These are characters who are among my favourites, but are not lusts or crushes. That doesn't mean they don't deserve to be included!
Aika ("Skies of Arcadia")
This chick may look like Pippi Longstocking gone bad, but don't underestimate her! She's one tough little pirate, a mean shot with a boomerang and able to use some pretty heavy-duty fire-oriented psionic powers. She's no lady--she's tomboyish and blunt and direct and PROUD of it, running around in her little soft leather dress and high boots. She's also totally hooked on gold and jewels--but then again, she IS a PIRATE after all, like hel-LO. :P I like her enough to be for her becoming the one Vyse "chooses" (there's a love-triangle going on in "Skies of Arcadia") eventually, and that oughta tell you something, considering he's one of my own harem members. I'm not one of those insane obsessive fans who freaks out over "their guy" going out with ANYbody...but I do ask that they seem worthy of him, first. Aika passes the test.
Ma Beagle ("DuckTales")
One of the main reasons I like DuckTales so much is because it's got STRONG female villians; something that Darkwing Duck, although a very excellent show, could really have used. (I mean, Ammonia Pine?! Ewwww...!) Ma Beagle is a hardened criminal; she breaks into banks the way other people casually walk down the street and her preferred way of obtaining ANYthing, in fact, is to steal it rather than buy it. :P She's tough and mean and much stronger than she looks, for her age. She rules over a HUUUUUUGGGGGEEEE clan of Beagles--all criminals!--with an iron fist, and no matter how much bigger than her they may be, they all cringe in absolute fear of her! Oh, and in addition to all the toughness, she can also be rather domestic. She's an excellent cook, for example...just be prepared to find a few little...ahem...SURPRISES...in her baked goods...
For some reason, Ma Beagle very much reminds me of a non-dirty-humour version of Nanny Ogg from Discworld. It's because they're both short, fat, incredibly tough old ladies who rule over HUGE families with iron fists, and manage to make motherhood seem tough. At any rate...go Ma! Um...should I be worried that I'm cheering somebody like this on...? ;)
Belldandy ("Oh! My Goddess!")
Ah! Megami-Sama! This elegant, beautiful, emininently feminine goddess (no, I mean that literally) is a very kind, gentle soul who is an astoundingly EXCELLENT cook (or maybe NOT so astounding after all, considering that she has--as some of my friends on the net would say "leet goddess powerz") and is very loyal to her man. Normally this kind of traditional femininity would sicken me, but Belldandy has a core of strength underneath the sappiness; she's not a doormat. Her powers are neat, too--she seems to use nature or elemental "magic", usually calling upon the "spirits" of wind, water, metal, fire, whatever in sort of...prayer-chants...and she can do some amazing things. Sometimes she overreacts and ends up ripping up an entire hotel or destroying a city block, and because she's NOT evil and didn't mean to do it, the scene is hilariously funny. She also goes CLONK fast asleep the instant she drains herself of power (the Goddesses are not unlimited or perfect) and will NOT wake up until she's ready to wake up; this is how she recharges her "batteries" so to speak. Anyway, she's sweet and polite and a wonderful cook, and hey, these guys are gonna need some decent food to eat. So why not have a goddess make it for us? ;)
Admiral Belleza of Valua ("Skies of Arcadia")
Belleza is another one of those "villians with a good side" that I love so much--it seems I like my characters complex, in general. Shades of grey. Good guys with flaws and bad guys with soft sides. Anyway. She may have a figure out to here, red hair, and dress in a rather tight uniform (and that's not even counting what she was "wearing" in her first appearance, in diguise as an exotic dancer..) but she's actually a very tough, very wily, cynical, jaded lady Admiral. She's one of the game's main villians, and as tricky as they come. She uses her looks as yet another weapon in her arsenal, because, hey, use what ya got, right? And at the end, it turns out that she perhaps wasn't so unsalvageably evil after all...
Alys Brangwyn ("Phantasy Star IV")
This tough-talkin', slicer-swingin', macho mercenary chick is definitely one of the COOLEST female characters I've ever met in animation. She tries to act all tough at all times, but is embarrassed by townsfolk telling her how delicious that pie was that she made for them yesterday...in other words, she's got another side to her as well. She also evidently had a romantic relationship or at least a flirtation with Rune, the Esper, and the combination of wizard and warrior-woman sounds like a damn good combo to me. Alys is definitely more interesting than some other RPG main characters I could name.
Jules Eratosthenes Brown ("Back to the Future" cartoon)
I am a mad fan of the "Back to the Future" movies, and so despite its cheesiness and obvious flaws, I watched the cartoon when it first hit the airwaves on Saturday mornings in 1991, because I liked these characters (especially Doc Brown, who is the character who started my whole thing for "Wacky Inventor" types) and didn't quite want to say goodbye yet. Rewatching it nowadays, however, I made a happy discovery--Jules, as he is written on this show (and this is the ONLY place he and Verne ever get any personality, outside of fanfics) is freakin' awesome!
