| I have always liked to check the character ranking in MAL to find new anime to watch. Usually the best anime have great characters, but MAL's current character ranking is a popularity contest at the end of the day. This made me curious to see, instead, which characters were the most likeable, regardless of the popularity of their anime, and regardless of the size/length of their anime. Which characters made the most impact on watchers, and were the easiest to fall in love with? TL;DR - The following TOP 150 is not a character quality ranking! It's simply an attempt at measuring how appreciated, or liked, characters are. I spent 3 whole days organizing this, making sure that the math was sound, and going through thousands of characters. You don't need to read the explanations if you only want to see the ranking in the image below. — I took the # of character favorites and divided it between the # of watchers from their respective anime (using the first entry/season). This part is simple enough. — But it doesn't let us compare short anime vs long anime. How many of Luffy's favorites come from the fact that his anime has almost 1,000 episodes? You'll obviously like a character more the more time you have to connect with them. We simply can't compare Luffy, Naruto, Gintoki, Ichigo (etc.) with any character from a movie or a 1 season anime. So I added a small multiplier, which ranged from x2.00 to x1.00 depending on the amount of episodes. After much testing, setting the multiplier at a maximum of x2.00 gave the most consistent results. — Only characters from movies got the x2.00 multiplier, and then the multiplier slowly decreased according to the exact amount of episodes that the anime had, until the 200 episodes. So the x2.00 maximum corresponds with 200 episodes. Anime with 201 episodes or more got the x1 multiplier (no change). Of course, this method can't give us a perfect comparison between characters from short anime and long anime, but I believe it turned out to be pretty accurate. The reason why I used a maximum of 200 episodes for the multiplier was because the majority of characters in the Top 350 come from anime with 200 episodes or less. Only 11 anime (and 15 characters) are not included within this range, all from very long anime. — Finally, I checked pretty much every possible character. I checked the 400 most popular anime, the 400 highest-rated anime, the 200 highest rated movies, and the 100 highest rated OVAs and ONAs, to make sure I didn't miss anyone. Then I checked the 1250 most popular characters using MAL's ranking. — I didn't include secondary and minor characters, for two reasons. The first is that only some of them ranked well. The second reason is because, even if they ranked well, I don't believe you can compare the two. Naruto Uzumaki and Itachi Uchiha have a very similar amount of favorites, but Itachi accomplished that with just a handful of episodes to himself, while Naruto had several hundred episodes to himself. So who's more likeable? Obviously Itachi but there's no easy way to prove it. — I didn't include manga-only characters either. However, if the manga had a popularity similar to the anime (Berserk, Ashita no Joe, Slam Dunk, etc.), there were some considerations. The majority of manga had anywhere between 1-20% readers as the anime had watchers. So if the anime had 100,000 watchers who gave a rating, the manga usually had 1,000 - 20,000 readers who gave a rating. However there are some special cases where the anime has a bad reputation, or is simply not as recommended as the manga. So if the manga readers exceeded 20% of the anime watchers, I added this excess of readers into the total number of watchers. For example, if the anime had 100,000 watchers and the manga had 35,000 readers, then I added the 15,000 readers, and used 115,000 for the calculation. I had to do this for 20 stories, out of which only Berserk and Ashita no Joe were extreme cases, because their anime and manga have almost the same popularity. — If the anime had a remake and a reboot, both of similar popularity (Hellsing, FMA & Fruits Basket), then I used the popularity of the most popular version (so for FMA, I used the popularity of Brotherhood, not the original anime), but I counted the episodes of both anime, treating them as if they were different seasons of the same story, because of their similar popularity. Without further ado, here are the Top 150 most likeable characters!  quick maths stuff F = # of character favorites P = # of anime watchers that gave a rating (so p is popularity) E = # of anime episodes (~20 minutes is 1 episode) The formula for movies is: (F × 2) / P The formula for anime with up to 50 episodes is: (F × (2 - (E × 0.01))) / P The formula for anime with 51-100 episodes is: (F × (1.50 - (((E - 100) × 0.01) / 2))) / P The formula for anime with 101-200 episodes is: (F × (1.25 - (((E - 100) × 0.01) / 4))) / P The reason why I divided it in those three groups was to not favor too much the characters from the shortest anime, so the x2 multiplier drops faster during the first 50 episodes, then it begins to drop more slowly. Like I mentioned before, the x2.00 maximum is proportional to the 200 episodes, after which the multiplier no longer applies. While the x2.00 maximum might not seem like a lot, I do believe it gave the most accurate results. Even though only 5 characters from movies ranked in the Top 350, there was generally a great mix of anime of all sizes and popularity, and no clear preference towards any. |
RojasebSep 8, 2021 4:13 PM
| give example dude, explain it step by step not only in words. |
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| YOOOOOO The protagonist of humanity has declined in 12th? I’ll take it :D |
Just watch anime instead of looking at forums |
| guts being top three is great but also makes me think of how many depressed anime fans there must be that relate to him :(( |
