The problem I have with some awesome MCs...
 

Not all of them, btw, but they seem to follow this formula:

1. Have a ridiculously sob backstory.
2. Ditch your moral values and become like the honey badger who doesn't give a crap.
3. Ditch your friends, because they can't help you, and could even be an obstacle to you.
4. Go on a quest for UNLIMITED POWER!
5. Become so overpowered that not even the final villain can TOUCH YOU.
6. If the final villain somehow overpowers you, know that the Deus Ex Machina is still out there to save you, if you're lucky.
7. ???
8. PROFIT!

If you can't follow all of these (I mean ALL OF THESE), people will call you a wimp and never consider you as a badass.

If somebody can prove me wrong by giving me a RECENTLY POPULAR badass MC who is still a paragon of justice and a solid believer in the Power of Friendship, be my guest.


I have been in an actual argument over this one.

Thank you.

Jonathan Joestar from Jojo's bizarre adventures airing right now, probably his grandson Joseph Joestar as well.

Your "sarcasm" sounds like Kratos from God of War than an anime character. I dunno if Yuno from Mirai Nikki counts too but lots of people considered her as "awesome" although for Yuno's case, she's a villain protagonist than an anti-heroine.

Who is Nanoha Takamachi? :heh::uhoh:

Oh Recent, maybe Haruyuki Arita of Accel World, I mean he has some sob backstory, but I wouldn't call it a ridiculously one. Ironical he definitely is a "wimp" in the beginning of the series.

Or Kurokami Medaka from Medaka Box, though her "ditch" of her friends/morals was well beyond her control, though she definitely overpowered :uhoh:.

[joking mode]I AM THE GOD OF WAR!!![/joking mode]

Yeah, I have heard about Jonathan Joestar from before.

I actually thought Touma was awesome. Until people bashed him for what they call "plot armor", which clearly isn't because he loses to physical fighters. If it really was "plot armor", then even said physical fighters shouldn't even touch him.

That's exactly why people bash him! They wanted an MC who is strong from the start! And I'm in an argument over this one because I dared compare him to the Jesus of 2010's anime, Kirigaya Kazuto.

Doesn't this also depend on what your own defintion is of a "badass" or "awesome" main character?
edit: also i am pretty sure your sarcastic "formula" is just because of one certain anime

Gon Freecss from Hunter x Hunter, you could also argue Killua too. The series may be 15 years old but it has only been getting recently more popular thanks to the reboot and they don't do any of the things you said in your formula that you loathe

Imo they have the best friendship in any current SHONEN JUMP series

And what anime is it? Oh, okay, just kidding.

It's not as much that I have a different definition of "badass" MC, but then again, I'm not even sure myself. I've been bullied before, so who knows, maybe I don't have a definition for "badass" to begin with. Bullied people can't become badass, after all.

It's just that I find some anime MCs SO OVERPOWERED that nothing short of a Diabolous Ex Machina (read: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING) can stop them.

Is that exactly what people want?

You just might enjoy watching Ousawa Akatsuki from Hagure Yuusha no Aesthetica.

Fucking seconding Jonathan Joestar and his grandson Joseph. Clearly JoJo's Bizarre Adventure needs more love since not enough people check it out in despite of us telling them to try it out.

Hmm.. Okay, gotta check it out.

How about the old ones? Lest people say I only like "crappy" characters like Shirou Emiya and Shinji Ikari.

Just to be sure, you do know about his other path right?

Yep. I know about it.

I hate Gary Stus too.

I don't think either Gon nor Killua fits, at least the manga versions.

From the way Gon has been portrayed, he's actually amoral, at least, he doesn't subscribe to the type of morality that you see in most typical shounen heroes, or most heroes at all. When the Chameleon Ant in the the Ant arc first meets Gon, Gon says that he felt the Chameleon was the most 'human' ant he's met, whereas the Chameleon felt Gon was a monster. In fact, I'd say if not for the relationships Gon has formed, he could end have ended up like Kuroro or even the King.

Killua is also pretty much a straight up killer with no conscience except for the people he cares about, which contains only a few people. He's the type of person who would probably not even hesitate to sacrifice Kurapica or his family to save Gon or Alluka, even though he's on good terms with Kurapica.

Also, for most of the manga Gon/Killua actually lose quite a bit, or struggle at lot against opponents around their level or higher. It's not really until the Ant arc that they grow strong enough to challenge the top level players, and even then, Gon failed to save someone who was important to him. Not to mention, the resolution with the King really had nothing to do with Gon or Killua at all. In the end, they were just side characters who were able to achieve some personal growth through the ordeal.

Yup. Jonathan Joestar, the gentleman's gentleman. Even Speedwagon is moved!

Not only does he not go for all of the list, but he actually inverts all of them!

1. Have a ridiculously sob backstory? Nope, JoJo is rich, and has a kind father. Everything was good... until Dio appeared. :mad: DIO!!!!!!
2. Ditch your moral values and become like the honey badger who doesn't give a crap. Nope. Jojo would never even think about it.
3. Ditch your friends, because they can't help you, and could even be an obstacle to you. Jojo ditch his friends? Did he ditch Speedwagon? He did not.
4. Go on a quest for UNLIMITED POWER! Ehh? Jojo had unlimited power and immortality in his grasp, but it was evil. Did Jojo hesitate? Nope. Speedwagon, sledgehammer that thing!
5. Become so overpowered that not even the final villain can TOUCH YOU. Heh... Heh... Heh... Nah, not Jojo. Wish that was the case.
6. If the final villain somehow overpowers you, know that the Deus Ex Machina is still out there to save you, if you're lucky. No. No. A Jojo with luck? And Jonathan was the least lucky of them all.
7. ???
8. PROFIT! Nope, no profit for Jojo. Just the eternal responsibility for your bloodline to fight the forces of evil. Oh... and it doesn't pay well either.

Truthfully, I can't think of many MC that fit your list. Most are pretty good.

For example:

Touma from A Certain Magical Index
Hayate, the Combat Butler
Taichi Yaegashi from Kokoro Connect (He's such a White Knight, he kicked himself in his own balls to help a girl out.)
Marika from Bodacious Space Pirates. You'd think if anyone would be a dark MC it'd be a pirate, but no, Marika is a pretty straight privateer.
Koyomi Araragi from Bakemonogatari
Shichika from Katanagatari
Satou in Ben-To
Daikichi from Bunny Drop
Okumura Rin from Blue Exorcist


The only one I can think of that fits your list is Kanba from Penguindrum. But even in Penguindrum he is offset by Shouma who is the opposite.

Interestingly, there was a thread on TVTropes about how awesome characters are hard to without being called Mary Sue. You don't need to be insanely strong to be overpowered, Light Yagami is one of the smartest characters in anime who can somehow outsmart otherworldly beings or people smarter than him. There are characters who are so smart in fiction, that they might as well be omniscient and it doesn't help that they are charismatic.

I'll wait for the Blu-Ray

Except Light is a sociopath with almost no redeeming value at all. We basically see him 'fall' from grace, as the circumstances become more dire for him, he sheds more and more of his humanity and charisma until we finally see how pathetic he is at his end.

Agreed. The censorship in JoJo is F-ing annoying :mad:.