Senselessly Polarized Characters · 11:13pm May 4th, 2014
In games, movies and television (and books, but I can't show pictures of that), there are those awesome characters whose awesomeness is unexplainable. You watch with someone else and they get a totally different outlook on the exact same characters as you do... but there's just something in your head that makes you think one character is better than any of the others.
For example, my favorite pony:
What makes her awesome in my eyes? I don't know; I can't explain why, she's just the polarizing character for me.
There are dozens of these characters that I hold near and dear to my heart, and I don't understand my reasons for liking these specific characters so much. They weren't made to be the character that pulls people in randomly, but they pulled me in all the same.
If you recognize ALL of these, I don't care who you are, we gotta hang out. I doubt you will, though. 
This is just a few of the characters that I could pull to mind by thinking off the top of my head. If I went into a list of things I've played or watched, I'm pretty sure this list would quadruple in size.
Who are your senselessly polarized characters? The ones that make no sense to like, but that you find yourself liking immensely anyway?
For me, it would be Domingo from the game Shining Force. He has almost no character development or lines at all in the game, but he is still one of my all time favorite video game characters.
2077492
>googles him
Aw, he looks awesome! I'd probably like him too.
Dampe from the Zelda series (I don't know why, I just like the guy)
Grog from the Zelda series (Same story as Dampe)
Horned King from The Black Cauldron (horrible movie, but he was a pretty awesome villain).
Karibe from Way of the Samurai (He has a special place in my childhood heart; he was pretty badass, too).
Kyojiro Kagenuma from Way of the Samurai 2 (Nothing like a psychotic samurai chick)
The Sound 5 from Naruto, and throw in Dosu with his team, too (Not a huge Naruto fan, but I actually really liked these two teams; they had interesting powers and designs).
Both Roger and Maria from Star Ocean 3 (Roger reminds me of myself as a kid, and Maria, well... My puberty. That's all i'm gonna say about that).
Waluigi from the Mario games (I will admit that as an opposite of Luigi, Waluigi is pretty bad. However, there's just some kind of charm about him that makes me wish there was more development on him, just like there was with Wario).
Agro from Shadow of the Colossus (She was a loyal and awesome horse. You better believe I threw a huge ass tantrum when it came to last colossus; one where I didn't pick up the game for a while, I was so upset).
Hrmm... I can't think of anymore at the moment.
2077581
For Zelda, mine was just the Gorons in general. I loved those guys... not sure if they were made to be so lovable, though I wouldn't be surprised if they were.
Mine for Naruto was Rock Lee. No idea why I liked him so much, but his fight with Gaara was pretty awesome. I stopped watching Naruto not long afterward.
I like Wario in Super Smash Bros. Brawl; he's not much of a fan favorite, but probably my favorite. I don't really have a favorite character in other Mario things, mostly just whoever I'm supposed to like; they don't have much development past whoever they're focusing on, anyway.
That's about all the new memories you gave me.
I'll have to look up Way of the Samurai and Star Ocean in general... I did play most of the way through The Last Hope, but I've always been interested in Star Ocean, and I think things with samurai in them are cool. 
I don't think it's specific to certain characters for me, but rather archetypes. The two that I like the most are
1. Con men who are constantly trying to get some sort of prize(e.i money, knowledge, ultimate superweapones.) and never reform. They may pretend to reform, but take off with the protagonist's secret resource at the last minute. They live off trickery and scams. The main examples of this I know of are Flim and Flam, but the occasionally times I've seen characters like this in other stuff I've enjoyed them too.
2. Insane characters who are powerful. They be very insane to the point only the other insane and the extremely oblivious can deny their insanity, and they must be powerful enough that the protagonist can't just pass by them or ignore them. Examples are the Joker or Discord.
2077648
Hmm... archetypes, huh? I can't say I ascribe to certain archetypes, but I know I almost always polarize to characters that aren't overly popular; it's probably the inner hipster in me.
I think archetypes would make liking certain characters easier, but I can't think of any that my characters fit in, except "non-lead role, but still noteworthy."
Sorry, I don't really know any of those people/ogres/whatevers; I'm not much of a video game person. My polarized characters are.....Parker from Leverage, Castle from Castle, um......Ziva from NCIS......yeah. And Max from 2 Broke Girls.
