My top vote on the human side would go to
Shannon. Tough call between her and Kanon, but ultimately I prefer her slightly more. In EP1 she was an uninteresting typical maid fetish piece of cannon fodder, and thus not particularly memorable...cue EP2, and suddenly I'm loving how many levels in badass that girl took. The moment where she defended George and actually stood up to Beatrice remains one of my favorite in the series, because it's the only time the normally cool-as-a-cucumber (if a little sadistic and crazy) Beatrice seriously lost it and went batshit crazy.
And she proceeded to do it again in EP3, despite once again being offed in the first twilight. Besides those instances, a lot of her development in general in EP2 especially was interesting to me, and I like how she came off as a 'real' character and not the stereotypical 'pure' type...she knew her love for George was wrong, and that smashing that mirror would probably cause trouble, but Dammit she did it anyways for the sake of her happiness. If I were in such a situation, with a magical witch granting me a chance for my greatest happiness, I'm sure I would not be able to be the noble hero and decline for the sake of the greater good...and neither did Shannon. That felt real to me, and I respect her for standing up for what she wanted - especially since it seemed so against her initial character type to do so. All these things add up to Shannon being my favorite human.
Just below her is of course
Kanon. At the end of EP1, I hadn't really grown attached to any character...I loved the story, but the thing that made it feel so different from
Higurashi to me was that it lacked the charm of the characters (of course that changed, but I really didn't feel it in EP1). However, the one character who stood out to me was the quiet little guy who had the guts to stand up to the culprit, foolish as it may have been...Kanon. He earned my respect, so going into EP2 I felt the most attached to him, and paid attention to his development. Like Shannon, he managed to be badass in EP3 as well, despite being killed off early. Kanon is very mysterious with all his bizarre deaths and the fact that the VN seems oddly fixated on how sneaky and catlike he is, randomly popping up behind people all the time...and while I absolutely despite Shkannon theory and hope that's not true in the end, a resolution wherein Kanon is the culprit or an accomplace would be fine by me. Somehow, I don't think it would stop me from liking him, because I feel like it suits his character. Kanon wins my award for coolest male character in the series...sorry, Battler.
Honorable mention goes to
Battler, for being an awesome protagonist. I feel a strong attachment to the guy, considering as the player we're essentially in his shoes, so his ups always make me cheer and his downs always make me despair. Still, it took a while for me to come to like the guy...until EP3, actually. EP1 Battler felt like the generic protagonist-turned-detective, and he was pretty thoroughly beaten down by Beato in EP2. His comeback in EP3 got me to like him a lot more and retroactively appreciate him in the earlier arcs, and I can't help but get pumped up whenever
Dread of the Grave starts playing and he busts out his epic finger pointing. He just doesn't get my vote because it took a while for him to grow on me, and I'm not as interested in his future development as I am Shannon and Kanon...he's the main character, after all, so whatever ending Ryukishi has intended for him, I'm sure I'll be satisfied (even if it's bittersweet).
Eva and
Kyrie also get honorable mentions. The former was a stone-cold bitch from the moment she was introduced in EP1 (well maybe not in the VN, but my first exposure to this series was the Manga, which skips the airport scene, so I pegged her for the bitch pretty much from the get-go), but I came to like her a lot more in EP3 and sympathize with her for growing up the way she did. Having to endure not fitting with the feminine stereotypes in her chauvinistic family reminded me of myself, a tomboy who never fit in with girls and was always told I should act more feminine growing up. Granted Eva's not quite the same, but her dream was smashed just because she wasn't born a man, and it's something she always resented and wished she could overcome, so I identified with that. I also don't think she's the killer (of anyone but Battler). EP3 quite strongly tries to paint her as suspicious, but that just makes her even less suspicious to me...too easy. I don't believe she would have killed her husband and son like that...I'm with Okonogi. If she did it, they would have made it out alive with her. I don't think Eva is guilty at all...she's a bitch, but she's no murderer.
Kyrie on the other hand...I find incredibly suspicious. I think there's a 90% chance that the series will end with her being the/a culprit, or the mastermind in some way, for various reasons. But that would make me like her more. She's badass, she's extremely smart and cunning...being the villain would just enhance her character and make her even more fascinating. I really wish she'd get some more development, especially since the other 3 females essentially got their own character arcs. Another reason I think Kyrie is suspicious and someone to keep my eye on...but it makes her awesome. Most of the characters I like would bum me out if they turned out to be responsible for these horrible acts, but kinda like Takano, I think that villainly would just make Kyrie cooler. And for that, she also gets honorable mention.
Most hated character on the human side and quite possibly of all the characters is
Rosa. I know a lot of people probably disagree with me about her being the worst, but the sheer fact that her evil actions are realistic is what makes me hate her...she's not some magical being that I can put a fictional label on inside my mind, because when I see what she does, all I can think of is how people like that really exist in this world. That being said, I want her to get a happy ending, perhaps more than anyone else, because she and Maria clearly need that closure. Rosa somehow manages to be sympathetic despite being detestable, and while I don't think her 'reasons' condone her actions in
ANY way, it's clear that she needs that happy ending more than anyone. Until that ending comes, however, she'll remain my most hated character, and I won't mind it one bit as she gets continually offed in the early twilights of the game (though Rosa Musou will be forever awesome, and if seeing her live until the end again would give us another one of
those, then I say bring it on).
Ushiromiya Battler
Ushiromiya Ange
Ushiromiya George
Ushiromiya jessica
Ushiromiya Maria
Ushiromiya Kinzo
Ushiromiya Krauss
Ushiromiya Natsuhi
Ushiromiya Eva
Ushiromiya Hideyoshi
Ushiromiya Rudolf
Ushiromiya Kyrie
Ushiromiya Rosa
Shannon
Kanon
Ronoue Genji
Gohda Toshiro
Kumasawa Chiyo
Nanjo Terumasa
Others
Graphic Designer
Moderator
