Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Thanks....
OMG! I feel like I'm about to reveal way too much of myself here but your question is greatly appreciated. I had to take a minute to really think about this as I forgot every bit of media I’ve ever consumed so I mostly focused on recently consumed media that I could recall in a panic. I'm sure as soon as I post I'll be like "damn, I forgot about X!"
Heaven Albright - Stupid & Contagious by Caprice Crane
This book was so funny to me when I was younger I literally handed out copies of it. Looking back, it’s probably because I immediately identified with her penchant to overthink a situation but she’s also able to finesse even if it is by the seat of her pants. In fact, she only seems to shine when she’s really trying because otherwise she’s doing one embarrassing thing after another. But when it’s time for her to kick it up, she could be in her head about what she’s doing but make it seem effortless and nonchalant. She can be a little shit when she wants to be but she’s filled with great ideas, if she only had the chance to knock one out of the park. At the beginning, she finds herself perpetually down on her luck but she eventually finds her way along and I loved that for her (even if it is bumpy).
Aslan Jade “Ash Lynx” Callenreese – Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida (anime only)
I am incredibly fond of Ash and, while I want to read the manga for some semblance of closure, I’m still regularly devastated by the anime so I can’t yet. The man is a survivor. He is the grass that grows through cement sidewalk. He tripped over banana fish and never shied away from the task of tracking it down and stopping it at the source, no matter how large the conspiracy got or how much he lost. My heart feels heavy any time I see a Banana Fish edit or any fanart, even the happy ones. He is tough as nails and yet, as soft as an exposed nerve which is really apparent with Eiji’s introduction. I think it showed how, despite what he’d been through and the face he wore to hide its impact on him, he was still incredibly hopeful that he’d one day be loved and accepted by someone sincerely. (side note: yes, I got sad thinking about this.) He was incredibly brave because he had no other choice.
Satoru Gojo – Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami (manga and anime)
Gojo deserves more grace than some of the JJK fandom gives him, I swear. The man is deeply traumatized from a very young age and puts on a brave (and puckish) face just to keep moving forward. I don’t love him because he’s overpowered but him being overpowered is part of why I love him. He hails from one of the top three jujutsu families and could be a shitstain like Naoya Zenin but he isn’t and I think that’s part of why so many people misinterpret his character. There was a tweet, since deleted, (I think from @bcllamyy) that asserted that the reason why a lot of people assume Gojo is a douchebag is because they can’t imagine being strong and beautiful and not being a garbage human. Gojo is canonically strong and attractive but is a relatively good person. He takes care to save students in hopeless situations and preserve as much of their youth as he can because he didn’t have that growing up. I’ll concede that this isn’t purely altruistic, he has a clear objective in mind in taking these kids under his wing, but that’s about as much as you can expect from someone who didn’t have a proper childhood himself. His power was both feared and coveted by others and it left him incredibly lonely until he found an equal, the one and only person he could have by his side. It’s the take-it-with-a-smile trauma response for me. Heavy is the head and all. Oddly, this is my comfort character rn so things are not going well.
Levi Ackerman – Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama (manga and anime)
Levi Ackerman refuses to die because he’d have to go back to hell and, quite frankly, most devils don’t know how to properly clean up after themselves. Levi being picked from the gutter and growing to become Humanity’s Strongest Soldier despite his diminutive size and destitute origins is so ironic. Putting his life on the line and fighting for those that condescend to people from where he came from, he carved out every inch in the path to where he is now. This is a man who does not die and carries the weight of his fallen comrades into every battle. While seemingly cold and angry, he is, in very small gestures, shown to be incredibly compassionate and forlorn. I think he just knows that if he thought about the circumstances of those living within the walls or even of those he’s left behind on the battlefield, that he would find no meaning in trying to escape the walls or get out of bed at all.
Hermione Granger – Harry Potter by She Who Must Not Be Named (novels and movie)
Given the author’s penchant to be a shit-eating TERF, it’s hard to admit that this franchise was such a big part of my childhood. I primarily identified with Hermione and her predilection to be an insufferable know-it-all and her tendency to stick her nose where it didn’t belong. Considering the author, perhaps she intentionally made Hermione’s creation of Society for the Promotion of Elfish Warfare (SPEW) seem so outlandish and mockable in universe... but that’s beside the point. Hermione, regardless of her social standing in the muggle world, came into the wizarding world at a disadvantage and showed everyone her ass as she bested them time and time again. Not only that but, rather than make herself small after being called a “mudblood”, she continued to soar and was loud and proud about advocating for others who were also disadvantaged. She could be the brightest witch Hogwarts had seen and still be unlikable, bushy hair and all. Despite not being of the wizarding world initially, she made a point to be in the know and was voraciously studious, frequently navigating things better than Harry who came into the wizarding world at the same time with a similar level of working knowledge but largely remained clueless. Baby girl had to drag him through the plot and to the point most of the time.
