As these are my favorite anime/manga characters, I want to first explain my anime/manga taste. In manga, I appreciate action, beautiful art, and new ideas. In anime, I appreciate good soundtracks, beautiful graphics, and new ideas. However, what moves me to appreciate characters or manga or anime above all else, are the morals or motives of the character.
For example, let's take Pokemon and Sword Art Online. These two have been accepted very well in the United States. What's interesting is how long these shows have gone on for and how the main character's reception differ. For example, Pokemon has been airing in Japan since 1997. Despite the non-aging, only recently successful nature of the main character, people still refer to him in an endearing tone. Meanwhile, Kirito who had been released into the world in 2013, is ridiculed, despised, and some people attempt to erase him from their memory (me, unsuccessfully). Kirito's motives have been weak since the first season and not interesting since the first half of the first season. His morals of being a lone wolf were abandoned and the idea of MMORPG isekais is now an overused concept.
In any case, I hope I worried some of you with a picture of Kirito and/or Ash.
This list is not in any order of value, and is simply my favorite characters from anime or manga that I've watched or read.
Daewi Han
Daewi Han is a character from The God of Highschool manhwa. He is an incredibly unique character. I may or may not have said enough about him in my post about God of Highschool, but I am going to write about him now. He was originally a high schooler in Korea trying to keep his friend alive by earning money to pay for his medical bills. Eventually he agrees to join a martial arts tournament to earn enough money to pay all of his friend's necessary funds. He gets to the finals by doing whatever he has to, perfecting his technique, dirty boxing an ally, etc. In the finals he must face his best friend in the tournament, the main character. He loses, but forces the protagonist against the ropes. It is revealed that he no longer had any motive to win because his sickly friend had already died. Later on, he attempts to protect his best friend's grandfather and loses the use of his right eye. Instead of quitting the tournament for the global competition, he adapts to it and becomes just as badass. When all the mythological shit starts to cause Apocalypse on Earth, he sacrifices himself to protect the girl he likes so that she can save the world. Then he dies.
While the man who took his eye is attempting to escape, they discover Daewi lying on a pile of rubble and give all of their supernatural powers to him to control through his new right eye. Basically making a normal mortal man, the King of all Humans. Which he does not wield lightly, because instead of using this eye to constantly alter the world around him, he covers it with bandages and only fights with his mastery of his style of karate.
His morals of discipline, his wisdom, and his badass power make him one of my favorite characters.
Saike Kuzushiro
Saike Kuzushiro is the main character from Psyche Once Again. He has the power to drown and remember what happened on the day that he drowned. He is the darkest/edgiest hero I've ever read about. His backstory is that he had no ambitions until his best friend died and he took his own life by drowning in a lake. He woke up the next day and she died the same way. And she continued dying until he decided that his life was meant to be exchanged for her's and so he took her place in front of traffic. He escaped death then, and decided to be a hero.
Because of his self-sacrificing nature, his decisiveness when it comes to acts of justice, and his determination to not run away from problems, he is one of my favorite characters.
Vash the Stampede
Vash the Stampede is the main character from Trigun, which is a story about his past and his future and the people he runs into, harms, and saves. He is a very-good hearted person, despite his lecherous nature, which also lands him too close to people he cares about, which is nearly every innocent person in his world. Despite his good heart, he has a power which could destroy whole towns in just a moment if triggered. His story is intriguing because of the constant isolated and then extremely social life that he lives. The good of his heart pushes him to stay away but because of the dangers caused by other people, he must step in and defend them.
His motto is "Love and Peace", he dances his way into a Wild West salon hostage situation, threatens a group of armed criminals with a finger gun, and has mastered the art of dodging bullets by running.
This man is pure-hearted, and because of his acts of kindness to people he cannot ignore, his true wishes to not hurt the people he cares about because of the fear of himself, and the constant humor that hides the anxiety and seriousness that can only be seen when he is nearing the necessity of violence, he is one of my favorite characters.
Tanjirou Kamado
I have definitely mentioned this man before in my Kimetsu no Yaiba post, but this man is a legend. Good older brother? Check. Excellent swordsmanship? Check. Funny faces? Check. Empathetic? Check. Protagonist hair and face? Check. I don't really have too much to say about Tanjirou. He does the shonen protagonist comebacks, he has a cool sword, he has a personal vendetta with the bad guy, you just want to cheer him on.
Because of his incredibly pure earnestness, his insane sword skills, and his strength to save his sister and still show remorse for the demons when they pass peacefully, he is one of my favorite characters.
Akari Hizamaru
Hmmm... How do I even explain this?... Akari Hizamaru is a character in a manga called Terra Formars... The title hardly has a purpose because it is about terraforming Mars, and the monster cockroaches which this project spawned which are called Terra Formars, and currently the roaches are invading Earth so maybe its even Terra For Mars... Anyway... Terra Formars' biggest interesting premise/concept is that it features humans drawing upon the power of animals to fight monster cockroaches. Are you still following?
