Character Role & Sentiments (In My Experience)
(VERY LONG TEXT)
Well guys... I will explain the choices. I was going to do so as I posted here but I had a long night and had to decide which ones I would include, ended up with a headache and left it for later.
Here we go.
Besides avoiding to repeat characters, if I couldn't get exact matches (mostly protagonists and love interests) I got approximate ones. Also about the liking, there are no absolutes, of course, but I have seen some of these only receiving nice comments and others always hated apparently.
Many characters can fit multiple boxes, I chose just one of each of course.
Protagonists: basically, Jin is the main character since at least Tekken 5, where the story gets focused on demons though every character has their own history - always did. In the early Tekkens, especially the first two, it's hard to say if there are main characters but the Mishimas are central. Besides Jin, I chose the characters who have more central storylines and not just casual or minor missions, appear strongly in others' storyline. (Note: appearing in a lot of games is not enough to make one a main character, and appearing in little is not necessarily insufficient).
Side Characters: Appear with a side story as I said and the story doesn't focus on them.
Love Interests: the only canon ones are Kazumi and Roger, but the other three have strong romantic possibilities, at least when it comes to feelings expressed.
Antagonists: you know, focus is getting on other people's way and doing evil stuff.
Comic Relief: funny characters.
IMPORTANT: I am judging them mainly as liked/disliked in these roles, not necessarily as a character/fighter in general, though that is mentioned too.
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Protagonist List
Eddy: since the beginning, he was put in serious missions, in Tekken 3 he wanted to discover more about who killed his father and get revenge, but it doesn't end there. After going missing, he returns to the tournament to save his master and ends up having to do terrible things for his sake only for it not to work. Later he gives up seeking revenge and gets a major DLC story in Tekken 8. Everybody loves him since the start. He is basically why many don't like Christie, considering her a replacement attempt, and especially the major reason why many don't like Chloe. I laughed but many felt offended on Eddy's behalf. Don't mess with Eddy or you'll be stoned.
Lars: totally nice person, caring, seems very serious but has a stronger moral code than most characters, besides having a very agile and eclectic fighting style. He was always important and he basically stole the show, since he came. When I was considering to put him on the list, I almost sent him to the top, but when I was watching SonKitty's videos, I discovered she doesn't like him. She considered his presence forced and especially that they took a Swedish guy to make him a biological Mishima (eh, we didn't know back then that Heihachi was a ladies man, but I considered it creative). I like him a lot, people who dislike him are the exception and not the rule, but I imagine also that if someone doesn't like him it's because of the fact that they pretty much screwed Jin up and created Bloodline Rebellion to make another Jin.
Jin: Yeah... mega controversial character. Some love him, some hate him, others are indifferent. Tekken 6 to Tag 2 (maybe a bit of 7) give you lots of reasons to hate him, but his desire to be different and having reasons to fight that aren't the same as Heihachi and Kazuya's are positive points, besides his looks and major powers. (By the way, I received some Jin-hate messages on my Tumblr months ago, people who wish there was another main character).
Lidia: she starts as someone who wants to save her country and stand for what is good and right, one of the noblest characters. In Tekken 8 she is important in a side story. She also fights well. She is not a fan-favorite because she has a very formal appearance, maybe some look and say "another karate fighter?" I have even seen people saying she is a copy of Jin but I disagree.
Kuma: he is more of a side character, but of 'universally despised' and close to being a main, he is a close one. He is Heihachi's right hand, despite they mess with each other every once in a while, and he was going to be the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu (this is considered ridiculous even by the characters, but you can argue that for this and the Panda thing he might be appreciated mainly for comic relief). Also, fighting-wise he and Panda have some nice moves but the Fatal Wind thing is gross and that's why I avoid fighting them. Luckily it was removed in Tekken 8 (I don't play it yet though, too expensive)
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Side Character List
Paul: I LOVE YOU PAUL! Nice guy who has that imposing attitude but a heart of gold, always wants to help, likes (or dislikes) you for who you are, not merely because of your usefulness, he is willing to give all his money to his BFF in Tekken 5, he is wacky and arrogant but both in a very endearing way. Besides, his fighting style is so reach, he has nice offense, defense, reversals, practically everything you might wish for. (And doesn't he look especially great with that hair down?) You know, as I said, when it came to Eddy and Chloe in Tekken 7 I had a sense of humor, but when I saw Paul's ending I got pissed. Panda's stupid fans started insulting, booing and even physically assaulting him just because they couldn't accept his loss. And though I love Jun I think she was unfair by blaming him for fighting animals, he doesn't fight them because he wants, it's Heihachi and Kazuya's fault for letting them participate (and hiring them for that in the first place). Anyway, his presence in all games (and almost all adaptations) demonstrate that he is well-loved, people at most dislike what the story did to him by making him always fight bears instead of Kazuya or different opponents, but this is not a criticism of him directly.
