Characters you disliked that eventually won you over. *Minor Spoilers*

[Landmaster]

I don't think there are many characters I flat out disliked. I was neutral toward most, but after playing:

Dislike --> ???

Felix - I will say straightaway that I am a Dimitri fangirl so Felix's constant rudeness towards him turned me off greatly. And he's still an asshole to a majority of the characters. But...he's just...so funny. Like he's SO blunt in some of his supports (namely Annette's, Lysithea's, and Bernadetta's) and just does not care about their blabbering about their personal embarrassments that it's just hilarious watching him deal with them. I don't know how I feel about him really, I guess as a whole, I do like him, he's a major tsun. Just leave my man alone, please and thank you. 

Dislike --> Like

Lorenz - I started getting really annoyed with Lorenz' high opinion of himself and down-talking to commoners. But he grew on me, since he doesn't necessarily think he's better than commoners and he actually does feel it's his duty to take care of them as a noble. So he's actually not stuck-up in that he thinks he's better than them as people. And it's his supports with the Commoners that made me realize this and yes I married him to Leonie~

Neutral --> Like

Claude - First impression is that he's just a really chill guy who doesn't care much about politics or being in charge and such but he's actually got some really cool ambitions~ He ended up much more complex than I would have thought. And he's really cool and basically Martin Luther King, Jr. so that's cool~

Petra - I was expecting her to be very similar to Athena, but she's a lot more interesting in my opinion. I like Athena, too, but I like that she's more than just a gag with her being a foreigner and that her speaking habits actually do sound like she's foreign and trying to grasp colloquial speak.

Caspar - He is so amusing with his overwhelming drive to "vanquish evil" and the fact that he gets into fights often really does seem like a normal school kid, so it made him feel a lot more like a student, which I liked even more since he's a noble. I found him pretty funny.

Ingrid - I didn't expect too much from her personality-wise, but she really grew on me. Not many female characters are like her and she got some nice development, too~

Neutral --> Love

Dedue - I LOVE THIS BOY, HE'S SO PRECIOUS AND SWEET AND SOFT AND I WILL PROTECC HIM AT ALL COSTS. I really didn't care too much about him when I first started but he became a really good unit and the more Supports I got, the more I adored him. He is SUCH A GOOD BOY.

Like ---> Cherish and Adore to my Very Core

Dimitri - I love him and everything about him and he's such a good boy and just needs a hug and his development is freaking amazing and he's probably my favorite Lord now, I love him forever.

On a real note, I really wasn't expecting him to be as good as he was. I chose Blue Lions simply because I liked him more than the other two Lords, design-wise, and was the closest looking thing to a husbando I could see in the characters. But his character development sold me on him entirely. His dark past wasn't something cliche, he had an actual real reason for falling so fall into despair, and seeing him come out of it was just a hell of a journey~ I love him~

Ashe - Another good boy, he's absolutely precious and I love him to pieces. Even people who are rude to him Felix he just is always so happy and positive.

Neutral --> Dislike

Leonie - OK, so, she's alright, I don't hate her. But her constant blabbering on about being Jeralt's best apprentice and her attitude towards Byleth, especially after his death, really triggered me. Stop telling me how to feel about my own damn dad. Like I said, I don't actually dislike her, it's mainly her as it relates to Byleth that I don't like her. But she's otherwise okay. 

Neutral --> Strongly Dislike (Hate seems too strong a word to use yet)

Edelgard - I'm a Blue Lion, I don't think I need to explain this one. She's just a hard no. Good villain, sure. Any redeeming qualities? None I see so far.

Only Blue Lions and Golden Deer so far and the few Black Eagles I recruited. I'll give opinions on the rest of Black Eagles when I finish their Route.

[Thane]

14 minutes ago, Landmaster said:

Ashe - Another good boy, he's absolutely precious and I love him to pieces.

This is an important message to the world, I agree. Same with Marianne. Those two kind of deserve each other.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Just gonna talk about BE and BL here:

Dislike to like

Ferdinand: My first impression was that he was a dopey character obsessed with rivalry and a bit of a pompous asshole past that. But as you did through his supports you realize he's that way because of his father and is fundamentally a good guy who actually has a lot of respect for those around him. His support line with Bernadetta and how he tries so hard to be kind to her made me fall in love with him.

