Hei stands above Misaka for among other things, he has better composure.  He is not as subject to emotional outbursts that could cost him victory as often or easily as Misaka is.  He is alot like Tatsuya, except a college age adult instead of in High School.  He is tough and dangerous with or without is super power magic ability and when he uses that ability he combines it with his sharp intelllect to make it far more deadly and effective.  No matter the opponent, how strong, or how many, Hei is ready to make a stand and come out on top of any situation.

She is a brash temperamental magic super powered girl with a short temper.  She loses her cool at times as any kid would but she never abuses her gifts or looks down on others with less or even no power.  Her respect for herself and others is beyond reproach.  Her imperfections and bashful reactions are part of her charm.  You can always count on her to do the right thing.

Character wise, she has good and bad points, but I have to give her some 'weighted' for essentially having not one but two of my favorite powers that I don't think I've ever seen in another anime character.  Her turtle pet is basically a summon power and her 2 newest are shapeshifting powers.  These are such great favored powers almost never seen any character with one and I'm pretty sure I've not seen any decent protagonists with both.

He has such a selfless attitude any hero can only dream about.  He might seem a bit standoff-ish at first but he has good reason.  He never seriously hates magic just misuse of it.  He has a coolness, calm, and maturity beyond his meager years.  His sense of responsibility is admirable and befitting of any good protagonist.

Aside from the fact that she is willing to go so far and risk so much to help others, Maka is cool under fire and generally level headed.  She not only had an exceptional bloodline but even more exceptional powers and skills.  She walks the walk and talks the talk so she isn’t just bragging when she says she can help.  She’s got the best lead anime character qualities and characteristics such as being cute, smart, skilled, and powerful.  She may not have the same dramatic, emotional, or backstory range as other top lead characters but what she does have, she has more than enough to make up for such shortfalls.

Haku is lazy, unskilled, and one of the weakest lead characters ever, at least at first.  But his development is one the most amazing, complex, and complete of any anime character. You throw in the deep heart wrenching emotional drama that reaches an apex the end, and you have a truly great story.  His rise to the challenges he faces are nearly mythical given how he starts the story.  Perhaps never has a hero character risen from the unknown, mundane, or ashes to meet the needs of the many and risk or sacrifice his own health and happiness as he does.

Zen is nearly too perfect of a protagonist. In fact, his imperfections actually add to the sense he is a perfect character. It would be impossible to hate a guy like this who has all that power and royal privilege yet still maintains a humble humility begetting poverty or a skilled worker or other ordinary citizen. He never lets it go to his head nor do you ever get the sense he lets power corrupt him. The story of how he falls in love with a woman who starts out as a good friend rings true as the old adage 'marry your best friend' goes, though that would only apply to someone you are great friends with and attracted toward.

She is the best character in the Gate anime.  Her melee combat is so fluid it looks like she is dancing.

Frau is just a total badass.  He is the most impulsive and powerful of the ghosts and is so tough that he could challenge nearly anyone in the show to a draw if not a win.  He is strong and powerful enough to be on the top most powerful list of all anime characters.  He is supposed to be a preist of sorts but he has a pervert side, however he never makes it feel like anything but being childish. 

Calm, cool headed, gigantic, and kind unless you get on his bad side then he turns into a type of man made monster who is as tough and scary to his enemies as anyone can be.

Not to brag but her story reminds me of my mom and her sisters.  She’s wise, cute yet mature and actually quite old.  Her demeanor might be reminiscent of a catholic nun.  She’s strict, moral, with immense powers hiding behind her descriptive appearance.  Between her great experience, wisdom, morality, and power she’s about as ideal of a protagonist/hero as you can get.

Sure I like his character and his autism like characteristics but his lack of social interest, could calculations, and his creepy overly affectionate sister drags him down the list a notch or two.  He’s very smart, powerful magically and physically.  Think of  Macgyver type character crossed with Jet Li and Shin Wolford and you have Tatsuya.

He's a modern anime recast of classic Ray Harryhausen type protagonists.  He's more than meets the eyes which I can't say without unveiling major spoilers.

In one sense, she's the ultimate big sister or in another, the ultimate babysitter.  Balsa is tough, caring and yet retains an air subtlety femininity and charm easily hidden by her rough exterior.

Birdy has been described as anime's answer to Supergirl, though she also shares some Green Lantern characteristics.  She may not be the brightest bulb and often succumbs to emotions, but she isn't lacking sufficient intellect and wit either but her superstar alternate identity and tremendous powers make her a great hero character.

Tina is a classic tragic heroine character/story.  She lives up to the legends which her trope reflects.  She's the kind of leader/hero/ character that even enemies would follow if pressed.  After she gets over her painful experience or well at least to work and get past it while putting her own problems on hold as it were while she tries to save her nation from a traitor.