He's already a scientific genius at his young age (based off of how he acts/talks during the show, I'm going to say 11-12, going on 13 by the end--and I swear, they were writing him subtly but definitely older, in season 2), having inherited that from his father but not his father's kind of...forgetfulness, so we've got a COMPETENT "mad genius". That is, if it wasn't for his impulsiveness--being just a kid, after all--and doesn't always think ahead far enough about the consequences of his actions before doing them. For the most part, however, he usually tends to act a lot older than he actually is.
Jules is terribly formal at all times, always using fancier words for things instead of the common vernacular, even to the point of pronouncing some words differently than most American kids would--the phrase "I"d bet dollars to doughnuts" comes out "I would wager standad American currency to circular baked goods..." in his hands. And he even uses outmoded words aloud, in public, with NO embarrassment or sarcasm whatsoever--such as "Huzzah!" or "Gadzooks!" He also has an adorable tendency to wear old-fashioned clothes openly in 1991 with such total casualness that it's as if he doesn't even see anything wrong with it. He marches to his own drum--a trait I always admire. Put those things together--formality, "more intellectual than thou" speech, old-fashioned fashion-sense and, best of all, the absolutely bone dry sarcasm that made his lines among the few that I remembered all these years later, and you get...something very much like a brunette, scientific-genius version of Niles Crane. And I mean that as a GOOD thing.
If that's not enough, he also has angst--although he's un-annoying about it to the point where we didn't even HEAR about how he's treated at school until well into Season 2. But he is lonely, and it does bother him sometimes. There was even one scene where he was telling Marty about it, and almost started crying. Oh, geez...
Last but not least, he's even got a dark side! Jules Brown is easily the darkest out of the good guy characters on the show--several of the worst really dangerous problems were caused by him (a huge storm that almost wiped out the town, the erasing of electrical technology from all of history, something approaching a Dungeon Dimensions break-through in the series' strangest episode, etc.) and his intentions were only SOMETIMES good! He feels bad about things going wrong once they have gone wrong, but...not bad enough to not DO the bad thing at all in the first place. He's got a downright mean streak and an evil sense of humour. That, put together with his "angst" and genius, could very well mean we're looking at the future Most Likely To Become a Supervillian of Hill Valley High...but despite all that, he really does love his family and friends. For example, when he thought Verne was going to be lost forever and it was all his fault, he actually burst into tears. Sympathetic villian or flawed hero?--we'll never know. He could very easily turn out either way.
Overall, Jules Brown is so exactly my type of character it's a little scary, and I'd be lying if I said that I wouldn't put him on...the other page...if he was older. (I could go by how old he'd be now, barring any more time-jumps (26), or jokingly refer to his REAL birth-year, in the Old West, but nah...) As it is, however, he'll just have to remain here--one of my most extreme favourite Favourites, EVER.
Cassandra ("Hercules: The Animated Series")
Cassandra is deliciously sarcastic, cynical, dark-humoured, and very very much reminds me of Daria, personality-wise. She could be her spiritual twin or something. Anyway, Cassandra is just...FUN, what can I say? She gets a lot of the series' best lines, and that's saying something for a series that tends to be funny just about from beginning to end. I also like her status as an outcast who LIKES being that way, and doesn't WANT to be accepted or "cool" or "popular"--you go, girl!
One flaw--her taste in men. No, I don't mean the fact that she never gives the time of day to Icarus unless absolutely forced to. I mean the guys she DOES actually go after. They all tend to be generic big-chested pretty-boys, and make me barf...ah, well. Everybody needs at least one fatal flaw.
Cheetarah ("Thundercats")
Cheetarah was probably one of my early cartoon heroines. She's a tough, cool, ULTRA-fast cheetah lady who is a strong warrior and has awesome psychic powers...says it all, really. Plus, cats rule. Period. :)
Magica DeSpell ("DuckTales")
Magica! The other major female villian on DuckTales, this Italian sorcoress duck brings a good deal of class and creepiness to the show. I love her taste in interior decor--her lair is inside a VOLCANO, how cool is that?!--er, figuratively speaking. ;) The first time they showed a long-shot of her lair I just sat up and blinked--definitely an example of just how GOOD the artwork in DuckTales can be. Her magic is VERY powerful; sometimes she might need to experiment or try it more than once, but once she gets it right, WATCH OUT!
Besides, witches/wizards, magic-users, in general are just AWESOME, as I may have mentioned a few times around here in the past. ;)
She can add real darkness to some episodes, for example the one "Nothing to Fear" was genuinely scary, despite the fact that it was a totally G-rated "kids" cartoon. (In my opinion, the psychological warfare at the end was the creepiest. Giant bananas and living video game villians are just silly, but seeing the looks on Scrooge and the boys' faces as they seemed to tell each other that they had NEVER loved each other really got me...sniff...)
