Top Ten Anime Characters That Rock!

Written by Shiggins

Hey guys, remember me? I’m the dickhead who wrote that list about ten anime characters I feel are overrated and the problems that come with them. It’s taken me almost a year to do another article related to that but that’s because I wanted to improve my knowledge of anime. This time however, I’m going to give the opposite to you all and tell you the characters that don’t suck!

Some spoilers for various anime ahead. Deal with it.

10. Alibaba Saluja – Magi

Here we go! For those of you idiots who are missing out on one of the best manga to come out in recent years, pay attention. Not actually the main protagonist of the series, he easily fits into the category of “he might as well be” as we actually spend so much time focussed on him and his troubles instead of the main character’s Aladdin.

You don't see enough Arabian clothes in manga anymore.

 From politics to romance, Alibaba goes through the most and comes out on top almost all the time. From using Djinn to transform into epic forms that only the most powerful can use, to screwing the rules and punching fat-assed slave owners in the face, to having hilarious moments with his friends and loved ones, Alibaba is a character we’re all glad to follow. We once saw him beat the crap out of, and then adopt a giant gorilla monster! Why? Because he’s Alibaba and does pretty much anything he sets his mind to. 

Tonight, there are two moons in the sky!

A lot of the appeal comes from just how loyal and realistic he is. He’s a well-developed character who cares about his people since he was actually born in the slums of Balbadd before the king discovered that Alibaba was his son and adopted him into the castle. He’s well-trained, well-educated and well-built, managing to fight alongside Aladdin and his “will-they-won’t-they” friend Morgiana. (She would have made this list instead if it wasn’t for her complete passiveness in recent chapters.) If Magi was only about Alibaba, I’d be very happy.

"Hey Morgiana! Guess where this is going!"

9. Roy Mustang – Fullmetal Alchemist

Step aside for the Flame Alchemist and Colonel of the State Military. Roy Mustang, also known and regarded as a hero of the Ishval Civil War, is one of the toughest characters of this amazing series and that’s saying something! For those poor unfortunate souls who haven’t seen FMA yet, Mustang plans on one day becoming the next Führer of his home country, Amestris. First impressions tell you he is a shallow, vain and self-absorbed man but of course, never let appearances deceive you.

"I'm here. Which means this is my room now!"

A lover of mini-skirts and dogs, Mustang hangs out with a small group of officers and seeks to win the people over through his genius strategy and figuring out how to take down those that are considered his superiors. He’s as arrogant as the main character, Edward Elric who he ironically does not get any respect or warm welcomes from and personally, that’s hilarious to me. Nothing says “I hate you” like the faces Ed makes whenever Mustang enters a room and takes over.

Writing on the toilet? I do that too.

His ability to burn everything in his path with nothing but a snap of his fingers makes him both terrifying and awesome at the same time. After the death of his best friend, who might possibly have been dipped in sugar at birth, Mustang goes on a destructive quest for vengeance. These moments where he focusses on avenging his friend is a perfect example of how ruthless he can be, burning his wounds so he can keep going and destroying everything. He’s got a tendency to lose his head in his anger, but that’s because he’s human. If your best friend was killed, wouldn’t you take a manly raging fit too? 

A vote for Mustang is a vote for miniskirts!

8. Sanji – One Piece

Surprised to see an OP character on one of my lists? You should be but even I can admit that this series manages some things very well. And a major part of that are the characters. I was tempted to put Whitebeard on this list, but I’d be stuck with that one big battle he actually lost in and… that’s a road I don’t want to go down. Instead, the chef of the Straw Hats pirates and horny “kicker” of the series “Black Leg Sanji” gets the spot.

The two faces of Sanji

His dream is to find the All Blue, which is supposedly a huge chef’s paradise. I have no idea if any of the crewmembers will ever find their dreams or achieve anything since it’s been going on for so long with no hints to the One Piece’s location, but you have to credit to a guy who keeps going through every adventure for their own goal. Sanji‘s backstory is easily one of the most overwhelming and emotional of the crew, involving his master choosing to eat his own leg to save a young Sanji and causing Sanji to never again let a person starve.

