Top 25 Anime Characters: #10-#6

#10. Shotaro KanedaCreated by: Katsuhiro Otomo

First Appearance: Akira Anime Film
Voiced by: Japanese – Mitsuo Iwata; English – Cam Clarke

If you take a look at Shotaro he isn't very impressive in his look. The design of the character is very basic anime. Also his core personality is your typical street punk. And those two things may have kept him from making any sort of Top List. If anything Shotaro would probably be at best a one shot villain for most animes. It isn't until you pair him up with his iconic red motorcycle that the coolness of the character is shown. Team that up with probably one of the most iconic anime movie posters and you got a character that is an instant win. And it helps that Akira is one of my favorite anime movies. ;)

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#9. Arsene Lupin IIICreated by: Kazuhiko Kato
First Appearance: Lupin III Episode 1 – Is Lupin Burning….?
Voiced by: Japanese: Yasuo Yamada; English: Sonny Strait

Want to talk about the Bugs Bunny of Japan you don't have to look any further than Asene Lupin III. After not only dodging but also tricking and outwitting the police for 40 years Lupin is unquestionably the #1 thief in the world. Even though you know that Lupin will somehow outsmart his foes it is always fun to watch how he gets himself out of any situation he is in. Watching Lupin is just like watching Bugs Bunny since we always knew that both Lupin and Bugs would win out in the end.

And in the 40 years Lupin and his crew have been around he has gathered some great directors along the way to give him even more credibility to why he is so popular. And of all the directors it is interesting to note that Lupin is where the legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki got his first major project. That of in itself should prove how much history the character has

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#8. AshitakaCreated by: Hayao Miyazaki
First appearance: Princess Mononoke
Voiced by: Japanese – Yōji Matsuda; English – Billy Crudup

When thinking of some of the most creative minds we have Hayao Miyazaki-sama is right up there on any list. And to this day I will always remember when I first discovered the brilliance that is Miyazaki-sama with Princess Mononoke. Though Spirited Away is my favorite Miyazaki film, Princess Mononoke will always hold a special place in my heart both for its brilliance and all in all fun ride.

Leading the pact of Princess Mononoke is the hero of the story Ashitaka. Though this entry really belongs to the entire Princess Mononoke film and cast Ashitaka is really the stand-out, outside of the great animation. Ashitaka is a great hero to follow as he fights for his town while afflicted by a deadly disease that both gets worse and gives him superpowers. And it helps that Ashitaka was not just a great character with plenty of depth but also the story he was placed in was truly epic, like all Miyazaki films feel.

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#7. Spike SpiegelCreated by: Shinichirō Watanabe

First Appearance: Cowboy Bebop Episode 1 – Asteroid Blues
Voiced by: Japanese – Kōichi Yamadera; English – Steven Blum

Part western, sci-fi, action, and comedy Cowboy Bebop worked on many levels as it was able to take parts of each genre, which really shouldn't happen but it did. And Spike is what made the show so fun. There are very few characters that define cool like Spike does. With his business casual suit he is always wearing, always drinking and smoking, and all in all sounding very aloof he defines cool.

To make things even better is that while each character in Cowboy Bebop has their own story everything always goes back to Spike. Even with all the interesting stories his comrades have to tell it is Spike story, specifically his past, that was the most interesting to watch play out. And from beginning to end everything goes through Spike and what happens to his character at the very end of the story. Which is what made Cowboy Bebop so much fun to watch back in the day.

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#6. LCreated by: Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

First Appearance: Death Note Episode 2 – Confrontation
Voiced by: Japanese: Kappei Yamaguchi; English: Alessandro Juliani

When it comes to finding Japan's version of Superman it is not very hard to figure it out as Goku is the obvious choice. That choice is not so simple when it comes down to figuring out their version of Batman. That was until L. L's personality is almost identical to Bruce Wayne as he has the whole dark, brooding personality down. He is also a master detective and only lets his allies in on what he is thinking on a need to know basis just as Bruce treats his fellow superhero allies.

And you know that a character is big when a story never reaches the same level it was when said character was alive. That is very true when it comes to L. Though Death Note was still a lot of fun to watch even after L died the series just felt as it lost some of its magic once L died. And to show how intensely popular L is the writers of the live-action films did not only have L actually beat Light in the end of the second movie but also gave him his own film that was set in the last 30 days of his life, after defeating Light. And you know watching L makes me feel like having some sort of sweets like a strawberry shortcake. Weird huh?

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Top 25 Anime Characters: #15-#11

Time for another batch of my Top 25 Anime Characters with #11-#15. I was unable to embed the Speed Racer video to this post so if you want to check out the tribute video just click on the link I provided for it. Now #11-#15:

#15. Speed RacerCreated by: Tatsuo Yoshida

First Appearance: Speed Racer Episode 1 – The Great Plan
Voiced by: Japanese – Voiced by: Katsuji Mori; English – Peter Fernandez

If you want to talk about the ultimate car you want how can you go wrong with the Mach 5? Just like the entry with Astro Boy earlier, what elevates Speed Racer is how he help usher anime to the states. Even 40 years later you can mention Speed Racer and there will be plenty of people who will know who you are talking about. Like most anything we watch or read we know that the hero would win but it was always fun to see what Speed would be able to do with the Mach 5 to pull out the win and how Racer X would help him win/survive the race.