Then there's her humour--she sometimes says these goofy little lines, or "gets carried away" cackling/dancing around in glee, whatever, and blushes, embarrassed...and of course, there was that one time she semi-quoted from Lord of the Rings, that had me on the FLOOR! :P
Last but not least, call me nuts but I think she's got a very interesting chemistry with Scrooge. I picked up on it from the very first time I saw the two of them together, and I have kept seeing it in every such scene sense. Not exactly a romantic chemistry, mind you...but a vague feeling that...somehow...if things were different...?
Definitely a classy and intriguing character.
Dimetro ("Dinosaucers")
Dimetro was my favourite character on Dinosaucers from the moment I met him. He's brilliant with mechanics/engineering, but really naive, to the point of seeming childlike, about Human/Earth customs. (So are ALL the Dinosaucers, but the others don't watch Mr. Rogers with looks of rapt attention on their faces...) His gruff, avuncular manner makes him seem a bit older than the others; yet his total cluelessness about the real world (typical for engineers, actually...) makes him seem YOUNGER than them at the same time.
To sum up: He's sweet, he's funny, he's smart and on top of all that, he's got a funky Northern England accent. Definitely a fun character.
Count Duckula ("Count Duckula")
The show he's from may be a "mere" spin-off from "Danger Mouse", but I ADORE Duckula, it's one of my favourite shows of all time and I quote from it a LOT to this day! Duckula himself, the main character, is a riot. He's this itty bitty little mallard (I'm guessing, from the colouring) who happens to be a vampire--but, because of a SLIGHT mistake during his last reincarnation, he was brought back as a VEGETARIAN!
Duckula is this tiny little guy who wears a long cape, has a HUGE ego, thinks he's GREAT at everything no matter how blatantly, obviously bad at it he is, and he's always trying various money-making schemes.
Sound like anybody else we know...?
Heck YES, it sounds like DARKWING DUCK!! I swear these characters remind me of each other...
Anyway, for being one of my favourite characters of all time in general, the Count has made my list. Hiya, Duckieboos!
Princess Erumina ("Puchi Puri Yuushi") Erumina is one of those characters who pleasantly surprised me...she's the Princess of Heaven, an angel--literally. I expected her to be boring. I expected EXTREME goody-two-shoes. But what did I find? A tough, very skilled, brilliant little bookworm type who can efficiently dispatch enemies with a sword just as easily as she can stir potions in Magic class, or wash dishes, or... Kind of a "Seven of Nine" type--perfect at everything, but still somehow likeable. (I realise most people out there would disagree with me on my assessment of Miss Hansen. I don't care.)
However, it turns out that all that "perfection" comes from the fact that she's DESPERATE to have her father, the ultra-strict King of Heaven, finally say he's proud of her. Nothing she ever does is quite good enough. Once you learn that, it's really rather sad, and I, for one, immediately felt sorry for the poor little angel-girl.
As for her personality--perfect and goody-two-shoes? HARDLY! She starts off seeming all polite and unruffled by anything, but after a while she starts saying insults in this dry, quiet, totally normal tone so that they go by almost (but not quite!) unnoticed...then at one point, she finally gets SO mad at Grenda that she FLIPS OUT and actually starts SCREAMING at her! Just because she's an angel...doesn't mean she doesn't have a temper!
Princess Grenda ("Puchi Puri Yuushi") Princess Grenda, the "gorgeous, fantastically magical, Princess of Hell!" is Erumina's exact opposite and the Platina Princess Candidate rival who ANNOYS her the most...but both are favourite characters of mine! Ah, what can be said about Grenda...she's selfish, lazy, greedy, a total BRAT, devious...and those are her GOOD points! :P But seriously--she makes me laugh, she's got wicked-cool magic powers and a neat sense of style...and once you find out exactly WHY she's so desperate to become the Platina Princess, you can really feel for her. Grenda was the second character on the show that I totally loved (the first was CUBE, of course!) and so she had to go into my Favourites section sooner or later.
Igor ("Count Duckula")
What can I say? Igor is the first of wonderfully snotty British butler character I met in animation, and he's so quietly, dryly cynical he's hysterical. (Duckworth reminds me of him, and I like Duckworth too.) He's also got the great quirk of constantly trying all different weird schemes to get his master, Duckula, to drink blood and be a REAL vampire. Duckula always discovers what he's up to, however, and on the one occasion he actually DID drink the blood he was completely grossed out. So much for that...
Anyway, Igor brings a wonderfully macabre sense of DARK humour to the show (or I should say: More so than it ALREADY had, considering it's a parody of gothic-style horror stuff.). And he's got the COOLEST voice, too.
Sorcoress Edea/Edea Kramer ("Final Fantasy 8")
Edea was SO much cooler when she was being the Evil Sorcoress in the early part of the game, rather than when she got her memory back and turned into a good guy again later on. She is one of THE coolest, classiest villianesses I know. That whole part with the parade and everything...totally gorgeous graphics and the events put a chill down my spine.
Plus, you gotta dig that fashion sense! ;)
Ukyo Kuonji ("Ranma 1/2")
Ukyo is one of my favourite anime characters of all time. She's feminine but tough, and I feel sorry for her knowing that her attempts to get Ranma are doomed to fail from the start. She's a successfull businesswoman with her own restaurant even though she's only sixteen, and she "cross-dresses" at school, because she wears a BOY'S uniform instead of a girl's one. And when she first showed up, she had everybody fooled into thinking she WAS a boy.
