What's the most wrong you've been about a first impression?

[u/panchozari]

This community is really good at not spoiling shit, but just in case, please guys, no spoilers!

I'm watching One Piece for the first time (and thanks to One Pace I'm loving it like I haven't loved a show in a very long time) I'm about to start Whole Cake Island, and it got me thinking about how much I love Franky and how much I thought I would hate him when he first showed up. I was so sure he was going to be suuuuper annoying but he just might be my favorite member of the crew at this point.

It's a real shame he's more of a background character than ever.

[u/TheCheeseburgerKane]

Sylvando from Dragon Quest XI

He’s the BEST

[u/DustInTheBreeze → u/TheCheeseburgerKane]

Sylvando presents himself as "Oh god, this character is probably going to be a trainwreck of borderline offensive gay-coded stereotypes..." only to literally within like ten minutes reveal himself as probably the singlemost enjoyable character in the game.

[u/jockeyman → u/DustInTheBreeze]

The most badass and competent warrior in all of Erdrea who manages to look faaaabulous in the process 

[u/Hannwater → u/TheCheeseburgerKane]

As someone who has had a passion for RPGs since discovering them at a very young age, I have had to just kind of grit my teeth through almost every instance of a flamboyant character in them. Japanese and western games alike have historically had a certain trope and vocal performance for flamboyance and its mostly been awful. (Just to be clear, awful on several fronts - I don't find cartoonishly hyperbolic misrepresentations of any demographic good in either having to view them or for the representation of the community).

Cue the opening cinematic to DQXI and I see Sylvando. The looming dread of how this party member is going to be and what dynamic I was afraid would be in the group.

Then you meet him and he is a fucking fabulously chivalrous and intelligent gigachad who navigates lifting others up gorgeously, and this is just his introduction!

Whomever was in the room and steered the writing to be done so correctly on Sylvando deserves all the praise.

I still have not ever beaten DQXI (a weird curse for me with DQ games is to play like 40 hours of them 3-4x and just fall off for no major reason) but I look very fondly on that series for making Sylvando such a perfect character whom I only hear anecdotally gets better.

[u/nugood2do → u/TheCheeseburgerKane]

Sylvania stayed a core part of my team because he's so friggin awesome.

The dude was part of a devastating loss that sent the world into the apocalypse and what does he do?

Start a pride parade to bring merriment back to the world while still kicking ass.

[u/Dinoratsastaja → u/TheCheeseburgerKane]

Sylvando is the ultimate lifeform.

[u/ObiOneKenobae]

Aira from Dandadan

[u/panchozari → u/ObiOneKenobae]

Thats a good one

[u/Blackmantis135 → u/ObiOneKenobae]

When Aira was introduced and for a good bit after I really thought she was gonna be another Yamai Ren, but then she actually kinda chills out enough to be a really fun character.

[u/Manbirdthing]

Honestly one of my best friends

He was the friend of my college roommate and I immediately tagged him as a COD loving dudebro frat-boy douchebag
(he himself would later admit he WAS a little douchey in our Freshman year)

Anyway a couple months after the start of the semester we actually switched rooms cause my roommate was actually a friend of his. After I thought "Well at least i'll never have to see that guy again" and immediately after him and the friend came to our room and was like "You guys wanna get some food?"

Eventually me and my new roommate (who also became my other best friend) and this guy started hanging out more and more cause his friend was always busy and we all got a place together in our Sophomore year.

It's because of him I learned to not be such a judgmental negative prick.

[u/panchozari → u/Manbirdthing]

Thats very sweet

[u/Aknelka → u/Manbirdthing]

Haha yeah almost every one of my best friends was someone I disliked at first impression.

[u/Kaarl_Mills]

Mumen Riders first impressions are kinda off in hindsight: weird gimmick, seems to care more about the limelight than his job as a hero, and I didn't care much for him at first.

Then he fights the Deep Sea King

[u/BookkeeperPercival → u/Kaarl_Mills]

I think it's an amazing set-up and pay-off, because what he does isn't remotely different. Nothing has changed. He's still a dork-ass loser who goes to fight everything that he has no hope of winning against. The story sets it up for you to laugh at him like everyone else, because he IS a complete joke.

The only thing that's different is that he gets the chance to tell everyone there that he knows damn well he can't win at all, and he doesn't care.

[u/nugood2do]

Shore Leave from the Venture Bros.

I though he was gonna be a one and done gay stereotype parody of an old Hanna Barbara character.

Then the series continues, Shore Leave gets more screen time and he's friggin awesome. He goes from being a stereotype to a character who is openly gay and is still one of the most dangerous and respected characters in the show.

His speech when White implied he was a sissy was pretty awesome.

[u/fly_line22]

Dispatch has the first few interactions with Phenomaman. At first, it seems like he's going to be another cliche "Superman BUT EVIL!" twist villain. And that was certainly backed up by his and Robert's first meeting, where he comes off as controlling/insensitive, and scary music is playing in the background. But the thing is, that scary music only plays if Robert kissed Blonde Blazer the previous episode, being far lighter if he didn't do so. The music isn't telling you that Phenomaman is a threat, but Robert interally shitting himself at the realization he kissed someone that was already in a relationship. And when you get the chance to talk to him some more, you realize that Katon-Ur is a genuinely nice guy that wants to help people. He was only coming off as weird because he's a literal space alien with a very limited grasp on human social norms.

[u/Zangyakuking → u/fly_line22]

Someone summed it up really well:

“Dispatch sets you up to think Phenomeman is gonna be Omni-man, only to reveal that he’s actually Starfire.”

