Anime Series with the Best/Worst Characterization

[EVA Unit 100]

The series with the best characterization would easily be Cowboy Bebop. Everyone on the show is an enigma. Plus the characters act and talk realistically and naturally when put in a lot of the show's sci-fi situations. Kenshin also gets top props for creating a cast of likable heroes and enjoyably evil villains that both pull on Kenshin's struggle. Although Gundam SEED's third-grade characters are usually annoying and pointless, the second-grade characters are at least interesting and the main characters are some of the most well-rounded characters in any anime, despite the "angsty bishounen/bishoujo" angle. Evangelion is an unusual show when it comes to characterization: all of the main characters are stereotypes, but are portrayed so humanly (or in Rei's case, inhumanly) that you can't help but feel sorry for them.

Going into worse characterization, Wolf's Rain is basically the polar opposite of SEED. The supporting characters are mostly interesting, but the leads are extremely bland, one-dimensional, and undeveloped. Gundam Wing's characterization isn't quite as bad, but the majority of the characters didn't develop, and those who didn't were mostly unlikable. While The Big O I's character dynamic was near perfect, the dynamic was lost in The Big O II. Of course, the absolute worst cast in an anime is that of Wedding Peach.

[Dagger]

I like Cowboy Bebop, but I don't think its characterization is really all that spectacular; there are plenty of anime with realistic dialogue and so forth. Revolutionary Girl Utena deserves kudos for skillfully developing a very large and complex cast--even the much shorter movie packs a serious emotional punch. Its characters exist in a world that operates by its own set of rules and is totally surreal, yet their feelings and desires ring true.

The Twelve Kingdoms also has a vast, continually shifting cast. The leads grow and change over time, becoming more or less likeable as they struggle to come to grips with various challenges. The series is exciting and moving thanks in large part to its excellent characterization.

What about His and Her Circumstances? You haven't mentioned any non-action anime. And how are the main characters of Evangelion stereotypes? Certainly, Shinji and Misato never once struck me as being stereotypical characters; even Asuka and Ritsuko are quite different from their counterparts in Nadia. RahXephon has wonderful characterization; Haruka could be called a stereotype because of her superficial similarities to Eva's Misato, but (particularly in the RahXephon film) she is unique, flawed and incredibly sympathetic.

~Dagger~

[pbfrontmanvdp]

I'd probably have to say GTO had one of the best casts of characterization. Sure it jumped around a bit, but everyone had at least a good portion built on them here and there. To bad it of course gets cut off towards the end of the season, but thats just the way some animes are. Only a few of the extremely minor characters did the producer not focus a lot of attention towards.

Probably second would have to be RahXephon. I mean I've put so much emphases in the past about how could this anime is overall that its starting to get annoying. Anyway though I loved how the series was based on Ayato and his percepective, while the movie was based on Haruka's percepective. Plus for such a vast amount of characters in a 26 episode series, there was a ton of character development for pratically the whole cast. Plus even for the ones who didn't receive a ton of focus probably didn't need it such as Quon (she was meant to be a quiet character except towards the end).

As for a bad cast of characters, I haven't really purchased any animes that had one.
Of course I've seen probably a couple of animes such as DBZ and Reign (that Alexander p.o.s. anime that was seen way back on AS) that i considered to be boring or outright wrong to produce in the first place.

[Wolfsrain141]

I would have to say that CowBoy Bebop has the best characterization of any anime I've ever seen. When the series first started out I didn't see anything that special about it because you barely understood anything about the character's or their pasts for that matter. But as the story progresses you learn about Spike and how though he doesn't seem it is the deepest character in the series. You geet to see the world through his eye's, or eye for that matter. And you also learn [spoiler]how hi life is actually one big story that end's tragically[/spoiler].
Next comes Faye. [spoiler]Who was in an accident when she was younger, then frozen and operated on and then unfrozen around 100 years later. She has to start all over and when she finally joins up with Jet and Spike her true personality starts to unfold. Little by little. She seems to be selfish and conceited which she is but there is a deeper level to her than that. She cares alot for Spike, Ed, Ein, and Jet. During the last episode of the series when Spike goes to kill Vicious Faye cries her eye's out because they all know he's going to his death. She say's "My memory came back but nothing good came of it. And now your going to." Spike then say's "I have to know" Then he leaves. FAye watches his ship leave and that's when she starts to cry. That there show's how caring and how much Faye loves all of them.[/spoiler]
Jet is next. There isn't that much of a past that they show on him but the way he act's and think's show's his true self. I'm not sure about this but I think I might be the only one who see's him like this but... I think Jet is somewhat of a father figure to Faye on the show.
And last of all is Ed. Ed may be my favorite character on the show. Ed is the type of person that never let's anything get her down.She is the one that keep's everyone on the ship together and happy. Or as happy as they ever get.
This is why I say Cowboy Bebop has the best characterization of any anime.

