(spoilers~)

This sex god aka Kimblee, a man of many titles. Whether it's the Mad Bomber or the Crimson Alchemist, his reputation is well deserved for his specialty.

Between the sounds of explosions, the act of creating said explosions and people screaming, Kimblee can be considered a conductor. He derives pleasure from hearing these sounds, saying they are practically a lullaby for him. Bear in mind, this is all information gathered within the first conversation we witness with him.

There's something completely intriguing about a character who's so passionate about something like causing destruction, who takes such pride with his craft, who wishes for nothing more than to make "beautiful" music. You can just look at his face and KNOW that this will be an interesting character even without knowing him.

He challenges the "good" characters in the series by dropping bombs of truth. Kimblee, a man who gets his kicks off of doing his civic duty in Ishval, confronts soldiers like Mustang & Hawkeye, even Hughes, by saying they were the ones who chose this path when they are feeling guilty for senselessly killing Ishvalans. Kimblee goes further to say that the least they can do is remember the faces of those they've killed, because those people will never forget them. And Kimblee ACTUALLY remembers each person he's killed or attempted to kill, as evidenced by the fact he remembers Scar ("his handiwork"), even years after the war.

Whether you prefer him in FMA or Brotherhood, the fact remains that this guy strictly follows his own code and favors those who stand by their convictions/beliefs. He doesn't put up with hypocrisy - in fact, he will call you out on it and make you rue the day you decided to be hypocritical - case in point, in Brotherhood, when he gives Ed the opportunity to defeat Pride, because Pride was attempting to use a human to save his life after Pride claimed to be a superior being.

And ever since Ashley mentioned it, I agree that Kimblee would have been the PERFECT Pride. Seriously. He does things for his own benefit and he does so with all this confidence in the world, because he KNOWS he can. He's so sadistic and twisted with a dark sense of humor. What's not to love? He's just such an interesting villain/antagonist, although I suppose in comparison to who the actual villains are, he's more like a sub-villain.

Even his death is satisfying, at least in FMA, where we come full circle and Scar gets the revenge he's been seeking the entire time and Kimblee's basically the reason why Al even becomes the Philosopher's Stone in the first place. Without Al's involvement in the fight, who knows how the series could have ended. But Kimblee's last and final moments were spent creating a bomb out of Al's armor that would be his most beautiful yet - he's saying as he's rubbing his face on Al's leg, but I digress.

And then in Brotherhood when he provides Ed a distraction so he could defeat Pride and the last we see of Kimblee is him tipping his hat like the badass he is.

You never know where you stand with him or where his true loyalties lie, but you're guaranteed for one hell of a show if he's anywhere in the vicinity, because he will make his presence known and he will have your attention.

What's there to say about Roy Mustang?

SPOILERS - he's the best. (But seriously, spoilers are throughout, especially towards the end)

He's been a favorite for about 10 years now and when it comes down to WHY he's a favorite, I'm at a loss as to where to begin or even which verse I should talk about, because while it's the same character in both series + manga, he goes through different experiences, which thus, forms his character in different aspects.

Ultimately, what I love most about Roy is his unwavering loyalty for his friends. He has one of my favorite friendships with the ever amazing Maes Hughes, who also makes the list for a post about him somewhere down the line, but he also has a great team behind him to help support him to get him to the top.

I love how ambitious he is. Starting out as a soldier, even though soldiers who specialize in alchemy, especially the sort of alchemy this guy can do, doesn't necessarily mean he has no rank... I'm pretty sure state alchemists are granted a much higher starting rank than regular soldiers, but I don't know for sure what level they start as. Regardless, he starts out in Ishbal/Ishval and things go to hell - Roy gets what appears to be his first taste of what war really means. This comes in the shape of following difficult orders and augmenting the war by his own hands.

This affects Roy in two ways, depending on which series you watch, but Roy decides that he's going to work his way up the chain of command in order to change the country, so that orders like the ones he had to carry out in Ishbal/Ishval never happen again. So that people like Ed, who join the military at such a young age, never have to stain their hands the way he's had to. Roy has such great vision for the country and the determination to see it through.

You can tell a lot about a character by their relationships and how they treat those relationships. Roy has complete faith in his team and treats each of them as the important people they are. As awesome as Roy is, you can't play a game of chess with only a king and expect to win or get anywhere. The camaraderie within Team Mustang is one of my absolute favorite things about FMA - there aren't enough words to fully describe how perfect it is, unless you see it, which is why in FMA, my favorite episodes are usually centered around Team Mustang or Roy/Ed - a surprise to absolutely no one.

Sometimes Roy's actions are misinterpreted - he acts as the bad guy in order to get things done. An example being in Brotherhood when he scorches Maria Ross after learning she murdered someone important to him and Ed finds her corpse + Roy standing over it and Ed yells at him, because how could he do this when it's obvious she didn't do anything. To which Roy responds by saying, "he's just following orders," which obviously upsets Ed even more. You learn later on that he didn't actually kill Maria, but rather provided her the means to disappear, so she wouldn't HAVE to be killed.

