BLEACH

i think only the male arrancar with 3 digits are honourable >_> coz ... dordonii and the afro disco shellfish were... not cirucci so far as i can remember...
oh and grimmjow is too i mean, he fights fair (oh shoot, i broke my own rule >_< well its not a spoiler if you dont know what i mean exactly, and also ... you so KNOW that grimmjow is going to fight again, you anime watchers, so its not that much of a stretch right? )

since they're releasing the most popular characters coming 11th-20th in the next chapter, im sure renji is in that at least ... if not there WILL be a coup >_<

Actually, no spoilers there, since a lot of what you just said made no sense to me dordonii ... circucci ... ehhhh

Yeah Grimmjow is special, I can tell ... anime is never clear cut and dry about who's good and who's bad (except for the Shounen Hero, of course) so I don't expect Grimmy to come over to the light side, but if he doesn't, I do expect him to ultimately die an honorable death ... and perhaps come back reborn a good guy

Eh, about the popularity poll, I have a feeling that the same poll (who's your favorite Bleach character) taken by an American/Western audience would yield different results.

I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that with the American audience that Renji is probably ultimately the most popular (if nothing else he's the fandom bicycle, XD that boy may never get to win a fight but he certainly does get a lot of fanfic sex)... that and most fangirls have a soft spot for the 11th division ^^

I think it's probably just got to do with cultural standards for what makes a loveable/interesting character.

Oh, fascinating point! Does that suggest that western audiences relate to physically bigger and more powerful characters? Very interesting!

*giggle* @staces It seems, you have a soft spot for the 11th division too.^^ *point at
Yumichika ava*

I confess I have a thing for the 11th division!
Misfits are interesting.

I don't want to believe that it's cultural differences. There has to be something like all Hitsugaya/Kira/Hinamori fans have united and decided to vote for they favourite in top 10 no matter what. And maybe Renji's fans weren't so active 'cause the thought that he has so many fans that of course he's in top 10. Does this make any sense?

@Shippou
My softspot for the 11th (not just Yumichika, but Ikkaku, Zaraki and Yachiru as well) is like big enough to dump a herd of elephants into XD I'm such an 11th division fangirl.

@Hattivatti
Your answer does make sense.

But I also think that, in general, there's a cultural difference in what's valued in a character.

For instance, around the various threads in the different Aarinfantasy forums, there is more misogyny than you can shake a stick at. When I call people on it, they say it's not because the characters are females but the type of female they are.

These "hateable" females pop up again and again in anime/manga. The "weak"/sensitive/overlykind/doormat/obsessed with unrequited love female. There is so much fandom hatred for Orihime and Hinamori from the American fans (not all fans, not hardly, but a LOT), and for that sort of character in general.

Now, even though such female characters are pretty well hated by western fans (NOT ALL, I don't mean to claim we all hate them, I don't), I don't think they're as hated in Japan. Those characters wouldn't be created by the authors and given such major roles if they didn't believe the character was going to resonate with the audiences.

So, what all this longwindedness is getting towards (sorry XD) is that I think there's a different standard for what the ideal female is in Japan versus America/the west.

</ $0.02>

I have a softspot for the 11th too.^__^

staces, you've obviously hit upon something, though I hesitate to make statements about a culture I know little about, and from a viewpoint that might in someway allow me to place myself superior to theirs ("accusing" them of preferring weak-willed women to strong, emancipated women, for instance). But it's a very valid point.

But keep in mind this is also a YAOI forum ... and so female characters are going to be hated in general. I've dipped my toe in het loving communities (gasp!) and the Orihime hatred, for instance, is almost nonexistent.

As for the Hitsugaya love ... that I can't explain. I don't think there are any big Hitsugaya fans here, right? But look, it's all a matter of taste. I can't figure out what the big obsession is with 11th Division *grins and gets smacked in the fact ... owie * and some people really hate Byakuya, which wounds me to the core Others are just in love with the bad guys, like Aizen and Gin, and those fellows turn my stomach! That's just how it goes!