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ISeeLifePeople said: give example dude, explain it step by step not only in words. Well there are quite a few considerations so I didn't think people would even care to read through the whole process. I'll add examples at the bottom of the post (after the image) in a moment. |
| I'm honestly a little shocked to see that Elaina is in the top 50. When I was watching Majo no Tabitabi I found her to be the most unlikeable cunt in any story I've seen. |
Rakshal said: I'm honestly a little shocked to see that Elaina is in the top 50. When I was watching Majo no Tabitabi I found her to be the most unlikeable cunt in any story I've seen. What? Elaina is one of the most likeable cunts I've ever seen... she's great |
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| I really gotta watch Gintama. Anyway good work there mate. |
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Katou81 said: She is a psychopath who does whatever she want with no regard for anyone else, and is a self centered Mary Sue who almost every character likes for seemingly no reason. She not only leaves an abused slave, but also encourages a character to give her bottled happiness knowing it will make her want to kill herself. I don't understand how anyone can like her other than her character design.Rakshal said: I'm honestly a little shocked to see that Elaina is in the top 50. When I was watching Majo no Tabitabi I found her to be the most unlikeable cunt in any story I've seen. What? Elaina is one of the most likeable cunts I've ever seen... she's great |
| L should be higher, dude is literally unhateable |
| wow, thank you for making this. I do like seeing gintoki top 1 |
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Rakshal said: She is a psychopath who does whatever she want with no regard for anyone else, and is a self centered Mary Sue who almost every character likes for seemingly no reason. She not only leaves an abused slave, but also encourages a character to give her bottled happiness knowing it will make her want to kill herself. I don't understand how anyone can like her other than her character design. I think that’s kinda the reason most people like her. Any other protagonist would go out of their way to help others. Elaina is pretty refreshing because she actually prioritizes herself over others like most people should. Also your acting like she is some kinda of monster. Yes she is pretty self centered but definitely not a monster. |
Just watch anime instead of looking at forums |
Clobbopus said: She is kind of a monster though. It has been a while since I dropped it, but she irreparably damages places. Not even really for any gain of her own, just for fun practically. She doesn't seem to have any goal or principles other than doing things for her entertainment. It also doesn't address the problem of her being a Mary Sue that everyone except villains like for some reason. Unlikeable traits can be written well, Tanya from Youjo Senki is a honestly pretty great example of this. Elaina on the other hand come across as villain protagonist half the time, but the script writer or director didn't seem to notice.I think that’s kinda the reason most people like her. Any other protagonist would go out of their way to help others. Elaina is pretty refreshing because she actually prioritizes herself over others like most people should. Also your acting like she is some kinda of monster. Yes she is pretty self centered but definitely not a monster. |
| Glad to see Onizuka at 7 and luffy at 11.Also Conan is also in the list. |
 For your Information: |
| So Eren isn't anywhere in this list, even though levi is |
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Boobsftw said: L should be higher, dude is literally unhateable It's worth noting that in some anime like DN, watchers will usually pick one protagonist but not the other, and you end up with polarizing results. So when both characters are fantastic, none will end up with an edge. Lelouch for example has no competition within his story so he gets most of the favorites while everyone else in the story are barely left with any lmao. Naruto and Bleach are known for having great casts, so even though their protagonists don't rank highly here, if you go into their anime you'll see there's a great distribution of favorites. |
| That's very cool OP. This is a nice list. Thanks. |
Lazulite said: Oscar’s spot is simultaneously both unexpected and unsurprising, she is very likeable from the onset Highest female character! I had no idea that anime even existed but it's definitely going into my watch list now. |
| *sees #83* Uwooooooooh, Beaaatoriicheeeeeee! |
  I play BanG Dream! Girls Band Party Garupa EN ID: 10759829 Garupa JP ID: 36753163 |
| watashi, kumagawa, ginko and kusuriuri? good list *sees #84* naked apron senpaiiiiiii |
| ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ |
| yeah i just saw it, lol berry niceee VERY GOOOD! |
I play BanG Dream! Girls Band Party Garupa EN ID: 10759829 Garupa JP ID: 36753163 |
| That moment when Luffy and Zoro are in Top 20 but you don't see Sanji nowhere :/( |
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ChibiTalha said: That moment when Luffy and Zoro are in Top 20 but you don't see Sanji nowhere :/( The full rank I have goes all the way to #343 and Sanji fell out of that one lol I deleted characters who didn't make it to the 2.5% |
Rojaseb said: ISeeLifePeople said: give example dude, explain it step by step not only in words. Well there are quite a few considerations so I didn't think people would even care to read through the whole process. I'll add examples at the bottom of the post (after the image) in a moment. Holy shit, damn u this is so fucking true mate n i wonder how do u calculate 1250 top char at once ? Dont say if u math it one by one |