Every series needs an epic rivalry

Despite the constant overuse of the infamous nosebleed that’s caused by arousal, Sanji defines himself as one of the coolest around by keeping his cool in every situation not involving breasts and almost always having a cigarette in hand. (In the 4kids dub, that was infamously and hilariously replaced with a lollipop). His rivalry with the other awesome character of OP, Zoro, is almost always a delight and his love/obsession over Nami and her constantly-growing bosom provides plenty of heart-shaped eyes, if you’re a fan of that. When you stop to think about it, he’s easily one of the best choices to be the captain of the Straw Hats (if the crew ever decide to actually try to find the One Piece for once, instead of just blindly following Luffy about).

Which one would you rather have?

7. Alucard – Hellsing

A real fucking vampire! This is one cold, sadistic bastard who gets way too happy when somebody cries and shoots themselves in the head out of fear of his awesome presence. And yes, that has actually happened. Possibly my favourite anti-hero of all time, Alucard was the original vampire, the man behind Dracula and hosts an impressive kill count of thousands which he has only raised throughout the years.

He's not cross-eyed. The glasses just make him look that way.

If you aren’t convinced that he’s awesome yet, just look at his brilliant design. He sports a red longcoat, huge hat, supremely awesome circular shades and the fangs of a hungry hound. I don’t know who felt Alucard wasn’t powerful enough already with his blood-drinking teeth, his horrible strength and the dark magical power to summon the deceased souls of those he had drank, but whoever it was felt decided to give Alucard two amazing guns to go along with him. Oh and he can also walk through walls, speak inside your head, levitate, regenerate and fly a super awesome fighter jet into an airship without even flinching.

Sparkling vampires? That's hilarious!

From fighting in World War 2 to taking the form of a little girl, Alucard is one of those supremely experienced types you want to watch in every episode. That small break where Seras Victoria, his apprentice and former big-tittied police girl turned vampire, takes over the series for a while is actually a bit dull because you find yourself missing Alucard during it all. When you see a character unleash all his limitations and literally bring out an army of the dead, you know you want to see more of him. Still not convinced he’s awesome and scary? Watch the episode involving a hotel and flagpoles.

Give me a hug!

6. Gajeel Redfox – Fairy Tail

I know. It’s typical of me to bring in a Fairy Tail character but I had to. To be honest, I almost gave this spot to Laxus but Gajeel is the coolest in my opinion. I’m a sucker for the cliché story of a former villain turning into a good person. I really am. I almost always find them enjoyable, especially when it doesn’t kill the character whatsoever. With Gajeel, it only improved him. We saw that he could be a nice guy, a caring guy, a funny guy and an angry guy.

Unlike Natsu, Gajeel doesn't need fire to look badass!

Starting off from the guild known as Phantom Lord, Gajeel was one of the top members there. After a severe ass-kicking from Natsu Dragneel, Gajeel found himself alone and unsure where to go next. That is, until Fairy Tail took him in. Gajeel has this constant ability of always being part of the plot, even if it does take him a while sometimes. His character is also a lot deeper than you first realise, as we first see when he allows himself to be beaten up by angry Fairy Tail members as a penance, so one day they’ll come to accept him. Never judge a man by his appearance, and that includes this scary-looking bad boy.

Believe it or not, he made this face while he was a "good guy"

He also has the prize of “First Dragon Slayer Besides Natsu To Appear”, which gave the series a bit of extra gravitas as it instantly met he was a character who would be forever linked to the story behind the dragons, just like Natsu, Wendy, Sting and Rogue.  I’m also a fan of how he eats metal and plays the guitar. And in case you’ve never been on this blog before, I am a huge shipper of Gajeel and Levy getting together and doing what comes naturally to an awesome couple.

The Badass and the Bookworm

5. Kenpachi Zaraki – Bleach

I know quite a few people who don’t care for Bleach. Whenever I ask them about it, they say they don’t read it because they find it boring or they hate Ichigo etc. However, they always give the same answer afterwards: “But I do love Kenpachi”. My response is always “Fuck yeah you do!” Seriously, how can you not be a fan of Kenpachi? He’s Bleach’s number one anti-hero, with a love for murder and a grin that says “I’m hungry. You’re going to die.”