Last but not least, you gotta like anybody who can totally kick your arse with cooking implements...
Tifa Lockheart ("Final Fantasy 7")
Everybody seems to think Tifa is some kind of bimbo or slut just because of how she looks and how she dresses, but I say that how a woman ACTS is far more important than what she WEARS. And how does Tifa act? She's a sweet, loving, very loyal young woman who also happens to be an ARSE-KICKING martial artist! She fights through the whole game with just her hands, unlike all the other characters with their great big fancy weapons, and her attacks can be REALLY strong. And she's good with magic!
I don't know what people are going on about, with her being "useless" or just there for the jiggle factor...she's really a likeable and strong character.
Scrooge McDuck (DuckTales)
Now, I'm aware that this character has a very rich and detailed history and family tree in the comics, but not having read them, this will be based solely off of my own personal impressions of the character as seen on DuckTales. I'm just saying this now as a disclaimer, so that the "Donaldists" or whatever don't get on my case...
Scrooge started off as a very unlikeable character--and he was SUPPOSED to be; he was a villian! But in DuckTales he's quite different. I never thought I'd like somebody like SCROOGE this much--I mean, a nasty, greedy, miserly old coot? Why should I, who am dirt poor, CARE about whether he's the richest or only second-richest duck in the world?--but Scroogie-me-boy wormed his way into my heart despite myself.
On DuckTales, his greed, nastiness, and cheapness are all still in full force, but often they'll bite him in the tail-feathers and make him realise exactly how it feels to be treated like that...from the OTHER side. "Down and Out in Duckburg" and "Blue-Collar Scrooge" being two excellent examples. And also, he can pull back at the last second. His greed has ALMOST killed himself or those he loves more than a few times, but when it comes right down to the crunch, he picks people above money. He may SEEM to love money the very very best, but that's only on the surface. Underneath, his REAL love is for his family.
He's also wonderfully irascible and greedy and comes up with the NASTIEST, most biting insults--often towards those who don't deserve them (such as Launchpad and Fenton) but, oh, well. They're still fun lines. And he doesn't condescend to the nephews, he treats them like people, and trusts in their intelligence and common sense.
He's incredibly TOUGH and brave, as you can see in this picture here, and his long life, which has not been spent idly, not even the tiniest BIT of it--has led to him having all kinds of really awesome talents and skills. Swordfighting, for example. Although he can kick butt with his cane alone! He may be old, but DON'T let make you underestimate him.
All in all, Scrooge, although he seems a very unlikeable character on the surface, but when you dig beneath, you get one of the most fun and colourful characters I know.
Launchpad McQuack ("DuckTales" and "Darkwing Duck", the picture shown here is from DuckTales.)
I like Launchpad, I really do. He's such a lovable doof! He may be not all that bright, but he's NOT an idiot like most people say. For one thing, he's a brilliant engineer/mechanic and when it comes to pilots, I think you can only find a few others in his league (Tom Paris and Han Solo come to mind...)...as long as a safe LANDING isn't part of your requirements... ;)
(Why do I have such big admiration for all the characters with mechanical ability? It's probably because I couldn't understand that stuff if you explained to me for a year and a day...)
Launchpad is a very colourful character with a lot of interesting traits. He likes to dress up in costumes to match the place he's in when he travels to foreign lands, for example, and never feels silly or embarrassed no matter HOW ridiculous the outfit looks on him. He's heroic and brave sometimes, but scared to DEATH of anything even remotely "occult" or "spooky" (ghosts, bats, ya know, Halloweeny stuff). He has an eye for the ladies...but doesn't GET them very often, despite his good looks. He is unswervingly loyal once he's decided you're worth it. And last but not least, he makes friends very easily--even--charmingly--with the VILLIANS, at times!
Considering all this and he's a hunk to boot, why isn't he in the lust section?
(Shrugs) Eh. I just like my guys smaller and more slender. "Hunk" does nothing for me. Sorry, LP. No offense. ;)
Sailor Mercury ("Sailor Moon")
Well, what cannot be said about the excellent Miss Mercury that has not been said already? She's the "brains" of the Sailor Senshi operation--goddess knows they could USE some. ;) She has an incredible IQ and is the only one of the group to actually CARE about school. And she's got funky blue hair. Yep, that's it. There she is, folks.
Daria Morgendorffer ("Daria")
Well, I know Daria is in a LOT of harems, but I can't like dry sarcastic people as much as I do and NOT like her. What can I say? Daria is almost like the cool sister I never had, and even though I'm not as depressed and cynical as she is, she'd still fit into my circle of friends pretty damned well if she were real.
She also LOOKS a lot like me, if I were a toon. Yeah, I know a lot of female fans of the show say that, but I already have long straight brown hair and round glasses. I don't need to change my appearance to look like her..just my outfit. Heh.
