Board 8 > I rank 155 characters by visual design [ranking] [part 2]

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/0692feca.jpg

Pictured: the top 105!

This is topic 2 of my ranking of 155 fictional characters nominated by you, the people of Board 8, though I'm not disregarding the possibility there may have been some mildly sentient AI burritos involved. Weve gotten through the bottom 50, but there are a little more than 100 to go. Heres whos left, in alphabetical order:

Admiral Bobbery (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)
Aku (Samurai Jack)
Allura (My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale)
Amaterasu (Okami)
An Ena (ENA)
Anya Forger (Spy x Family)
Aquamarine (Steven Universe)
Artorias the Abysswalker (Dark Souls)
Bowser (Bowser's Fury)
Campsite (Preeny Has to Repeat 6th Grade)
Chun-Li (Street Fighter II)
Clodsire (Pokmon)
Colonoscopy Elephant (colonoscopy early detection pamphlet)
Courage (Courage the Cowardly Dog)
Cryptic (The Stormlight Archive)
Dante (Limbus Company)
Demi-fiend (Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne)
Devourer of Souls (Anvil of Dawn)
Donquixote Doflamingo (One Piece)
Drachma (Skies of Arcadia)
Edward (Cowboy Bebop)
Elesh Norn (Magic: The Gathering)
Emmrich Volkarin (Dragon Age: The Veilguard)
Eurydice (Hades)
Ganondorf (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker)
Gilgamesh (Civilization VI)
Gogotte (Puyo Puyo Fever 2)
Guernica (Persona 5 Tactica DLC)
Guile (Street Fighter II)
Gundramon (Digimon)
Gut (fursona)
Harley Quinn (Batman: Arkham Knight)
Heismay Noctule (Metaphor ReFantazio)
HUMANOID DJ (HUMANOID DJ)
Jessica Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
John Silver (Treasure Planet)
Jotaro Kujo (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
Judy lvarez (Cyberpunk)
Kass (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
Kat (Gravity Rush)
King (The Owl House)
King of All Cosmos (Katamari Damacy)
Kirby (Kirby)
Kitasan Black (Uma Musume: Pretty Derby)
Klonoa (Klonoa 2)
KOS-MOS (Xenosaga) [Xenoblade version]
Kratos (God of War [original trilogy])
Lady Kikka (Saiyuki: Journey West) [butterfly form]
Lap Sap Chung (Keep Hong Kong Clean)
Larry (Pokmon Scarlet/Violet)
Little My (Moomin 1990)
Lum Bam-foo (Fantasy Strike)
Magik (Marvel Rivals)
Majin Buu (Dragon Ball Z)
Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty [1959])
Marina Ida (Splatoon 2)
Marx (Kirby Super Star)
Master Chief (Halo)
Midna (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)
Mind flayers (Dungeons & Dragons [3e])
Miss Heed (Villainous)
Mizutsune (Monster Hunter)
Nightcrawler (X-Men)
Niko (OneShot)
No-Face (Spirited Away)
Optimus Prime (Transformers)
Pancham (Pokmon)
Parin (Gurumin)
Pepelogoo (Monster World IV)
Peppermint Patty (Peanuts)
Pomni (The Amazing Digital Circus)
Popoi (Secret of Mana)
Poppy (League of Legends)
Queen Chrysalis (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
Rauru (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom)
Repede (Tales of Vesperia)
Rosie the Riveter (We Can Do It!)
Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy (Elden Ring)
Saya (Saya no Uta)
Scourge the Hedgehog (Archie Sonic the Hedgehog)
Sef (A Dance of Fire and Ice: Neo Cosmos)
Shanoa (Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia)
Shiki Ryougi (Kara no Kyoukai)
Shuma-Gorath (Marvel)
Sissel (Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective)
Slylandro (Star Control II)
Snoopy (Peanuts)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Tali'Zorah nar Rayya (Mass Effect [2 and 3])
Terebi-chan (Nico Nico Douga)
The Globglogabgalab (Strawinsky and the Mysterious House)
The Grinch (How the Grinch Stole Christmas [1966 TV special])
The Sultan (Aladdin)
Tiamat (Forgotten Realms) [dragon form]
Titania (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance)
Todd (from Mario) (Drawfee)
V (Devil May Cry 5)
Viridi (Kid Icarus: Uprising)
Virtual Cat (Virtual Cat)
Voteless (Helldivers)
Voyager (Fate/Grand Order)
Xavier (Xavier: Renegade Angel)
Yo-a-mong (Eastern Mind: The Lost Souls of Tong-Nou)
Zero (Mega Man X)
Zizou Olympia (The Legend of Dark Witch [Episode 2])

