The Nomasphere

My Top Ten Protagonists in The Drawn Media –Anime/Comics/Manga/Cartoons

   Spoilers abound in the following entry.  Flat-out I’ll say you won’t find Superman on this list.  I prefer heroes with depth and the ultimate boy-scout with barely any weaknesses doesn’t really measure up as interesting to me as he could be.  While I acknowledge the man of steel as a great hero, he’s just as cool as the following guys.

10. Wolverine – This anti-hero from the X-men is a hardcore badass who thinks Cyclops is a prick and fights with the ferocity of the animal he takes his name after.  Of all the old-school X-men he is my favorite and thus earns himself a number 10 spot.

Runner Up from series: Gambit

9.   Urahara Kisuke – The true hero of Bleach, to anyone who reads the manga, they know all about Aizen.  Essentially the epic battles of Bleach boil down to Urahara vs. Aizen in a game of strategic Shinigami chess.  Urahara is old-school and as such tutors the young heroes, manipulating them to win against Aizen, often without them realizing it.

Runner Up for series: Zaraki Kenpachi

8.   Vash the Stampede – A living Plant, he will never age and is discriminated against by people as a walking disaster waiting to happen.  However, with his immense power all he has ever caused is property damage.  He saves everyone he can and is the nicest person on the planet Gunsmoke, having to deal with all the hardships thrown his way as a martyr to the ideologies taught to him by Rem. 

7.   Dead Pool – Dead Pool is something special in that he’s entirely insane.  While an assassin at heart he has become a bizarre protagonist who is cool and goofy on so many levels.  He brings a real bizarre sense of absurdist humor different from Spiderman. 

6.   L – The genius detective with a lot of bizarre eccentric tendencies from Death Note.  He competed in intellectual cat and mouse with Light and in some iterations of the story (the Films) was the winner.  I just didn’t like Mello or Near as his successors.  L’s uniqueness, boldness and genius make him a truly interesting character. 

5.   Musashi (Takezo) – The Protagonist of Vagabond is based on the really life Miyamoto Musashi, this invincible swordsman evolves throughout the series from a mad dog of a fighter to the most skilled swordsman the world has ever seen.  His inner reflections throughout the series and his desire to become the greatest swordsman in Japan make him an interesting fighter.  

4.   Spiderman – The wise-cracking flagship of Marvel Comics, everyone has either seen the movies or read the comics.  Spidey is an excellent hero, with a sense of humor and a weighted past.  Dealing with the modern burdens of life, women, and work while battling Venom, Doc Ock and the rest of his Rogue’s gallery make Spidey a deep and relatable character.   

3.   The Goddamn Batman – The popularity of the Bat has been revived in full force with Nolan’s 2 movies.  Both of which are often viewed as the quintessential comic films.  In the printed media however, when you look past the campy era, you get a dark and brooding detective trying to juggle his lifestyles of playboy billionaire and vigilante.  He’s the smart bad-boy of DC comics and he gave Superman his fair share of ass-whippings. 

2.   Rorschach – Almost taking my number one spot is the controversial Rorschach from Alan Moore’s Watchmen.  In fact one day he may be number 1 after I see the film.  This hero sees everything in black and white, an ultra-conservative person and in real-life I would probably disagree with him on so many levels.  However, his life view is what makes him so interesting, if your crime is bad, he’ll likely kill you.  A loose-cannon vigilante and one of the most interesting characters you’ll ever see.  You may not agree with him, but you’ll likely find him as a badass and unpredictably interesting to see.

Runner Up for series: Nite-Owl II

1.   Guts – The highest rated protagonist on my list is also the biggest anti-hero on my list.  Star of Berserk, Guts was raised as a mercenary, all he knew in life was combat.  When he met his first loss he found something he never had before a leader and a friend in Griffith.  However, learning that pursuing his own ambitions would allow him to stand as Griffith’s equal he won his freedom back years later.  One thing led to another and our hero is branded as a sacrifice to demons by his former friend, watching him rape his only love in front of him and all his former allies and friends be devoured by demons.  Driving Guts to breaking point and inspiring the most violent rage induced revenge I have ever seen in any media.  Guts tale is truly a twisted one and because of that has twisted his own psyche into something dark, battling with his inner demons to protect the one he loves and exact revenge on the man (technically he’s a demi-god now) that ruined everything he had.

Runner Up for series: Casca