Keiichi Morisato ("Oh! My Goddess!")
Keiichi just BAAARRRREEELLY didn't make it into the lust part of my harem. He's this rather cute, goofy, naive little college student in Tokyo in his early '20s, but despite his loveable goofiness about some things he's VERY smart about others. Such as mechanics. Specifically, anything to with cars, or, rather, anything at ALL with a combustion motor. If it's got a motor, he can CRASH it! Er, wait, wrong character...
Anyway, cute + short + shy + smart usually = glomp in my book. So why not glomp Keiichi? I dunno, exactly...he just seems more like a sweet little BROTHER (like my own real little brother is ANYthing like him! :P) than a lust object, for some reason...
Anyway, through no real fault of his own, he ends up with not just one but THREE goddesses hanging out at his place all the time, and considering the circumstances I think he handles himself with a good deal of aplomb, actually. I would've gone stark raving mad from all the WEIRD things that keep happening, myself... :P
The Nephews (DuckTales)
Which nephews? Why, Donald Duck's, of course! Huey, Dewey, and Louie. (The kid versions, from DuckTales.) Until I watched DuckTales I didn't think much of them; if you had asked me, I would've probably said something about generic little cutesie duck kids who all talk in unison and are really very boring (as they were in the older Donald Duck shorts and so forth).
On DuckTales, however, they are just plain FUN, and while they sometimes still do things in unison or cutesily in turn (Huey says something, then Dewey says something, then Louie says something) it doesn't happen as often; they're far more individual. If you watch for a while, it not only because easy to tell which one's which--as long as they're wearing their colour-coding! ;)--but you start picking up on individual personality traits. All three of them are VERY smart, and have a large propensity for mischief, but stop short of the Bart Simpson level of sheer brattiness--no, they're sweet and good underneath, at heart. And they are all quite skilled and tough for ten-year-olds. Especially after the childhood THEY'RE having! I mean, wow, it's like Young Indiana Jones...!
Huey is the "leader", the one who most often organises their plans and decides who should go where and do what. He can also be diplomatic and break up fights; or "buck up his troops" when they're down. The stuff a good leader needs to be able to do, in other words.
Dewey is the thoughtful, sensitive one; he most often comes up with the plans in the first place, and if one of them is going to get sad or depressed it'll be most likely him.
Louie is kind of the....GOOFBALL, my impression of him on DuckTales is that he's more or less the comic relief. He's got this habit of messing up words and phrases that results in some hilarious lines ("The three of us are twins!") and is the one most likely to just plain goof off, play a practical joke on somebody, or insert a joke inappropriately to a tense moment because he just "couldn't resist".
All three of them are just so much fun, and definitely the coolest ten-year-olds you could ever hope to meet...what's not to like? :)
Sailor Neptune ("Sailor Moon")
She's a bit too quiet and serene for me, but, being a creative type myself, I just HAD to include the "artistic" Sailor Scout. Neptune exudes a classy, quiet elegance and loves to paint and play the violin. In a group full of hotheads and undereducated slackers who'd much rather hit the video arcades than the books, she's a breath of fresh air. Also, I think her relationship with Sailor Uranus is sweet. They make a GREAT couple. So what if they're both girls?
"Glittering" Goldie O'Gilt ("DuckTales")
I only know her from her few appearances on "DuckTales" as I have never read the original Donald Duck comics, but I still think Goldie ROCKS, from just the little bit I have seen! She's feminine without being wimpy, and manages to wear PINK (not to mention lace and ruffles!) without seeming fluffy or weak! She's tricky and sly, with a bit of a huckster, cheater, thief type personality, but isn't actually BAD. She can also tame/befriend dangerous wild animals at the drop of a hat and is a MEAN shot with a gun!
And she still looks damn good when she's older, too. I can only hope I still look that good when I'm her age. She's got a style, grace, and elegance all her own. And last but not least she truly loves her man, without being soppy and overly sentimental about it.
She's a strong female character, but not in the "knee men in the crotch and make sarcastic comments" warrior-woman cliche tradition. No, she just knows her own mind, won't back down, and doesn't need a man to live her life--though she doesn't HATE men, either. She's independent and strong-willed, but not obnoxious about it. Definitely one of the most balanced characters I've ever met. After seeing the episode "Back to the Klondike" ALONE, I knew I had a new entry for my Favourite Characters of All Time list.
Peg Pete ("Goof Troop")
Somehow I just KNEW I would like Peg the second I saw her--and guess what, I was right. This tough, sarcastic, smart, no-nonsense woman is proof positive that one can be a housewife and NOT be a wimp. (And breaking stereotypes is always fine by me.) She's cool, she's funny, she can get REALLY nasty when she's mad, and rules her family with an iron fist, or at least attempts to. And she gets along with Goofy, too, which is another plus in my book. Okay, so she can be a bit CLUELESS about him at times (have Goofy light the furnace? A dangerous task like that? GOOFY?!) but otherwise, she's pretty darn cool. And I get the feeling her daughter, the redheaded prodigy Pistol (gads, I feel sorry for the kid, with a name like THAT) will end up being just like her when she grows up, too. :)
Splatter Phoenix ("Darkwing Duck")
Splatter Phoenix is probably about the ONLY cool female villian that Darkwing Duck ever had (barring that chameleon chick, who was only in one episode), and she totally RULED! Splatter is some kind of...witch, or something, with very strong, useful, versatile, and WEIRD magical powers--she can literally create or alter anything, including her own SELF, with these special paints and paint-brushes! Like Simon and Relm, the things she draws come true...