There are few flaws in either his character, demeanor, range of abilities and powers, impact on the story he is in, how he handles his antagonists, to how he deals with over sexed perverts constantly baiting him. He is simply an all around cool guy with OP skills cast in a setting where everyone seems to love or respect him. Even his enemies try to get him to join as they respect him enough that they even fear his powers.

He seems like an all around nice guy who would literally give the shirt off his back to anyone in need but he has a creepy attachment to a creepy wannabe nun and doesn't ever seem to realize his fated sigificant other is Misaka.  He appears to be a helpless ordinary human with no power yet is able to take on and take down the most powerful foes in the entire series' world.

George is cunning, crafty, daring albeit sometimes even reckless but he gets done what needs to be done.  It's as if he wants revenge against all criminals. His story even loosely reflects some tales mentioned in the rivals or feuds shows on history channel.  So they are believable.  The movie Last Man Standing which I think was a remake is another similar story.  However, George has a stronger more morally leaning sort of character.  The anime 91 Days also feels a bit similar.  However George is a bit more patient and cunning with a slightly stronger sense of fairness and justice where as 91 days is a bit more brutal but also easy to understand why and what motivates him.  George is more of a mystery like the Clint Eastwood spaghetti western movie character he played.

Jin is just a fun guy who's so powerful and skilled that he can run circles around other powerful characters even when severely handicapped.  He's an OP character no doubt but ironically, he's not the main character.  Still don't let that depress you because he's hands down the best and probably most powerful character in the series.  He's certainly capable of saving the world so we can think of him almost like an insurance policy.

She's like a female Lancelot or Gusn Yu.  She's effectively a female goddess of war who will rise to any martial art type friction or conflict.  She might have some shortcomings regarding more everyday functions as if saying she can at least understand PDDs or Savants since like them, all her focus is almost entirely on combat and questing.

Arson's lacks experience and worldly understanding but quickly works around his shortfalls to address challenges.  He has a King Arthur like legendary mythical idealized characterization.  He's intelligent, insightful , understanding, quick to make choices when needed but can struggle when it isn't an immediate issue.  Tough choices are pressing on him but also shows the strength of character and resolve to lead despite being forced to make tough sometimes heart wrenching choices.

Emi is a bit gung ho though pure in her motivation and purpose.  She struggles to resolve those pure instincts when she finds facts that doesn't match what she was told all her life.  However, she shines again because when doubts arise, she offers fair judgment and assessment of any changes or facts that challenges her education and experience.  That part makes her more ideal heroic than her other strong hero qualities.

Jun is like an anime version of Robin Williams' character from Dead Poet's Society or Richard Mulligan's character from Fast Times At Ridgemont High.  He's basically a genius goofball teacher who's more at home acting younger than those he teaches than attending boring adult teacher conferences. You wouldn't be surprised to see any of the three dressing up in period costumes; playing pranks; or teaching valuable lessons through petty forms of revenge upon problem students.

Daryun is in simple terms, the ultimate knight.  So he's basically an anime version of William Marshal.  Both the real version and anime version were exceptional fighters and extremely tough.  They also held obligation and honor in much higher regard then even most other knights.  Loyalty is another major factor.  You'd never suffer a mistake by having a knight like him or the real one helping you out.

I don't want to sound sacrilegious but he's essentially given a pseudo Jesus role with similar power.  He sacrifices a great deal to help others and to use his power.  I'm not going to say he's the same as Jesus quite because he does have some negative hang ups such as, it feels like he's always angry or he's always screaming.  So, he's not quite the all rounder like the other guy is often depicted as.

Ya he seems like a bad guy and causes an undeserved rivalry with the lead guy but his singular act of revenge against some of the most heartless and above the law monsters in any show ever, automatically adds him to the list of heroes to be reckoned with.  Watching him lay down the law on the first person involved with the evil organization after what they did to his family brings a broad smile to my face.  You may feel relieved after watching lots of anime where villains get away with it or make peace with good guys and some how never pay a price for past crimes, watching him do what he does just makes you feel 'ahh there is some justice even in anime'.

You've got to love surprises and what he does near the end is one of the biggest and best ever.  Teng might look a bit like a simple minded dorky yes man at first and does little to change that image ever, but holy shit, when he finally steps onto the stage to show who and what he truly is, he practically steals the entire anime.

This guy puts on an act of a pseudo metro sexual dandy, but in reality, he's a total badass that is so good, tough, smart, and all around nearly the perfect knight/generals, it'll blow you away.  What's more is the surprising deep drama story behind his act will tug at your heartstrings with how insightfully sensitive and romantic he can be.

He’s simple, unassuming, and weak. Izumi doesn’t look like much or act like much and lacks confidence yet, he stands tall against monsters and powerful demons even when he tries to be sweet and humble, he makes them tremble.