Top 10 Best Anime/Manga Characters

I know that L died in both the manga and the anime because of Light, but he didn't "lose." He already had his next step planned and, in the end, it was Light's loss. Even the creators admit that they believe L was the smartest character (look it up on Wikipedia), and you have to admit, he has charisma. A lot of it. And he's funny, in a weird, totally awkward way that is still cool.

I guess this is the long way of saying L had his own style, and was in no way inferior to Light Yagami. I personally liked L because there are no other characters with his personality. Light... I've seen, watched, and heard too many characters with his style.

Vegeta is an ultimate badass. The only one to top a man like this would be Roronoa Zoro. Both of these characters have been downplayed so much due to not being the 'main' characters in their respective shows. No matter how much training a secondary character does, they can still never be as strong as the main, even when the main is laid back when it comes to getting stronger.

Secondary characters are better than main characters 85% of the time. Examples include: Beyblade, Kai. Beyblade Metal Fusion, Kyoya. Naruto Shippuden, Kakashi. Bleach, Captain Commander Yamamoto. Fairy Tail, Laxus. Etc.

Come on... I mean, who could ever hate Goku? He's funny, but also serious when he needs to be. He is one of the most charismatic characters ever existing in the manga world. Nobody who loves manga hates Goku. It's just impossible!

In terms of strength... well, he can blow up entire galaxies in a short matter of time, and I'm not counting GT, of course! He is probably the strongest non-fused character, but if we count Battle of Gods, Vegeta surpassed him. Anyway, strength is not the main reason to love him! Goku took a place in our heart since we were kids, and nobody is going to steal that place!

I really hate when people think that Sasuke is a better character than Naruto. It really ticks me off. I mean, first of all, Naruto is a much stronger person than him! Even after being rejected all his life, he has always persisted to be recognized and has never let his dark emotions get the best of him, always being cheerful and caring about his comrades constantly.

But Sasuke has just given up and let his vengeance take control of everything! I know that his history is different from Naruto's since he actually had people to lose, but doesn't he know deep inside that he doesn't want vengeance? That all he wants is his precious people back? Sasuke blinds himself to keep away grief, while Naruto clearly recognizes his darkness, embraces it, and tries to do something he knows is the most important thing: protecting the people he loves.

He sacrificed so many things. Even when he learned that his world won't be fixed, he still goes back.

Away from the people he now cares about and the dad he never got the chance to grow up with. He left to free his world, even if there wasn't anything left for him there.

I love Future Trunks! After Vegeta, he's the most badass DBZ character. While stupid Goku plays around with villains causing more damage, Trunks sliced them right up like the cool, no-BS badass he is. His introduction was truly amazing!

My favorite character ever! Most people prefer L, but Light is much more complex. He starts as a hero, but due to his hunger for power and god complex, he then becomes the villain. Essentially, you are watching a series about a villain trying to get his own way!

Simply amazing, with a really smart personality, and I guess many people can relate to him in a certain way. I've always supported him since he is the protagonist, and I also saw L as an obstacle that had to be eliminated. Light is just perfect, and no other anime character will ever be as unique as him.

These days, anime characters are portrayed as flawless, heroic, and golden figures. They are not perfect. They may have rare moments in which they fail or stumble, but almost unnaturally, they rise up in ways that are not human.

However, Lelouch is, in my eyes, flawed and beautiful for that. Human for that. He is heroic, yes, but how many times has he fallen? (Literally.) How many times has he failed himself and his friends? His family? Not everybody is a hero, and when they become one, not everybody stays that way.

Lelouch had his life twisted for him the moment he was born. His mother and father were hopelessly in love. So in love that they fooled themselves into believing they were helping their children when they, in fact, were helping only themselves.

Yet he tried to be a hero - tried to save the world.

And it didn't go the way he hoped, yes, but that's life.

Luffy is an amazing person who cares about his friends and will do anything to protect them and make them smile. He is very funny and stupid, but that's another reason why I love him. He is always growing stronger and shows people that he is not afraid unless he can hear his friends' voices.

The best thing I love about him is that he is always chasing after his dreams and never gives up or loses hope. He is always believing. He is a person full of courage, and a person that we all can look up to and call him a true hero. Even though he is an anime character, to me, he is something more than that.

