Fifteen Favorite Cartoon Characters
A quick note before I begin, I am including anime characters in this list, even though some might consider it separate from cartoon, due its incredible level of awesomeness. Also, I have in parentheses the name of the show from whence the character originated
- Shikamaru (Naruto) If you know the show then you know this character. He is incredibly smart, yet hopelessly lazy and unmotivated. Just like me! Also, his shadow possession jitsu gets points with me for the darkness thing.
- Iroh (Avatar: The Last Airbender) The uncle of the central villain for the first season of this show. Despite being on the side of the antagonists, his eccentricities, and endless wisdom makes him impossible not to like. On a related note, his voice actor died in the fall of last year, and actually received a tribute in the show. RIP Mako.
- Slade (Teen Titans) Ah, the villain. I think one of the main reasons I like this character is for his voice actor, Ron Pearlman. His deep, thick voice captures the cocky, powerful villain. This is the central villain for most of the series, made all the more interesting by his hidden identity. He is incredibly powerful, and always seems to have control over the situation. His presence had added so much to the show, including Terra's betrayal, and Robins obsession with capturing him.
- Raven (Teen Titans) One of the five Teen Titans, this goth girl is definitely one of my favorites. She has the ability to control a dark energy, but only manages to maintain that control by keeping her emotions in check. I personally ship her with Beast Boy, the extrovert of the group, though her and Robin is a popular choice as well. Her season was one of the darkest and scariest of all, and definitely got me hooked.
- Chase Young (Xiaolin Showdown) The central villain for the show, or rather one of them, this young man is similar in demeanor to Slade. Yet his control over events seems to be even greater, and he always draws it to the attention of the protagonists, especially Omi, who he is always trying to convert to the side of evil. He is one of those villains, that never seems to lose, even when his enemy is victorious.
- Odd (Code: Lyoko) The outgoing, artistic one of the show. He gets on the list for one reason, and one reason only. The Hair
- Spongebob Squarepants (Spongebob Squarepants) This one is not something you would expect to be on my list, looking at the others, but Spongebob, is what I like to call happy incarnate. It is impossible to be depressed after watching Spongebob. Try it. I dare you.
- Beast Boy (Teen Titans) This shape-shifting, green teen titan has a spot on this list, for a few reasons. The first of these is I felt obligated, being an avid BBRae shipper, to include him along with Raven. Also, because his personality is so much fun. And the third reason is that because he can change into animals, he is a vegetarian, and I have to respect that.
- Ron Stoppable (Kim Possible) This kid is about as non-conformist as they come. Owning a naked mole rat, and dating a world saving cheerleader at the same time is something that I can't help but admire
- Wallace (Wallace and Grommit) He is a brit who loves cheese. Need I say more?
- Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Zuko has accomplished what I believe no other Nick character has ever managed to this extent. Character development. In the beginning of the series he was a spoiled brat with an obsession. When he was outcast by his own country he began to act like a decent human being, but not without a fair helping of obligatory nastiness. That is the type of depth you rarely see in books, let alone in a Nick cartoon.
- Gaara (Naruto) The single scariest character ever. This sand ninja's power is out of this world, but that's not what makes him so scary. He has decided that his purpose in life is to kill others. Without this death he sees no reason to live. This is not just the ramblings of a depressed teenager either (Gaara is actually only 12 years old). He truly believes it. As we find out more about the Sand Demom inside him, and his terrible childhood, the emotions of the otaku go crazy. You want to feel sorry for him, but you know that he is a sick murderer, but you also know that he got that way from his circumstances. Any character that can envoke that much emotion has to be good.
- Sasuke (Naruto) I used to find this guy's emo-ness to be extremely annoying. But as more about his past has been revealed in recent episodes, he became more and more interesting. His amazing power enabled him to come very close to defeating Gaara. But when his brother entered the scene his was nearly destroyed.
- Third Hokage (Naruto) This character recently died, making him an almost obligatory favorite. When a show has the courage to kill off a major character, they earn a whole lot of my respect. Not only that, but I'm a sucker for the wise sensei type, so this guy is a shoe in
- Master Fung (Xiaolin Showdown) This is another of the Wise Sensei types. He has many of those seemingly easy tasks for his students, that end up being very difficult, and teaching some important lesson.
