Awesome Main Characters

[Anime Daisuki]

I'm looking for a male lead who is the epitome of badassery. Manlier than we can ever hope to be. Charismatic but with a heart of gold. The very meaning of the word GAR.

Characters that match the above description:
Kamina
Harima Kenji


Characters that I liked:
Lelouch
L

[NoLongerSane]

Sengoku Basara- Pretty much most/all of the protagonist cast.
Samurai Champloo- Mugen
Cowboy Bebop- Spike

[chaos_alfa]

Darker than Black

[synaesthetic]

Gundam 00.

Everyone is gay for Lockon.

[Haladflire65]

Fullmetal Alchemist. Edward's great and so is Roy Mustang in some later episodes. He defines GAR in episode 19.

[daeyeth]

I know exactly the type of hero you're talking about Daisuki; basically protagonists who aren't pussies and exude self-confidence with swagger. My favorite type of hero as well.

Worst (manga) - absolutely every single one of the characters is a badass. It's about high school gangs
GTO - main hero Onizuka is an ex-gang member who becomes a teacher. He's like Kamina but more kind-hearted and a fierce sense of justice
Berserk - while the main hero is the silent/stoic badass type, not quite what you're looking for, he grows into one of the biggest badasses ever created. It's a medieval fantasy anime/manga. If you can get past how extremely dark it gets, the rewards are absolutely worth it because it defines epic (manga still going after 10 years)
Slam Dunk - about basketball. The main hero is cocky and silly but he's an ex-gang member with a big heart who won't back down from anyone, especially against douchebags.

Originally Posted by NoLongerSane

Sengoku Basara- Pretty much most/all of the protagonist cast.
Samurai Champloo- Mugen
Cowboy Bebop- Spike

Perfectly fit what your looking for, seconded.

I don't quite agree with the other suggestions. Darker than Black and Gundam 00 main heroes are the silent/stoic badass type (and though Lockon fits what you want, but he isn't the main hero). For FMA, Edward loses his cool too much, they make him look silly when he loses his temper in the comedy scenes; Roy's a badass but a secondary character.

[Sackett]

Hmmm, the first that come to mind:

1: Sousuke Sagara from Full Metal Panic: "I am not an amateur. I'm a specialist".

2: Kō Kitamura from Cross Game: Most awesome thing about him? He's this way without any fantastical setting or superpowers. A normal boy in a normal world, yet so incredibly manly- all in a Mr. Rogers type of way.

3: Hayate from Hayate the Combat Butler mainly about the comedy and parodies... but the GAR nature of Hayate is amply displayed in the first episode, and continues to show up at various times. Of course, this is a bit of a paradox as apparently Hayate is also Moe and is often forced into crossdressing. It's all played for comedy rather then manliness so it probably does not fit what you are looking for like the first two, but anyone who can run down a car on a bicycle and... well basically survive half of what Hayate goes through without even thinking twice about it deserves a spot in the annals of GARness.

4: Layfon Alseif of Chrome Shelled Regios although the anime has mixed reviews... I'd give it a 6.5, which on my scale is just good enough to watch.

If you extend your heart of gold criteria to Jerks with a Heart of Gold, then the number of characters become numberless. Including Ranma of Ranma 1/2, Ed of Fullmetal Alchemist, and many many more.

[incube]

Kaze no Stigma - The usual fantasy/action/romance anime but instead of having a weak/pussy main character taking half the series to become usefull, we have, as u said : "...the epitome of badassery. Manlier than we can ever hope to be. Charismatic but with a heart of gold. The very meaning of the word GAR." from the very begining.

Shura no Toki - It is a martial art / historical series that follows the story of an martial artist and his descendants through japans history... The main character(s) just swoops in whenever a major event in going to happen in japan, beats the strongest guys at the moment, in the process getting a girl to fall for him, and after making a name for himself he takes the woman with him and dissapears.

And ill second Berserk, FMP, Samurai Champloo and Cross Game.

[kuru moon]

I like how you describe GAR character. It's really good However, it's hard to find because many GAR characters are not male lead, or not having the heart of gold.