Sasuke is one of the reasons I started watching Naruto. Characters like him, Kakashi, Itachi, and Gaara made it interesting. His characterization was brilliant at times. Some radical changes in his character quickly earned him some detractors, but he remains a standout character nevertheless.

He's the reflection of what we'd truly be if we had gone through what he has. Kakashi was Kishimoto's masterpiece, no doubt. However, Sasuke's whole path makes for a different understanding. It is through ridiculing what he has become that we appreciate where the protagonists are headed.

Then, he takes decisions that others would not. At least, he had a plan for what he wanted to do in his revolution. He's flawed, and he doesn't always take the best decisions, but that's why I like him. He is not what you expect. He's a deuteragonist and anti-hero at a whole different level. Especially in the anime, I felt like all of Sasuke's fights were nicely animated and had good sequences.

Someday he will find the Divine Move.

Deidara is such a great character. He has a most pleasing appearance with his long blond hair and cute face, a habit of saying 'hmm', and a fun and free personality.

Deidara is an artist who creates clay creatures, used for flight and explosives, and he's a member of the fascinating Akatsuki. I really love Deidara. He's an all-time favorite.

My favorite Akatsuki member is Sasori, but Deidara is cool too. Actually, they're all cool in their own way. It just stinks that he's evil. Why do the best characters always have to be bad?

Edward Elric is the best! He risked his life to save his younger brother. He risked his arm and leg to save his brother. He went through a lot to save him.

It takes a lot of love and heart to do something like that. I have watched Fullmetal Alchemist for one or two years now. All I watched was this.

And there's one important thing he taught all of us: "Stand up. Move forward. You got strong legs, so get up and use them."

Edward Elric is my absolute favorite anime character of all time! He should be ranked much higher than number 10. You want to know why? Well...

He's the Fullmetal Alchemist, duh! He has a strong bond with his brother that I have never seen before. He hates milk, like me!

He gets the most raging and funny temper tantrums the world ever sees when somebody calls him short.

I rest my case.

He steps out from the cliché touches of the second-to-main protagonist. He does not have the scenario of switching from good to bad or vice versa. He does not have insecure quarrels with the main protagonist (that goes to Usopp). He's not stupidly in love with the main female (that goes to Sanji).

If Sasuke is distinguished by hatred and Vegeta by arrogance, then Zoro is distinguished by discipline and determination. He is his own character, just like Luffy, Goku, Naruto, Vegeta, and Piccolo.

The most badass character ever. He's better than Vegeta in the sense that he isn't driven by his arrogance. His backstory is epic. His sword style is epic. Everything about him is epic.

He never gives up and never stops fighting, even when he's about to die. Definitely the most badass edgy character in anime.

Itachi is one of my all-time favorite characters! He is firstly built up very well as being a very dangerous shadow in the background of the story. But then, he becomes this real character, and he just grows and changes with the story.

He turns out to have such a touching past to contrast his strength and seeming brutality. He's just great. I've never doubted for a second that he was a total badass. The most badass character in Naruto for sure!

This man is a hero. He is an honorable Konoha shinobi who is willing to and has sacrificed himself to save Konoha many times - even murdering his traitorous clan to save the village. He practically represents honor, self-sacrifice, grace, elegance, and strength.

He is also a loving brother, constantly looking out for his brother's best interests, even if his plans do not work out exactly the way he planned. Itachi fans, where the hell are you?! Why isn't this piece of perfection AT LEAST in the top ten?! VOTE IF YOU ARE AN ITACHI FAN.

The whole idea behind having a character, especially a protagonist, is that the character should not be the same at the end of the story as they are in the beginning. What I think is so brilliant about Guts' character is the fact that he's someone who can be related to. This being the side of Guts who is antisocial and struggles to open up to others.

Along with this side of his character, we are greeted with someone who you can aspire to be, skilled in the art of swordsmanship and an utter badass. He's literally been to hell and back, and it has forever changed him as a character, and he continues to change. I just don't understand how someone with two polar opposite aspects of their character can be so low on the list.

Bakura is a fascinating character. He's complex, with good and wicked personalities, and a presence in modern and ancient times.