There are two important journeys to Mars during this manga. The first is a total failure where most of the explorers sent to Mars are killed because of their overestimation of their abilities in comparison to the cockroaches. How that relates to Akari Hizamaru is that at least two of the parents used in his four parent genetic cocktail were on the first journey. Typically to gain the abilities of the animals, you have to go through a very complicated and dangerous surgery, with a very low chance of surviving (I think it was around 30%). Which I believe is totally unbelievable first of all, and then still even if this surgery is in the future, how the hell is there a 30% survival rate with animal genetics being fused with the body?!!! Anyway. Back to Akari.
Unlike the other characters on this list, Akari doesn't have too many moral or motivational moments that would lead me to like him. However, Akari is exceptional at Japanese martial arts (Judo, Karate, Bojutsu, etc.) and has two insects which he can transform into without needing a drug to activate the DNA. His powers are so unbelievably epic that they make him one of my favorite characters.
Hideyoshi Nagachika (Hide)
My favorite character from Tokyo Ghoul is not the main character Kaneki, but rather his loyal, worried, best friend Hide. When Kaneki becomes a ghoul, Hide still worries about him. Despite the human eating nature of ghouls, Hide wanted his best friend to be safe. So when a citywide ghoul hunt begins, Hide joins the human side of the battle to search for his friend. He gets a job as a sort of administrative assistant/scout for the CCG, and later on enters the battlefield looking for Kaneki. During this search, his face becomes horribly disfigured and he gets wounded in his chest. He finds Kaneki, but seemingly dies in his arms.
However, he is proven to still be alive in Tokyo Ghoul;Re and prepares Tokyo for the return of his friend to bring peace to ghouls and humans and half ghouls. His optimistic nature in this manga is a nice relief from the constant depression and despair of the world and that makes him very memorable.
Hide's positivity, loyalty, and unshakable neutrality in the story makes him one of my favorite characters.
For example, let's take Pokemon and Sword Art Online. These two have been accepted very well in the United States. What's interesting is how long these shows have gone on for and how the main character's reception differ. For example, Pokemon has been airing in Japan since 1997. Despite the non-aging, only recently successful nature of the main character, people still refer to him in an endearing tone. Meanwhile, Kirito who had been released into the world in 2013, is ridiculed, despised, and some people attempt to erase him from their memory (me, unsuccessfully). Kirito's motives have been weak since the first season and not interesting since the first half of the first season. His morals of being a lone wolf were abandoned and the idea of MMORPG isekais is now an overused concept.
In any case, I hope I worried some of you with a picture of Kirito and/or Ash.
This list is not in any order of value, and is simply my favorite characters from anime or manga that I've watched or read.
Daewi Han
Daewi Han is a character from The God of Highschool manhwa. He is an incredibly unique character. I may or may not have said enough about him in my post about God of Highschool, but I am going to write about him now. He was originally a high schooler in Korea trying to keep his friend alive by earning money to pay for his medical bills. Eventually he agrees to join a martial arts tournament to earn enough money to pay all of his friend's necessary funds. He gets to the finals by doing whatever he has to, perfecting his technique, dirty boxing an ally, etc. In the finals he must face his best friend in the tournament, the main character. He loses, but forces the protagonist against the ropes. It is revealed that he no longer had any motive to win because his sickly friend had already died. Later on, he attempts to protect his best friend's grandfather and loses the use of his right eye. Instead of quitting the tournament for the global competition, he adapts to it and becomes just as badass. When all the mythological shit starts to cause Apocalypse on Earth, he sacrifices himself to protect the girl he likes so that she can save the world. Then he dies.
While the man who took his eye is attempting to escape, they discover Daewi lying on a pile of rubble and give all of their supernatural powers to him to control through his new right eye. Basically making a normal mortal man, the King of all Humans. Which he does not wield lightly, because instead of using this eye to constantly alter the world around him, he covers it with bandages and only fights with his mastery of his style of karate.
His morals of discipline, his wisdom, and his badass power make him one of my favorite characters.
Saike Kuzushiro
Saike Kuzushiro is the main character from Psyche Once Again. He has the power to drown and remember what happened on the day that he drowned. He is the darkest/edgiest hero I've ever read about. His backstory is that he had no ambitions until his best friend died and he took his own life by drowning in a lake. He woke up the next day and she died the same way. And she continued dying until he decided that his life was meant to be exchanged for her's and so he took her place in front of traffic. He escaped death then, and decided to be a hero.
Because of his self-sacrificing nature, his decisiveness when it comes to acts of justice, and his determination to not run away from problems, he is one of my favorite characters.
Vash the Stampede
Vash the Stampede is the main character from Trigun, which is a story about his past and his future and the people he runs into, harms, and saves. He is a very-good hearted person, despite his lecherous nature, which also lands him too close to people he cares about, which is nearly every innocent person in his world. Despite his good heart, he has a power which could destroy whole towns in just a moment if triggered. His story is intriguing because of the constant isolated and then extremely social life that he lives. The good of his heart pushes him to stay away but because of the dangers caused by other people, he must step in and defend them.
His motto is "Love and Peace", he dances his way into a Wild West salon hostage situation, threatens a group of armed criminals with a finger gun, and has mastered the art of dodging bullets by running.
