Poll: IGN Ranks 25 Best Anime Characters Of All Time

[Kaboose the Moose]

Well this is a first..for me. I confess that I am no anime fan, my list of credentials are quite poor starting with several episodes of Pokemon and Dragonball Z which I watched when I was a wee lad to the entirety of Fullmetal Alchemist and Samurai Champloo (The latter two been watched at the instance of my gf and nothing else). So I must say that while I know nothing (almost nothing) about the world of anime I am still continuously fascinated by it's appeal.

Anyway, the point of this topic:

IGN it seems has once again done a "Top (insert number) list" for it's readers but this time it's concerning the best anime characters of all time. Linky link -> Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time [http://movies.ign.com/articles/103/1036651p1.html]. Since most of you are lazy with links I shall put up their evaluation criteria so that ye may judge for yourselves.

Our criteria for selection involved a little bit of everything ? each character's lasting fame, the impact they had on the medium and their particular genre at the time, the depth and quality of their realization on screen, and of course, a little bit of personal taste. Everyone out there has their own damned opinion, of course, so have a look at ours, and then feel free to share yours afterwards.

Now for the list (The reasons for the choices are in the link in case you wanted to ponder about the inevitable blasphemy of this list):

25. Shinji Ikari (Evnagelion)
24. Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro)
23. Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass)
22. Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
21. Vegeta (Dragonball)
20. Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach)
19. Haruhi Suzumiya (Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
18. Light Yagami (Death Note)
17. Vash The Stampede (Trigun)
16. Jubei Kibagami (Ninja Scroll)
15. Arsene Lupin III (Lupin the Third)
14. D (Vampire Hunter D)
13. Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell)
12. L (Death Note)
11. Shotaro KANEDA(Akira)
10. Rei Ayanami (Evangelion)
9. Sailor Moon (Sailor Moon)
8. Pikachu (some Hentai)
7. Edward Elric (Full Metal Alchemist)
6. Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)
5. Himura Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin)
4. Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop)
3. Speed Racer (Speed Racer)
2. Astro Boy (Astro Boy)

and the best anime character of all time is...

1. Goku (Dragon Ball)

There's a brief movement during the Dragon Ball Z saga where Goku goes and dies. (The dying part wasn't actually all that big a deal, though, since the Z Fighters died and came back about as often as the X-Men, and with as many lasting consequences.) Dead, Goku travels directly to the afterlife, where he greets King Kai ? for all intents and purposes, God ? and asks for the chance to train in martial arts beneath him, learning directly from the Almighty.

Not long after completing a training session alongside our hero, Kai has a chat with a few of his fellow deities. Goku, reckons the King, is the most powerful being in the universe. He is a match for King Kai himself and then some, able to perfect fighting techniques that Kai never could, and might well destroy all that is if he isn't very careful with his massive in-born powers.

Japanese animation has given us plenty of bad-asses, but not very many could have beaten up God and then blown up the universe for an encore. Ladies and gentlemen, Son Goku.

***​

I have no clue about the 3/4 of the anime and characters mentioned here but it's nice to see a familiar face wining this..er..coveted title.

What are your thoughts about this O' wise and opinionated Escapists?. Tell me your views on this matter!. Agree, disagree, I don't care?.

Edit: Kinda silly of me to forget this but considering that everyone has their opinions here I just ask not to flame post. I know it's a bit late and silly to say this considering the topic and it's like telling a tsunami to go away..but for the love of Odin, try your very best to not flame someone else opinions.

 

[AlphaOmega]

Pretty decent list, at least not everything is fully mainstream. I would have put Amuro Ray (U.C. Timeline - multiple gundam series) up there though.

 

[Valate_v1legacy]

Mostly on-point, although I disagree with the order...

 

[irishdelinquent]

I for the most part agree with the list (or a least the positioning of the characters that I know). While I would have liked to see Astro Boy at #1, the list seems fairly solid to me. I'm sure that many will complain about the lower positioning of the newer characters, but those near the top have done much more for their art form.

 

[Adam]

It's an ok list but I havent watched all of those animes so I couldnt possibly comment

 

[NeutralDrow]

The list title is a bit misleading (like someone in their comment section says, this isn't really a "best" list so much as a "influential and memorable" list). That said...I honestly can't think of any objections. Their reasonings are sound and they managed to get a wide variety. Any shift in the list I'd make is due sole to personal preference.