2077702
That doesn't sound senselessly polarized.
I'm talking about the characters that you like nonsensically, not just your favorite characters.
There's no reason why I should like Ambassador Kosh (second from the bottom) so much, but he's just so awesome! 
Speaking of Ambassador Kosh, you should watch Babylon 5.
2077750 Um, yeah, I don't think I'll watch Babylon 5 from looking at that picture.
One character I like for no reason is AJ; I don't even know why!
2077606
I personally loved the Dekus. They seemed cute, and flying around by using flowers was an awesome concept to me.
As for the WotS games... If you look into them, my personal suggestion is to try and just stick to the first two games. Those two have a lot of culture and are pretty realistic. The third and fourth games, eeehhh... They're more over-the-top, unrealistic, and really, the soundtracks are a jumbled mess that dissonates too much (and in an ear-grating way).
2077799
Is AJ a favorite, though?
neatnik2009.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/endgame-05.jpg
Captain John Sheridan of Babylon 5.
neatnik2009.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/born-to-the-purple-03.jpg
Commander Susan Ivanova of Babylon 5.
img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080418191058/babylon5/images/9/96/ComingofShadowsLondo01.jpg
Ambassador Londo Mollari of Babylon 5.
neatnik2009.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/the-long-twilight-struggle-03.jpg
Ambassador G'kar of Babylon 5.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/B5_delenn.jpg
Ambassador Delenn of Babylon 5.
roleplaying.diraven.net/babylon5/rcc/images/y5_25.jpg
Ambassador Kosh of Babylon 5.
img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20071130081300/babylon5/images/c/ca/Morden.jpg
Mr. Morden.
jennysb5world.3owl.com/b5wallpaper/640dock13.jpg
A docked Vorlon ship.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Babylon_5_Space_Station.png
Babylon 5.
I trust you're now interested.
2077866
I'll definitely only invest effort into playing the first two WotS games, then.
me? I would go with : Luna,fluttershy,the whole felyne population,rathalos,lagiacrus and luigi
>Ecocat<
2078553
Rathalos? Lagiacrus?
2078566 search monster hunter.NOW
2078594
Oh, g-goodness.
fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/049/4/9/fluttershy_is____umm____ready__by_thatguy1945-d5vfkx9.png
I don't have time to be starting a new fancy, though... my hands are so full with other things...
2078602 ok......
but yes, I really like rathalos and lagiacrus.(and felynes,they are cat peopleimg1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100319045659/monsterhunter/images/3/30/Felyne-Jaggi.png 
>Ecocat<
2078624
Maybe when I start to get some more free time, I'll look into getting something Monster Hunter.
2078624
oh almost forgot the melynximg1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140107144409/monsterhunter/images/e/e4/MH4-Melynx_Render_001.png
>Ecocat<
2078643
Me likey!
2078334 Nope, AJ's not a favorite! That's Rainbow Dash.
But, I guess I'll watch it.....only if you watch some Doctor Who, though!
2079080
Hey, I was planning on it!
Make sure you start Babylon 5 from the beginning, too. It's got a really awesome storyline!
2079277 Oh, so it's a show? I thought it was a movie! Let's see, I'll put it on my binge-watching agenda:
So it'll be a while.
2079286
Fun Fact: Babylon 5 is only 5 seasons and 4 or 5 movies. It's probably the shortest of all the series on there, though I can't say I know anything about Leverage.
I've been looking for more people to nerd out about Babylon 5 with, but all the cool people haven't watched it yet.
2079307 Well, I know how hard it can be to have no one to geek it up with about the things you love, so maybe I'll bump it up. Leverage can wait, right (it's actually a great show-- you'd love it)? Oh, I know what I forgot on my agenda! I have to watch Squid Girl. But yeah, I'll watch it soon.
Truffles!img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120113144950/mlp/images/4/43/Truffle_Shuffle_S02E12.png
Probably, the reason that he's so endearing to me is because he kind of looks like a pony version of myself.
2079324
I think my roommate watches Leverage. I've seen bits and pieces, and it's definitely something I would watch after everything else and if I was able to fabricate extra time to do things I wanted to do.
2079338
Holy crap he's adorable.
Holy crap I bet you're adorable.