Roy takes the fall for the people he cares about. He gets the military off the Elrics' tail when they come looking for them in Risembool after they had ran away from the Liore/Philosopher's Stone incident. Let's think about this for a second. Roy is a significant player in the military - he's the flame alchemist, but he's also high in ranks. He's the one who FOUND Ed right after the whole human transmutation happened and told him to take the state exam, so you would think the military would account for him covering for Ed when Ed & Al are trying to recoup. Roy goes to the train station where the military has just arrived and we're shown a soundless scene with Roy arguing with the military personnel. You can see that he's trying his hardest, but the military doesn't leave until Roy bows in a sign of begging them to turn around/go elsewhere.

Roy. Fucking. Mustang. BOWED to people who were most likely below him in rank in order to protect the Elric brothers.

He bows to no one -  he doesn't even show his fear as he confronts Bradley about him being a homunculus; you can only SEE his fear when he exits the room - but when it comes to people he cares about, he doesn't hold back and will resort to anything in order to protect them - the Lustang scene and the Roy/Envy scene, especially, being great examples of how far he's willing to go in Brotherhood.

This is barely skimming the surface, but his devotion to his country & his friends is my #1 reason for loving him. The only way I would ever serve in the military would be if I was guaranteed to have a leader like Mustang to follow, because I believe he exemplifies all that's necessary to be a good leader.

Also, because his voice and entire being is attractive like whoa ;)

Okay, so, I planned for these to be more spread out than this, but then his character song came on and I'm overcome with feelings.

First off, I just want to say that his name has so many spellings, so Kyouya Ootori, Kyouya Ohtori, Kyoya Ootori, Kyoya Ohtori... regardless of how you want to spell his name, it should come as no surprise that he would make this list.

Before even starting this analysis, I feel like looking up the song lyrics translated into English would benefit anyone willing to read this, so here's that.

Kyoya's character grew on me. It was around the time when Tamaki first called Kyoya "Mommy" that I started to love his character or maybe it was around the time we were introduced to Renge for the first time and I saw the friendship between Tamaki/Kyoya for the first time. I loved that they were best friends, because I enjoyed the apparent differences between them.

Kyoya is calculative, never wasting energy unnecessarily and focusing on his goals. He is the Shadow King of the host club, after all - without his shrewd and, albeit, greed, the club would have long fallen apart, especially with Tamaki's need for theatrics and Honey's bottomless stomach for sweets. Kyoya knows what the customers want, whether it's sketchy photos of the host club members or doujinshi of the club courtesy of Renge.

Because Kyoya runs the club relatively behind the scenes, he is often overlooked, especially considering he isn't a full-out host like the rest of the guys (plus Haruhi). Sure, he interacts with the customers, but it's usually for brief snippets, unlike the rest who have a steady rate of customers. When Kyoya does interact, he puts on this 'cool' persona and shows off his intelligence, appealing to the side of the ladies who appreciate that in a guy.

Kyoya is underhanded, using his family name and power to his advantage when it suits him, such as when the newspaper club tried to besmirch Tamaki or when intimidating Bossa Nova into keeping Haruhi's secret, lest the Ohtori Special Forces have to get involved. Kyoya doesn't care about anything other than what benefits him... except he does.

His character is utterly fascinating, because as much as he pretends to be nothing like 'that idiot' Tamaki, he is. He just doesn't show it as obviously as Tamaki does. Kyoya is genuinely a nice guy underneath his cool persona he has. Kyoya saved a woman from buying knock off ceramics, despite playing it off as him knowing she was an upperclass woman due to her ring, which as Haruhi pointed out, couldn't have been seen from where they were standing. Kyoya plays devil's advocate by basically jumping Haruhi to help prove Tamaki's point in a way she could understand - I could talk forever on how much I ship Kyoya/Haruhi, but this is not the time nor place for it. He has these moments of complete selflessness and pretends he does things for what he gets out of it when it's painfully obvious that he's just a nice guy who feels the need to hide that fact for one reason or another.

Despite acting like he has it all together, Kyoya deep down is insecure, especially prior to the club's founding. Kyoya has spent his entire life being compared to his two older brothers, who have already laid claim to their achievements in studies and social standing. His own father basically admits that Kyoya has to go above and beyond what his brothers have already accomplished in order to be taken seriously as a candidate to take over the Ohtori company. He strove for perfection and stayed within his picture frame, because he thought he couldn't be himself, lest he lose everything he had worked so hard for.

