CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

I wasn't sure where to put this, since there have been great adaptations of the works. But since they originally started out as books, I figured this was good.
LOTR is bar none, one of the best sagas of the fantasy genre. It has inspired rock music (Led Zeppelin has done at least 3 songs about it), great movies by Peter Jackson and Ralph Bakshi (and a pitiful Rankin Bass version), and video games. Even Dungeons and Dragons owes a debt to this saga. And I'll admit, I'm a big Tolkien geek. It's the characters that I enjoy the most. (I'm really more of a character person than a story person) So, who are your favorite LOTR characters?
Here are mine:
Gandalf
Gollum
Arwen
Aragorn (aka Strider)
Sam

Faramir -Boromirs brother. Very overlooked, very wrongly done in the movie.

Bilbo > Frodo

Oh goodness!

Galadriel (Too cool)
Frodo (Too cute)
Gollum (Too sad... T_T)
Sauron (Scary)
Nazgul (Oddly fascinating in their black cloak-ness)

Sam, definitely. The real hero of the book.
Also Gollum, for utter crazy-coolness and Merry and Pippin, some of literature's best underdogs.

Sam Gamgee, Boromir, Tom Bombadil...

Also, what is wrong with the Rankin-Bass version? It's awesome. The songs are stuck in my head forever.

rocklobster (post: 1330772) wrote:great movies by Ralph Bakshi

rocklobster (post: 1330772) wrote:and a pitiful Rankin Bass version

*Spits soda.*

To each its own. I thought the Ralph Bakshi version was a noble effort, albeit a bit rushed. The Rankin-Bass version? I believe Tolkien was spinning in his grave when that monstrosity came out.

I'm sorry Rocklobster, but Bakshi's love of rotoscoping makes my spine crawl.

Faramir. About the most epic character ever to appear in literature.

Sam. I mean, seriously, how could you not like him.

All three of the Three Hunters are amazing.

The Gaffer sorta counts.

Elrond qualifies here for all-around awesomeness.

Are we allowed to list characters from The Silmarillion?

I like Gandalf, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Legolas, and Sam. Not necessarily in that order.

Yes, IMO, the Silmarrion counts as part of the LOTR saga. It's a prequel, but it still counts.

Yikes. I only realize it now, but I've been such a huge fan for so long now that I can't even tell who my favorite characters are anymore. I don't think that's ever happened with any other story. Here, I'll make an attempt:

Sam
Gollum
Frodo
Pippin
Gandalf (especially when he's Gandalf the Grey, for some reason)
Saruman
Galadriel

...and, because he deserves way more love than he gets, Barliman Butterbur. I always chortle when I get to his chapter.

Fingolfin!!! The guy cut off the foot of Sauron's commander and only lost because the ground became so rocky after dodging so much! How could he not be mentioned!!

From the original story:
Faramir, Aragorn, Eomer, and Sam.
For Silmarillion and others:
Thorin Oakenshield, he may be proud, but he's still ridiculously awesome.
Turin, yeah, pretty self explanatory.
Ulmo is by far my favorite Vala.
And that's all I've thought up so far. I need to re-read The Silmarillion and Lost Tales once I finish LOTR again.

Sam all the way hes my hero ^^

and Aragorn hes really cool

[SIZE="1"]Ahh~! I adore Lord of the Rings. ^^ Let's see...

Pippin Took
Frodo Baggins
Halidir
Goldenberry
Saeros

... I would name every character, if I could. '~' It's too hard to pick a favorite! But, yeah. I'd say Pippin. X3 [/SIZE]

I would have to go with Elf soldier number 42 573 and Orc soldier number 213 784. They just had so much more character and personality than the rest...

Gandalf the White.

My favorite are:
Eowyn - funny no one has mentioned her yet. A little needy perhaps and trying to find herself, but very valiant when she faces the Nazgul king.
Sam
Aragorn
Gandalf
Faramir
Eomer

favourites:
galadriel
elrond
glorfindel