With the Inuyasha anime in its final season, it seems unlikely that any more new characters will be introduced to the story. This is probably a good thing because with over 170 episodes already and around 30 major and minor  characters to keep track of, it’s hard to remember them all and the stories behind them.

Of course, anyone who’s been dedicated enough to follow Inuyasha for the past decade or so (either the manga or anime) has got to have a list of their favourite characters, I know I certainly do. Many of you probably will have different opinions, but here are my 3 favourite characters from Inuyasha:

3. Sesshoumaru

Sesshoumaru is my 3rd favourite character in the series. At first I didn’t think much of him, but after a while I grew to like his character. Throughout Inuyasha we see scenes of Sesshoumaru just wandering around and beating the crap out of anyone that stands in his path, but every once in a while he’ll show some compassion and help somebody. He reminds me of one of those cartoon heroes that aren’t looking to save the world or anything, but will do what they can if given the chance. If Inuyasha were a high school romantic comedy, he’d be the cool and mysterious guy that all the chicks dig.

2. Kanna

Kanna is the most adorable character in Inuyasha, which is why she’s my number 2 favourite. I don’t know what else to say about Kanna. Her all-white clothing and hair, along with her quiet nature just makes her seem like a really adorable doll. I’m sure if you like cute things, you’ll understand what I mean.

1. Kikyo

My number 1 favourite character in Inuyasha would have to be Kikyo. Now, I know a lot of girls out there despise Kikyo for being a back-stabbing boyfriend stealer, but I’m a guy. Going back to the high school analogy, she’s like the hot ex-girlfriend that the main guy still likes, and we all know that the ex is more often than not hotter than the other girl. Besides Kikyo herself, I also really liked her death scenes (yes, that’s plural), not because she dies, but because they always brought a tear to my eye. A lot of characters die in Inuyasha, but Kikyo’s scenes were so much more dramatic, it makes the episodes worth watching again.

Well, those are my favourite characters of Inuyasha. There are more that I like such as Miroku (the old perv) and Sango (the hottie), but they aren’t in my top 3. Girls would probably list Koga (the badboy) and Shippo (the cue kid) as their favourites too. So for anyone else that follows Inuyasha, who are your favourite characters?

Here you have walker, floater, blocker, builder and miner – no bomber to be seen, whaddya know.

This is definitely a DIY project. If you’re not up to making lemmings and their accessories, you’ll need to find someone who’s handier with a pair of knitting needles.

Check out the Planet June blog for details.

The Battlestar Galactica Series coming to an end and the (main) characters are dropping like flies.

To review the whole reimagined series before they reach the ultimate climax, we thought it were time to round up all the characters and publish a list of our 15 Best Battlestar Galactica Characters.
The list is based on the complexity of the characters and their persona. It played no role if the character only appeared in only some episodes.

15. Lee “Apollo” Adama

The character of Lee Adama could have been much more intriguing and never really climbs up to become one of the stronger, better persona in the series, mainly because of poor acting compared to author characters.

Lee certainly was at his best as CAG of the Battlestar Galactica and in the period of self-conflict about which side to chose. Lee’s best scenes are arguably the moments when he stands up against the military decisions of his father, Admiral William Adama.

14. Scar

Scar is a Raider fighter, so called because of the battle damage endured over time. Scar is feared and has destroyed many vessels from the fleet, separating them from their wingmates.
The hunt for Scar starts a escalates the rivalry between Starbuck and Kat, who will eventually kill the feared hunter. Featuring in only one episode Scar is an exception in this list because of the fear and terror he manages to create among the squad

13. Lieutenant Sharon “Athena” Agathon

Sharon Athena, Number Eight, had as task to seduce Helo and then become pregnant, but things went wrong and she fell in love with Helo. As first Cylon in the series to show genuine feelings, she later managed it to win the trust of President Laura Roslin and Admiral Adama, becoming a trusted crew member of the Galactica.

12. Number Five, AKA Litmus Doral

Number Five appears to be among the most anti-human Cylons seen in the series. Five is downloaded frequently and always insists on humans capitulating without any resistance. Five considers Cylons as the kids of the humans, who will rule when the parents time has ended.

One of the copies of Number Five, Litmus, is a suicide bomber on board of the Galactica.