2079382 Yeah, it's good, funny, full of mystery, and just a great show overall.
2079453
Well, currently, when I'm not playing games in my free time, I'm watching Quantum Leap, Penn & Teller, Dilbert, Godzilla movies, or any other random movie that I'm in the mood for. I'm on the last season of Quantum Leap, I'm on season 5/8 of Penn & Teller, I'm about halfway through season 1 of 2 of Dilbert, I'm still a few movies out from the 1985 reboot on Godzilla, and I (thankfully) don't watch other movies all that often.
When Quantum Leap is over, I'll be looking for another live-action drama, but I was planning on hitting Firefly first, since it's so short. Leverage is on the back-burner currently, as there's a lot of sci-fi shows that can fill that gap; Red Dwarf seems really promising. I'm also really itching to re-watch Babylon 5 with someone, so that may be what I watch after Firefly, or maybe even after Red Dwarf. I know Leverage isn't sci-fi, but neither is Quantum Leap, and I want a great sci-fi that isn't Star Trek. Nothing against Star Trek, but it's just too big and got too many episodes and series for me to ever want to get into it.
Doctor Who may also fit into this timeline somewhere; maybe I'll substitute all B5 with Doctor Who instead. Man, there's so much I wanna watch!
tfw2005.com/boards/attachments/movies-television/27258032d1317163419-my-little-pony-unknown-crazy.png
2079477 I love Quantum Leap! But sorry, um, yeah, you should watch Firefly. It's sci-fi, but it's definitely not Star Trek. I take no offense to that, although I am a serious Trekkie, but I understand not wanting to watch it, as it's getting a little old and has been done so many times. It's a lot to handle, and it takes AGES to really get into it. If you do, however, become a Trekkie at any period in your lifetime, I suggest you brush up on the story from one of those internet websites, then watch Trouble with Tribbles which is an episode from the original generation. Although Red Dwarf does seem interesting, I've never quite gotten the chance to indulge, as many of my other fandoms have begun to consume my time. Oh, and then there's that school thing. Man, if I'm 12 and have this many fandoms, think what'll happen when I'm your age!
2079510
Seen it. My dad had me watch it. If that's the best that Star Trek has to offer, I'll satisfy myself re-watching Babylon 5 instead.
You may even someday recognize all of the senselessly polarized characters I listed!
2079404
Um...(blushes uncontrollably) Th-thank you...
2079579 Haha, maybe you won't. I admit, Star Trek is old now. It had it's days, it was great. I even know some Klingon, I loved it so much (tlhIngan maH!). But it's been done so many times that it's just boring now.
2079849
Do you wear fezzes, by any chance?
img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120630020620/mlp/images/c/c9/Truffle_Shuffle_S2E23.png
2079938
It's a fez. I wear fezzes now. Fezzes are cool.
Oh, characters I like for no explainable reason?
Both Al-Cid and Cid from FF12:
ffcompendium.com/chara/12alcid3.jpg
iv1.lisimg.com/image/2611337/600full-final-fantasy-xii-screenshot.jpg
They both have style but one of them is more or less a background character you need to pay attention to to at least notice his story and the other one is merely a boss you are beating late in the game.
The early Spyro made by Insomniac:
fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/113/c/8/spyro_the_dragon_by_chicken_run_away-d62svtg.jpg
He has not the interesting stoy of the new one, heck, most of the time he is more of a braggart than anything else but...well, I like him. And yes, Spike reminds me of him.
Craig Un'Shallach from Spellforce:
img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110521173657/spellforce/images/e/ea/2930581646_7065f65ea3_m-1-.jpg
Again, he is more of a side-character in the first Spellforce series and gets killed off in a cutscene in the beginning of the second series (not without fucking up his appearance though
) but I always liked this guy from the first time I saw him.
Ben 10 from Ben 10 (not the later series, the first one):
freeben10.net/wallpapers/ben10-wallpaper-14.jpg
He's an immature kid with the power of the universe on his wrist. And is hunted down by some evil alien-conqueror-squid-thingie. He makes a lot of mistakes but I liked him nonetheless. Sadly they fucked that series up like crazy with later installments. And I couldn't even watch the reboot for more than 5 minutes...