Bernadetta: Not as extreme, but my first impression was "oh, a gimmick character, hopefully she'll be funny I guess" and I grew to really appreciate how kinda real she felt, she really is just a combination of crippling social anxiety and having no filter.

Sylvain: Oh look an insensitive womanizer -> oooh okay he has lots of fascinating issues. I'd never call him an admirable man but his jaded view of the world's politics and his own relationships with women make so so much sense when you figure out how it's all a reaction to the toxic obsession with crests and producing crest-babies in his nation's politics. He probably ended up my #2 most liked Blue Lion which was not what I was expecting.

[Timlugia]

Another one for me: Sothis

 

I thought she would be another creepy fan service loli like Nowi. Turned out she’s wise and cares about Byleth much. It’s really sad for me every time watching her fuse with Byleth and losing her own identity. The game feel a lot empty post skip without her commenting.

She’s my number 1 request for DLC content

[Dark Holy Elf]

2 minutes ago, Timlugia said:

Another one for me: Sothis

 

I thought she would be another creepy fan service loli like Nowi. Turned out she’s wise and cares about Byleth much. It’s really sad for me every time watching her fuse with Byleth and losing her own identity. The game feel a lot empty post skip without her commenting.

She’s my number 1 request for DLC content

I can get behind Sothis as well, although the transition was very fast for me. I assumed I wouldn't like her because she shares design similarities with the Tiki-type characters, but almost as soon as she started talking I realized we had something much better than them. As soon as she called Byleth "less than a child" for needing to be saved by her I was on board with her.

[Florete]

Around halfway through my Golden Deer run after doing BE/Edelgard first, and almost everyone went one way or the other from my first impression, but only one so far has seen a significant change in my opinion of them:

Lorenz - I'm shocked to say I...actually kind of like him. He's still got probably the worst design of the entire cast (pre time skip, I haven't seen him post time skip). But what looked to just be the stuck-up noble ended up being much more. He still fits the archetype, but I find him much better written than most. He doesn't act the way he does because he just thinks he's better than everyone, he wants to do right by his house. In his C support with Dorothea she criticizes him for flirting with noble girls but not commoners, but at the same time it's not like he was rude to her; he greeted her, complimented her, and then went about his business. And his B support with Ignatz showed how he's actually quite thoughtful and nice.

[Luckenzio]

Like to Neutral :

Claude: It would be kind of weird to say i "liked" him but he was the one that gave me the best first impression of all the main characters. I dont think he is bad but i just ended up kind of indifferent to most of his personal struggles. His route was the first i played and its possibly my least favorite too.

Leonie: I liked her design but the moment i started talking to her i found her quite possibly the most annoying character in the game. I kind of warmed up to her again at the end though.

Dimitri: This is a pet peeve of mine but i hate when characters become insane to "justify" the bad shit they do. I understand using traumas/tragedy to develop or explain a character's motivations but when the guy in question all but froths at the mouth or starts scratching his throat it just feels like a massive cop out. It feels as if they have no idea how to make the character reach that point in a more logical way so they just throw the insane card to get him there. I really like him pre-timeskip though.

Dislike to like :

Rhea: She kind of suffers the same kind of problem as Dimitri but even when she is on your side you can see some shades of how manipulative she can actually be. Pretty entertaining character all things considered.

Lorenz: He is a moron but i love most of his support conversations. Its like having a tumor but at the end you grow fond of it and give it a name.

Ferdinand: The same thing as Lorenz.

Edelgard: For some reason i had this weird incel mindset where before the game was even out i was already trying to condemn her for being a bunch of fetishistic traits one over another made to pander to players who jerk off to it. I'll blame Reddit. After playing the game though not only i like her route the best but she is also quite possibly my favorite character in the series.

Shamir: I actually like how you sway her to your side. Her mindset its more of an actual mercenary instead of the weird guys that call themselves mercenaries but follow the Lord to the death for some weird reason thats not actually money.

Neutral to everybody else and cant say i actually came to dislike someone. Most characters that came close to this are so irrelevant at large that it feels like being mad at filler.

