Could you give us your "Top 10 Robots That Aren't Metal Sonic"? Extra Brownie Points for saying why you like each one.
Okay, even though you didn’t make it a requirement I’m gonna specifically choose robots/AIs who are NOT part of the Sonic franchise despite how incredibly badly I want to shove Nicole and Shard ino this. Though I guess Shard would break the “other than Metal Sonic” bit *lol* Also, lemme preface all of this by saying that it was EXTREMELY difficult to create a list of only ten characters, much less put them in a top ten order, so the order I give here is subject to change with my mood. Also I pretty much guarantee that after sitting where wracking my brains as soon as I hit submit I’m gonna think of at least five other characters I love bunches and being all “SHIT I COULD HAVE INCLUDED THEM”
Anyway, fair warning in advance, you might end up noticing a reoccurring theme in this list~
10. Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)Okay, this position in this lineup is unfair. I’m gonna be the first to admit that. The reason I’m placing Data as #10 is because I’ve literally only just recently started watching Star Trek (any series, period) for the first time and I’m only a few episodes into TNG. I can already tell I’m going to really like Data though. Sadly, there isn’t much I can say in regard to him at the moment, other than the fact he’s made a very good first impression on me.
9. X-J9/Jenny (My Life as a Teenage Robot)I love some of the dynamics between Jenny and other characters on the show. She was built to be this superhero crime fighting robot who could save the world from all sorts of crap, but she was modeled after (and consequently has the attitude of) a teenage girl and has a mother/daughter relationship with her creator. All she wanted was to have friends, go to school and be as normal of a girl as a crime fighting ass kicking robot can be. She struggled a lot with understanding social customs, but it never stopped her from trying to fit in. Things in this show especially got interesting to me during the movie, when we discovered a whole robot civilization who had been brainwashed into thinking humans were evil and terrifying and bent on destroying them all - an interesting inversion to the typical robot apocalypse trope. We need more awesome shows with kickass female (modeled) protagonists like this.
8. Bender (Futurama)Man, it’s not often you see a vulgar self-destructive kleptomaniacle robot, but here’s Bender. Bender just cracks me up with what a smartassed bastard he is XD He’s vulnerable to many of the failings that humans are - greed, anger, lust, etc. The sort of things robot characters are usually portrayed as thinking of as illogical or are naive to. I love the fact they gave him a hobby outside his realm and comfort zone as a robot too - cooking. What with him not being able to taste food prepared for organics and all. I dunno, he’s just a funny guy X3
7. B-Mo (Adventure Time)aaaa B-Mo is so adorable X3 I love the imagination they have and just how… intensely they always invest their emotions into it all to the point you wonder if this is really just B-Mo’s imagination or if it’s real. I love how they frequently try to mimic organics as well. Everything from trying to drink a cup of tea (only to have it dribble down their screen) to pretending to pee. Adorable little cutie X3
6. Iron Giant (The Iron Giant)A naive 50 foot tall robot who crash lands out of nowhere and befriends a ten year old kid? What’s not to love about this guy. The relationship between the giant and Hogarth is just plain adorable X3 I mean, how can you not love stories where little kids befriend behemoths, especially when they’re hugeass robots with the potential to level whole cities.
5. Wall-E (Wall-E)I love how so much of this movie managed to tell itself with almost no words. Wall-E himself was so charming and resourceful, and I like the implication the movie had that his personality and sweet nature developed over time from a mindless template. You just gotta love his quirky little mannierisms X3 All he wanted was somebody to love and be loved back, and he sure as hell has my love =)
4. GLaDOS (Portal/Portal 2)GLaDOS is pretty much passive aggressiveness personified and I love it XD I mean, she’s got a razor sharp wit and never misses a beat, and some of the stuff she says is just.. drop dead hilarious. Even when she’s trying to kill you. In terms of her character development though, I especially loved the bits in Portal 2 when she was stuck in the potato. With as surprisingly of a tragic past as she has, no wonder she’s angry at the world @_@
3. Blues/Proto Man (Mega Man)Okay, when it comes to Mega Man, my favorite character frequently changes between Rock, Blues and Forte. Usually Forte. But right now, it’s firmly set on Blues. That said, my experience with Mega Man as a franchise in general is… odd compared to a lot of fans. I’ve never played the original series, I’ve only played the first X, I’ve played all but the last game in the EXE series (which I love), and I’ve also beaten the first Zero and played a little bit of Star Force. That’s it as far as games go. I’ve seen all of the Ruby Spears cartoon, the OVA, and I’m currently madly in love with the comic series Archie is putting out.
