Oh wait, I do have a favorite stereotype: the charismatic womanizer.

My absolute favourite anime stereotype is the quiet, background character. Solely because you KNOW they will eventually play a role in the plot, and because they're usually CUTE! :3
And it's even better when that character DOESN'T ever have a plot or anything, because then you sit there at the ending credits of the last episode like "What about ___?" or "Am I the only person watching this that noticed ___?"

Running out the door, slice of toast stuck in the mouth, shouting "S*$%! I'm late for school!"

Love that jam.

I would say:

-Quiet,Awkward,but kind-hearted characters
-Yandere,especially those with bubbly personalities
-Geniuses with crippling social skills
-Villains who are aware of how bad they are,and gets off on it
-Heroes who are usually heroic enough,but have a very vicious side to them.

In general,I like characters with huge personality flaws.When someone is "too perfect",they seem bland to me.

Examples: N (Pokemon), Pain (Naruto)

Quite a few lol:
Mechanical Genius Child
Lovable Fat Guy
Flamboyant Man
Cute animal sidekick
Idealistic villian who thinks he is the good guy
Hotheaded rival that the main character tends to ignore.
Hero with a big heart and a bigger appetite
Ditsy school girl who possesses extraordinary powers
The archetypal big-tough henchman whose only purpose is to punch things

A few I can pick out. Lol but my favorite is the Idealistic wanna-be protagonist bad guy.

In the past, I have tended to enjoy the hero who hides a dark, angsty past with a goofy personality, like Vash the Stampede, Abel Nightroad, and Asato Tsuzuki.

These days though, I tend to voice my displeasure at repeated use of stereotypes or tropes whenever I'm reviewing new anime for the AP podcast. I think too many anime each year rely too heavily on over-recycled stereotypes, leaving less stuff that's original and fresh.

I have enjoyed the gruff character, who preends not to care, but actuaully has a very good heart...who seems more human by demnonstrating irritability, caring and other emotions. I'm thinking oof Jet Black, and Edward Elric as examples. One dimensional characters are quite boring.

@cricket20:

I like those types too (coming from my obsession with Zero Kiryuu. I think I know what kind of hairstyle you're talking about, heh.

My favorite stereotype is the tall, quiet and reserved male character (I call him the "knight" type). Mmm, yes, he's mature looking, strong, rather stoic and serious...like Kain Highwind of FFIV and Angeal Hewley of FFVIICC. I don't know why I like these types of characters, but I always fall for them!

I also like the strong, no-nonsense female character. Who wants a whiny heroine, anyway?

I don't know if I have a favorite, but by far my LEAST favorite stereotype out of anything, anime or otherwise, is the mysterious tall-dark-hansome type of male hero.

I love seeing some deadpan snarkers in a show. Bonus points if they wear headphones. I also like seeing some emotionless characters too.

All angsty emos get the girl. I kinda fine that aspect pretty hilarious.

And

In all Shoujo manga, the main character will always be paired with the main character they thought they would never be with but they finally realize their feelings for each other and at the end are married.

I love all types of anime stereotypes except for whangsties, they whine too much.

I'll give a full exposition on my favorite anime stereotype in a World Post, because I love them that much.

@lilaaliyah2:

Yeah, me too. They end up giving me so many feelings that I JUST CAN'T CONTROL. ; A ;

These aren't specific to animes, but I tend to like the cloudcuckoolander and adorkable characters. The stupid or funny characters are usually my favorites... ;u; I like comic relief. Or I don't know, maybe I like them because the stupid ones are usually the most honest.

@ChibiSasuke:

Oh i really love those types too!! I just really hate it when they hurt themselves and take there revenge too far. They always make me cry cause in the end they usually regret everything.

I like the type who always says the opposite of there feelings and never gives up. The innocent aggressive type as i like to call it! I love to see them always running forward without a care in the world never letting anything stand in there way. It's great to see them always striving to be the best that they can be and so determined. They're also really funny when they stumble a bit and dont understand. Still in the end their determination always pulls through and they dont give up. This is the type of person i wanna be ever if life knocks you down you still get right back up with a smile~ They're hard working, never give up, and always good for a laugh. I just love to see these types they're always soo cute and funny!!

I love the characters with dark pasts who choose to lead their life in a negative way because of it. There are lots of characters like that. ;u; They're usually pretty attractive and loved by everyone, except for that one arch-enemy who wants to be better than they are! xD But they don't want to give the time of day and instead focus solely on getting even. They have extremely negative values and are often selfish. These characters are mostly the ones that become villains, if they already aren't. q u q

I'm a sucker for these guys. I think they're terribly misunderstood. A good portion of the audience seems to think they're just being whiny and need to move on, but I totally understand their point of view, since I'm quite a negative person myself. I think almost every manga or anime I've watched has had a character like this, and in most cases, I fall for them instantly. ; v ;

@KeenHavoc:

You do realize you also described Edward Elric and Vash the Stampede with that description...

Oh, that's the point.

Ahh... There are so many to choose from. I think one of everyone's answers would be something that we can all relate to, or want to be, or want to be in that situation in terms on how our life is going.

For example I could pull out one famous anime stereotype from it and it is a hero, who was almost nobody in the beginning, learns (or not) about his past, but in either way he pushes his ways and crosses all obstacles with the most utter bravery. He comes the to very top near the end, possibly even going through several transformations until then, but in the end it is usually the main form that defeats the final enemy (again, powered up by something or not).
It is almost to show that only our true self and spirit can overcome the greatest of fears.

(I agree with Keba si Rota. These discussions are really quite interesting to follow or be a part of now that I am giving them more attention than I used to. )

I think stereotype is the wrong word to use. It has too much negative connotations in our society. I think using the word 'archetype' would be a better word for this discussion. We seem to be locking in on our favorite personality type or strength or flaw, various themes in the anime world. There doesn't have to be anything negative about recreating favorite formulas with new twists. Just a thought.

Anyways, I think my favorite archetype is the hero with a dark past and something terrible to atone for, like Rurouni Kenshin. Their past gives them great strength but also creates the perfect weaknesses for their enemies to exploit. I really like how animes delve into their mindsets.

Another archetype that I really enjoy watching is the charismatic villain. That character is always fun if it isn't overdone, like Aizen in the end of his arc. (I loved his ingenuity at the beginning and up to the battle with Ichigo. Butterfly with raging mouth killed him, Tite Kubo.) Best examples of those villains are Kira from Death Note (only seen the first season still) and Sakujun from Saiunokou Monogatari.

Wow, I made a long comment this time. xD Have a great weekend, guys.

One of the stereotypes that I like is the shy girl. I think it's because I am that girl-- even in adulthood.

Another one I like is the bad guy who switches allegiances. That makes for a complicated character.

Heck, I like crazy villainous organizations in general. It's like "who's gonna be revealed next?"

Something I don't see enough of in anime is a strong fighter girl who can go head-to-head with the guys. In most of the anime that I've seen, it's usually the girls who are no match for anyone while the guys kick butt on an almost inhuman level.

(Sorry to be off topic, but Adam, I look forward to these discussions every week.)

I like the tsundere type. They're so cute and full of surprises