Edited August 22, 2019 by Luckenzio
Grammar

[ZanaLyrander]

The big one for me was Lorenz. I didn’t like his character design, his attitude, his snobbishness, his arrogance... then I actually got to know the guy and watched his support conversations and realized just how earnest and selfless this guy is. He’s self-centered, but not selfish if that makes sense: he focuses largely on his own role and behavior, entirely for the benefit of the people and world around him.

Dorothea was another surprise. I don’t think I ever really disliked her, but I initially thought she was shallow. I was so wrong. Few things have moved me more than things Dorothea has said post time skip. From her battle dialogue that sounds so tired and weary of war, to her mourning the deaths of former classmates... she’s practically the emotional heart of the story as far as I’m concerned.

Spoiler

I didn’t even like Ferdinand that much, but after killing him on the Golden Deer Route, hearing Dorothea say “We killed Ferdie, he was our friend” just broke my heart.

 

[eclipse]

Huh, same bunch of characters being mentioned over and over.  Let's add to that pile~!

Like:

Sylvain - So this guy recruits himself into my house because why the hell not, doesn't give a fig about his older brother, and dates multiple girls at the same time.  Last one is normally a deal-breaker.  Then he explained himself, gave me a paralogue full of goodies, and decided that I'd worked hard enough, and it was time to trivialize the final boss ("Ruined Sky" should be renamed "Ruin the enemy's future, for now they have none").  Even if I don't agree with his methods (especially the cheating), he's more of a product of his world than anything.  His ending with Dorothea is absurdly sweet, too.

Ashe - Didn't have much of an opinion about him before the game, since I had no interest in Blue Lions.  I eventually decided that I felt sorry for him through his random monastery dialogue, and recruited him at quite literally the last minute.  I have yet to find a support with him that I genuinely dislike, and he had the honor of stomping maps flat ('cause Sylvain couldn't be everywhere at once).

Petra - Her grammar originally gave me a headache.  But like Ashe, her supports did a hell of a job redeeming her.  I'm playing through Golden Deer, and she's marrying Ashe if it's the last thing I do.

Dislike:

Rhea - You'd think the "not exactly holy head of the church" thing would've been beaten to death, but no, it continues.  And she's creepy about it.

[Dandy Druid]

There is no one I genuinely disliked before I started, because I wanted to give everyone a chance. That being said, there is no one I truly dislike now, because I haven't gone through every single support to make a fully realized opinion. So when I say dislike here, I mean I don't like them as much as I do other characters. Like means most interested in this context. I see a lot of people disliking certain characters which kind of makes me sigh because to me it seems clear that not every character is designed to be likable. Some may be very interesting, but I don't think they're designed to be fan favorites. They're designed to further the plot, explain Fodlan culture, etc., and these things should not be only the happy parts.

Dislike to Like

• Ferdinand: I thought he would be boring, since I perceived his personality quirk to be too similar to Caspar of the same house and found Caspar more interesting. But then I got to some of his supports and I found him oddly charming and pitiful. Most people seem to hate him in their C support with him and seeing him trying his best to just get accepted made me warm up to him.
• Dedue: I thought he would be the overly devoted type, and for the most part, that is true. However, he does have interests outside of Dimitri that make him feel like a complete character. I also enjoy a couple of his supports, mainly because they allow for some worldbuilding (Discrimination against Duscur, Duscur religion).
• Lorenz: I knew he wasn't going to be a womanizer and I was half right. Yes, I never believed he was going to be a womanizer because Sylvain also had that character quirk and I knew they wouldn't have two characters with the same quirk. I pegged him as a hopeless romantic, but that wasn't the case either. Instead, he's someone who's under great pressure from his father to do well. He's someone who feels the overwhelming need of living up to expectations set by his father and himself. The "skirt-chasing" he does is merely a part of this, as he feels he needs to find a suitable spouse to live up to his goal of being an ideal noble. Although I don't agree with how he views things, his mentality is merely an extreme byproduct of Fodlan society; people (especially nobles) strive for idealic versions of themselves and their bloodline through whatever means necessary. Even if it involves some questionable decision-making. Lorenz is character that's not really designed to be liked, which is what makes him an interesting character.
• Ignatz: His post timeskip design is charming. Although I don't like a lot of his early supports, I do like how he ends up. He starts out as a meek boy, but as he gets older he gains more confidence and willpower in himself. He gains the courage to tell his beloved family that what he wants isn't what they want. It seems like a lot of people toted Bernadetta as the "relatable" character despite her rather extreme quirk that really aren't that relatable, but I think Ignatz is truly one of the characters that is the easiest, if not the easiest to relate to. Imagine a moment in your life where you had to tell someone something you know they didn't want to hear, or been in a strange environment where you feel like the little fish in a big pond.
• Alois: Didn't find him too interesting at first. But he's genuinely one of the funniest characters. Maybe my sense of humor is garbage, but I enjoy his supports. He's not too much in battle, as usually there's a character that can do what he can already, but his personality really shines. His support conversations with Petra is among my favorites.