Hwoarang: I was undecided with Hwoarang and Paul's spots, but I saw a fan who doesn't like him, besides his attitude he is too focused on Jin. I find it endearing and like Taekwondo a lot. He also returned for all games and almost all adaptations.
Anna: she is either loved or hated. Sometimes someone easy to sympathize with, especially in the early games (she explicitly didn't want to be an assassin too), but in 6 she did evil things for petty reasons, in 8 she wants to kill Nina over a job she got, of all reasons, and can be very petty and shallow in general, and her "sexiness" might be more vulgar than sexy. The things I expected the most for her were a better life and redemption.
Reina: I always found her interesting and stylish, her style is also nice, but she is her terrible daddy's girl and morally ambiguous. Many find her presence forced (her being new also plays a role in massive dislike) but I personally like her.
Master Raven: she is stylish and cryptic in similar ways that Raven is, with a bit more sarcasm. Speaking about Raven, he is another character I felt offended for in Tekken 7, she came in just to call him an imbecile and many didn't like it. I haven't seen anyone who is really a fan, only a crackship fanart with Dragunov on Tumblr.
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Love Interest List
Alisa: fighting-wise she can be frustrating to many, either when she is selected or fought against. But with Lars, what they have is very cute and evidently romantic (Harada trolled a lot in that interview by saying she cannot feel romantic feelings, canon pretty much proves she does, but the bug is referenced in Tekken 8). She is always sweet and kind to him (and anyone), and Lars and Alisa are the healthiest romantic ship of Tekken (at least canon-referenced).
Xiaoyu: JinXiao is a popular ship (with competition, of course). She isn't blind to the evil Jin has done though she believes in him, and her Tekken 6 ending and later games (mostly in both 7 and 8) her loyalty to him is beautiful, and the "school crush" vibe mainly in 4 and Tag 2 have a nice flavor. The problem is that in some games (mostly 5 and 6) she is VEEERY childlike, which is off-putting ship-wise. In 3 and Tag 1 she was too, mostly because of her voice and clothes, but in 5 and 6 it was even more exaggerated. That's confusing because in 4 she was more teenage-like and shippable, additionally with the fact that she was willing to stand against Heihachi (like in 3) in case she discovered his mean and especially evil deeds, from Tekken 5-onwards she loves Heihachi and it never changes, regardless of his personality and deeds which she clearly knows. It's almost like pre-Tekken 5 a mutating experiment was done in her brain was done and we don't know, something that ages you some 13 years down. I even wondered why they did it to her, and found out that "childish girl" trope was common in the mid-2000s, like Amane Misa from Death Note. Anyway, I personally ship JinXiao (I might make a blog post about it), but these things make me understand people who don't.
Christie: Eddy is not a very shipped character, but Christie X Eddy is popular amongst those who do. I assumed Eddy and Lidia would be more popular given their old connection, being constantly around each other in Tekken 8 besides her saving him in Tekken 7 (and him expressing admiration for her), but it seems Christie with him is more popular. Tekken 4-TTT2 hint not only at her potential feelings but also to the possibility that they were a couple, because in Tekken 4 she goes after him even after he left a letter mentioning why he left instead of just going missing, and she hugs him a lot. Now, in Brazilian culture it's common to hug friends, even as a greeting, but in Japanese culture it seems to be frowned upon and more romance-specific (and private). It's unclear which was chosen for the storytelling, some days ago I asked Harada if they were lovers or just friends (no response). But again, besides her being character and fighting-wise an Eddy sidekick, her story is very Eddy-centric. I like her but not everyone does.
Roger: yeah, he abandoned his son and cheated on his wife, leaving them worried about him. I guess he is mainly liked for the comic relief aspect.
Kazumi: man... the ONLY moment when I felt bad for Heihachi was that scene. She married him only to kill him (not that he was much better), and she was going to kill her son as well. Terrible wife and terrible mother, even though she was outwardly loving.
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Antagonist List:
Kazuya: everyone's favorite antagonist, he is terrible and that's why we like him. Sympathizeable given his past, but it unfortunately doesn't make him good. Maybe, just maybe, the producers after Tekken 2 had considered getting him killed for good (Eddy's Tekken 3 ending might say otherwise though), but they probably noticed how much he would be missed, and this is why they made Tag1 and Kazuya was the most promoted. He even got the plot of him and Jin not getting along straight from there. He's the guy who died in a volcano and came back, literally. Story-wise, he is so openly villainous that he's often hated even more than his father. I guess he is conventionally attractive too which helps. I even made a poll here asking people's sentiments about him, nobody said they disliked him or even that they felt neutral about him.
