This thread is very simple, but perhaps more interesting than you might think.
What ten fictional characters have given you the most inspiration, joy, laughter, and food for thought? Think carefully on this. Fanboyism is all well and good, but you should think carefully and consider - what characters have had the most lasting effect on you?
1) Anomander Rake- Oddly, he is one of the few characters of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson that you never once get behind the eyes of. Nonetheless, if I had to pick a character who was the most inspiring in the series, just off the top of my head, it would be him. He gets off-hand compliments from various oddballs in the series, and his actions are always honorable and (perhaps more importantly) thoughtful. He is a Tiste Andii, a member of a race of black-skinned beings that live unbelievably long lifespans and who are perpetually morose due to the absence of their goddess. For three hundred thousand years after his people's goddess abandoned them, he simply went about the task of protecting his people from themselves, giving them causes and reasons to live. At the same time, he made others' causes his own, protecting many and opposing tyrants. Perhaps what he is most infamous for is his sword, Dragnipur, which absorbs the souls of those it kills and sets them to eternally pulling a wagon that represents Darkness in its perpetual flight from chaos. However, despite the sheer power he wields (he is also a Soletaken - basically a were-being dragon) he can take the time to find joy in the happiness of one of his servants falling in love and he will be the first to tell them to prioritize that love over his service.
2) Hinaori Kagome- The true heroine of Comyu (a VN that is in the process of translation by Amaterasu). She is Akihito's self-described 'deredere osananajimi'. She is vicious, sadistic, and contemptuous of virtually everyone. She is also utterly ruthless with anyone who threatens Akihito, who is her priority number one, though she is just as contemptuous of him at times as anyone else. Her favorite weapon is a kukri, which she wields with careless skill that is terrifying to those around her. She is also a genius (as in a Hawking-level genius) and Akihito's name for her is 'the Black Witch'. Incidentally, she is the only heroine I've run into so far that no one has successfully attempted to turn into a cookie-cutter archetype in other VNs.
3) Shigure Sora- Ok, two 'evil' characters in a row, but that's Clephas for you, lol. Shigure Sora is the protagonist of Devils Devel Concept (another VN). He describes himself as being 'broken' and has the habit of smoking cigarettes on the roof (bad cigarettes at that) at school, having sex with his sexfriend Mutsuki, and killing demons on his way to the convenience store. He is lacking in certain emotions normal humans need, such as guilt, love (though he does possess an odd sort of attachment to people he likes to be around), and empathy. Despite this, he is very rational most of the time, and due to his high degree of self-awareness, is something of a philosopher. He doesn't believe in objective morality, and he continually lectures others when they ask him about it that all 'good' in the world is simply that person's 'evil' or their subjective perspective.
4) Kokoro (real name: Chenfui)-
5) Ilya- Every VN fan and a lot of anime fans know Ilya. As such, I'll set aside the long description. Simply put, she was the female character who left the strongest impression amongst the first VNs I played and it still strikes me hard now that she always seems to get the short end of the stick. C'mon Nasu, let the girl have a life for god's sake.
6) Konata- The protagonist of Konata yori Kanata Made.
7) Belche- One of the heroines of Draculius. She is a 500 year old vampire, a loli, and a maid. Not to mention that she is ruthless, powerful, and brilliant.
Ganoes Paran- The very first character whose eyes the author gets behind in the Malazan Book of the Fallen. He is a surprisingly resilient young man who endures the unendurable and always does his best for those that he has a responsibility to. The manner in which events take hold of him in the early books only serves to make him more admirable when he takes something resembling control over his own destiny.
9) Harry Dresden- The protagonist of the Dresden Files, an urban fantasy novel series written by Jim Butcher. His antics as a wizard in Chicago both amuse and fascinate throughout the book series so far, and he will make you laugh on a regular basis, if only because he is such a smart-aleck that can't seem to stop from using Star Wars references on a regular basis.
10) Magus- One of the antagonists of Chrono Trigger and the man who started my ongoing obsession with pointed ears, pale skin, dark clothing, and cool-looking bad guys.