 

[GloatingSwine]

No Simon? No Kamina? Naruto in the top ten whilst Luffy languishes at 22?

Pack of nonsense.

 

[Sven und EIN HUND]

I'm not a hardcore anime fan, however I've watched my fair share, and am glad to see a few of my favourites on this list. I couldn't really provide accurate insight on the list cause most of the series' I haven't seen.

 

[Bernzz]

No Lucy/Nyuu from Elfen Lied? Blasphemy, I say!

 

[Amnestic]

Well taking into account "effect on the anime scene", I suppose I can understand why Goku and Naruto rated so high when their characterisation is shit. When people say "Best character" I generally assume they mean "With the most depth" or "Most interesting character development." At least they qualified what criteria they were using. Can't fault them in that regard.

Still though, this reeks somewhat when Rei Ayanami is ranked clear and above Shinji Ikari, with Asuka not even showing up. Might just be me, but the first character I think of in Evangelion is Unit 01, then Asuka. Rei being so high reeks of personal taste rather than actual impact and depth, although this may just be me complaining because I didn't find Rei terribly interesting.

Further, it's interesting that Haruhi rated so low considering she has a fanbase following that's larger than...a really large thing. Again though, I feel I'm somewhat *glances at avatar* biased.

I'm a little disappointed that I've heard of every anime on there and watched almost all of them. Was hoping for some more...obscure things, but I suppose when one of your criteria is effect on the medium and popularity it shouldn't come as a huge surprise.

 

[God's Clown]

Useless list. Goku as first alone is enough for the list to be bad. Luffy shouldn't be 22nd. Allen Walker isn't anywhere on it. The only person in a good spot is Spike, even though he is far far better then the top 3.

 

[Amnestic]

Useless list. Goku as first alone is enough for the list to be bad. Luffy shouldn't be 22nd. Allen Walker isn't anywhere on it. The only person in a good spot is Spike, even though he is far far better then the top 3.

You think Spike was more influential than Astro Boy? Seriously?

On a note I forgot by the way: It's clear that IGN's list isn't Japanese based, otherwise it'd simply have RX-78-2 in all 25 slots.

 

[GodsAndFishes]

Kamina?
Kenpachi?
Kakashi?


...Wow I really like my Ks

 

[ALKATRAZACAZ]

Speed Racer and Astro Boy in the top 3 ??? Come on.....! this is the main part i don't like.

 

[Zealous Kringle]

No Lucy/Nyuu from Elfen Lied? Blasphemy, I say!

Bando or Nana would be acceptable too.

*
I won't say it's a bad list, some of the bigger names deserve a high spot even if the likes of me don't agree with it, but it's far from definitive.
I really think it should be limited to one character from one show though or else things look pretty biased. But there again it is IGN...
I also don't get what defines "best" character, is it popularity? Influence? Badassity?
Hairstyle?

 

[Amnestic]

No Lucy/Nyuu from Elfen Lied? Blasphemy, I say!

Bando or Nana would be acceptable too.

*
I won't say it's a bad list, some of the bigger names deserve a high spot even if the likes of me don't agree with it, but it's far from definitive.
I really think it should be limited to one character from one show though or else things look pretty biased. But there again it is IGN...
I also don't get what defines "best" character, is it popularity? Influence? Badassity?
Hairstyle?

Read the OP?

Our criteria for selection involved a little bit of everything - each character's lasting fame, the impact they had on the medium and their particular genre at the time, the depth and quality of their realization on screen, and of course, a little bit of personal taste. Everyone out there has their own damned opinion, of course, so have a look at ours, and then feel free to share yours afterwards.

 

[Zealous Kringle]

No Lucy/Nyuu from Elfen Lied? Blasphemy, I say!

Bando or Nana would be acceptable too.

*
I won't say it's a bad list, some of the bigger names deserve a high spot even if the likes of me don't agree with it, but it's far from definitive.
I really think it should be limited to one character from one show though or else things look pretty biased. But there again it is IGN...
I also don't get what defines "best" character, is it popularity? Influence? Badassity?
Hairstyle?

Read the OP?