And then enters Tamaki, who takes his entire world and flips it upside down and sends him into overdrive. Through his father's suggestion to befriend the Suoh heir, Kyoya tries his hardest to appease the dramatic blonde until it literally drives him crazy and up the wall. Kyoya yells at Tamaki, taking out all of his pent up rage and frustration, because he feels like Tamaki doesn't have the smallest inkling of what he has to go through just to float in his father's eyes. Then Tamaki tells Kyoya that he shouldn't give up just because he feels that he has no chance of success and that Kyoya can surpass his brothers if he truly believes he can, to stop putting so much pressure on himself and enjoy the time he has, & it's like Kyoya's eyes have been open and he's revived with hope and strength.

Kyoya does everything with the hope that his father will look at him seriously and is visibly hurt when his father slaps him during the Ouran Fair, because Papa Ohtori feels like Kyoya is making a mockery of the Ohtori name by being associated with such a superfluous club. And despite the slap to the face, Kyoya not only buys out the Ohtori company, which had been going bankrupt, but then gave it right back to his father, as if to say, 'fuck you, this isn't even worth my time or energy.'

GOD. I love Kyoya so much and I think it all boils down to the fact that I feel like I can relate - maybe not so much now, but when I was younger, I felt like I was always being compared with my brother and that I wouldn't match up to the standards I felt like my parents were pushing on me. It's difficult being the youngest one, especially when the oldest accomplished so many feats. Kyoya gives me hope that there's a chance that I can make my own way in the world, regardless of the expectations and cage I seemingly placed on myself, and maybe, just maybe, I'll break out of that cage and create something beautiful and amazing like Kyoya's beautiful rose.

Because I have nothing better to do at this late hour, I'm going to go through my phone and write a dissertation on why I love certain characters. No guarantees that it'll be coherent, though :P

So, first up:

Tamaki Suoh, a character who needs no introduction. I will admit to loving his character from the first meeting, because he is the epitome of perfection. From his outlook on life to his views on friendship and WHY the host club means so much to him, he is truly a prince and it's incredibly befitting for him to be the first one to get such a post.

What drew me in about him was his confidence, his mannerisms, his silly arm flailings when he'd give a speech, his facial expressions, and, of course, his voice; whether it be Mamoru Miyano or Vic Mignogna, it's perfection. True, Miyano's version of Tamaki is less flamboyantly silly and a deeper voice, but they both have their appeal.

Tamaki's excitement and interest in all things 'commoner' never fails to put a smile on my face, because what normal person would get excited over an expo or a kotatsu? How adorable is it that he came to Japan with all these ideas and expectations, such as having the kotatsu out year round, or that if you don't sit at a kotatsu, that must mean your family doesn't get along very well?

For a character that portrays himself as over-the-top theatrical, he's unbelievably perceptive, although somewhat oblivious to his own inner feelings, but given his story, everything makes sense. He knows exactly  what people need to hear and he's more than willing to speak honestly from his heart. which is often what people need. 

Tamaki has made SUCH an impact on all of the members of the host club and just thinking about it gets me all emotional. Without Tamaki, the twins would never have let down their defenses. Without Tamaki, Kyoya would have resigned to his fate as the third Ohtori son. Without Tamaki, Honey would have abstained from sweets and cuteness. Without Tamaki, Mori would have silently watched Honey suffering from a silly idea of what true strength is.

He's the type of person who lives life whole-heartedly, a person who wears his heart on his sleeve and continues to do so even when he gets hurt or screwed over. Even when the twins try to push him away by bringing up the fact that Tamaki is an illegitimate son; even when Kyoya says that everything has been handed to Tamaki and that he couldn't possibly understand how he feels; even when Tamaki's grandma is being a massive bitch to him, calling him filthy and basically hating his existence - he still wanted nothing more than to abide by her wishes, once again putting aside his own feelings, because Tamaki doesn't have a single selfish bone in his body.

Tamaki would help someone with no intentions of ever getting anything back in return, ex. the small-time doctor searching for his daughter, the newspaper club, reuniting Nekozawa and his little sister, etc.

He loves with his whole being - giving up the chance to see his mother ever again, giving up on ever visiting France again when that's where he grew up, and he did all of this for his ill mother so that his asshole grandmother would give his mother the opportunity to afford treatment. I can't even fathom how powerful his love would be when it comes to romance.

And, sure, he's quite the romantic, too. I mean, he is the king of the host club - no one can compliment a girl or say the right things like he can. What sets Tamaki apart is his ability to compliment from the heart; he doesn't force himself to say something he doesn't hold true and that alone is such an impressive quality to have. He's a guy who knows how to treat girls correctly and it's incredibly refreshing to have an entire series like Ouran that highlights the perfect group of guys (plus Haruhi).

This isn't even touching on anything the manga has to say about his brilliant man.

Tamaki's perfection is almost criminal, because it's nearly impossible to find a guy that can even slightly compare. That is my goal, though; albeit, a silly one, but a goal nonetheless.