Liking characters with not-so-likable traits

Forgive me for being vague here but I've rarely ever hated any fictional character with a red hot passion. I can dislike them when they're embody certain archetypes like The Scrappy, the Mean Girl, or the Bully yet at other times, I can like certain characters because they have these hatable traits to them.

Maybe it's because I acknowledge that I'm suppose to hate them or that I'm so appalled by their cattiness that I actually admire the lengths they go (Seto Kaiba from Yu Gi Oh for one). Perhaps it's because I'm watching them and don't have to interact with them in real life or maybe my obnoxious little sister has taught me that it really can't get any worse that her.

Anyone else had this occur to them or am I just an glitch in the system?

I think this sums up my love of 90% of the Game of Thrones characters. Most of them have terrible traits, but I either like them anyway or find myself really interested in the character.

One example, Cersei Lannister - she's a horrible woman but a fantastic character.

I can't like unlikeable characters unless I can sympathize with them a little, get in their head and understand their motives. More important that that though is their having some redeeming quality.

I'll use Hannibal as a great example. He eats people, messes with people's heads, and is generally a horrible human being. But he seems to care for Will/Clarice (depending on which incarnation) and that's something you can relate to. He's also got a lot of problems, you know? All these secrets he has to keep, and so on. That's something you can understand.

Now, an unlikeable character who just hates someone and has all the power? Pffft, boring, uninteresting. I can't stand shallow characters like that.

Of course the first person that came to mind is the same one you used as an example, haha. Kaiba is such a terrible person, especially in the manga. He's borderline insane. And he's just creepy and obsessive. But he's so freakin' sassy and I can't hate him completely because of that just omg. He is sass master.

Charlie Sheen from Two And A Half Men. He sleeps with numerous girls, drinks so much that his liver is damaged for over 2 other lifespan, is a jackass at some times. But that's what makes him so awesome and it's why people loved him in the show. If he wasn't the jackass he was in the show, I don't think people would've loved him :P

Unlikable characters that I like? Nobunaga Oda from Sengoku Basara. He is just evil. He kills everyone in his way, uses his allies as bait and then leaves them to die, lets his right hand man kill his sisters husband, lets his sister kill his wife (after that he comments how useless she was to him) and finaly kills his sister... I mean...damn! Talk about going beyond evil. Why do I like him then? Well he is the most badass character in the series...with the most badass theme song. But I also have studied his history so much that I can apriciate this kind of interpritation of him.

SwiftSign said:

I think this sums up my love of 90% of the Game of Thrones characters. Most of them have terrible traits, but I either like them anyway or find myself really interested in the character.

One example, Cersei Lannister - she's a horrible woman but a fantastic character.

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Same. Also goes with Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter. Horrible wizard, but a brilliant character.

Sydian said:

Of course the first person that came to mind is the same one you used as an example, haha. Kaiba is such a terrible person, especially in the manga. He's borderline insane. And he's just creepy and obsessive. But he's so freakin' sassy and I can't hate him completely because of that just omg. He is sass master.

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Recalling Death-T, I can't blame you. But Kaiba wouldn't be Kaiba without his massive, sun-eclipsing ego.

I like complex characters. Your Tony Sopranos or your Walter Whites or your Kim Kelleys (just finished watching Freaks and Geeks) aren't the heroic archetypes that define much of mainstream entertainment, but they're more fascinating to watch because of their flaws and unlikeable-ness.

I love Jacqueline Natla from Tomb Raider, even though she is a totally unsympathetic character who caused Atlantis' destruction due to her own arrogance. It must be the long gown, the imposing figure, and the voice of Grey DeLisle.

I tend to like a lot of badass, genuinely unsympathetic female villains. But they have to have a coolness factor. If they're not cool, then they're just awful. You can see why people hate Dolores Umbridge - she isn't cool; she's just evil.

It's actually easier for me to like villains than anti-heroes, especially male ones. I don't like the idea of rooting for a jerk.

I generally hate tsunderes, but only if they're the main female character. A supporting character who is a tsundere is fine, but a leading lady...no. Give me a nice girl any day. That's why I think Naruto should go for Hinata and let Sakura hook up with that jerk Sasuke instead (though I am not big on Naruto).

Daffy Duck in his Looney Tunes Show variation.

I usually appreciate villains and straight man characters. Examples of the latter would be things like Squidward from Spongebob and Benson from Regular Show.

The characters I tend to dislike with a fiery passion are the stupid-for-laughs characters.

I don't hate Mako: http://matt0044.deviantart.com/journal/Addressing-the-Mako-Korra-hate-398656501 (follow the link before jumping down my throat, okay?)

I hate the over-reliance on stupid male heroes in Japanese media. It drives me crazy. They'll even turn naive ones into stupid ones through adaptations. That's why I had a few issues with the live-action Yatterman movie. In the show, Gan is naive, not stupid. In the movie, he is quite stupid. I still like the movie, though I strongly prefer the anime - both series are good. (I'm also not thrilled that they cast adults as Gan and Ai.) Oh well, my friend Ashley likes the movie, and I respect that.

You don't see stupid female heroes. Girls can be stupid too, you know.

Moonstone from Marvel Comics' Thunderbolts (or Dark Avengers or whatever series she's in now). She is (largely) unrepentant, manipulative, and borderline sadistic. But at the same time she is very intelligent and charismatic (doesn't hurt that she's also a knock-out). It helps that she's also a fictional character that I don't have to deal with in my every day life. I would probably hate her if I ever met her.

It is kind of tough for me to like unlikable characters, but I manage.

Take Scarlett O'Hara, for example. Throughout Gone with the Wind, she shows how arrogant, selfish, and spoiled she is (plus she's catty and manipulative to a point where even Sakura Haruno wouldn't go), and constantly pines for a man who she can't have. She's still my favourite character in the book/movie because I think they show that she's only human, and it's obvious that she isn't all bad. Sometimes it's hard to sympathise with someone who's too perfect.

Tao Ren's my bby.



I can relate to him in almost every way possible.

The recent film Inside Llewyn Davis (which is fantastic, by the way) features a completely irresponsible and self-absorbed protagonist that you end up sympathizing with anyway.

Walter White from Breaking Bad is a fantastic example. He was an arrogant, selfish ******* of a man and yet, deep down, weren't we all rooting for him from the start to the bitter end?

Eric Cartman from South Park. He's a fat, foul-mouth, racist child w/ evil intentions, yet he's somehow enjoyable to watch because of it. You just can't wait what evil scheme he has in store. It also makes me wonder if such an evil child like Cartman does exist irl.