Fictional Character Meme from Ms. mizuno_youko
This one took some thinking. I wasn't really able to come up with any particular characters who were significantly meaningful to my life and views. I imagine that this is because of my being more a writer/GM than an actor/player. I've dabbled in (and created) so many settings, stories, and casts that I can't pick one individual who particularly represents anything to me. For instance, although a well executed example, the Joker in The Dark Knight is only one of numerous characters who epitomize unadulterated mayhem. If I find an original idea for an iconic character concept, then I want to use it myself, like Ms. Macchia in Project AnthraXX.
As such, I've just arbitrarily picked several characters who mark my particular milestones or habits. Since none of you know me too well, I've included some comments for each.
Approximately ten fictional characters (television, films, plays, books) who've influenced me and will always stick with me:
Aoyama Motoko (Love♥Hina) is really just one of many badass female characters, complete with the ubiquitous episodes about how she has to "improve" herself by learning to be soft. But she's one of the first ones I noticed specifically in her well earned misandry, and with the timing when I was learning Japanese, I've ended up basing a large proportion of my own speech patterns off hers. Other significant elements about her character relationships, and the fact that this is not a series that I'd recommend, are noted below.
Cefca (Final Fantasy VI) was a bit of a doofus and certainly not a nice guy, but one of his BGMs is my favorite song that I can remember (and thus my ringtone).
Niles Crane (Frasier) shows one of the latest and longest-running of my obsession with the nerd "getting" the girl, because I used to watch the show with Mother for years before I learned better.
Durin's Bane (The Lord of the Rings) was the first individual character I remember dovetailing with my love of horrific monsters, circa 1990. With neither a given name nor any lines of dialogue, he isn't much of a character, is he?
Fino (Et Cetera) has been mentioned here before, with explanations for why I think she's rather special. Her beliefs are also a good foil for the main protagonist, and her tsun-dere attitude toward the heroine was fodder for my mōsō. Sadly, despite being the wielder of one of the two McGuffins, she didn't get much focus, and ended up fading rather ignominiously into the background in the latter half of the series, even apparently going along with people hunt animals for food and getting romantic tension with a pathetic male character.
Zelgadiss Graywords (Slayers) is a prominent example of my interest in reformed villains. After all, bad guys are always cooler, but it's hard to root for them. I also have trouble with main characters, as they're usually either generically heroic or misogynistic bastards.
Kaolla Su (Love♥Hina) is not a character who has the sort of personality that I like in the first place; I've no idea why she was my favorite character until I switched to Ms. Aoyama, other than that she adds a bit more variety of pigmentation than you often see in Japan. However, Ms. Kaolla's declarations and showing of her feelings for Ms. Aoyama mark the first time that I really thought of the concept of yuri (despite my having seen things like Project A-ko and Utena). The fact that the chauvinistic formula of the genre requires that they both develop feelings for the main male loser contrarily helped with the development of my beliefs.
Lizardman (Soul Calibur) has, for some reason, become a symbol of the amount of work I'm willing to put into fighting games, to the point that I've used a similarly named race as a symbol of the dichotomy between fury and finesse in the setting for Project Artificer. This seems a bit counterintuitive, as he's one of the two characters who actually carry shields. But never having even learned how to block in all the hours I logged, I don't know whether or not it helps him defensively in any way-I just used it for bashing folks.
Luigi (Mario Kart et al.) is, for some reason, the character I play in every game where he's available. Other than him and Lizardman, I usually fill my active parties with female characters when I can, but this one predates that, reaching back to the '80s. (I also played Toad a lot; perhaps Luigi became my main character when I couldn't play the little git in Smash Bros., years before I first heard his amusing gravelly voice in Super Mario Sunshine.) This also shows another way in which I always like supporting characters better than main protagonists. It may also have stemmed from how he seemed somewhat brainier than his little big brother on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.
Rémy Martin (Slayers) is one of my favorite examples of the combat maniac, as she also is a good-looking female character and has the added quirk of collecting various blades. Of course, since she doesn't seem to appear in any animation, comic, nor novel, you probably don't have the slightest idea who she is.
Homer Jay Simpson (The Simpsons) doesn't really serve me as a rôle model in principle, but in annoyed grunts and in appearance (the pot belly and five-o'clock shadow, not the hairstyle).
Lisa Marie Simpson (The Simpsons) is a rare character in popular media that I've seen who advocates concepts of real, logical morality, rather than rules based on tradition, or on what God says. I'm sure there are others, but I wouldn't know them, and this one is from a series that's been a long-time companion to me. Like Futurama and Irregular Webcomic!, she also exemplifies the very realistic (by my experience) concept of a female character who is less stupid and evil than the men around her. As most of these characters are straight, this also makes them rather depressing comedies.
Zaphiqel (Tenshi Kinryōku) didn't influence my glasses, black ponytail, nor long coat, as I already had all those before I encountered him, but the fact that he has them results in my using his portrait above and elsewhere. Actually, I haven't reread that particular flashback lately, but he may have been repulsive enough a character that I shouldn't use his likeness. At least he isn't a rapist, like the color-reversed version in the animated version of Chrno Crusade.