You should have seen my reaction when I came across this Sengoku Basara Date Masamune Nendoroid… then you should have seen my girlfriend’s reaction. We were yelling at each other to get it for each other. I am most likely going to pick one of these up. If you want to get one too, you can pre-order at AmiAmi or Hobby Search and sit around in front of your door till January.
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In our first group Spotlight, team members of Pop GO provided insight on who they felt were overrated characters. Now we tackle the other side of the spectrum:
Which character in a(n) anime, cartoon, comic, film, manga, tv show, or video game is underrated?
As with the nature of this particular topic, a fair share of unsung characters were chosen. Although some outside the box thinking did result in an unexpected big name (or two) to be showcased. Proceed below to see which characters have been deemed underrated by the staff of Pop GO.
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Francis Manapul
When the new volume of The Flash launched about four months ago, I wasn’t quite convinced that I would enjoy it much. I’ve never been a huge fan of the Flash to begin with, and I’d read some very negative comments about Geoff Johns’ Flash Rebirth mini-series, in which he resurrected the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen, and set him up to star in this new ongoing series. I decided to give it a shot out of curiosity and because reading a new series from #1 is always more appealing than trying to jump on in the middle of a run, but I was half expecting to drop it from my pull list after a couple of issues. To my surprise, the book was an instant hit for me. And #5 is another issue in a series that consistently feels fresh and exciting.
Nooooooo Volks!!!! Why must you release Reimu and Marisa Dollfies while I’m trying to save up for my dream doll!?!?! OTL…. I soo want Reimu. Gah, now I’m debating on whether I should wait on my dream doll T_T!!!!! They both look so cute with their little smile and intricate outfits. They’re both about 50cm, a little shorter then the average Dollfie Dream. Both girls are available for pre-order for about 58,800 yen (about $700 USD).
Warner Brothers has just released 3 new posters for the upcoming “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” featuring Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The tagline “Nowhere is safe” is overlayed on top of images featuring the 3 characters in different parts of England looking alert and battle-ready.
Boobs, guns and zombies: I can’t find anything wrong with this combination of words, can you? Hmmm, unless you’re thinking of a zombie with a huge rack holding a gun…if that happens to be the case, well shame on you. I find this the easiest way to describe High School of the Dead in a nutshell, but obviously there’s more to it than that.
Let’s have a look at some of the noteworthy new releases hitting stores this week (Wednesday, September 29).
Pick of the week: Action Comics #893 (DC)
I never seem to get tired of praising Paul Cornell’s current run on Action Comics, so this new issue is my pick of the week. While J. Michael Straczynski is busy telling the most boring Superman story of all time in the pages of Superman, Cornell is writing an absolutely fantastic story about Lex Luthor. I understand it’s frustrating for the die-hard fans who want to read a great story about Superman, because, well, there isn’t one available at the moment. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be reading Action Comics just because Supes is not in it.
In our first group Spotlight, a handful of Pop GO team members tackle a somewhat controversial topic:
In your opinion, which character in a(n) anime, cartoon, comic, film, manga, tv show, or video game is overrated?
Some of our choices may surprise you. Check below to see which characters have been deemed overrated by the staff of Pop GO.
As one of the focal characters on an extremely witty and well written show, Bender is just not that funny. That’s my main gripe with him. I understand his character full well. He’s this crude, juvenile, asshole of a bending unit that so happens to run on beer, smokes cigars, and is a major kleptomaniac. He’s rarely sympathetic and has nary a moral circuit in his mechanical body — but that’s apparently his charm. His character is needed to offset the rest of the motley delivery crew. I get that all that.
He’s just not that funny.
I suppose the writers have to pump his character with the type of lines that accommodate his personality. But his lines are more miss than hit, and I rarely find myself laughing whenever he’s the focus of a scene.
Case in point: “Bite my shiny metal ass!” Seriously, how did that catch-phrase ever take off? While I understand that he appeals to quite a few people, and I’m certainly not knocking any of them, I just can’t get on board with Futurama having to force feed his character (there’s even a film named after him) down our throats when minor characters like Zoidberg produce a better laugh ratio.
Instead of an ‘Applause’ sign, Bender should be holding up a ‘Laugh’ sign.
I was fairly stuck on this and I wanted to stay away from the dislike that many people seem to hold for well established characters such as Superman, Spider-Man etc. I feel that they aren’t overrated as such, just a tad overexposed and overused at times. As such I’m going with Elektra, since I dislike the uncertainty around her (OK, it may not be overrated, and a bit like the resentment I just mentioned, but it’s my choice and I was stuck). I feel that at countless times over the years the character has lost sight of whom or what she wants to be. Is she an anti-hero? Or is she a repentant hero changing her ways? Or is she just a straight up villainess? I don’t know anymore, and I’m not sure if anyone knows. I enjoyed her initial appearances, but she walks the ambiguous line between good and evil a bit too ambiguously, meaning that it’s hard for a guy to keep up. Take her in one direction and stay with it, and then I’ll give her some time again. She’s not an edgy character; she’s someone with no direction.