[COLOR=#503F86][SIZE=1][b]Added spoiler tags, heh. -Solo[/COLOR][/SIZE][/b]

[AzureWolf]

[FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]I'm sorry to intrude, but I really have to ask, "what the hell?" I was - and still am - really lost as to what this entire topic pertains to. "Best characterization?"

I had to look up "characterization" to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I also read everyone's responses, and they didn't help much. As defined by dictionary.com, characterization is: [QUOTE][i]1. The act or an instance of characterizing.
2. A description of qualities or peculiarities: a list of places of interest, with brief characterizations of each.
3. Representation of a character or characters on the stage or in writing, especially by imitating or describing actions, gestures, or speeches.[/i][/QUOTE]As you can see, the term characterization requires a reference, in roughly the same sense as "greater" or "best." So, I'm really confused: best characterization of what?

It seems to me that this thread is about "best cast of characters" rather than characterization. Still, it could be about what anime characterizes -what?- best.

Thanks in advance for the clarification.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Dagger]

To expand on the first definition given, the same site lists "to characterize" as:

[quote]1. To describe the qualities or peculiarities of: characterized the warden as ruthless.
2. To be a distinctive trait or mark of; distinguish: the rash and high fever that characterize this disease; a region that is characterized by its dikes and canals.[/quote]

My answer was based on the idea that characterization is simply how the show in question portrays its characters and develops their personalities. Without even really thinking about it, I started trying to come up with anime that depicted their characters in the most sympathetic and realistic manner possible... so those two adjectives served as my unconscious reference, I guess.

[i]Is[/i] there an important literary distinction between "characterization" and "character development"? I often use the two terms interchangeably, heh.

~Dagger~

[AzureWolf]

[quote name='Dagger IX1][i]Is[/i'] there an important literary distinction between "characterization" and "character development"? I often use the two terms interchangeably, heh.[/quote][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Yes, there's a very distinct difference. An example... *scratches head*

Say we have a whiney character who we will arbitrarily call Shinji. Now, Shinji's a whiney bum, and never amounts to anything.

In comes a comedy show that has a parody of Shinji, where his whiney-ness is emphasized. If someone were to say it matches Shinji well, then you have a good characterization of Shinji. That is, the faux person characterizes Shinji well. Notice how, no matter how I try to reword the meaning, I can't use characterization or characterize without the reference of Shinji in this scenario.

So, while character development is a particular character's growth throughout a period of time, characterization is how well {a subject here} accurately displays its {object here}. That's why I find this thread too vague at the moment, heh. We know we are talking about series (i.e., the subject), but we don't have an object to work with.

It could be, which series characterizes the stereotypical anime cast? Or, series with the best characterization of real life character development even.

I hope that made sense. I really suck at explanations, and I get too wordy at times, heh.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[EVA Unit 100]

[QUOTE=Dagger IX1What about His and Her Circumstances? You haven't mentioned any non-action anime. And how are the main characters of Evangelion stereotypes? Certainly, Shinji and Misato never once struck me as being stereotypical characters; even Asuka and Ritsuko are quite different from their counterparts in Nadia. RahXephon has wonderful characterization; Haruka could be called a stereotype because of her superficial similarities to Eva's Misato, but (particularly in the RahXephon film) she is unique, flawed and incredibly sympathetic.

~Dagger~[/QUOTE]

Well, most of the anime I watch is action anime. I do like several comedies and comedy-dramas (i.e. Azumanga, FLCL, Excel, Furuba, Lupin, Gravitation, etc.), but not many of the ones I've watched have exceptional characterization outside of Furuba, Azumanga Daioh to a lesser extent, and Gravitation to a lesser extent. I've never seen His or Her Circumstances. I'd probably have mentioned Furuba up there but it wasn't on my mind at the time of the post.

