Characters you love that everyone seems to hate.

[Furrama]

I saw this post: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.822731-Characters-you-hate-that-everyone-loves and my dyslexic brain read it the other way around. But now I'm really curious, who do you love that everyone seems to hate?

I like Tidus from FFX. I think Spoony popularized the hate and now it just runs rampant through the interwebsphere. The voice acting was terrible yes, and the clothes are stupid, and he looks like Meg Ryan yes, but dang it I still like the little ditz, especially by end game where it does indeed become his story. I like him a lot more than all the emo guys/gal leads in FF games, that's for sure.

Your turn!

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Claptrap.

There seems to be a pretty universal hate for the little guy in the borderlands community, with most people finding him to be incredibly annoying. I just don't see it though, I love Claptrap and I think he's hilarious. He dances, beatboxes, and writes dubstep songs, how can you possibly hate the guy?!

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Ashley Williams from Mass Effect. I hear people ***** and moan about her being a space racist and xenophobe. To me, that not only misses the fact that she is not so much "racist" as "uneasy about instantly trusting other species", but the fact that she only feels that way because of her family name being blacklisted for the actions of her grandfather during the Shanxi Conflict, and the fact that over the course of the three games, she develops as a character to get past those biases.

To me, anyone who hates Ashley Williams for being a space racist should be compelled to do the same for Tali, since they have the exact same character flaw (just replace "other species" with "the geth"), and the exact same character development. Other than Tali rejoining the crew in ME2 while Ashley didn't, but...well, Ashley kinda had a point if you look at it from her point of view, and even Tali was unsure at first.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Claptrap.

There seems to be a pretty universal hate for the little guy in the borderlands community, with most people finding him to be incredibly annoying. I just don't see it though, I love Claptrap and I think he's hilarious. He dances, beatboxes, and writes dubstep songs, how can you possibly hate the guy?!

There are people who dont like Claptrap? Thats news to me!

Lori from the walking dead. People act like shes some horrible slutty ***** who caused all the problems in the first two seasons.

Shane is responsible for his own actions and its not Loris fault she wanted some comfort when the bloody world was ending, I know Shane thinks he loves Lori but if he really did he should have hardened the fuck up and let her be happy with Rick and stop being so bloody angsty during a zombie apocalypse.

 

[Ikasury]

i'm going to state right now that i excessively dislike Claptrap and Ashely Williams... Tidus not so much, more ambivalent...

i LOVE Rico Banderas :3 demi-human, Champ of battling, technical heir to the throne of Kislav... yet everyone just hates him cause he's slow as fuck and has the crappiest looking gear... personally, i LOVE Steir just as much as its pilot, its big and burly and knows how to bitchslap anything with its ridiculous power, so what if its slow, boosters bitches!! *hugs* <3

suppose for a more 'modern' thingy... hrm... been seeing a lot of people hating on Liara for being... well not as sexy as the other asari i guess? XD *glomps* i think she's adorable in 'shy' mode and totally awesome in scary-*****-mode!! i like my versatility in space-monogenders~ and James Vega... for cooking breakfast :3

 

[Rooster893]

Cyclops was my first favorite superhero, and he still is in my top 5.

I like Amy Rose from the Sonic series. I think she's cute.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Jar Jar Binks.

No, wait! Let me explain!

I really don't see much of a difference between Jar Jar in the prequel trilogy and C-3PO in the classic trilogy. Both are intended to be comic relief, haplessly bumbling into harm's way largely due to circumstances beyond their control. Since 3PO had a greatly diminished role in the prequels, they needed a new character to fill the slot. Granted Jar Jar's schtick tended to lean on the slapstick a bit much, but I thought he was fine for the archetype he was meant to portray.

As for allegations that Jar Jar's character is somehow racist...I don't see it. Granted I was raised in a middle class, white bread suburban WASP environment, but I've never once had the thought of "alien blackface" cross my mind when watching The Phantom Menace.

 

[King of Asgaard]

Ashley Williams from Mass Effect. I hear people ***** and moan about her being a space racist and xenophobe. To me, that not only misses the fact that she is not so much "racist" as "uneasy about instantly trusting other species", but the fact that she only feels that way because of her family name being blacklisted for the actions of her grandfather during the Shanxi Conflict, and the fact that over the course of the three games, she develops as a character to get past those biases.

To me, anyone who hates Ashley Williams for being a space racist should be compelled to do the same for Tali, since they have the exact same character flaw (just replace "other species" with "the geth"), and the exact same character development. Other than Tali rejoining the crew in ME2 while Ashley didn't, but...well, Ashley kinda had a point if you look at it from her point of view, and even Tali was unsure at first.

I don't hate Ash for her xenophobia. I really couldn't care less about her racism.
I hate her for being infuriating, self-righteous and insubordinating.
But most of all I hate her for

Spoiler

killing Wrex.

