Characters That You Would Normally Hate But You Actually Like

[Taukyrie]

Let me explain: We all have a specific character archetype or trope that are a fast track to instantly making us dislike a character. Some people don't like goody-goody protagonists, some people don't like edgy rivals, some people don't like generic anime protagonists. However, this is about asking what, if any, character SHOULD end up being one of your most hated because they are a trope or archetype that you specifically don't like, but something about them whether it be because they're a well-written three-dimensional character with more going on under the surface or simply because you like how they're handled in whatever game you're talking about.

(I hope I'm explaining this well, I think it's an interesting idea to discuss.)

To give a sort of example of what I mean, let me give the first two examples I can think of for myself.

Susano from Okami at first seemed like he would be the typical bumbling idiot that would take credit for everything Amaterasu did, such as slaying monsters, clearing pathways, and simply just being a gloating pompous asshole who waves around the title of being the descendent of Nagi to his advantage, but there is definitely more going on with him, as its discovered later in the game that

Spoiler: Okami Spoilers

he is under a lot of pressure due to being the descendent of Nagi is a MASSIVE burden in the sense that he feels he MUST live up to it, and this pressure was what caused him to release the very evil his ancestor sealed away 100 years ago. It is this reveal that is the ultimate trigger for so much character development that I honestly can't help but appreciate him in the end.

Taihou from Azur Lane is another one of these examples for me, and is more notable because she is a yandere, a character type I've vocally said I don't like. So why is Taihou so different? To me, a notable thing with yanderes is that they confuse "obsession" with "love", and while, yes, Taihou is obsessed with the Commander, there is more going on in her mind than that. In her character memory, she actually becomes EXTREMELY DEPRESSED when Albacore makes a joke that her clingy behavior will push the commander away from her to the point where the Commander has to go to her room and TALK TO HER. While YES, she is obsessed, when you consider that a lot of her faction members are also clingy with one being an actual yandere, it's not surprising to see her think obsessive behavior is normal. Not to mention, she does genuinely love the Commander, but she is so afraid of being alone that she acts clingy. It honestly makes her feel like an actual character instead of a yandere stereotype. (Side Note, I love her... whatever-ship with Albacore with the latter loving to jump scare her with pranks).

 

[valosagutas]

Animes filled with dislikeable characters, rather anime itself is dislikeable for me (IMO). Can't watch an anime without needing to take a shower and go to a doctor to a checkup if my body develops cancer lol. There are really not much anime I liked and if I liked it I either like or dislike the characters. However, despite how Psycho-Pass suffers from being an anime, especially Akane Tsunemori's character is IMO well written.

The Japanese sense of "well-behaved dream woman" type is so annoying, it's like the whole society want a woman who lacks a personality just so she can be "well-behaved domestic likeable woman". Animes suffers from it or they just invert this character type into "punk woman" type that's dislikeable either way. The most they develop a female character that's no different than a man.

But Akane Tsunemori satisfies the condition you asked. Without spoiling all I can say is initially this character is dislikeable because she seems like another ordinary "well behaving meek woman". She seems weak and submissive pushover. Soon after you learn she doesn't behave so because of the culture she grew up in, she chose to be so with her own free will. It means she is not a mindless robot, she is respectable. She doesn't fake it, she is genuine. Then soon after you learn she is a well-written character who is a realistic woman but she is not written like many simple female characters in the action genre that behave like a punk man. We watch her improve and grow up, and eventually be honest with her human self.

IMO, she was a dislikeable character type I would hate but eventually she becomes likeable.

 

[χKai]

Zelos Wilder

 

[stealthRUSH stealthRUSH]

Salvatore Ganacci

When he was first announced (along side Cristiano Ronaldo) on the roster of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves I was disappointed. Since we didn't get any new or returning fighters, instead real 'celebrities' a athlete / Soccer (football player), and musician / DJ. It just felt wrong including real people in a fictional game.

That being said...