This man is pure-hearted, and because of his acts of kindness to people he cannot ignore, his true wishes to not hurt the people he cares about because of the fear of himself, and the constant humor that hides the anxiety and seriousness that can only be seen when he is nearing the necessity of violence, he is one of my favorite characters.
Tanjirou Kamado
I have definitely mentioned this man before in my Kimetsu no Yaiba post, but this man is a legend. Good older brother? Check. Excellent swordsmanship? Check. Funny faces? Check. Empathetic? Check. Protagonist hair and face? Check. I don't really have too much to say about Tanjirou. He does the shonen protagonist comebacks, he has a cool sword, he has a personal vendetta with the bad guy, you just want to cheer him on.
Because of his incredibly pure earnestness, his insane sword skills, and his strength to save his sister and still show remorse for the demons when they pass peacefully, he is one of my favorite characters.
Akari Hizamaru
Hmmm... How do I even explain this?... Akari Hizamaru is a character in a manga called Terra Formars... The title hardly has a purpose because it is about terraforming Mars, and the monster cockroaches which this project spawned which are called Terra Formars, and currently the roaches are invading Earth so maybe its even Terra For Mars... Anyway... Terra Formars' biggest interesting premise/concept is that it features humans drawing upon the power of animals to fight monster cockroaches. Are you still following?
There are two important journeys to Mars during this manga. The first is a total failure where most of the explorers sent to Mars are killed because of their overestimation of their abilities in comparison to the cockroaches. How that relates to Akari Hizamaru is that at least two of the parents used in his four parent genetic cocktail were on the first journey. Typically to gain the abilities of the animals, you have to go through a very complicated and dangerous surgery, with a very low chance of surviving (I think it was around 30%). Which I believe is totally unbelievable first of all, and then still even if this surgery is in the future, how the hell is there a 30% survival rate with animal genetics being fused with the body?!!! Anyway. Back to Akari.
Unlike the other characters on this list, Akari doesn't have too many moral or motivational moments that would lead me to like him. However, Akari is exceptional at Japanese martial arts (Judo, Karate, Bojutsu, etc.) and has two insects which he can transform into without needing a drug to activate the DNA. His powers are so unbelievably epic that they make him one of my favorite characters.
My favorite character from Tokyo Ghoul is not the main character Kaneki, but rather his loyal, worried, best friend Hide. When Kaneki becomes a ghoul, Hide still worries about him. Despite the human eating nature of ghouls, Hide wanted his best friend to be safe. So when a citywide ghoul hunt begins, Hide joins the human side of the battle to search for his friend. He gets a job as a sort of administrative assistant/scout for the CCG, and later on enters the battlefield looking for Kaneki. During this search, his face becomes horribly disfigured and he gets wounded in his chest. He finds Kaneki, but seemingly dies in his arms.
However, he is proven to still be alive in Tokyo Ghoul;Re and prepares Tokyo for the return of his friend to bring peace to ghouls and humans and half ghouls. His optimistic nature in this manga is a nice relief from the constant depression and despair of the world and that makes him very memorable.
Hide's positivity, loyalty, and unshakable neutrality in the story makes him one of my favorite characters.
Greed (Ling Yao)
The form of Greed while inhabiting the body of Ling Yao is an extremely compelling character. At the point of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood when he is introduced, he took a couple characters and propelled them into the character I wanted to watch the most. Their motive to change their fate and to challenge the other static homunculi was exactly what I wanted to see, and the slow change to their attitude (wanting to help Ling, becoming friends with Ed) caused the line between human personality and homunculi experience to blur. His ambition, his ferocity, his need for vengeance, and his belief in humans makes him one of my favorite characters.
Himura Kenshin
Kenshin is a lonely man, who like Vash the Stampede earlier on this list wants to avoid people he cares about getting hurt because of his past. He uses a sword with a curved blade to avoid wounding his opponents and he works to teach nonviolent sword work and shut down violent revolutions. His sword style of speed and deceptive movement, his peaceful and slightly mournful day to day life, and his belief in the avoidance of anymore fatalities at his hands makes him one of my favorite characters.
Rei Kiriyama
Rei is a professional shogi player. Rei is a high schooler. Rei lost his entire family in a travel accident. Rei voluntarily left his foster home because his 'siblings' hated him and abused him. Rei has had a terrible life, but because of it has become an incredibly honest, trustworthy, brave, and honorable young man. His bravery in dealing with the cards he's been dealt in life and his strength in trying to protect his family, the sisters who took him in after he was forced to underage drink, from their dad who ran out on them is a lot of what I want to develop myself.
Because of his calmness in the face of anger, his strength throughout his life despite despair, his bravery in the unknown, and his ever straightforward honesty, he is one of my favorite characters.
Thank you for reading! In this list I have attempted to point out some underrated anime/manga with some characters who are truly compelling and don't depend on a shonen plot or action scenes to survive... wait a second, I put Akari on this list...
Umm... well nevermind that
I could probably get another post out soon. So stay tuned.
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