Which anime character has inspired you?

[her354]

We all have heroes in our lives. Who is your anime hero?
Is there a character you relate to that that encouraged you to be a better you?
If so, who are they and why do you look up to them so much?

Mine is Hinata from Naruto. Although she appears quiet and delicate, she is determined, and puts her all into a fight. She taught me to stand strong for what I believe in and that just because I'm shy doesn't mean I can't be bold.

[Chismo]

Mines is Kazuma the Shell Bullet from s-CRY-ed.

I'm the only one I know who holds him at a high prestige. He definitely inspired me and left an impact on me that lasted long after I finished watching the show. I loved how self-reliant he was. He taught me how to be strong and how to trust in your own instincts and not to fear not fitting in or being able to conform with society. He taught me how to be my own person and be proud of who I was. He taught me not to fear death within itself, but rather to instead fear dying without accomplishing anything.

Most of all he taught me not to hesitate. His example was enough to show me that all I needed was to follow my own path no matter what it was and to be tough when dealing with any opposition. He didn't care what anyone thought of him and followed what he believed was right. I never saw this replicated so effectively in any other anime character. I admit the inspiration I got from him is more subjective and it might not have the same effect on other people that it has had on me. Even still, I really appreciate his character to this day and wish I was able to express his impact on me more capably right now.

[The Millenium Walken]

Akari Kanzaki, from Battle Athletes victory. One of the biggest lessons she learned was that if you look at a task and decide right off the bat that you can't do it, you're only sabotaging yourself and dooming yourself to failure. I was going through a period of that at work, and that little lesson helped me realize that I was only claiming to be applying myself, but not actually following through.

[Revolutionary Rhapsody]

Utena of Revolutionary Girl Utena has become my role model and fountain of inspiration for personal betterment and the ideal.

She's someone that learns what she wants and does her best to protect her ideals and dreams - even more so after she's challenged and has to reevaluate herself and everything she thought made her. A protagonist like that, that's basically told to sit down and think about themselves because they're wrong and don't realize it, and then they do and eventually come out of the experience stronger and more assured and self-actualized - that's a person I want to be.

She's also just a very elegant and gallant person, a girl prince who defies gender norms and embraces being princely and who plays sports but can dance beautifully and has cute clothes in her closet and she doesn't cast away her femininity like some people have "strong female characters" do.

Her loyalty and willingness to forgive and be forgiven for wrongs is also beautiful and touching and makes you wish you could be so unafraid yourself to accept people for all their sides light and dark good and bad happy/pleasant and terrifyingly broken and needing your light to fix themselves for themselves.

She's inspired and she inspires others, she's really the ideal perfection for me for just how humanly imperfect she is and how she accepts it.

[Lysid]

I have two:

#1) Light Yagami

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain"
-Two-Face

Sure most people would agree that Light's character ended up going insane, but for the majority of the series his goal truly was an ideal world without crime. He used his cunning and intellect (as well as a magic book.....) to alter the world for the better.

Light taught me that the ends justify the means. pirate

#2) Lelouch vi Britannia

Lelouch taught me to always plan several steps ahead, never rush into things and bide your time for the perfect opportunity to strike. He also showed no-matter how narcissistic he appeared, his willingness to give his life to change the world for the better.

Lelouch taught me that the ends justify the means. pirate

[Eksii_J]

her354

Is there a character you relate to that that encouraged you to be a better you?

Mugen of Samurai Champloo inspired me to start training material arts, but I don't relete to him at all. Being honest, my attitiude is completely opposite than his. Anyway, Samurai Champloo had some major influence on my today's life.

[RamenSoup43]

Plenty of characters did. Too many.

First one ever to encourage me to better myself though would be Ranma Saotome from Ranma 1/2. Nothing major, just constant hard work towards what you do and inspired me to get back into boxing workouts again. That actually probably saved me from being that obese kid on the forklift you would see on daytime TV during those days.