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#14. Naruto UzumakiCreated by: Masashi Kishimoto
First appearance: Naruto Episode 1 – Enter: Uzumaki Naruto
Voiced by: Japanese – Junko Takeuchi; English – Maile Flanagan

In terms of popularity you won't find a more popular series than Naruto here in the states with the manga making it in the Top 10 best selling list in TPB and manga whenever releases a new volume. And recently Disney XD started showing the Part II of Naruto called Naruto: Shippuden. I still question why Cartoon Network allowed Naruto to escape their grasp especially since the series has yet to reach its best as the Part II of Naruto is even better in the manga and the anime should follow suit.

But enough of my bitching on that subject. Naruto Uzumaki on his own right is probably a character if I was making this list 10 or 20 years down the line would most likely break my top 5 favorite anime characters. Even though it has been shown that Naruto isn't the most popular character of his own series I actually prefer him over Sasuke, who is the #1 fan favorite character of the series.

Naruto is a much more relatable character as everything he does and accomplishes is through hard work and dedication. He has to earn the respect of everyone in his village that has vilified him since he was born because of being the container of the Nine Tailed Fox. Throughout Part I of the series he work hard to get that respect and now in Part II we see how much Naruto has matured so far as he goes from being a kid looking for respect to a young man out to protect his friends and village. Though Naruto: Shippuden has only started up if the manga is any example the anime should only get better as there are a lot of great fights that Naruto and everyone in the series get into.

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#13. Lelouch Lamperouge

Created by: Sunrise
First Appearance: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Episode 1 – The Day a New Demon was Born
Voiced by: Japanese – Jun Fukuyama; English – Johnny Yong Bosch

For those who have read my reviews of Code Geass you will know I questioned how rushed the story in R2 as well as a lot of the character development that happened at the end of the series. But the one thing that always kept the anime series enjoyable was what Lelouch Lamperouge did throughout the series. Even though many of the characters around him become very unwatchable due to how the writers of the series developed them in the latter half of R2 Lelouch was still the well writing master strategist until the end. And throughout the series, from beginning to end, it was a mystery of how Lelouch's story was going to end as there were many ways it could have gone. And man when we got to the ending it was a jaw dropper.

What is interesting about Lelouch is that it is a bit hard to describe him as he is a mix of Light Yagami and some of your typical Sunrise heroes like you'll find in the Gundam series. And if you take a look at his murder record he is probably only beaten out by Light Yagami. But still unlike Light who is the villain of his series Lelouch is unquestionably the hero of Code Geass. Everything Lelouch did was not necessarily for himself but to create a much better and safer world for his sister and friends he cared about.

And there are many interpretations of if Lelouch actually did die at the end of R2, with some believing him alive and others believing him to be dead. I myself fall under those who think he did die as it is a much better ending for his character and think it is actually cruel to think that he is alive in the end making his little sister he cared so much about think he was dead. Also his death really gives a lot more weight to what his character did and why he should be seen as a true hero who put others above himself as he committed the ultimate sacrifice by sacrificing not only his life but his name in order for the world improve and work together to make better tomorrow.

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#12. Monkey D. LuffyCreated by: Eiichira Oda
First Appearance: One Piece Episode 1 – I am Going to be King of the Pirates
Voiced by: Japanese – Mayumi Takana; English – Colleen Clinkenbeard

As I mentioned earlier with Roronoa Zolo it is a shame that One Piece never got a shot at catching as it is my favorite manga and anime's. And if you want to think of who is this generations Goku it is Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy has just about the same simple and overeating personality that Goku have. And you think I am lying about this than go try and find the Cross Epoch one-shot manga crossover between Dragon Ball and One Piece that was written by Akira Toriyama , creator of Dragon Ball, and Eiichira Oda. Also if you can find the one-shot anime that both Luffy and Goku appeared in that was only shown at an event over in Japan.

Even though Luffy is this generations Goku he is a great character in his own right. It helps that I am a sucker for stories based about pirates, which is why I love the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. One Piece is an epic story centered around Luffy's trying to become Pirate King. And like any great character Luffy does have a great supporting cast in his crew The Strawhats. Each character is a great balance for Luffy's simple personality.

Also like most a lot of Goku-type characters, even though Luffy has a simple personality he is pretty smart when it comes to fighting his opponent. With his powers from the Gum Gum Devil's Fruit his elastic ability, that is similar to Mr. Fantastics powers, make him a very unpredictable fighter. And unlike his second mate, Roronoa Zolo, Luffy is one of those that creates' attacks as fight goes along and is a great improviser in fights. And because of this it makes his fights fun to watch.

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#11. Light YagamiCreated by: Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

First Appearance: Death Note Episode 1 – Rebirth
Voiced by: Japanese – Mamoru Miyano; English – Brad Swaile

For me there has never been a show that had me more captivated and on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen in the next episode more than Death Note. This is largely takes to the protagonist of the series Light Yagami. It is a rare thing to have the protagonist of a series to also be the villain and it's even rarer for it to be so much fun to read and watch. But in the case of Light that is what happened as I tuned in every week to see what was going to be the next brilliant idea and strategy to outwit his nemesis, L.

Though Vegeta was the original bastard character, the king of bastard characters is Light. No one else took more pleasure in killing people of he judged as not worthy to be part of his world where he thought himself as God. And the only reason he would allow people to live on for as long as they did was just to use them for his own master plans (cough*Misa*cough). And though we are all thought that murder and death is wrong watching Light do his thing by planning out his next brilliant strategy to really become the God he already was in his own mind.

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