Could you give us your "Top 10 Robots That Aren't Metal Sonic"? Extra Brownie Points for saying why you like each one.
Okay, even though you didnāt make it a requirement Iām gonna specifically choose robots/AIs who are NOT part of the Sonic franchise despite how incredibly badly I want to shove Nicole and Shard ino this. Though I guess Shard would break the āother than Metal Sonicā bit *lol* Also, lemme preface all of this by saying that it was EXTREMELY difficult to create a list of only ten characters, much less put them in a top ten order, so the order I give here is subject to change with my mood. Also I pretty much guarantee that after sitting where wracking my brains as soon as I hit submit Iām gonna think of at least five other characters I love bunches and being all āSHIT I COULD HAVE INCLUDED THEMā
Anyway, fair warning in advance, you might end up noticing a reoccurring theme in this list~
10. DataĀ (Star Trek: The Next Generation)Okay, this position in this lineup is unfair. Iām gonna be the first to admit that. The reason Iām placing Data as #10 is because Iāve literally only just recently started watching Star Trek (any series, period) for the first time and Iām only a few episodes into TNG. I can already tell Iām going to really like Data though. Sadly, there isnāt much I can say in regard to him at the moment, other than the fact heās made a very good first impression on me.
9. X-J9/Jenny (My Life as a Teenage Robot)I love some of the dynamics between Jenny and other characters on the show. She was built to be this superhero crime fighting robot who could save the world from all sorts of crap, but she was modeled after (and consequently has the attitude of) a teenage girl and has a mother/daughter relationship with her creator. All she wanted was to have friends, go to school and be as normal of a girl as a crime fighting ass kicking robot can be. She struggled a lot with understanding social customs, but it never stopped her from trying to fit in. Things in this show especially got interesting to me during the movie, when we discovered a whole robot civilization who had been brainwashed into thinking humans were evil and terrifying and bent on destroying them all - an interesting inversion to the typical robot apocalypse trope. We need more awesome shows with kickass female (modeled) protagonists like this.
8. Bender (Futurama)Man, itās not often you see a vulgar self-destructive kleptomaniacle robot, but hereās Bender. Bender just cracks me up with what a smartassed bastard he is XD Heās vulnerable to many of the failings that humans are - greed, anger, lust, etc. The sort of things robot characters are usually portrayed as thinking of as illogical or are naive to. I love the fact they gave him a hobby outside his realm and comfort zone as a robot too - cooking. What with him not being able to taste food prepared for organics and all. I dunno, heās just a funny guy X3
7. B-Mo (Adventure Time)aaaa B-Mo is so adorable X3 I love the imagination they have and just howā¦ intensely they always invest their emotions into it all to the point you wonder if this is really just B-Moās imagination or if itās real. I love how they frequently try to mimic organics as well. Everything from trying to drink a cup of tea (only to have it dribble down their screen) to pretending to pee. Adorable little cutie X3
6. Iron Giant (The Iron Giant)A naive 50 foot tall robot who crash lands out of nowhere and befriends a ten year old kid? Whatās not to love about this guy. The relationship between the giant and Hogarth is just plain adorable X3 I mean, how can you not love stories where little kids befriend behemoths, especially when theyāre hugeass robots with the potential to level whole cities.
5. Wall-E (Wall-E)I love how so much of this movie managed to tell itself with almost no words. Wall-E himself was so charming and resourceful, and I like the implication the movie had that his personality and sweet nature developed over time from a mindless template. You just gotta love his quirky little mannierisms X3 All he wanted was somebody to love and be loved back, and he sure as hell has my love =)
4. GLaDOSĀ (Portal/Portal 2)GLaDOS is pretty much passive aggressiveness personified and I love it XD I mean, sheās got a razor sharp wit and never misses a beat, and some of the stuff she says is just.. drop dead hilarious. Even when sheās trying to kill you. In terms of her character development though, I especially loved the bits in Portal 2 when she was stuck in the potato. With as surprisingly of a tragic past as she has, no wonder sheās angry at the world @_@
3. Blues/Proto Man (Mega Man)Okay, when it comes to Mega Man, my favorite character frequently changes between Rock, Blues and Forte. Usually Forte. But right now, itās firmly set on Blues. That said, my experience with Mega Man as a franchise in general isā¦ odd compared to a lot of fans. Iāve never played the original series, Iāve only played the first X, Iāve played all but the last game in the EXE series (which I love), and Iāve also beaten the first Zero and played a little bit of Star Force. Thatās it as far as games go. Iāve seen all of the Ruby Spears cartoon, the OVA, and Iām currently madly in love with the comic series Archie is putting out.