Nina: a character who is always present, from main Tekken games (Tekken 7 only playable in FR, she is in the main cutscenes though), to mangas to the 2010 movies to Tekken: Bloodline, she even got a spin-off. Now, many criticize her, especially for her being a villain which is the point, (though she is very cruel). Sometimes she's more like a protagonist, but just when you're starting to think she is decent, she's quick to prove you wrong. The exception is DBD. Her fighting style is based, even though it diverges significantly from its label, and Anna is basically a copy of her, until Tekken 5 when she changes the based throws for slaps and butt kicks (she has some nice unique moves though). She is a fan-favorite mainly for her fighting, besides being beautiful.
Heihachi: this is THE Tekken character, the face of Tekken (sometimes hidden, under Jin's shadow, but he is). No Heihachi, no Tekken. He is in every game, including mainline Tekken 7, season one of Tekken 8 though it's a DLC, all comic books, even invited to other games. He was meant to die in Tekken 7 but the producers didn't have the heart to do it, especially Harada who has him as a favorite (he was even credited as Katsuhiro "Heihachi" Harada in Tekken 2). There are some who got fed up with Heihachi dying-but-not really in 3 decades, I write a fic where he isn't the focus, I think the general game where he largely doesn't get involved has a good story, but I confess Tekken wouldn't be the same without Heihachi.
Azazel: oh man... he is so hard to fight. Now I generally have a better chance against him but he is so hard to fight against. You cannot use throws and tackles, you have to spam punches and kicks (swords, chainsaws and supernatural stuff with others, it's a start, but visually he makes the character you play with less diverse). Each hit is significant and it's hard to regain control. It's pretty much like he wasn't meant to be fought by only one fighter. Let's not forget the reptile hands coming from the ground, that big roll.
Nancy: if you think Azazel is hard, wait for Nancy. I never won any match against her. Same applies, but before you realize, you fell on the ground and there's no rematch. Near-impossible task, even when you're spamming strikes you don't stand a chance.
Well... Azazel and Nancy aren't playable, for good reasons, imagine the nightmare it would be if one of them ran into you in a Ghost Battle. Months ago, I avoided Story Battle and especially Arcade Battle just to avoid them. The bonus for winning against Nancy must be high, for Azazel it's 10,000. But it's worth mentioning that they are disliked as opponents for being too hard, story-wise they are great. Jin's team really made a brilliant work in building Nancy, and Azazel is literally a hell of an antagonist. I don't think Tekken's antagonists tend to be disliked, even because just about all have returned (often to many games). The closest I can think of being really disliked antagonists are Jinpachi and Unknown.
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Comic Relief List
Lei: laid back, comic fighting style, I have a smile whenever he starts walking drunkenly into you, and he's likely the character people want the most to return. He gets himself into accidents. I don't like how they aged him in 7 but thankfully you can customize him out of it. I haven't met anyone saying they don't like Lei. (And of course, he's cute and a great person, the world would be great if we had more cops like him)
Lee: in my opinion, the funniest. I laugh whenever I watch his Tekken 5 and 6 endings, and all endings at least flirt with comedy. I was undecided whether he or Lei would take the first spot, but I haven't seen any personal complaints against Lei, some people think that Lee was a pervert in Tekken 6 when it comes to Alisa (she reported feeling uncomfortable with his "touchy-feely" ways and when he tells Lars she is a piece of art with that smile, Lars is clearly bothered.
Ganryu: he is very funny with his moves, the way he leaves, and I guiltily admit that the face he does when he's rejected is hilarious. He was pretty much built for comedy (and Harada adores him). But people complain and even sympathize with him less because he was into the mother and then into the daughter (creepy), and he likes Julia because she looks like Michelle and practically harasses her (and he took a disk out of...?). Many people are sensitive to age-gap relationships and dislike the fact that he is a guy over 50 interested in a girl in her 20s.
Bob: nice guy, good-hearted (and getting out of his way to help people in trouble and apparent trouble). The comic relief and him not being a favorite comes from the same reason: his weight. And... yeeet another Karate fighter. But the weight adds a new plot to it.
Lucky Chloe: you know, people will never forgive her for that Eddy incident. But other things about her, like her kawaii style, her mega secret unrevealed, her working in the G Corporation and the fact that Lei likes her even then might (might) make some find her more promising. I do at least.
(Fahkumram apparently is in the list of mostly or even universally disliked but I think people are being unfair)
Anyway, comments?
And by the way, here is the template if you want to do it yourself (and have the patience to think of 30 potential characters, get pictures and arrange them). I'd like to see your choices!