And here, let us mourn the fallen, those of the fashion faux pas and the stunted characterization and the goofy ass headgear:

106) 2B (NieR: Automata)
107) Utsuho Reiuji (Touhou Project)
108) Storm (X-Men 97)
109) Dante (Devil May Cry 5)
110) Megumi Kitanji (The World Ends With You)
111) Jack Knight / Starman (DC)
112) Inugami Korone (hololive)
113) CatNap (Poppy Playtime: Chapter 3)
114) Azel (Panzer Dragoon Saga)
115) The Line (The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics)
116) Toree (Toree series)
117) Percy de Rolo (The Legend of Vox Machina)
118) Moze (Honkai: Star Rail)
119) Hummel Trabaldo (Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana)
120) Elliana (Rivals of Aether)
121) Remilia Scarlet (Koumajou Remilia II: Stranger's Requiem)
122) Rambley the Raccoon (Indigo Park)
123) Matt Damon (Arthur)
124) Megumi Aikawa (Heaven Burns Red)
125) Golden Harvest (aka Carrot Top) (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
126) Alicia (Valkyrie Profile 2)
127) Saiki Kusuo (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.)
128) Juste Belmont (Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance)
129) Chloe Price (Life is Strange)
130) Maya Fey (Ace Attorney)
131) Marghild Esmund (Final Fantasy XIV)
132) Kuon (Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception)
133) Sthertoth, God of Chaos (Bomberman 64: The Second Attack!)
134) Ico (ICO)
135) Delta Ludicolo (Pokmon Trading Card Game)
136) Nightwing (Batman)
137) Aya Brea (Parasite Eve)
138) Daniel (Eternal Return)
139) Nero (Devil May Cry 5)
140) Artoria Caster (Fate/Grand Order)
141) Jimbo (Balatro)
142) Glenn (Chrono Cross)
143) Battler Ushiromiya (Umineko When They Cry [manga])
144) Ashe (League of Legends) [PROJECT]
145) Kanbaru Suruga (Monogatari)
146) HOBaRT (SiIvaGunner: King for Another Day)
147) Specimen 8 (AKA, The Deer Lord) (Spooky's House of Jumpscares)
148) Overseer (Helldivers)
149) Vritika Balakrishnan (Heaven Burns Red)
150) Galactus (Marvel)
151) Diona (Genshin Impact)
152) Tracer (Overwatch)
153) Nate Mitotsudaira (Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere)
154) Cable (Marvel)
155) Edea Kramer (Final Fantasy VIII)

There have been some surprises so far, for sure. Whos been the most shocking drop for you? On the opposite end, whos still in that youre shaking your head at?

Heres to another 500 posts of sharply dressed men, interestingly dressed women, and a dog or two. Lets roll!

Juste Belmont is still the most shocking to me, especially with some of the ones ranked above. Dude is STYLING.

Snake5555555555 posted...

Juste Belmont is still the most shocking to me, especially with some of the ones ranked above. Dude is STYLING.

it has been discussed that rwlh does not like suave dudes

:[]

anyways i'm pulling for admiral bobbery now

Edea being LAST is wild

I actually don't remember who I nominated, so this'll be a surprise when we get to mine.