These characters below are full of GAR for me. (and they are all Male lead)

- Munsu from Shin Angyo Onshi(Manhwa) : You may want to be gay after finished this Manhwa.
- Dark Schneider from Bastard(Manga) : Unfortunately, the story constantly go downhill, but he still GAR nevertheless.
- Koinzell from Ubel Blatt(Manga) : GAR!
- Sumimura from Kekkaishi(Manga) : He was not GAR at first, but please wait patiently and you'll see.
- Zhao yun in The Ravages of time(Manhua) : Other characters are GAR as well.
- Kouga Gennosuke from Basilisk (Anime and Manga)
- John Bath from Full Ahead Coco(Manga) : good manga, please give it a try
- Kenshin from Rorouni Kenshin(Manga) : well known
- Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho(Manga or Anime) : well known
- Reiji from Requiem of the Phantom(Anime)
- Adam Blade from Needless(Anime)
- Kabuto Kohji from Shin Mazinger (Anime) : Seriously, this anime was full of Hotblood character. My favorite is Nishikiori Tsubasa.
- Shibuya from Ghosthunt(anime)
- Brandon Heat from Gungrave(Anime)
- Edgar from Earl and Fairy (Anime)

[deathreape98]

I will have to second Kaze no Stigma- the main character is like a hacker, he is way too OP. Although, he has limitations, of course.

Although I think it may be stretching it a little bit, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles can fit your description. To save the girl that he loves, the main character has to give up the thing most valuable to himself, and has to go on a journey that is everlasting to regain it.

[Full Metal Coast]

some that you are after would be:

Sousuke Sagara from Full Metal Panic
Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop
Mugen from Samurai Champloo
Alucard from Hellsing
Hei from Darker than Black
Onizuka from GTO
Kei Kurouno from Gantz
George Kazuma from Kaze no Yojimbo

[incube]

Oh and since we are talking about badassness, i think mentioning Berserk again is the right thing to do. And after the anime you can keep reading the mangas (anime ends around ch 80 and last released ch is 306).

I mean what else can beat a merc swinging a human size sword, slashing everything that dares to stand before him, make it human,beast or monsters from another world.. He starts his journey in perfect conditions and at the moment (ch 306) he is swinging a even bigger sword with one arm and one eye less. And on top of that, even though he is the one that is doing the "saving the world" job, he is treated as a demon and hunted by both humans and monsters....

[Anime Daisuki]

Any chance of there being a Berserk II?

[ThoHell]

BASQUASH!!!!!!!! O_o, just had to suggest something no one else did. Can't have awesomeness without awesome music!

[Anime Daisuki]

I believe some of you have mistaken what I'm asking for. I don't need someone who is powerful beyond belief. It's the personality that makes you gar, not your abilities.

[Flame-X]

Levy/Revy from Black Lagoon

[Shadow Kira01]

Here are some suggestions:

Amanda Werner: You can almost say that she is the sole survivor of the Demoniac Incident if you don't count the kid.

Isayama Yomi: She was supposedly the ace of the anti-supernatural division but after a turn of events, Yomi became the greatest threat to humanity as that she wiped out the entire Division 4 in the prologue. Honestly, the Division 4 team looks like potential candidates to be main characters. Their abilities, skills, and reasoning were all pretty top-notch yet.. Yomi turned evil and tragedies occur.

Ryougi Shiki: The way she wields a dagger seems to do more damage than your best sword-user. Mainly because of her special ability, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

Sheryl Nome: She is the Galactic Fairy of Macross Frontier!

Yakushiji Ryoko: She fights against the SDF, amakudari bureaucrats, and also against supernatural entities. Pretty cool!

[Anime Daisuki]

Originally Posted by Shadow Kira01

Here are some suggestions:

Amanda Werner: You can almost say that she is the sole survivor of the Demoniac Incident if you don't count the kid.

Isayama Yomi: She was supposedly the ace of the anti-supernatural division but after a turn of events, Yomi became the greatest threat to humanity as that she wiped out the entire Division 4 in the prologue. Honestly, the Division 4 team looks like potential candidates to be main characters. Their abilities, skills, and reasoning were all pretty top-notch yet.. Yomi turned evil and tragedies occur.

Ryougi Shiki: The way she wields a dagger seems to do more damage than your best sword-user. Mainly because of her special ability, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

Sheryl Nome: She is the Galactic Fairy of Macross Frontier!

Yakushiji Ryoko: She fights against the SDF, amakudari bureaucrats, and also against supernatural entities. Pretty cool!

I asked for a male lead.

[synaesthetic]

I'm telling you dude, Lockon Stratos. Even his NAME is GAR.

[-HyugaNeji-]

My heart cries over the fact that no one has mentioned Kenshiro (Hokuto no Ken) and Jotaro (JoJo's bizarre adventure) yet :-<