Continuing the countdown of my 100 favorite anime characters, here are characters 20 to 11. Almost at the end…

20. Misuzu Kamio (from Air)

Seiyuu: Tomoko Kawakami

Misuzu’s tragic fate of being stuck in a cycle of endless pain and grief without ever being able to get close to someone, is one of the saddest scenarios I’ve ever seen. But despite having such a heart-wrenching story, rather than lament in a sea of depression, Misuzu is cute and charming and tries the best she can with the time and strength she has left. And in the end, she is able to turn her tragedy into a thing of beauty.

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19. Sakaki (from Azumanga Daioh)

Seiyuu: Yuu Asakawa

I think Sakaki is one of the most unique characters; she’s smart, kind, and athletic, but extremely shy, quiet, and introverted, and she also gets completely, yet secretly, flustered over small, cute things. Her “cute obsession” is the source of so much humor in Azumanga Daioh because you can tell how passionate yet embarrassed Sakaki is but none of the other characters notice it because its subtlety is handled so well.

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18. Asuka Langley Soryu (from Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Seiyuu: Yuko Miyamura

Asuka was one of my original favorite characters during my early years of anime fandom. The most fiery, energetic, and outspoken character on Evangelion, she even inspired me to write a thirty page fan fic about her. Most of the Eva characters hide their inner turmoil and wallow in self-pity, but while Asuka does a little of that, she basically let’s all her emotions out and let’s everyone know how she feels.

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17. Gaara (from Naruto)

Seiyuu: Akira Ishida

Anime, especially shonen series, are filled with characters who have complex but miserable histories and childhoods. Out of all the ones I’ve come across over the years, Gaara’s background struck me the most. I’ve already written extensively about how fascinating he is on a previous post so I’m not gonna go into it here. I’ll just say that although he appears creepy and unsympathetic when he first appears in the series, given time he becomes one of the most well-developed characters.

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16. Vash (from Trigun)

Seiyuu: Masaya Onosaka

Oh boy, did I love Vash during my high school days. Even though I haven’t watched Trigun in many years (though I did watch it a few times back in the day) I still think Vash is one of the coolest characters. He’s strong and skilled, but also funny, gentle, sensitive, and even wise and philosophical. He has an interesting and memorable past, and he passionately practices and fights for his intense morals of peace, justice, love, and respect for life. The world could use more people like Vash.

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15. Kagome Higurashi (from Inuyasha)

Seiyuu: Satsuki Yukino

Inuyasha was my favorite anime for five of my ten years as an anime fan, so I can’t help but put many of the characters on my list. One of the more underrated characters, although Kagome seems like the typical static schoolgirl main character, after following her for so many episodes/chapters of the series, her character development is definitely there. Unlike so many female main characters, she is not excessively cutesy, hyper, whiny, violent, or angsty. Her shaky relationship with Kikyo and her strong bond but ambivalent romance with Inuyasha are all interesting aspects. Usually she’s the caring, supportive voice of reason, but other times she has her share of doubts and uncertainties of her own feelings.

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14. Inuyasha (from Inuyasha)

Seiyuu: Kappei Yamaguchi

Inuyasha is one character whose growth over the course of the series radically changed how I viewed him. When the series first started out, Inuyasha was just violent, self-absorbed, and uncaring. I couldn’t understand why we were supposed to be rooting for this guy until I got to know him better and see his progressive development over the course of more episodes/chapters. He didn’t have an unrealistic total personality change; he’s still bad ass and quick to violence. But his feelings of love, friendship, and morals have overridden his selfish desires. I disliked him at first (and I’m pretty tolerant) and now he’s one of my favorite characters. Just goes to show how good his development is.

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13. Yasutora “Chad” Sado (from Bleach)

Seiyuu: Hiroki Yasumoto

In a series full of male characters, Chad is definitely the most unique, in looks and personality. Bleach is full of egotistical, aggressive, and hot-tempered fighters but Chad is the kindest and gentlest soul on the show. Without being effeminate or obnoxious, he’s just a good guy who uses his amazing strength for the right reasons. Maybe I have a thing for gentle giants.

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12. Toboe (from Wolf’s Rain)

Seiyuu: Hiroki Shimowada

I love Wolf’s Rain, and Toboe is the sweetest wolf of all. He’s the most caring and less “savage” of the bunch, probably because he’s also the youngest and was raised by a human. But in the latter half of the series, he proves that he can be a strong, as well as a brave and honorable, wolf in the end. If I could have an anime animal as a pet, I would want Toboe.

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11. Kyon (from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

Seiyuu: Tomokazu Sugita

So many male leads in mostly female character-centered anime have very little unique qualities that distinguish them from each other. However, Kyon’s refreshing wit, entertaining sarcasm, frenetic narration, and frequent analytical insights definitely make him a one-of-a-kind protagonist. The sometimes sarcastic, sometimes intuitive, and sometimes completely random thoughts, feelings, and metaphors that he comes up with as he describes the situations and characters around him is extremely clever and unpredictable. Kyon’s views can shift from humorous to philosophical quite naturally, making him a very appealing and entertaining character to follow. It’s never a dull moment when Kyon is narrating.

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Click here for characters 30 to 21.

Click here for characters 10 to 1.