Both of my picks survived the first thread, I better count my blessings

Tag.

Tag

Anagram posted...

I actually don't remember who I nominated, so this'll be a surprise when we get to mine.

-

105. Ganondorf (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker)
@Anagram

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/3/3e431f9b.jpg

Ganondorf got a nifty design for Wind Waker that emphasizes his presence. By that I mean, whenever hes on screen, the players eyes are drawn to him. The cartoony, cel-shaded Wind Waker artstyle surprisingly does wonders for Ganondorf; hes not cute like Link or Zelda, but hes given new depth, as the style shows off different aspects of his character.

This is one of the rounder Dorfs. Theres an emphasis on his midsection and tiny head, making him very ovular, not quite bird-like but adjacent to that. Hes got like ancient Hylian runes or some shit on his cloak, a cloak so vast it engulfs his entire arms and almost stretches to the floor. The symbolism here is palpable: Ganondorf in Wind Waker is defined by his history, both of the Gerudo people and of Hyrule as a whole, so it makes sense that hes practically swimming in the past. AlsoHyrule got flooded, so it makes sense that the dude is floating inside his massive clothes.

That look on his face is so strong too. This is a Dorf whos seen some shit. He looks down at Link literally, because hes so tiny and dismisses him entirely. He has no time for games. Hes survived the end of the world, and hes willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants.

Ive never been super high on Ganondorf as a character. From my experience, hes always come off as your stereotypical EEEEVIL villain whos evil because evil is fun (hence the superlative King of Evil). Here though, were presented with an interesting take on the character. Is the Dorf truly evil, or is he doing whats best for his fallen people? That face, that stance, those clothesthey tell a compelling story.

Chaeix posted...

it has been discussed that rwlh does not like suave dudes

What's the over/under on Sissel then?

azuarc posted...

What's the over/under on Sissel then?

i am not one to judge as he is a suave dude but also has weird hair

Damn, starting part two by dropping off peak character design

skulltrumpets posted...

Damn, starting part two by dropping off peak character design

That's how part one started, after all

You can't just drop Gritty in a bikini as a poll option without warning us beforehand! I couldn't restrain myself, and now I'm on a watchlist for public indecency in 32 countries!

I was bracing for Kat to drop during the waifus in interesting clothing tier, so I'm pleasantly surprised she's still in. Let's see if she makes the top 100. Not much further now!

Chaeix posted...

anyways i'm pulling for admiral bobbery now

While we're still on the subject of the male gaze

I don't care that he's a bob-omb, he could get it from me

tag

Gritty in a bikini sounds like one of the best character designs of all time.

More to the point though, I think a lot of it comes down to three factors for me: how the character is treated by the world, how the character is treated by the camera, and whether or not the outfit feels comfortable. The last one is super subjective, but the easy example is the general lack of sports bras (or, in works set in fantasy, any equivalent to a sarashi) in most anime media. I don't understand how that little bit of jiggle comes off as sensual to most men; to me, it just looks painful.

But yeah. If the clothes match the character, men aren't snickering about her behind her back, and the camera isn't randomly giving me closeups of her chest, it's rare for anything to come across as sensual to me.

Wow, that drop for Ganondorf is probably the first one that really surprises me

dowolf posted...

Gritty in a bikini sounds like one of the best character designs of all time.

https://x.com/GrittyNHL/status/1620802560016941057

The "male gaze" and "overly sexualized" convo I'm a bit split on. It can definitely take away from a design for me, but there's definitely a fine line. I do think 2B is a bit sexualized but honestly could be a lot worse to me. It's not quite at the point it starts to remove my enjoyment, most of my memory of 2B's design is her hair and blindfold tbh. I do think we need more designs for the male gays tho

It sucks that one of my favorite Tales character, and perhaps characters in general, Velvet Crowe, is subjected to one of the worst costume designs of all time.

MysteriousStan posted...

