Quote Originally Posted by Tokimadoushi View Post
You make a good point, Jiro. I've found that people dislike characters like Yuffie because of her lively, rather obnoxious personality, and are quick to file her under 'annoying' or 'stereotypical' without actually stopping to think why she acts that way.
I disagree, I feel that even having a good justification does not change the likability of a character. I understand why Yuffie is the way she is, but it doesn't change the fact I hate her with a burning passion. The same can be said of Yuna in FFX and Vanille in XIII. Hell, everyone knows Hope has one of the more sympathetic stories in XIII but it hasn't stopped half the fanbase from hating the whiny little brat. So despite having a good personality or backstory, I still believe there is a level of subjectivity that is also crucial.

I would even argue that personality is actually more important than backstory, cause if you can't stand the character, it wouldn't matter how awesome their backstory is, you would still dislike them. Vincent and Garnet come to mind for me personally. They both have interesting back stories, but I still find them both grating after awhile as characters cause they have certain personality flaws I can't stand. Backstory just makes a likable character even better. Now granted, some backstory is necessary. You can have a great personality, but if you come across as irrelevant to the plot, nothing is going to save you.

My point is a character with a great personality and a minor back story is more important than an annoying/boring/two-dimensional character with a fleshed out backstory.