Ironically I ended up loving Salvatore Ganacci (and to an extent Cristiano Ronaldo) play-style in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves! They bring refreshing new mechanics to the game like floating, and summoning a ball. Duck King is also good friends with SG, which is a plus for me since he was my prior main.

 

[Eos888]

Neku Sakuraba from The World Ends With You (TWEWY). Traditionally I really dislike edgy characters, especially protagonists. They can be cringeworthy and frankly insufferable cuz it feels like the same statements and sentiments copy and pasted on a different body. But, even though it's very obvious the game will make him change his views cuz character development (trademarked), I really like how it's done and it never really felt overwhelming on the bits when he is trying to regress back to edginess. Plus it's refreshing to see him interact with so many other characters that contrast or even ascribe to his starting POV. Goes to show how much he has changed from the beginning and what kind of person his experiences molded him to be. And it's to so much a degree that TWEWY has sat on my top 3 games of all time. Well for that and many more reasons, but gushing is not what we are doing here.

 

[Tonberry]

He's smug, smarmy, creepy and sometimes straigt up cartoonishly evil, but he's SO MUCH FUN. The immaculate voice acting (probably one of my top 3 favorite voice acting performances in a game ever) and motion-capture and the overall energy makes Astarion my favorite BG3 character (maybe even one of my favorite game characters), even though he belongs to an archetype I generally can't stand much of (creepy aristocrat-esque characters).

 

[Taukyrie]

Neku Sakuraba from The World Ends With You (TWEWY). Traditionally I really dislike edgy characters, especially protagonists. They can be cringeworthy and frankly insufferable cuz it feels like the same statements and sentiments copy and pasted on a different body. But, even though it's very obvious the game will make him change his views cuz character development (trademarked), I really like how it's done and it never really felt overwhelming on the bits when he is trying to regress back to edginess. Plus it's refreshing to see him interact with so many other characters that contrast or even ascribe to his starting POV. Goes to show how much he has changed from the beginning and what kind of person his experiences molded him to be. And it's to so much a degree that TWEWY has sat on my top 3 games of all time. Well for that and many more reasons, but gushing is not what we are doing here.

Ngl, TWEWY is just a master class in character writing imo. I played it just two years ago and I can honestly understand the hype, the story and characters are some of the best I've seen.

 

[Hourai]

Sylvain from Fire Emblem Three Houses. He's a creep and a womanizer, and is emblemic of the worst of pickup culture. It turns out, though...

Spoiler: Sylvain support spoilers

He acts that way because he has zero worth outside of what his bloodline offers. His only value is that he was born with a Crest, which he knows to be fact because his brother was cast out for not being born with one. Any value beyond being a sack of meat meant to be used for the furtherment of his house is some fantasy he's dreaming up. Him doing it to other people is a form of asserting control.

Also, a lot of his supports with women are them hitting back, so to speak. They treat him as he treats them, which makes his less funny moments that aren't about his lack of worth better.

 

[TotzOnGaming]

View attachment 74624
Salvatore Ganacci

When he was first announced (along side Cristiano Ronaldo) on the roster of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves I was disappointed. Since we didn't get any new or returning fighters, instead real 'celebrities' a athlete / Soccer (football player), and musician / DJ. It just felt wrong including real people in a fictional game.

That being said...

Ironically I ended up loving Salvatore Ganacci (and to an extent Cristiano Ronaldo) play-style in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves! They bring refreshing new mechanics to the game like floating, and summoning a ball. Duck King is also good friends with SG, which is a plus for me since he was my prior main.

It's the Ganacchi 180 the Fgc has been talking about. Pretty neat, I think's pretty cool too. CR7 baffled me more.

 

[ciro64 ciro64]

Periwinkle from Starry Flowers is a extroverted, flirty, fashion-driven, over-the-top "diva" character.

This is the stuff I'd associate with a person who's annoying and that doesn't respect others boundaries.

But instead he's incredibly kind and emphatic. Not only that, but there's also multiple layers to his character beneath the surface.

Thanks to him, I respect this archetype now. Including Rarity