The face of a cold-blooded murderer

With a mostly unknown origin and a name he inherited from killing a previous Kenpachi, which basically means “fucked up killer”, Kenpachi Zaraki is a captain of the Soul Society and specialises in nothing but non-kido abilities. If that makes no sense to you, it basically means he doesn’t use magic/superpowers. He only uses his big scary blade and his fists. Constantly paired with his lieutenant, the loli character called Yachiru, we’ve seen Kenpachi attach bells to his hair to make it easier for opponents to notice him, repress his powers so they have a better chance of hurting him, and refuse to take off his eyepatch because that means he can’t control his true strength and might accidently kill whoever he is fighting before he’s done having fun.

Green Guy dead in 5...4...3...2...1...

Although I wasn’t a huge fan of how his first fight ended, seeing him step back and use his hands and determination to break apart even the most skilled of opponents instantly made me forget any problems I had in the past. Kenpachi follows a simple method when fighting: “You do whatever you want but I’m still going to cut you. If you think I’m joking, I’m not. I’m going to smile and cut you. And it’s going to be fun!”

The best reason for doing anything

4. Commander Levi – Attack on Titan

I’m sure you’ve heard of this guy, and if not get the fuck off this blog and watch some Attack on Titan before you read this. Levi is one of the top commanders of the entire Survey Corps and is considered humanity’s strongest soldier. He leads a small personal gang as well, constantly fighting and slaughtering Titans without even blinking an eye, it’s difficult to see Levi as human sometimes. Levi is cold, merciless and honourable, never throwing an unnecessary punch or kick to an enemy’s face but always making sure he hits his target when he does have a reason to.

Nothing sir! Nothing at all!

At first, he looks like a boring brat with a creepy stare and an annoying “I don’t care” attitude, but he is so much deeper and darker than that. He’s a clean freak who demands respect and has a disdain for authority, as well as being quite vindictive towards anyone who dares stand in his way when Titans need to be slaughtered, including asshole humans from the Military Police and the government. It’s strange to say after hearing all this, but he does genuinely care for his subordinates and will go to great lengths to save them.

I wonder when the animated birds pop up

We don’t know how old Levi is yet. Some say he’s young and others suggest he’s really old. We don’t know his full name, or his past or just about anything really but that’s okay because he’s intimidating, awesome and prepared to fight with the best of them if it means protecting his friends and fellow human beings. He also has an amazing theme song in the anime called “Reluctant Heroes”.

This is my town now, bitch

3. Piccolo – Dragon Ball Z

Akira Toriyama once said in an interview that Piccolo was his favourite character of the entire series of Dragon Ball, and to be honest, I can see why. Piccolo starting out as a cheesy, boring villain was something I did not enjoy seeing. However, when Dragon Ball Z came along and Piccolo grew up a little, we got a refreshing and genius turnaround from the green alien that easily made him far more interesting. And we have Goku’s son Gohan to thank for that.

Proof that being a good guy is awesome

When Gohan became Piccolo’s unwilling apprentice, the audience were soon sitting back and watching as Piccolo felt a fatherly instinct and care towards Gohan and soon was going to great lengths to keep him safe and strong. If you didn’t shed a bit of a tear when Piccolo took the hit for Gohan during the fight with Nappa, you’re hollow. It’s also fitting that Piccolo has fought almost every major villain since he turned into a hero, as he became nobler and stronger during each new arc. A personal highlight for me was when Piccolo arrived at the last second to face off against Frieza, providing us with a healthy dosage of alien fighting.

"DODGE!"

When Dragon Ball GT came out, I was amongst the army of disappointed and angry geeks who went into a huff and got angry in their own personal grumpy corner. However, despite the huge glaring problems the series had (including a villain called Baby, a pathetic final fight and destroying Trunks’ character), there was one thing it did perfectly and that was Piccolo. Making Piccolo die was a surprisingly brilliant move, as we saw the final time he’d ever say goodbye to his best friend and apprentice Gohan. I’ll admit it. I got teary-eyed again.