While Misato I never considered a stereotype, Shinji basically fits the role of the whiny teenage pilot who refuses to fight that we've seen in every other mecha anime since Gundam's Amuro. Rei is essentially the required nonhuman bishoujo apparently made only to attract and confuse fanboys (I used to have a bit of a crush on her, but after episode 23 it was basically impossible for me to like her the way I did before). Gendo at first glance is just your typical "not-too-evil" bad guy. You've already covered Asuka and Ritsuko. It is the way that all of these characters are portrayed which makes them such interesting, enjoyable, and sympathetic.

[Dagger]

In this case, I believe "archetype" is probably a more suitable word than "stereotype." If nothing else, it doesn't carry as many negative connotations. Also, thank you for bringing up Fruits Basket! I knew I had forgotten something important.

[quote name='AzureWolf][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Or, series with the best characterization of real life character development even.[/COLOR][/SIZE'][/FONT][/quote]

That statement nicely pinpoints the kind of shows I've tried to mention in this thread. On second thought, the phrase character development does suggest an extended length of time--characterization has more of a snapshot feel to it, I guess. Your explanation made sense. :)

~Dagger~

[lumberjack80]

I feel that His and Her Circumstances has some of the best, fleshed out characters I'd ever seen. I prefer a good comedy or action oriented anime, but I decided to give His and Her Circumstances a shot, because I read such great reviews on it and it blew me away with its characters and relationships. Even though the anime ended rather abruptly, I felt like I knew where the characters would be 1, 5, 10 years down the road, because they had been explored so thoroughly inside and out.

[CaptainAnarchy]

I thought Samurai X (Ruroni Kenshin, as some may call it) was a great show which achieved an excellent storyline as well as a wonderful cast. You got Kaoru, the IN YOUR FACE girl, Kenshin the mellowed out killaholic, Sanosuke the idiot, and Yahiko the stupid little boy. Yay. I HATED Wedding Peach. It was VULGARLY HORRIBLE...ugh...it was like Sailor moon meets a gender-confused satan...(wow...NO idea where THAT came from)

[Dagger]

People who enjoyed the well-developed and sympathetic characters of Fruits Basket would almost certainly also love [B]Full Moon wo Sagashite[/B]. Like Fruits Basket, it paints the members of its rather large cast in broad, simple strokes, without pulling any punches. It's easy to say "Mitsuki is optimistic and brave," just as it's easy to say "Tohru always puts the needs of others above her own." However, behind the characters' seemingly straightforward personalities and motivations lies real depth.

They are not needlessly complicated--just conflicted enough to seem very much like actual people. When Meroko (for example) does the right thing, you want to cheer for her because you know how fallible she is and how thoughtless she can sometimes be. Full Moon wo Sagashite is the perfect example of an anime with characters the viewer can identify with and embrace [i]because[/i] of their uncertainties and flaws.

~Dagger~

[Readordie]

I think FLCL had some amazing characterization. All of the characters have their own quirks, and while the mood of the series is relatively happy, the main cast consists mainly of people who seem like very, very bad people when explained to a friend. Mamimi is a child molesting arsonist. Haruko is a homocidal maniac. Ninamori is a sneaky little *****, Kamon is a letch, Shijekuni is like Kamon but with 20-30 years on him, and Amarao is an overcompensating idjit.

But what's amazing about it is that none of them can be catigorized as 'bad people'.

Most of the characters (besides Ninamori, Naota, and Mamimi to an extent) are static but that doesn't really matter because there are only six episodes. While there's not much room for character DEVELOPMENT in that small amount of time, but there is plenty of time to explore a character's psyche and get to know them. Despite their raging flaws and no matter how criminal or homocidal or bipolar they get, you can't hate them because they are all so humanly characterized that each character has something you can identify with, even if it's not necessarily burning down buildings or having robots come flying out of your forehead on a weekly basis. At the risk of repeating my words in the 'Fooly Cooly' thread, I think that the show should be viewed as a character study, and it does a wonderful job at that.

Well, that's my two cents.