On Character Preferences
I have been thinking lately about the sorts of characters I like, particularly in anime and manga, and have been trying to come up with some sort of unified theory regarding the kind of characters I like, or at least notice patterns. And through some time-wasting fandom reflection I have noticed certain trends and patterns and felt like sharing it in my LJ. It is rather pointless, but it's fun to write about. I hope other people will share what makes them like characters, Their reasons are probably a lot less petty than mine.
Gender Okay, the first thing that I noticed is that I hold male and female characters to different standards, sometimes even opposite standards. Certain things that I like in female characters I hate in male characters. Since the rules are different along gender lines, I think I will deal with them seperately. And I will start with...
Male Characters
When it comes to male characters in manga and anime, there are four major factors that contribute to how much I like them: physical appearance, personality, prominence, and popularity, which I will detail one at a time.
Physical Appearance- This is, admittedly, a very shallow basis to judge characters on, but it is still important. I like a character who is good-looking and maybe a bit unique (Duo's braid comes to mind). Oh, and I definitely have a thing for glasses (they raise the appeal of any male in fandom or real life). Of the four facters, appearance is least important to me, though it still matters because it is what first catches your eye and makes you notice a character.
Personality- Okay, for some people this is the end-all be-all of characters. And it is very important. I really hate male characters that are the typical emotionally constipated asshole, as well as overly angsty, serious, or humorless guys. Of course, this sort of character is very often the hero of manga and anime. He's the leader of the team and the one the cheerful girl will obviously end up with in a male harem. For some reason the girl almost always falls for the biggest asshole or most boring serious guy. I like guys who a cheerful, quirky, perhaps a little angsty but not swimming in it.
Prominence- Now we get to where my reasoning is a little bit odd. I seem to have a sidekick fetish. I can't really explain why, but I usually like supporting characters better than the main character. Perhaps it's because I feel like your supposed to like the hero best so I am trying to defy expectations (or am just disdainful of being shown who to like through hierarchy). Sidekicks, supporting characters, and villains, usually rank higher with me than the hero. In shoujo manga (especially male harems) I usually don't like the obvious ultimate love interest best. Though he is also very often the serious, boring, asshole.
Popularity- The last factor is something that actually spans beyond just male characters, beyond all characters, and beyond fandom. I have a natural disdain for things that I perceive as overrated. This is not to say that I will hate a character (or anything) just because it is popular. But if there is a character that I already am not crazy about, extreme popularity can push it into loathing (this goes for other stuff, too, like pairings).
What I have noticed is that these four factors, especially the last three, work together. Sometimes it's really staightforward: In Bleach, Hitsugaya is a boring, serious, humorless character and is also massively overrated, so it makes sense that I hate him. Sometimes it's a bit weird: In Host Club, Tamaki breaks the cliche and is not an emotionally constipated asshole, but he is still the obvious ultimate love interest, so while I like him a lot, he is not my favorite. In Harry Potter, I love Harry (and his glasses) but Ron's sense of humor and sidekick status make him my favorite.
Female Characters
I don't have as much to say about female characters as I do with male characters, probably because I am more naturally inclined to just like female characters. There are certain types of female characters that I don't like though, particularly, girls who have little substance beyond "moe." They're those ladies who seem to have been created just to sell plastic figures and make fanboys go "awwww." This is much more common in series for guys, of course. I am also not a big fan of the "impassive waif" character, which I guess is also considered very moe.
In contrast to my strong feelings about the obvious love interest in male harems, in a female harem I don't mind the tough, somewhat bitchy girl (Asuna is my favorite in Negima!). I prefer a bitchy girl to one who is totally adoring and subservient (the main girl from Ai yori Aoishi comes to mind). Outside of anime and manga I like bossy girls (like Hermione), and fiesty girls (like Ginny), and eccentric girls (like Luna).
Conclusion
I like characters that I like. Some of my reasons are strange and kind of petty (like the popularity thing)
Gender Okay, the first thing that I noticed is that I hold male and female characters to different standards, sometimes even opposite standards. Certain things that I like in female characters I hate in male characters. Since the rules are different along gender lines, I think I will deal with them seperately. And I will start with...
Male Characters
When it comes to male characters in manga and anime, there are four major factors that contribute to how much I like them: physical appearance, personality, prominence, and popularity, which I will detail one at a time.
Physical Appearance- This is, admittedly, a very shallow basis to judge characters on, but it is still important. I like a character who is good-looking and maybe a bit unique (Duo's braid comes to mind). Oh, and I definitely have a thing for glasses (they raise the appeal of any male in fandom or real life). Of the four facters, appearance is least important to me, though it still matters because it is what first catches your eye and makes you notice a character.
Personality- Okay, for some people this is the end-all be-all of characters. And it is very important. I really hate male characters that are the typical emotionally constipated asshole, as well as overly angsty, serious, or humorless guys. Of course, this sort of character is very often the hero of manga and anime. He's the leader of the team and the one the cheerful girl will obviously end up with in a male harem. For some reason the girl almost always falls for the biggest asshole or most boring serious guy. I like guys who a cheerful, quirky, perhaps a little angsty but not swimming in it.
Prominence- Now we get to where my reasoning is a little bit odd. I seem to have a sidekick fetish. I can't really explain why, but I usually like supporting characters better than the main character. Perhaps it's because I feel like your supposed to like the hero best so I am trying to defy expectations (or am just disdainful of being shown who to like through hierarchy). Sidekicks, supporting characters, and villains, usually rank higher with me than the hero. In shoujo manga (especially male harems) I usually don't like the obvious ultimate love interest best. Though he is also very often the serious, boring, asshole.
Popularity- The last factor is something that actually spans beyond just male characters, beyond all characters, and beyond fandom. I have a natural disdain for things that I perceive as overrated. This is not to say that I will hate a character (or anything) just because it is popular. But if there is a character that I already am not crazy about, extreme popularity can push it into loathing (this goes for other stuff, too, like pairings).
What I have noticed is that these four factors, especially the last three, work together. Sometimes it's really staightforward: In Bleach, Hitsugaya is a boring, serious, humorless character and is also massively overrated, so it makes sense that I hate him. Sometimes it's a bit weird: In Host Club, Tamaki breaks the cliche and is not an emotionally constipated asshole, but he is still the obvious ultimate love interest, so while I like him a lot, he is not my favorite. In Harry Potter, I love Harry (and his glasses) but Ron's sense of humor and sidekick status make him my favorite.
Female Characters
I don't have as much to say about female characters as I do with male characters, probably because I am more naturally inclined to just like female characters. There are certain types of female characters that I don't like though, particularly, girls who have little substance beyond "moe." They're those ladies who seem to have been created just to sell plastic figures and make fanboys go "awwww." This is much more common in series for guys, of course. I am also not a big fan of the "impassive waif" character, which I guess is also considered very moe.
In contrast to my strong feelings about the obvious love interest in male harems, in a female harem I don't mind the tough, somewhat bitchy girl (Asuna is my favorite in Negima!). I prefer a bitchy girl to one who is totally adoring and subservient (the main girl from Ai yori Aoishi comes to mind). Outside of anime and manga I like bossy girls (like Hermione), and fiesty girls (like Ginny), and eccentric girls (like Luna).
Conclusion
I like characters that I like. Some of my reasons are strange and kind of petty (like the popularity thing)