Don Rumata

https://youtu.be/BrOmec4ii3U

https://socialistworker.co.uk/socialist-review-archive/hard-be-god/

Hard to Be a God is a story about a group of historians from a future socialist Earth observing daily life on a feudal planet. The historian Anton has adopted the disguise of the warlord Don Reba and is transmitting scenes of a palace coup back to his colleagues on Earth as it unfolds before him.

Anton is under a proscription not to interfere in the planet’s political and social development. He has access to technology that makes him a god in comparison to the planet’s inhabitants but he is bound to sit back and watch as anyone who’s literate or cultured in any way is slaughtered by the superstitious locals.

It serves to remind us that progress in history is painfully slow and each advance is to be treasured. It also reminds us of Karl Marx’s insight that “social being determines social consciousness” as Anton, surrounded by filth and bloodshed, regresses to the level of the planet’s inhabitants.

forced to be a passive observer to the unyeilding cruelty of human existance

I don’t know why this is weirdly tough for me but here’s mine: Kermit the Frog, Milo Thatch (Atlantis), Rapunzel (Tangled), Crowley & Aziraphale (Good Omens), Kiki (Kiki’s Delivery Service), Ballister Boldheart (Nimona), the whole Belcher Family (Bob’s Burgers), Guillermo de la Cruz (What We Do In The Shadows), Koby and Perona (One Piece), and I think that’s it so far since I can’t think of any more off the top my head.

No one! :D Because while I can recognize traits of myself within characters, I get none of the internal life that makes up 99% of who I am. Media also has, and is not necessarily a bad thing, but it has a tendency towards simplifying complex nuances down to easily digestible sound bytes. There’s very few pieces of media that accurately reflect anything, how could I ever expect them to accurately reflect me? Maybe in a communist society, but movie studios aren’t about to make a genuinely radical piece, and liberal attempts at understanding and portraying radicalism come off as hollow and miss the Mark literally every single time.

Frodo Baggins from Lotr, Hajime Hinata from Danganronpa 2

edit: Cloud Strife from the Remake comes to mind, though he doesn't rank as high as the former 2

Okabe Rintaro from Steins; Gate, Emiya Shiro from the Fate type Moon series, Adlet Mayer from Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, Xerxes Break from Pandora Hearts.

Yea, I need to learn how to be more chill.

Django Unchained

usually i feel very distant from the world, so much media but i never identity myself with anyone, the character i come closest i guess is Data from Star Trek TNG.

For a long while it was Dr. Horrible from "Dr. Horrible's sing-along blog". Nowadays none.

Good Ending Arthur Morgan

I don't have a "literally me character" bc I'm unsure of what that is

I have a soft spot for David Tennant's Doctor, but that's just because he was the first handsome and respected character I've seen stimming on film without it being played for laughs. Same thing later on for Lee Miller's Holmes on the CBS Elementary series.

I guess Tulip from Infinity Train feels close to how I view my younger self in an adorable way.

But in general I try to avoid being uncritical of characters in media. I see them as being inspired by our reality (and critique it in that direction) rather than as ideals to emulate or actual facsimiles. I find it way more interesting when they aren't in fact "literally me" and deviate from the similarities at some point.

Sometimes Rick, sometimes Daryl (TWD).

Sometimes Guts (Berserk).

Sometimes Captain Sisko (DS9), especially every time he holds a baby and goes full papa mode.

literally me at my cashier job whenever someone's baby starts screaming

I don't have kids, but I'm immediately sus of anyone who dislikes babies. Look at him go! So unburdened with the horrific realities of capitalism, just experiencing being alive for the first time!

Nimona, Dr girlfriend, pickles the drummer

Ben Tennyson and Helen Wheels from Ben 10, Commander Shepard from Mass Effect, Aloy from Horizon: Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, Kurt Wylde and Karma from Hot Wheels: AcceleRacers, Mirage and Arcee from Transformers.

Junko Enoshima, Lalo Salamanca, Monaca Towa, Monokuma, Freddy, Wednesday, Bruce Wayne and Jacob Frye from AC Syndicate

Jernau Gurgeh, Daneel Olivaw and Giskard Reventlov, Konstantin Levin, Pierre Bezukhov, some weird combination of Marianne and Connell, Holden Caulfield.