11. Louanne Katraine

Kat, a former drug-runner on Caprica, is selected as candidate Viper pilot because of her previous fly experience. Soon she develops as a psychological opponent of Kara Trace, who is her instructor.

Kat is headstrong, arrogant and a very driven pilot. This ultimately earns her the title of Top Gun on board of the Galactica, after she kills Scar.

10. Admiral Helena Cain

Admiral Helena Cain, from the colony Tauron, was Admiral of the Battlestar Pegasus. Although rather unpopular as a character, mainly because of the decisions she made when escaping the Cylon attack on the 12 colonies and for her attitude towards Admiral Adama, she certainly is one of the strongest women in the series.
Shot by Gina Inviere, in Resurrection Ship, Part II, she only appeared in 3 episodes but her character was revised in the movie Razor.

9. Tom Zarek

Tom Zarek, former political activist, is a charismatic power-hungry character. Torn between winning the sympathy of the people in charge and his own need for hunger, he shows his true and not really democratic nature several times. During the whole series he always sides with the camp most likely to offer him more power.

Under the reign of President Baltar, he becomes Vice-President and subsequently President when Baltar Gaius goes missing. Surprisingly he then offers Laura Roslin to opportunity to become President again in exchange for a role in the new government. He then proceeds to chase Gaius whom he now considers being a traitor and collaborator. Like these there are many more plans Zarek had before his execution, but every time his charisma manages to gather popularity among the fans.

8. President Laura Roslin

President Roslin is an admirable woman, taking the task up to save humanity from the Cylons. At first she is a fierce opponent of Admiral Adama’s decisions but with time both start to collaborate more and more. Laura Roslin clearly has and influence on the Admiral and due to her he becomes more democratic with time. It is obvious a relationship between both will grow, although I might have preferred to wait a little longer for the confirmation.

I doubt her relationship with William Adama makes this powerful and driven woman climb up our personal ranks as it seems hard to forgive her for having thrown Adama in the brig.

During the entire series Laura Roslin not only fights the Cylons but also a case of terminal cancer.

7. Colonel Saul Tigh

Perfectly played, Colonel Tigh is a rather disillusioned person in life, but a good soul. Just like Admiral Adama, Saul Tigh carries lots of baggage with him. Tigh also is an alcoholic.
Tigh has no real aims in life anymore and clearly suffers under the burden of life. He is satisfied with his role within the Fleet and aspires no higher role within the military. In times of absence of Adama it is clear that he would rather not prefer to be the Commanding Officer.

The bona fide character of Colonel Saul Tigh is only emphasized in a personal conversation with Admiral Adama after their return from Earth. Tigh values friendship over Cylonship.

6. Gaius Baltar

Gaius Baltar is at times hard to like because of the complexity of his persona. What makes Baltar hard to get are all the flaws he has and publicly displays. And his freak-outs.
His instability, and often his desire to be a Cylon, make this character rather unlikely not to be helped by his egocentric behavior. Technically one of the most complex characters of the series.

Most of all, Gaius has the honor of having a relationship with Caprica Six (or had one… he thinks). We hate him forever for this.

5. Leoben Conoy, AKA Number Two

Displaying as first character the weakness of Cylons for radiation in a stand-off with Admiral Adama, Leoben always fares a harsh anti-human course.

Leoben is specialized in seeding doubts and mis-information. His obsession with Kara Thrace borders the psychotic and it wouldn’t surprise me if it were revealed that Leoben is Starbuck’s father.

4. Dr. S. Cottle

Dr. Cottle, Battlestar Galactica’s Chief Mediacal Officer, is possibly the most charming and funnest character in the series. His (politically incorrect) smoking habit is perfectly timed and often makes one grin.

Although Dr. Cottle prefers to stay neutral in political matters, he was called upon faking the death of Hera tarnishing slightly his persona. He is a long term friend of Admiral Adama and also one of the few on board of the Battlestar Galactica who will occasionally speak up to the Commander.

3. Number Six

Let’s get things right: Number Six is the Sci-Fi fans’ and nerds’ dream. Period.

Other than that, the character is awesomely profiled and very complex, due to the different variations of Number Sixes. Predator alike but also caring. And bearer of Saul Tigh’s child, the first 100% Cylon Baby.