Piccolo can't handle all the Piccolo/Gohan fanfictions

2. Spike Spiegel – Cowboy Bebop

Basically the James Bond of anime, Spike is a bounty hunter from the future who was born on Mars and is considered a “cowboy” by the public. Definitely not one of the successful bounty hunters out there, he has a reputation for causing a mess and somehow always surviving it. Packed with one-liners and a cool smirk, Spike always manages to save the day but complains at the end because his bounty wasn’t fulfilled.

You just know he's going to say an epic one-liner right now

With his best friend Jet Black, former thief Faye Valentine, tech specialist Edward and random corgi Ein, Spike’s adventures through the stars are both exciting and hilarious. Along the way, we see Spike get into several fistfights with generic henchmen, fly through space, destroy a cigarette with a flamethrower and deflect a sword with nothing but a handy and signature pistol. He claims to hate women with attitude, but I think that’s a bit of a lie as proven by one of my favourite quotes of his; “I love a woman who can kick my ass”.

Spike has moves that Bond will never have

A former criminal who faked his death after getting mixed up with his partner’s wife, Spike has a noble side but it’s not exaggerated like so many others. It’s subtle and cool, like Spike is. He loves his meat and he loves his women, and he can never seem to get any of them sadly, but that doesn’t stop him trying. I like to think that if the series ever came back, Spike would put that pink coat back on and fight random henchmen until we were blue in the face.

You judge him but I bet that coat is snug!

1. Kamina – Tengen Toppen Gurren Lagann/ Rider – Fate/Zero

I know this is cheating but it was impossible for me to decide between the two of them. They give me the chills as they step forward and announce their awesomeness, and I’ll never stop loving them for it. So yeah, they both take up the number one slot.

So much epicness in just one picture!

“Just who the hell do you think I am?” That’s the catchphrase of the amazing Kamina, born and raised in an underground city and constantly declaring that he will rise to the surface and meet his father. Wearing an epic cape, tattoos, and the signature sunglasses, Kamina never gives up for any reason and will keep fighting so as to provide a safe world for future generations. He was also the first ever person who looked at a villain’s giant robot and decided “I’m taking it for myself”, breaking all the rules and starting a human rebellion in the process.

Flashy? You don't know the meaning of the word!

From his amazing speeches to his love for his friend and adopted brother, Simon, Kamina is an instant hit and I’ve loved him since his first ever scene. He’s fun and silly almost all the time, spouting out crap about being a man and constantly being a pervert towards the ladies with the boobies as he tries so hard to just keep on going strong. Along with his catchphrase, I can’t help but love it when he announces to Simon “Listen Simon... Don't forget. Believe in yourself. Not in the you who believes in me. Not the me who believes in you. Believe in the you who believes in yourself!” It’s confusing but it’s great!

I don't need eyes to see how amazing I am!

The Rider class of Fate/Zero, the far superior prequel to Fate/Stay Night, is Iskander, also known as Alexander the Great, who calls himself “King of Conquerors”.  Sporting a great beard, cape that is like a curtain and a booming voice that demands respect, Rider was easily the scene-stealer of the entire series and in my personal opinion, the entire franchise. By summoning a chariot from the sky itself, he will charge into battle with his head held high and his voice breaking through until everyone recognises that he has appeared and you should either join him or face him in the glory of battle!

"And I will have it, once I give Moneybags all my gems!"

Along with his master, Waver Velvet, the two charge through the prequel series for as long as possible, whether they are invited or not. It takes a special man to grab a barrel of alcohol, crash into his opponents’ main headquarters, offer to pour them a drink and then criticise them for making poor decisions as a king but Rider does it and he does it beautifully. He also asked Waver if he could get a fighter jet so he could go to war with the President of the United States so if you weren’t in love with him before, then you are now and you know it!

....Donkey Kong, perhaps?

Honourable Mentions

Kakashi Hatake - Didn't do much during first half of the series

Sebastian Michaelis - Lack of development and character

L - Left the series too soon

Shiggins:[Admin]
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Shiggins enjoys many strange forms of communication, especially those including cosplayers or presents or videos. However, until that wonderful day comes when people care enough to give him things for being him, you can contact him on his Skype; shigginsishere. He can also respond to you if you contact him through GMails at shigginsishere@gmail.com, and you can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere.