The Greatest Anime/Manga Protagonist Ever Tournament

[gunswordfist]

where's foggle?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

He doesn't typically vote in these matches, aside from a few matches where he's familiar with all of the characters in it and is at least a fan of most of them.

Desensitized still has yet to vote, though.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Yeah, but Spark isn't online on weekends.

Regardless, as always, we will move on sometime tomorrow, probably sometime in morning whenever I happen to get up.

[Foggle]

He doesn't typically vote in these matches, aside from a few matches where he's familiar with all of the characters in it

I just don't think it's fair to vote down characters who I'm not familiar with, and I unfortunately don't have time to get into new series right now.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Results:

Kenzo Tenma (Monster) - 12
Joe Yabuki (Ashita no Joe) - 15
Ochiai (20th Century Boys) - 9

Tomorrow's Joe moves on to the finals!

Semi-Finals: Match 3


Yoko Shiraki (Ashita no Joe)

VS.


Vash the Stampede (Trigun)

VS.


Yusuke Urameshi (Yu Yu Hakusho)

Too lazy to explain my choices right now. I'll edit them in later:

Vash the Stampede
Yoko Shiraki
Yusuke Urameshi

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yusuke- Out of all modern shonen protagonists, he is probably my favorite. He's bold, rash, and incredibly aggressive, with a determination to get a job done despite an apathy to doing what's right, but beyond sll of that he's still incredibly likable since he does have a heart of gold, will use his brain when it counts, and does clearly grow and develop as a character.

Yoko- One of the best lead females in any manga. In both a business and an era that look down on women, she can scheme and manage better than anyone in her line of work, yet is never devoid of an emotional core and drive to support the person she believes to be the best fighter around, and her help in furthering his career really makes her alltge more admirable in her efforts.

Vash- While I personally prefer Kenshin, Vash is a thoroughly fascinating and likable character who stands as one of the best characters under the vagabond archetype.

[Avaitor]

Yusuke
Vash
Yoko

[VLordGTZ]

Same as Dr. E-k

[gunswordfist]

same as avaitor. yusuke is the best character in this thread. i love that one of my favorite anime characters really influenced the creation of one of my favorite video game characters.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

same as avaitor. yusuke is the best character in this thread. i love that one of my favorite anime characters really influenced the creation of one of my favorite video game characters.

First time I've heard of this. Which character are you specifically referring to?

[gunswordfist]

i was referring to vash and dante. i was being misleading and vague on purpose.

[Pharass]

Yoko
Yusuke
Vash

[LumRanmaYasha]

Results:

Yoko Shiraki (Ashita no Joe) - 11
Vash the Stampede (Trigun) - 10
Yusuke Urameshi (Yu Yu Hakusho) - 15

The Spirit Detective moves on to the finals!

And so here we are, the last match of the semis and the penultimate match of this competition. Which of these characters will move on to the finals?

Semi-Finals: Match 4


Kurama (Yu Yu Hakusho)

VS.


Future Trunks (Dragon Ball)

VS.


Piccolo (Dragon Ball)

My Picks:

Kurama - Though often considered the most kind-hearted of the team, Kurama is deadly ruthless when he wants to be, and unforgiving to those who mess with his family or innocent people. Beyond that he just has an intriguing personality and interesting powers, and among all the "smart" characters in anime/manga battle series, he is by far my favorite.

Piccolo - Piccolo and Vegeta are by far my favorite DB characters, because they have the best character arcs and development through the course of the series. Between the two, I gravitate to Piccolo slightly more, mainly because many of the most memorable moments of the series when I was starting out on it came from him, and because his relationship with Gohan and that scene where he sacrificed himself to save him from Nappa's blast was an incredible moment. Not to mention he's the only non-Saiyan character to remain relevant all the way to the end of the series, and his change from villain to hero to mentor was nice to see develop over the course of it.

Future Trunks - He's cool. I guess. His backstory was really good. That moment where he first shows up and slices Mecha Freeza in half is definitely one of the most iconic moments in the entire series. I liked the moment where he goes Ultimate Super Saiyan but Cell kicks his ass because he was too slow to make use of his strength. He was good at helping to move Vegeta's character arc forward by showing him care for the life of another person for the first time in the series when he gets killed by Beyond Perfect Cell. So that was nice. Not one of my favorite DB characters, but still a good one, though. Has his moments.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Wow, tough doesn't even begin to describe this match for me.

Kurama- My favorite Yu Yu Hakusho character. He has the demeanor of a kind-hearted person, but when it comes down to it he can be the most ruthless of the main four protagonists. He doesn't have a lot of brute strength or speed, but he compensates with a great mind for strategy, knowing how to both analyze and play his opponents, and force their hands when it counts, in the most crucial moments. And beyond all of that, he has a fascinating back story that gives his character a tremendous amount of nuance and emotional depth compared to most bishounen type characters of this archetype.

Piccolo- His character arc is arguably the best in all of Dragon Ball. Plenty of villains have made face turns before, but few are as well done as with Piccolo, who ends up first allying himself with Goku and the others to defeat a common threat. When Goku seemingly dies, he takes it upon himself to train his son, Gohan, who aside from being the son of his greatest enemy up to that point, could one day use his teachings to defeat him, in turn. But what's so brilliant is how each character rubs off on each other. Gohan is initially just a sheltered, naive child who Piccolo must toughen up, but in turn his soft and caring nature, and ability to show respect for Piccolo as his master (a sensation which was completely new to Piccolo at that time) give Piccolo someone to fight for other than himself. Ever since that point, Piccolo has become one of my favorite "mentor" characters in any manga, and as many have pointed out, he honestly makes a much better father figure than Goku, as well.

Future Trunks- Putting him last in a match shows you just how tough it is considering how much I like this character. His story-line feels straight out of a silver-age. Comic book, but what I love about this character is his ability for compassion on a level that most characters in this series never had the chance to exhibit. In his timeline and reality, he has lost almost everyone and everything important to him, and knowing that he can never change that must be indescribably hard on him. Yet through helping the characters that we know and love from an alternate timeline to his own, he manages to gain a new found resolve about protecting what he still has. On top of that, I love his relationship with his father, Vegeta, and how he initially hates how isolated, prideful, and arrogant Vegeta is, yet at the same time comes to respect his incredible resolve and determination to overcome anything, which in the end is what I beleive gives him the strength to surpass his previous limits and end up saving the world in his own timeline. So yeah, putting him last doesn't mean that I agree with the notion of him just being "a kind of cool character who has his moments." He has more compassion, motivation, and meaningful character development than most characters in this series. He's still one of the best DB characters, and arguably one of the only highlights of a rather lackluster story arc.

[gunswordfist]

the best dbz character and more just a kind of cool character. he's the most sensible z fighter there is. even moreso than piccolo.

piccolo

kurama - i like him more than kuwabara.