Needless to say,

Spoiler

I left her behind on Virmire.

because she deserved it.
In Tali's case, I dislike the aspect of her character which hates the superior Geth, but it's offset by her romance dialogue and personality, things which Ash cocks up royally by still being a stuck up ***** even when the devs are trying to make her sympathetic.

OT: I'll second Tidus, I just love him as a character. I've heard people complain that he's too whiny and about the infamous laugh scene, but really, his whining is justified because he's in a new world and environment, pretending to have amnesia to fit in, and getting into really grim situations. Don't tell me you wouldn't act in similar ways if you were in his place. The laughter makes sense, because he and Yuna are getting closer, and because they live in a world where death can happen and is happening all the time around them, and they tried to lighten the mood, which they do, and the scene comes off as sweet and charming.

 

[IrenIvy]

Dante from DmC: Devil May Cry (and by extension Kat and Virgil from the same game).

He is less eloquent and showy than Dante from Devil May Cry III (which is a similar initial story) and that white mop thing came biting him in lower parts at the end, but I liked him for all his differences; I also don't see anything emo about him - after initial and understandable hesitation he jumps straight into action and never complains.

 

[Legion]

Well I don't hate the entire cast of NGE, and a lot of people do. I don't "love" them, but I understand why they are the way that they are, and don't think that not being completely right in the head is "wrong" considering the vast majority of the species is dead, and they are only ever a moment away from possible extinction. Some seem to hate them simply for not being the normal cool headed, light hearted roguish protagonists that make up most series based around such things.

Likewise Joe from The Last of Us seems to get a lot of hate just for not being a good guy. Not all characters need to be perfect human beings, it's natural to have flaws and even more so considering what has happened to him over the years. Not everybody reacts to trauma by picking themselves up, gritting their teeth and striving to be the best person they can be. Some people react badly to their experiences, and that's a hell of a lot more believable to me.

Although these are not characters "everybody" hates, just ones I quite frequently see people criticise.

 

[Furrama]

Well I don't hate the entire cast of NGE, and a lot of people do. I don't "love" them, but I understand why they are the way that they are, and don't think that not being completely right in the head is "wrong" considering the vast majority of the species is dead, and they are only ever a moment away from possible extinction. Some seem to hate them simply for not being the normal cool headed, light hearted roguish protagonists that make up most series based around such things.

Yeah, Evangelion has gotten a lot of hate recently. Some... deservedly, if we're talking running out of money and the budget going ptttthth, and I can't speak for the new movies, but I have noticed that people who have gone through depression seem to "get it" a bit more than those who don't. To those who haven't it seems to come across as whiny and they don't understand why, let's say Shinji, can't just get up get over himself and do something - or even why it would go against the point if he did. The lack of empathy is astounding to me, though I'll admit, I didn't start understanding the series until I had postpartum depression for a good chunk of time. So usually when I see people going on about what a protagonist should be or do I tune out. That's not so easy, and not everything fits into a neat little box.

 

[Lilani]

As for allegations that Jar Jar's character is somehow racist...I don't see it. Granted I was raised in a middle class, white bread suburban WASP environment, but I've never once had the thought of "alien blackface" cross my mind when watching The Phantom Menace.

Listen to Jar Jar's dialog for a while, then listen to the dialog between the slaves and white people in the film Roots. Then you'll hear it.

Anyway, for me it's definitely River Song from Doctor Who. I love her, she's awesome and she's no more of a "Mary Sue" then any other character or story element that's been brought in during Matt Smith's time. I'm trying desperately to get a dress of hers to cosplay, but I can't find it anywhere and might just have to get it made.

he's too whiny and about the infamous laugh scene

His voice acting is sort of poor at times, but I also don't get the criticism of the laugh scene. Yes, it's horrible laughter, but that's exactly the point. He's just learned that Yuna smiles and laughs even when she's feeling sad, so that the others around her don't feel sad too. So he tries a crack at this, and forces himself to laugh to be happy and not make others sad. So they laugh, and it's forced and horrible, and then they crack themselves up and laugh for real.

 

[Gothproxy]

Squall for Final Fantasy VIII. Sure he's was the poster child for emo before emo was even a thing, but I related to him way back when. When you finish the game and think that he's *no spoilers* and I thought "Whaaaaa?", that let me know that I really felt for these characters and him in particular as the protagonist.

 

[V TheSystem V]

Jaime Lannister...

Spoiler

but only to those who haven't watched the third series of Game of Thrones yet, or who haven't read up to Storm of Swords

...or Carl from The Walking Dead.

Seriously, the TV series has only started doing him justice. Let me explain why I find him awesome (as someone who has read the comics).