So, she's got awesome weird magical powers and is a creative artistic type, what else? Well, there's her look. Very few of the female characters on Darkwing (besides Morgana) have looks that I find cool and "attractive", but Splatter does. Her awesome funky black outfit in layers, big earrings, and huge mop of jet-black hair are almost...anime, somehow. I can't quite say why, but that was my first impression when I saw her.
The episode where she first appears, "Brush With Oblivion", is in my opinion one of THE most creative episodes of Darkwing Duck, what with its quickly switching artwork styles all over the place. Unfortunately, she only lasted for two episodes before she was actually destroyed...dangit, they COULD have just tossed her in jail or something...
Anyway, while she was there, she was definitely one of Darkwing Duck's coolest enemies.
Kim Possible ("Kim Possible")
Another feisty red-headed female who don't take no crap from no-one, Kim Possible is best termed, to me anyway, as a "pleasant surprise". She SEEMS like such a total Mary Sue character--and technically is. Kim is athletic, pretty, AND smart, can "do anything", is a cheerleader AND the child of two brilliant scientists...she SHOULD be insufferable as all get-out.
But she's not.
No, somehow, the writers of this show managed to make a character that blatant Goddess-Girl-seeming who...is actually sympathetic! Kim may be a cheerleader but she's not allowed to sit at "The Cool Table". She gets frustrated and upset when she can't do things--especially when her normally-bumbling sidekick and best buddy Ron Stoppable CAN do them.
She's competitive to the point where sometimes it drives other people away--her basic "Kimness" won't let her quit once she's started something, even though she may secretly want to. And she has embarrassing weaknesses such as really ODD food likings, collecting "Cuddle-Buddies", and
drooling over a generic boy-band.
My main serious problem with her is her fashion-snobbiness. She's way too obsessed with wearing the VERY latest things from only the "coolest" labels/stores--that would be acceptable in a teenager character if she wasn't snotty about shopping at discount stores, to the point where she'll only go in if she's in disguise and is HORRIBLY embarrassed. As a working-class person who doesn't have a doctor for a parent and therefore has never been able to live in a large, comfortable two-story home in a middle-class lifestyle--and never, ever will, unless she wins the lottery or something--this very much GRATES and is not at all appreciated. I had not yet seen the episode "Low Budget" when I originally wrote this entry, but it did dip her quite a bit in my esteem, and the "fashionista" plotlines of Season 4 aren't my cup of tea, either. (Aside from that, I rather like that season, though.) I don't HATE Miss Possible now, but...
At any rate, it helps to realise that the writers of "Kim Possible" did not intend it as a SERIOUS secret-agenty/comic bookish type story...it's a PARODY. Kim's abilities are exaggerated on _purpose_. I mean, does anybody REALLY believe that a 15 year old could know "16 different styles of kung-fu"? Duh. To properly watch this show, one should know how to place one's tongue inside one's cheek and keep it there. The Humour Impaired should not apply.
Quackerjack ("Darkwing Duck")
I HATED this character when I first met him, but as I got further into Darkwing Duck, I started grudgingly realising that he was quite cool, really. Quackerjack may be a "clown" but the fact that he wears the old-fashioned, medieval style jester's type outfit instead of that of a modern CLOWN, adds a lot of class. Speaking of class, he's very well-spoken and eloquent, with a rather elegant-sounding voice--at times, when he's not giggling insanely.
He's also a creative type, which I automatically like. He's a brilliant, if TWISTED, inventor, and likes to dress up in costumes and do play-acting sometimes. I, myself, ALSO like to dress up in costumes when it's nowhere near Halloween, so I can't really condemn him for it. And his interactions with Megavolt are HYSTERICAL.
Of course, he's completely, totally INSANE, but hey...nobody's perfect!
Sakura ("Urusei Yatsura")
Sakura just ROCKS, plain and simple. When she first shows up on the show she appears to be a wimpy bimbo who's there for no purpose other than to look sexy (which she does VERY well), with her tight, low-cut, slit-up-the-side purple dress, high heels, and that LOOOONG, thick, gorgeous black hair.
But there's quite a bit more to this beauty than it seems at first. First off, she's a Shinto Priestess and seems to have some actual POWERS in that area, like a D&D style cleric, where, ya know, they can actually DO things, like a wizard only religious. Only sometimes her powers don't quite work as she wanted...