[GuardianCentauri]

There's a reason I'm cosplaying as Saber, haha. I admire her so much for her strength, honourable ways, loyalty, and persistence with pursuing her goals and trying to protect others in the face of great pain and hardship. She also turns some gender role crap on its head by showing that a girl can be both a king and a knight. heart

I second Utena for all the reasons Milady Alluca stated. A girl can be a prince just as much as a king, similar message. Roles of action rather than inactive damsels in distress waiting to be saved by a male protagonist.

Almost all the warriors in Claymore. Those women are tough, awesome, persevere through horrible treatment by the men of the organization they originally served, and, like the others above, give a lot of traditional notions of gender the boot. And even though I think the series' wikia site states that most of them are still technically in their late teens, they're generally drawn as grown women with some muscle, and characters like Miria, Galatea, Deneve, and Ilena in particular seem to show a lot of maturity and responsibility. It seems that way to me, anyways. Like, it's refreshing to see a series where characters don't look/act like typical young skinny teenagers.

Homura Akemi for how desperately hard she tries to save her best friend, Madoka. I feel for her so much.

As well, not every character has to be a hero in order for me to deeply respect them. I love intellectual characters who demonstrate great knowledge, wisdom, capability for ingenious strategizing, etc., like Kurisu Makise (Steins;Gate), Bear (.hack//SIGN), Sinon Kouzuki (Starship Operators), Yukino Yukinoshita (My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU), and Tomiko Asahina (From the New World).

[her354]

Najona88

her354

Is there a character you relate to that that encouraged you to be a better you?

Mugen of Samurai Champloo inspired me to start training material arts, but I don't relete to him at all. Being honest, my attitiude is completely opposite than his. Anyway, Samurai Champloo had some major influence on my today's life.

That's awesome that you found something you love to do! biggrin

[Luna Legend]

Duo Maxwell. He knows exactly who he is, and he doesn't apologize for it. And he's cynical in all the right ways.

[her354]

The Fullmetal Narcissist

Akari Kanzaki, from Battle Athletes victory. One of the biggest lessons she learned was that if you look at a task and decide right off the bat that you can't do it, you're only sabotaging yourself and dooming yourself to failure. I was going through a period of that at work, and that little lesson helped me realize that I was only claiming to be applying myself, but not actually following through.

That is indeed a very important lesson. 3nodding

[her354]

Milady Alluca

Utena of Revolutionary Girl Utena has become my role model and fountain of inspiration for personal betterment and the ideal.

She's someone that learns what she wants and does her best to protect her ideals and dreams - even more so after she's challenged and has to reevaluate herself and everything she thought made her. A protagonist like that, that's basically told to sit down and think about themselves because they're wrong and don't realize it, and then they do and eventually come out of the experience stronger and more assured and self-actualized - that's a person I want to be.

She's also just a very elegant and gallant person, a girl prince who defies gender norms and embraces being princely and who plays sports but can dance beautifully and has cute clothes in her closet and she doesn't cast away her femininity like some people have "strong female characters" do.

Her loyalty and willingness to forgive and be forgiven for wrongs is also beautiful and touching and makes you wish you could be so unafraid yourself to accept people for all their sides light and dark good and bad happy/pleasant and terrifyingly broken and needing your light to fix themselves for themselves.

She's inspired and she inspires others, she's really the ideal perfection for me for just how humanly imperfect she is and how she accepts it.

She sounds so awesome. I have yet to watch this anime, but I've heard only good things of it and hope to watch it soon.

[her354]

Luna Legend

Duo Maxwell. He knows exactly who he is, and he doesn't apologize for it. And he's cynical in all the right ways.

He sounds like a confident character. smile

[Super Sailor Moon]

Lelouch Li Britannia

I am always a fan of those overly intelligent characters who can literally outthink their enemies as if it was nothing. Riddler from Batman is another I absolutely love.