Spoiler

1. He's a kid who has seen a lot of bad shit, but doesn't run away scared. He stands up for himself, and protects those that he wishes to protect.
2. He saves his dad's life, and this changes him. His first kill was to protect his father, showing he isn't just some stuck up kid with a gun, but a kid who wants to help those who have helped him.
3. He is wise beyond his years and knows when it is right to kill someone, even though it looks questionable to others. This has only just been shown in the show when he kills the Woodbury resident despite the fact the guy is putting his gun down. The guy was approaching him, clearly underestimating who Carl is. The guy deserved to be shot, because he wasn't submitting fast enough to be considered harmless.
4. In one issue of TWD, a child is killed by his twin brother for no reason. Carl kills the murderer and denies it, despite Rick and the other survivors knowing (or guessing) that it was him. Carl takes after his father as a law enforcer, and has adapted to the zombie apocalypse in a way that combines Rick's enforcement of rules to survive, and Shane's survival of the fittest attitude. The child deserved to die, and Carl made sure that he was the one to dole out the punishment.
5. In later issues with Negan, Carl sneaks onto Negan's convoy and kills six of his men with a gun too big for him to use properly...and gets away with it. Badass.

EDIT - Theon Greyjoy

Spoiler

I just feel sorry for him. Unfortunately, he did get himself into the predicament with Ramsey Bolton by not saying that he hadn't killed Bran and Rickon...and he realised that in hindsight he shouldn't have followed his father's orders. He was too faithful to the wrong people following his return to the Iron Islands.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

<<<< Squal. I get why people say he's moody but he's not hard empathize with. The difference between Squal and other generic emo kids is that we get to see Squal's personal thoughts so its obvious to the player that Squal isn't completely void of emotion and thoughts, he just acts that way because he doesn't want to get to know the people around him. I like to think that we all have been in a situation or time in our life (*cough* high school *cough*) where you didn't want to get to know the people around you for one reason or another so you acted quiet and monotone so people wouldn't try and take an interest in you. Besides, Squal becomes more open over the course of the game and actual character development is hard to come by these days

 

[kurokotetsu]

Amy Pond from Doctor Who. I think that most fandom just doesn't like her (maybe not hate her) but I had a good time seeing her with teh Doctor and Rory. And while it is just eye candy, I can't complain much on her wardrobe because I enjoyed seeing it.

 

[Hades]

I think i'm one of the very few people who like Danzo from Naruto. Sure, he's a ruthless prick with creepy ideas on how to decorate his arms but in his dealing with Sasuke and the Uchiha's I find him to be 100% in the right. Extreme but right in dealing with them.

Another one is Tokugawa Tokugawa Ieyasu from Samurai warriors who takes a grand last place at the popularity poll which still baffles me a bit. After something of a revamp Ieyasu is very much depicted as the friendly uncle type who adores the men working for him, praising ally and enemy alike and only wants to do what's best for everyone. And that earns him last place? Looking at the top rankings I think Ieyasy being fat may have something to do with it.

I heard Catelyn Stark from games of thrones isn't very popular. She's easily my favourite Stark.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

Likewise Joe from The Last of Us seems to get a lot of hate just for not being a good guy. Not all characters need to be perfect human beings, it's natural to have flaws and even more so considering what has happened to him over the years. Not everybody reacts to trauma by picking themselves up, gritting their teeth and striving to be the best person they can be. Some people react badly to their experiences, and that's a hell of a lot more believable to me.

Although these are not characters "everybody" hates, just ones I quite frequently see people criticise.

People actually hate Joel from the Last of Us? Wow, he's easily one of the best protagonists I've seen specifically because he doesn't pull any of that altruistic bull crap when he has no reason to believe any of it. I'd rather play as a grumpy Joel than a happy-go-lucky Nathan Drake who can murder an army of people while making sarcastic remarks and have no regrets about it because hey, they attacked me first right? People never regret killing someone when the reasons are good right? Characters like that are the definition of a sociopath

And I agree times a 1000 that people who complain about characters being too sad irritates me. I envy those people because they have clearly never been depressed before. I haven't seen NGE yet I've but seen enough of it around the Internet that I can honestly say if I was in Shinji's position I would be a little fucked in the head (but its ok when Critical Miss makes fun of it). I don't see how people can look at situations like that and say "Yup, I can realistically say I'd be John Mcclane style action hero if I was put in that situation"

 

[tomtom94]

Amy Pond from Doctor Who. I think that most fandom just doesn't like her (maybe not hate her) but I had a good time seeing her with teh Doctor and Rory. And while it is just eye candy, I can't complain much on her wardrobe because I enjoyed seeing it.

I agree with you! I liked the Doctor-Amy-Rory dynamic although the love story was a bit rubbish. As for the wardrobe, well... [small]I was sixteen when she came along, it was a good time[/small]

Erm, anyway, my personal contribution is Ashley from Resident Evil 4. I get that she doesn't do anything and her voice is very loud but that's the whole point, she's meant to be helpless because she's the president's daughter, you're a secret agent, she's not going to have any equipment! Plus she and Leon have a good chemistry, she's not around for the entire game, her playable segment is really good because suddenly you're not allowed to just kill the enemies, and she's cute.

Damn, this post makes me seem really bad as a person. :|