 

Like? to Dislike

• Hubert: At first I thought it may be interesting to have someone that looks plain evil on your side and explore that kind of character. Sadly, Hubert slowly became what I feared- someone who is too devoted and their personality revolves around that one person. Although Dedue can get that way with Dimitri, the main thing separating him from Hubert is that Dedue actually has some other interests. Meanwhile Hubert seems to be only interested in Edelgard unless he has an A support with someone else and some really forced dialogue is said. Yes, he has some funny/sweet moments, but they weren't enough to captivate me.
• Ingrid: I don't really dislike Ingrid, but I think she may be my least favorite Blue Lion. That's really saying something, since I like all the other Blue Lions. My main issue with Ingrid is her voice actress. I know this can be changed, but I found the majority of the English VAs to be rather enjoyable. I felt Ingrid's voice actress didn't really breathe life into the character and often sounded flat at times. Another thing I didn't like about Ingrid was her weird backstory. We all know she was engaged to Glenn in a political marriage and she really loved him. But to me, it seems so weird she had such strong feelings when she was 13?! I don't know.... it just seems a bit too young to me. Then you have the whole Daphnel/Galatea family background which was also weird. Then there's the whole thing with the famine to explain her foodie quirk. I feel like they just gave her TOO much backstory and it often felt unfocused for me.
• Leonie: I just don't like how confrontational she gets with us over the dumbest shit. And then saying we don't appreciate Jeralt as our father and she wishes he was her father was absolutely bonkers. She does have some nice supports here and there, but a lot of them she ends up talking about Jeralt in some way or another. Maybe I need to read more of her supports.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

Flayn is one of the most disappointing characters I have seen in Fire Emblem. I was surprised as excited when I saw her joining, but her supports conversations make me literally like to say shut up to her. 

 

Lorenz is in the more snobby version of Sylvain, but this type character simply belongs to a modern RPG and I have no issue with it. They are not new but still somewhat enjoyable to read if their flirting attempts fail. 

 

Edited August 22, 2019 by Lysithea

[Etrurian emperor]

Like to (kinda) dislike

Bernadetta: Originally I thought Bernie would be a cute, kinda tragic character like Futaba but she's very one note and suffers from her gimmick always being played incredibly over the top. It makes her supports really repetitive with each character she speaks with saying something completely normal and Bernie completely freaking out about it in extreme ways. What ensures this doesn't really work for me is that being a traumatized girl just isn't very funny. The game tries to explain her abusive parents made her like this but that's not very tragic considering the abuse is there to set up the punchline for a wacky gimmick. 

Perhaps Bernie suffers a bit from Persona 5 playing the gimmick straight by making it mostly tragic while making the awkward behavior an occasional reason for amusement. By having an example of how the gimmick can be handled properly it becomes more noticeable how flawed the Bernie approach of depicting a shut in really is. 

[DragonFlames]

3 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Like to (kinda) dislike

Bernadetta: Originally I thought Bernie would be a cute, kinda tragic character like Futaba but she's very one note and suffers from her gimmick always being played incredibly over the top. It makes her supports really repetitive with each character she speaks with saying something completely normal and Bernie completely freaking out about it in extreme ways. What ensures this doesn't really work for me is that being a traumatized girl just isn't very funny. The game tries to explain her abusive parents made her like this but that's not very tragic considering the abuse is there to set up the punchline for a wacky gimmick. 

Perhaps Bernie suffers a bit from Persona 5 playing the gimmick straight by making it mostly tragic while making the awkward behavior an occasional reason for amusement. By having an example of how the gimmick can be handled properly it becomes more noticeable how flawed the Bernie approach of depicting a shut in really is. 