She's also the school nurse of Tomobiki High, and shows a fair bit of actual competence at medicine. The fact that boys keep drooling over her sexiness actually ANNOYS her rather than pleases her. She's constantly smacking them in the face HARD and telling them to go away. She's very strong (like most Takahashi female characters) and can beat the STUFFING out of you as soon as look at you. Oh, and she's got a cool voice. It's so incredibly DEEP! It almost sounds like a guy's voice...
She's not elegant and beautiful in EVERYthing she does, however--Sakura has a disturbing and rather disgusting little quirk. She can eat and eat and eat and eat and EAT, incredible amounts, to where it's BEYOND ridiculous...and not gain a pound! Also her appetite seems to NEVER shut down, she's ALWAYS ready for more. Rather scary actually. But all in all, a quite cool character.
Carmen Sandiego ("Where On Earth is Carmen Sandiego?" and many computer games)
Ah, how can you NOT think the most famous, clever, tricky, intelligent and downright SNEAKY thief in the world is cool? And the most famous thief happens to be a woman to boot! (And voiced by the extremely well-known and well-respected Rita Moreno in the cartoon version; how'd they pull THAT off I wonder?) Creeping through the ferro-concrete wainscoting of society (whatever that is), she's essentially the female Stainless Steel Rat! And, like him, she is a criminal, but not a VILLIAN. He only steals, and mainly for fun than because he actually needs the money, but he never, ever, EVER, kills. It's totally against his code of ethics. Well, Carmen is just like that--she steals incredibly difficult things just to show she can yet never, ever, HURTS anybody. In fact, we see her softer side a few times in the cartoons, as she's teamed up with Zack and Ivy a few times and even saved their LIVES at least once!
Anyway, every good organisation needs a good rogue, a wild card, and she can be ours!
Shego ("Kim Possible")
When I watched my first episode of Kim Possible, at first I didn't know what to think, quite. Sure, I had been told that the show was good by many different sources, reliable ones, but it didn't really start to grab me until the first time I heard Shego snidely interrupt Drakken in mid-rant and tell him he was being "boring". THAT got my attention. Shattering cliches, breaking of the fourth wall...all of that can be hilarious if handled right. So, basically, Shego was the very first character from the show that I liked, and I still think she's awesome now. Who wouldn't like a businesslike, butt-kicking babe with the most drop-dead sarcastic, cynical attitude I've seen in all of Toondom and the funky fashion sense to match?
But she's not JUST that...there is more to her, although we only get to see little pieces of it from time to time. Still, every now and then she can drop the sarcasm and be truly heartfelt, and she must feel some loyalty to Drakken or else she wouldn't STILL be working for him afer all those failures and messes. (I get the feeling he doesn't pay all THAT well.) Definitely a cool character.
Sheila, the Thief ("Dungeons and Dragons" cartoon)
For someone who's supposedly a "thief", Sheila is sure one of the most HONEST people I know. This freckled redhead was one of my earliest cartoon heroines. I thought she was totally cool, and used to pretend I "was" her when I watched the show. These days my favourites are Eric and Presto, but Sheila, my FIRST favourite, still deserves to be included. Also, she's very loving and loyal towards her friends and family, and is willing to face just about ANY danger in order to protect them.
And that Cloak of Invisibility she has is just plain neat.
Skuld ("Oh! My Goddess!")
Skuld, the younget goddess, is a ton of fun. A tiny, sarcastic little ball of energy with a hot temper, long flowing jet-black hair, and a BRILLIANT--if somewhat quirky--mind for mechanics. She's a kid genius inventor, but her inventions often turn out to be really WEIRD looking. She seems to have no actual Goddess powers, like the others (at lesat, not for a LONG time in the manga). Her "power" seems to be, mainly, the ability to whip devices together out of whatever random junk is lying around, INSTANTLY. ;)
Among her interesting quirks are: an ADDICTION to ice-cream (which is how she "recharges her batteries" when worn out, too), her FIERCE hatred of "bugs" (weird looking literal insects that like to infest the computers at the Yggdrasil Network)--and the fact that the one thing she cannot STAND to do, the very very very WORST punishment you can give her...is to make her build devices that have no useful function! She can't STAND that! AAAA!!
Ron Stoppable ("Kim Possible")
Ah, good ol' Ron. What can be said about a guy who is just so...different in so many ways? He's bumbling most of the time, yet amazingly good at some things, including being an excellent cook and a natural at the restaurant trade. He's peppy and upbeat by nature, yet also paranoid and prone to violent mood-swings. He has a strong phobia of (whispers) monkeys. (So NATURALLY one of the main villians he and Kim go up against from time to time just HAS to be obsessed with monkeys.) And last but not least, even though he's a total geek, his best friend is an ultra-popular genius cheerleader martial artist who saves the world in her free time.
Loyal, goofy, sweet, and downright bizzare, there's nobody else quite like Ronald Stoppable. And we wouldn't want him any other way.