Kamina (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)
Let me be honest and say how much I love Gurren Lagann, but the one character I cannot stand is Kamina.
(Spoilers beware)
I love his confidence and leadership but I see him more as overconfident and most susceptible to mutiny if his reign had not been cut short. It never bothered me that he got the bouncy girl (also overrated) but it bothered me that he is a main character who doesn’t make it a third of the way into the series. As a big brother figure, he molded Simon into a better person for the long haul. I loved it when he made a return to drill some common sense to snap everyone out of despair near the end but that’s all he was to me: a symbol. Everyone makes a big deal out of him being this ultra badass but to me, that doesn’t define a man in every way.
He doesn’t really talk in the game series so there isn’t really any character development. He’s supposed to be this form of super soldier but that is all that’s going for him/her. Master Chief is always wearing a helmet and that could add to the mystery of the character or be a cop out to allow the gamer to fantasize himself/herself as being the one under the helmet. The games aren’t bad and Master Chief is seen as this hero but what lacks is character. There isn’t much character to this character. Master Chief is like a puppet, just a body of armor being controlled.
Naruto (The Entire Series)
Now obviously (and thankfully) this is not the case anymore, but back when Naruto was in the zenith of its popularity, you could not change the channel without seeing some kind of commercial, video game, toy tie in or whatever. I remember one day distinctly asking myself, “what’s the big deal?” Now don’t get me wrong, by default ninjas are inherently cool, but this one just rubs me the wrong way (like Death Note…ha ha ha). I never found anything exceptional about the series, the cast of characters as a whole never engaged me in the remotest fashion…ugh. I could go on and on, but I wont. To me the series just got lucky and happened to be in America’s line of sight at just the right moment. It could have been ANY series that got that popular, and sometimes I wish it was.
Pardon me for going off slightly off topic but I had to get that off my chest. So as far as characters go, I’ll make it brief. Naruto = annoying. Sasuke = emo. Sakura = unnecessary.
As one of the main characters, I wanted to like him, but he just seemed a bit too generic. The dreamer was then given the ability to absorb others’ powers. That made it too easy of an opportunity for him to be the hero. Later seasons followed a similar formula, and Peter was nearly the center of it all— the driving force to save the world, again. Sure, there were other characters and arcs not focusing on him, but to me, the series always brought him back into the limelight… and I got bored.
I thought Shinji Ikari was a huge cry baby, but this man takes the cake. Even 10 years later, the only thing I remember about this show is that Vash was definitely not the badass the pictures make him out to be. Underneath the shades and the big guns lies an over-dramatic crying weakling when push comes to shove. Taking the “never kill” principle to the extreme, I never came to like him much, and it seemed I was alone in my view. Perhaps I had grown tired of the never kill way of life after watching Rurouni Kenshin, but at least in that show I could relate more to Kenshin not killing anyone much more than Vash. There’s something more personal about killing someone with a sword than a bullet to the head.
Wolverine (Marvel)
Don’t get me wrong – Wolverine is cool. He has a cool costume, he’s Canadian, he’s got those blade thingies that come out of his hands. But why is he the only X-Man popular enough to sustain several spin-off titles and to star in his own movie? Personally, I don’t really get what makes him more compelling than someone like, say, Cyclops. I guess the main reason people find him appealing is that he’s such a bad-ass, but that’s kind of what makes him annoying for me. He’s always in a bad mood and his solution to everything is to beat people up or kill them if necessary. (At least, that’s how he’s portrayed at his least sophisticated. I realize some better writers can write him with more nuance than that.) I’m not saying Wolverine is a terrible character, but I would like to see some of the other X-Men (and women) get the spotlight once in a while.
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Agree? Disagree? Tell us what you think!
Team Pop GO will provide their underrated characters on Thursday.
Also, you (our Pop Go readers) will have the opportunity to submit your own choices and opinions on overrated and underrated characters. It will be published in a special Reader Spotlight later on in the week. So keep an eye out for that!
No. Evangelion doesn’t have to make sense. Just don’t think too hard about it and enjoy it for what it’s worth. I enjoy watching the series and there are still some things I don’t get. o_O
In that case, you would have to consider Vegeta a god. Same with Piccolo. And Yamcha. Tien. Krillin. And yes, even Chiatzou has a shrine some where.
All except Yajirobe. Poor, poor Yajirobe.