As someone who lived with an abusive parent until my dad finally divorced that b****, that one bothered me to no end. Seeing stuff like that played for laughs when it really is not funny at all bothers me. Still, I like Bernadetta a great deal, perhaps because she is one of the most relatable cast members to me.
The point about Futaba is true, too. And incidentally, I like Futaba for very similar reasons.

Another character I ended up liking surprisingly turns out to be Rhea. At first, she seemed to be the incredibly creepy, holier-than-thou false pope cliché, but then the game floored me with how well written she actually is. Full disclosure, though: her being voiced by one of THE best voice actresses of today, Cherami Leigh, helps a great deal.
While I certainly do NOT condone her methods of going about things, for me, it's hard to deny that she's one of the best written characters in the entire series.

 

The game also actually managed to make me feel sorry for her with her backstory.

Edited August 22, 2019 by DragonFlames

[nyainou]

Lorenz. Overall, I'd say the cast is just so strong that there aren't a lot of instances like this but.. Lorenz is, in general, not the kind of character I can feel any sort of affection for. But they somehow managed to balance his whole "nice guys finish last" schtick with being an actual well-rounded interesting character.. I just ended up having a soft spot for him. Honestly I think the strong performances from the EN cast really helped. I started with JP for BL, then did EN for GD, and tried JP again for BE but.. I ended up switching back to EN. Both versions are strong but I felt like the combination of written localization and the EN performances worked so wonderfully together. Some character/s are beyond redeeming

Spoiler

looking at you Bernie you annoying pizzashit

but Lorenz really stuck his landing. 

[PrincessAlyson]

Dislike to Like: 

Lorenz - After reading some of his dialog in BL... he really surprised me. Can't wait for my GD playthrough, but that's after I beat BL and the Church Route.

Ferdinand - Similar to Lorenz. He's snobby but after reading some supports on YouTube, he's really caring. Gonna pair him with Dorothea!

 

Like to Love:

Rhea - After reading all the spoilers on her backstory, I find her so incredibly tragic and broken that I just want to hug her. Repeatedly. I plan on marrying her in the Church Route (my second playthrough). She's very well written IMO and makes a good anti-villain or villain depending on how you view her. Even with some of her more morally questionable acts, I still feel like she's pretty sympathetic, at least to me. Horrible trauma can make people do terrible things. Look at Dimitri when he snaps.

Dimitri - OMG. He's precious and needs all the love. He's been through almost as much as Rhea. Give him hugs. Marrying him in BL (first and current playthrough).

Edelgard - I already liked her. But I love/hate her goals. On one hand, she is a morally gray character who is ruthless, which is awesome. She makes a great villain protagonist who mellows into an anti-villain later in BE Route and a pure villain with good intentions in every other route. I like how she and Rhea are actually quite similar: They're both ruthless, only willing to see their own POV, stubborn, and tragic AF. Gonna marry her in BE (which I'm doing last).

Claude - He's funny, he's interesting and... He doesn't have the mental issues the other three protagonists have because he: Has both parents still alive, seems to take issues better, and is used to the backstabbing politics of the Alliance. He's well-rounded and not blinded by his goals/revenge/etc (but that does not mean I dislike that about Rhea, Dimitri and Edelgard. It makes me like them more because of how human it makes them!!). Marrying him in GD (panned third playthrough).

 

Like to Dislike:

None so far. None of the main cast annoys me enough to dislike or hate. Only hate TWSITD and you're not meant to find them likable or sympathetic anyway.

[Silver-Haired Maiden]

Dislike -> Love

Dimitri: Not gonna lie, I was expecting from the prerelease to find Dimitri the least interesting of the three main lords. I didn't expect to hate him but I never expected him to grow on me as much as he did. As soon as I met him he won me over (though I did want to strangle him at one point) and not gonna lie, his post-timeskip design is my favorite of the three, not even a competition. Favorite character in the game, 10/10.

Petra: At first I thought she was going to be a walking stereotype and I was... really scared to use her. I did though because her design is top-notch and MAN did she surprise me. Not only is she a fantastic unit, her character actually has depth and struggles and interests! She's been a staple of all of my playthroughs and I adore her.