In all forms, he has a most pleasing appearance with a cute face and long pale hair, and a classy manner. I really love Bakura. He's an all-time favorite.

He is underrated. He was an 8-year-old Super Saiyan! Plus, he is the CEO of Capsule Corp., the largest company in that world. He's traveled through time.

He wouldn't stop until his dad accepted him. So, he can kick almost anyone's butt, is a genius, really sweet, and is super hot! Why is he not higher?

Trunks is so amazing and the best-looking anime guy in history. He's smoking hot!

Trunks is so underrated. He was so cool chopping Frieza in half like butter!

A complex character with a cool design, cool fighting style, a strong and interesting personality, kind and selfless... what else do you need? If a character can make you cry, laugh, rage, and scream with excitement depending on the moment, then you know you have a top-notch character right there, and Sanji is definitely one of those great characters.

He's the best character in One Piece. He's funny and kind and badass, but I love how he always fights for others, not for himself.

I can't properly express how much I love this character. He's the reason I watch the show.

Alucard is the baddest, most powerful vampire I've ever seen. He's so awesome. He can't even die!

He also wins all of his fights, excluding the last one. At the end of the series, he also gains omnipresence. He's just that powerful. His series is also really bloody.

I love how he's never fazed by anything at the end of the day.

This top ten is only about mainstream anime, so I don't think many know the real great character. I saw many characters here that deserve at least top 20, but they are from the big three or FT, and so get skipped.

I just suggest watching Hellsing Ultimate. It's just the only way to enjoy and understand Alucard.

Zarbon is an amazing villain because he had the best fight scene against Vegeta, ruthlessly pummeling him. He also was the Commander General of Frieza's entire army and slaughtered many under his command before meeting a grisly end himself.

He has the ability to transform into a reptilian beast and uses his beauty as a clever camouflage for his demonic form. Zarbon is the beauty and the beast personified in one excellent villain and is a very successful plot device for Vegeta's story.

Zarbon has an excellent persona and villainous attitude. He's also got a great design, and he's a morally complex character overall when it comes to both his elegant form and his monstrous deadly form.

Aside from the fact that he serves Frieza with utmost loyalty, he's also one of the most brutal tacticians and military commanders in the entire universe.

Natsu is absolutely amazing. On the outside, he's a dorky food lover who gets motion sickness. But on the inside, he's loyal to all his friends, inspirational, and never willing to give up. He's a lot like Luffy and Goku, but there is something special that he has and they don't: passion (in some cases) and the hope he gives to others. When his friends look at him, they see the encouraging smile that gives them faith. Plus, Natsu is probably one of the only people who makes a guy with pink hair totally work.

Another thing I like about Natsu is that he has true feelings for Lucy and feels really close to her. Anime foodies usually have no form of love for anyone that cares (even a little) about them. Natsu doesn't admit his love but shows it by risking his life for her and won't let anyone hurt her. That's true love! What's Fairy Tail without Natsu?!

Kurosaki Ichigo is a complex character that has taken years to develop. I find aspects of my own personality reflected in Ichigo's. It's not merely because he is strong or handsome (which he definitely is). Every character has their own strengths and weaknesses.

What sets Ichigo apart as a respectable character is his determination. Like Naruto, he possesses honor, pride, and people he needs to defend. He also has a strong sense of justice, regardless of who his opponent is. I admire him as a man because he has direction. He has a goal in life and is determined to make that goal a reality.

In reality, we often waver in our decisions and determination, failing to grasp opportunities and losing ourselves to doubt. Ichigo becomes a realistic character because he has his own downfalls. He is not always the hero. Sometimes a hero needs to be rescued, and it is his humanity that makes Ichigo a victor. His humanity is what defines him as a champion.

It is the most popular figure, commonly recognized around the world, and rightly so.

Pikachu is the most adorable character ever! He is so cute, and his voice is just as endearing.

Pikachu is really cute! He is a loyal Pokémon to his trainer, Ash, and is protective. Pikachu is the best mouse Pokémon ever.

How is he not further up the list? Possessed the Rinnegan, killed Jiraiya, killed Kakashi with no worries, can send you flying just by looking at you, and blew up Konoha in an instant (although admittedly, that took a lot of effort). Just looking at him, you can tell he is a badass.

"We are Pain. We are God."