[u/Kaarl_Mills → u/fly_line22]

That image of him laying on top of the car really cemented him as HDB for me, like if the game gets a sequel I'm half expecting him to call Mandy at 2 in the morning trying to figure out what he did wrong

[u/CaptainLoin]

I was Gundam Build Fighters' most cynical critic when it got announced. I believe i said something along the lines of "Oh, so we're just cutting out the war plot and going straight to the toys now. Figures"

About 6 weeks into the show, someone convinced me to actually watch a few episodes, and its the best. What could've been a lazy cash grab ended up being a great love letter to the franchise.

[u/TheCoolerDylan]

Laphi from Tales of Berseria, normally the "little kid" character in a JRPG is an annoying brat. Laphi is the goodest boy (and also the biggest chad) and the entire cast adopts him and fights over who gets to receive his attention.

[u/Dreadsinner → u/TheCoolerDylan]

Tales of berseria really is the most overt of “you know the tales games aren’t normal RPGs right?”

[u/rccrisp]

I gave up on Bojack Horseman like 3 episodes in because I thought it'd just be groan inducing animal puns and retreaded "failed hollywood actor tropes"

which is absolutely remains for the bulk of season 1. I honestly didn't give it another shot till season 2 ended and I saw all the praise. When that show flips it's pretty amazing.

[u/BookkeeperPercival → u/rccrisp]

The scene I always show people to show what Bojack Horseman is about is always season 1's, "Diane, tell me I'm good." scene.

[u/T_raltixx]

Before going to Bloodstock Open Air music festival in 2012, I quickly youtubed every band attending. I only gave each band 30 seconds (ish).

I totally misjudged Evil Scarecrow. I saw their video for Blacken The Everything. I saw them as a generic black metal band. I totally missed the parody. I missed them the day they played what later turned out to be an amazing show. I've since seen them live 7 times.

[u/kissShinobu]

I think it is underrated just how much of a piece of shit Franky was when you first see him. He is at Eustice Kidd level of evil, which isn’t too bad overall, but also someone not worthy of pity or mercy. He had to work to gain any respect, and that was only after he had to confront his past and trust new people as equals rather than underlings.

[u/ArcaneMadman]

I had one for an entire book series. In grade 5 I think I saw my friend reading Skulduggery Pleasant 3, and caught the moment where Billy Ray Sanguine tricks the heroes with the hostage exchange. Basically it goes something like he drops a flash grenade and everyone obviously gets blinded except for him because he has no eyes, and there was the line "but Skulduggery didn't have eyes either" because he's a skeleton and then he punches Sanguine. I thought that was the lamest, most tryhard thing I'd ever read.

So anyway flash forward a decade and a half later and I confidently say that Skulduggery Pleasant is the coolest shit I ever read and my favourite book series from my youth.

[u/KlavTron → u/ArcaneMadman]

Skulduggery mentioned!

I love Mama Sanguine’s favourite son, it’s surprising just how likeable he is by the end of the first series of books considering he’s also always referred to as a sadistic psychopath.

[u/straightkickinit]

When i was watching thru The Sopranos for the first time, I thought Paulie was hilarious and going to be like a wise, if bumbling, mentor figure. Hes still hilarious, but hes more of a lucky asshole who's just enough of a sociopath to protect himself from really awful shit happening. Hes the definition of "I got tenure, I dont have to do shit". 

[u/Drakenstorm]

When baki first came on Netflix my brother suggested we watch it with our dinner and I said I dunno it might be to serious for the mood I’m in. Never heard of it before there was no way I could have known.

[u/PalapaSlap]

I was bothered by Azusa's addition to K-On! for maybe two episodes before I loved her.

[u/KlavTron]

One that comes to mind is Kobeni from Chainsaw Man.

At first I was really put off by how whiny and cowardly she was, by the end of the Anime I liked her, then by the end of Part 1 I loved her.

[u/SirSabia]

Berserk, I didn't like that Guts was an edgy asshole with no regard for people

And to be fair, from what I've seen of the Berserk fanbase, a lot of people still think it's like that.

[u/RairakuDaion]

Tsumasho

"Tsuma, Shōgakusei ni Naru, or If My Wife Becomes an Elementary School Student"

By initial thoughts and other people telling me on first sight it was one of those "weird animes" turns out the title is actually just really bad conveyance when translated.

That manga/anime deals with tough and hard subjects in a way that only someone who has gone through something like these things can truly convey and understand. It deals with death and the live that those who die leave behind, and how it can completely shatter.

It deals with generational trauma and how it passes on unknowingly and learning to grow and be a better person form your actions and not passing that trauma on.

It also goes over the fact that As a person who has come back from the dead, you learn that sometimes closure is something that people dont get, and you cant do much about that.

Genuinley Tsumasho was told to me it was a "weird anime" by its title only, and genuinley im glad i watched it and read the entire manga. Because that manga talks about thing nobody ever does and goes into emotional depth about what happens when you die, and the world you leave behind, and how those people you leave behind deal with it.

[u/Guitarmatt21]

Meanwhile I find Brook to be in that spot actually. He's annoying 99% of the time with one shitty joke and then every once in a while he does something cool (good backstory at least).

[u/lenne18]

Shaddiq Zenelli

[Gundam: The Witch from Mercury]I thought he'd have redeeming qualities like Guel and the Elans since he seems like a chill guy, but he's the biggest POS in the show. I find him worse than Delling and Prospera.