Dislike -> Like

Seteth: Probably not a surprise, my reasons are the same as everyone else's. I thought he was going to be stuck up and snobby and it turns out he was actually quite kind and honorable. Also he has the only support chain with Bernadetta I actually like. Go Seteth.

Annette: When I first saw her I despised her design. After talking to her though I grew to really like her character and her attitude. She may not have been the best mage in my playthrough but her personality was the major winner here. Her support with Felix was amazing and I absolutely had them married at the end.

Felix: Speaking of, I really grew to like Felix. I have never been a fan of tsuns before but he's a nice exception. He's so savage and I couldn't help but laugh when he was actually trying to be nice to people and they just freaked out on him. Also his design is super great and he's a good unit.

Ferdinand: I figured he was going to be really stuck up. He wasn't. His hair is fabulous.

Lorenz: Same as Ferdinand except the hair thing. In fact I still really hate his design. But his character is rather endearing all things considered.

Like -> Dislike

Edelgard: I wanted to like her. I had every intention of playing her route first and I love her design... but she's almost irredemable in terms of what she's done and caused. She's the only character in the game that I used to like and ended up disliking.

 

The others all stayed the same, be it liking them or disliking them. Bernadetta is a stand out because man do I not like her character, but I always disliked her design lol.

 

[Landmaster]

Well I'm in time skip Black Eagles so I think it's about as good a time as ever to give my opinion on them.

Neutral to Like

Dorothea - Her backstory is so sad, I wasn't expecting her to have anything deep to her but she had me feeling so bad for how she grew up. She's not as shallow as she comes across and she's actually quite the opposite and just wants someone who likes her for who she is and not her fame~

Ferdinand - While I didn't end up liking him as much as Lorenz, he's still clearly not as much of a conceited douche as he comes across upfront~ Most of his Supports show that he can actually accept being wrong in situations when he thinks he's right and he's a pretty hard worker, so he's cool~ That time skip hair ain't it, chief, but you're alright~ 

Linhardt - He's just funny~ He is so painfully lazy, he literally chooses unfavorable options for him just because it's less effort than to not. I can relate to him on a spiritual level~ In some regards, he can be a bit of a dick since he can just shut people down if they're not interested in the same stuff he is yet expects everyone to be interested in Crest research, but as a whole, he's just pretty chill~

Neutral to Dislike

Hubert - There is nothing redeemable about him. He is an asshole, plain and simple. When even your own route does nothing to make you look like a good person, then there's no hope~

3 hours ago, PrincessAlyson said:

Ferdinand - Similar to Lorenz. He's snobby but after reading some supports on YouTube, he's really caring. Gonna pair him with Dorothea!

I'm doing them in my BE run now, great choice!

[Jakkun]

Like > Dislike:

• Lysithea: I really liked her design and from pre-release stuff, I thought she was gonna be Ricken/Hayato but with the "dont call me a child" shtick downplayed. Boyyyy was I wrong. Maybe I saw the wrong supports first or something but it often came off like she would just assume someone was calling her a child out of nowhere and verbally burn the crap out of them. Her support with Ignatz in particular infuriates me for this very reason. Same with her C support with Marianne. And yes, I know she's got her reasons but when she constantly pulls the "you're too stupid to understand my situation" only to bring it up in the next support, it comes off more as an excuse for her being an asshole than anything else.
• Leonie: Not nearly as much as Lysithea, I actually dunno where I stand on Leonie. Her Byleth supports are tremendously bad imo, but all her other supports are alright. She just gave off a shitty first impression and she's gotta dig herself out of that hole for me. Orange Chie deserves better than to bootlick Jeralt for the rest of her days.

Dislike > Like:

• Felix: I wasn't too sold on this guy cause of the "edgy swordmaster" trope and the boar stuff, however since the conflict that caused his rift with Dimitri is actually front and center for the Blue Lions, I felt like his reasons for being so hateful to Dimitri and the concept of Chivalry were a lot more organic than say, Lysithea. His support with Seteth really hit me in particular. Oh also he looks cool I guess and I think its funny when he plays the straight man in his supports with the likes of Sylvain and the aforementioned Lysithea, if my profile pic wasn't any indication.
• Lorenz: Hot damn this dude is ugly. I had him pegged as this asshole that looks bad and cant understand why girls wouldn't want a "perfect" man like him. However, he has very good reasons for his noble pursuits, he's just really rough around the edges. Timeskip really helps this guy out in just about every way, giving his supports great resolutions, fixing his god dang hair, and maturing him as a whole.

