sounds to me more like liking Ginko as a person, and less how he functions as a character. I don't think a character having good traits is enough to make them likeable. It's how these traits are written that makes them effective. Good point about the 'mysterious' thing. I haven't thought of that before. |
| WEAPONS - My blog, for reviews of music, anime, books, and other things |
| Lain and Yang Wenli are preferably my most favored protagonists. |
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| light / lelouch and ofc nothing can beat Keima <3 |
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| Light, lelouch,Saki from shinsekai, Kousei Arima, Matoi Ryuko and Okabe Rintarou. The last one in particular. |
| Alucard, the answer is always Alucard. I don't get how someone could hate that guy. |
THIS IS IT............................................. KEIMA IS THE BEST ANIME CHARACTER EVER |
 Best Shitty Reviews “Like is like a blank canvas you paint it with whatever you want (colors,blood,sweat,shit etc)” Current Season rec : Layton Mystery Tanteisha: Katri no Nazotoki File I am an anime OST Maniac and they play a huge role in my rating for a anime. interested ? click the GIF>>>>> |
| Natsume Takashi Goku/Hanamichi (the simple minded idiots that I love) Hei from Darker than Black |
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| I personally like Gary Stu's and Mary Stu's, as long as the challenges that are written for them are worthy. I think chracters who are both strong and smart are admirable and enjoy watching them face insurmountable odds. Pf course, if the story is mundane, the op hero will decrease the tension sadly. I also just like smart protagonists. I kinda dislike a lot of MCs who are harembakas or shonen stereotypes, and I like people like say Hikigaya who are different and intelligent in their own right Idk about female protags though. Not sure why but I dislike a lot of them. |
| Emiya fuckin Shirou . Yes I know I've said this before . |
| Wohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo |
Dragon said: I personally like Gary Stu's and Mary Stu's, as long as the challenges that are written for them are worthy. I think chracters who are both strong and smart are admirable and enjoy watching them face insurmountable odds. Pf course, if the story is mundane, the op hero will decrease the tension sadly. I also just like smart protagonists. I kinda dislike a lot of MCs who are harembakas or shonen stereotypes, and I like people like say Hikigaya who are different and intelligent in their own right Idk about female protags though. Not sure why but I dislike a lot of them. Are you me? Yay, someone else who can appreciate him. |
| ^If you ever see someone with UBW rated higher than Zero ,then you can be 200% sure that the person understood him . At least that's if the person didn't vote both low scores . |
| Wohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo |
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