Garret from Thief 3:
pcgames.de/screenshots/original/2009/05/Thief_3.jpg
No, I didn't play the fourth one yet so he might be better. But I like the idea of a thief which stands between several political parties, getting manipulated into shit and stealing from all of them. Plus, Thief 3 was one of the games that actually made me scared at some point (when you go into the orphanage, the first part)
Well, Doctor Who has already been mentioned, but yeah, I like that series (since the 9th doctor at least, couldn't really find the old ones yet) a lot.
Gurren Lagann:
wallpapr.biz/wp-content/uploads/Gurren-Lagann-Wallpapers.jpg
Because of horrible one-liners, ridicolous hype and an awesome show nonetheless. Oh and it was short too, which helps if you want to binge on it.
Epic Rap Battles of History:
static.planetminecraft.com/files/resource_media/screenshot/1245/Screen-Shot-2012-04-02-at-54848-PM_4110884.jpg
'Nuff said. Although I like the pony version where they actually rap and not just copy better. Especially Iron Will vs. Zecora.
And that's about it of the top of my head. I'm sure I could add a lot more, but these were what came to mind instantly.
2079307
Um...I know you wouldn't really know it but...I like Babylon 5
Are...are you saying I'm not one of the cool people? persons...agh you know what I mean
I'm not sure how much I'd nerd out about the show, though. Earlier persons to talk to were limited to my dad and my brother which are both not really the type to talk about the nerdy stuff. (Dad wouldn't really talk about it and my brother, well, you know)
2107587
I never played FF12, but those sound like some guys you weren't really meant to like a whole lot. Yeah, those are senselessly polarized.
Spyro was supposed to be polarized, being the main character; whether or not the developers hit the mark in making Spyro likable is debatable, but he's not senselessly polarized.
I loved the original Spyro, he was an ambitious teenager-type guy in the parts he did show and a blank slate in the parts they didn't show, letting us write his personality as we wished. A very good character, in my opinion. 
Craig Un'Shallach sounds exactly like who I'm talking about, though I can't nerd out about Spellforce, sadly.
Ben is made to be a polarized character, similar to Spyro. Maybe he didn't seem very polarized, but to the target audience, he must have been, seeing as the series became so popular. Or maybe it was just his hot sister that everyone was watching the series for. Regardless, Ben doesn't quite fit this criteria.
I haven't played any of the Thief games yet; I have no idea how they're played or work or anything like that. I really can't offer any semblance of an opinion here.
Gurren Lagann as a series was wonderful. Not exactly a senselessly polarized character, though.
I also wasn't a fan of Epic Rap Battles of History, though that was actually beloved of many when I attended Job Corps. That's a well-received series.
Okay, have you seen all of Babylon 5? Because you have to have seen all of it before we can nerd out over it.
2108432
Well, maybe they liked tentacles or Grandpas that actually saved the universe a few times over? Also, how does the intent of making a character polarized make him NOT polarized? Or was it just the senseless part that's missing here?
Well, then it's time to change that, don't you think?
Nah, don't bother. I think you don't have too much free time anyways and these games need some time to get good at.
Well, I have seen it (with a few missed episodes sadly) but it was like 5 years ago. I'd need to watch it again to refresh my knowledge. Know any good site for it?
2108777
Ben is meant to be polarized. I'm talking about characters that none of the devs of the show or movie or game put overly much thought into--an insignificant character, if you will, the kind of person who likely has a high probability of dying by the end of the series. No one really tried to make them likable, but you end up liking them for whatever ridiculous reason.
I wouldn't know a good B5 site, sadly. I have always watched it on discs. It's also been longer than 5 years since I watched it.
2111274
Huh...well that IS an explanation. However, would the Lemmings (to name one extreme case) be a fitting case here? They literally do nothing but running around in a group, even headlong into lava or spikes. In fact, the whole game's premise is to get as many of them over to the exit. Still you can't help but love these guys - complete with a lot of comics.
However I'm not sure if these are made to be likeable or not...
That IS sad to hear. I more or less watched it together with my dad and brother on the TV for a while back then but I never found any good site myself. Maybe this one friend of mine knows one? He is really into Sci-Fi-Series (mostly Star Wars but he definitely knows enough about the other series too)...
...well if I find something I'll tell you, kay? Also, if you just want to talk about it, simply write me something and we'll figure something out, yeah?