Tina Belcher - Bob's Burgers
Because same. BIG same. Tina is the mood, the vibe, the moment. Add the rest of the Belcher family to this as well tbh. Tina, like the rest of the Belcher family, is unapologetically her. Regardless of whether freaky friend fiction is the way to go, she unabashedly puts herself out there again and again despite her groan inducing anxiety. She knows she's that girl even when navigating the ups and downs of whatever life (or that B Tammy) throws at her.
Katsuki Bakugo – My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi (manga and anime)
I’m not caught up on the manga yet (so close but so far) but Kacchan’s character has a special place in my heart. I think as the reader, we’re meant to be stymied by him as we view the story through Deku’s lens because Deku lacks the comprehension of a non-biased narrator. Understanding this, I came to love (or maybe pity) his character while reading the manga because, when I was an anime only, I found his abrasiveness toward Deku to be incredibly unpalatable (because it is). However, reading through the manga as slowly as I am, I recognize that they’re both emotionally constipated kids being weaponized by some invisible hand while trying to understand and reframe their connection to one another. Literal children grappling with the burden of being heroes and finding it’s not all it’s cracked up to be while self-actualizing under duress. Casual. Bakugo is fierce, prideful, aggressively loud, and largely dislikable. He shoulders public criticism from adults who don’t bother to understand his dysfunction but continues to press on in the right direction because he’s idealized this for so long and wonders if he's, in fact, deserving or good enough. I think what’s captivating about his character in the manga is that he’s presented as a very static character but he’s slowly being exposed as a more dynamic character in tandem with Deku's (power) evolution.
Dean Winchester – Supernatural
There’s something about a closet nerd himbo who calls his vintage car “baby” that speaks to me. Dean Winchester, very much brawn over brain, maintains a doe-eyed innocence and sense of wonder for the things he missed out on while growing up under the “tough love” of John Winchester and I love that dichotomy. You never get the sense that his unconventional lifestyle bothers him or that he feels he lost out on anything but then you see the bravado falter when he allows himself to enjoy something other than the thrill of a one-night stand. The biggest things that come to mind are when he was like a kid in a candy shop in the bunker having found a place to set up roots and him sleeping easy when he was able to settle down with Lisa. Both always struck me as so sad. I think back to the parts of himself that he hid from Sam (like his time in the halfway house) and for the delight he had to find in small comforts like pie. Family was all Dean knew and he grabbed at it desperately and to his own detriment time and time again.
Nicholas D. Wolfwood - Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow (anime only)
I love the contradiction of Wolfwood's character. He can, for all intents and purposes, be considered a sinning holy man though he does have morals. I have a soft spot for antiheroes (see: love for Wolverine and Deadpool) though I'm not sure Wolfwood cleanly fits into this classification. He is certainly someone who will do "bad" things to satisfy a "good" goal though. For lack of a better word, his innuendos suggest he's led a less than savory life before becoming a man of the cloth and he is clearly fine with toeing the line when someone is watching. But make no mistake, the ends justify the means when he needs to make a game time decision on what to do. There's a reason that cross is a burden to carry and he's just the man to bear it. At the crux of everything, he has a sympathetic heart and this was the first anime that made me cry.
Nobara Kugisaki– Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami (manga and anime)
This explanation contains a spoiler for the manga so I put her at the bottom in case you wanted to avoid.Nobara is a refreshing departure from the static nature of a shonen tritagonist. For one, she has zero romantic interest in Itadori nor Fushiguro and I don’t see that changing, especially after their initial introductions. She lets them as time progresses but she carries her own weight and isn’t a damsel in distress relegated to do nothing toward her own rescue. She can independently take down a Special Grade curse (and pull off a black flash) while feeling and looking good doing it. Nobara’s femininity is something she’s vocal about, questioning why kicking ass can’t be feminine, and she safeguards it from antiquated notions from the likes of Mai and Momo. Though hailing from the country where her stubborn individuality stuck out like a sore thumb, she’s unabashedly a material girl and so fiercely confident, she dares anyone to look down their nose at her. I can’t imagine we’ve seen the end of her story since she’s such a vivacious character. Maki also deserves to be on this list but I tried to diversify source material. Plus, a lot of what makes her awesome would be an even bigger spoiler if you’re not caught up.
Looking back on this list, there's a distinct theme of main character energy but also a significant lack of diversity. I realized that some of my favorite pieces of media didn't necessarily have a breakout character in my mind, either. This was such a great exercise, thank you for asking! Who are your favorite characters and why, @elaine2895?
