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10 More Characters I Hated But Grew To Like

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10: Xion (Kingdom Hearts) - I really only hated this character during the pre-release days where the marketing and promotion for the game and Xion were not warming me up to her in the least. She sounded like a bad fanfic OC come to life. When the game actually came out, she proved to not be quite as bad as I'd feared she'd be, though I still didn't much like her. Then I actually played the game and she started growing on me more. And now anytime I revisit that game and that character, I see glaring flaws but I also find things to love and enjoy. Xion's true nature is so strange, it's delightful, and I love how she manages to simultaneously sink the possibilities of Axel/Roxas AND Sora/Riku being canon ships. She's also really cute, her personality is endearing, and the depth of her emotions during times of conflict were very sincere and tragic. So Xion went from the thing I hated most about 358/2 Days to one of my favorite aspects of it. That said, I still wish she'd stay dead, because bringing her back into the plot is bound to cheapen her character and story.

9: Neji Hyuga (Naruto) - This is a character whom I always felt had potential to be good but was instead just bland and unlikable to me. They didn't do enough to stand out, and with Sasuke and Gaara present as "calm, stoic uber genius ninjas with awesome power", he felt redundant. Being so cruel to poor Hinata and spouting out nonsense about what's fated and whatnot also made him irritating. However, he's one of the FEW characters who actually IMPROVED in Shippuden - he actually let his walls down, got along better with others, reconnected with Hinata and the rest of his family, and did things to atone for what an ass he was in the past. And what does he get for his efforts? Death. And unlike most deaths in the series, it stuck. While unrepentant psycho douche Sasuke got to live and get off scott free for his atrocious crimes. What the Hell, Kishimoto? I feel sorry for the poor guy now, and he deserved a better hand than what he was dealt. The final straw to converting me to liking him was "Rock Lee's Springtime Of Youth" in which he is such a stuck up yet silly and awkward loser that he's hilarious. 

8. Suzy Mizuno (Zatch Bell) - I just...didn't know what to make of this girl when I first saw her. She was crazy, clumsy, stupid, overly emotional, over infatuated, liked to draw faces on fruit, and had a pretty grating voice. I don't think I ever actually HATED her, but I found her weird and offputting. Now I'm wondering why I ever thought so, because she's actually hilarious, lovable, and adorable! Or adorKable if you will. She's so often the buttmonkey and chewtoy of various gags and situations, yet she's always bright and cheerful and comfortable in her own skin, while also being stubborn and determined that you feel like rooting for her anyway. Definitely a fun character that the series just wouldn't be the same without.

7. Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!) - I actually started off liking this character well enough, despite being a jerk and an antagonist. He had enough redeeming qualities and coolness to him that I enjoyed watching him. By the time the anime reached Season 3, though, I began to get sick of his stoic, grumpy, arrogant attitude, bad behavior that he repeatedly got away with, and constant glorification from the narrative, which in turn got him glorified by the fandom. The worst part was that he REFUSED TO CHANGE - he stayed the same egocentric dick from start to finish. Not even Eric Stuart could make me like him now. Well, then I read the original manga and was surprised at just how fascinating, well developed, and well portrayed the character was there when compared to the anime. He had obvious mental issues from the start, gradually became less of a villain and more of an anti-hero, and had a complete arc that ended with him putting his past aside, focusing on the future, and actually changing. Then I saw the original anime by Toei, the one where he had green hair. Despite the stupid coloring, he was a great villain in that show: completely maniacal and detestable, yet still having layers and a backstory that made you feel for him at points. And THEN I saw the Abridged Series and well, y'know, screw the rules! He's one of that series' best and funniest characters, and I enjoyed how much fun could be poked at his character, behavior, and lifestyle. So while I still largely dislike his portrayal in the "Duel Monsters" anime, when it comes to Seto Kaiba as a character, I've gone from liking him to disliking him to loving him.

6. Kim Possible (Kim Possible) - In retrospect, the reason I was put off by her was because I didn't get what they were going for with the "she can do anything!" stuff. I thought she was a total Mary Sue with a personality that was too abrasive and no-nonsense to be likable. I also think I didn't like her by association with her family, since her bland mom, smarmy rocket scientist dad, and irritating twin brothers did and still do rub me the wrong way. "Nothing's impossible for a Possible?" How 'bout not being insufferable? Is that not POSSIBLE for you guys? But years later I look back on KP herself and realize that she was far from the Mary Sue I'd seen her as - that she DID have a personality, insecurities, problems, and faults that were addressed AND worked on in the show a lot of times. That she was actually a pretty well rounded character, and that her dynamics with others could be fun. Christy Carlson Romano was great in the role too. AND that I'd misread her claim to fame. It's not that she can just naturally do anything she wants - it's that she CAN do anything if she tries. She has the potential and capacity TO do anything she puts her mind to. That's actually not stupid, it's admirable! Go KP! :D

5. Trip (Pokemon) - When he was introduced, the best thing I could say about him was "well he at least has more humanity than Paul did", but that was a pretty low bar. He still came off as a redundant smug jerk rival who would likely beat Ash in just about every battle until their last one, and after Paul, that was not good. By his third appearance, though, he started redeeming himself. He actually learned a lesson AND helped save the day, something Paul never really did until way later on. But it was his fourth appearance/third battle with Ash that made me like him. He was actually really funny with his snark, his cynicism, and his antisocial behavior, he had good interactions with both Ash and Iris, we got some neat backstory information on him, he actually helped Ash by pointing out something wrong Oshawott was doing, his camera quirk was fun, and he actually didn't win the battle in the end, instead walking off acknowledging that he still had ways to go. I really liked Trip now and thus found myself genuinely mad at the treatment he proceeded to get in later appearances, in which he got written out of tournament arcs after his first battles, got turned into a Cheren clone, and got beaten by Ash in the prelim battle of the Unova League. His character development was nice, but the execution of his arc left something to be desired because clearly the writers didn't care enough about him. But I did, and I still do.

4. Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII) - To make this brief, I initially disliked her because she seemed like a bland Cloud or Squall clone with a Y chromosome, and the game she was from was mediocre yet overmarketed and overexposed. But then over time I realized that, next to Szaz, she was one of the few legitimately good characters the game had. She's genuinely awesome in combat, her role is interesting, and her Sugar And Ice Personality is endearing. And Ali Hillis is great as her voice - makes her sexier than her design already makes her. :drool:

3. Kiyomi Takada (Death Note) - I'm not going to lie, I'm still not that big on her in the main series. As someone on TV Tropes put it, she comes off as "blandness incarnate if blandness incarnate spouted propaganda", and I just loathe those criminal sympathizing media type people that she is, and her being an actual criminal on top of that made her even more revolting to me. I thought the way she died was horrific, but I didn't care to see her go - it made me more mad at Light than sad for her. But I later saw the live action Death Note films, in which she takes Higuchi's place in the Kira vs L part of the plot, and I found her surprisingly sympathetic, likable, even a teensy bit admirable despite being a killer. Unlike Light, she actually acknowledged she wasn't a good person for using the Death Note, but kept using it to get more and more status and respect until it eventually drove her mad. Her death was horrifying here too, but this time I actually felt sad FOR HER in addition to being mad at Light. So this version of the character was better, but what made me ease up on the other version? Oddly enough, a fanfiction I stumbled upon, titled "Takada and Misa's Excellent Idea", that had both Misa and Takada getting wise to Light's using of them, so they team up with both each other and with Mello and Matt in order to stop Light for good. It was both funny and actually pretty heartwarming, mainly with the way Misa and Takada bonded and later protected each other when Light came after them. Now I see the character had potential to be more than what she was in canon, but the creators, who've proven to be notorious sexists, just couldn't do her justice. Poor Kiyomi. (Oh and all the fangirls who hate on her for killing Mello? Ladies, Mello wasn't any better a person than she was, and he deliberately put himself in a situation where he knew he might die. Don't go so hard on Kiyomi for this!)

2. Mako and Bolin (The Legend Of Korra) - This one really surprised me. I liked Mako and Bolin in the first half of Book 1, but the next half and all of Book 2 killed their likability for me. Mako was a lying, chauvinistic, irresponsible, self absorbed, deplorable cheating cheater who cheats, and Bolin became less funny and more stupid and immature than he needed to be, with practically no relevance to the plot or other characters. They both got some redeeming traits at the end of Book 2, but it seemed a bit too little, too late by then. And then Book 3 and Book 4 came around and shockingly I liked them again. I REALLY liked them now - they had better adjusted attitudes and personalities, better dynamics with others and each other, genuinely funny lines and moments, and I could seriously buy them as brothers again. Their chemistry was joyous to watch, as was Mako's chemistry with Prince Wu and Bolin's chemistry with Varrick in Book 4. I was seriously worried when it looked as though Mako was going to sacrifice his life in the series finale, and I cheered when Bolin acted like the hero he was now and rescued his brother from death. So while their past portrayal and actions are unforgivably bad, both of them have been redeemed as characters in my eyes.

1. Mary Jane Watson (Spider-Man) - :iconbeliatogetherforever: actually summed up my experience and thoughts on his version of this meme: "Like many other fans of this franchise, my first exposure to Spider-Man was the 1994 Animated Series. I'd read a few of the comics but really only cared for web-slinging action back then. But back to Mary-Jane, though, she had to be one of the most bland characters I had ever seen in a superhero show. She wasn't interesting, so it was hard to care about her when her only purpose was the love interest/damsel in distress. I didn't care about the romance between her and Peter Parker because she was just that uninteresting, and as for her looks, her hair and face look good but her clothes don't fit, but that doesn't really matter. All attempts to make you feel bad for her failed, like the one with her hydro clone disappearing before Peter's eyes. So if I didn't like her so much, what changed? Reading a few more comics, the movies, and the spectacular Spectacular Spider-Man. Now I can say that Mary-Jane > Gwen Stacy, though I like both." Same goes for me. Though I'd like to add that with Kirsten Dunst's portrayal of MJ in the movies, I was surprised at how much I liked her compared to the 90's show version when I first saw the first movie, but then I actually started to dislike her due to her depiction in the second movie, in which the "love interest" factor got a heavy focus, she acted needlessly bitchy and unsympathetic to Peter over things that would genuinely look like accidents even if one DIDN'T know or suspect he was Spider-Man, AND she left a decent guy standing at the alter to be humiliated on the day of their would-be wedding. Repeated viewings of that movie didn't make things much better. Then I saw the third one and I loved her again because her depiction there was so interesting and sympathetic and complex and just wonderful - one of the definite highlights of a rather weak third installment. So now I definitely love that version of MJ and I always shall.
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Not a fan of Mako personally, but Bolin is definitely a great character. One of my two favorites in Legend of Korra, along with Tenzin. As for Neji, yeah he grew on me too. Him dying in the war is one of the few things that genuinely pissed me off about the ending (and I'm one of the ones that actually liked it).