For the purpose of this answer, Iām focusing solely on Archie. Which is why I say my favorite character meter is currently set firmly on Blues. Now, Iām actually way behind on reading the series. Lately Iāve developed a habit of collecting comics, setting them in a pile for several months, and then binge reading them all at once. Where I last left off was where we learned about Blues and his past andā¦ dskjgnsdkjgnskg *FLAIL* AAAUUGGHHH POOR BABY I WANNA HUG HIM OH MY GOD SWEETIE T_T Seriously, it was tearing my doggone heart out. All my feels. But yeah, I really love how this series has been delving into the relationships between robots and humans, and I love how the relationship between Blues and Dr Light was being portrayed. I can only begin to imagine the agony the poor guy must have gone through, thinking his father would betray him, running away, talking sense back into himself only to think heād been replaced and then going off somewhere to justā¦ die. aaaa poor babyyy T__T
2. Chi (Chobits)Chi is such an interesting character to me. At the start of the series we learn that androids and gynoids (called persocoms in the series) basically act as mobile computers/glorified smart phones in humanoid form. Most of these have pre-programmed personalities designed to suit the taste of their owners, but Chi is a bit special. When we meet her she starts out as a truly blank slate - no memories, no mind, no personality, etc. She begins to learn through a combination of mimicking what becomes her owner (Hideki) and his attempts to teach her, though as a farm boy he far from knows how to deal with computers. I think thatās a large part of what makes Chi and Hidekiās relationship so interesting - because of the fact Hideki is a fairly sheltered farm boy, technology as a general whole is overwhelming to him. So when he ends up with this gynoid who for all intents and purposes looks just like a real human girl, he treats her and respects her as such. To him, Chi is a real person, not a mere computer and certainly not his property, and as such she develops these very human-like qualities and emotions to her. Very awesome chemistry
1. AstroĀ (Astro Boy)What, did you think I was gonna put a Mega Man character on this list without giving props to the character who inspired Mega Man in the first place? Astro Boy pretty much has everything I crave in a story involving robots. And as for Astro himself - I just adore him. A robot given true free will and emotions, heās just as sweet and generous as can be while trying to co-exist in a world among humans who donāt understand and fear what heās capable of
Honorable mentions include the Robot Devil, Sonny, B.E.N., Johnny-5 and Rodney Copperbottom. Iām going to include Transformers in general as an honorable mention because Iāve only seen Transformers: Animated (which was alright from what I recall but didnāt quite hit the sweet spot for me) and never really decided on a favorite character in it. Iām definitely wanting to look into the other series in that franchise though
ā¦ So didja catch the theme? XD No, not me yelling about how adorable the characters were repeatedly, though yeah I guess that counts as a theme *roffle* Basically, I like my robots with emotions and personalities (even if theyāre only in the fringes of developing them), and I like the concept of exploring their place in a society among organic creatures (human or otherwise). Or just generally having their own world, their own ideas, their own culture etc. Mindless robots just donāt interest me unless theyāre given the capacity where they can begin to develop emotions and/or sentience, and robot apocalypse stories are only interesting to me if it explores the psychology and social structure between human and robot relations (rather than simply a bunch of explosions and humans running around screaming). Thatās pretty much why Astro Boy took the number one spot, because he and his story really dig down deep into these concepts