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Softhenic03 said: So Eren isn't anywhere in this list, even though levi is Eren is on #266 and Mikasa is a bit above. They're the only AOT characters that ranked into the top 350 characters. |
ISeeLifePeople said: Rojaseb said: Well there are quite a few considerations so I didn't think people would even care to read through the whole process. I'll add examples at the bottom of the post (after the image) in a moment. Holy shit, damn u this is so fucking true mate n i wonder how do u calculate 1250 top char at once ? Dont say if u math it one by one I did them all one by one unfortunately I think I checked over 4000 character profiles. But counting the episodes was worse! I had to open every anime entry for every character. I think I gave 50K views to this site in the last few days lol |
| 2 of my favorites (Nanoha & Fate) are on there, I approve. |
| I’m kinda shocked to see Akari from Aria in the top #25 |
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| Interesting list. I've been meaning to watch The Rose of Versailles for a while - especially after watching Kageki Shoujo - and now I'm even more intrigued to watch it. Pleasantly surprised to see Wei Wuxian so high on the list and happy to see Keima making it. |
  "As promised, all that you seek, all that we desire, is prepared up there. On top of the Tower." |
| Didnt expect toshino kyoukoo and karen kujou in the list |
| Moe is Love ! Moe is Life ! |
| The irony of someone like Bondrewd making it on a most likeable characters list haha Good work OP, always interesting to see people do the work for lists like this. |
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| If there's a downvote option, the list would've been greatly differed. But this is as good as it gets I guess. |
| . . . |
| Spike, Revy, and Ash in the Top 30? LET'S GO! |
"Molly Ringwald" out right now - check my Linktree!  |
| Good work. But if you ignore side characters, then what you calculated are better called as "Top 150 most likeable main characters of all time". |
"The Slave is the have-not, the oppressed one with nothing to spare. But because the Slave is in that despairing situation, having nothing, it can kill the Emperor !" |
| not gone life I prefer current favorite list way more than this. chinese titles in the list clearly feel aimed at a certain preference (really scumbag system😒) also I really dont understand ur calculation logic. if p is popularity (aka rating) would u call total no of members. how are rating and favorite any different. lol...both even got the bot removal too. so I wonder why favorite are being valued over rating why (Fx2)/P? what about manga rating? I am pretty sure characters are attached to manga too? What’s the point of talking in consideration of anime episode if character is popular through manga? maths is convoluted tbh also runtime... yep helsing just passed off as a 10 episode series |
AdampkSep 7, 2021 2:59 AM
  Click for a anime mashup! Still not gone bandwagon u, keep crying. Here u are welcome to CRINGE at my EXISTENCE |
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| Guts and Gintoki in Top 3 Lesss Goooooo. Good work!! Softhenic03 said: Eren didn't made it into 150 is Bc AoT is extremely popular due to which his less count of favorites didn't let him make into the 150 take Levi for example, he is 2nd in the popularity of characters however bc this List had a formula which also took the Shows popularity into account he is placed in 34th place.So Eren isn't anywhere in this list, even though levi is |
MorphemeSep 7, 2021 2:15 AM
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| Yoo Gintoki is in Top, Let's Goooooo |
    ═════════════════════════════ You're going to be all right. You just stumbled over a stone in the road. It means nothing. Your goal lies far beyond this. Doesn't it? I'm sure you'll overcome this. You'll walk again... soon. ═════════════════════════════  |
| the fact that phos is on the list and even high on it makes it 100% accurate, aslo bondrewd is great too, i'm surprised that threre isn't a ping pong the animation character on this list since its a rated very high character study show, but it might be because every character is awesome that favourites are distibuited evenly |
e5812Sep 7, 2021 3:57 AM
| Thank you for your contribution, I can't imagine how much time you've spent on this. I'm very shocked but pleased that Gintoki is number one. He deserves it though. |
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| Gintoki first ? As expected and well deserved Not surprised either to see Guts, Lelouch and Holo in the top 10 It was unexpected to find Yang Wen-Li and Wei Wuxian in the top 10 though They deserve it of course, but since their series aren't really popular it was surprising to find them there (that's why it's a nice list, it's not based on popularity) Watashi is 12th ? Unexpected as well, but once again she's nice so that's understandable Many of my favourite characters (Ginko, Akari Mizunashi, Osamu Dazai) are there too, goooood On the other hand I'm surprised Chise Hatori didn't make it in the top 150 (also, lol at Bondrewd being 147th) |
Mirai said: The irony of someone like Bondrewd making it on a most likeable characters list haha Good work OP, always interesting to see people do the work for lists like this. He's the only movie character on the list! (which is also why I thought the x2 multiplier might be too small, but anyways). I remember Bondrewd used to be so hyped by manga readers before the movie came out and I think this show he lived up to the hype. He's now the most liked character of the story lol |
Violet42 said: happy for Utena's high placement, she is impossible to dislike unless you literally hate women. I was going through the comments and this made me laugh so hard all of a sudden |
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