Akane Tendo ("Ranma 1/2")
Another tomboy, this ferocious, hot-tempered girl is Ranma's main fiancee and his true beloved, whether either of them will admit it or not. She's a bit clumsy, but is a competent martial artist in karate and very strong, and could be a good friend if I don't get her pissed off...She's very strong and would make another good bouncer for the harem, if we need one. Just...keep her AWAY from the kitchen...
Nabiki Tendo ("Ranma 1/2")
Nabiki is a completely dishonest, slimy, money-grubbing, greedy CROOK...
...and those are her GOOD points! ;)
Nabiki is GREAT fun. Money is her driving force, and she'll lie, cheat, steal, and blackmail to get it, but she's more just an untrustworthy neutral than actually EVIL. She also saved the day almost entirely by herself in one episode, showing that she DOES actually care for her family. Her main trait is her deliciously sneaky and devious greed, however. She reminds me of a female Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler or Quark...
Urd ("Oh! My Goddess!")
The oldest of the three goddesses, Urd is SERIOUSLY fun. And I give her extra bonus points for surprising me pleasantly as well. Ya see, I thought I was gonna HATE Urd when I first met her. She looked like this total bimbo and was constantly trying to seduce Keiichi. But then I got to know her better, and found out her OTHER traits. Her main trait is his mischeviousness--she loves to sow CHAOS everywhere, but she's not usually malicious about it. More the practical-joking kind of chaos. (Still, it's interesting to note that SHE brought about Ragnarok in that one storyline, and that, also, like Loki, the guy who's supposed to do it in the original Norse legends, she's half-demon not a full goddess, AND, she's a trickster!) She's totally silly, and when her plots go awry it always has hysterical results.
I also like her powers...she does really old-fashioned style WITCH magic, with eye of newt and toe of frog, etc...it's kinda cool. She also has interesting side-skills like...being incredibly good at VIDEO GAMES?! Well, you never know...it COULD come in handy someday...
She delights in freaking people out, tricking them, and manipulating their love-lives, but whenever she gets her comeuppance--and you KNOW she's going to--she gets it HARD! And the result is always very funny. And of course, there's her looks, which are very exotic. If I had a "If I was a Guy" section, she'd be in it.
Dr. VonGoosewing ("Count Duckula")
VonGoosewing has been one of my favourite characters of all time for...a long time. I like him mainly because he's so FUNNY. That accent he has is tons of fun to imitate, and he has so many hysterical, quotable lines. (Then again, that's true of EVERYBODY in Duckula; why do you think I like that show so much?) One of my favourite episodes with him is the one where Duckula visits his....great great uncle? in Scotland, and VonGoosewing shows up as well, and he and Duckula's uncle get into this insane Battle of the Accents, where they keep COMPLETELY not understanding each other and making the conversation weirder and weirder and weirder...(My favourite bit was when Rory McDuckula modified "You snake in the grass!" into "You duck in the heather!" Which doesn't quite have the same ring to it, but Rory is a stickler for accuracy. ;))
Anyway, he's funny, and sometimes he lapses into actual German, so because of him, I actually learned some words of a foreign language that I did not know before! Who says cartoons aren't educational...? ;)
Also, he's a Wacky Inventor. I do believe I might have stated that I like that type of character in general, before. ;) (In fact, if we could cross over the universes, I could see him being related to Gyro Gearloose from DuckTales, somehow...) Of course, there are problems with his inventions. Usually they either (a) don't work, or (b) work all too WELL and blow up a large part of the surrounding area, or (c) work fine, but he kinda forgot to build an OFF switch! :P But no matter how many times he gets blown up, falls out of the sky, smashed under something heavy or even changed into a weird new form, VonGoosewing NEVER gives up! Time after time he'll emerge--singed, but triumphant!
Then there's the interesting fact that even though he's a heroic crusader out to save the world, in the context of THIS cartoon, he's actually the main BAD guy! It's because he is convinced that Duckula is an evil vampire and if he was, then Goosewing would be right to try to kill him. But since Duckula is really a vegetarian that makes Goosewing a bad guy. Well, antagonist, anyway. (A totally clueless antagonist.) I'm not sure the word "villian" really applies.
He and Duckula have been enemies so long, they've almost got that "best enemies" type strange camaraderie thing goin' on, and Duckula has worked WITH VonGoosewing a couple of times, but only when in disguise. (One time when Duckula was in drag, the good scientist HIT ON him... :P)
And last but not least, where IS that worthless assistant Heinrich anyway?! (Heinrich is a young man who is supposedly VonGoosewing's assistant; you hear about him all the time but never ever SEE him...rather a running gag. Like Maris on "Frasier".)
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Chaotica!!'s Ranma 1/2 Screenshot Gallery. (depending on where you came from.)
people have stopped by to see Captain Chaotica!!'s favourite characters since August 28, 2002...and they all got their pockets picked, various practical jokes played on them, and, last but not least, were turned into a toad! BWAHAHA!
people have stopped by to see Captain Chaotica!!'s favourite characters since August 28, 2002...and they all got their pockets picked, various practical jokes played on them, and, last but not least, were turned into a toad! BWAHAHA!