For the purpose of this answer, I’m focusing solely on Archie. Which is why I say my favorite character meter is currently set firmly on Blues. Now, I’m actually way behind on reading the series. Lately I’ve developed a habit of collecting comics, setting them in a pile for several months, and then binge reading them all at once. Where I last left off was where we learned about Blues and his past and… dskjgnsdkjgnskg *FLAIL* AAAUUGGHHH POOR BABY I WANNA HUG HIM OH MY GOD SWEETIE T_T Seriously, it was tearing my doggone heart out. All my feels. But yeah, I really love how this series has been delving into the relationships between robots and humans, and I love how the relationship between Blues and Dr Light was being portrayed. I can only begin to imagine the agony the poor guy must have gone through, thinking his father would betray him, running away, talking sense back into himself only to think he’d been replaced and then going off somewhere to just… die. aaaa poor babyyy T__T
2. Chi (Chobits)Chi is such an interesting character to me. At the start of the series we learn that androids and gynoids (called persocoms in the series) basically act as mobile computers/glorified smart phones in humanoid form. Most of these have pre-programmed personalities designed to suit the taste of their owners, but Chi is a bit special. When we meet her she starts out as a truly blank slate - no memories, no mind, no personality, etc. She begins to learn through a combination of mimicking what becomes her owner (Hideki) and his attempts to teach her, though as a farm boy he far from knows how to deal with computers. I think that’s a large part of what makes Chi and Hideki’s relationship so interesting - because of the fact Hideki is a fairly sheltered farm boy, technology as a general whole is overwhelming to him. So when he ends up with this gynoid who for all intents and purposes looks just like a real human girl, he treats her and respects her as such. To him, Chi is a real person, not a mere computer and certainly not his property, and as such she develops these very human-like qualities and emotions to her. Very awesome chemistry
1. Astro (Astro Boy)What, did you think I was gonna put a Mega Man character on this list without giving props to the character who inspired Mega Man in the first place? Astro Boy pretty much has everything I crave in a story involving robots. And as for Astro himself - I just adore him. A robot given true free will and emotions, he’s just as sweet and generous as can be while trying to co-exist in a world among humans who don’t understand and fear what he’s capable of
Honorable mentions include the Robot Devil, Sonny, B.E.N., Johnny-5 and Rodney Copperbottom. I’m going to include Transformers in general as an honorable mention because I’ve only seen Transformers: Animated (which was alright from what I recall but didn’t quite hit the sweet spot for me) and never really decided on a favorite character in it. I’m definitely wanting to look into the other series in that franchise though
… So didja catch the theme? XD No, not me yelling about how adorable the characters were repeatedly, though yeah I guess that counts as a theme *roffle* Basically, I like my robots with emotions and personalities (even if they’re only in the fringes of developing them), and I like the concept of exploring their place in a society among organic creatures (human or otherwise). Or just generally having their own world, their own ideas, their own culture etc. Mindless robots just don’t interest me unless they’re given the capacity where they can begin to develop emotions and/or sentience, and robot apocalypse stories are only interesting to me if it explores the psychology and social structure between human and robot relations (rather than simply a bunch of explosions and humans running around screaming). That’s pretty much why Astro Boy took the number one spot, because he and his story really dig down deep into these concepts
