The Anime Express
While searching for the last Digimon episodes, the elusive Darkangemon has discovered the character roots of all animés, not to mention a bad headache
Writer's note: I'm only using animé that in my book is decent so I missed out a good deal of examples in animé that I don't watch or have never seen (DBZ, Beyblade and Yu-gi-oh)
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I was taking a look through a few of my old tapes and found I have a regular Trove of Pokémon and Digimon on video (never organising my tapes finally paid off) so I constructed this field guide to identify types of heroes and villains you might encounter while watching various animé.
Brick Heads (also called goggle heads in Digimon): These animé characters are usually athletic, have hidden power (whether in partner or Pokémon or even themselves), have a firm sense of duty, are impulsive and not to mention a little dim. They are also usually the leaders of their respective groups. Funny hairdos optional. Examples include Ash, Ikki, Tai, Davis, Takato, and Takuya.
Loners: Tend to be cynical and in need of a good push to fight. Are usually at odds with brick heads but eventually they are on the same side. Examples include Matt, T.K (in S2 - in S1 all he seems to be is cute), Koji (Medabots), Henry and Kouji. [JA's note: I think Ken's more of a loner than TK, and Ryo more than Henry, but...]
Nervous Dweeb: These characters are usually a little nervous of themselves but eventually become brave enough to help. The only 2 examples I could find of this character type are Joe in S1 and Kenta in S3 (ironic, they have the same type of partner).
Sweet crush interests: These characters are usually nice and kind to everyone they meet, yet in almost all cases they have some hidden weight to bear. They also usually have someone with a crush on them. Examples include Kari (crushes Davis and T.K) and Jeri (yep its Takato), possibly Zoë (hey there've been only three episodes of Frontier so far).
Compassion learners: These characters are hard or prickly (JA comments: with prickly hair!) in the beginning but eventually learn their place. They also tend to fight with brick heads a lot. Darky's examples include Rika, Misty and to a certain extent Sora.
Battle scarred: This field contains Ken and Willis, as they are the only ones I've seen on decent Animé. (Their closest cousin is Trunks on DBZ {Darkangemon whacks himself repeatedly over the head with frying pan to attempt to forget DBZ}) JA's note: After watching Frontier, I'd add Kouichi to this group.
Irritating know-it-alls: These characters have an overblown opinion of themselves and are always eager to prove themselves. Darky's examples are Kazu, Gary and to a certain extent Yolei (hey I needed to class 'em somewhere {perfecto})
Quiet kids: They're usually very knowledgeable and love their hobbies too much (need a good kick if you ask me). Darky case studies are Izzy, Cody and Tommy (at least this is 1 frontier name I know for sure).
Villains also have many sub-species which can be identified easily through this easy guide:
Mini Villains: These villains aren't really dangerous to the heroes as they are there mostly used for comic relief and to irritate the heroes. Can occasionally be a threat. Easy examples are Team Rocket, the Rubberrobo gang (Practically TR's cheap clones), Demidevimon, Etemon and Mummymon.
Malevolents: These villains seek to rule by any means necessary. Favourite pastimes include killing and enslaving their minions, playing with the heroes' (mostly the loner's) feelings, destroying things and generally causing havoc. Darky's examples include Devimon, Myotismon, the Digimon Emperor and Daemon.
Stupids: These villains just destroy left, right and centre with no particular method to their madness. The Darky studies are Metalseadramon and Machinedramon.
Manipulators: The title says it all. These villains are classed here, though they can fit in other categories. Their love to give any character grief is a dead giveaway, e.g. cause discord, split the group up etc. This class contains Cherrymon, Piedmon, Arukenimon and Impmon.
Anti heroes: These characters are usually hyper violent, have bad attitudes and are also searching for something (they're a bit like me when I lose something). Whether it?s a fight or a meaning to their existence they yearn for fulfilment of their destiny. Almost always end up fighting for the good guys in the end (doesn't that inevitably make them heroes though?). Darky's examples include: Mewtwo (meaning of life), Ogremon (his constant war with Leomon), BlackWarGreymon (meaning again {Innovate, Japan, innovate}) and Beelzemon (his early demonic craving for power in this form and later search for redemption).
My brain is beginning to overheat now so I think I'll stop nit picking (my favourite pastime) and beat the tar out of some Pidgeys on my Gameboy instead. I personally hope you have a better understanding of what makes animé characters tick.
Yours Infernally (what else)
Darkangemon