It sucks that one of my favorite Tales character, and perhaps characters in general, Velvet Crowe, is subjected to one of the worst costume designs of all time.

Yeah...

dowolf posted...

and whether or not the outfit feels comfortable. The last one is super subjective, but the easy example is the general lack of sports bras (or, in works set in fantasy, any equivalent to a sarashi) in most anime media. I don't understand how that little bit of jiggle comes off as sensual to most men; to me, it just looks painful.

What's fun is having a significant other who needs breast support, otherwise she'd be in worse pain without it.

The allure of big bouncy boobies is lost on me, as all I can think about is "gee, wouldn't it be nice for my gf to be able to afford the breast reduction surgery that she wants." :I

I think I mostly agree with your overall points, but I don't know if I'll ever not be at least a little grumpy at oversexualization for quite a while because it is definitely NOT equal among all genders.

It's true, we need more oversexualized males, a nice bulge goes a long way

104. John Silver (Treasure Planet)
@Place

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/c149debf.jpg

Here is a character who absolutely benefits from a video and not a still image. (It doesnt help that there are basically no full body shots of him.) This is the video I watched:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UotPRxE30No

John Silver is a cyborg. He has a cybernetic eye, right arm, and right leg. His arm has remarkable functionality: in just under three minutes he turns it into various kitchen appliances and uses it to start a fire. His cybernetics look somewhat flimsy, perhaps suggesting the rough-and-tumble life of a pirate hes so accustomed to. Hes a bit rotund I ranked him near Ganondorf for a reason and like Ganondorf, hes got some heft to his presence. The video shows him nimbly stepping around but you get the strong feeling that where he walks, people notice.

And would you believe this guy is the villain? Treasure Planet gives us one of Disneys most sympathetic villains. Hes got an agenda, but hes friendly as all get out and genuinely likes the protagonist. Silvers design sort of reflects this, giving him a mixture of cold/mechanical/creepy and warm/organic/inviting.

Also, as Treasure Planet takes place in a science fiction setting, I appreciate how Silvers cybernetics dont just look cool, they have practical uses. We see him cooking and chopping up meat; he also uses his cybernetic eye to examine a characters suit. The fluidity of the animation helps bring all this to life watching the video really helped, so Id recommend checking it out if you want a good assessment of his design (its under three minutes).

John Silver is a great character and villain

John Silver's a bear, that does count

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

John Silver's a bear, that does count

Maybe the real treasure planet is the hunky cyborg we found along the way

In honor of 2B and John Silver being ranked right next to each other

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/64869313.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4536dcef.jpg

wallmasterz posted...

Maybe the real treasure planet is the hunky cyborg we found along the way

So true, we need more hunky bear types

Wait what in the world? 2B out so early? That's crazy.

KamikazePotato posted...

In honor of 2B and John Silver being ranked right next to each other

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/64869313.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4536dcef.jpg

https://youtu.be/51iohb6sOS8?si=HOSCIQYA_0-fCbPE

Tag

Since the poll asked about sexualized designs, it reminds me of that female character who has sword hilts coming out of her breasts. I don't know the keywords to find her, but if you've seen it, it's very... memorable.

Well boys, we made it out of the bottom third (debatably, 103 could be considered it)

Sword...hilts? There's a character in Genshin who pulls a sword out of her chest, which is completely ridiculous, but at least there's an in-universe justification for it (kinda).

I guess Raka's referring to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk7hk4VjFBQ ?

i've always assumed when anyone else does it it's in reference to Utena, but what do I know.

Ooh apparently it's fan made character based on Xenoblade Chronicles.

Warning: not very safe for work

https://x.com/Wumpywoo/status/

1275428165490405379?t=cZH2uLqGJvYMyH8w0j7ruQ&s=19

103. Marina Ida (Splatoon 2)
-hotdogturtle--

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/08473b39.jpg

I like Marina as a character. I got to know her in the friend ranking from my research on Pearl, Marinas platonic soulmate. I even watched all the cutscenes from Side Order, the Splatoon 3 DLC. Shes fun.