Have I mentioned Number Six is smokingly hot?

2. Captain Kara “Starbuck” Thrace

Having grown up with the original series it may have sounded weird some years ago had I said that some day I would laugh at Dirk Benedict for his “Starbuck” character, but this frakkin’ bitch blonde surely made that statement become true. Today it seems almost impossible to think that Starbuck should not be a woman.

Kara Thrace is another very complex character in the series, not just because she’s a woman. We would almost forget that if it weren’t for her permanent romantic escapades. We’ll forgive her this weakness.

1. Admiral William Adama

Admiral William Adama is without any doubt the most charismatic and best character of the series. Although at times his choices are purely militaristic and maybe unpopular there is no doubt that he always aims to achieve the best for his crew and the survivors even. He considers the task to keep humanity alive his task. This surely comes from his personal background, having had a harsh life himself.

Then there were the rest…some featured celebrities, some were thinly veiled knock offs of other successful shows…others were just plain crap. After careful consideration, and knowing full well that there this list could spark a debate that could burn as eternally as the Springfield tire fire, I present to you…the 10 Worst 80s Action Cartoons.

10. Dinosaucers

Anthropomorphic Dinosaurs that can “Dinovolve” into regular looking Dinosaurs?!? What’s not to love! It’s like Transformers…but 100% Dino-tastic!!! Dinosaucers last only 1 season in the 80s, but those 65 episodes would be broadcast well into the mid-90s on networks desperate for cheap content. The show as so unsuccessful that the toyline based on it was cancelled before it even hit the shelves.

9. Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs

Attempting to capitalize on the success of shows like Galaxy Rangers and Bravestarr, WEP, the company behind Voltron, decided to grab a moderately successful anime series called Star Musketeer Bismarck, and rework it as Saber Rider.

They did manage a catchy theme song that I will occasionally still burst out into song over, and you have to love their giant robot RAMROD, but overall…it was lame as lame can be.

8. Voltron Vehicle Force

Speaking of WEP and their sucktastic line-up, the Vehicle Voltron Force will forever earn a spot on lists like this if for no other reason than because the entire voice cast was the same as the Voltron Lion Force, and no one even bothered to TRY and sound different. Kids would sit down to something that sounded EXACTLY like the Voltron they knew…even the music was the same…but everyone looked different. It was confusing as all hell.

The robot did look pretty bad ass, though…but that alone is not enough to keep it off our list.

7. Dino-Riders

The second, and last, “Dinosaurs meet Technology” cartoon on our list are the Dino-Riders. 14 episodes of this show were produced, solely for the purpose of launching the Tyco toyline of the same name.

While the toy line met with limited success, and high enough praise that the Smithsonian released the Dinosaur figures (minus futuristic weapons) themselves as a toy line, the cartoon show blew.

6. Bionic Six

“They are a family…and they make me wanna puke…” those aren’t EXACTLY the words from the cartoon theme song…but damn they should be. I always liked the toys in this line because of their transparent bionic parts, but this show, which admittedly looks like it had high production values was just god awful…

5. Rambo – The Force of Freedom

Why, dear lord why, would you take an exceptionally violent film series (Rambo III is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most violent film EVER) and turn it into a cartoon where I shirtless man can fly through a glass window without scratch on him? Oh yeah…to sell toys. I forgot.

4. Mr. T and the All American Team

Speaking of things that ought not be turned into television shows…just why the hell is Mr. T traveling around the country with a bunch of gymnastics kids fighting crime? I mean seriously…is the because of all the cocaine in the 80s? Is that where this came from?

3. Tigersharks

What would happen if the guys behind Thundercats decided to do a show JUST LIKE Thundercats…but with sea life? THIS!

2. Gobots

These little bastards wanted to be Transformers so bad it hurts. Just look at them…they’re just waiting for the day when Hasbro buys them up so they can join the “real” transforming robots on a successful show.

1. Turbo Teen

Turbo Teen wanted to be Knight Rider so bad it could almost taste it. The horrible, horrible excuse for a cartoon aired duing the height of Knight Rider’s popularity, and mimicked the show in every way legally possible.

This terrible excuse for an animated series only last one terrible, terrible season.

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So there you have it. I’m sure you can think of shows that you think would be better suited for this list, so feel free to mention them in the comments below…