Seto KAIBA

I really hated this guy.

Seto Kaiba has been my favorite fictional character of all time for the past 15 years, and that very fact never ceases to amaze me. He's the guy that 80% of the fandom loves, and 20% of the fandom hates (with admittedly good reasons). I don't think it's a coincidence that every Yugioh spin off series has had a Kaiba rip off that's failed to surpass the original. To quote the Abridged series, "Now do you understand why everybody loves me? Even though I'm the biggest d*ck in the entire show? It's because I'm Seto freaking Kaiba. Accept no substitutes!" Sorry not sorry.

Reasons why I love this guy:

1. His development. There's enough material for me to write a full-fledged dissertation on this. He's so well-developed that the series might as well use him as the main character. (The 20th Yugioh anniversary movie does and Season 3 was entirely dedicated to his backstory.) His life is riveting and almost twisted, but he makes psychological sense at every stage of it. As a dynamic character, he changes from being a lost, borderline-evil anti-hero into someone who starts trusting in others and showing that he has the capacity for empathy. After meeting Yugi, he started questioning everything he ever believed in which required a lot of courage. Kaiba is by far the most imperfect but also the most believable character in Yugioh.
2. His love for Mokuba. Kaiba is no saint, but everything he does is for the sake of protecting his little brother, to the point that he was willing to die to save him in Duelist Kingdom. He knew it wasn't a morally clean move to force Yugi's hand, but he was willing to go all the way to save his brother. Time and time again, when forced to choose between Mokuba and everything else he values, Kaiba chooses Mokuba. It's rare to see such a deep brotherly bond.
3. His focus on the future. Though his character struggles with this from time to time, I love how he focuses on the future instead of the past like most angsty characters do. This also relates to his adoptive father's ideology that was drilled into him from a young age but I find it makes him somewhat different than others of his archetype. He always looked ahead so that he and Mokuba could have a better life.
4. His intelligence. He was a child prodigy, and was able to go from a nameless orphan to plotting and successfully taking over his adoptive father's company, all before the age of 16. Let's not forget that pretty much every duel disk and piece of virtual technology in the show ever was designed by Seto Kaiba. He's also an expert strategist and the only one who doesn't need a millennium item to win duels.
5. His badassary. Kaiba is pretty much James Bond in disguise, and can deflect bullets, jump out flying planes, and pilot helicoptors like nobody's business. He's objectively the most badass character in the show. Guns, explosions and earthquakes don't faze him.
6. His humor. "If I had a dime for every time you used the word destiny, I'd be even richer." Kaiba has the sassiest lines in the dub, and as much as I find the subbed version of the show more professionally put together, Kaiba wouldn't be Kaiba without his slaying wit. He's also incredibly over the top and obsessive sometimes, which only makes him funnier.
7. His appearance. Just being real.

Makes everything worth it.

He's so cool.:)

Kaiba: Screw the money, I have rules! Wait...let me try that again...