But Im just not that into Splatoon characters aesthetically. Ive always thought the designs were kind of off-putting. This official render of Marina isnt doing her any favors as far as facial expression or pose. She looks kind of strung out on some sort of substance or other, with the way her eyes are rolling into the back of her head. Youyou okay, Marina? Do you need a timeout?

The thing is, in spite of those objections, I do like Marinas design. She has super strange clothes: a tiny top, black fingerless gloves, weird ripply shorts, big boots, and neon green socks that match her tentacles and nail polish. She dresses eccentrically but that fits: in-universe, shes a famous pop star. If she wants to be the Splatoon universe equivalent of Lady Gaga, she certainly can. Though I do have to question the zipper on her top. That things as large as the rest of it put together!

Marinas most striking feature is naturally her tentacles that take the place of her hair, extending downward like braids. I do like this aspect of Splatoon characters, their tentacles acting as hairstyles. Marina also has a consistent black and green color scheme in everything from her tentacles to her legs. I also really love that Marina is a Black character in an industry that doesnt have much in the way of Black representation. One article calls her Nintendos first Black female main character; the same article suggests parallels between Marinas ethnicity and her status as an Octoling, another marginalized group. So while Im still not sold on Splatoon designs overall, I think Marina is a pretty good example of what makes them unique.

Oh yea I love Marina, she's super cool

Maybe a hot take, but I don't like Splatoon's art style in general

It's definitely unique though

She looks like she's doing some sort of weird crying-but-not-crying thing.

I like her design much better than Pearl.

I don't really like either of them, if I'm being honest. I think it's their faces? I dunno.

dowolf posted...

I don't really like either of them, if I'm being honest. I think it's their faces? I dunno.

This, but I just dont like anything Splatoon basically.

Not even top 100, ouch...

I wonder if her Splatoon 3 outfit would have fared better, based on what we now know about rwlh.
https://cdn.wikimg.net/en/splatoonwiki/images/4/49/SO_Marina_render.jpg

Oof, not sure if this giant zip criticism bodes well for Klonoa...

102. Todd (from Mario) (Drawfee)
@MargaretAnnMid

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/09c1cf45.png

Drawfee is a great YouTube channel that I need to watch more of. It consists of four artist friends drawing off-the-cuff nonsense based on often ridiculous prompts. Its very game/anime/cartoon focused, particularly with stuff the artists grew up with (this is neither a good nor bad thing, just a statement of fact). Julia, one of the artists, has a reputation for veering wildly off-script, which has led to some of the most enduring sketches in the history of the channel including this one, the infamous Todd (from Mario). This one has its genesis in Karina (another artist) blending the prompt of a possum and an unintentional misreading Toad as Todd. An instant icon was born. Heres the stream if you want to watch Todds birth, with timestamp:

https://youtu.be/X2N7GLBSZ1w?feature=shared&t=5150

Julias art is often designed to make people a little uncomfortable not in a gross way, but in a way that posits an alternate reality where things are all so slightly off. Here we see Todd, ostensibly some sort of possum, with his little fur texture, intense gaze, and disturbingly shiny back leg. He looks nothing like Toad, of course, even including the mushroom hat. He looks like hes intended to be sexy on some level, which only adds to his level of disturbing (the tiny Mario by the fireplace doesnt help).

The Drawfee crew would make Todd (from Mario) into a t-shirt design. They opted not to color him, which I think was the right call part of Todds charm is that his design is round around the edges, so keeping him as more of a doodle evokes that sense of playfulness. Its a goofy and fun design. Classic silliness, much like Drawfee themselves. Todd (from Mario) is designed to make you laugh and at least for me, it was highly effective.

Todd is another character I had not anticipated would reach beyond the bottom 20%. Maybe we should have you rank Drawfee memes some day.