Like > Love:

• Hilda: I already liked her for her appearance, but similarly to Lorenz though I thought she was gonna be shallow and vain. Turns out she's actually the most friendly of the Golden Deer girls and pretty hard for me to find anything to dislike. Even her laziness thing isn't that bad since she clearly doesn't have any issue helping out her friends when they need it. Helps that my favorite SoV girl was Mae and Hilda checks on the pink haired twintail quota. What can I say, I'm a simple man.
• Gatekeeper: Ok but like for real though, Gatekeeper for Smash! Gatekeeper for Heroes! Gatekeeper for BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle! Gatekeeper for Shaq Fu! How can one NPC be so based?

Edited August 25, 2019 by Jakkun

[Boomhauer007]

Dislike to like

Dorothea: "Oh look they're doing Charlotte's story again". But then she was super saved post time skip by being one of a very small handful of characters who actually realized that war is really shitty. It was an interesting path to take with her character, absolutely loved it.

Felix: His archetype is a dime a dozen, but he was the only character that consistently called Dimitri out on his crap so he gets vaulted up for that.

Honorable mention to Hanneman and Seteth for being cool.

Nobody I disliked that I didn't dislike immediately. Caspar and Bernadetta were down and never came up for me. And Linhardt was cool but could have used a bit less sleeping gimmick.

Actually think the game could have used the Lorenz / Ferdinand thing but with someone that was just a dick. Entire cast of mostly noble teenagers and 95% of them are all super respectful and "don't care about status", would have been good to see a bit more variety there.

[magnetic_cactus]

Grew to Like

• Ferdinand. Initially seemed very bland personality wise with a "Sylvain knockoff" kind of design. Ends up coming across as a surprisingly decent person and one of the few characters I could actually see ruling a county/duchy (ruling one well, anyway). 
• Seteth. Starts off as another authoritarian Rhea-drone (see Catherine, below), but develops into a more genuine person. 

Grew to Dislike

• Catherine. Really liked her design, and combat-wise she's of course amazing. But she never really felt like she was on my (Byleth's) side; it was like she'd cut and run the instant Rhea came back, if that's what Rhea told her to do. She just seemed like an outsider, unquestioningly devoted to a single person and without a mind of her own. 

[Troykv]

2 minutes ago, magnetic_cactus said:

Grew to Like

• Ferdinand. Initially seemed very bland personality wise with a "Sylvain knockoff" kind of design. Ends up coming across as a surprisingly decent person and one of the few characters I could actually see ruling a county/duchy (ruling one well, anyway). 
• Seteth. Starts off as another authoritarian Rhea-drone (see Catherine, below), but develops into a more genuine person. 

Grew to Dislike

• Catherine. Really liked her design, and combat-wise she's of course amazing. But she never really felt like she was on my (Byleth's) side; it was like she'd cut and run the instant Rhea came back, if that's what Rhea told her to do. She just seemed like an outsider, unquestioningly devoted to a single person and without a mind of her own. 

Oh yeah, I have a similar impression about Catherine so far... she mostly feels connected because Rhea it's technically at our side in the routes where she is playable... but if she isn't... Cath won't too; she can put Rhea above everything else, even if that includes killing children and executing innocents At least the last part never happens as far as I know

Spoiler

I have something to ask of you... *insert  text*

 

[Slumber]

Hilda. I thought her whole "I'm a lazy piece of shit who will find every way to weasel out of work" schtick would wear on me fast. Thankfully, the situations were varied enough and all handled uniquely enough that it endeared me to her.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

I never expected to say that but Edelgard is one of my favorites of the Black Eagles. But it rather confirms that this House is full of creeps and jerks. Petra, Dorothea and even Edelgard are the only ones I sense and understand their ideals. Overall I am really not fond of this House. 

Edited August 25, 2019 by Lysithea

[Rose482]

I finished the BE route and almost at the end of the BL route.

