Well I might as well contribute to this topic by first posting this collage of my favorite Key characters I randomly decided to make a couple of hours ago.
And now I might as well explain myself and my choices.
Kanade (Angel Beats!): First off, she is my waifu as well as my all time favorite anime character, outranking other greats like Kamina from Gurren Lagann and Lucy from Elfen Lied (the latter of whom I considered my waifu until I watched Angel Beats!). I’ve got an undying love for the dandere archetype, Kanade being in my opinion the best example of this type of character. She’s soft-spoken and socially isolated (not really by choice), but
still does what she can to help others. I personally relate to these character traits, and is the reason I have pretty much fallen for her.
Nagisa (Clannad): Even though I say Kotomi is best girl when you look at the harem aspect of the anime/visual novel (though where I stand now is just the anime since I’ve yet to read the VN), the way she contributes to the over arching story and Tomoya’s development as a character put her at the top of the cast. She’s almost childish and rather awkward at times, but is still very sweet and charming. More importantly,
she gave Tomoya something to care about, someone to call family, and something to live for. I could also go into how
her death was a major turning point in Tomoya’s life, but I think I’ve spent enough time on Nagisa for now.
Kyousuke (Little Busters!): The only guy on the collage through pure coincidence/process of elimination, he stands out as one of the very best. He’s charismatic, always looking for a fun time, and sees and treats every member of the Little Busters like family, old and new. However, the main reason he’s this high is
because of all of the pain and suffering the he has went through for Riki and Rin to help them grow stronger, make them more independent and less reliant on him, and to prepare them for the harsh reality that awaited them in the real world. Kyousuke is a man who I would be willing to follow into the depths of hell and back while having a blast the entire time.
Mai (Kanon): Once again, I love dandere, Mai being another strong example of one. Beyond that, her chemistry and past history with Yuuichi I felt was the strongest among the girls. I think the one thing about her that appeals to me the most is that how misunderstood she is, whether it be the people in her past or the student counsel.
Yuri (Angel Beats!): One of the character archetypes that I love to see other than dandere and the occasional yandere would be the charismatic leader type characters, Yuri as well as the before mentioned Kyousuke being some of the best examples if you ask me. She’s energetic, playful, and borderline sadistic when she wants to, but is dead serious when she needs to. I think the best quality about her would be her love for those near and dear to her, and I think that stems from
how in life she cared for her younger siblings who were taken away from her, and the guilt of not being able to save them lead her to share that same love with the other members of the Battlefront.
Yuiko (Little Busters!): I guess the main reason she’s here is because of how layered she is. She can be rather erotic (and she has the body to pull it off too) and seems to find a bit of a sadistic enjoyment out of messing with the other characters, but she also has an insecure side to her. Another aspect about Yuiko that I’ve fallen in love with is
being able to ship her with Riki. At first, this doesn’t really seem like much since Little Busters! is more or less a harem (though I would personally argue for the latter), but it is for the fact that Riki was able to unintentionally teach her how to experience emotions, appreciate the company of others, and what it felt like to love, giving her the most depth of anyone in the cast behind Kyousuke and maybe Haruka.
Haruko (Air): What can I say about Haruko? At first, she seemed like a bad parent: drinking and distancing herself from Misuzu, but
she honestly did everything she could for Misuzu. Again, she put a lot of distance between herself and Misuzu, but not because she didn’t care for her (quite the opposite actually), but because she didn’t want to get too attached to her in case Misuzu’s father was to come back for her.
Nao (Charlotte): Very similar to Kyousuke and Yuri, the first thing that appealed to me about Nao would be that she falls under the charismatic leader archetype, but there are several things about her that reminded me a lot of Yuri beyond the fact that they both play the role of leader in their respective groups: add a touch of tsun and
have her be more in touch with her romantic feelings (even if it needed some work in the end) and you have one of my favorite characters to come out this year and one of my favorite characters from Key.
Yumemi (Planetarian): The best way I can describe Yumemi would be a symbol of life and hope in a word of death and despair. In the post apocalyptic hell that is the Planetarian setting, she provided a sense of normality. I also loved
how she was able to soften the hardened and damaged Junker over the course of the visual novel: her presence acting as some true happiness in an otherwise ruthless world. I think the largest part of her character would be not only her sweet and kind nature, but her child-like innocence and her blind ignorance of what’s going on outside, making the events of the story hit that much harder. Who knew a visual novel with only two characters would end up producing on of my favorite characters from Key? I sure as hell didn’t expect it.