Our criteria for selection involved a little bit of everything - each character's lasting fame, the impact they had on the medium and their particular genre at the time, the depth and quality of their realization on screen, and of course, a little bit of personal taste. Everyone out there has their own damned opinion, of course, so have a look at ours, and then feel free to share yours afterwards.

Facepalm.
Somehow I read everything but, thanks for that.

 

[Dooly95]

Kamina?
Kenpachi?
Kakashi?


...Wow I really like my Ks

You've got Naruto, that covers Kakashi; Bleach was really just following on from the Naruto "boom", and Tengen didn't get nearly enough people watching it to topple anything on that list.

Silly list, imo, just personal opinion (Yes, I disagree with the list).

 

[LackofCertainty]

It's extremely safe.

Two guys could say "Lets pick random characters from a bunch of popular anime" and have gotten the same list.

As a side note, I think it's stupid to put characters onto a "top characters" list, simply because their shows were influentia or any other bull like that. If you want to be on the "Top Characters" list, you need to be a good or interesting character, no ifs, ands, or buts. [I'm looking at you, speed racer and astro-boy]

To reitterate, this is a "Top characters" list for me. Not a "Most influentia anime series" or "most popular characters" or anything like that. "Top Characters" = "Best Characters" ... in my humble opinion.

For me personally, I disagree with:

#25 Shinji
He's a whiney little ***** who almost gets likable for an episode or two, and then drops back into his angst bucket. Cut him from the list.

#24 Totoro
Massively overrated movie which only gets attention because it was done by Miazaki. (I'm sure I spelled his name wrong.) If you're going to pull a character from one of that man's works, pull Sophie from Howl's moving Castle, or pull the little girl from spirited away. Hell, I even prefer the pig from porco rosso more to this thing.

#20 Ichigo
He's another typical Jump main character in another typical Jump series. Cut him.

#16 Jubei
Flame warning: Ninja Scrolls is overrated, and only gets attention because it has sex and violence. Cut this.

#14 D
Meh. Overrated badass. Doesn't need to be on the list.

#13 Kusanagi
Meh. She's nothing special. I'd drop her lower on the list, or maybe even take her off completely.

#11 Shotaro
Flame warning again: Bleh. Akira is the most overrated anime of all time, and none of the characters in that show are anything special. Cut him.

#10 Rei
Uninteresting character laden with angst. It might just be because of my hatred for angst, but I really don't understand the appeal of NGE at all. But that's a topic for another time. Cut her. Crap, I was suppose to throw a flame warning in here... ah well, bring the hate NGE lovers.

#9 Sailor Moon
Never watched any of the show, so I can't put her on my list. Cut her.

#8 Pikachu
Really? Pikachu is basically a pet for Ash. Yes, he might be a lovable, smart pet, but still not top ten anime characters of all time material. Hell, Brock is a more interesting character in that show, and his whole character is basically Smart, Horny trainer who is more interested in breeding pokemon (and getting women in the sack) than he is in battling with pokemon.

#6 Naruto
Oh my, another jump main character. He's a dumb guy who works really hard at what he does, and thus becomes better at it than the elites. He's basically a young take on goku, down to the letter, with a little more angst about being weaker than vegeta... I mean Sasuke. The only twist he has is that he has a demon inside him that can give him immense- Oh wait, that's more or less the same as goku's transforming into a big monkey. Super powered special ability that makes the main goody lose control of himself. Whup de do. cut him. If you're going to pick a character from naruto, try picking Lee or Shikamaru.

Lee is basically a better version of Naruto. He's completely untalented in any of the finesse aspects of being a ninja, so he just trains himself religiously in the physical aspect of it, to prove that anyone can succeed if they are willing to work for it.

Shikamaru is a hilarious, brilliant strategist. He isn't the strongest warrior, but he fights using his head.

Hell, Kakashi would work too. He's the resident badass ninja of the show and even has a little mystery about his origins and past.

#3 and #2 Speed racer and Astro boy.

I have no nostalgia for these characters and their shows are old and shitty. It's not like looney tunes where it's something old that you can go back and watch and still enjoy. No, Speed Racer and Astro-boy are old shows that do not hold up at all. They are not good characters. Cut them from the list and let's never discuss them again.

#1 Goku
While he is kinda the origional "dumb guy who works hard" character, I wouldn't give him the number one spot ever. Drop him down the list a bit and I'd be fine with it.