Grew to like:

Ferdinand: A true noble among nobles <3 I had no strong opinion on him before I got my hands on the game, but he grew on me a bit after I read some of his supports.

Bernadetta: I get the dislike she gets. She could be pretty annoying and all of that, but I still love her growth. The fact she started coming out of her room after the time jump is enough to make me feel that she changed a little for the better.

Hubert: He's something alright lol. His love for Edelgard maybe played a big part in why I ended up liking him as much as I did, but hey it was so cute, so no one better blames me here. 

Ingrid: I found her a bit boring at first, but her backstory made me grow to like her. 

Dedue: He also was someone which I had no strong opinion on before playing the game, but wow I did feel bad for him after learning more about his story ;; 

Sylvian: I never truly disliked him, but I was worried that his flirty persona would get old pretty fast, but....I didn't mind it as much as I thought I would somehow. And just like Dedue, his supports also makes me really feel for him lol. Even though most of them aren't serious, but hey that's okay.

Felix: A edgy character done right.

Grew to love:

Dimitri: nsvndiovdsjcdiojifdo I love him so much ;____; He truly deserves the best, but sadly his life was everything but that. 

Anettee: Didn't think I would like her as much as I did, but I have. She's a very simple girl, which in my opinion works very well. 

Dorothea: Ugh, she has so many good supports. Some are really sad, and some are really funny. She really brings out the best of the people around her.

Rhea: Maybe it's not fair for me to put her in here considering I have yet to play all routes, but I'm going to place her here anyway. I at first was worried she was going to be the generic evil church  leader, but she's not that simple. And the fact she genuinely loves Byleth made me feel so awful when I sided with Edelgard over her in Edelgard's route :/

Lysithea: Holy is she a tragic character ;___:  Her ending with Felix was so sweet, and yet so sad. It's true she could be a bit of a brat, but she is still 15 after all. So I don't hold it against her that much, and I do think that in the end of the day she means well.

Grew to being mixed on:

Edelgard: She's...something. I thought I was going to be obsessed with her character, but the more and more that I learn about her, the more I get mixed on her lol V_V also her having the shortest route really sucks for both story reasons, and gameplay reasons as well. And I hate how some people in the fandom seem to want to justify everything she does, while at the same time act like some other main cast characters are just 100% evil. Like I get the fact she's suppose to be a grey character, but even as far as grey characters goes, some of her actions just really paint her in a bad light, and I can't just accept them becasue I feel bad for the things she went through.

Linhardt: I WANT to like him, but him needing to take a nap shtick got in the way for a while. But in the end of the day, I would say I like him overall. 

[Sasori]

After finishing the blue lion route these are characters that surprised/dissapointed me.
Grew to like
Seteth: Seteth doesn't give a very good first impression. Doubting Byleth is totally justified, but I recall a few snide comments that came across as Seteth just being a jerk. Those few early game comments aside, Seteth is a pretty pleasant character in all of his other interactions.

Gilbert: I've figured Gilbert would be the Fuga of this game.A filler prepromote with not much of a role in the story. I was surprised to see Gilbert take over the lord duties for a while after Dimitri has become a total loony. Not a big fan of the self pitying, but Gilbert still managed to surprise me.

Manuela: Manuele isn't a very deep character, but most of her supports left me with a smile on my face.

Sylvain: Sylvain did not impress me at first. Womanizing characters have been a thing in FE for a while, but Sylvain was a pretty unapologetic jerk about it. While his cynical views and backstory don't fully excuse some of it, It at least makes the character interesting, rather then unlikeable. 

unimpressed by
Sothis: Do you miss some things about Sothis in the BL route? Because she feels very disconnected from everything. She's there to explain the divine pulses and she pops up for some plot power, but other then that I never felt she added much. If you'd cut her out you'd only have to find another way to fix the Solon/5 year sleep situation.

Edelgards Uncle: He's build up early in the story, has a good voice actor.....and then he's just a generic chapter boss who says nothing interesting. 

 Those that slither in the dark: My expectations where low and they still managed to disappoint me. Kronya dies in her first chapter, Thales isn't properly explained in the Bl route and in the final chapter they are led by nobody called Myson. Solon gets some points for having a decent disguise, but he's not really a good villain either.