Do serious/overly determined characters bore you?

[AmericanBeauty]

In anime (mostly mecha and other dramatic shows), there is no shortage of characters who are dead serious or determined about reaching a goal integral to the show's plot. But I've read that some fans often consider these characters boring or one-dimensional.

For example in Wolf's Rain, Kiba is often considered the dullest character in the show and yet he's the one who's most determined to reach Paradise/Rakuen. In another example, Amon in Witch Hunter Robin is often saddled with the "Gloomy Gus" stereotype and is yet one of the leaders of the STNJ (and a pretty good one at that).

So does it seem that when a certain character isn't too carefree or laidback, not many viewers will identify with him/her?

[Johnny]

No, it annoys me more when characters or the tone of the story becomes too silly.
I don't want to see nothing but seriousness but humour sometimes feels tacked-on and out of place and there's nothing worse.

[BluWacky]

No, but Kiba did.

Amon has a personality, he's just dark and mysterious about it. Kiba's just a boring, single-minded character in a series filled with interesting ones, which is why he's problematic.

Being focused = good. Having no personality traits other than your single minded focus on getting to Paradise with Cheza for the vast majority of a 30 episode series = bad.

[Lego]

Reito in Hime is boring and dull. It seems like he is only their to be the anti-Tate, which works decently I guess. I mean I can see why he is in the show, but every time he came on screen(save for two moments later in the series), I got bored by him. He just seems to be that kind of guy that would ride a roller coaster saying "Weeeeee" in a uninspired voice. Kind of like you made him go take out the trash.

I really wasn't a fan of Integra for a long time either. When I first saw Hellsing, I ended up thinking "wow, what a boring character". But after watching Hellsing recently(a while back, but not to far back), I started to see the layers that her character had. Now I find her interesting heh. The same can be said for Akiha in Tsukihime. One may find her boring at first glance, but when you get that hint of backstory, the character becomes alive and it's fun to see how they interact.

[Njr Scrawl]

Char Aznable is extremely boring in Gundam UC. He is one dimensional, bent on some revenge or other, & makes Gendou Ikari in Eva seem interesting.

Most UC characters are though. One reason I like ZZ Gundam so much is that Judeau &amp; his followers are more normal by comparison. And the villains have personalities as well as ambitions. Unfortunately <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Judeau becomes dulled at the end &amp; looks like becoming another militarised/institutionalised Tomino militia man. </span>

[Lego]

I kinda liked Char. I find him a little like Trieze is in Wing. While not the most interesting guy at first glance, I enjoy looking at their motives and how they act. I mean Trieze's motives were really fun to see string along during the series.

[aquapermanence]

Vash from Trigun is extremely determined, but I never find him boring.

Characters can be serious and determined, but that doesn't prevent them from being well-rounded. One thing I consider a sad omission in many shows is that they don't show enough personal moments for characters--moments where they're just dressing, or eating, or on the toilet, and without necessarily any direct relevance to the overall drama. I feel that these things are important to show because they humanize the characters and also help the audience suspend disbelief by presenting more "normal" aspects of their lives. Evangelion and The Irresponsible Captain Tylor are both good examples of shows that use the incredible and the mundane to shape their characters, and despite the relative seriousness of their stories are able to use self-aware and situationally-aware characters to inject some levity into the narrative and keep the story driving along, rather than just coasting.

[itsuka]

I don't mind serious characters, nor determined ones as long as they are somewhat reasonable and/or likeable. When I read the title of this thread, I was thinking of second season Kaleido Star, and the horrible Mai who is focussed, but incredibly unreasonable and unlikeable. It ruined my pleasure in watching the second season so far. I never had that problem with Layla in the first season, who I would describe as serious and focussed and therefore sometimes unpleasant, but never totally unreasonable.

[pianocello]

I don't mind characters who are too serious or determined but I have a problem if characters are too angsty.